First after God: Popes in the Iconographic Transmission of the Holy Card

Abstract

Assured by the transmission of the dogma of papal infallibility, the position of the Bishop of Rome in the Christian world is clear to see in religious images. Its iconography not only informs us about the attributes of the papacy, but also symbolically shows the authority of St. Paul and his successor Peter. However, the profaneization of the teaching ofce of the Church, which takes over the secular forms of ritual, is increasingly exacerbated, and refers more to the emotional aspects than the dogmas of the faith. Thus, increasingly the head of the Catholic Church has become an idol, not a religious leader, a celebrity, not a spiritual authority. The creation of a new papacy pattern follows: the leadership of one of us, appointed leadership, not elected without a deadline. This puts the future of religious imagery from the Vatican imprimatur under the question of when their devotional destiny and sacred word will eventually disappear.

Keywords

• obrazek religijny
• ikonografia chrześcijańska
• dogmat o nieomylności papieża
• autorytet religijny
• praktyki dewocyjne