Papal Oath (Liber Diurnus)
Encyclopedia
The Liber Diurnus Romanorum Pontificum
includes a formula of profession of faith that a newly elected Pope
sent to the representative at Ravenna
of the Emperor of Constantinople
soon after the Third Council of Constantinople
(680-681), which is referred to in the text as held "recently".
This profession of faith cannot have been presented to the Exarch of Ravenna at any time after the papacy revolted - soon after 727 (see Eutychius
) - against the Emperor. The Exarchate itself was finally extinguished in 752.
The profession of faith in the Liber Diurnus Romanorum Pontificum is addressed to Saint Peter
in a form somewhat reminiscent of an oath. However, the book nowhere calls it an oath.
Ambiguous expressions in some anti-Catholic
writings could lead incautious readers to suppose that the text in the Liber Diurnus Romanorum Pontificum was used by all newly elected Popes until the eleventh century and that it had been in use since the fifth century.
An example is William Webster's An Ecumenical Council Officially Condemns a Pope for Heresy:
However, Webster does not expressly state that the formula in the Liber Diurnus Romanorum Pontificum was used by Popes from the fifth to the eleventh century, which would obviously be impossible. The Liber Diurnus formula speaks of the Third Council of Constantinople as recently held and mentions by name the Pope and the Emperor involved in the Council. Popes outside the 682-727 period would not have spoken of the 680-681 Council as recent, and it would be particularly ridiculous to suppose that Popes from two centuries before the Council knew anything whatever about that Council.
Liber Diurnus Romanorum Pontificum
Liber Diurnus Romanorum Pontificum is the name given to a miscellaneous collection of ecclesiastical formulae used in the Papal chancery until about the 11th century...
includes a formula of profession of faith that a newly elected Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
sent to the representative at Ravenna
Exarchate of Ravenna
The Exarchate of Ravenna or of Italy was a centre of Byzantine power in Italy, from the end of the 6th century to 751, when the last exarch was put to death by the Lombards.-Introduction:...
of the Emperor of Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
soon after the Third Council of Constantinople
Third Council of Constantinople
The Third Council of Constantinople, counted as the Sixth Ecumenical Council by the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches and other Christian groups, met in 680/681 and condemned monoenergism and monothelitism as heretical and defined Jesus Christ as having two energies and two wills...
(680-681), which is referred to in the text as held "recently".
This profession of faith cannot have been presented to the Exarch of Ravenna at any time after the papacy revolted - soon after 727 (see Eutychius
Eutychius
Eutychius was the last Exarch of Ravenna .The exarchate had risen in revolt in 727 at the imposition of iconoclasm; the Exarch Paul lost his life attempting to quash the revolt. In response, Emperor Leo III sent the patrician Eutychius to take control of the situation. Eutychius landed in Naples,...
) - against the Emperor. The Exarchate itself was finally extinguished in 752.
The profession of faith in the Liber Diurnus Romanorum Pontificum is addressed to Saint Peter
Saint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...
in a form somewhat reminiscent of an oath. However, the book nowhere calls it an oath.
Ambiguous expressions in some anti-Catholic
Anti-Catholicism
Anti-Catholicism is a generic term for discrimination, hostility or prejudice directed against Catholicism, and especially against the Catholic Church, its clergy or its adherents...
writings could lead incautious readers to suppose that the text in the Liber Diurnus Romanorum Pontificum was used by all newly elected Popes until the eleventh century and that it had been in use since the fifth century.
An example is William Webster's An Ecumenical Council Officially Condemns a Pope for Heresy:
- In the Liber Diurnus the Formulary of the Roman Chancery (from the fifth to the eleventh century), there is found the old formula for the papal oath...according to which every new Pope, on entering upon his office, had to swear that "he recognised the sixth Ecumenical Council, which smote with eternal anathema the originators of the heresy (Monotheletism), Sergius, Pyrrhus, etc., together with Honorius" (Charles Joseph Hefele, A History of the Councils of the Church (Edinburgh: Clark, 1896), Volume V, pp. 181-187).
However, Webster does not expressly state that the formula in the Liber Diurnus Romanorum Pontificum was used by Popes from the fifth to the eleventh century, which would obviously be impossible. The Liber Diurnus formula speaks of the Third Council of Constantinople as recently held and mentions by name the Pope and the Emperor involved in the Council. Popes outside the 682-727 period would not have spoken of the 680-681 Council as recent, and it would be particularly ridiculous to suppose that Popes from two centuries before the Council knew anything whatever about that Council.