noun
- a person who claims to be pope in opposition to the one canonically elected by the Roman Catholic Church
Usage: historical; usually capitalized when referring to a specific antipope
Examples
- During the Western Schism, multiple antipopes competed for recognition as the true head of the Church.
- The antipope claimed legitimacy based on his own interpretation of Church law.
- Historians debate whether certain antipopes had valid claims to the papacy.
- The existence of antipopes created confusion among Catholics about who was the rightful pope.
- Several antipopes were eventually declared illegitimate by later Church councils.