#basicila

According to wisergeek.com, the Holy See is a complicated term as it can in fact be used to describe a number of things. The briefest and most common use could be that it is the government of the Roman Catholic Church.

However it can also include ‘the territory of the Vatican City; the literal seat or cathedra of the Pope in the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome (a see would be any church where the bishop’s seat is, but the HOLY see equals Rome’s Lateran church); the Pope himself who is sovereign over the Vatican City territory; and the other bodies of the government, known collectively as the Roman Curia.’ (wisegeek).

NB. The Roman Curia is the administrative apparatus of the Holy See and the central governing body of the entire Catholic Church together with the Pope.

NB 2. A cathedra is a bishop’s chair or throne and is symbolic of the bishop’s teaching authority in the Catholic and Orthodox church.

NB 3. St. John latheran is the cathedral of the diocese (district or see [the episcopal see is also known as the bishops seat or the bishop’s cathedra, placed in his principle church, which is therefore called the bishop’s cathedral]) of Rome. The current bishop of the diocese of Rome is Pope Benedict XVI who replaced Pope John Paul II who died in April 2005. The Pope is the leader of the Catholic Church. The position of being the Pope is called papacy and in the catholic church the incumbent is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle and one of the twelve apostles of Jesus. He is said to have witnessed Jesus’ transfiguration onto a hill and to have been crucified at the hands of Emperor Nero, asking to be crucified upside down in humility of Jesus’ own crucification he didn’t think himself worthy to follow. According to the New Testament, Peter declared Jesus as the messiah, was part of his inner circle, walked on water, witnessed Jesus’ transfiguration, denied Jesus, was restored by Jesus and preached on the day of the Pentecost. He is considered the first Pope by the catholic church.

NB 4. The word basilica was originally the name for a Roman public building usually located at the front of a forum, i.e. a marketplace for the open vending of goods. Then became attached to religious buildings. It now means both Roman in architecture and also a large and important church that has been given special ceremonial rights by the Pope. St John Lateran is one the the four major basilicas i.e. one of the four highest-ranking churches (all based in Rome).