Were does the tradition of cardinals come from?

[fabio_rocha]

The Pope comes from St.Peter, the bishops from the Apostles, the priests from the disciples… what about the cardinals? Can it be said they’re the “top notch” of the bishops? Why the conclave are only constituted by cardinals?

 

[Megan7]

The Pope comes from St.Peter, the bishops from the Apostles, the priests from the disciples… what about the cardinals? Can it be said they’re the “top notch” of the bishops? Why the conclave are only constituted by cardinals?

Good question…thanks.

 

[JamesCaruso]

The Pope comes from St.Peter, the bishops from the Apostles, the priests from the disciples… what about the cardinals? Can it be said they’re the “top notch” of the bishops? Why the conclave are only constituted by cardinals?

This is now covered in Canon 351 § 1 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law. This Canon says:
“The Roman Pontiff freely selects men to be promoted as cardinals, who have been ordained at least into the order of the presbyterate * and are especially outstanding in doctrine, morals, piety, and prudence in action; those who are not yet bishops must receive episcopal consecration .” papam.wordpress.com/2010/08/09/requirements-qualifications-to-be-a-cardinal/*

 

[raikou]

My guess is that cardinals come from the Pope. By his Papal authority, he chooses who among the Bishops will become Cardinals.

 

[odile53]

I think they are usually archbishops first. I actually can’t think of a cardinal (one who works outside of the Vatican) who isn’t in charge of an archdiocese.

 

[Usige]

Do you mean what is their historic lineage? In other words where did the use of cardinals start?

My understanding is that a cardinal used to refer to the priest permanently attached to an important church (often in Rome, Constantinople or other major city in the Roman Empire). In the same way a cardinal deacon was important in helping the bishop of Rome to handle taking care of the poor in various parts of Rome. Cardinal itself simply means of great importance.

It was later on that cardinal became more what we think of today. By the 11th or 12th century cardinals were more tied to administrative duties and running the Church as she spread across Europe and the near east. Because of that the pope’s election became part of their responsibilities (before then he was elected by the people of Rome like other Bishops were at the time).

So if I follow your question, there really isn’t a prototype of the Cardinal at the time the new testament was written.

 

[JamesCaruso]

Do you mean what is their historic lineage? In other words where did the use of cardinals start?

My understanding is that a cardinal used to refer to the priest permanently attached to an important church (often in Rome, Constantinople or other major city in the Roman Empire). In the same way a cardinal deacon was important in helping the bishop of Rome to handle taking care of the poor in various parts of Rome. Cardinal itself simply means of great importance.

It was later on that cardinal became more what we think of today. By the 11th or 12th century cardinals were more tied to administrative duties and running the Church as she spread across Europe and the near east. Because of that the pope’s election became part of their responsibilities (before then he was elected by the people of Rome like other Bishops were at the time).

So if I follow your question, there really isn’t a prototype of the Cardinal at the time the new testament was written.

The election of the pope was not always reserved to the cardinals; the pope was originally elected by the clergy and the people of the diocese of Rome. In medieval times, Roman nobility gained influence. The Holy Roman Emperors had a hand in choosing the pontiff. But as the pope gained greater political independence, the right of election was with the bull In nomine Domini reserved to cardinals in 1059, leaving the emperor only with a vague right of approbation. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardinal_(Catholicism

 

[MarkThompson]

The Pope comes from St.Peter, the bishops from the Apostles, the priests from the disciples… what about the cardinals? Can it be said they’re the “top notch” of the bishops? Why the conclave are only constituted by cardinals?

It is crucial to remember that the cardinalate is merely an office within the Church – like being a pastor of a parish or a prefect of a curial congregation – and not a sacrament or an order like being a priest or a bishop. Originally, the cardinals were the priests of the most important churches of Rome, who were given the power of electing the Bishop of Rome (i.e., the Pope) in accordance with the ancient tradition that the clergy of a city would elect their bishop. Later, the office of cardinal was bestowed on important priests outside of Rome, and since priests important enough to be made cardinal are also important enough to have been made a bishop, it came to be the case that almost all cardinals are also bishops. But not all of them, and there are a handful of cardinals today who are not bishops. In conformity with the tradition that the cardinals came from the Roman clergy, each cardinal receives a titular church (titulus) in Rome.

It is a common misconception that cardinals are “above” bishops – e.g., that the hierarchy of the church goes Pope - Cardinal - Archbishop - Bishop - Priest, with each taking orders from the last, in the same sense that the hierarchy of an army goes General - Colonel - Major - Captain, etc. This is not correct. Bishops do not take any orders from cardinals, and cardinals do not give any orders to priests unless they also happen to be diocesan bishops.

As to the question of why it is that the conclave only contains cardinals – i.e., why do only cardinals get to vote for the Pope – the answer is that the office of cardinal was invented for the very purpose of having a group of clergy to elect the Pope.

 

[Genesis315]

The title of Cardinal was originally a title given to all clergy permanently attached to a church/diocese, or “incardinated” as we say today. Then it began to be reserved to those in prominent Sees, then to the chief clergy there, and finally to those of the Roman See only–kind of like how the title “Pope” became more specific over time. Just as when various bishops had the title of Pope, the Bishop of Rome was still the head, the status of the Roman clergy was always special, even if they didn’t have a special name. As the clergy of the chief particular Church, they were given special honor–which is why even in the very nascent Church during an interregnum, difficult questions were submitted still to the Roman priests (since the Roman Church was the head of all the other Churches).

To this day Cardinals are clergy of Rome. When clergy outside Rome are made Cardinalis, those clergy are given parishes in Rome. For example, Cardinal Dolan of New York presides over Our Lady of Guadalupe at Monte Mario in Rome or Cardinal DiNardo of Houston, Texas presides over St. Eusebius Church in Rome.

 

[Brendan]

As Genesis alluded to, in the early Church the Bishop of Rome was selected by election by the clergy of Rome.

As the Chuch grew, this method proved to be unworkable, so selected clergy were appointed to do the election.

We see ruminates of that in two forms. First, each Cardinal is appointed as pastor of a parish Church in Rome. So all the Cardinals are clergy of Rome. Thus Cardinals are subject to the Pope alone, as he really is their bishop.

We see that the College of Cardinals is divided into Cardinal Bishops, Cardinal Priests and Cardinal Deacons, much as the clergy of Rome is.

In the current environment, Cardinals are almost always Bishops ( the most recent exception being Cardinal Avery Dulles). Cardinal Bishops are those who head the College, emphasizing the leadership of the bishop. Cardinal Priests are those Cardinals who are Ordinaries of their own dioceses, Cardinal Priest being the role of pastor.

Finally, Curial Cardinals are generally Cardinal Deacons, emphasizing the role of servant.

But all have their roots in the elections by the early clergy of Rome.