Pontifex Maximus
Jun 10, 2004
The head of the state religion of the Roman Empire was the Pontifex Maximus. The pax deorum, or the ‘peace with the gods’ was his responsibility along with interpreting omens, controlling and keeping the official calendar, and the oversight of funerals. One of the oldest still existing official offices in the world, the Roman Catholic Pope is still referred to as the Pontifex Maximus, nearly 3,000 years after is was instituted.
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