History of Catholicism

[Knowledge3]

Is there one Pope past St. Peter elected by the pastoral council to be Pope that was not a cradle Catholic?

 

[a_ntv]

I dont know.

There have been many cardinals converted to the catholcism.
The pesently more famous is the former archbishop of Paris, Card Lustiger.

 

[eoe]

I don't know about Popes(tm) but there were plenty of Bishops that started off jew or even pagan. Just don't ask me who they were because I would then have to go look it up and I am feeling really lazy right now.

(at least I am honest....)

 

[Knowledge3]

Just like the Patriarchy of the OO and EO are specific bloodlines?

Or specifc callings according to ethnicity and culture?

I'm interested in the cultural factor of Christianity, because it differs by region and geographic location as well.

 

[Knowledge3]

I "thought" the Patriachy of the Orthodox Church are patriarchal descendants from the Bible.

 

[eoe]

Just like the Patriarchy of the OO and EO are specific bloodlines?

They are not according to bloodline. That is not a criterion.

Or specifc callings according to ethnicity and culture?

There have been arab, greek and jew patriarchs and there have been black bishops... doing anything according to race is a heresy known as phyletism.

I'm interested in the cultural factor of Christianity, because it differs by region and geographic location as well.

Don't confuse culture with religion.

 

[eoe]

I "thought" the Patriachy of the Orthodox Church are patriarchal descendants from the Bible.

That is not the case. Also - remember that there are 5 patriarchs...

 

[QuantaCura]

I don't really know, but I think the pope who started the tradition of taking a new name was a pagan first--I think this because the whole reason he got a new name was because his given name was Mercury and it was it was theophoric (ie, it was given him to specifically show veneration of that god). He took the name John II instead.

 

[QuantaCura]

I'd assume a lot of the earlier one's were too: like St. Linus.

 

[a_ntv]

I "thought" the Patriachy of the Orthodox Church are patriarchal descendants from the Bible.

???
A patriach in the East as wellin the West is simply a bishop of an important town, to who other bishops in the country depend on (more or less).

Just like the Patriarchy of the OO and EO are specific bloodlines?

Or specifc callings according to ethnicity and culture?

I'm interested in the cultural factor of Christianity, because it differs by region and geographic location as well.

Bloodlines?

What do you means?

All EO, OO, CC bishops (and so also the patriarchs) were not married.
Nor they were choosen in some particular family (a part the Orthodox Assirian Church of the East: that is a self standing case).

We had popes from famility of peasant as well as of senatorial families.
We had roman popes as well barbarian popes.

We had at least ten popes who cames from the East (East Rite): of course it was not a conversion because they were already Christian.

In the EO and OO most of the patriarchs were choosen between monks. Sometime that happened also in the West, but, because of the celibacy of the preists, in the West there have been always a bigger choice.

A historical note about the bloodlines: int he ancient roman and greek world the bloodlines were not so important: as instance the Roman Emperor was Emperor only because he was the leader of the army, not because he was son of a emperor (and usually he was not son of a Emperor).
It was only in the Middle Age that started the idea of bloodlines (and so of nobility of blood).