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What is a See (as in the Holy See)?

SUMMER 2018

IN THE ANCIENT WORLD, a seat (Latin: sedes) was a symbol of authority, like a king’s throne or a judge’s bench. Leaders would sit while students stood to take notes. To this day, the term chairperson is used to denote leadership. For Catholics, the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter is the celebration of the teaching authority of Peter and his successors, and a bishop’s authority is symbolized by his cathedral, where his cathedra, or throne, is located.

The term Sancta Sedes, or Holy See (the word see is an old Anglo-French variant of seat) refers to the office of the pope, who teaches and governs authoritatively from his “chair.” More broadly, it refers to the Roman Curia – the congregations, tribunals and offices through which the pope governs the Church and its external relations as a sovereign state.

The Holy See is not synonymous with the Vatican City city-state, which was created in 1929 as a sovereign geographical area governed by the Holy See.