What are Papal Bulls

Although nowadays the role of the pope has decreased a lot, we cannot forget that not too many centuries ago the texts signed by the highest figure of Christianity could have serious consequences for a person, country or even decide the fate of some of the greatest cultures in the world. story. To talk about the most important documents signed by the Pope in this lesson from a PROFESSOR we are going to offer a brief summary of the papal bulls so you know what they are and their impact.

Is named bulla to the political or religious documents whose sealing is done by lead. The seals that sign these bulls are unique and, therefore, when a document is sealed with the papal seal it is called a papal bull.

Virtually all documents signed by a papal bull are called a papal bull. the upper echelons of the papacy, which usually have important information about religious, civil and even political issues. It must be said that the importance of these bulls Has decreased over the years, since in previous eras bulls could be of great importance to European monarchies due to their important attachment to religion. Today the papal bulls have a much smaller role and basically affect religion or the internal structure of religion.

The stamp itself marks christian cross and next to it a representation of the important saints Peter and Paul, while on the other side the seal marks the name of the Pope who supposedly has sealed the document and the year in which the document was made act. An interesting fact about bulls is that as a general rule they must go written in latin, being the characteristic language of the Vatican papacy.

Everything in this life has a more or less distant origin and, therefore, in this lesson from A Teacher we must talk about the origins of the papal bulls, in order to understand where its relevance comes from and why it was so important for the history of Europe.

Bulls have been used by popes since the 6th century but the term papal bull it was not used until the thirteenth century, being the moment in which its use began to treat internal Church issues. Already in the 15th century its use was totally official, creating its own office for bulls and being used to mark the way in different political and civil spheres.

The arrival of Pope Leo IX created the distinction of two kinds of papal bulls very differentiated, being the majors and the minors. The larger ones were used to show ownership or protection to religious institutions, while the smaller bulls were less important either because of their content or because of their length.

To conclude this summary of the papal bulls we must talk about some of the main bulls that have been made throughout history, which will help us understand the enormous importance they have had and the reason for the relevance that bulls can have.

Omne datum optimum

This bull made by Innocent was the one that gave the necessary recognition to the famous Order of the Temple. The calls templars They were an important armed force based on God's designs that fought against the infidels for years in enormous campaigns.

Bulls on the Crusades

Three were the bulls that summoned crusades, being that of Eugene III the one that summoned the Second crusade, the one of Gregorio VIII the one that summoned the Third Crusade and the one of Innocent III the one that summoned the Fourth Crusade. These crusades were carried out by Christians to reclaim the Holy Land.

Unam Sanctam

A bull created by Boniface VIII according to which the papacy said that the power of the Church, that is, the so-called spiritual power, was greater than the power that emanated from the politician. The bull was created by the increased influence of European monarchies like the French or the English, the papacy preaching that the power emanated by the spirit was greater than that emanated by the monarchy.

Laetantur Coeli

Bull created by Juan XXII after the Council of FlorenceThis being a meeting that lasted years and in which the Churches of the West and the East were unified after the crisis that had taken place due to the existence of several popes at the same time.

Exigit sincerae devotionis

Bull Pope created by Sixtus IV in which it was granted to the Catholic kings the ability to create the InquisitionSpanish, having this organization a total importance in the later years of Spanish history.

Papal Bulls on America

The discovery of America It caused a great commotion in Europe, and there were not few papal bulls created to manage this. These bulls created by Alexander VI gave permission for missions in the New World and added new territories in the Atlantic to the Kings of Castile creating an imaginary line to mark everything that the Castilians could conquer.

Bulls on Luther

The bulls of Leo X signed in 1520 and 1521 served to mark the procedure to be followed on the conduct of Luther. The Luther's theoriesThey strongly criticized the figure of the Pope, for which the highest ecclesiastical authority condemned the theses, and a year later excommunicated Luther for his ideas.

Inter gravissimas

This bull of Gregory XIII changed the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, being the bull that marked the calendar that we currently use in most countries. This relevant change shows the historical importance that papal bulls have come to have.