<P> The word pope derives from Greek πάππας meaning `` father '' . In the early centuries of Christianity , this title was applied , especially in the east , to all bishops and other senior clergy , and later became reserved in the west to the Bishop of Rome , a reservation made official only in the 11th century . The earliest record of the use of this title was in regard to the by then deceased Patriarch of Alexandria , Pope Heraclas of Alexandria ( 232 -- 248 ) . The earliest recorded use of the title `` pope '' in English dates to the mid-10th century , when it was used in reference to Pope Vitalian in an Old English translation of Bede 's Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum . </P>
<P> The word pope derives from Greek πάππας meaning `` father '' . In the early centuries of Christianity , this title was applied , especially in the east , to all bishops and other senior clergy , and later became reserved in the west to the Bishop of Rome , a reservation made official only in the 11th century . The earliest record of the use of this title was in regard to the by then deceased Patriarch of Alexandria , Pope Heraclas of Alexandria ( 232 -- 248 ) . The earliest recorded use of the title `` pope '' in English dates to the mid-10th century , when it was used in reference to Pope Vitalian in an Old English translation of Bede 's Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum . </P>
when was the title of pope first used
when was the title of pope first used
the mid-10th century , when it was used in reference to Pope Vitalian in an Old English translation of Bede 's Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum
the mid-10th century , when it was used in reference to Pope Vitalian in an Old English translation of Bede 's Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum