Servant of the servants of God

Servus servorum Dei ( Latin for " servant of the servants of God / Servant of the Servants of God") is the self-designation of the Pope. It is primarily intended to mark the official and self-image of the Pope.

Introduction by Gregory I

The devotional was introduced by Pope Gregory I ( 590-604 ) as a self-designation of the Popes, referring to 2 Peter 1.1 and 1.1 Rom. After that it was the task of the Pope to wear as Successor of Peter, the concern for the whole Church. According to testimony of Adalbertus Samaritanus the term originated in conflict with the Patriarch of Constantinople Opel John IV Nesteutes. This was called in a letter " Ecumenical Patriarch " and thus placed himself above all the other patriarchs. According to the historian Paul Ewald he used the term already 587 So already started a document from the year 570 with " Joanna Episcopus, servus servorum Dei ". Pope Gregory the Great rejected the same time from the title " universalis papa". The bishops and priests he gave the formula "More than serve reign " from.

Subsequent use

The title was taken over by his successors, but not through to the 9th century. Other clerics (mostly archbishops ) and secular rulers, such as Alfonso the Chaste and the Emperor Henry III. , Used sporadically this item. Since the 12th century the name, however, is only reserved to the pope. This Intitulatio available at the beginning of each pope certificate with the exception of Briefs from the Latin name of the Pope (without ordinal number).