Apostolic king

For the first time the title was entrusted in 1000 by Pope Sylvester II to István I Saint , the first baptized king of Hungary. He received it as a special recognition of his merits in spreading Christianity in Hungary and his efforts to baptize the pagans. According to tradition, Istvan also received the spiritual title of the Papal Legate .

The personal chronicler of St. Stephen, Bishop of Raab, wrote that the Pope declared the King "the true apostle" of Christ, referring to his righteous works of spreading the Catholic faith in Hungary. In the Papal Bull on March 27, 1000, Sylvester bestowed upon Crown and the title of King Istvan, returning to him the kingdom that he offered to the Holy See ^[2] . He was entrusted with the right to carry a cross in a procession in front of him ^[3] , which gave him administrative authority over the clergy and churches.

When Pope Leo X granted Heinrich VIII Tudor the title of “Defender of the Faith” in 1521 , the Hungarian nobility, led by Istvan Verbotsi - the future Hungarian Palatine - entered into negotiations with the Holy See about the return of the title of Apostolic Majesty to King Lajos II , referring to the granted Pope Sylvest. title. But their attempts were not crowned with success.

In 1627, Emperor Ferdinand III tried to regain the title, but, faced with resistance from Cardinal Peter Pasman and the Holy See as a whole, he abandoned his intentions.

The title was renewed by Pope Clement XIII in 1738 for the Empress of the Holy Roman Empire, Maria Theresa . The Queen of Hungary, her descendants, the Emperors of Austria of the Habsburg dynasty in the future continued to bear the title Apostolic King of Hungary; he was used directly by the king, as well as in letters and papers addressed to him. Maria Theresia used the female version of the title for the first time in credentials of a cardinal sent to the College of Cardinals after the death of Pope Benedict XIV . In these documents, it was hoped that the title in the future would not be taken away from the rulers of Hungary. Pope Clement XIII, having learned of the desire of Maria Theresa, bestowed upon her and her descendants a special title on August 19, 1758 . Since then, it has become the official part of the title of Emperors of Austria. A special imperial edict was issued, which stated that the title "Apostolic King of Hungary" should be used in all laws, documents and other official records ^[4] . After that, the Kings of Hungary wore this title, which was awarded to them only after the coronation and did not belong to it. The title did not apply to either the spouse of the king, or other members of the dynasty, or even to the crown prince . The rights exercised by the crown in relation to the Catholic Church of Hungary were not associated with the title of Apostolic King, they were exercised on the basis of royal patronage.

The Emperor of Austria-Hungary, Franz Joseph I, used the title “His Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty” (by seine Kaiserliche und Königlich Apostolische Majestät ), his spouse Empress Elizabeth was called “Her Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty” (by the name of nayre iserere Kaiser « )

The title was abolished since the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918. Modern representatives of the House of Habsburg do not use this title.

• Apostolic Majesty // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron
• Kings of Hungary