Hello
Has anyone ever heard of a black pope? from what I read there were popes from north Africa, were all white?
let me know
" The first black pope was Pope St. Victor I. He served from 186-197 A.D. and lived in North Africa. He was the 15th Pope. Victor I was the pope who changed the language of the church
from Greek to Latin. He also was responsible for determining when Easter would be celebrated. And then there was Pope St. Militiades, who was pope from 311-314 A.D., when
Constantine the Great ruled the Roman Empire. Constantine was the first emperor of Rome to allow freedom of religion in that part of the world. In 324 A.D., Constantine adopted Christianity
as the official religion of the empire.
The third black pope was Pope Saint Gelasius I, who was the 49th Pope, serving as pope from 492 A.D. to 496 A.D. Believe it or not, Gelasius I established February 14 as Valentine’s Day,
in honor of St. Valentine, who reportedly burned at the stake because of his faith. Gelasius I was the last African pope. "
http://www.macombdaily.com/article/20130217/OPINION03/130219543/murray-dare-one-hope-for-a-fourth-black-pope-
Although all of those gentlemen appeared to have been from North Africa whether they were actually black as per modern American concepts of the same is an open and probably unknowable question. Just as likely, if not more likely they looked like generically Mediterranean caucasians.
There were three African Popes, but they are far back enough in history that what ethnicity they were is all speculative. They could’ve been sub-Saharan African, or Berber, or decended from Greek or Latin colonists, or some mixture of any of the above.
There were also a decent number of early Popes from Syria and Judea (Peter, of course, was Judean), so even if the African popes were 100% of Latin descent, there have probably been at least a few non-white Popes
The three African popes were most likely Berber, rather than sub-Saharan.
There was even a Jewish pope!
“Miltiades” was certainly Punic (descended from the colonists of Lebanese origin who founded Carthage), rather than Berber: the name is a Latinization of Melchiades (by which he is more commonly known), which is what is called a “calque” in which part of a word is translated, part of it left alone, melchi- being Punic for “royalty” and -ades a Greek suffix for “descendant of” (his original name was presumably ben-melchi). Victor would most likely be Punic as well: it was the class of landowners and city-council-members from the provinces, not peasantry, who got Roman citizenship and assimilated into the Latin-speakers in the first couple centuries. Gelasius, however, would probably be of mixed ancestry, as the ethnic subgroups had lost much coherence by his time (5th century).
I agree that based on populations of the time, it is more likely that these individuals were pale to olive skinned, and that without evidence, assuming they were black because they came from Africa is unlikely.
Peter Turkson may stand a chance at being the next Pope. It sounds like he’s at least singed that bridge lately if it’s not burnt it due to some statements.
If there actually was a black pope, I bet he was the first one to wear that badass hat.
Until fairly recently, neither Christianity nor Islam penetrated very far into Sub-Saharan African culture, simply owing to communication issues. For various historical reasons, Christianity was stronger in the east, whereas Islam was stronger in the west; in both it tended to be much moer common among the elite and didn’t necessarily affect folk beliefs or practices very deeply.
It’s a complex subject, however.
Given that Acts chapter 8 describes the conversion of an Ethiopian eunuch by Philip, if there were any sub-Saharan popes they would have been referred to as either Ethiopian or perhaps Nubian rather than simply African.
If any early popes were black they would most likely to have been former African slaves from Rome rather North Africans. At least two early popes are supposed to have been former slaves. However, I suspect that if that if any early popes had been black some tradition would have come down.
Does Damon Pope on *SOA *count?
There used to be a chap in the city where I live who was black, and claimed to be the Pope. He wore some kind of robes and a mitre, and carried some kind of staff. I haven’t seen him in a few years, though, so maybe he gave up the papal shtick.
FWIW, Victor I doesn’t seem to look black; but then again, Pope Hilarius doesn’t look very fun, so maybe it’s nothing to go by.
(If this board allowed pictures, I’d from now on post the wiki picture every time to show my appreciation, or lack thereof, of a particularly well executed witticism. It’d be glorious.)
And establish purple as the color of Lent and Advent.
OK, let’s get them out of the way…
They see me pontificatin’ and they be hatin’
I got 99 problems but a life of celibacy unencumbered by a wife ain’t one.
It’s hard out here for a pope on the street
The Superior General of the vJesuits is called “The Black Pope”
http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/tbEVeUwrYmy/New+Black+Pope+Celebrates+First+Mass+Head
Not what the OP is looking for, I know, but technically an accurate answer.
I was talking about the skin colour, but it is quite correct
… that’s one weird definition of white you have there.