In Roman Catholic theology, the Latinphraseex cathedra, literally meaning "from the chair", refers to a teaching by the Pope that is considered to be infallible when an official statement on behalf of Church doctrine. Not everything said by the Pope is considered infallible. Speaking ex cathedra is often done only after long moral deliberation. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... It has been suggested that Ex cathedra be merged into this article or section. ... Ex Cathedra is a professional musical ensemble based in Birmingham, England, consisting of an orchestra, choir and consort, that specialises in Baroque and Early Music performed vocally or on period instruments. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language. ... A phrase is a group of words that functions as a single unit in the syntax of a sentence. ... The current Pope is Benedict XVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger), who was elected at the age of 78 on 19 April 2005. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...
The "chair" to which the phrase refers is the papal throne, but refers to the Pope's official position the "Chair of Peter"; as a judge may speak "from the bench" while not physically at it. Sitting is an ancient symbol of authority, especially in Judaism as with Jesus sitting numerous times in the New Testament while preaching (Mark 14:62; Luke 5:17). According to tradition, Peter was crucified upside-down, as shown in this painting by Caravaggio. ... The Gospel of Mark is the second in the familiar sequence of the New Testament Gospels, as they were established by Jerome and appear in many but not all early manuscripts of complete gospels, and as they are commonly printed. ... The Gospel of Luke is the third of the four canonical Gospels of the New Testament, which tell the story of Jesus life, death, and resurrection. ...
Originally the bishop's cathedra stood in the center of the apse, flanked on either side, though on a lower plane, by the benches of the assisting priests.
The form and decoration of the most ancient of episcopal cathedrae were borrowed from paganism; one side of the chair of St. Hippolytus, however, is engraved with the saint's computation of the paschal cycle from the year 222 to 334.
By a definition "excathedra" is meant a formal infallible decision of the pope, obligatory on all the faithful.