Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
papacy

papacy

13 8.4
The job and power of the Pope as leader of the Roman Catholic Church
  • noun
  • /ˈpeɪpəsi/
translation icon : papado
  • During his papacy, Pope John Paul II traveled extensively to promote peace and unity among different faiths.
  • papacy over episcopacy
  • Popes and the Papacy
  • institution of the Papacy

Their legitimacy as rulers would be based very much on an alliance with the Church, and in particular with the papacy.

Examples

  • The same can be said for the praxis of the Church regarding the relation of papacy and episcopacy.

    Academic text (2002)

  • Sweden and the Papacy also suffered a decline in power, while France maintained significant continental power.

    Academic text (2005)

  • The Papacy is a huge burden, especially for an older man.

    Conclave (2024)

  • Every cardinal deep down has already chosen the name by which he would like his Papacy to be known.

    Conclave (2024)

  • There are at least four reasons to engage in mission work according to the papacy.

    Academic text (2011)

  • Upon the turn of the second century, the Papacy, as you know it today, was constantly ever-changing.

    The Cloth (2012)

  • First, the authority of the papacy, with the unresolved but very present question of infallibility.

    Academic text (1992)

  • Signori, you are no doubt aware... ...that by holy law the man is ineligible for election to the papacy.

    Angels & Demons (2009)

  • Vatican I enacted only four chapters on the papacy and nothing on the bishops or members.

    Academic text (2013)

  • Dante supports the institution of the papacy, it is true; for him, the pope is an essential part of God's plan.

    Academic text (2011)

Synonyms

the Holy See
vspapacy
  • Formal
10 7.8

The Pope's government that speaks for the Roman Catholic Church and acts like a small country

focuses on the religious office and authority rather than sovereign state status
pontificate
vspapacy
3 9.9

The period when a person is pope and leads the church

is the general name for that office and its church authority
Rome
vspapacy
3.9

The leaders of the Roman Catholic Church who make important decisions

refers to the office itself rather than the city's name representing leadership

How Senior

papacy
13 8.4
bishopric
1 9.7
abbacy
9.9
priorship
9.9

Surface Forms

papacy singular
papacies plural

Morphology

papacy = pope (semi-transparent) = pap + acy

Semantically clear as 'the office/condition of the pope', but the stem changes from 'pope' to 'pap-' and the suffix '-acy' is less familiar to learners.

Etymology

Papacy comes from the old word papa, meaning 'father', and is the same root as Pope and the family word papa. So the papacy is the office or authority of the church's 'father', the Pope.