Origin of religious positions and title

Facts about Position/Title

Date Founded	772 CE	Place Founded	Rome
Founder(s)	Pope Adrian II
Etymology	From the common Latin shorthand name for Pontiff and Father "Pontiff" and "Papa"
Original Function	Title incorporating the authority of Pontifex Maximus, but in the tradition of the Greek word Patriarch (Father) .
Superior Position(s)	Holy Noble Families of Catholicism
Inferior Position(s)	Bisceops, Preosts

The title of Pope was first formally used by Carolingian Catholic leader Adrian II around 772 CE.

While the Roman Cult has since infused the title into countless forgeries and revisions of history, there is no evidence of the title ever being used as a formal, nor informal title for Imperial Christianity centered at Constantinople.

Nor is there any evidence of the pagan high priests Pontifex Maximus permitting themselves to be addressed using such a shorthand Latin term.

Instead, the origin of the term appears to be an evolution of the role of Vicarius Christi (Vicar of Christ) in adopting other official titles to enhance the claimed authority of the position.

While subsequent Carolongian "Popes" used the title of Pope, the last reign of the pagan priests -- the Counts of Tusculum from 897 to Gregory VII in 1057 are unlikely to have accepted such a term.

During the subsequent wars between the legitimate Popes of the Frankish noble families and the former pagan high priests of Cybele, it is probable they retained their preference for use of the term Pontiff.

Today, the word Pope is accepted as the most common title of the claimed "Vicar of Christ", while his formal title as head of the Roman Cult that continues to hold the Catholic Church hostage remains Pontiff - short for Pontifex Maximus.


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