According to its etymology, an encyclical (from the Greek enkuklios, kuklos meaning a circle) is nothing more than a circular letter.
In the early centuries the term encyclical was applied, not only to papal letters, but to certain letters emanating from bishops or archbishops and directed to their own flocks or to other bishops. Such letters addressed by a bishop to all his subjects in general are now commonly called pastorals.
In modern times, usage has confined the term almost exclusively to certain papal documents which differ in their technical form from the ordinary style of either Bulls or Briefs, and which in their superscription are explicitly addressed to the patriarchs, primates, archbishops, and bishops of the Universal Church in communion with the Apostolic See. By exception, encyclicals are also sometimes addressed to the archbishops and bishops of a particular country.
At Wikipedia, the first encyclical listed is from 1435, Sicut Dudum. More from the Wiki page on encyclicals:Although it is only during the last three pontificates that the most important utterances of the Holy See have been given to the world in the shape of encyclicals, this form of Apostolic Letter has long been in occasional use. Almost the first document published by Benedict XIV after his election was an “Epistola encyclica et commonitoria” on the duties of the episcopal office (December 3, 1740).
For the modern Catholic Church a Papal encyclical, in the strictest sense, is a letter, usually treating some aspect of Catholic doctrine, sent by the Pope and addressed either to the Catholic bishops of a particular area or, more normally, to the bishops of the world; however, the form of the address can vary widely, and often designates a wider audience. Papal encyclicals usually take the form of a Papal brief due to their more personal nature as opposed to the formal Papal bull…
Within Catholicism in recent times, an encyclical is generally used for significant issues, and is second in importance only to the highest ranking document now issued by popes, an Apostolic Constitution. However, the designation ‘encyclical’ does not always denote such a degree of significance. The archives at the Vatican website currently classify certain encyclicals as “Apostolic Exhortations”. This informal term generally indicates documents with a broader audience than the bishops alone.
papalencyclicals.net/Councils/index.htmDoes anyone have a list of all the encyclicals ever written?
Does anyone know if, originally, encyclicals were written by the popes
for the clergy only?
I’ve searched but can’t find any Bulls written by Pope Clement IV.As a follow up question to the aforementioned website, I noticed that Clement IV’s bulls/letters are not listed.
Is there a reason why Clement IV’s works are not listed? Are some or all of his works not considered actual theological bulls?
Even papalencyclicals.net/ does not list Clement IV - they have all the popes going back to Honorius III who was Pope from 1216 - 1227. Clearly, Clement IV was earlier than that. It is most likely that none of his papal documents survived.As a follow up question to the aforementioned website, I noticed that Clement IV’s bulls/letters are not listed.
Is there a reason why Clement IV’s works are not listed? Are some or all of his works not considered actual theological bulls?