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Papal Bull

A bubble (the so-called is a document, originally sealed (from Latin the seal ), in which the pope is a very important instrument, such as proclaiming a Holy Year , a nomination Episcopal or a dogmatic definition , the convening of a council , a canonization , etc.. The document is usually the pastoral governance of the Church , and is relevant for all believers. It is usually designated by the first words of the text.

Bull of Pope Callistus II of March 27, 1122

Summary

/ / Origin

Originally, the term means the seal of metal , with lead or gold , attached to a document to authenticate it. Taking a practical course to Byzantium ^History

The bubbles that are the oldest known to us are those of Pope Leo I (pope from 440 to 461)

From the ^thirteenth century , documents that bore the seal were themselves called bubbles. For about the ^fifteenth century , the term is reserved for apostolic letters sealed with the seal of lead.

The papacy at a time claiming temporal power and universal jurisdiction, the receipt and publication of some bubbles have been more than once during conflicts between states, Catholic or otherwise, and the Church. The two powers clashed: governments claimed the right to examine the bubbles before they grant the enforcement order , and the Holy See refused to accept this claim.

In France, after the Concordat of 1801 , the bubbles were not enforceable after registration by the State Council. However, organic articles '(added to the composition without the approval of Pius VIII ) bubbles subjected to civilian control. Papal acts were no longer from the ^nineteenth century the subject of a control, which was formally repealed by the law of separation of church and state.

Shape of a bubble

Bull of Pope Urban VIII, 1637

In 1878, Leo XIII style modernization by eliminating the Gothic script used since the ^twelfth century and replacing it with a modern Latin understandable. The lead seals were abandoned even if the documents continued to be called 'bubbles'.

Until 1903 , the bubbles were dated the year of the Incarnation of Christ , which began March 25. Pope Pius X changed the custom (in his apostolic constitution Sapienti Consilio 29 June 1903) prescribed and to use the common civil calendar beginning 1 January.

The bubbles begin modern in Latin as follows:

Purpose and use

Since the motu proprio of Pope Leo XIII ( 29 December 1878 ), the bubble shape is for:

administrative acts: snacks, erections, deletions and divisions profits major ( abbeys and bishoprics );
solemn acts of the Holy See (indiction of councils or anniversaries ).

For the rest, the bubble was replaced by either the encyclical or by minor acts ( short or rescripts ).

In fact, the term bubble is often dependent on the choice of pope, and is often given to the sealed documents (and therefore of importance) that have no better appellation ( Encyclical , rescript , etc..). We can observe that in the original Latin text bubbles, the document is often referred to simply as the "Litterae Apostolic" (Apostolic Letter "), sometimes accompanied by the words" sub plumbo data "(" given under the seal of lead ").

The designation may also be traditional: the case of letters concerning the jubilee , for example bubbles Indiction issued by John Paul II , Incarnationis Mysterium ( 10 November 1994 ) for the year 2000 , and Aperite Redemptori Portas ( 6 January 1983 ) for the Holy Year of 1983.

References

Bubble Contra errores Martini Lutherie and sequacium.

The golden bull , or chrysobull, was employed by the Byzantine emperors. She spent the emperors of the West, who used especially since the Ottos.
According to the dictionary of the twentieth century, ed. 1930, Article bubble.