What does the word "pontiff" mean? Many people usually immediately imagine a person who is associated with the service of God. But not everyone will be able to say what is the history of the appearance of the pontiffs, what exactly is their significance, and are there such people now? Consider all the answers in detail.
Definition
Pontifex (or pontifex) literally translates as "to bridge". This means that this person is a conductor (bridge) between God and people. Therefore, this title has always had a special meaning, especially in ancient times.
In the modern sense, the pontiff is the head of the Catholic Church. In today's world, this word refers to the pope. Previously, the definition of the pontiff was slightly different from the modern interpretation, since the duties and positions of the tops of the clergy of that time and now differed.
Religions also differed, oddly enough, because first the pontiffs were heads in the pagan sense, and then in the Catholic one.
History
If we turn to history, then initially the pontiff (pontifex) was called a person who had a special civil title in ancient Rome.
For the first time this title occurred with the advent of the first high priest - Numa Pompilius.
Rankdetermined by vote. Sulla abolished the method of election, but in 63 BC it was restored by Labienus.
All the high priests had the so-called insignia - the distinctive external attributes of any person with the title of pontifex. These included special clothes, a headdress, a hairstyle, a knife and other attributes.
Besides the managerial task and the presence of religious supremacy, they had another important duty - the preparation of the calendar. But at that time, the calendar played a big role rather in order not to miss important pagan holidays associated with certain days, so the calendar of Ancient Rome was imperfect, since the dates of Ancient Rome did not coincide with the general ones, the year could either last or shorten.
Pontifex began to take not only a dominant position among the pagan priests, but also engaged in management from a political point of view. At that time, these people played such a great importance for the life of the entire state that the title was then given to the emperors themselves. Politics and religion were very closely related at the time.
Even Julius Caesar himself was considered a Potifex, as well as Augustus and all subsequent emperors until the fourth century AD (until 382).
But after the high priests were called pontifexes, a new religion came to Rome - Christianity. It is known that in 382 Gratian renounced the title in order to break with paganism once and for all and accept a new faith. Therefore, after the period when the title was given to emperors, from the middle of the 5th century it began to be giventhe main person of Catholicism - the Pope.
Pontiffs in the modern world
As mentioned above, the meaning of these people and the definition of the word have changed over the centuries. Now the pontiff is the Pope of Rome, the head of the Catholic Church. His power in the religious sense is very strong. In political terms, influence was also preserved, but only on a small state - the Vatican. The Pope is the monarch here. And the Vatican is considered the religious capital of Catholicism.
Conclusion
In simple terms, the pontiff is a bridge between God and people for Catholics. The Pontifex is now called the Pope. But earlier, the high priests in Ancient Rome under paganism had such a title, and then, until 382, emperors (for example, Caesar, Augustus and many other great rulers of Ancient Rome).
The Pope has been the main pontiff since the 5th century. This is the highest religious position, and he himself has great influence and solves many issues. The pontiff rules and lives in the Vatican.
