Antipope

For the book by Robert Rankin, see The Antipope.

The coat of arms of Benedict XIII displayed the papal tiara and cross. During this period, papal heraldry varied greatly and the crossed keys had not yet fully developed as a symbol of the papacy.

An antipope (Latin: antipapa) is a person who, in opposition to the one who is generally seen as the legitimately elected Pope, makes a significantly accepted competing claim to be the Pope, the Bishop of Rome and leader of the Catholic Church. At times between the 3rd and mid-15th century, antipopes were supported by a fairly significant faction of religious cardinals and secular monarchs and kingdoms. Persons who claim to be pope, but have few followers, such as the modern sedevacantist antipopes, are not classified with the historical antipopes.

History

Hippolytus of Rome (d. 235) is commonly considered to be the earliest antipope, as he headed a separate group within the Church in Rome against Pope Callixtus I. Hippolytus was reconciled to Callixtus's second successor, Pope Pontian, and both he and Pontian are honoured as saints by the Roman Catholic Church with a shared feast day on 13 August. Whether two or more persons have been confused in this account of Hippolytus and whether Hippolytus actually declared himself to be the Bishop of Rome, remains unclear, since no such claim by Hippolytus has been cited in the writings attributed to him.

Eusebius quotes from an unnamed earlier writer the story of Natalius, a 3rd-century priest who accepted the bishopric of a heretical group in Rome. Natalius soon repented and tearfully begged Pope Zephyrinus to receive him into communion.

Novatian (d. 258), another third-century figure, certainly claimed the See of Rome in opposition to Pope Cornelius, and if Natalius and Hippolytus were excluded because of the uncertainties concerning them, Novatian could then be said to be the first antipope.

The period in which antipopes were most numerous was during the struggles between the popes and the Holy Roman Emperors of the 11th and 12th centuries. The emperors frequently imposed their own nominees to further their own causes. The popes, likewise, sometimes sponsored rival imperial claimants (anti-kings) in Germany to overcome a particular emperor.

The Western Schism — which began in 1378, when the French cardinals, claiming that the election of Pope Urban VI was invalid, elected antipope Clement VII as a rival to the Roman Pope — led eventually to two competing lines of antipopes: the Avignon line (Clement VII took up residence in Avignon, France), and the Pisan line. The Pisan line was named after the town of Pisa, Italy, where the (Pisan) council had elected antipope Alexander V as a third claimant. To end the schism, in May 1415, the Council of Constance deposed antipope John XXIII of the Pisan line. Pope Gregory XII of the Roman line resigned in July 1415. In 1417, the Council also formally deposed antipope Benedict XIII of Avignon, but he refused to resign. Afterwards, Pope Martin V was elected and was accepted everywhere except in the small and rapidly diminishing area that remained faithful to Benedict XIII. The scandal of the Western Schism created anti-papal sentiment and fed into the Protestant Reformation at the turn of the 16th century.

List of historical antipopes

The following table gives the names of the antipopes included in the list of popes and antipopes in the Annuario Pontificio, with the addition of the names of Natalius (in spite of doubts about his historicity) and Antipope Clement VIII (whose following was insignificant).

An asterisk marks those who were included in the conventional numbering of later Popes who took the same name. More commonly, the antipope is ignored in later papal regnal numbers; for example, there was an Antipope John XXIII, but the new Pope John elected in 1958 was also called John XXIII. For the additional confusion regarding Popes named John, see Pope John (numbering).

The list of popes and antipopes in the Annuario Pontificio attaches the following note to the name of Pope Leo VIII (963–965):

At this point, as again in the mid-11th century, we come across elections in which problems of harmonising historical criteria and those of theology and canon law make it impossible to decide clearly which side possessed the legitimacy whose factual existence guarantees the unbroken lawful succession of the successors of Saint Peter. The uncertainty that in some cases results has made it advisable to abandon the assignation of successive numbers in the list of the popes.

Thus, because of the obscurities about mid-11th-century canon law and the historical facts, the Annuario Pontificio lists Sylvester III as a pope, without thereby expressing a judgement on his legitimacy. The Catholic Encyclopedia places him in its List of Popes, but with the annotation: "Considered by some to be an antipope". Other sources classify him as an antipope.

Those with asterisks (*) were counted in subsequent Papal numbering.

Pontificate	Common English name	Regnal (Latin) name	Personal name	Place of birth	Age at Election / Death or Resigned	# years as Antipope	Notes	In opposition to
c. 200	Natalius	Natalius					Later reconciled (see above)	Zephyrinus
217–235	Saint Hippolytus	Hippolytus					Later reconciled with Pope Pontian (see above)	Callixtus I
								Urban I
								Pontian
251–258	Novatian	Novatianus					Founder of Novatianism	Cornelius
								Lucius I
								Stephen I
								Sixtus II
355–365	Felix II*	Felix secundus					Installed by Roman Emperor Constantius II	Liberius
366–367	Ursicinus	Ursicinus	Ursinus					Damasus I
418–419	Eulalius	Eulalius						Boniface I
498–499 501–506	Laurentius	Laurentius					Supported by Byzantine emperor Anastasius I	Symmachus
530	Dioscorus	Dioscurus						Boniface II
687	Theodore	Theodorus						Sergius I
687	Paschal (I)	Paschalis
767–768	Constantine II	Constantinus secundus						Between Paul I and Stephen III
768	Philip	Philippus					Installed by envoy of Lombard King Desiderius	Stephen III
844	John VIII	Joannes octavus					Elected by acclamation	Sergius II
855	Anastasius III Bibliothecarius	Anastasius tertius						Benedict III
903–904	Christopher	Christophorus						Between Leo V and Sergius III
974	Boniface VII*	Bonifacius						Between Benedict VI and Benedict VII
984–985								Between John XIV and John XV
997–998	John XVI*	Joannes	John Filagatto				Supported by Byzantine emperor Basil II	Gregory V
1012	Gregory VI	Gregorius						Benedict VIII
1058–1059	Benedict X*	Benedictus	John Mincius				Supported by the Counts of Tusculum	Nicholas II
1061–1064	Honorius II	Honorius	Pietro Cadalus				Supported by Agnes, regent of the Holy Roman Empire	Alexander II
1080, 1084–1100	Clement III	Clemens	Guibert of Ravenna				Supported by Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor	Gregory VII
								Victor III
								Urban II
								Paschal II
1100–1101	Theodoric	Theodoricus					Successor to Clement III	Paschal II
1101	Adalbert or Albert	Adalbertus					Successor to Theodoric
1105–1111	Sylvester IV	Sylvester	Maginulf				Supported by Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor
1118–1121	Gregory VIII	Gregorius	Maurice Burdanus					Gelasius II
								Callixtus II
1124	Celestine II	Cœlestinus	Thebaldus Buccapecus					Honorius II
1130–1138	Anacletus II	Anacletus	Pietro Pierleoni					Innocent II
1138	Victor IV	Victor	Gregorio Conti				Successor to Anacletus II
1159–1164	Victor IV	Victor	Ottavio di Montecelio				Supported by Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor	Alexander III
1164–1168	Paschal III	Paschalis	Guido di Crema
1168–1178	Callixtus III	Callixtus	Giovanni of Struma
1179–1180	Innocent III	Innocentius	Lanzo of Sezza
1328–1330	Nicholas V	Nicolaus	Pietro Rainalducci				Supported by Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor	John XXII
1378–1394	Clement VII	Clemens	Robert of Geneva	Geneva	36/52	15 y, 11 m, 27 d	Avignon	Urban VI
								Boniface IX
1394–1423	Benedict XIII	Benedictus	Pedro de Luna	Illueca, Aragon	66/95	28 y, 7 m, 25 d	Avignon
								Innocent VII
								Gregory XII
								Martin V
1409–1410	Alexander V*	Alexander	Pietro Philarghi				Pisa	Gregory XII
1410–1415	John XXIII	Joannes	Baldassare Cossa				Pisa
1423–1429	Clement VIII	Clemens	Gil Sánchez Muñoz				Avignon	Martin V
1424–1429	Benedict XIV	Benedictus	Bernard Garnier				Claimed successor to Benedict XIII
1430–1437	Benedict XIV	Benedictus	Jean Carrier				The "hidden pope"
1439–1449	Felix V	Fœlix	Duke Amadeus VIII of Savoy	Chambéry, Savoy	56/65 (†67)	9 y, 5 m, 2 d	Elected by the Council of Basel	Eugene IV
								Nicholas V

Quasi-cardinal-nephews

Main article: List of cardinal-nephews

Many antipopes created cardinals, known as quasi-cardinals, and a few created cardinal-nephews, known as quasi-cardinal-nephews.

Quasi-cardinal	Nephew of	Elevated	Notes
Giacomo Alberti	Antipope Nicholas V	15 May 1328	Excommunicated by Pope John XXII.
Amedeo Saluzzo	Antipope Clement VII	23 December 1383	Abandoned Antipope Benedict XIII after having been deposed by him on 21 October 1408; participated in the Council of Pisa, the election of Pope Alexander V (now regarded as an antipope), the Council of Constance, and the conclave of Pope Martin V.
Tommaso Brancaccio	Antipope John XXIII	6 June 1411	Attended the Council of Constance, and the conclave of Pope Martin V.
Gil Sánchez Muñoz	Antipope Clement VIII	26 July 1429	Submitted to Pope Martin V after his uncle abdicated.

Modern claimants to papacy

In modern times various people claim to be pope and, though they do not fit the technical definition of "antipope", are sometimes referred to as such. They are usually leaders of sedevacantist groups who view the See of Rome as vacant and elect someone to fill it. They are sometimes referred to as conclavists because of their claim, on the basis of an election by a "conclave" of perhaps half a dozen laypeople, as in the case of David Bawden ("Pope Michael I"), to have rendered the See no longer vacant. A significant number of these have taken the name "Peter II", owing to its special significance. From the point of view of the Roman Catholic Church, they are schismatics, and as such are automatically excommunicated.

Collinites

• Michel Collin, self-proclaimed Pope Clement XV (1961–1974) in France, founder of the Apostles of Infinite Love)
• Jean-Gaston Tremblay, Gregory XVII (1968–2011), in Canada

Palmarian Catholic Church

• Clemente Domínguez y Gómez (Pope Gregory XVII), mystically self-proclaimed (1978–2005) in Spain
• Manuel Corral (Pope Peter II) (2005–11)
• Ginés Jesús Hernández (Pope Gregory XVIII) (2011–2016)
• Joseph Odermatt (Pope Peter III) (2016–present)

The Palmarian Catholic Church regards Pope Paul VI, whom they revere as a martyr, and his predecessors as true popes, but hold, on the grounds of claimed apparitions, that the Pope of Rome is excommunicated and that the position of the Holy See has, since 1978, been transferred to the See of El Palmar de Troya.

Other examples

The following were elected by allegedly faithful Catholics, none of whom was a cardinal:

• Popes of the "Legio Maria", based in western Kenya (not technically Conclavist): Timothy Joseph Blasio Atila (1963–1998). Pius Lawrence Jairo Chiaji Adera (1998–2004). Raphael Titus Otieno (2004–present).
• David Bawden (Pope Michael I), (1990–present) elected in Kansas, USA.
• Victor von Pentz (Pope Linus II), (1994–present). Another conclave, this time held in Assisi, Italy, elected the South African Victor von Pentz, an ex-seminarian of the Society of St Pius X, as Pope Linus II in 1994. Linus took up residence in Hertfordshire, England.
• Pope of the "True Catholic Church": Lucian Pulvermacher (Pope Pius XIII), (1998–2009), elected in Montana, USA.
• Mirko Fabris (Pope Krav I), (1978–2012), elected in Zagreb, Croatia.
• Joaquín Llorens (Pope Alexander IX), (2005–present), elected in Elx, Spain.
• Popes of the "Iglesia Católica Apostólica Remanente", based in Buenos Aires, Argentina: Oscar Michaelli, elected on 24 March 2006 by a group of 34 episcopi vagantes as Pope Leo XIV. On his death on 14 February 2007, he was succeeded by Juan Bautista Bonetti, who took the name of Pope Innocent XIV, but resigned on 29 May 2007. Alexander IX was chosen in his place.

Antipope of Alexandria

As the Patriarch of Alexandria, Egypt, has historically also held the title of Pope, a person who, in opposition to someone who is generally accepted as a legitimate Pope of Alexandria, claims to hold that position may also be considered an Antipope. In 2006, the defrocked married Coptic lector Max Michel became an Antipope of Alexandria, calling himself Maximos I. His claim to the Alexandrine Papacy was dismissed by both the Coptic Orthodox Pope Shenouda III and Pope Theodore II of the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria Neither the Coptic Pope of Alexandria nor the Greek Pope of Alexandria currently view one another as Antipopes but rather as successors to differing lines of apostolic succession which formed as a result of christological disputes in the fifth century.

Fiction

Antipopes have appeared as fictional characters. These may be either in historical fiction, as fictional portraits of well-known historical antipopes or as purely imaginary antipopes.

• Jean Raspail's novel l'Anneau du pêcheur (The Fisherman's Ring), and Gérard Bavoux's "Le Porteur de lumière" (The Light-bringer).
• The fictional synth-pop artist Zladko Vladcik claims to be "The Anti-Pope" in one of his songs.
• Dan Simmons's novels Endymion and Rise of Endymion feature a Father Paul Duré who is the routinely murdered antipope Teilhard I. At the end of the last novel, it is mentioned that the person calling himself the pope of the Technocore loyal Catholics is recognized by very few even among those, and he is referred to as an antipope.
• In the Girl Genius comics series, set in a gaslamp fantasy version of Europe thrown into chaos by mad science (among other things), there is a brief reference to the existence of seven Popes—all of whom apparently ordered a particular text burned.
• Ralph McInerny's novel The Red Hat features a schism between liberals and conservatives following the election of a conservative African Pope; the liberal faction elect an Italian cardinal who calls himself "Pius XIII".
• In the video game Crusader Kings II by Swedish developer Paradox Interactive, Catholic rulers may appoint one of their bishops as an antipope. An emperor-tier ruler such as the Holy Roman Emperor may declare war on the Papal States to install their antipope as the "true" pope, thereby vassalizing the Papacy.
• In episode 3 of The Black Adder (set in the late 15th century), "The Archbishop", Baldrick remarks on selling counterfeit papal pardons, that one for the highest crimes requires the signatures of "both popes" (implying one pope and one antipope). At the end of the episode, the Mother Superior of the local convent informs Edmund that he has been excommunicated by "all three popes".

See also

• Avignon Papacy
• List of popes
• List of tombs of antipopes

External links and bibliography

• Catholic Encyclopedia: "Antipope"
• Encyclopædia Britannica: "Antipope"
• The Pope Encyclopaedia: "Antipope"
• Kelly, J.N.D, The Oxford Dictionary of Popes, Oxford University Press, USA (1 June 1986), ISBN 0-19-213964-9.
• Raspail, Jean, 'L'Anneau du pêcheur, Paris: Albin Michel, 1994. 403 pp. ISBN 2-226-07590-9.
• Bavoux, Gérard, Le Porteur de lumière, Paris: Pygmalion, 1996. 329 pp ISBN 2-85704-488-7.