BULL, among ecclesiastics, a letter written on parchment, sealed with lead, and issued by order of the pope, from the Roman rota or chancery. It is a kind of apostolical rescript or edict, and is chiefly in use in matters of justice or grace. If the former be the intention of the bull, the lead is hung by a hempen cord; if the latter, by a silken thread. It is this pendant lead or seal which is, properly speaking, the bull, and which is impressed on one side with the heads of St Peter and St Paul, and on the other with the name of the pope and the year of his pontificate. The bull is written in an old round Gothic character, and is divided into five parts, the narrative of the fact, the conception, the clause, the date, and the salutation, in which the pope styles himself servus servorum, or the servant of servants. These instruments, besides the lead appended to them, have a cross, with some texts of Scripture, or a religious motto, on it. Bulls are granted for the consecration of bishops, the promotion to benefices, the celebration of jubilees, and many other purposes.