We often talk about or “enthronement” or sometimes just about “Divine Liturgy” of his duties. What is the right term for the ceremony today and what does it include?
It is a Divine Liturgy, which treats the symbols delivered to the New Pope, to the Bishop of Rome, who assumes his duties. This Divine Liturgy today does not have the character of a crown, for reasons we will explain. The most fair term is the “Divine Liturgy of the New Pope as Bishop of Rome. This expression is preferred by the terms “coronation” or “enthronement”.
The Divine Liturgy starts from the Great Step on the Basilica of St. Peter, down in the crypt. The tomb of St. Peter is incense and the liturgy begins. The rituals of the Saints act as a song of the beginning and are a call for the Holy Apostles, concerning their help to the Church. The hymns are called “Laudes Regiae”, that is, “the king of the king”, as they refer to King Christ. The reason why the simplest title “Start of Pastry” is preferred is that there were more symbols in the past, and now the very basic, which relates to the Pope’s pastoral role as Bishop of Rome, have now been held.
What are the older elements that have been removed in a direction of simplifying the ceremony?
The “incoronatio” has been removed, that is, the coronation with the tiara. The last to wear the papal tiara was Paul VI (1963-1978), around 1965. Then this particular tiara had been given as a gift from the US. Tiara had three crowns that emphasized the spiritual, but also the management dimension of the papal institution, including even the policy on the issues of the world. The three crowns had historically been added to show that the tasks attributed by God to the Pope are higher than those of secular kings.
But what remains as a symbolism in all seasons, even after the end of secular kingdoms, are the three duties that the Pope has, which is a) the preaching of the Gospel, b) The celebration of Divine Thanksgiving and the Mysteries and c) The management of community issues and the decline of believers. These duties extend, after all, to every bishop and priest. The triple crown of Tiara, then, had received spiritual symbols. However, because it had historically been linked to the Pope’s relationship with the cosmic kingdoms, during the Vatican Second Synod (1962-1965), the triple crown of Tiara fell into uselessness. For this reason, the element of the Pope’s crown is no longer emphasized.
The habit of bringing the Pope to an elevated throne was also abolished. Now, the people who had previously had this task, on the one hand, are carrying the body of the exiled Pontiff, at the funeral, and on the other hand at the New Pope’s pasture ceremony, they are simply acting as taxi. These simplifications began with Pope Paul VI, after the second Vatican session (1962-1965). Pope John KG (1958-1963) was the last to use all these traditional symbols. The ritual was gradually simplified, following the spirit of the Vatican Second Synod.
However, the earliest ceremonies also had interesting points. In the past, one clergyman reminded rituals that the Pope was entrusted with responsibility for the care and the secular kings. But then there was a leaf in front of the Pope and a brief but characteristic verse, which expressed the spirit that had to govern its mission was burnt. It was the verse “Sancte Pater, Sic Transit Gloria Mundi”. That is, “Sancte Pater” you have this mission, expressed by coronation, but remember that as this leaf burns, “this is how the glory of this world goes through” (sic transit gloria mundi). It was a very intense scene and with a significant meaning.
Today, this act is no longer completed because it was associated with the tradition of Tiara, when it was abolished along with the rest of the ceremony. It was a moment when it came to counter -majesty of the ceremony, which could impress the world, as it introduced the element of mortality, that is, another is the sponsor of the life we return with our death. More simply and lowercase, one would say that the message to the Pope was “Don’t forget, this is your mission”. The Church of Rome has gone through many phases, there has been a persecuted church of the martyrs, but also a church that dominates public life. But spiritual meaning remains the same: the glory of this world goes through, what we do is aimed at the eternal kingdom of God.
So what are the elements we focus on after simplifying the ceremony?
These are three elements, delivery of two symbols and one ritual:
- The “Palion”
The “pallium” or “raw” in the Latin typical was a length of reaching the knees in the Middle Ages. In recent years, it reaches the chest. They wear it above all the sacred vestments and is made of sheep’s wool, which symbolizes the mission of the shepherd. At the bottom in front and at the back of the shoulder, there is a painted black wool, to declare that the pope is a shepherd of all, even the remote, that is, what we would call, during the current expression, the “black sheep”. It has five crosses, as many as the five wounds of Christ in the Crucifixion. In these crosses, there is a recess, with three metal pins with decoration, indicating the three nails of Jesus’ passion. The raw is common today to all the Archbishops of Metropolitans. The ring of the fisherman
2. The second is the ring of the fisherman.
It means the succession of the Apostle Peter, who was literally a fish fisherman and turned into a fisherman. The Pope as the successor of the Apostle Peter is the one who confirms the faith in his brothers. The ring indicates the bond, the bond between the bishop and his community. For the Pope there is the bond with the bishopric of Rome, as well as the mission for the World Church. Traditionally, the ring was also functioning as a stamp. The church of the church and the shape of St. Peter was usually depicted in the ring. The performances were reliefs to act as a stamp.
3. The embrace
There is an embrace with representatives from all the gradations and communities of the Church, e.g. Cardinalians, bishops, priests, deacons, monks, lay people, married, young, who embrace the Pope, symbolizing the unity of the Church and obedience to the successor of the Apostle Peter. The church appears as a family where the Pope has the father’s charisma for the children of God.
After these elements, the Divine Liturgy continues as it is. The typical, when operating the launch of the lion’s pastoralism, remains the same as the previous popes. After all, the ceremony refers to the Pope’s relationship with Rome and the universe, the emphasis is not on personal information, such as e.g. It may happen at the funeral, where the Emeritus Pope may have left some orders. This is, of course, a moment of great publicity.
The readings in Greek and the relationship with the Orthodox
In the Divine Liturgy, the Gospel is also read in Greek, as provided in Byzantine form, after reading the Gospel in Latin. The Pope tells the deacon “Irene Passi” in Greek, just as in the Byzantine typical. The deacon usually comes from the Greek College of Rome. It is also interesting that at the beginning of the ceremony, there is an act of repentance with the sanctification with sanctification.
Prior to the delivery of the symbols, the Cardinal presented by the “Palion”, when the Holy Spirit invokes, speaks of the Father. That is to say, in this particular admission, there is no so -called “kiss”, that is, the deception of the Son, which is a much -discussed dogmatic difference between Roman Catholic and Orthodox. The expression in Latin is “ex patre procedit” that says, in order to be more precise, the “origin from the Father”, while the Greek term “deduction” has a greater philosophical dimension. That is why there is the misunderstanding between Roman Catholic and Orthodox, because two different verbs are used, the “procedere” (come out) in Latin and “derived” in Greek, which are not completely identical to their content.
It is interesting, however, that in the tradition of the Roman Catholic Church, the Roman Catholic Church speaks of “the origin of the spirit from the Father”, without mentioning the Son, which may be of interest to the relationship between the two churches.
St. Peter’s Square
The whole ceremony takes place at St. Peter’s Square, designed by Jan Lorenzo Bernini, to be like a hug. It opens vertically and then has an oval shape to embrace all pilgrims, up to 300,000 people.
