An Annotation and Discussion of

Pope Boniface VIII’s

Declaration of Papal Monarchy
Papal Bull:
Regimine Sanctum
1302

Olivia Kotha
5.3.16
HONORS 232 B: Reacting to the Past
Game 2: Unam Sanctum
Regimine Sanctum

‘Holy Governance’

Boniface, Bishop and Shepherd of God,

A statement on the power of the Papal Monarchy,

1. We are obliged to believe, as it is correct and true, in the Divine Right of authority that is

instated within the Church, and we sincerely confess: there is one Holy Catholic and

Apostolic Church, which is bound together by the See of Peter as the head of the true

office of God on Earth.1i

2. The pope’s authority extends without limit for it is fullness of power,2 for although

bishops are called to share the responsibility, it is the right and the responsibility of the

1
“Of the true office of God on Earth” is a reference to Pope Innocent III’s statement that
“the pope does not exercise the office of man, but of the true God on earth” (Pennington, 43),
which places the pope “well above man and, perhaps, just slightly below angles” (43). Such an
opening leaves little room to dissuade any argument that Boniface is not talking about the
complete temporal authority of the Church, as a direct counter to the political actions taken by
King Philip IV, in his own counter to papal authority in France.
22
Fullness of power is directly translated from the Latin plentitudo potestatis, which is
Pope Innocent III’s phrase to describe the “vastness of papal power and the pope’s supreme
position within the church” (Pennington, 43). The term itself was borrowed from Roman law,
and became “synonymous with the supreme power of the monarch” (45), and was often cited by
Innocent to contrast the power of the pope and bishops, because as Innocent claimed, “the Lord
gave to St. Peter and the Apostolic See the Magisterium and lordship of all the churches and all
the faithful of Christ” (47). Boniface’s use of such a term gives his claims of power additional
backing, as “no other pope [as Innocent III] was as important for edging papal monarchy towards
absolutism” (58). Additionally, “[the canonists] never conceived of papal “plenitude potestatis”
as a license for the irresponsible exercise of power by a monarch” (45). This is of course a
statement on the truly unlimited power that the pope held, and also the inherent right ordained
upon the See of Peter, that such a man could do no wrong within the conception of Church law,
as the absolute autocratic authority.
 pope alone to use the fullness of power because God has called him for a higher duty.3ii

We maintain that the pope is the only bishop who may exercise complete jurisdiction

throughout the Church, as the head, and the heir of Peter.4 We too maintain that kings and

emperors have no sword unless and until they are consecrated by the pope, and even then

that we be reminded of their anointment on the arm, for they must—like the bishops—act

at the direction, and to enact the will of, the head of Christendom.5iii For the pope

receives his swords at the time of election and is in need of no other validation.6

3. We state that the Church should be venerated as one body, with Christ as the head, and

the faithful as limbs in service to the body—to enact the Will of the head.7 We must

3
This is a sentiment also shared by Johannes Teutonicus who said, “the authority of the
pope is without limits, that of the bishops is limited because they are called to a share of the
responsibility not to the fullness of power” (Pennington, 59). This line became a de facto
medieval definition of papal fullness, which had already been honed by Pope Leo I, who first
used the terminology, and Pope Gregory IV, who contrasted the church’s fullness of power with
the bishop’s responsibility. However, the terms themselves were never given certain definitions,
in a “classic case of formula substituting for thought” (60).
4
Here Boniface limits the authority of Bishops to their bishoprics. There could also be an
argument that the pope is claiming that his Bishops derived all power and jurisdiction from his
position as pope; however, “the canonists…shied away from drawing this conclusion”
(Pennington, 60). There is some legitimacy in this argument, as Boniface was clearly centralizing
the authority of the pope under the papal see, and it would have been in line with Innocents III
definitions of papal authority, from which Boniface drew heavily. There is also additional
evidence for the argument in the fact that each Bishop received his bishopric through the pope,
even though his position was created by a canonical election.
5
“Kings were anointed on the arm, indicating that as the arm acts at the direction of the
head, so [too] kings exercise their power at the direction of the church” (Sweeney, 67).
Boniface’s use of consecration ceremonies is slightly misleading here, as bishops were anointed
on the head, but his reasoning for omission is clear because he tries to keep the imagery in this
section inline with his later metaphor of the body and head of the church.
6
While Boniface’s election was certainly valid, there was “no clear precedent in the
history of the church for a pope resigning his office”, which thus gave grounds to Philip to
grounds to publically doubt the authenticity of the papal elections (Tierney, 173).
7
Pope Boniface chooses the powerful allusion of the “anamorphic image of the Church
[which] first appeared in the Apostle Paul’s letters…had become common place” (Pennington,
 remember that, as the head of Christ is the true God, the head of the Church is anointed

with spiritual supremacy and authority.8 Thus the head of Church, as both the inheritor of

the Rock and the Head of Peter, has succeeded into such a position not by canonical law,

but by divine institution.9 But while the limbs are limited by direction of the head, the

head is not limited by directions from the limbs, and thus while the cardinals and bishops

must act at the bequest of the pope, the pope needs not the consent of the cardinals or

synod to establish new canon law. For, as Peter received his authority from Christ, the

pope receives his jurisdiction from the Lord, and not from man, as no man—whatever his

temporal importance—can impede upon divine authority. Neither is the head of the

Church dependent upon the wills of his disciples, for his word is the word of God on

Earth, and in Christendom, and he, as the Vicar of Peter and the Vicar of Christ, needs

not the approval of any man, for his authority will always prevail.10iv

49). He extends the comparison in such as way to remind rambunctious members of the clergy of
their expected general deference to central authority within the Church.
8
NRSVCE: “But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man
[husband], and the husband is the head of his woman [wife], and God is the head of Christ.” [1
Corinthians 11:3].
9
Divine institution was a reference from Innocent’s letters to an archbishop that
combined old references in a striking new way, and in which he states, important “cases of
church should justly referred to him as head, not so much by canonical constitution, but by
divined institution” (Pennington, 50). Again this claim was nothing new, but it sought to close
the gap of Matthew 16:18, which left spiritual authority vulnerable to the interpretations of anti-
papal clergy members, thus the alignment with Peter’s authority and jurisdiction made the pope
the preeminent position within the Church.
10
Alanus, a contemporary if Innocent III, is cited by Pennington as having formed the
basis for the divine origin of papal power saying, “the pope receives his authority from the Lord
and not from man…[he] may establish new canons without the consent of the cardinals and
without a synod. Even if the entire church opposed the pope, his authority would still prevail”
(53). This idea was quite a shocking divide in ideology, that split up divine and human authority;
however, it was a distinction that would be later capitalized on as Kings began to break away
from the Church’s influence. Here Boniface uses it to capture his right as pope under God as a
papal monarch to opposed King Philip’s views that the French Court was endowed as a
theocratic monarchy. He extends the idea that the pope is not dependent upon his clergy to the
 4. We firmly believe that outside of the Church, there is neither salvation, nor the remission

of sins, for only though the Church, and through the word of our Lord on Earth, will one

be able to enter through Saint Peter’s Gates into Heaven.v If a man wishes to enter into

the grace of God, then he must come before the pope as the prodigal son returning to his

father, for if the man is truly repentant and devotional, the father will welcome him home.

But beware those of false intent, for the pope is Saint Peter’s key.11 Indeed, every man is

subject to the will of the Roman pontiff if he seeks the necessity of salvation.12vi

5. There has been issued raised with ownership, which is to be found among all the world’s

men, not simply those who are faithful in Christendom.13 However, we must not forget

idea that the pope is not dependent on the wills of any temporal man or leader, thereby giving
papal authority full sway in Europe.
11
NRSVCE: “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind
on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven”
[Matthew 16:19]. Here Boniface connects his position as pope with Jesus’ declaration to Peter
that the saint holds the keys heaven. Thus he makes an argument that the pope, as the inheritor of
Peter’s office, becomes the only way to open the lock on heaven’s gates and ascend into
salvation.
12
Boniface’s sentiment about the requirement of papal judgment for salvation “was not a
radical departure form the canonistic tradition.” There was, however, some discussion about who
needed to be part of the church to reach salvation. Boniface argued that all men, including
infidels and heretics, had to return if they wished to be saved, but some of his contemporaries,
including Jean Chappuis, thought that only Christians must be subject to papal authority and thus
for those peoples “salvation… was not dependent on membership in the church” (Sweeny, 70)
13
The translation states ‘ownership’, but the Latin word that Boniface used was
dominium, a common topic of debate about the right of control over land. The idea was
especially utilized in the context of the Crusades, as Christians wanted to justify attacks on the
Holy Land, which had been seen as stolen by Muslims, and although Innocent III said dominium
“was to be found among all societies”, Innocent IV stated that the Muslims had taken the
Christian’s rightful land in an unjust war, thus allowing a divinely legal reclamation of such
property. Boniface was the first to connect dominium to the conflict between the papacy and a
European leader (Sweeney, 66). His radical departure from the norm definitely did not help to
pacify the situation between Philip and himself.
 that there is a superiority to the powers of the spiritual, above the temporal, as it has come

from God and is anointed through the direction of the Church. Everything that exists is

God’s; in his power and under his ownership, and therefore those who serve under God’s

authority lay claim to all temporal goods, for the divine law is ordered above the human

law, even though both must have their purview. For no man, even one who holds total

spiritual power, may override ownership that has been acquired by legitimate processes.

However, if there are justified grounds where usurpers did not acknowledge God, and

thus the pope, as the source of their ownership, a spiritual authority would have just cause

to deprive the heretic in question of his false ownership—such as the pope over a

temporal, secular government.14vii Moreover, let no man of temporal jurisdiction lay

claim to the ownership of the Church, for he has no legal or spiritual right to directly

attack the papacy, and there shall be no excuse.15

14
Here Boniface’s argument is in line with Innocent IV’s, when he argues of the ordering
of the divine law above human law, and counters Petrus Bertrandus’ analysis of dominium—
although he uses Bertrandus’ conception of a legal split—who denies that the “pope possessed
‘dominium over all temporal goods’” (Sweeny, 67). Here Boniface argues that the papal
government is allowed to both create and control the acquiring of dominium, and continues the
beliefs of both Bertrandus and Innocent held in his statement that, those who acquire true
dominium could be deprived of it by papal power in the case of just cause.
15
This final line hints directly at Boniface’s personal trials with King Philip of the
France, because of Philip’s 1296 “royal ordinance forbidding all export from France of precious
metals, precious stones, and all forms of negotiable currency”, and thus halting the one of the
major sources of papal income (Tierney, 174). This line summarizes Boniface’s total rejection of
temporal dominium over the spiritual in all matters, as well as on the specific matter of control of
papal income. The whole matter of course arose from Boniface’s bull that forbade clerical
taxation, cutting off one of France’s major income streams, but for the pope at least the two
matters were completely different, as in his view “lay rulers possessed no authority over
ecclesiastical personals or ecclesiastical goods within their own realms” (174). There for he had
the right to stop the flow of Philip’s money—especially because of its link to the church and
Bishops—where as Philip had no right under God to do the same.
 6. Thus too, God binds together the members of his Church, not through earthly ties of

blood or man, but through divine bonds—such that link a bishop to his see. Only the head

may judge its body, as is its right, as Peter, as the head, bestowed judgment upon all

cases.16viii Official responsibility must be expected from every man who holds the fate of

another in his hands, as authority has no right to inflict abuses of power, and weighted by

the spiritual head as the deepest most concern in all cases.17

7. We have felt that the change of heresy has been used with increasing frequency and

fervor, and too often by powers accusing those who maintain positions of spiritual

authority. To be clear, obedience and support for the orthodoxy of the Church is the true

path, and must be followed by all those who stand within the universal Christian

community.18ix We here acknowledge that a declaration of heresy is of the gravest nature

for a person or a doctrine, and wish to assure all those who accept the authority of Peter,

and the popes as the successors of Peter, and who do not wrongly rebuke them as having

16
NRSVCE: “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and
the gates of Hades will not prevail against it” [Matthew 16:18].
17
Judicial reform was a large part of Boniface’s early career in the Papal States, as he
sought to lay down jurisdictional precedence, and abolish all abuses of provincial officials, who,
for instance, were often “demanding pledges” and calling “too many witnesses” (Waley, 234). It
is possible too that Boniface’s statement is an outcry against the new French legal system, which
at the “hands of Nogaret” turned into a “hideous provision of the law” by men “who understand
only too well the passion and dark interests of their times” (Boase, 300). Such men used the law
as a political force—unhampered by admissible evidence and under the protection of public
opinion—and as such they were able “by these means [to] fell the Templars” and conduct “the
posthumous trial of Boniface” (300). It was most likely that this line was then a reaction to the
perceived grievances in French, in which case there is a morbid foresight in the pope’s words.
18
“Being a heretic should have been thought of as a condition” during medieval times,
one that would have been considered on par with “‘factiousness’ or ‘divisiveness’” (Leff, 115). It
would seem that Boniface did not want to cite specific condemnations against his enemies, but
rather wanted to send a warning, that his authority still stood as a contributing factor to declaring
one a heretic, and thus get his adversaries to more carefully consider their outcries against his
actions.
 erred against faith or Christian tradition, that they, having accepted the divine reality, will

be able to take communion with our Lord.19x

8. Finally, we pronounce that the key to our Lord is through divine law, and divine law is

interpreted by the church, of which the pope is the head. Stray not from the pope’s grace,

as his word is in Christendom as God’s word is in Creation.

Given at the Lateran,

1 November 1302,

in year eight of our pontificate.

19
In a rather unexpected move, Boniface here equates heresy with excommunication, by
stating that those who commit crimes of heresy are to be cast out from Heaven. There seems to
be an aspect here of Boniface’s larger claim to papal authority, which would allow him to
“trivialize the issues on which religious disputes arose”, especially those issues and ideas that
were contrary to his papal and personal ethos, without having to raise the issue of
excommunication—which had brought trouble and defiance to the papal power to his
predecessors (Leff, 138).
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Citations

i
Boniface, section 1
ii
Pennington, page 59-60
iii
Pennington, page 61; Sweeney, page 67
iv
Pennington, page 53
v
Boniface, section 1
vi
Boniface, section 9
vii
Sweeney, page 67
viii
Pennington, page 53
ix
Leff, page 129
x
Leff, page 130