Editing Pope (section)

=== Official list of titles ===
{{Main|Papal titles}}
The official list of titles of the pope, in the order in which they are given in the ''[[Annuario Pontificio]]'', is:

{{blockquote
| Bishop of [[Diocese of Rome|Rome]], [[Vicar of Jesus Christ]], Successor of the Prince of the Apostles, [[Pontifex maximus|Supreme Pontiff]] of the Universal Church, [[Patriarch of the West]], [[Primate (bishop)|Primate]] of Italy, [[Metropolitan bishop|Archbishop and Metropolitan]] of the [[List of Catholic dioceses in Italy#Ecclesiastical Province of Rome|Roman Province]], [[List of sovereigns of Vatican City State|Sovereign]] of the Vatican City State, [[Servant of the servants of God]].<ref>''Annuario Pontificio'', published annually by Libreria Editrice Vaticana, p. 23. {{ISBN|978-88-209-8722-0}}.</ref>
}}

The best-known title, that of "pope", does not appear in the official list, but is commonly used in the titles of documents, and appears, in abbreviated form, in their signatures. Thus [[Paul VI]] signed as "Paulus PP. VI." Sources are divided on the meaning of "PP.," with some asserting that it is merely a reference to "''papa''" ("pope"), others "''papa pontifex''" ("pope and pontiff"), and others "''pastor pastorum''" ("shepherd of shepherds").<ref>{{cathEncy|author=Shahan, Thomas Joseph|wstitle=Ecclesiastical Abbreviations|volume=1}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |year=2013 |title=Pope |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |access-date=14 April 2013 |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/469994/pope |archive-date=12 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130612233836/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/469994/pope |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://inkunabeln.ub.uni-koeln.de/vdibDevelop/handapparat/nachs_w/cappelli/cappelli.html |author=Adriano Cappelli |title=Lexicon Abbreviaturarum |page=283 |access-date=18 February 2013 |archive-date=25 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130725080258/http://inkunabeln.ub.uni-koeln.de/vdibDevelop/handapparat/nachs_w/cappelli/cappelli.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ndl.go.jp/incunabula/e/glossary/glo_11.html |title=Contractions and Abbreviations |publisher=Ndl.go.jp |date=4 August 2005 |access-date=21 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111210050234/http://www.ndl.go.jp/incunabula/e/glossary/glo_11.html |archive-date=10 December 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com/Papa+Pontifex |title=What Does PP Stand For? |publisher=Acronyms.thefreedictionary.com |access-date=21 November 2011 |archive-date=30 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111130042409/http://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com/Papa+Pontifex |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/264033/vatican-releases-pope-leo-xivs-official-portrait-and-signature-showing-return-to-tradition |author=AC Wimmer |title=Powerful symbols: Vatican releases Pope Leo XIV's official portrait and signature |publisher=Catholic News Agency |access-date=12 May 2025 }}</ref>

The title "pope" was from the early 3rd century an honorific designation used for ''any'' bishop in the West.<ref name="ODCC:Pope" /> In the East, it was used only for the [[bishop of Alexandria]].<ref name="ODCC:Pope" /> [[Pope Marcellinus|Marcellinus]] (d. 304) is the first bishop of Rome shown in sources to have had the title "pope" used of him. From the 6th century, the imperial chancery of [[Constantinople]] normally reserved this designation for the bishop of Rome.<ref name="ODCC:Pope" /> From the early 6th century, it began to be confined in the West to the bishop of Rome, a practice that was firmly in place by the 11th century.<ref name="ODCC:Pope" />

In [[Eastern Christianity]], where the title "pope" is used also of the bishop of Alexandria, the bishop of Rome is often referred to as the "pope of Rome", regardless of whether the speaker or writer is in communion with Rome or not.<ref>{{Cite web |title=pope {{!}} Definition, Title, & List of Popes |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/pope |access-date=17 February 2021 |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |language=en |archive-date=11 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170711193542/https://www.britannica.com/topic/pope |url-status=live}}</ref>