Pontiff

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - Cite This Source

Pontiff or Pontificate is a title of certain religious leaders, now used principally to refer to the Pope of the Catholic Church and also to the Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church.

Etymology

The term derives from the French word pontife, from the Latin pontifex, a title used for high priests of the Roman Empire. The word pontifex is commonly held to derive from the Latin root words pons, "bridge" + facere, "to do" or "to make", with a literal meaning of "bridge-builder". This, however, is disputed - it may be only a folk etymology. See Pontifex Maximus for more details on the original Roman term.

Usage in the Catholic Church

Pontiffs were originally simply chiefs or high priests of any religion; thus writers from the 16th through to the 18th centuries referred equally to Christian pontiffs (bishops) and "Mahometan [Muslim] Pontiffs" (caliphs) or Swami (HIndu ). Over time, however, the term became associated with the highest religious authority in the Catholic Church — the Pope. It is often modified by an adjective - for instance, "Supreme Pontiff", "Sovereign Pontiff", "Roman Pontiff" - to distinguish the Pope from "ordinary" pontiffs.

In the modern era, the modifying adjective is usually dropped, with the term being used exclusively to refer to the Pope.

Example:The Pope visited Cuba in 1998, the first visit by a reigning pontiff to the island.

Pontiff

Etymology

Usage in the Catholic Church

References

See also