In the ancient Church, an encyclical was a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area. At that time, the word could be used of a letter sent out by any bishop. The word comes from Latin encyclia meaning "general" or "encircling", which is also the origin of the word "encyclopedia".

The Roman Catholic Church generally only uses this term for papal encyclicals, but the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Anglican Communion retain the older usage.

Roman Catholic usage

For the modern Roman Catholic Church a Papal encyclical, in the strictest sense, is a letter sent by the Pope which is explicitly addressed to Roman Catholic bishops of a particular area or to the world, usually treating some

Within Roman 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 some encyclicals as "Apostolic Exhortations". This informal term generally indicates documents with a broader audience than the bishops alone.

Pope Pius XII held that Papal Encyclicals can be infallible:

It is not to be thought that what is set down in Encyclical letters does not demand assent in



itself, because in this the popes do not exercise the supreme power of their magisterium. For these matters are taught by the ordinary magisterium, regarding which the following is pertinent: “He who heareth you, heareth Me.” (Luke 10:16); and usually what is set forth and inculcated in Encyclical Letters, already pertains to Catholic doctrine. But if the Supreme Pontiffs in their acts, after due consideration, express an opinion on a hitherto controversial matter, it is clear to all that this matter, according to the mind and will of the same Pontiffs, cannot any longer be considered a question of free discussion among theologians.

—Humani Generis

Important papal encyclicals

• Pope Benedict XIV
  • Ex Quo (1756)
• Pope Pius IX
  • Quanta Cura (1864)
• Pope Leo XIII
  • Humanum Genus (1884)
  • Rerum Novarum (1891)
  • Providentissimus Deus (1893)
• Pope Pius X
  • Vehementer Nos (1905)
  • Pascendi Dominici Gregis (1910)
• Pope Benedict XV
  • Humani Generis Redemptionem (1917)
  • Pacem, Dei Munus Pulcherrimum (1920)
• Pope Pius XI
  • Casti Connubii (1930)
  • Quadragesimo Anno (1931)
  • Divini Redemptoris
  • Mit Brennender Sorge (1937)
• Pope Pius XII
  • Mystici Corporis Christi (1943)
  • Humani Generis (1950)
  • Munificentissimus Deus (1950)
• Pope John XXIII
  • Ad Petri Cathedram (1959)
  • Sacerdotii Nostri Primordia (1959)
  • Grata Recordatio (1959)
  • Princeps Pastorum (1959)
  • Mater et Magistra 1961
  • Aeterna Dei Sapientia (1961)
  • Poenitentiam Agere (1962)
  • Pacem in Terris ( 1963)
• Pope Paul VI
  • Ecclesiam Suam ( 1964)
  • Mense Maio ( 1965)
  • Mysterium Fidei (1965)
  • Christi Matri (1966)
  • Populorum Progressio (1967)
  • Sacerdotalis Caelibatus (1967)
  • Humanae Vitae 1968
• Pope John Paul II
  • Redemptor Hominis (1979)
  • Dives in Misericordia (1980)
  • Laborem Exercens (1981)
  • Slavorum Apostoli (1985)
  • Dominum et Vivificantem (1986)
  • Redemptoris Mater (1987)
  • Sollicitudo Rei Socialis ( 1987)
  • Redemptoris Missio (1990)
  • Centesimus Annus (1991)
  • Veritatis Splendor (1993)
  • Evangelium Vitae (1995)
  • Ut Unum Sint (1995)
  • Fides et Ratio (1998)
  • Ecclesia de Eucharistia (2003)
• Pope Benedict XVI
  • Deus Caritas Est (2005)

Important Eastern Orthodox encyclicals

• Encyclical of the Eastern Patriarchs (1848)

Source

The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (3rd. ed.), p. 545 Enzyklika Encíclica Encikliko Encyclique Enciclica Encyclicae Encycliek 回勅 Encyklika Encyklika Encíclica Энциклика Encyklika