Cadaver Synod

ChurchChurch HistoryHistory ChurchChurch HistoryHistory

IntroductionIntroduction toto ChurchChurch HistoryHistory st rd TheThe AncientAncient ChurchChurch AD 11st-3-3rd centuriescenturies th th TheThe RiseRise ofof ChristendomChristendom AD 44th-5-5th centuriescenturies th th TheThe EarlyEarly MiddleMiddle AgesAges AD 66th-10-10th centuriescenturies The “Dark Ages” Overview Flagrant Abuses of Authority: Zeno, Theodoric, and Clovis Auctoritas Sacrata Pontificum: Gelasius The Rise of the Monk: Benedict, Brendan, and Dennis The Politics of Death: Justinian and Columba Kingdoms of God Streamlining the Church European Empires: The Carolingians European Empires: The Northmen Centuries of In-Fighting TheThe EarlyEarly MiddleMiddle AgesAges SuccessSuccess alwaysalways breedsbreeds discontentdiscontent 817817 LouisLouis thethe PiousPious splitsplit hishis kingdomkingdom AfterAfter barelybarely survivingsurviving anan accidentaccident onon hishis wayway backback toto hishis palacepalace fromfrom aa churchchurch service,service, Charlemagne'sCharlemagne's son,son, Louis,Louis, decideddecided toto setset upup thethe lineline ofof successionsuccession forfor hishis EmpireEmpire His eldest son, Lothar, received the seat of power of the Empire, calling it Lotharingia His second son, Pepin, received the wealthy landslands ofof BurgundyBurgundy His third son, Louis, received Bavaria His nephew, Bernard, received Italy ...and quickly rebelled against the Empire TheThe EarlyEarly MiddleMiddle AgesAges FunkyFunky littlelittle teachingteaching moment—moment— LouisLouis immediatelyimmediately broughtbrought thethe wholewhole militarymilitary mightmight ofof thethe EmpireEmpire toto bearbear againstagainst Bernard,Bernard, whowho thenthen immediatelyimmediately surrenderedsurrendered LouisLouis condemnedcondemned himhim toto deathdeath forfor treason,treason, thenthen commutedcommuted hishis sentencesentence toto aa meremere publicpublic blindingblinding ...from...from whichwhich BernardBernard dieddied twotwo daysdays later,later, inin utterutter agonyagony TheThe EarlyEarly MiddleMiddle AgesAges FunkyFunky littlelittle teachingteaching moment—moment— LouisLouis immediatelyimmediately broughtbrought thethe wholewhole militarymilitary mightmight ofof thethe EmpireEmpire toto bearbear againstagainst Bernard,Bernard, whowho thenthen immediatelyimmediately surrenderedsurrendered LouisLouis condemnedcondemned himhim toto deathdeath forfor treasontreason LouisLouis feltfelt soso badbad aboutabout thatthat (being(being aa piouspious man)man) thatthat hehe performedperformed publicpublic penancepenance beforebefore thethe PopePope ThisThis isis importantimportant forfor twotwo reasons:reasons: 1)1) ItIt greatlygreatly reducedreduced LouisLouis andand hishis authorityauthority inin thethe eyeseyes ofof thethe Empire'sEmpire's populacepopulace 2)2) ItIt createdcreated aa precedentprecedent forfor laterlater kingskings toto dodo thethe samesame thingthing This gave great power to the Pope, demonstrating his power over even the Emperor This also gave license to the secular kings to do whatever they wanted, so long as they did penance later on TheThe EarlyEarly MiddleMiddle AgesAges SuccessSuccess alwaysalways breedsbreeds discontentdiscontent 817817 LouisLouis thethe PiousPious splitsplit hishis kingdomkingdom AfterAfter barelybarely survivingsurviving anan accidentaccident onon hishis wayway backback toto hishis palacepalace fromfrom aa churchchurch service,service, Charlemagne'sCharlemagne's son,son, Louis,Louis, decideddecided toto setset upup thethe lineline ofof successionsuccession forfor hishis EmpireEmpire So Bernard's Italy was then given to Lothar as part of his self-named kingdom of Lotharingia ...which led the other two brothers to begin a series of revolts TheThe EarlyEarly MiddleMiddle AgesAges SuccessSuccess alwaysalways breedsbreeds discontentdiscontent 817817 LouisLouis thethe PiousPious splitsplit hishis kingdomkingdom 840840 LouisLouis died,died, andand EuropeEurope bledbled TheThe VikingsVikings beganbegan toto attackattack NorthernNorthern EuropeEurope lessless forfor bootybooty andand moremore forfor land,land, takingtaking largelarge chunkschunks ofof whatwhat isis nownow FranceFrance andand GermanyGermany TheThe MuslimsMuslims beganbegan toto attackattack ItalyItaly andand surroundingsurrounding areasareas In 844, they even sacked the city of Rome itself but they were pushed back out within two decades or so—though they remained a presence in southern Italy and Sicily TheThe EarlyEarly MiddleMiddle AgesAges SuccessSuccess alwaysalways breedsbreeds discontentdiscontent 817817 LouisLouis thethe PiousPious splitsplit hishis kingdomkingdom 840840 LouisLouis died,died, andand EuropeEurope bledbled TheThe VikingsVikings beganbegan toto attackattack NorthernNorthern EuropeEurope lessless forfor bootybooty andand moremore forfor land,land, takingtaking largelarge chunkschunks ofof whatwhat isis nownow FranceFrance andand GermanyGermany TheThe MuslimsMuslims beganbegan toto attackattack ItalyItaly andand surroundingsurrounding areasareas In 844, they even sacked the city of Rome itself but they were pushed back out within two decades or so—though they remained a presence in southern Italy and Sicily NNOTE:: DuringDuring thisthis timetime inin history,history, thethe caliphscaliphs successfullysuccessfully destroyeddestroyed thethe lastlast remnantsremnants ofof ChristianityChristianity inin theirtheir areas—theareas—the CoptsCopts inin Egypt,Egypt, andand thethe EasternEastern ChurchChurch onon thethe ArabianArabian peninsulapeninsula TheThe EarlyEarly MiddleMiddle AgesAges EvenEven thethe ChurchChurch waswas miredmired inin in-fightingin-fighting 860860±± CyrilCyril andand MethodiusMethodius roserose toto prominenceprominence TwoTwo brothersbrothers fromfrom Thessalonica,Thessalonica, thethe monksmonks becamebecame majormajor missionariesmissionaries toto thethe EastEast InIn fact,fact, ByzantineByzantine EmperorEmperor MichaelMichael IIIIII andand PatriarchPatriarch PhotiosPhotios askedasked themthem toto leadlead aa missionmission toto thethe growinggrowing KhazarKhazar KhaganateKhaganate (which(which affordedafforded religiousreligious freedomfreedom toto allall withinwithin itsits borders)borders) toto convinceconvince themthem toto suppresssuppress thethe expansionexpansion andand acceptanceacceptance ofof JudaismJudaism As a result, the Jewish king of the Khazars declared Judaism the new state religion TheThe EarlyEarly MiddleMiddle AgesAges EvenEven thethe ChurchChurch waswas miredmired inin in-fightingin-fighting 860860±± CyrilCyril andand MethodiusMethodius roserose toto prominenceprominence TwoTwo brothersbrothers fromfrom Thessalonica,Thessalonica, theythey becamebecame majormajor missionariesmissionaries toto thethe EastEast ButBut thethe brothersbrothers diddid managemanage toto createcreate aa newnew alphabetalphabet forfor thethe SlavsSlavs inin EasternEastern EuropeEurope Called “Glagolitic” (after the Slavic word, “glagolŭ,” meaning “to speak”), the alphabet allowed the Bible to be translated into the Slavic languagelanguage forfor thethe firstfirst time:time: It also provided the basis for the modern “Cyrillic” alphabet, still used in Eastern Europe and Russia today: ЭтоЭто КевинКевин что-точто-то писалписал нана РусскомРусском языке.языке. ДовольноДовольно удивительным,удивительным, нене правдаправда ли?ли? TheThe EarlyEarly MiddleMiddle AgesAges EvenEven thethe ChurchChurch waswas miredmired inin in-fightingin-fighting 860860±± CyrilCyril andand MethodiusMethodius roserose toto prominenceprominence 869869 FourthFourth CouncilCouncil ofof ConstantinopleConstantinople waswas heldheld PatriarchPatriarch IgnatiusIgnatius ofof ConstantinopleConstantinople hadhad politicallypolitically opposedopposed thethe uncleuncle ofof thethe youngyoung ByzantineByzantine Emperor,Emperor, MichaelMichael IIIIII So, in retribution, Michael had deposed him as Patriarch and put layman Photios in his place So, in retribution, Pope Nicholas exerted his authority and reinstated Ignatius (in name only) So, in retribution, Photios exerted his authority and excommunicated the Pope TheThe EarlyEarly MiddleMiddle AgesAges EvenEven thethe ChurchChurch waswas miredmired inin in-fightingin-fighting 860860±± CyrilCyril andand MethodiusMethodius roserose toto prominenceprominence 869869 FourthFourth CouncilCouncil ofof ConstantinopleConstantinople waswas heldheld PatriarchPatriarch IgnatiusIgnatius ofof ConstantinopleConstantinople hadhad politicallypolitically opposedopposed thethe uncleuncle ofof thethe youngyoung ByzantineByzantine Emperor,Emperor, MichaelMichael IIIIII WhenWhen BasilBasil II murderedmurdered MichaelMichael andand tooktook thethe thronethrone inin 867,867, hehe reallyreally deposeddeposed PhotiosPhotios SoSo newnew PopePope AdrianAdrian IIII heldheld aa CouncilCouncil inin Constantinople,Constantinople, officiallyofficially condemningcondemning PhotiosPhotios They also forced all Christians to venerate imagesimages ofof Christ,Christ, Mary,Mary, thethe Bible,Bible, andand thethe angelsangels TheThe EarlyEarly MiddleMiddle AgesAges EvenEven thethe ChurchChurch waswas miredmired inin in-fightingin-fighting 860860±± CyrilCyril andand MethodiusMethodius roserose toto prominenceprominence 869869 FourthFourth CouncilCouncil ofof ConstantinopleConstantinople waswas heldheld 879879 FourthFourth CouncilCouncil ofof ConstantinopleConstantinople waswas heldheld UnderUnder newnew PopePope JohnJohn VIII,VIII, RomeRome continuedcontinued toto pressurepressure EmperorEmperor BasilBasil I,I, increasinglyincreasingly treatingtreating himhim likelike aa CatholicCatholic puppetpuppet So, when Ignatius died in 879, Basil held another Council in Constantinople, officially reinstating Photios as Patriarch They also officially condemned the “Filioque” clause that Rome had added to the Creed TheThe EarlyEarly MiddleMiddle AgesAges EvenEven thethe ChurchChurch waswas miredmired inin in-fightingin-fighting 860860±± CyrilCyril andand MethodiusMethodius roserose toto prominenceprominence 869869 FourthFourth CouncilCouncil ofof ConstantinopleConstantinople waswas heldheld 879879 FourthFourth CouncilCouncil ofof ConstantinopleConstantinople waswas heldheld UnderUnder newnew PopePope JohnJohn VIII,VIII, RomeRome continuedcontinued toto pressurepressure EmperorEmperor BasilBasil I,I, increasinglyincreasingly treatingtreating himhim likelike aa CatholicCatholic puppetpuppet Interestingly, Pope John VIII sent a letter to the Council, affirming the appointment of Photios and stating that Rome agreed and considered the “Filioque” clause to be a heresy that needed to be eradicated—but the letter was a total forgery TheThe EarlyEarly MiddleMiddle AgesAges EvenEven thethe ChurchChurch waswas miredmired inin in-fightingin-fighting 860860±± CyrilCyril andand MethodiusMethodius roserose toto prominenceprominence 869869 FourthFourth CouncilCouncil ofof ConstantinopleConstantinople waswas heldheld 879879 FourthFourth CouncilCouncil ofof ConstantinopleConstantinople waswas heldheld ToTo thisthis day,day, TheThe RomanRoman CatholicCatholic ChurchChurch considersconsiders thethe CouncilCouncil ofof 869869 toto bebe thethe onlyonly “Fourth“Fourth CouncilCouncil ofof Constantinople,”Constantinople,” andand condemnscondemns PhotiosPhotios ToTo thisthis day,day, thethe EasternEastern OrthodoxOrthodox ChurchChurch considersconsiders thethe CouncilCouncil ofof 879879 toto bebe thethe onlyonly “Fourth“Fourth CouncilCouncil ofof Constantinople,”Constantinople,” andand reveresreveres PhotiosPhotios asas aa saintsaint TheThe EarlyEarly MiddleMiddle AgesAges EvenEven thethe ChurchChurch waswas miredmired inin in-fightingin-fighting 897897 TheThe CadaverCadaver SynodSynod waswas heldheld NewNew PopePope StephenStephen VIVI waswas unpopularunpopular withwith thethe generalgeneral populace—unlikepopulace—unlike hishis predecessor,predecessor, FormosusFormosus (who(who hadhad onlyonly beenbeen unpopularunpopular withwith thethe secularsecular authorities)authorities) (NOTE: Formosus had crowned the Italian Lambert of Spoleto Emperor, only to turn around the next year and crown the stronger Frankish Arnulf of Carinthia Emperor instead—who died soon after, leaving Italy again in the hands of the Spoleto dynasty) TheThe EarlyEarly MiddleMiddle AgesAges EvenEven thethe ChurchChurch waswas miredmired inin in-fightingin-fighting 897897 TheThe CadaverCadaver SynodSynod waswas heldheld NewNew PopePope StephenStephen VIVI waswas unpopularunpopular withwith thethe generalgeneral populace—unlikepopulace—unlike hishis predecessor,predecessor, FormosusFormosus (who(who hadhad onlyonly beenbeen unpopularunpopular withwith thethe secularsecular authorities)authorities) SoSo toto bolsterbolster hishis popularity,popularity, StephenStephen decideddecided toto publiclypublicly vilifyvilify hishis predecessorpredecessor He had Formosus' nine-month-old corpse exhumed, dressed in Papal robes, and placed on a mock throne A deacon spoke for Formosus as Stephen accused him of several trumped-up (and false) charges Formosus was condemned, and all of his Papal actions were overturned Formosus' corpse was stripped, his fingers were chopped off, and the body was burned, then tossed into a mass grave with foreigners Then the body was exhumed again, weighted down, and thrown into the Tiber TheThe EarlyEarly MiddleMiddle AgesAges EvenEven thethe ChurchChurch waswas miredmired inin in-fightingin-fighting 897897 TheThe CadaverCadaver SynodSynod waswas heldheld NewNew PopePope StephenStephen VIVI waswas unpopularunpopular withwith thethe generalgeneral populace—unlikepopulace—unlike hishis predecessor,predecessor, FormosusFormosus (who(who hadhad onlyonly beenbeen unpopularunpopular withwith thethe secularsecular authorities)authorities) SoSo toto bolsterbolster hishis popularity,popularity, StephenStephen decideddecided toto publiclypublicly vilifyvilify hishis predecessorpredecessor TheThe publicpublic outcryoutcry waswas enormousenormous Some people even claimed that Formosus' body rose from the Tiber and began working miracles Stephen was thrown into prison —where he was strangled TheThe EarlyEarly MiddleMiddle AgesAges EvenEven thethe ChurchChurch waswas miredmired inin in-fightingin-fighting 897897 TheThe CadaverCadaver SynodSynod waswas heldheld NewNew PopePope StephenStephen VIVI waswas unpopularunpopular withwith thethe generalgeneral populace—unlikepopulace—unlike hishis predecessor,predecessor, FormosusFormosus (who(who hadhad onlyonly beenbeen unpopularunpopular withwith thethe secularsecular authorities)authorities) SoSo toto bolsterbolster hishis popularity,popularity, StephenStephen decideddecided toto publiclypublicly vilifyvilify hishis predecessorpredecessor TheThe publicpublic outcryoutcry waswas enormousenormous NewNew PopePope TheodorusTheodorus IIII annulledannulled thethe SynodSynod He had Formosus' body pulled from the river, re- dressed in Papal robes, and then re-buried in St. Peter's TheThe EarlyEarly MiddleMiddle AgesAges EvenEven thethe ChurchChurch waswas miredmired inin in-fightingin-fighting 897897 TheThe CadaverCadaver SynodSynod waswas heldheld 898898 NewNew synodssynods confirmedconfirmed Theodorus'Theodorus' decisiondecision NewNew PopePope JohnJohn IXIX heldheld twotwo synods—onesynods—one inin RomeRome andand oneone inin RavennaRavenna The synod in Rome re-affirmed what Theodorus had done, and re-affirmed Formosus and his work as Pope, including reinstating all of the ordinations which he had performed The synod in Ravenna ordered all of the records and documentation from the Cadaver Synod to be burned, and condemned any future trials of corpses TheThe EarlyEarly MiddleMiddle AgesAges EvenEven thethe ChurchChurch waswas miredmired inin in-fightingin-fighting 897897 TheThe CadaverCadaver SynodSynod waswas heldheld 898898 NewNew synodssynods confirmedconfirmed Theodorus'Theodorus' decisiondecision 904904 NewNew synodsynod nullifiednullified Theodorus'Theodorus' decisiondecision NewNew PopePope SergiusSergius IIIIII camecame toto powerpower After murdering his two immediate predecessors (Pope Leo V and the Antipope Christopher) Sergius officially re-affirmed the Cadaver Synod and again condemned Formosus Legend says that he re-exhumed the corpse, re-tried Formosus, and then beheaded him TheThe EarlyEarly MiddleMiddle AgesAges EvenEven thethe ChurchChurch waswas miredmired inin in-fightingin-fighting 897897 TheThe CadaverCadaver SynodSynod waswas heldheld 898898 NewNew synodssynods confirmedconfirmed Theodorus'Theodorus' decisiondecision 904904 NewNew synodsynod nullifiednullified Theodorus'Theodorus' decisiondecision NewNew PopePope SergiusSergius IIIIII camecame toto powerpower ThisThis periodperiod ofof thethe PapacyPapacy hashas comecome toto bebe knownknown byby historianshistorians asas thethe SaeculumSaeculum ObscurumObscurum —the—the “Dark“Dark Age”Age”