Author Topic: Anti-popes? (Read 595 times)

Marlelar · « **on:** May 11, 2014, 01:31:14 PM »

In the anonymous forum there was a thread which brought up anti-popes. Some say 60, some 50, some 40. I had no idea there had been so many. Does anyone have a list?

Marsha

Mithrandylan · « **Reply #1 on:** May 11, 2014, 01:45:41 PM »

The Catholic encyclopedia enumerates thirty:

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01582a.htm

Warren Carrol says there have been "thirty or forty":

http://www.ewtn.com/library/HOMELIBR/ANTIPOPE.TXT

The Dimond Brothers have a list of forty two:

http://www.mostholyfamilymonastery.com/4_Antipopes.pdf

As to why there would be a disagreement on thirty or forty, I'm sure it depends just on how exactly the writer is defining antipope. Is it merely any man who claims to be pope and isn't? Or must they be well-known or at least have a quasi-regular following?

I'm inclined to say that anyone who publicly purports to be pope, regardless of whether followed by millions or less than a hundred is an antipope. I do think that at least SOMEONE would have to regard an antipope as pope for the title to apply, since if no one does then he's not really anti-anything, he's just a weirdo who says he's pope and no one else does.

So, thirty at least. The list of forty seems legit. In either case, that's an average of more than an anti-pope a century (without regard to the last fifty years of the Church). But Heiner's claim of sixty seems a bit of a stretch, even if you count all the VII-popes and the various traditional antipopes. I just don't see where that number comes from.

MyrnaM · « **Reply #2 on:** May 11, 2014, 02:41:30 PM »

I have said this before but...

When I attended Catholic School, way prior to VII, I was taught about Anti-popes, and the one thing I remember is Anti-popes do not lead the church into error. They are just mistaken "popes" but they do not teach heresy.

This is why these conciLIAR persons are not even Anti-popes. They are nothing at all except wolves in sheeps clothing. Infiltrators if you will.

I wish I could find my old catechism books from school back in the 40's where it was written about Anti-popes.

Dolores · « **Reply #3 on:** May 11, 2014, 02:51:09 PM »

It's a question that can't be answered with any certainty, because anyone who claims to be pope, but isn't, is an "antipope," no matter how small his following. Wikipedia lists 41 historically significant antipopes, but undoubtedly there have been more that had small followings, and have been forgotten by history (think "Pope" Michael types).