Dubia Varia

Item

Country

IT

Name of institution (English)

Archive of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith

Name of institution (official language of the state)

Language of name of institution

ita

Contact information: postal address

Piazza del Sant’Uffizio 11, 00193 Rome

Contact information: phone number

0039 0669895945
0039 0669895945

Contact information: web address

Contact information: email

archive@cfaith.va

Reference number

ACDF, S.O. Dubia Varia

Type of reference number

Archival reference number

Title (English)

Various questions

Title (official language of the state)

Dubia Varia

Language of title

lat

Creator / accumulator

Congregazione del Sant'Ufficio dell'Inquisizione

Date(s)

1570/1939

Language(s)

ita
lat

Extent

99 storage units

Type of material

Textual Material

Physical condition

Good

Scope and content

This series is part of the Dubia section, which is part of the Res Doctrinales subfonds of the Archivum Sancti Officii Romani (Archive of the Roman Holy Office). This series aggregates records containing questions of doctrinal or moral nature, besides those concerning the sacraments and the censorship of books. Among these records, there are some questions concerning the Jewish communities in the Papal State and their relations with the Christian majority.

Archival history

The Dubia series is part of the Res Doctrinalia section, whose creation started in the second half of the 18th century. Initially, the series was mainly of procedural and judicial nature. However, it was later dismembered and reassembled according to more doctrinal than procedural criteria. Its documents are related to some records that are currently part of volumes of the Stanza Storica section.

Administrative / Biographical history

The history of the Roman Inquisition and its archive begins with the appointment of a commission of cardinals by Paul III (papacy: 1534-1549) with the bull "Licet ab initio", which took place on July 21, 1542. This congregation was intended to defend the Church from heresies, maintain the integrity of the faith, and identify and condemn errors and false teachings. In 1559, on the death of Paul IV (papacy: 1555-1559), the Roman people sacked and burnt the first seat of the Inquisition, located in via di Ripetta, thus causing the loss of much of the original documentation. In 1566, Pius V (papacy: 1566-1572) set up the seat of the congregation and its archive in the current palace. Initially, the archiving of the documentation was determined by the procedural activity carried out by the congregation. In the second half of the 18th century, a reorganisation by subject began, separating the criminal issues from the doctrinal ones and creating the series that still make it up today. During the 19th century, the Archivio della Congregazione per la Dottrina della Fede was subject to various movements and suffered considerable dispersions. With the union of Rome to the French Empire in 1809, it was transported to Paris by order of Napoleon. For the return of the archives to Rome in 1816, the Apostolic Delegate received the mandate to destroy the parts of the documentation not strictly essential to administrative activity. The criminal series was almost entirely burnt and only a few important trials were saved. During the Roman Republic of 1849, the complex of documents underwent further transfers and losses and, only in 1868, the part of the documentation necessary for the current administration was relocated to the palace of the Holy Office, while the oldest closed series remained kept in the Apostolic Palace until 1901. Then, this archival material was recovered and rearranged, forming the so-called Stanza Storica. This has remained the main structure of this archive until today. The Archivio della Congregazione per la Dottrina della Fede was open for consultation by scholars in 1998.

Access points: locations

Access points: corporate bodies

Access points: subject terms

Access points: document types

Finding aids

Dubia Varia - Index: 1. Dubia Varia 1570-1824; 2. Dubia Varia 1570-1934.
Dubia circa Baptismum - Index: 1. De Baptismate 1618-1830 e 2. Dubbi di Battesimo 1831-1938.
General Inventory Shades 6 Ecclesia (Software for Historical Archives Descripcion – Ecclesia) — only available in the study room.

Author of the description

Andrea Cicerchia, 2021

Bibliography

Item sets

Linked resources

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Title Alternate label Class
Archivio della Congregazione per la Dottrina della Fede Collections (official language of the state)