Antipope

An antipope is one whose claim to being Pope is the result of a disputed or contested election. These antipopes were usually in opposition to a specific person chosen by the papal electors (since the Middle Ages, the College of Cardinals). Some self-appointed leaders of smaller churches are also called "antipopes."

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During certain periods of turbulence in the Roman Catholic Church, controversial Papal elections were conducted. Some such elections were considered invalid, either because a large majority of papal electors claimed the election was invalid (such as the election of Felix V), or because they have subsequently been declared invalid (such as Clement VII).

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The earliest antipope, Hippolytus, was elected in protest against Pope Callixtus I by a schismatic group in the city of Rome in the 3rd century. Hippolytus was exiled to the mines on the island of Sardinia in the company of Callixtus' successor Pope Pontian, and was reconciled to the Catholic Church before his death and has been canonized by the Church.

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The period when antipopes were most numerous was during the struggles between the Popes and the Holy Roman Emperors of the 11th and 12th centuries. The emperors would frequently sponsor antipopes in order to further their cause. (The popes, likewise, frequently sponsored rival imperial claimants in Germany in attempts to disrupt imperial policy.)

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The late 14th and early 15th century saw a series of rival popes elected, one line of which is counted by the Roman Catholic Church as popes and the other as antipopes. The scandal of multiple claimants added to the demands for reform that produced the Protestant Reformation at the turn of the 16th century. (See Western Schism, Antipope Benedict XIII.)

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It would not necessarily have been evident, during periods when two (or three) rival claimants existed, which was the antipope, and which was the pope, and the clear-cut distinctions made between them in retrospect can give a false sense that certainty existed among their contemporaries. Supporters might offer assistance to a given candidate, but could not know which would be determined to have been an antipope, and which the pope, until events had run their course.

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There has not been an antipope since 1449 (unless Sedevacantist antipopes are counted - see below). Other schisms such as the Church of England, the Old Catholic Church and the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association began in a rejection of a primary dogma of the papacy.

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Today the act of becoming an Antipope is considered a schismatic act by the Roman Catholic Church. This would result in automatic excommunication for the person who became Antipope.

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Pope: :This entry is about the Catholic Pontiff. For other uses of the word, see Pope (disambiguation)....

Middle Ages: The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three 'ages': the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times. The Middle Ages of Western Europe are commonly dated from the end of the Western Roman Empire (5th century)...

College of Cardinals: The Sacred College of Cardinals is the body of all Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church. The body plays two roles for the church:...

Antipope related Images and Photos (experimental)

The Antipope John Xxiii

Arrival of the Antipope John XXIII at the Council of Constance in 1414 1483