Etsi ecclesia Christi

Last updated March 26, 2019

Etsi ecclesia Christi is a papal bull issued by Pope Nicholas V on 30 September 1453 in response to the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire.^[1]

Papal bull type of letters patent or charter issued by a Pope of the Catholic Church

A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by a pope of the Roman Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden seal (bulla) that was traditionally appended to the end in order to authenticate it.

Pope Nicholas V, born Tommaso Parentucelli, was Pope from 6 March 1447 until his death. Pope Eugene made him a cardinal in 1446 after successful trips to Italy and Germany, and when Eugene died the next year Parentucelli was elected in his place. He took his name Nicholas in memory of his obligations to Niccolò Albergati.

The Fall of Constantinople was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire by an invading Ottoman army on 29 May 1453. The attackers were commanded by the 21-year-old Sultan Mehmed II, who defeated an army commanded by Emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos and took control of the imperial capital, ending a 53-day siege that began on 6 April 1453. After conquering the city, Sultan Mehmed transferred the capital of his Empire from Edirne to Constantinople and established his court there.

Nicholas declared that the capture of Constantinople by the Ottomans was the latest in a long line of attacks on Christendom from Islam, whose followers had already conquered the East, Egypt and North Africa.^[1] He further claimed that these were the fulfilment of John's prophecies in the Book of Revelation and he called the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II the "second Mohammed",^[1] and a forerunner of the Anti-Christ.^[2] Nicholas called on Christian rulers to defend Christendom with their lives and their money and he granted indulgences to those who, for six months, took part in this crusade.^[3]

Book of Revelation Final book of the New Testament

The Book of Revelation, often called the Revelation to John, the Apocalypse of John, The Revelation, or simply Revelation, the Revelation of Jesus Christ or the Apocalypse, is the final book of the New Testament, and therefore also the final book of the Christian Bible. It occupies a central place in Christian eschatology. Its title is derived from the first word of the text, written in Koine Greek: apokalypsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation". The Book of Revelation is the only apocalyptic document in the New Testament canon.

Mehmed II, commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror, was an Ottoman Sultan who ruled from August 1444 to September 1446, and then later from February 1451 to May 1481. In Mehmed II's first reign, he defeated the crusade led by John Hunyadi after the Hungarian incursions into his country broke the conditions of the truce Peace of Szeged. When Mehmed II ascended the throne again in 1451 he strengthened the Ottoman navy and made preparations to attack Constantinople.

Muhammad was the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet, sent to present and confirm the monotheistic teachings preached previously by Adam, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and other prophets. He is viewed as the final prophet of God in all the main branches of Islam, though some modern denominations diverge from this belief. Muhammad united Arabia into a single Muslim polity, with the Quran as well as his teachings and practices forming the basis of Islamic religious belief.

Notes

1 2 3 Norman Housley, Crusading and the Ottoman Threat, 1453–1505 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012), p. 18.
↑ Ludwig Pastor, The History of the Popes from the Close of the Middle Ages, Volume II (London: John Hodges, 1891), p. 275.
↑ Pastor, p. 276.

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[Housley-1] 1 2 3 Norman Housley, Crusading and the Ottoman Threat, 1453–1505 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012), p. 18.

[2] Ludwig Pastor, The History of the Popes from the Close of the Middle Ages, Volume II (London: John Hodges, 1891), p. 275.

[3] Pastor, p. 276.