| Praeclara gratulationis publicae Apostolic letter of Pope Leo XIII | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Signature date | 20 June 1894 |
| Subject | The Reunion of Christendom |
| Number | 50 of 85 of the pontificate |
| Text | |
Praeclara gratulationis publicae (Splendid testimonies of public [rejoicing]) is an apostolic letter of Pope Leo XIII promulgated on 20 June 1894.
It called for the reunion of Eastern and Western churches into the "Unity of the Faith". It also condemned Freemasonry. [1] A previous letter on the same subject, entitled the epistle to the Easterners, had been written by Pope Pius IX in 1848.
In 1895, it was criticized by Ecumenical Patriarch Anthimus VII.
The call for unity was re-asserted by the Second Vatican Council's Unitatis redintegratio , although the latter statement articulates a different kind of ecclesiology that is more in line with the Council's spirit of cooperation with fellow Christians.
Praeclara was cited in the encyclical Orientales omnes Ecclesias of Pope Pius XII on the topic of Eastern Catholic Churches.
Leo XIII has also been criticized by Protestant fundamentalists for having declared in the encyclical that "We hold upon this earth the place of God Almighty", which was seen as a sign of the coming apocalypse.
Unitatis redintegratio is the Second Vatican Council's decree on ecumenism. It was passed by a vote of 2,137 to 11 of the bishops assembled at the Council, and was promulgated by Pope Paul VI on 21 November 1964.
Pope Leo XIII was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the oldest pope holding office, and had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of St. Peter, Pius IX and John Paul II.
An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Roman Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop. The word comes from the Late Latin encyclios. The term has been used by Catholics, Anglicans and the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Humanum genus is a papal encyclical promulgated on 20 April 1884 by Pope Leo XIII.
Satis cognitum is an encyclical of Pope Leo XIII dated 29 June 1896 on the unity of the Church, and some heresies of his time.
Mortalium animos is a papal encyclical promulgated in 1928 by Pope Pius XI on the subject of religious unity, condemning certain presumptions of the early ecumenical movement and confirming that the unique Church founded by Jesus Christ is the Catholic Church.
Anthimus VII or Anthimos VII was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 1895 to 1896. He died in Halki, Turkey.
In Suprema Petri Apostoli Sede, also titled Litterae ad Orientales, i.e. Epistle to the Easterners, is a document – either considered as an apostolic letter or as an encyclical letter – sent by Pope Pius IX in 1848 to the bishops and clergy of the Eastern Orthodox Churches urging them to enter in communion with the Roman Catholic Church.
Pope Leo XIII's papal encyclical on the subject of Freemasonry in Italy, known both by its Italian incipit Dall'alto dell'Apostolico Seggio and its Latin incipit Ab apostolici Solii celsitudine, was a promulgated on 15 October 1890.
Officio sanctissimo, subtitled "On The Church in Bavaria", was a papal encyclical published by Pope Leo XIII in 1887. It recalled the continuous history of Catholicism in Bavaria; and praised the people's resistance to the Kulturkampf. It also condemned Freemasonry, calling it a "sect of darkness."
Inimica vis is a papal encyclical addressed to the Catholic bishops of Italy. It remarked on the multiple condemnations of Freemasonry over the preceding century and a half and concentrated on the local difficulties of the Italian church. It was promulgated by Leo XIII in 1892.
There are many papal pronouncements against Freemasonry; the most prominent include:
Aeterna Dei sapientia was the sixth encyclical made by Pope John XXIII, and was issued on 11 November 1961. It commemorates the fifteenth centennial of the death of Pope Leo I, also known as Leo the Great and a Doctor of the Church. It calls for Christian unity. It calls for Christendom to unite against external movements such as communism and secularism.
The Mariology of the popes is the theological study of the influence that the popes have had on the development, formulation and transformation of the Roman Catholic Church's doctrines and devotions relating to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Mariological papal documents have been a major force that has shaped Roman Catholic Mariology over the centuries. Mariology is developed by theologians on the basis not only of Scripture and Tradition but also of the sensus fidei of the faithful as a whole, "from the bishops to the last of the faithful", and papal documents have recorded those developments, defining Marian dogmas, spreading doctrines and encouraging devotions within the Catholic Church.
Social teachings of the papacy encompass papal views described in social encyclicals and other papal communications, beginning with Rerum novarum, Pope Leo XIII's encyclical of 1891.
Praeclara may refer to:
Orientalium dignitas is a papal encyclical concerning the Eastern Catholic churches issued by Pope Leo XIII on November 30, 1894. The encyclical further established the rights of the Eastern Catholic churches. This includes a prohibition against Latinizing influences among Eastern Catholics, encouragement of Eastern Catholics to remain true to their church traditions, and the expansion of the jurisdiction of the Melkite patriarch to include the whole of the Ottoman Empire.
The theology of Pope Leo XIII was influenced by the ecclesial teachings of the First Vatican Council (1869-1870), which had ended only eight years before his election in 1878. Leo issued some 46 apostolic letters and encyclicals dealing with central issues in the areas of marriage and family and state and society.
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