Editing Pontiff (section)

==Ancient Rome==
{{main|College of Pontiffs}}
There were four chief [[Collegium (ancient Rome)|colleges]] of priests in ancient Rome, the most illustrious of which was that of the ''pontifices''.<ref name=Smith/> The others were those of the ''[[augures]]'', the ''[[quindecimviri sacris faciundis]]'', and the ''[[epulones]]''.<ref name=Britannica/> The same person could be a member of more than one of these groups.<ref name=Smith/> Including the ''[[pontifex maximus]]'', who was president of the college, there were originally three<ref name=Britannica/> or five<ref name=Smith/> ''pontifices'', but the number increased over the centuries, finally becoming 16 under [[Julius Caesar]].<ref name=Smith/><ref name=Britannica/> By the third century BC the pontiffs had assumed control of the state religious system.<ref name=Britannica/>