Papal State
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State of the Church Status Ecclesiasticus Status Pontificius | |
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Anthem: Pontifical Anthem | |
| Official languages | Ecclesiastical Latin |
| Religion | Catholic |
| Government | Unitary Christian absolute monarchy |
| Holy See | |
• Pope | Gregory XVII |
| Legislature | Pontifical Commission |
| Establishment | |
• Esquiline Decree | 520 |
• Formal borders established | 1 July 1815 |
| Population | |
• 2025 estimate | 56,706 |
| Currency | Taler (₮) (LUT) |
| Internet TLD | .va |
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| Catholic Church |
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The Papal State (Latin: Status Pontificus), officially the State of the Church (Latin: Status Ecclesiasticus) is an independent city-state enclaved within Urceopolis, Urcea. It is distinct from yet under "full ownership, exclusive dominion, and sovereign authority and jurisdiction" of the Holy See. It is among the world's smallest states in terms of both population and area. It is largely dependent on the Levantine Union for defense and for public services, and uses the Taler as its official currency.
The Papal State is an ecclesiastical or sacerdotal-monarchical state (a type of theocracy) ruled by the Pope who is, religiously speaking, the Bishop of Urceopolis and head of the Catholic Church. The highest state functionaries are all Catholic clergy of various national origins.
The Holy See dates back to early Christianity, and is the primate episcopal see of the Catholic Church. The Papal State, on the other hand, came into existence organically during the decline and collapse of Great Levantia and reached its zenith during the high medieval period and included, de facto, the entire Duchy of Transurciana up through the Great Interregnum of Urcea before entering into something approximating its modern borders in the 14th and 15th centuries. Its formal borders were established by the River Concordat of 1815 during the Recess of the Julii.
Name
The official name of the country in Julian Ænglish is State of the Church. Prior to the Convention of 1815, the territories under the authority of the Pope were also referred to variously as the State(s) of the Church, the Pontifical States, the Ecclesiastical States, or the Patrimony of St Peter (Latin: Status Pontificius, also Dicio Pontificia "papal rule").
Geography
The Papal State is a landlocked enclave entirely within the city of Urceopolis in Urcea, located on the southern bank of the Esquiline River. The state is approximately rectangular shaped, occupying a space of 1.6 miles east to west and .8 miles north to south at its widest and tallest, giving the state about a square mile of area. Much of the state is within the Vatican Walls, a complex of medieval and renaissance fortifications surrounding the State. Almost the entirety of the Papal State's landmass is covered in buildings or roads, with the exception of various Papal gardens.
Prior to the River Concordat of 1815, the State encompassed an uncertain amount of territory which largely depended on rival claims inconsistent with modern definitions of state boundaries, but at its most liberal definition the State encompassed the entire territory of the Duchy of Transurciana, the parts of the Archduchy of Urceopolis south of the Esquiline and east of the Urce River. Papal control gradually contracted to a smaller but still uncertain boundary until the modern borders were fixed in 1815.
History
Early emergence
During the period of the Great Levantine Potentate, the office of Pontifex Maximus wielded supreme political and religious authority in the state. As the state transitioned to the Dominate, the office of Pontifex Maximus was diverged from that of Emperor and became an Imperial appointee, retaining some official standing and religious leadership but losing the position of preeminent political office. In 314, the first Christian Emperor, Amadeus Agrippa permanently gave the office of Pontifex Maximus to the Bishop of Urceopolis, greatly enhancing the political prestige of the Pope and also giving it nominal responsibilities within the Great Levantine state. The collapse of the Empire in 502 resulted in the Urceopolitan Bishop having not only significant religious authority but also political authority as the primary arbiter of disputes between the statelets and manors in the Urce river valley. The collapse also led to the Pope solidifying control over the parts of Urceopolis immediately surrounding St. Peter's Archbasilica, those parts which were south of the Esquiline River. This control was allegedly confirmed by an act of the Duchy of Urceopolis in 520 called the Esquiline Decree, though historians - both then and now - have questioned the legitimacy or existence of such an act. In any case, the Pope began to wield significant hard and soft political authority in the 6th century. The Pope would, in time, also come to influence the election of the Duke of Urceopolis by the end of the 8th century.
The establishment of the Levantine Empire by Emperor Conchobar I in the 750s and 760s transformed Papal political authority in the span of just a few years. Conchobar consolidated most of the Urce Valley into the Archduchy of Urceopolis; as part of this, he created the Duchy of Transurciana out of a large portion of lands east of the Urce and south of the Esquiline River (with the exception of Kingswood). This Duchy, though part of the Archduchy and subordinated to the Archduke of Urceopolis, had the right of final appeal to the Pope. The Duchy became, de facto, part of the Pope's direct domain. This distinction, however, was never formalized into law, leading to centuries of debates between the Pope and the future Urcean Crown about the exact extent of the Pope's earthly political authority. By the 11th century, through both his direct domains, the Duchy, and other areas obtained, the Pope had accrued large amounts of political power and influence within the southern Holy Levantine Empire, rivaled only by the Julian Urceopolis-Harren realm. This period saw the conferral of formal rights to the Pope on an individual diplomatic basis just Transurciana, usually in the form of perpetual tribute of taxes by various small cities and feudal entities; these were usually obtained either as pious acts of charity or in exchange for Papal support for political aims. Many of these tax agreements would persist through the 19th century.
The Golden Bull of 1098, which established Urcea as a polity and the Imperial Kingdom of Urcea as a legal entity, would change the political dynamic in the area and inaugurate a period of significant Crown-Papal disputes over control of the Urce valley. The conquest of the Creagmer republics by the Urcean Crown in the 1130s was a major flashpoint which was resolved only by the death of Pope Innocent II in 1143. The Pope reached the zenith of his authority in the 1140s and 1150s, as the Pope manuevered authority to appoint regents for two Urcean child monarchs; after their deaths, the Pope directly governed most of southern Urcea including the Duchy of Harren from 1153 to 1156 until King Seán I assumed the throne. The Popes also imposed a toll on all business in the Esquiline River. This posture led to the major confrontation between King Seán I and the Popes of the 12th century: the rise and fall of the Esquiline Commune. These conflicts would lead to the gradual decline of the territorial extent of the Papal State as the Pope's temporal authority began to wane.
Esquiline Commune
The conflict between King Seán I and the Papacy resulted in rumors of war. These rumors led to a popular uprising in the parts of the city south of the Esquiline which, on 1 November 1157, formed the Esquiline Commune. The Commune recognized the spiritual authority of the Pope as well as his ownership of the lands, but created a new form of government primarily run by the burghers who formed a senate and elected the First Patrician, modeling their administration after mercantile republics. The Commune would begin to receive funds and support from the King in 1158, and critically recognized that the King, rather than Pope, as final court of appeal for political and administrative matters. For a time, the Pope and First Patrician coexisted peacefully, but the Pope eventually fled to the Duchy of Transurciana in 1161 and raised an army to unseat the Communal government. The Communal government raised both locals and hired Urcean mercenaries and defeated the Papal army in 1162. The Commune received official royal support in 1174. Between 1174 and 1176, an antipope - Urban III - reigned over the city as installed by King Seán I as the legitimate Pope fled to Carolina. A number of bad omens and illnesses induced Seán to repent, ultimately destroying the Commune and restoring the legitimate Pope to the city.
While the Commune was primarily an issue of the relationship between the authority of the King and the authority of the Pope, its existence had longterm ramifications for the temporal authority of the Pope. After nearly four centuries of ruling lands from Urceopolis to the border of Harren undisturbed, the broader Papal domains were significantly interrupted during the time of the Commune's existence. The Pope's Esquiline domains formed not only the administrative and diplomatic center of his realm, but it also served as the main source of income and manpower. Having lost it, the Pope was functionally unable to impose his temporal will on the constellation of lords previously under his authority. Consequently, throughout the 1160s and 1170s, Papal authority waned in Transurciana and elsewhere as the local nobility had to rely on themselves for support, inaugurating a period of feuding and lawlessness. Dozens of barons and counts, accordingly, declared their allegiance to the King in order to prevent their domains from being attacked and taken. As part of the effort to rehabilitate Royal-Papal relations, many of these allegiance changes were subsequently recognized by the Pope and later ratified by the Imperial Diet in 1192, significantly weakening the Pope's overall position while somewhat shrinking his domains.
Decline
Ambiguous legal status
By the dawn of the 17th century, the temporal authority of the Pope had waned significantly, though his independence and sovereignty had been secured by the Catholic victory in the Great Confessional War and promises to that effect by King Leo II. The portions of Urceopolis south of the Esquiline were largely, but not entirely, part of his domain. A small number of scattered manors and a handful of monasteries throughout Urcea still retained direct Papal oversight. In some parts of Harren, two cities in Canaery, and four counties in central Archduchy, cities owed a small portion of their overall tax and manpower to the Pope; these Papal fiefs were part of the overall complex of overlapping jurisdictions that characterized pre-Reorganization Act Urcea. In Urceopolis itself, the borders of the Papal territory were extremely unclear especially in the wake of the Great Confessional War, where some (but not all) legal acts of the Ronanid Urcean Kings remained in force. Throughout the 1600s and 1700s, legal disputes between the Papacy and Crown were common in Urcean courts as the Royal and city government gave approval for encroachment into the Petersbaile and Popeswood areas of Urceopolis. The ownership of an area called the Strip was also contested due to changes in the flow of Churchcreek over time. Issues related to free access to the Urce River for both economic and diplomatic purposes were also unclear, and the ability of the Papal State to access the sea unfettered depended on the good will of the individual Urcean monarch. In general, the status of the State was heavily contested in both courts and in popular publications. It became unclear if the Papal State was a state as such or if it was merely a collection of territories legally within Urcea owned by an otherwise stateless Holy See. As international relations became increasingly rules-based with legal frameworks in the 18th century, the Papal domain had become an anachronism without clear definition. Despite efforts by Papal lawyers to assert the sovereignty of the realm, lack of formal cession of territories from Urcea proved a key impediment that could not be overcome, requiring a negotiated settlement.
A "final Papal settlement" was pursued at various times during the 1760s and 1770s, but no agreement could be reached. As the Apostolic Kings of Urcea assumed the position of Emperor of the Levantines beginning around 1700, the Papal State assumed a higher feudal status similar to that of other Imperial polities, thereby elevating it to a continued place of diplomatic prominence and legal sovereign assurance. This state of affairs had temporarily removed the need for such a settlement, giving it low priority in the eyes of the Urcean crown. After the Second Caroline War, Urcea would lose the Imperial title and inaugurate a period of uncertainty known as the Recess of the Julii. The Recess was beneficial to the Papacy, however, as it gave the Popes leverage to reach a final settlement with Urcea as the Apostolic Kings sought to solidify their reign in light of the major defeat and loss of position. The Emperor of the Levantines would use the Imperial Inquisition to harass Urcean officials and citizens under the guise of legitimate law enforcement actions, a jurisdictional issue that only the Pope could resolve. With an important bargaining piece in play, conditions were now right to conclude a formal permanent solution for the Papal legal question.
River Concordat of 1815
In Urcea, King Niall V took the throne in 1809 and inaugurated a wave of reforms. As part of his reforming mindset, the King was temperamentally inclined to resolve the Papal question for its own sake; the Pope's proposal to remove the jurisdiction of the Imperial Inquisition from the country was an additional benefit. The King personally traveled to the Vatican to conduct negotiations as a sign of respect on an almost daily basis between August 1814 and January 1815. Besides Urcea's formal recognition of the Papal State as a completely sovereign entity and cession of some lands in Urceopolis to the Pope, there were several issues that needed to be negotiated, including: the precise nature of the new State's borders; the status of extra-Urceopolitan Papal estates; access of the Papal State to the sea, and; incomes and tributes owed to the Papacy by cities and territories within Urcea. The issue of precise borders was left to the end of the negotiation.
The Pope's various estates beyond Urceopolis was the first issue resolved. All territories and estates outside of the boundaries of the Papal State in Urceopolis would be ceded to Urcea. All major Papal basilicas in the greater Urceopolis area would be afforded extraterritorial status, as would a number of administrative structures in Urceopolis itself. Any farm estate, manor, or other territory smaller than 500 acres and with less than a thousand inhabitants would remain personal property of the Holy See while being converted to freehold deeded properties rather than feudal manorial lands. Any properties larger than 500 acres or with more than a thousand inhabitants were ceded directly to the Urcean Crown in exchange for financial compensation to be determined after a survey that would occur in 1818 through 1820.
The State's access to the sea was the second issue and it was quickly resolved. The Papal State was guaranteed free access to the use of the Urce River in perpetuity. Papal traffic and any trade was fully exempt from tariff and customs requirements as well as tolling of any kind. The Papal State was entitled to maintain a naval force with use of Urcean military harbors for free subject to prior authorization and agreement, though in actuality the Papal State would never make use of that provision.
The third issue resolves was that of the taxes and tribute owed to the Pope by scattered cities and domains throughout the country. These taxes were now forfeit, and the effected entities would pay these taxes to the Urcean government (until the Administrative Reorganization Act of 1892). The crown would pay the Papal State the 1810 collections from these cities through 1850, at which time a new agreement for provision of payment "for the general welfare of the Papal State" would be concluded. Such an agreement was ratified in 1848 and remains in effect as of 2035.
The final issue resolved was the specific borders of the Papal State. Urcea abandoned its extreme claims - all lands outside the direct walls of the Vatican - but sought Popeswood and the Strip, which the Pope was hesitant to cede. However, the Crown agreed to pay an additional sum - double the 1810 tax collection - for a period between 1815 and 1830 as compensation for the lost lands, to which the Pope agreed. With the major negotiated issues out of the way, the Pope agreed to remove Urcea from the jurisdiction of the Imperial Inquisition and allowed the Crown to directly enforce ecclesiasitcal law (through the new office of the Censor). These provisions were included under the guise of a "necessity and due course of the cession of Papal territory", a vague provision which allowed Urcea and the Pope to conclude the agreement without the ratification of the Imperial Diet. The Concordat was signed on Good Friday, March 24th, 1815, and would take effect on 1 July. On that date, the Papal State was ceded its allotted portions of Urceopolis and was recognized globally as a fully independent sovereign state. This status, which freed the Pope of any earthly authority, meant that the new state was outside the boundaries of the Holy Levantine Empire, a position not recognized by the Emperor or Imperial Diet until 1842.
19th through 21st centuries
The new Papal State continued on relatively undisturbed for the remainder of the 19th century, gradually being recognized by most nations internationally besides Caphiria. Throughout the course of the century, the various parts of the 1815 Concordat unfolded as agreed upon, and the Papal State's administrators gradually accommodated its budget as tribute and taxes drew down over the course of the century. The agreement allowed the Pope greater flexibility to focus on international affairs and religious concerns rather than domestic Levantine political issues, increasing the overall reach of the Papacy in a century of significant missionary activity. These peaceful decades came to an end during the '97 Rising. Though the Papal State was largely unaffected for most of the conflict, and remained neutral on the political issue of the Red Interregnum, it came under assault in the final days of the war by the secular, socialist Urcean Republic. The Republic's National Guard seized control of the Papal State during the Siege of Urceopolis, but not before the Pope was able to flee to allied lines outside the city. The seizure of the State led to a number of defections and condemnations of republicanism and played a role in the collapse of the Republic. The Pope was restored to the city on 19 November, entering it with King Patrick III, whom the Pope crowned as King in St. Peter's Archbasilica that night. The restored Papal State resumed its peaceful existence following the conflict. Over the course of the 20th century, as airline travel became more common, the Papal State became a massive tourism destination, greatly increasing domestic revenue. In the 21st century, it remains one of the great religious and tourist centers of the world, and the Pope regularly uses his realm as a site of peace discussions and global conferences on matters of concern.
Government
The government of the Papal State has a unique structure. As governed by the Holy See, the Pope is the sovereign of the state, while legislative authority is vested in the Pontifical Commission for the State of the Church, a body of cardinals appointed by the Pope for five-year periods. Executive power is in the hands of the president of that commission, assisted by the general secretary and deputy general secretary. The state's foreign relations are entrusted to the Holy See's Secretariat of State and diplomatic service. Nevertheless, the Pope has absolute power in the executive, legislative, and judicial branches over the Papal State, and is thus the only absolute monarch in Levantia. Operationally, there are departments that deal with health, security, telecommunications and other matters.
As the Papal State is governed by the Holy See, the Pope is ex officio head of state of the State of the Church, a function dependent on his primordial function as bishop of the diocese of Urceopolis and head of the Catholic Church. The term "Holy See" refers not to the Papal State but to the Pope's spiritual and pastoral governance, largely exercised through the Curia. His official title with regard to the Papal State is Sovereign of the State of the State of the Church.
Executive authority is delegated to the Governorate of the State of the Church. The Governorate consists of the President of the Pontifical Commission—using the title "President of the Governorate of the State of the Church"—a general secretary, and a Vice general secretary, each appointed by the Pope for five-year terms. Important actions of the Governorate must be confirmed by the Pontifical Commission and by the Pope through the Secretariat of State.
The Governorate oversees the central governmental functions through several departments and offices. The directors and officials of these offices are appointed by the Pope for five-year terms. These organs concentrate on material questions concerning the state's territory, including local security, records, transportation, and finances. The Governorate oversees a modern security and police corps.
Legislative functions are delegated to the unicameral Pontifical Commission for the State of the Church, led by the President of the Pontifical Commission for the State of the Church. Its seven members are cardinals appointed by the Pope for terms of five years. Acts of the commission must be approved by the Pope, through the Holy See's Secretariat of State, and before taking effect must be published in a special appendix of the Acta Apostolicae Sedis. Most of the content of this appendix consists of routine executive decrees, such as approval for a new set of postage stamps.
Judicial functions are delegated to a supreme court, an appellate court, a tribunal (Tribunal of the State of the Church), and a trial judge. At the Papal State's request, sentences imposed can be served in Urcea.
The more than 55,000 residents of the State are subject to a relatively strict set of laws based on Catholic teaching and are expected to follow them; many individuals convicted of "moral crimes" are deported from the State to their home nationality, which is usually Urcea. Individuals with no foriegn nationality have the option to be deported to Urcea (per a standing agreement, they are automatically given Urcean citizenship) or to serve a term of imprisonment.
Demographics
As of 2030, the Papal State had a population of 56,706. Of these, approximately 38,201 were Urcean nationals, with the remaining 18,000 being either foreign nationals or true natives of the Papal State. People living in the Papal State can broadly be divided into three categories. The most numerous type of Papal State resident are so-called "ancient" residents, individuals who have lived in the portion of Urceopolis at the time of the 1815 Concordat. Making up about 25,000 of the State's population, the ancient residents live and work normal lives within the State while not working for the Church itself. Generally speaking, moving to the Papal State beyond one's work and relationship to the Church is not permitted, and accordingly the ancients are able to demonstrate either true ancestry from prior to 1815 or otherwise married in or inherited property within the State. The second most populous type are administrative employees of the Church and their families. Many of the Church's employees live beyond the State's borders in Urceopolis and its suburbs, but a lottery exists to allocate space within the State for these individuals. The third group of people within the State are priests, bishops, and religious (including both male and female), nearly all of whom come from abroad. These individuals make up the seniormost government and Church officials within the State.
Economy
The economy of the Papal State is mostly driven by the presence of the administrative apparatus of the Catholic Church, which is partially contained within its walls. A large service sector exists to provide the necessary accommodations (housing, food, personal services, etc.) to support the several thousand support staff and priests who work within the State as well as the several thousand ancient residents of the Papal State. Most ancient residents of the State either work within its service sector or commute to work in Urcea, giving the Papal State a significant inflow of capital. Another major sector is tourism, as St. Peter's Archbasilica and other major sites, such as the Vatican Museum, are some of the most visited places in the world. The tourism industry also provides a significant boost to the service sector economy, as two major hotels and dozens of restaurants are located within the State to provide for visitors from abroad as well as local patrons.
The Papal State uses the Taler as its primary currency.
Military and security
As the Papal State is an enclave within Urcea, its military defense is provided by the Armed Forces of the Apostolic Kingdom of Urcea, an arrangement formalized in the 1815 Concordat. Despite this arrangement, the Papal State is officially a neutral state. The Papal State has no armed forces of its own, although the Yonderian Guard is a military corps of the Holy See responsible for the personal security of the Pope (both inside the Papal State and abroad) and residents in the state. Soldiers of the Yonderian Guard are entitled to hold Papal State passports and nationality. At the end of 2030, the Guard had 489 members. All recruits must be Catholic, unmarried Yonderian males who have completed their basic training with the Yonderian Defence Force with certificates of good conduct, and must be between the ages of 18 and 30. The Yonderian Guard are equipped with traditional weapons, such as the sabre and halberd, as well as with modern firearms. The Guard also has armored vehicles in reserve on loan from Urcea's Royal and Imperial Army. The Guard's duties can be expanded in a dire emergency at the request of the Gendarmerie Corps to deal with national defense emergencies such as an insurrection. As the Papal State has listed every building in its territory on the International Register of Cultural Property under Special Protection, the International Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict theoretically renders it immune to armed attack.
Civil defense is the responsibility of the Corps of Firefighters of the State of the Church, the national fire brigade. Dating its origins to the early nineteenth century, the Corps in its present form was established in 1941. It is responsible for fire fighting, as well as a range of civil defense scenarios including flood, natural disaster, and mass casualty management. The Corps is governmentally supervised through the Directorate for Security Services and Civil Defense, which is also responsible for the Gendarmerie.
The Gendarmerie Corps is the gendarmerie, or police and security force, of the Papal State and the extraterritorial properties of the Holy See in and around Urceopolis. The corps is responsible for security, public order, border control, traffic control, criminal investigation, and other general police duties in the Papal State. The corps has 541 personnel and is a part of the Directorate for Security Services and Civil Defense, an organ of the Governorate of the State of the Church.