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ANTIPOPE
A rival claimant to the papacy who might be elected,
appointed, installed, or even proclaim himself to be the
legitimate pontiff; such an individual is said by the Church
to have assumed the title of pope illegally or in opposition
to the legitimate pope. The antipope was a fairly common
occurrence during the Middle Ages, and most were often
pathetic Churchmen who were propped up by powerful rulers,
such as a Holy Roman Emperor, during a feud with the Holy
See over various issues. Their authority was frequently very
limited and, after the resolution of a conflict, the king
who created them might convince them to step down or simply
abandon them to the whim or caprices of the real successor
to St. Peter. Other antipopes were genuinely notable
prelates who came to stand as real threats to the authentic
pope. Among them were Benedict XIII (1394-1423) and John
XXIII (1410-1415). Some antipopes were also present in the
early Church, when competing parties in Rome offer their
own candidate for the papacy. In sorting out the lists of
antipopes, scholars and experts have been confronted with
serious questions over legitimacy, proper dates, accurate
historical records, and in some cases the absence of
supporting evidence. Church authorities, however, maintain
the list of recognized popes and antipopes. In all, there
have been some thirty-nine antipopes, from Hippolytus
(217-235) to Felix V (1439-1449). (See table; see also under
individual antipopes for details.)
ANTIPOPES
(217-1449)
Hippolytus - 217-235
Novatian - 251-258
Felix II - 355-365
Ursinus - 366-367
Eulalius - 418-419
Lawrence - 498-506
Dioscorus - 530
Theodore - 687
Paschal - 687
Constantine - 767-768
Philip - 768
John - 844
Anastasius--855
Christopher - 903-904
Boniface VII - 974,984-985
John XVI - 997-998
Gregory VI - 1012
Benedict X - 1058-1059
Honorius II - 1061-1064
Clement III - 1080-1100
Theodoric - 1100-1101
Albert - 1101
Sylvester IV - 1105-1111
Gregory VIII - 1118-1121
Celestine II - 1124
Anacletus II - 1130-1138
Victor IV - 1138
Victor IV - 1159-1164
Paschal III - 1164-1168
Callistus III - 1168-1178
Innocent III - 1179-1180
Nicholas V - 1328-1330
Clement VII - 1378-1394
Benedict XIII - 1394-1423
Alexander V - 1409-1410
John XXIII - 1410-1415
Clement VIII - 1423-1429
Benedict XIV - 1425-1430
Felix V - 1439-1449
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