Legends surrounding the papacy
Legends surrounding the papacy
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Legends surrounding the papacy

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Legends surrounding the papacy

The papacy has been surrounded by numerous legends. Among the most famous are the claims that the papal tiara bears the Number of the Beast inscriptions, that a woman was once elected pope, or that the pope elected after Pope Benedict XVI was to be the last known as “Petrus Romanus”.

One misconception surrounding the papal tiara suggests that the words Vicarius Filii Dei (Latin for "Vicar of the Son of God") exist on the side of one of the tiaras.

The story centres on the widely made claim that, when numerised (i.e., when those letters in the 'title' that have Roman numeral value are added together as in a chronogram) they produce the number 666, described in the Book of Revelation as the Number of the Beast (the Antichrist), who wears multiple crowns (identified by some as the triple tiara).

VICARIVS·FILII·DEI with the non-numeric letters removed gives: VICIVILIIDI = 5 + 1 + 100 + 1 + 5 + 1 + 50 + 1 + 1 + 500 + 1 = 666

This claim has been made by some Protestant sects who believe that the Pope, as head of the Roman Catholic Church, is the Beast or the False Prophet mentioned in the Book of Revelation. However, a detailed examination of the existing tiaras shows no such decoration.

Furthermore, Vicarius Filii Dei is not among the titles of the Pope; the closest match is Vicarius Christi ("Vicar of Christ", also rendered in English as "Vicar of Jesus Christ"), the numerical values of which do not add up to 666, but to 214.

The claim that a woman, often called Pope Joan, became pope first appeared in a Dominican chronicle in 1250. It soon spread Europe-wide through preaching friars. The story grew in embellishment but centered on a set of claims.

The period for this claim is traditionally given as AD 855–858, between the reigns of Leo IV and Benedict III; however, this possibility is unlikely, because Leo IV died on 17 July 855 and Benedict III was elected as his successor on 29 September 855.

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