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Bishops of Rome / Popes (Roman Catholic Church)
AD 42 - Present Day
According to Catholic tradition, Jesus founded the papacy in the first
century when he chose St Peter, the leader of the apostles, to be his
earthly representative. 'Thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build
my church,' he states in chapter 16 of Matthew. 'I will give to thee the
keys of the kingdom of heaven.' Those words, which now circle the dome
of St Peter's Basilica in Rome, serve as the biblical mandate for the
papacy. All bishops of Rome
(the title 'pope' was not used until the fourth century) are considered
symbolic descendants of Peter and are thought to hold 'Peter's Chair'.
Since then, there have been more than 260 occupants of the papal office.
The institution has endured through the defining moments of European
history, including the split of the Roman empire, the bloodbath of the
Crusades,
and the rise of the
Italian Renaissance.
However, the recently rediscovered gospels (found in
Egypt)
of Philip and of Mary Magdalene ('Magdalene' perhaps meaning 'The Tower)
reveal that Mary herself was much more likely to have been Jesus' choice
for the leader of his fledgling movement, rather than Peter. A theory has
emerged which suggests that there was a power struggle for leadership
between Mary - supported by Jesus' brothers and possibly even other female
disciples - and Peter, who could not accept that Jesus could appear to a
mere woman instead of his trusted (male) disciples. Had Mary won, the
church would have been a very different one from that which emerged. It
may have been a far less militant church, but possibly one which was less
likely to have survived.
Even so, women still had a much greater role in the early church than later
Roman Catholic church leaders would allow (or even admit). The 'lost' gospels
hint at another power struggle between the sexes over the ownership of the
church, this time in the second century, and it was not a foregone conclusion
which side would win. Generally attributed either to St Paul or a close
associate, even the book of Corinthians seems to show a degree of ambiguity,
or perhaps enforced change, in the role of women in the early church. The
final shots were fired at the First Council in AD 325, when the Catholic
Church was fully established.
The early sources are the basis for the Catholic Church's official list of
popes for the first two centuries, although some sources contradict one
another even as far as names and dates. The list was formulated no earlier
than about AD 180. Popes during this period did not hold supreme office in
the fashion of later holders of the office, but probably led the early
church as part of a collective. Anti-popes are shown in
red text with shaded backgrounds.
(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information by Dana Grohol,
from the BBC documentaries, The Lost Gospels and The Dead Sea
Scrolls, both first screened in 2006, from Roger II of Sicily: Ruler
between East and West, Hubert Houben (Graham A Loud & Diane Milburn,
Trans, 2002), from The Normans, Marjorie Chibnall (Wiley & Sons,
2006), and from External Links:
Catholic
Online, and Liber Pontificalis (The Book of the Popes),
available via the
Internet Archive, and
Early church found place for female bishops (The Telegraph), and
History
Extra, and
The Shroud of Turin,
and
History and Organization of the Swedish Lutheran Church.) |
AD ? - c.33 |
Jesus Christ / Jesus of Nazareth |
Founder of a new, Christian, church. Descendant of David of
Israel. |
c.11 - 6 BC |
Jesus, the son of Mary and her husband, Joseph the carpenter (whatever his
role in the actual conception of the child), is viewed by some of his peers in
Judea as the messiah foretold in the Old Testament. The exact dates
relating to him are uncertain, but the year of his birth is traditionally
accepted as being 11 BC or 7 BC. However, the census of Quirnius is held in
6 BC, which is the event that forces Mary and Joseph to return home when the
former is heavily pregnant.
The birth most likely takes place around September, as there is mention of
sheep and shepherds being out overnight. In winter the sheep would have been
kept indoors overnight so the temperature is clearly too warm for this, and
the weather is still convenient for travel. The name of the newborn child is
probably more correctly pronounced as Joshua or Yeshua in the original Hebrew,
before being passed through Greek, Latin, and English.
 |
The teachings of Jesus (whatever his true nature) drew a large
following amongst the occupied peoples of Judea and inspired the
creation of a new church
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|
c.AD 30 - 33 |
Generally
accepted by historians to be a healer, Jesus of Nazareth starts to preach
the restoration of God's kingdom (probably meaning a restoration of the
church organisation within
Judea). He is soon viewed with suspicion by the Jewish authorities,
and also by the occupying
Romans, and is arrested,
tried and executed by crucifixion about AD 33. The operation is ordered by
the Jewish government, and is overseen by the Romans. |
c.33 - ? |
Mary Magdalene ('tower' or 'fortress') |
Disciple of Jesus. Theoretical intended head of Jesus'
church? |
c.33 - 42 |
Whether the plans of Jesus had included founding an entirely new church or
not, this is what happens, although its birth is clouded in obscurity.
Looking at the so-called lost gospels which are later discovered in modern
Egypt,
it seems that Jesus may have intended Mary Magdalene, a disciple (and more
controversially, perhaps even his wife - the Gnostic Gospel of Philip
describes her as Jesus' 'companion' - which has the same meaning), to head
his movement (either to restore the Judean church or to become the focal
point of his new church).
Mary is supported by Jesus' brothers, most notably James, but according to
the Gnostic writings of the second or third centuries, tensions have long
existed between Peter and the male disciples on one side, and Mary and
possible other female disciples on the other side. Now that Jesus is not
around to keep the peace, a power struggle apparently ensues between them.
Ultimately, the group headed by Peter wins. Mary and James and their more
inclusive church are sidelined, and a male-dominated, hierarchical church
emerges, with Peter at its head. |
42 - 67 |
St Peter / Simon
Peter / Simon Cephas |
Disciple of Jesus.
First official bishop of
Rome. |
42 |
Following several missionary journeys,
Peter apparently goes to
Rome and
overthrows Simon Magus (Simon the Sorcerer or Simon of Gitta). There, he
begins to minister to the early Christians within the empire who are
brutally persecuted, often being subject to death games in the Coliseum and
public burnings. |
c.50 |
Peter attends the Council of Jerusalem, which decides to accept Gentile
(non-Jewish) converts to the new church. It seems that Peter is the one who
opposes the Pharisees in their demands for circumcision and Mosaic law in
relation to the Gentiles (according to Acts), although he has been guilty
himself of treating Gentiles as inferiors to Jewish Christians in the past
(the Incident at Antioch).
In Asia Minor, the Galatians may be on their way to becoming eastern
Romans, but they have not
entirely forgotten their Gaulish roots. They initially receive St Paul as an
angel from heaven but perhaps fail fully to understand the Christian
message. Acts (xiii-xiv) indicates that they have to be restrained at Lystra
from sacrificing to St Paul, and shortly afterwards they stone 'the Angel of
God', and leave him for dead. |
c.53 |
Hierotheos the Thesmothete (a junior archon) is
reputedly the first head of the Christians of
Athens.
Instructed by the Apostle Paul, he is baptised and ordained by him about
this year. The Roman Church has yet to be established, making this
appointment an important one in the spread of the new religion. |
67 |
Peter is crucified upside down by the
Romans under Emperor Nero,
in mockery of the execution of Jesus. Later Catholic tradition states that
this is Peter's choice, as he sees himself unfit to be executed in the same
way as Jesus. He is buried on Mons Vaticanus (Vatican Hill, now underneath
the Basilica of St Peter, probably directly beneath the altar). Many of the
early popes are buried on the same hill.
Later tradition says that St Paul is also martyred at the same place as
Peter and on the same date (29 June), but not necessarily in the same year. |
67 - 76 |
St Linus |
Ordained as a bishop by Peter. |
67 |
Some early sources claim Linus and then Anacletus as the successors of
Peter, while others claim Clement as his immediate successor. Anacletus and
Cletus are claimed by both the Liberian Catalogue and the Liber
Pontificalis as being two different people. |
76 - 88 |
St Anacletus /
Anencletus / Cletus |
Ordained as a bishop by Peter. Traditionally held to be a
Roman. |
88 - 97 |
St Clement I of
Rome |
Claimed in some early sources as being Peter's official successor. |
88 |
The earliest church fathers are usually known as the Apostolic Fathers,
these being teachers of theology who are influential within the growing
church within two generations of the apostles themselves. Clement is one of
several such Apostolic Fathers, writing the First Epistle of Clement to the
church at Corinth about AD 96. The Second Epistle of Clement is generally
accepted to have been written by somebody else. Traditionally, Clement is
executed by Emperor Trajan in
Rome,
who has him tied to an anchor and thrown into the sea. |
97 - 105 |
St Evaristus /
Aristus |
An Hellenic
Jew. |
105 - 115 |
St Alexander I |
A
Roman. |
115 -125 |
St Sixtus I /
Xystus I |
A
Roman. |
125 - 136 |
St Telesphorus |
A Greek. Suffered martyrdom at the hands of the
Romans. |
132 - 135 |
The Second Jewish Uprising in
Judah is led by Simon Bar Kochba against
Roman rule. The Jews are driven out of Jerusalem and a Roman temple
dedicated to Jupiter is built on the site of the Jewish temple itself. By
136, although the Romans forbid Jews to enter Jerusalem, Christian pilgrims
are permitted entrance. |
136 - 140 |
St Hyginus |
From
Athens. |
140 - 155 |
St Pius I |
An Italian and possibly a former slave. |
142/143 |
Marcion of Sinope arrives in
Rome.
He begins to construct a theology which proposes two gods instead of one,
the vengeful god of the Old Testament and the god of love in the gospels. He
is in favour of destroying the Old Testament altogether, and totally
removing the Jewish aspect from Christianity.
He proposes a definitive list of officially sanctioned gospels (a 'canon', from
the Greek word which means 'measuring stick'). He also argues that Jesus had been
a form of spirit rather than an ordinary man (an idea which is in line with Gnostic
thought). His efforts help form the idea of heresy, where theologies which fit the
chosen message (and are therefore orthodox) are sanctioned while all others
are condemned and banned.
After putting his ides to the first ever council of early church fathers, he is
excommunicated, but his ideas live on in a fairly powerful movement of Christians
for another two centuries. He is later considered to be one of the greatest heretics
of early Christianity. |
155 - 168 |
St Anicetus |
|
168 - 175 |
St Soterus /
Soter |
Confirmed Easter as an annual festival in
Rome. |
175 - 189 |
St Eleutherius /
Eleuterus |
Formerly a deacon of the
Roman
Church. |
175 - 189 |
It is during the pontificate of Eleutherius that the
Montanist movement of Asia Minor (especially in
Phrygia)
emerges as a problem for the Roman Church. Named after its
founder, Montanus, the movement preaches a doctrine which differs from
Orthodoxy on several key points, enough so that it is soon labelled a heresy
and is banned. It survives in some areas until the eighth century and some
have found similarities in it to modern Pentecostalism. |
178 - 180? |
Lucius of Britain (a possible hereditary
High King) writes to the Roman Church requesting to become a Christian.
He is later credited by British writers as being responsible for introducing
Christianity into Britain although, whether through his involvement or not,
a British Church does apparently begin to make its presence felt in the
country during this century. |
189 - 199 |
St Victor I |
First pope from Africa (Africa
Proconsularis). |
189 - 199 |
Victor introduces the Latin mass to Rome, where
it replaces the typical mass in Greek. He also takes a firmer stand in the
growing disagreement about dating the celebration of the Passover and
Easter. The Christian church in Asia Minor celebrates it on the fourteenth
day of the Jewish month of Nisan, the day before the Jewish Passover, on
whichever day that falls. Rome celebrates Easter only on the Sunday
following the fourteenth of Nisan. It is a small difference which is causing
increasing friction between the two Christian churches. |
199 - 217 |
St Zephirinus /
Zephyrinus |
|
202 or 203 |
The edict of persecution is issued in
Rome.
It forbids any conversion to Christianity under the severest penalties. This
follows a period of relative relaxation in the persecution of early
Christians within the empire.
 |
The Machiavellian Septimus Severus continued to increase the
glory of Rome (this surviving arch is named after him) but he
continued the imperial practice of Christian persecution
|
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|
217 - 222 |
St Calixtus I / Callixtus |
A former slave and then deacon to Zephirinus. Martyred. |
c.217 - 222 |
A highly learned theologian, Hippolytus the
priest had previously come into conflict with Zephirinus after accusing the
bishop of
Rome
of modalism, a heresy which holds that the names Father and Son are simply
different names for the same subject instead of being part of the Trinity of
Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Now, he is outraged by Calixtus when the bishop
extends absolution to Christians who have committed grave sins such as
adultery. Hippolytus seems to allow himself to be elected bishop of Rome in
opposition to Calixtus. |
c.217 - 235 |
Hippolytus (of Rome) |
Sometimes considered the first anti-pope. |
235 - c.236 |
Hippolytus is exiled from
Rome during the persecution of Emperor Maximinus Thrax (along with
Bishop Pontianus). He is apparently
reconciled with the Roman Church before his martyrdom, which possibly
involves him being
tied to two horses moving in opposite directions. |
222 - 230 |
St Urban I |
|
230 - 235 |
St Pontianus /
Pontian |
Exiled along with Hippolytus. |
235 - 236 |
St Anterius /
Anterus |
In office for one month and ten days. |
236 |
By this time, Christians are assembling in
Rome to elect each new head of the Roman Christian Church. Fabianus is a
layman who is new to the city, and is apparently chosen after a dove lands
on his head, marking him out for special office. |
236 - 251 |
St Fabianus /
Fabian / Flavian |
Martyred by Emperor Decius. |
249 - 251 |
Fabianus sends out representatives to
Christianise Gaul following the dissolution of many small Christian
communities there during persecutions by Emperor Decius. However, Decius'
next step is to order all citizens within the empire to perform a religious
sacrifice while being monitored. Naturally many Christians refuse and are
martyred as a result, Fabianus along with them. Decius also bans the
election of any replacement. The office is vacant for fourteen months, only
being filled when the emperor is forced to leave
Rome to fight the
Goths.
He does not return. |
c.250 |
Lutetia Parisiorum, capital of the
Parisii tribe in
Gaul,
receives Christianity according to tradition when St Denis becomes the
city's first bishop. Around the middle of the century, St Denis and two of
his companions are arrested and decapitated on the hill of Mons Mercurius
during the persecutions of Emperor Decius.
Roman
foundations have been found here by archaeologists, and after this date the
hill is better known as Mons Martyrum (Martyrs' Hill). The name survives
today as Montmartre. |
|
Moses |
Chief candidate for office but died during the
persecutions. |
251 - 253 |
St Cornelius |
A reluctant candidate for office. |
251 - 258 |
Novatianus
/ Novatian |
Anti-pope. Believed he would be elected instead of Cornelius. |
251 - 253 |
Incensed at being refused for office in favour of
Cornelius, Novatianus is consecrated by three bishops, placing him in opposition
as anti-pope. The core of his dislike of
Cornelius is the latter's refusal to accept rebaptism as a way of welcoming
lapsed Christians back into the church. Cornelius has him and his supporters
excommunicated, so Novatianus eventually forms his own
church, while Cornelius is killed during the persecutions of Emperor Trebonianus Gallus. |
253 - 254 |
St Lucius I |
Temporarily exiled from
Rome but allowed to return. |
254 - 257 |
St Stephen I |
Murdered during Emperor Valerian's persecution. |
257 |
A fresh wave of persecution sees Stephen beheaded by the
troops of Emperor Valerian while celebrating mass with his congregation. His
successor is able to repair relations with the Eastern Orthodox and African
churches following a breach under Stephen. |
257 - 259 |
St Sixtus II
/ Xystus II |
Martyred during Emperor Valerian's persecution. |
258 |
Anti-pope Novatianus flees
Rome during a period of persecution. His church spreads rapidly and
continues to exist for several centuries under the banner of Novatianism,
which espouses a form of Puritanism. |
259 - 269 |
St Dionysius |
Elected nearly a year after Sixtus' death due to the
persecutions. |
260 |
The accession of the new emperor, Gallienus, brings to an
end the wave of persecution that Valerian had triggered. Gallienus issues an
edict of toleration which lasts until AD 303 and gives the church legal
status. |
269 - 275 |
St Felix I |
|
275 - 283 |
St Eutychianus /
Eutychian |
|
283 - 296 |
St Caius |
|
296 - 304 |
St Marcellinus |
Apparently lapsed under persecution and worshipped pagan
idols. |
301 |
Christianity is officially adopted as
Armenia's state religion,
making it the world's first Christian nation. |
304 - 308 |
The office is vacant during the persecutions of Emperor Diocletian, which
begin in 303. Christian soldiers are forced to leave the
Roman
army, and subsequently church books are destroyed and property is
seized. Tougher measures follow which include death for Christians who
refuse to apostatise (relinquish their faith). One of the most famous
martyrs of this period, killed about 304, is Saint Pancras, a Roman citizen
aged fourteen. Shortly after converting to Christianity, he is beheaded for
his beliefs. |
308 - 309 |
St Marcellus I |
Banished from
Rome
by the church for severity to the lapsed. |
309 or 310 |
St Eusebius |
Banished by Emperor Maxentius for severity to the lapsed. |
309/310 - 311 |
The office is vacant again, either from the date of Eusebius' exile in 309
or his death on 17 August 310. |
311 - 314 |
St Melchiades /
Miltiades |
|
313 |
Emperor Constantine the Great confers imperial favour on the church with
the Edict of Milan. He effectively converts the Roman empire to
Christianity, giving it much greater influence and strength than it has ever
enjoyed up to this date. |
314 |
The First Council of Arles is held, in which three bishops from
Britain participate: Eborius of York, Restitutus of London, and
Adelphius of Lincoln or possibly Colchester. The Council condemns the heresy
of Donatism. |
314 - 336 |
St Sylvester I |
First bishop of Rome
to use the title of 'Pope'. |
325 |
The
first ecumenical Christian council, the 'First Council (Nicaea
I)' is held by Constantine the Great in
Rome. All of the fundamental basics of
Catholic Christianity are debated and decided, including which books to
include in the Bible (and which to discard because they do not fit the
specific message to be broadcast by the church), the date for Easter, and
the divinity of Jesus, whereas before he had usually been regarded by his
followers as an ordinary (if special) man.
 |
The First Council of Nicaea, held in Rome in AD 325, decided
upon the basic tenants of the Catholic Church, including the
contents of the Bible
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|
Arianism
is condemned, and the gospels of Peter (which claims that Jesus did not die),
Philip, and Mary (which contradict the 'official' line) are banned. Part of
their problem is that they had been written a little later than the more
popular, accepted gospels, and have not found such popularity and therefore
circulation, despite claiming to be written by disciples themselves. They
also muddy the water in terms of the message, a message which even at this
stage of the church's existence has to be a clear and strong one for the
church to survive. It also has to be clear and strong for Constantine's
Roman empire to survive - a single form of Christianity, a soldier's form of
Christianity, from which any meaningful female presence around Jesus or in
the 'modern' church is erased or sidelined. |
326 - 333 |
Between these two dates the construction of Old St Peter's Basilica is begun
under the orders of Emperor Constantine. The site formerly housed the Circus
of Nero, and the basilica takes about thirty years to complete. It survives
until the sixteenth century. Constantine also begins the construction of
other great churches in
Rome. |
336 - 337 |
St Marcus /
Mark |
Credited with founding the Basilica of San Marco in
Rome. |
337 - 352 |
St Julius I |
Elected four months after the death of Marcus. |
352 - 366 |
Liberius |
|
353 - 354 |
The Second Council of Arles is called to support Arianism. The two papal
legates present refuse to condemn Arius (died AD 336), a Christian presbyter
from
Egypt who had refused the concept of the Trinity, preaching instead that
God existed before Christ. The following year, Liberius is exiled to Thrace
by the emperor and is only allowed to return in 356. With Anti-pope Felix
already occupying the Roman See, Liberius waits until he is ejected from the
city before he himself returns to office. |
356 |
Felix II |
Anti-pope. Expelled by the
Roman
people. |
359 |
The Council of Ariminum (modern Rimini) is held in
Italy, and three
bishops from the
British
Church
participate. It seems that free travel may be extended to all attendees
to the council, along with lodgings. |
366 |
Damasus succeeds Liberius amid factional violence. He is elected pope at the
same time as Ursinus, former deacon to Liberius. Damasus is elected in San
Lorenzo in Lucia, supported by the former followers of Anti-pope Felix,
while Ursinus is elected in
Rome.
The latter's supporters are attacked by those of Damasus, and many are
slaughtered during a three-day riot. Emperor Valentinian is forced to
intervene to restore peace in the city. |
366 - 384 |
St Damasus I |
|
366 - 367 |
Ursinus / Ursicinus |
Anti-pope. Exiled to
Gaul. Returned & exiled again. Died
after 384. |
378 |
Ursinus is condemned at a synod and Damasus is confirmed as the true pope.
Ursinus continues to press his claim to be the true pope during the election
of Siricius in 384. |
381 |
The Second Council
(Constantinople I) is held. Arianism is condemned for the second time, but
it still becomes a major division of the Christian church, being adopted by
most of the Germanic tribes who are beginning to enter the
Roman
empire's territory (the notable exception being the
Franks). The Council definitively establishes Roman Catholic
orthodoxy. |
384 - 399 |
St Siricius |
|
385 |
Siricius issues a decree stating that priests should desist from cohabiting
with their wives. It is suggested that Siricius himself had left his wife
and children upon his election as pope. (The title 'pope' is at this stage
used by many leading bishops, most notably that of Alexandria in
Egypt. Only from the sixth century does its use begin to be focused
exclusively on the bishop of
Rome.)
In the same year, in Augusta Treverorum, Emperor Magnus Maximus sentences
to death the bishop of Avila, Priscillian, after he and some of his followers
have been found guilty of the crime of magic. The charge is the only way that
Priscillian's vehement opponents can be rid of the eloquent and learned
promulgator of a doctrine that is based on the Gnostic-Manichaean doctrines
of an Egyptian called Marcus. Priscillianism is later declared a heresy, but
its teachings persist in Iberia and Ariamir, king of the
Suevi, is
forced to call the First Council of Braga in 561 to deal with it. |
399 - 401 |
St Anastasius I |
|
401 - 417 |
St Innocent I |
Son (disputed). |
410 |
During the sack of
Rome
by Alaric the
Visigoth,
the pagan Germanic people attempt to reintroduce pagan worship into the
city. The attempt appears to fail due to public disinterest, suggesting that
Rome is now a dedicated Christian city.
|
416 |
A
synod is held in
Carthage (the Council of Carthage) in the province of
Africa which takes a firm line against the Pelagian 'heresy'. Pelagius
(c.354-420/440) is a
British
ascetic who has allegedly denied the doctrine of original sin and he finds
many supporters in Britain, especially amongst the educated classes. He is
also the first member of the
British Church to be named in any source, perhaps
reflecting a school of free-thinking clerics that has developed in the
country. |
417 - 418 |
St Zosimus |
Deeply involved in the controversy of the Pelagian
'heresy'. |
418 |
On the death of Zosimus, two candidates are put forward for election,
Boniface and Eulatius. Galla Placidia, the empress consort of Constantius
III, has both men expelled from
Rome,
but Eulatius returns the following Easter to perform baptisms. The emperor
has him stripped of his rank and banishes him from Rome, leaving Boniface to
be elected pope on 28 December.
|
418 |
Eulatius |
Unelected pope. Banished. |
418 - 422 |
St Boniface I |
Successful rival of Eulatius. |
422 - 432 |
St Celestine I |
Former deacon. |
429 |
St Germanus, bishop of Auxerre, and Lupus, bishop of Troyes, are sent by
Pope Celestine to visit
Britain
so that they can fight the Pelagian 'heresy'. They meet with a still extant Romano-British
aristocracy (the principle proponents of the heresy), probably at Verulamium
(Caer Mincip, possibly administered from
Caer Colun). |
431 |
The Third Council
(Ephesus) is held. Nestorianism is condemned and the nature of Christ's
human and divine forms is discussed. Part of the result is that Mary is
confirmed as the 'Mother of God'.
In the same year, after consecrating St Palladius,
Celestine send him as the first bishop of the
British Church to
Ireland.
It seems that this Palladius is the 'Deacon Palladius' who urges the visit
of Germanus to
Britain
in 429. |
432 - 440 |
St Sixtus III /
Xystus III |
'Xystus' is used as an alternate spelling for the first
three Sixtus. |
440 - 461 |
St Leo I the
Great |
First pope to be
called 'Great'. A fervent centraliser of the church. |
447 |
The
Roman
emperor orders the Gnostic texts (those rejected in 325 for inclusion in the
New Testament) to be burnt by fire, although their eventual disappearance is
caused more by their ceasing to be published. |
451 |
The
Fourth Council (Chalcedon) is held. Monophysitism is condemned, but the fatal
disaffection of
Syria
and Egypt
is effected (the former eventually forms the Syriac Orthodox Church which
survives to the present day). Oriental Orthodoxy develops a distinctive
flavour of its own under the patriarchate of Alexandria in Egypt, with the
majority of its adherents hailing from Egypt,
Ethiopia, Eritrea, and
Armenia. |
452 |
By
this time, the headquarters of Attila the
Hun is situated on the west
bank of the Danube at Sicambria (Roman Aquincum, and modern Buda). Attila
meets Leo I and is persuaded not to attack and destroy
Rome, and also to give
up slaughtering Christians. Even so, his approach into
Italy causes panic, and
refugees from Aquileia and other cities escape into the lagoon marshes to form
a settlement which becomes
Venice. Attila's subsequent
withdrawal from Italy and his death the following year are a massive boost
for the popularity of the Roman Church, perhaps ensuring its survival and the
pre-eminence of the bishop of Rome. |
455 |
Emperor Maximus rules for only 77 days
before being stoned to death by a
Roman mob while fleeing Genseric's
Vandali
on 24 May, after which the Vandali spend fourteen days sacking Rome. In the
same year, the
British Church
alters the date of Easter in line with a Continental change, but another
change thirty years later is not followed in
Britain. Therefore, contact with the Roman Church is lost during this
period.
 |
An interpretation of Genseric's sack of Rome in AD 455 by the
Russian artist, Karl Briullov, painted between about 1833-1836,
perhaps the key moment in the city's fifth century decline
|
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|
461 - 468 |
St Hilarus /
Hilarus / Hilary |
Former archdeacon under Leo. |
465 |
The
churches of Hispania have generally functioned outside of papal control
until this point. The Synod of Rome in this year confirms papal jurisdiction
over Hispania following the request of the bishop of Barcelona for the pope
to confirm a specific successor to him in his office. |
468 - 483 |
St Simplicius |
|
476 |
On 4 September, an
Ostrogothic general of the
Roman
army takes Ravenna, effectively ending the empire and replacing its remains
with a
Gothic kingdom of Italy. However, the bishop of the Church in Rome is
largely left alone.
|
483 - 492 |
St Felix III |
Reputed to be the great-great-grandfather of Gregory the
Great. |
488 - 493 |
Theodoric leads an Ostrogothic invasion of
Italy and kills Odoacer,
before setting up a Romanised
Ostrogothic
kingdom of
Italy based at the
imperial capital of Ravenna. |
492 - 496 |
St Gelasius I |
Subject of
Odoacer's Gothic kingdom,
and then the
Ostrogoths. |
495 |
A fresco uncovered in the catacomb of San Gennaro, Naples, in the second
decade of the twenty-first century shows what very much seems to be the
figure of a female bishop of the early church. In the very late fifth
century or early sixth century, the Bishop Cerula whose likeness is captured
in this fresco is fulfilling the normal duties of a bishop in southern
Italy. It seems that
she is not the only female bishop of the early church. However, in 495 Pope
Gelasius writes to the bishops in southern Italy that women in those
communities are ministering at the holy altars and that this should stop.
The pope's command is obeyed (see photo below). |
496 - 498 |
Anastasius II |
|
498 |
Laurentius |
Elected, but stood down. Installed by
Ostrogoth
king in 502. |
498 - 514 |
St Symmachus |
Briefly removed from office in 502-506. |
498 - 506 |
Laurentius and Symmachus are both elected pope on the same day, the former
by a minority faction with
Byzantine sympathies.
Symmachus is supported by Theodoric, the
Ostrogothic king
of Italy, but in 502
the pope's character is stained by trumped up charges laid by one of
Laurentius' supporters. Laurentius is installed by Theodoric and remains pope
for four years, until his Byzantine leanings become too much for the king and
Symmachus is recalled.
 |
The fifth century fresco of Bishop Cerula in the San Gennaro
catacomb, Naples, destroys the myth that only men ministered
to the faithful in the early church and instead adds support
to the theory that women played a vital role in the church's
early success
|
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|
502 - 506 |
Laurentius |
A
Byzantine
supporter. 'Temporary pope' until removed in 506. |
514 - 523 |
St Hormisdas |
|
519 |
A
breach with the Church of Constantinople which had opened in 484 is healed
by Hormisdas. |
523 - 526 |
St John I |
Arrested and imprisoned by
Ostrogoth
king Theodoric and died. |
526 - 530 |
St Felix IV |
Theodoric's favoured successor. |
526 - 530 |
It is
during the pontificate of Felix than an imperial edict is passed which rules
that cases against members of the clergy should be heard by the pope himself. |
530 |
Dioscorus |
Elected. Died 22 days later. Consecrated simultaneous to
Boniface. |
530 - 533 |
Boniface II |
The first
Germanic pope, an
Ostrogoth.
Never elected. |
533 - 535 |
John II Mercurius |
First pope to adopt a new name when elected. Born
Mercurius. |
533 |
The
last known decree to be issued by the Roman Senate concerns the practice of
preferment, the purchase or sale of church offices, which is rife. The
practice is banned under Boniface's pontificate and confirmed by the
Ostrogoth
king, Athalaric. |
535 - 536 |
St Agapetus I |
Fell ill and died shortly after the
Byzantine
capture of Rome. |
536 - 537 |
St Sylverius /
Silverius |
Son of Hormisdas. Deposed and eventually exiled. |
536 - 537 |
General Belisarius of the
Eastern Roman empire
enters Rome shortly before it is besieged by the
Ostrogoth King Vittigis. The city suffers starvation until the siege is
lifted and Belisarius pursues his opponents. Before he does this he is
ordered by Empress Theodora in Constantinople to depose Pope Sylverius in
favour of her choice, Vigilius. |
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Byzantine Popes (Roman Catholic Church)
AD 537 - 752
The authority of the East Roman empire, or
Byzantine
empire, had been playing an ever more prominent role in influencing the
actions of the papacy, perhaps from as early as 475 and the official
termination of the
Western Roman
empire. However, with the freeing of Rome by General Belisarius from
Ostrogoth rule in 537, the Byzantine emperors now demanded the final say
in electing the pope.
Many popes of this period were appointed from the apocrisiarii, the
papal liaison to the emperor. In later years the task of selecting the pope
would be delegated to the exarchate of
Ravenna, the city through
which the Byzantine empire controlled
Italy. It was only when Byzantine
authority in Italy began to decline during the eighth century that papal
authority was able to reassert itself.
|
537 - 556 |
Vigilius |
First of the popes to be under
Byzantine
domination. |
542 - 544 |
The 'Plague of Justinian' strikes Constantinople with the arrival of bubonic
plague, and it quickly spreads to Italy. The
Byzantine empire
is devastated by it, and critically weakened at the point at which it is
about to conquer all of Italy from its base at
Ravenna and bring it under the rule of one Roman
emperor for the first time since 395. |
546 - 552 |
The
Ostrogoths
recapture Rome under the leadership of Baduila. An attempt by the much larger
Byzantine forces
to relieve it narrowly fails and it is sacked by the otherwise merciful and
disciplined Ostrogoth It takes until 552 for the Byzantine
empire to regain control over the city, and an exarchate is set up at
Ravenna (the
seat of the late
Western
Roman emperors) to govern Italy.
 |
Typical coins issued under Justin I and Justinian I, who were
responsible for a resurgence in the power of Roman emperors in
the east
|
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|
553 |
The
Fifth Council (Constantinople II) is held. Monophysitism is condemned again,
this time by Vigilius. Empress Theodora in Constantinople (now deceased) had
helped him to the papacy on the understanding, supported by cash, that he
would be a supporter of Monophysitism. |
556 - 561 |
Pelagius I |
|
561 |
King Ariamir of the
Suevi in Iberia
calls the First Council of Braga to deal with the continuing problem of the
Priscillianism heresy and to decide various other matters related to the
Roman Church. Priscillian had been a late fourth century Iberian Roman who
developed a doctrine based on the Gnostic-Manichaean doctrines of an
Egyptian called Marcus. His work had been declared heresy after his death in
385. Following the successful council, Priscillianism soon dies out. |
561 - 575 |
John III |
Pope during the
Lombard invasion and
poorly recorded. |
568 - 572 |
The
Lombards invade
northern Italy. Rome
is temporarily isolated during this period and records are destroyed, leaving
little information about the pontificate of John III. The pontificate is vacant
for eleven months following his death as communications with the
Byzantine
empire are extremely difficult. |
569 |
King Theodemar of the
Suevi in Iberia (or possibly Miro, his successor) convenes the First
Council of Lugo to increase the number of dioceses in his kingdom, possibly
because parts of it are under the religious administration of bishops whose
seats are in the
Visigoth kingdom.
It would appear that several new dioceses are in fact created as these are
represented in the Second Council of Braga in 572. |
575 - 579 |
Benedict I /
Bonosus |
Died during a famine which followed the
Lombard
attacks. |
575 - 579 |
Benedict had been born into the Roman nobility in 480. He lives as a
mountain hermit before founding the famous Benedictine monastery at
Monte Cassino in Italy.
He founds eleven more monasteries and survives an attempted assassination
by blessing a poisoned cup. Elected as the 62nd Pope, his four year reign
is troubled by war and famine. |
579 - 590 |
Pelagius II |
Son of Winigild, probably of
Ostrogothic
descent. Plague victim. |
580 |
Eastern Roman Emperor
Tiberius II reorganises the surviving Roman territories in Italy into five provinces
which are given the Greek name eparchies. The new provinces are the Annonaria
in northern Italy around Ravenna,
Calabria, Campania, Emilia and Liguria, and the Urbicaria around the city of Rome
(Urbs). To the north, the duchy of Venice
remains nominally under the service of the Eastern Romans. |
589 |
About this year, the
Visigoths and their
Romano-Hispanic subjects are led by King Recared to abandon Arian Christianity
in favour of the Roman Church. |
590 - 604 |
St Gregory I the Great
/ Gregorius |
Also known in the east as Gregory Dialogus. |
590 - 591 |
Theodelinda, daughter of Garibald I of
Bavaria,
rules the Lombard kingdom of
Italy briefly upon the death
of her husband. She is a Nicene Christian, an adherent of the Roman Church,
and is very important in terms of increasing the importance and reach of the
Catholic church in Italy over Arian Christianity. Thanks in large part to her
efforts in winning converts the church at Rome is able to secure its primacy
in Italy and can begin to focus its attention on making fresh converts elsewhere.
 |
Pope Gregory I was one of the most important and influential
figures for the early papacy, spreading Christianity to new
outposts such as Corsica, Sardinia, and England
|
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|
594 |
The pagan Prince Ospitone of
Sardinia
is reprimanded for his attacks on Christians on the island by Pope Gregory I in
a letter entitled Dum enim Barbaricini omnes ut insensata animalia vivant,
deum verum nesciant, ligna autem et lapides adorent ('Living, all like
irrational animals, ignorant of the true God and worshiping wood and stone').
The prince is soon convinced by Gregory to convert to Christianity, perhaps
due in part to the situation regarding his ongoing conflict with the
Byzantine Dux
Zabarda. His followers are not so easily convinced. The prince is ostracised
for a short period before his people accept conversion under the Christian
missionaries, Felix and Ciriaco. |
597 |
Augustine is sent by Pope Gregory to
England to establish the Catholic
church and Christianise the Anglo-Saxons. He is cautiously received in
Kent, thanks
to King Ethelbert's Christian wife, and establishes the archbishopric at
Canterbury.
In the same year, the pope writes to Bishop Peter of Alaria on the island of
Corsica, which suggests that Christianity has already entered the island, at
least to a degree. The bishop is instructed to recover converts who have
lapsed (a regular process in newly-converted regions), and to convert more
of the island's pagans. Bishop Peter is also sent funds for the purchase of
additional baptismal robes. The result of the bishop's work is unclear, as
Alaria is left unattended by ecclesiastical authority in 601. |
603 |
The first meeting takes place between the Roman
Church in the form of St Augustine of
Canterbury, and the
Celtic Church (the descendant of
the former
British Church of the
Roman
period). A church organisation seems to have survived intact from
prior to the Saxon takeover of some regions of the country, and the meeting goes favourably for Augustine.
A second meeting is quickly arranged, although perhaps not in the same year.
It is attended by seven bishops of the Celtic Church, along with many
learned monks, but the Britons are not impressed with Augustine's imperious
manner and the meeting ends in disappointment for the Roman envoy, with no
agreements of cooperation or unity being reached between the two churches,
especially in regard to the important question of the calculations for
Easter and evangelising the pagan
English. |
604 - 607 |
Sabinianus /
Sabinian |
|
607 - 608 |
Boniface III |
Elected successor but remained in Constantinople for
almost 1 yr. |
608 - 615 |
St Boniface IV |
Succeeded after a vacancy of nine months. |
609 |
Under Boniface IV, the Pantheon in Rome is converted from a pagan temple
into a Christian church, the first such instance of this in the city. |
615 - 619 |
St Deusdedit /
Adeodatus I / Deodatus I |
|
615 |
Tradition accords Pope Deusdedit with the honour of creating the papal bull,
when he uses lead seals ('bullae' in Latin) to sign off on papal documents. |
619 - 625 |
Boniface V |
Succeeded after a vacancy of over a year. |
619 |
Working hard to help establish Christianity amongst the pagan
Angles and
Saxons of
England,
Boniface V also establishes churches as places of refuge for criminals. |
619 - 620 |
Following growing discontent with the
Byzantine
masters of the exarchate of
Ravenna,
Exarch Eleutherius
notes that the emperor's focus is on fighting the
Sassanids and takes the opportunity to declare himself emperor. In 620
he marches on Rome, intent on making it his capital, but he is murdered by
his own troops. |
625 - 638 |
Honorius I |
|
638 - 640 |
Despite being elected as the successor to Honorius, Pope Severinus is unable
to assume his office thanks to delays by the
Byzantine
emperor in confirming his appointment, part of the ongoing disagreements
about the divine and human nature of Jesus which have been rumbling on for
decades. |
640 |
Severinus |
Succession delayed by over 18 months. In office for 2
months. |
640 - 642 |
John IV |
|
640 - c.641 |
Slavs
which include the
Croats are invited by
Byzantine
Emperor Heraclius to help him fight the
Avars. The Croats receive their
present-day lands to settle as a reward but the Slav presence in Dalmatia and
Istria leads to the
destruction of churches, and Pope John IV, a Dalmatian, is forced to pay
large sums of money to free prisoners. The relics of some of the more
important Dalmatian saints are interred in Rome. |
642 - 649 |
Theodore I |
|
649 - 653 |
St Martin I |
Not
approved by
Constantinople. Arrested, died in
exile in Crimea. |
652 - 653 |
Pope Martin's election has not been referred to
Eastern Roman Emperor
Constans II for approval. Constans orders Olympus, exarch of
Ravenna, to remove him
from office, but Olympus is continually frustrated in his efforts to do
this. Instead, he switches his allegiance. Now supporting the pope, he
declares himself emperor. In the same year he marches into
Sicily, although who he is about
to fight, the Roman strategos or the Arabs, is not clear. Instead he
is struck down by disease and dies. His replacement is Exarch Theodore, who
enters Rome so that his soldiers can drag
the pope from the Lateran. Martin is packed onto a ship and sent into exile
in Crimea, but it takes a year
before the Romans to elect a new pope. |
654 - 657 |
St Eugenius I |
|
657 - 672 |
St Vitalianus /
Vitalian |
|
664 |
An English
priest, Wighard, is selected to be archbishop of
Canterbury
by the new king of
Kent,
Egbert I, perhaps with support from Oswiu of
Northumbria. He is sent to Rome to receive consecration from Pope Vitalianus,
but is killed by bubonic plague before the act can be carried out.
In the same year, and also in
Britain,
the Synod of Whitby sees Oswiu accept the Catholic church of Rome and its
representative at Canterbury in preference to the
Celtic Church based at Iona,
thereby sidelining the latter.
|
672 - 676 |
Adeodatus II /
Deodatus II |
|
672 - 676 |
In this period, Adeodatus II grants
Venice
the right to select its own doge, although the office appears not to be
introduced for another two decades. |
676 - 678 |
Domnus (I) /
Donus |
|
678 - 682 |
St Agathon /
Agatho |
The first of the 'Greek Popes' (678-752). |
678 - 690 |
The
English
Bishop Wilfred arrives in
Frisia and the Anglo-Saxon Christianisation of the
Germanic lands begins, although the first mission is quickly aborted as the
fiercely pagan Redbad gains the throne and enmity against the
Merovingian kings increases. A second attempt in 690 proves much more
successful and for the best part of a century churchmen and monks crisscross
the Channel or North Sea, intent on spreading the Christian faith amongst
their Germanic cousins who border the Merovingian Frankish kingdom. There is
special interest in the conversion of the German
Saxons,
whom the English consider their kinsfolk. |
680 - 681 |
The Sixth Council
(Constantinople III) is held. The Monotheletism which is supported by
Constantinople is condemned and suppressed, despite the pope's failure
to win the emperor over to Orthodoxy. The Council heals the growing rift
between Rome and the patriarch of Constantinople.
 |
The Sixth Council was held during the period of Byzantine
influence in Rome, but it did not prevent the Catholic church
from condemning the religious practices of the emperor
|
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|
682 - 684 |
St Leo II |
|
683 |
Following the short-lived declaration of independence by the archbishop of
Ravenna (about 670-678), the independence of the see of
Ravenna is
suppressed. Rome's rights over the see are confirmed by
Byzantine
Emperor Constantine IV. |
683 - 684 |
During his short papacy, Leo moves the relics of a number of martyrs from
the catacombs under Rome into churches, apparently to protect them from
Lombard
raids. He also dedicates the newly-built churches of St Paul, and St
Sebastian & St George. |
684 - 685 |
St Benedict II |
|
685 - 686 |
John V |
First
Byzantine
pope elected without imperial consent. |
686 - 687 |
Conon |
Confirmed by
Byzantine Exarch
Theodore II at
Ravenna. |
687 - 701 |
St Sergius I |
His arrest was
ordered but
the Italian garrison refused. |
687 |
The
rivalry between the two candidates for the papacy - Paschal and Theodorus -
erupts into open conflict before a third candidate, Sergius, is elected.
Theodorus quickly changes his position to recognise Sergius'
better-supported claim, but Paschal offers the exarch of
Ravenna,
John II Platinus, gold in exchange for military support. The exarch arrives
to collect his gold, and does so by looting St Peter's (Old) Basilica,
before departing back to Ravenna. Paschal is arrested and confined to a
monastery on charges of witchcraft. |
687 |
Paschal |
Anti-pope. Confined to a monastery. |
687 |
Theodorus / Theodore |
Anti-pope. Recognised Sergius I in 687 and gave way. |
695 |
Sergius ordains Bishop Willibrord as the bishop of the
Frisians. The bishop is a
Northumbrian
missionary and a follower of Bishop Wilfred, one of a wave of
English
Christians to enter
Germanic lands in this period in order to bring them
into the faith. Willibrord becomes the first bishop of Utrecht. |
701 - 705 |
John VI |
|
c.705 |
Gisulf of Benevento marches
on the cities of Arce, Arpino, and Sora, and after taking them ventures
as far as Horrea, plundering and burning along the way. With the Campanian
region lying devastated behind him, and his forces encamped near Rome, he
is persuaded through the receipt of gifts by John VI to withdraw in
peace. |
705 - 707 |
John VII |
|
708 |
Sisinnius |
Held office for about three weeks. |
708 - 715 |
Constantine I |
Brother? Last pope to visit
Byzantine Constantinople. |
715 - 731 |
St Gregory II |
|
726 - 728 |
The
Lombards
take control of the exarchate of
Ravenna. As a result,
Byzantine
imperial authority is temporarily unrecognised in Italy, marking a break in
Constantinople's control over the papacy. |
731 - 741 |
St Gregory III |
Appealed to the
Franks for help against
the Lombards. |
741 - 752 |
St Zachary /
Zacharius |
Last pope of the
Byzantine
papacy. |
751 |
The
Carolingian mayor of the palace, Pepin
III, deposes the last Merovingian king with the
blessing of the pope, and takes the throne for himself. Through this
despicable act, the pope expects greater Frankish support against the threat
of Lombard
raids in Italy. |
752 |
The exarchate
of
Ravenna is
recaptured by the
Lombards,
permanently ending
Byzantine influence in Italy.
Rome is reduced to her ancient territory from Viterbo to
Terracina, and from Narni to the mouth of the Tiber. From this point forwards,
the papacy looks to the
Franks for protection. |
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Frankish Popes (Roman Catholic Church)
AD 752 - 857
Declining Byzantine
power in the face of multiple threats along its vulnerable land borders led
to a general loss of influence in
Italy, especially in
the face of the increasing power of the
Germanic
Lombards, who were
settling in large areas of the country. Instead, the papacy sought protection
from the powerful Franks who by now dominated most of central and western
Europe north of the Alps. Within half a century of its enforced break with
Constantinople, the papacy recognised Charlemagne as the Frankish emperor
of the west, turning its back on the weakening east and heralding the
beginning of the
Carolingian hegemony of western Europe. |
752 |
Stephen II |
Suffered a stroke shortly after election. 'Un-recognised'
in 1962. |
752 - 757 |
Stephen III (II) |
|
754 |
Rome is delivered from
Lombard attack by Pepin III, king of the
Franks. This fulfils
his role as the ordained protector of the church following Pope Stephen's visit
to Paris, during which he re-consecrated the Frankish king. The
ex-Byzantine exarchate
of Ravenna is transferred
to the pope in the form of the Papal States.
 |
Charles Martel's defeat of the Moors in 732 established the
position of the Carolingian Franks as a major power in Europe,
and the papacy turned to them for support
|
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|
755 - 756 |
Following a brief resurgence by the
Lombards in 755, the
Carolingians are forced to reconquer them. The
ex-Byzantine exarchate
of Ravenna is handed
back to the pope as the Papal States and northern
Italy becomes part of
the Carolingian empire,
although the Papal States are autonomously controlled by the archbishops of Ravenna
until 1218. |
757 - 767 |
St Paul I |
Brother. |
767 |
During the last days of Paul I, Constantine III, a layman,
is selected as his replacement. He is quickly ordained and elevated to the
papal office, but in 768 is taken prisoner in the monastery of San Saba and
is subsequently killed by
Lombards.
Philip is the Lombard candidate of choice, but his accession is cut short by
the papal chancellor, Christophorus, who then oversees the elevation of Pope
Stephen III. |
767
- 768 |
Constantine II |
Anti-pope. Killed by
Lombards. |
768 |
Philip |
Anti-pope, for one day. |
768 - 772 |
Stephen IV (III) |
|
772 - 795 |
Adrian I /
Hadrian I |
Died aged 95. |
774 |
Desiderius, king of the
Lombards,
invades the papal territories, and Adrian is forced to call upon Charlemagne, king of the
Carolingian
Franks, for support and aid. Charlemagne enters
Italy and breaks the
Lombards. Taking the title of 'king of the Lombards' for himself,
Charlemagne confirms the 'Donation of Pepin' of 754, and Rome also
gains part of the Lombard duchy of
Benevento. |
787 - 803 |
The
Seventh Council (Nicaea II) is held. Iconoclasm is condemned under the guidance
of Byzantine Empress
Irene. Adrian also consents to the elevation of the bishopric of Lichfield as
England
briefly pays host to a third archdiocese under the control of Offa of
Mercia.
It lasts until 799 and is officially terminated in 803, with full authority being
returned to
Canterbury. |
795 - 816 |
St Leo III |
|
800 |
Leo
III crowns King Charlemagne of the Carolingian
Franks as 'Roman
Emperor', which gives the papacy a basis for claiming sovereign rights over
the later Holy Roman Emperors.
 |
Under Charlemagne's leadership, the Franks greatly
expanded their borders eastwards, engulfing tribal
states, the Bavarian state and its satellite, Khorushka,
and much of northern Italy, with the Avars now an
eastern neighbour (click or tap on map to view full sized)
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|
816 - 817 |
Stephen V (VI) |
Ordered Rome to swear
fidelity to Frankish
Emperor Louis I |
817 - 824 |
St Paschal I |
|
824 - 827 |
Eugenius II /
Eugene II |
100th (Official)
pope. |
824 |
Zinzinnius |
Candidate of the plebeians but refused by Lothar I of
Francia Media. |
827 |
Valentinus /
Valentine |
Pope for between 30-40 days. |
827 - 844 |
Gregory IV |
|
827 |
Gregory initially recognises the supremacy of the
Frankish Roman Emperor, Louis the Pious, but the subsequent quarrels
between him and his sons, Lothar (later ruler of
Middle
Francia), Charles the Bald (later to rule in
Western Francia), and Louis the
German (Eastern Francia),
changes matters. Gregory sides with Lothar in the hope of providing a
peaceful resolution to the wars, but this merely serves to annoy the
Frankish bishops. Gregory responds by insisting on the primacy of the office
of pope over the emperor, laying the grounds for much future conflict
between the
Holy Roman Emperors and the papacy. |
844 - 847 |
Sergius II |
Consecrated without
Frankish imperial approval in
Italy. |
844 |
John |
Proclaimed by the masses but suppressed by the
nobility. |
846 |
An
Aghlabid
fleet sails up the River Tiber and attacks Rome. The residents at
the foreign schools -
Franks,
Saxons,
Lombards
and
Frisians - help defend the fortifications, but further Saracen raids are
to come. |
847 - 855 |
St Leo IV |
Consecrated without
Frankish imperial approval in
Italy. |
849 |
A
further Saracen incursion threatens Rome and other Italian coastal cities,
so the pope organises the creation of a defensive league. The league, under
the command of Caesar, son of Sergius I of
Naples, sails out to meet the
Saracen fleet at the Battle of Ostia. A storm divides the participants halfway
through the fight and the Italians return safely to port while the Saracens
are scattered. Their remnants are easily picked off or captured afterwards
and the successful defence of
Italy is celebrated.
After the raid, the construction of a high wall begins around the basilicas
of St Peter and its vicinity, which is completed in 852. The enclosed area
is known as the Leonine City. |
855 - 858 |
Benedict III |
The preferred candidate of Lothar II, king of
Lotharingia. |
855 |
Hadrian |
Initial choice of the masses but refused. |
855 |
Anastasius 'Bibliothecarius' |
Anti-pope. Possibly same man as the later Head of
Archives. |
855 |
Upon
the death of the
Frankish King Lothar of
Italy, Francia Media is
divided between his three sons. Louis II receives Italy and the imperial
crown, Charles receives Provence, and Lothar II the remainder - the Rhine corridor from
Burgundy
up to the North Sea, which is called
Lotharingia. Northern Italy falls under the command of Louis II, but
the domination of the papacy by the Franks is ended with this fragmentation
of their power. |
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Feudal Popes (Roman Catholic Church)
AD 857 - 1049
This was a period in which little central authority existed in Europe. The
Franks were badly divided, and their former empire was fracturing into
regional kingdoms. Italy and
Spain were
subject to Muslim attacks and domination respectively, and Northern Europe
was suffering under the onslaught of increasingly powerful Viking raids.
During this uncertain time, after the papacy of Nicholas the Great, the
office of pope itself was brought to its lowest point by officials and the
nobility using their influence and money to control it. Also during this
period, the divisions between the eastern and western churches,
Constantinople and Rome respectively, became more concrete. The two played
out their growing rivalry in their attempts to Christianise the emerging
Bulgarian nation, with Constantinople emerging the victor.
|
858 - 867 |
St Nicholas I /
Nicholas the Great |
Last powerful pope in this period. |
864 |
Louis
II,
Frankish king of
Italy, is constantly challenged by independent
Lombard
dukes and by the Arab
Aghlabid invaders of southern Italy, but he supports his brother Lothar II, king of
Lotharingia,
in a dispute with the pope, and in this year he briefly occupies Rome. He
subsequently submits to the pope. |
867 |
The papacy plumbs its lowest depths following
the death of Nicholas the Great. His successor is a weak pope who achieves
little of positive note and paves the way for the office to fall under the
control of various political factions. He is assigned a 'guardian' in the
form of Arsenius, bishop of Orte, and the bishop's nephew, Anastasius 'Bibliothecarius'
(the anti-pope of 855). It is the latter's brother, Eleutherius, who abducts
the pope's wife and daughter from the Lateran Palace in 868, and then
murders them.
 |
The Lateran Palace was originally owned by the Roman patrician
Laterani family, who were accused by Nero of plotting against
him. The building was confiscated, and between the fourth and
fifteenth centuries it was the pope's official residence
|
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|
867 - 872 |
Adrian II /
Hadrian II |
Last pope to be married. |
869 - 870 |
The Eighth Council
(the Fourth of Constantinople) is held. This patches up the filioque and other differences,
but is later repudiated by
the East, and is the last Ecumenical Council recognised by the West which includes the Eastern Church.
At the same council, the conversion of
Bulgaria is announced by the Eastern Church. |
872 - 882 |
John VIII |
Failed to expel
Aghlabids
from Italy and paid tribute. |
882 |
Pope
John is painted as a somewhat effeminate and weak man. Later critics joke
about this, enhancing the claims ever more until the legend of a female Pope
Joan is born. According to that legend, she is eventually discovered and her
papacy is erased from all records. |
882 - 884 |
Marinus I (Martin
II) |
Bishop of Caere. |
882 |
Pope
Marinus is mistakenly counted as a 'Martin' by the church upon the election
of Pope Martin IV (1281). In fact Marinus I and II are both counted as
'Martins', making Martin IV and all subsequent holders of that name advance
their numbering by two. Their correct numbering is shown in parenthesis. |
884 - 885 |
St Adrian III /
Hadrian III |
|
885 - 891 |
Stephen VI (V) |
Crowned Wido of
Spoleto
as HRE
in 891. |
891 - 896 |
Fromosus /
Formosus |
Opposed by (later Pope) Sergius III and his supporters. |
896 |
Boniface VI |
In office for 15 days. |
896 - 897 |
Stephen VII (VI) |
Backed by the
Spoleto
family. Murdered. |
897 |
Perhaps acting under pressure from the powerful Roman
Spoleto
family, Pope Stephen convenes the Cadaver Synod, in which the corpse of Pope
Fromosus is disinterred, dressed in papal robes, and tried on various
charges. He is found guilty of being unworthy of the office, the robes are
torn from him, three fingers of his right hand are lopped off (which he
would have used for consecrations) and his body thrown into the Tiber. The
act causes a scandal and Stephen is imprisoned and strangled. The body of Fromosus,
recovered from the water by a monk, is re-interred under Pope Theodore II. |
897 |
Romanus |
Deposed by a rival faction in Rome. |
897 |
Sergius III |
Elected and immediately exiled by Lambert of
Spoleto. |
897 - 898 |
Theodore II |
Died after 27 days in office. |
898 - 900 |
John IX |
Backed by the
Spoleto
family. |
900 - 903 |
Benedict IV |
|
903 |
Leo V |
Dethroned by Anti-pope Christopher and strangled in prison
in 904. |
903 |
Leo V
is dethroned by Christopher, who seizes the papal office. While this pope is included in
some official lists, others claim him as an anti-pope, including the
Catholic Encyclopaedia. |
903 - 904 |
Christopher |
Anti-pope. Strangled in prison, possibly on orders of Sergius III. |
904 - 911 |
Sergius III |
Fathered an illegitimate son (Pope John XI). |
904 |
This is a period in which powerful women of the
nobility play politics and influence papal rule.
Senator Theophylact, count of
Tusculum, and his wife, Senatrix Theodora, are the parents of Marozia. She
is reputedly the concubine of Pope Sergius and gives birth to a son (the
later Pope John XI). Sergius himself has long been a player (or a pawn) in
the politics of the day, attempting to attain the papal office in 891 (in
opposition to Pope Fromosus), and 897 (when he had been elected and
immediately removed from office), but it is Theophylact who is the power
behind the 'throne'. As well as Sergius, he also controls
his successors in a period which is later known as the
saeculum obscurum, or dark age, referring to the almost total lack of
independence of the popes in this century (904-964). These popes are shown
in green text.
 |
This romantic painting shows the amphitheatre of the Italian
city of Tusculum, native territory of the influential counts of
Tusculum
|
|
|
911 - 913 |
Anastasius III |
Sometimes claimed as the illegitimate son of Sergius III. |
913 - 914 |
Lando / Landus |
In office for about 6 months. |
914 - 928 |
John X |
Crowned Tomislav,
first king of Croatia. |
915 |
As the latest in a series of conflicts with the
Saracens, the forces of the new
Byzantine
strategos of Bari, one Nicolaus Picingli, assemble alongside those of
various other southern Italian princes in the Christian League. It includes
Landulf I of Benevento,
John I and Docibilis II of Gaeta, Gregory IV and John II of
Naples, Pope John X, Guaimar II
of Salerno, and Alberic I of
Spoleto. The allied Byzantine-Lombard army fights and defeats the
Fatamids
at the Battle of Garigliano, a drawn-out combination of fights and a siege.
The Saracens find themselves in a worsening situation and eventually attempt
to flee, only to be captured and killed. It is a militarily significant
victory in the fight against
Islamic advances in
Italy. |
928 |
The pope himself is
killed through the machinations of Lady Marozia, daughter of
Senator Theophylact. |
928 |
Leo VI |
In office for just over 7 months. |
928 - 931 |
Stephen VIII
(VII) |
Elected by Lady Marozia. |
931 - 935 |
John XI |
Illegitimate son of Pope Sergius III and Marozia? |
936 |
The power of Lady Marozia, daughter of Senator Theophylact,
and her mother over the papal office is succeeded by that of Marozia's son,
Alberic II,
who elects several popes in succession. |
936 - 939 |
Leo VII |
Elected by Alberic II, senator of the
Romans. |
939 - 942 |
Stephen IX (VIII) |
Elected by Alberic II, senator of the
Romans. |
942 - 946 |
Marinus II (Martin
III) |
Elected by Alberic II, senator of the
Romans. |
946 - 955 |
Agapetus II |
Elected by Alberic II, senator of the
Romans. |
|
Agapetus is a surprisingly strong-willed pope
for this period. He appeals to the king of the
Saxons,
Otto I, to end the stranglehold of
Senator Alberic II
over the papacy. The appeal has little immediate effect, until after Otto
becomes Holy Roman Emperor. |
955 - 964 |
John XII |
Son of Alberic II. Also Duke Octavianus, prince of
Rome. |
962 - 963 |
The Saxon
king, Otto, is crowned Roman Emperor
by John after he
defeats the Magyars.
This is in return for John's pledge of allegiance to him in the hope of
protection against his enemies, some of whom have recently conquered parts
of his territory. Otto guarantees the independence of the Papal States, the
first guarantee of its kind, and one which sets a precedence. However, John
subsequently conspires against Otto, so the emperor has him accused in an
ecclesiastical court in 963. The pope is deposed and replaced, but in his
other guise as Octavianus, son of
Senator Alberic II,
he is powerful enough to have Otto's representatives mutilated and himself
reinstated. |
963 |
Leo VIII |
Anti-pope. Layman, elected by Otto I
HRE.
Fled from John XII. |
963 - 964 |
John XII |
Restored by force of arms but died suddenly. |
964 |
Benedict V |
Deposed by Leo VIII after just a month. Died 966. |
964 - 965 |
Leo VIII |
Restored after deposing Benedict V. Accepted as pope this
time. |
965 - 973 |
John XIII |
A compromise pope. |
965 - 966 |
John XIII is accepted by
Holy Roman
Emperor Otto I but not by Rome. A revolt against him sees him
temporarily banished from the city between December 965 to November 966. His
successor is also supported by Otto, but not by the most powerful family of
Rome, the descendants of
Senator Theophylact, count of Tusculum. |
973 - 974 |
Benedict VI |
Strangled on the
order of Consul Crescentius I. |
974 |
Benedict's untimely death is apparently at the hands of
Anti-pope Boniface, on the orders of
Consul Crescentius. Boniface flees to
Constantinople following the subsequent public outcry. The Crescentii are
able to offer their own replacement, Benedict VII, son of David, who himself
is the brother of Consul Alberic
II.
He is elected by the imperial representative of
Holy Roman
Emperor Otto II along with the clergy and people of Rome. |
974 |
Boniface VII |
Anti-pope. Excommunicated. |
974 |
Domnus
(II) / Donus |
A mistaken entry in earlier lists. Domnus is from 'dominus'. |
974 - 983 |
Benedict VII |
Nephew of
Consul Alberic II. |
983 - 984 |
John XIV |
Murdered. Also the John XIVb incorrectly attributed in
11th century. |
984 - 985 |
Boniface returns to Rome in 984, and murders the
unpopular Pope John XIV. He seizes the papal office for a short period
before he himself seems to fall victim to assassination in 985. Little is
known of this period in Rome, reflecting the political uncertainty in the
region following the death of
Holy Roman
Emperor Otto II. However, the presence in Rome of Empress Theophanu,
mother and regent of Otto III, helps to stabilise the situation during the
office of John XV. |
984 - 985 |
Boniface VII |
Anti-pope for the second time. Assassinated? |
985 - 996 |
John XV |
Died of fever. |
996 - 999 |
Gregory V |
Bruno of Kärnthen, son of Otto I of
Bavaria
&
Carinthia. |
996
- 997 |
John XVI |
Anti-pope. Captured and mutilated. Died 1013. |
996 - 997 |
John XVII is elected by
Consul Crescentius II and the nobles of Rome in opposition of the wishes of the young
Holy Roman
Emperor Otto III. The emperor marches on Rome, forcing John to flee, but
he is captured, and his nose, ears and tongue are removed. He survives the
ordeal and is sent to a monastery for the remainder of his life. Crescentius II,
at bay in the Castel Sant'Angelo, is captured after a siege and is hanged
from the castle walls.
With his papacy secured,
Gregory V is the first truly German pope. He is well aware of the pagans
along Germany's north-eastern shores, and in this year he sends St Adalbert of Prague into
Prussian
lands to convert the pagans on the Baltic coast. |
999 - 1003 |
Sylvester II /
Silvester II |
First
French
pope. Re-introduced lost
Roman
discoveries via
Arabs. |
1003 |
The next two popes, both named John, are elected
by the consul and patrician of
Rome, John Crescentius, son of Crescentius II. Despite Pope John XVI (996-997) being an anti-pope, he is still included
in official numbering, the mistake never having been corrected. The third
pope elected by John Crescentius, Sergius IV, shows some signs of resisting
his domination, possibly by supporting an opposing faction.
 |
Pope Sylvester II began the process whereby much
that had been lost since the fall of the Roman empire, including
mathematics and medicine, was reintroduced from territories now
under the Arab empire
|
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|
1003 - 1004 |
John XVII |
Died after less than six months in office. |
1004 - 1009 |
John XVIII |
Elected by
Consul John Crescentius. Abdicated. |
1009 - 1012 |
Sergius IV |
Elected by John Crescentius. Died within a week of his
patron. |
1012 - 1024 |
Benedict VIII |
Born Theophylactus of the counts of Tusculum and
Rome. |
1012 |
Gregory VI |
Anti-pope. Expelled from
Rome. |
1012 |
Benedict is opposed by Gregory VI and a small opposition faction and is
forced to flee Rome. He is returned to office by
Holy Roman
Emperor Henry II, and the latter is subsequently crowned by the grateful
pope. Benedict also manages to subdue the powerful Crescentii, leading
nobles and consuls in Rome for over a century. |
1024 - 1032 |
John XIX |
Brother of Benedict VIII. |
1025 |
The pope condones the elevation of the duchy of
Poland to a kingdom,
fifty-nine years after Christianity is introduced to the Poles. |
1032 - 1044 |
Benedict IX |
Born
Theophylactus, son of Consul Alberic III. |
1036 - 1044 |
Benedict is briefly forced to flee
Rome. His entire period of office is
reputed to be one involving immorality, adultery, rape and murder, with the
Catholic Encyclopaedia calling him a disgrace. In this instance he is
restored by
Holy Roman
Emperor Conrad II. At the end of 1044 he is again forced to leave the
city, with his opposition electing Sylvester III (who is sometimes shown as
an anti-pope, although he is included in official lists). |
1045 |
Sylvester III |
Former bishop of Sabina, and again from 1045 (until at
least 1062). |
1045 |
Benedict returns to office three months later, excommunicating Sylvester
(who returns to his bishopric and apparently remains there,
un-excommunicated, for the rest of his life). |
1045 |
Benedict IX |
Second term of
office. |
1045 |
Benedict resigns to pursue marriage and, in one of the most outrageous acts
of any pope, sells the office to his godfather, Father John Gratian, who
assumes office as Gregory VI. However, Benedict almost immediately regrets
his decision and usurps Gregory, although the latter continues to be
recognised as pope. |
1045 - 1046 |
Gregory VI |
Godfather. |
1046 |
Sylvester III |
Restated his claim without actively pursuing it. |
1046 |
Holy Roman
Emperor Henry III convenes the Council of Sutri in December 1046 to sort
out the mess that is the papal office. Benedict and Sylvester are declared
to be deposed, and Gregory is asked to resign. The office is granted to
Clement II. |
1046 - 1047 |
Clement II |
|
1047 |
Pope Clement's death allows Benedict to seize the Lateran Palace, although
he is forced out by troops of the
Holy Roman
Emperor in 1048 and is subsequently excommunicated. |
1047 - 1048 |
Benedict IX |
Third term of
office. |
1048 - 1049 |
Damasus II |
In office for less than a month before his death. |
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Medieval Popes (Roman Catholic Church)
AD 1049 - 1304
The selection of Pope Leo IX triggered significant and much-needed reform
in the church of Rome. Already
a powerful secular ruler in central
Italy, Leo was a relative
of Conrad II the Salian, and he was elected in a rare display of unity by
Conrad's successor,
Holy Roman Emperor
Henry III and the Roman delegates at an assembly at Worms. Not content with
that, he insisted on being freely elected by the clergy and people of Rome,
and immediately set about reforming the church, reasserting the requirement
for celibacy. Unfortunately, his reforms were derailed by his defeat and
capture at the hands of the Normans in southern Italy, and then by the
schism of 1054 which fractured the church on an east-west basis. Even so,
the church in Rome reached the very height of its power, becoming
independent of direct control, capable of declaring wars (the
Crusades),
and also becoming extremely wealthy. |
1049 - 1055 |
St Leo IX |
An important
German reformist member of the church. |
1051 - 1052 |
At a synod in
Benevento in
July 1051, Leo IX beseeches Guaimar of Salerno and Drogo of
Apulia to stop
Norman incursions onto
church lands. However, Drogo is soon assassinated, probably thanks to
Byzantine
conspiracy. The following year, on 3 June 1052, Guaimar is also assassinated,
by his wife's brothers at the harbour in his own capital. The assassins
are eventually captured and put to death by the
Normans in a show of their
loyalty to Guaimar even after his death. |
1053 - 1054 |
In 1053 the pope is defeated and captured by the count of
Apulia.
This leads to almost a year of imprisonment in
Benevento. The
following year, the patriarch of Constantinople, Michael I Cærularius,
refuses to acknowledge the primacy of the apostolic successor to Peter.
Leo sends a legatine mission under Cardinal Humbert to Constantinople to
discuss the church in the troublesome south of
Italy, but Humbert
promptly excommunicates the patriarch. In return the patriarch excommunicates
Humbert. This point is officially recognised as the start of the 'Great
Schism' between the Eastern (Orthodox) and Western (Catholic) churches based
in the Constantinople of
Byzantium
and in Rome respectively. |
1055 - 1057 |
Victor II |
Another German reformist. |
1056 - 1057 |
The papacy take a turn at governing
Spoleto as
part of the Papal States. |
1057 - 1058 |
Stephen X (IX) |
|
1058 |
Pope Benedict X is elected by the count of
Tusculum in Rome, but some cardinals suggest that votes have been bought. Stephen's
election is generally opposed and a new pope, Nicholas II, is elected at
Siena. He proceeds to Rome, declaring Benedict's excommunication at Sutri.
Open warfare ensures between the supporters of either pope, and a campaign
in the regions around Rome leads to Benedict renouncing his claim of office.
|
1058 - 1059 |
Benedict X |
Anti-pope, although not officially such until later.
Jailed until death. |
1059 - 1061 |
Nicholas II |
A highly important reformist. |
1061 |
As
one of the pope's reforms of the church, a decree is proclaimed for the election
of popes by a college of Cardinals, taking the decision out of the hands of
the manipulative counts of Tusculum, consuls of
Rome, and other Roman nobles. This is the beginning of the
papal heyday, with increasing power and authority being gained by the office.
 |
The College of Cardinals (seen here in 1922) was formed in
1061 to elect the pope, one of the highly important reforms
which were enacted by Pope Nicholas II
|
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|
In the same year, and with fresh-found blessing from Pope Nicholas II as the
best way of ridding Sicily of the Muslims (and curbing Constantinople's
influence in Italy), Duke
Robert Guiscard of Apulia
and Calabria invades the island in 1061. He captures Bari, the last
Byzantine city in Italy,
in 1071, and his brother, Roger, takes Palermo on
Sicily in 1072. |
1061 - 1073 |
Alexander II |
|
1061 |
The election of Alexander by the new method of convening the College of
Cardinals is not recognised by the imperial court in Germany under
Holy Roman
Emperor Henry IV, which elects Honorius. He marches to
Rome, but is
unable to dislodge Alexander, and his support is eventually withdrawn. He is
excommunicated in 1063, but persists with his claim until his death. |
1061 - 1072 |
Honorius (II) |
Anti-pope. |
1063 |
Barisone I of the giudice of
Logudoro on
Sardinia asks Desiderius of
Benevento,
abbot of Monte Cassino, to send twelve monks to establish a Benedictine
abbey on Sardinia. However, the archdiocese of Pisa is determined to retain
its religious monopoly over the island, so the monks are attacked at sea off
the coast of the island of Giglio. Four of them are killed and the others return
to Monte Cassino. Pope Alexander
II excommunicates the Pisans for the assault, and in 1065 two more monks are
sent. Barisone gives them Santa Maria di Bonarcado and Sant'Elia di Montesanto. |
1066 |
Alexander meets Duke William of
Normandy
and gives his blessing for the Norman invasion of
England. |
1073 - 1085 |
St Gregory VII |
Another great reformist. |
1074 |
As part of his reformation of the Catholic church, Gregory VII
excommunicates married priests in a bid to impose strict clerical celibacy,
just one step in a series which makes the Roman church more independent and
stronger. |
1076 - 1122 |
A long-running investiture
controversy is triggered when the pope challenges the authority of European
monarchs to control appointments (investitures) for church officials in
their own countries (such as deciding who to appoint as a bishop). It is
another step in restoring the power of the church and one that is not
resolved until a compromise is reached under the terms of the Concordat of
Worms in 1122. |
1077 - 1090 |
Conflict between the rival nobles on
Corsica has become such a serious issue
that the general population request that overlordship and administration be
transferred from the Holy Roman
empire to the Papacy. This apparent solution is short-lived, with the
papacy transferring control of Corsica to the powerful republic of Pisa in
1090. The long running struggle for supremacy in the Mediterranean between
Pisa and Genoa soon spreads from
Sardinia to engulf Corsica. |
1080 |
Clement (III) |
Anti-pope. Not recognised by any other than
HRE
Henry IV. |
1080 - 1085 |
Clement is appointed by an exasperated
Holy Roman
Emperor, Henry IV. The emperor has already been excommunicated twice by
Gregory VII for opposing his reforms which will involve a loss of
established imperial power over the papacy. In 1084, Henry IV enters
Rome,
forcing Gregory to retire to Castel Sant'Angelo where he is besieged.
Clement is installed as pope in his place. Gregory's death in 1085 solves
nothing, as Henry IV and Clement have been driven from Rome by Duke Robert Guiscard of
Apulia
and Calabria. Clement maintains his claim on the papacy during the period
in which the office is vacant, in 1085-1086, and during the terms of office
of the next three legitimate popes. |
1084 - 1100 |
Clement (III) |
Anti-pope for the second time, established in
Rome by Henry IV. |
1086 - 1088 |
Victor III |
Formerly Desiderius of
Benevento, abbot of Monte Cassino. |
1088 - 1099 |
Urban II |
|
1095 - 1099 |
During a momentous speech in Clermont-Ferrand in
France, Urban
II proclaims the First Crusade to reclaim sacred Christian sites from
Islamic hands. Starting in 1096, the First Crusade finds a divided
Islamic empire governed by the
Seljuq
Turks, and
quickly and forcefully carves a large swathe of territory out of it.
However, King Philip I of France takes no part in the Crusade to
Outremer,
and loses the opportunity to become involved in the creation of the kingdom of
Jerusalem. |
1099 - 1118 |
Paschal II |
|
c.1117 |
Following the death of Henry of
Portugal,
Paschal II hails his young widow as queen of Portugal for her defence of
Coimbra. During his term of office, Paschal also appoints the first bishop
of America, better known at this time as Vinland, along with Greenland. |
1100 - 1101 |
Theodoric |
Anti-pope. Elected as the replacement for Clement III.
Exiled. |
1101 |
Albert / Adalbert / Aleric |
Anti-pope. Successor to Theodoric. Exiled to a monastery. |
1105
- 1111 |
Sylvester IV |
Anti-pope. Submitted to Paschal once his usefulness was
over. |
1118 - 1119 |
Gelasius II |
|
1118
- 1121 |
Gregory (VIII) |
Anti-pope. Elected by the imperial opposition party. |
1119 - 1124 |
Calixtus II |
|
1122 - 1123 |
The
investiture controversy which was triggered in 1076, and which has seen the
election of six anti-popes, is finally resolved under the terms of the
Concordat of Worms in 1122. The
Holy Roman empire,
the main papal opponent in the dispute, is permanently weakened by it.
Mostly notably, it removes once and for all the right of the emperor to
select the pope. Instead, the College of Cardinals handles this duty, a
process which survives to the present. The
First Lateran Council is held in the following year, confirming the terms of the Concordat of
Worms. |
1124 |
Celestine II |
Anti-pope (for one day). Submitted to Honorius II. |
1124 - 1130 |
Honorius II |
|
1130 |
Anacletus is elected by a select number of cardinals the day following the
death of Honorius II. His election is disputed and Innocent is selected
instead. However, the latter is forced to flee north of the Alps, and for a
time Anacletus is accepted as the official pope, supported by Roger II, duke
of Apulia and Calabria and count
of Sicily. Innocent
eventually gains popular support in Europe but is only able to claim his
office when Anacletus dies in 1138. By this time Roger has already been
crowned king of Sicily. |
1130 - 1138 |
Anacletus II |
Anti-pope. Not canonically elected. |
1130 - 1143 |
Innocent II |
Effectively anti-pope himself during Anacletus' lifetime. |
1133 |
Innocent II divides Sardinia
between the two sees of Genoa (newly created) and Pisa. Naturally this creates
a further excuse for warfare between the two great rivals, but on the island,
only Comita of Gallura supports the Genoese. |
1138 |
Victor IV |
Anti-pope. Successor to Anacletus. Submitted to Innocent
III. |
1139 |
The
Second Lateran Council is held by Innocent II. His ardent enemy, Roger II,
king of Sicily, is
excommunicated, and after a period of strife within the church and multiple
anti-popes, peace is at last restored. More conflict with Roger II follows
during which
Benevento becomes
an outlying possession of the Papal States. |
1143 - 1144 |
Celestine II |
In office for five
months and thirteen days before his death. |
1144 |
Pope
Celestine II avoids the thorny issue of the recently declared independence
of
Portugal by recognising its first king, Alfonso, as Dux
Portugallensis.
 |
The issue of just how to recognise the de facto independence of
Portugal was a tricky one for the papal office, as it could not
be seen to be offending Spanish sensibilities
|
|
|
1144 - 1145 |
Lucius II |
Died of injuries sustained in the 'Battle of the Forum'. |
1144 |
Pope Lucius' dealings with Roger II, duke of
Apulia
and Calabria, lead to a peace of sorts between the Papal States and the
Normans in southern Italy, but supply the
Roman Senate with the opportunity
to reassert its ancient rights. A republic is re-established in Rome which
seeks to control the Papal States, although the nobility remain neutral in
the matter. A precedent has already been established during the pontificate
of Innocent II, who had enjoyed virtually no temporal power at all. The
Commune of Rome is established. Lucius attempts to force the issue and the
Forum is used as a battlefield in which the pope receives a fatal injury.
His successor is unable to enter Rome for much of his term in office. |
1145 - 1153 |
Eugenius III /
Eugene III |
Under the strong influence of Bernard of Clairvaux. |
1147 - 1149 |
The Second Crusade takes place in
Outremer. When
Edessa falls to the Saracens in 1145, Eugenius calls upon Louis VII of
France
to play his part in defending the Holy Land. The king embarks for
Jerusalem
in 1147. |
1153 - 1154 |
Anastasius IV |
A peacemaker in relations with
HRE Frederick I Barbarossa. |
1154 - 1159 |
Adrian IV /
Hadrian IV |
The only English
pope, Nicholas Breakspear. |
1155 |
Pope Adrian issues the Laudabiliter, a papal bull which apparently
issues King Henry II
Plantagenet with the authority to invade and secure
Ireland.
The papal intent is that the Georgian church reforms can be enforced there.
In the event, Ireland is indeed invaded but successive English kings site
Adrian's successor, Alexander III, as the issuer of their title and
authority in Ireland. |
1159 - 1181 |
Alexander III |
Laid the foundation stone for Notre Dame de Paris. |
1159 |
A minority of the cardinals elect a cardinal priest named Octavian as pope,
restarting a series of anti-popes after twenty years of unity within the
church. The anti-popes are supported by the
Holy
Roman Emperor, but after 1177 he finally recognises Alexander III. |
1159 |
Victor IV |
Anti-pope. Supported by
HRE Frederick I Barbarossa. |
1164
- 1168 |
Paschal III |
Anti-pope. Successor to Victor IV. Never recognised. |
1167 |
Almost as soon as it is founded, the
Lombard League
of northern Italy becomes the 'last man
standing' in the fight against Holy
Roman Emperor Frederick I. His defeat of Pope Alexander III at
the Battle of Monte Porzio knocks the Papal States out of the conflict, but
the Pope continues to support the Lombard League quite heavily. |
1168 |
Calixtus (III) |
Anti-pope. Successor to Paschal III. Submitted to
Alexander III. |
1177 |
Venice
offers hospitality to Pope Alexander III and
Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, and the
republic arbitrates the peace between them following Barbarossa's defeat at
Legnano the year before (29 May 1176). Barbarossa renounces his claim to
Roman territory and recognises the pope as the city's sovereign prince on 1
August 1177. |
1179 |
The
Third Lateran Council of the Catholic church calls a crusade against Cathar
heretics in Toulouse. Pope Alexander III also recognises Alfonso I as king
of an independent
Portugal. |
1179 - 1180 |
Innocent (III) |
Anti-pope. Elected by opponents of Alexander III but
imprisoned. |
1181 - 1185 |
Lucius III |
Spent much of pontificate in exile at Velletri, Anagni &
Verona. |
1185 - 1187 |
Urban III |
Continued papal exile at Verona. |
1187 |
Gregory VIII |
In office for less than two months. |
1187 |
Learning of the fall of the Christian kingdom of
Jerusalem
to the
Ayyubid
sultan, Saladin, Gregory calls for a Third Crusade to regain the holy city.
However, his brief stay in office means that he is unable to do any more
than initiate the call to arms. |
1187 - 1191 |
Clement III |
|
1189 - 1192 |
Continuing Pope Gregory's work in this sphere at least, Clement pursues Henry II of
England and Philip II of
France to take part in
the Third Crusade in
Outremer,
which also sees
Cyprus
conquered from the
Byzantine empire. |
1191 |
The number of senatores (senators) in
Rome is reduced to one
in a thorough reformation of the process of governing the city. From this
point on, civil government in Rome is handled by the senators rather than
the nobility or the papacy. |
1191 - 1198 |
Celestine III |
|
1198 - 1216 |
Innocent III |
|
1198 - 1222 |
The
Papal States resume control of
Spoleto,
this time for a longer period, under this powerful and influential pope. |
1200 |
In the Hospital of the Holy Ghost in Sassia in Rome, Innocent III officially
establishes the Roman Catholic religious order known as the Order of the
Holy Ghost, founded by Guy de Montpellier in Provence for running hospitals
throughout Europe. One of the Order's buildings, the Church of the Holy
Ghost in Tallinn, Estonia, survives to this day. |
1202 - 1204 |
The Fourth Crusade,
decreed by the pope himself, goes badly wrong when Crusaders in the employ of
Venice capture Constantinople, causing the first break
in the line of Eastern
Roman (Byzantine) emperors. A somewhat fragile Latin kingdom is created
there instead. |
1206 |
The pope recognises the
Danish claim to the overlordship of North
Estonia and the islands. He
also quashes the election of Reginald to the position of archbishop of
Canterbury in
England. |
1209 - 1229 |
Innocent III announces a crusade against the Albigensian Cathar and Vaudois
'heresy' in the Languedoc region of southern France. In 1226, Louis VIII of
France joins in,
invading the Languedoc and campaigning against the towns and lords who
support the Albigensians.
 |
The Albigensian Crusade witnessed outright warfare and genocidal
levels of murder in southern France as opposing theologies
clashed, with brutal force being shown by the eventual
victors
|
|
|
1215 |
The Fourth Lateran
Council is held, the most important of the Middle Ages. One of the decisions
reached is that Jews should no longer be given access to public office where
Christians might be subordinate to them. |
1216 - 1227 |
Honorius III |
|
1216 - 1223 |
During his term of office, Honorius sanctions the creation of the Dominican
order (1216) and the Franciscans (1223), and approves the Rule of St Dominic
(1216) and that of St Francis (1223). |
1217 - 1221 |
The Fifth Crusade (First Expedition) is decreed by Honorius in order to
recover
Outremer
and the Holy Land. The pope also initiates a spiritual reform of the
entire church. |
1227 - 1241 |
Gregory IX |
Nephew of Pope Innocent III (1198-1216). |
1228 - 1229 |
When
the Fifth Crusade (Second Expedition) is decreed, Holy Roman
Emperor Frederick II is excommunicated both for not
taking part and then for going and negotiating the possession of
Jerusalem (until 1244).
To rub salt into the wound, Pope Gregory IX invades his territories while he
is away, and it is probably this invasion which regains control of
Spoleto for
the Papal States. Relations between the pope and the emperor steadily
decline thereafter, to the point where they are constantly at war with one
another. |
1231 |
Gregory establishes the Papal Inquisition to deal with what he sees as a
serious problem of heresy, although he does not condone the use of torture. |
1232 |
The pope endorses the Northern Crusades to Christianise the
Baltic peoples, including the
Pomeranians,
Prussians,
Lithuanians,
Couronians,
Samogitians,
Lats,
Estonians,
Ösellians,
and Finns.
In this year he asks the
Livonian Knights
to aid the semi-Christianised Finns in their fight against the Orthodox
Rus of the Novgorod
republic. |
1234 |
The Third Council of Arles opposes the Albigensian heresy in southern France.
This had reared its head from 1143 under the name of Catharism, a sect with
the view that the Earthly life of a man is merely a prelude to his true life
in the hereafter, during which he must renounce any connection with power
and pursue a path of love. There are variants of Cathar (meaning 'pure one')
with slightly differing methodologies, and the Catholic church is determined
to stamp it out. |
1238 |
North Estonia is returned to the
Danes under the terms of the
Treaty of Stensby, which is mediated by the pope. |
1241 |
Celestine IV |
In office for 17 days, and died of age and the stress of
the election. |
1241 - 1243 |
The papal office remains vacant while the Cardinals endlessly debate which
candidate to select. One camp prefers a hard line to be taken with the
ongoing problem of Holy Roman
Emperor Frederick II and his seizure of parts of the Papal States, while
another camp prefers a more moderate line. The moderates win with Innocent
IV, but negotiations with Frederick soon stall. |
1243 - 1254 |
Innocent IV |
|
1243 |
The papal legate, William of Modena, oversees the creation of the three
dioceses of Culm,
Ermland, and
Pomerania within the recently conquered
Prussian territories which are now governed by the
Teutonic Knights. |
1245 |
Due
to the agents of the Holy Roman
Emperor acting in the Papal States, Innocent is forced to leave
Rome in disguise and
make his way to Lyon in France
(via Savoy, thanks to the
influence of the future Count Philip I who is granted the archbishopric of Lyon
as a result). Pope Innocent gathers together all the bishops who can make their
way there and holds the First Council of Lyon. The emperor is excommunicated
(again) and declared deposed, relieving his subjects of their allegiance to
him. This sends shockwaves throughout Europe, and Innocent's life is only
spared from retribution by the death of the emperor in 1250. |
1248 - 1254 |
The Sixth Crusade
takes place in
Outremer, under
the leadership of St Louis IX of France.
He invades Ayyubid
Egypt in 1249 and occupies Damietta while the Ayyubids are seriously
disorganised. |
1254 - 1261 |
Alexander IV |
Nephew of Pope Gregory IX (1227-1241). |
1261 - 1265 |
Urban IV |
|
1263 |
The Fourth Council of Arles condemns the doctrines of the twelfth century
monk and mystic known as Joachim of Fiore. He had been responsible for
founding the monastic order of San Giovanni in Fiore (modern Jure Vetere). |
1265 - 1269 |
Clement IV |
A widowed father of two daughters before taking orders. |
1269 - 1271 |
Clement's death is something of a shock, and the papal office remains vacant
for three years while the Cardinals fail to agree on a suitable successor.
It quickly becomes the longest-running papal election process in history. |
1270 |
The
Seventh Crusade under
St Louis IX of France
gets no further than
Tunisia,
without papal blessing this time. |
1271 - 1276 |
Gregory X |
|
1274 |
As
soon as Gregory takes office, having spent time on
Crusade
with King Edward I of
England, he convenes the Second Council of Lyon. The council is called
so that the pope can attempt to act upon a pledge made by
Byzantine Emperor
Michael VIII Palæologus to reunite the eastern and western churches.
Despite the apparent intention of both sides to agree to reunification,
the Byzantine people are staunchly against it, and any agreement is soon
abolished by the son of Michael VIII. Pope Gregory X himself dies following
the council, as he is travelling back from Lyon to
Rome, removing another
supporter from the cause. |
1276 |
Innocent V |
In office for 5 months. |
1276 |
Adrian V |
Nephew of Pope Innocent IV. In office for just over a
month. |
1276 |
Upon
the death of Adrian, his successor is elected as John XXI rather than John
XX. He makes this choice in order to correct a perceived mistake in the
numbering for previous popes of the same name which had occurred in the
eleventh century, following the papacy of John XIX. The entry for Pope John
XIV (983-984) in the Liber Pontificalis had been misread to produce a
Pope John XIV and a John XIVb. In skipping the use of the name John XX, Pope
John XXI assumes the mistake in numbering has been corrected.
 |
This beautifully-penned and illustrated medieval version
of the Liber Pontificalis covers the lives of the
popes from St Peter to the fifteenth century |
|
|
1276 - 1277 |
John XXI |
The only
Portuguese pope. In office for about 8 months. |
1277 - 1281 |
Nicholas III |
Formerly Cardinal Giovanni Gaetano Orsini. |
1281 - 1285 |
Martin IV (II) |
(For numbering of Pope Martin, see note on Pope Marinus I
in 882). |
1285 - 1288 |
Honorius IV |
|
1288 - 1292 |
Nicholas IV |
Elected after a ten month vacancy. |
1292 - 1294 |
The office is vacant during the last papal election not to be convened in a
papal conclave, where the Cardinals are locked into a room until they make a
selection. |
1294 |
St Celestine V |
In office for 5 months. Abdicated. Died 1296. |
1294 - 1303 |
Boniface VIII |
Famous for his
feuds with Dante and King Philip of
France. |
1295 - 1296 |
Despite abdicating to return to his beloved life of solitude, former Pope
Celestine V is not allowed any peace. He is sent for by Pope Boniface VIII,
and, after trying to escape, is captured and imprisoned. Ten months later,
Celestine dies, and the cause may not be the dank air of the prison.
Historians believe he may be murdered by Boniface, and his skull bears a
hole that seems suspicious. Boniface goes on to make the most exaggerated
claims for the mediaeval papacy, but he is humiliated by Philip the Fair of
France
when the king urges the canonisation of Celestine. |
1297 |
Shortly after taking office, Boniface VIII sweeps all existing agreements
and treaties aside with his proclamation of a 'Kingdom of
Sardinia and
Corsica' that
will, naturally, be a fief of the papacy itself. Boniface offers the fief to
James II of Aragon along with
papal support should he wish to abandon his territory on
Sicily in exchange for
invading Pisan-supported Sardinia. James does not immediately take up the
offer. |
1303 |
The
culmination of his ongoing feud with Philip the Fair of
France
sees Boniface captured and tortured at the hands of the king. His execution
is almost ordered, but instead he is released, and dies shortly afterwards,
partly from kidney stones but perhaps also partly through shock. |
1303 - 1304 |
Benedict XI |
Perhaps murdered by the minister of Philip of
France,
but unproven. |
|
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Great Schism Popes (Roman Catholic Church)
AD 1304 - 1449
The Great Schism was made up of two periods in which the Catholic Church was
badly disrupted by dual claims to the office (and even triple claims). The
first period, sometimes known as the Babylonian Captivity (1309-1377), saw
the papacy moved to Avignon, where it fell under the domineering control of
the kings of France.
The second period, beginning in 1378, was known as the Western Schism. This
saw the papacy restored to
Rome and the subsequent
election of a series of anti-popes at Avignon, all of whom fell under the
domination of the French kings.
The Great Schism was finally healed between 1414-1418 when the three popes
who claimed office by this time all voluntarily resigned or were removed
from office and a single successor selected. However, this did not prevent
the further selection of a short-lived line of weak anti-popes at Avignon,
until the last of the anti-popes resigned in 1449. |
1305 - 1314 |
Clement V |
At Avignon. A
Frenchman
who showed no sign of independence. |
1307 |
On
Friday 13 October Philip the Fair of
France leads the
destruction of the Knights Templar in that country, under agreement with
the French Pope installed at Avignon. The order's riches are confiscated
and the grand master of the Temple, Jacques Molay, is arrested and tortured
(and burned at the stake in 1314). |
1309 - 1377 |
After
residing at Poitiers for the first four years of his papacy, Clement moves
the papacy to an enclave in Avignon (now in
France
but at this time part of the lands of Frederick I, king of
Sicily),
in a period known as the Babylonian Captivity. |
1311 - 1312 |
The Council of Vienna is held which refuses to convict the Knights Templar
of heresy. The pope orders them abolished anyway. |
1314 - 1316 |
The death of Clement V leads to two years in which the papal office is
vacant. The Cardinals are split into two equally balanced factions which
refuse to compromise. It takes Philip V of
France
to organise a conclave in Lyon which finally selects a successor. |
1316 - 1334 |
John XXII |
At Avignon. |
1314 |
Edward II's defeat at Bannockburn by the
Scottish
under Robert the Bruce sees the start of a period in which the certainty of Scottish
independence from England
become more and more established. The drawing up of the Declaration of
Arbroath in 1320 involves Pope John XXII in negotiations. |
1320 - 1322 |
In an escalation of the continuing conflict between Guelfs and
Ghibellines in Italy, Pope John XXII ensures that Matteo, lord of
Milan, is charged with
necromancy for attempted papicide. Matteo refuses to appear before the papal court
and is found guilty in his absence in 1321. The charge spreads to Galeazzo, Matteo's
son, and in 1322 the papal legate, Cardinal Bertrand du Poujet, proclaims a holy
crusade against the Visconti. With the stakes escalating further, Matteo stands
aside in favour of his son (and dies a month later). |
1328 |
John XXII has already opposed Louis IV of
Bavaria as
Holy
Roman Emperor, so the Bavarian king invades
Italy and sets up Nicholas V
as a short-lived anti-pope. Fortunately, the successor of Pope John is much
more conciliatory. |
1328 - 1330 |
Nicholas (V) |
Anti-pope at
Rome. The last to be elected by the
HRE
(Louis IV). |
1331 - 1335 |
Azzone, lord of
Milan, allies himself with Theodore I, marquess of Montferrat. Their
common enemy is Robert of Anjou, king of
Naples, and Azzone is
keen to reclaim his possessions in north-western Italy. The following year,
he takes Bergamo and Pizzighettone. Further conquests in 1335 include Crema,
Cremona, Lodi, and Vercelli, along with other territories in Lombardy that
had ceded control to the Papal States. |
1334 - 1342 |
Benedict XII |
At Avignon. A
reforming pope who attempted to curb monasteries. |
1342 - 1352 |
Clement VI |
At Avignon. |
1347 - 1350 |
The Black Death rips through Europe, killing about a third of its
population. It has a major effect on the economy and on working practices,
especially in
England, where the decimated peasant workforce is now able to demand
freedom and pay for its services. The Jews are popularly blamed for the
epidemic, but Clement issues two papal bulls and urges the clergy to protect
Jews. |
1352 - 1362 |
Innocent VI |
At Avignon. |
1362 - 1370 |
Urban V |
At Avignon.
briefly returned to
Rome. |
1371 - 1372 |
With Urban V leaving
Rome again shortly before
his death, having failed to fully establish himself in the city, a second
period of banderesi government takes control. |
1370 - 1378 |
Gregory XI |
At
Rome. 200th
(Official) pope. |
1377 |
Gregory XI ends the Babylonian Captivity by restoring the papacy to its
traditional seat in
Rome. His death the following year leads to the Roman
mob breaking into the College of Cardinals to insist on the election of an
Italian pontiff.
 |
Pope Gregory XI ended the Babylonian Captivity by bringing the
papacy back to Rome from its temporary home at Avignon where it
was dominated by the kings of France
|
|
|
1378 - 1389 |
Urban VI |
At
Rome. The
first Italian pope of this period. |
1378 |
Poor relations between Urban VI and various of the Cardinals creates the Western
Schism, in the second of the two periods known overall as the Great Schism.
The Cardinals are egged on by the
French
king to return to Avignon and elect another French pope, which they do,
selecting Clement VII.
He is forced to retire permanently to Avignon after failing to establish
himself in Italy, and becomes dependant on the French
court. Unlike the popes of the Babylon Captivity, he and his successors are not
regarded by later ages as legitimate popes, but at the time the fact that
two popes have been created by the same Cardinals leads to much confusion
and turmoil amongst the faithful. |
1378 - 1394 |
Clement (VII) |
Anti-pope at Avignon. Elected in opposition to
Urban VI. |
1389 - 1404 |
Boniface IX |
At
Rome. |
1394 - 1423 |
Benedict (XIII) |
Anti-pope at Avignon until 1403. Successor to Clement. |
1398 |
The
French church withdraws its support of the Avignon papacy, weakening it.
Avignon is besieged by Geoffrey Boucicaut, the start of a five year siege,
but Benedict XIII manages to escape in 1403. |
1404 - 1406 |
Innocent VII |
At
Rome. |
1406 - 1415 |
Gregory XII |
At Rome. Elected
on condition he would renounce if Benedict did. |
1409 |
Talks between Anti-pope Benedict and Pope Gregory to resolve the dual-papacy
stall. The Council of Pisa, designed to sort out the situation, instead witnesses a third
pope being elected. Alexander V, who is based at Pisa (these Pisa-based popes are
shown in green text), is selected for a seat that
is presumed to be vacant. The status of these popes as anti-popes has not
been confirmed to date by the Catholic Church, but while the numbering of
Alexander in the
general sequence has been included, that of John has not. |
1409 - 1410 |
Alexander V |
At Pisa. |
1410 - 1415 |
John (XXIII) |
At Pisa. |
1414 - 1418 |
The Council
of Constance is called by
Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund.
Gregory XII and John XXIII both resign voluntarily (initially, although John
flees and has to be excommunicated), and Benedict XIII is also excommunicated
when he refuses entirely. A papal interregnum in 1415-1417 resolves the Great
Schism, but the principle of the Council is a threat to papal authority. |
1417 - 1431 |
Martin V (III) |
The first post-Great Schism pope. |
1418 |
Due
to danger from marauding bands, the canons of the church of St Mary of Lirey in
France hand over the
Shroud of Turin to Humbert of Villersexel, count de la Roche, for
safe-keeping. He keeps it in his castle of Montfort near Montbard. Later it
is kept at St Hippolyte sur Doubs, in the chapel called des Buessarts.
According to seventeenth century chroniclers, annual expositions of the
shroud are held at this time in a meadow on the banks of the river Doubs
called the Pré du Seigneur. |
1420 |
One
of Pope Martin's most notable acts is to issue a bull excommunicating
Hussites and Wycliffites, along with other heretics in
Bohemia. He effectively initiates the Hussite Wars. He also
bans the sale of Christian slaves to non-Christian owners. |
1423 - 1429 |
Clement (VIII) |
Anti-pope at Avignon. Weak successor to Benedict (XIII). |
1430 - 1437 |
Benedict (XIV) |
Anti-pope at Avignon. Weak successor. Voluntarily abdicated. |
1431 - 1447 |
Eugenius IV /
Eugene IV |
Venetian
Cardinal Priest of Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere. |
1431 - 1445 |
With Pope Martin V having called for the Council of Basel a few weeks before
his death, the council is confirmed and convened by Eugenius. Two major
problems are discussed: the question of papal supremacy and the Hussite
heresy, the latter being followers of the
Bohemian
religious reformer, Jan Hus. Despite intending to foster the reintegration
of the eastern Orthodox church, the council instead descends into bickering
and loss of prestige, before it excommunicates the pope himself and proposes
a fresh anti-pope in Felix V. |
1434 |
The old senatorial arrangement in
Rome is finally
abandoned. The papacy assumes what is effectively direct control of the
city's governance. Day-to-day administrative duties are delegated mostly
to the College of Cardinals and various papal departments. This arrangement
manages to survive until the invasion of
French General
Napoleon Bonaparte at the end of the eighteenth century. |
1439 - 1449 |
Felix V |
Anti-pope. Formerly Duke Amadeus VIII of
Savoy (1416-1434). |
1449 |
Abdicating voluntarily, Felix is the last anti-pope in the traditional
sense. The church faces other opposition down the years, but none who can
claim a rival papacy. Nicholas V is now sole, unopposed pope during the
early years of the Renaissance. |
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Renaissance Popes (Roman Catholic Church)
AD 1449 - 1605
With the Great Schism firmly
behind it, and cultural changes beginning to arrive in
Italy, soon
to spread around Europe, Pope Nicholas V was the first to accept the
spirit of the Renaissance. After reinforcing
Rome's fortifications,
he set about rebuilding the city so that it was worthy of its role as the
capital of the world's Christianity. The Borgo and Vatican districts were
rebuilt, and work was begun on taking down the old St Peter's Basilica in
preparation for a new version, laying down the roots for the surroundings
of the modern papacy. Nicholas also founded a library containing
approximately nine thousand volumes, and was a man of intense learning
himself, a true herald of the Renaissance. |
1447 - 1455 |
Nicholas V |
The Renaissance
begins in this period. |
1447 |
Nicholas V is Genoese, so as an attempt to bring stability to
Corsica he grants all
of his personal rights and papal holdings there to Genoa. However, the south of the
island remains dominated by the counts of Cinarca, who are nominally subservient to
Aragon, and the Terra
di Comune, which is effectively controlled by Galeazzo da Campo Fregoso. |
1453 |
Constantinople,
capital and heart of the fading
Byzantine empire, is
captured by Mahomet II of the Ottoman
empire, and Greece becomes an Ottoman province. The loss is viewed as a
disaster for the Christian world, despite
Rome's frequent differences with
the Orthodox church in Constantinople over the centuries, and with its
emperors.
 |
The fall of Constantinople not only ended the last vestiges of
the Roman empire, it opened up south-eastern Europe to the
Ottoman Turks
|
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|
|
In the same year, Margaret de Charny, widow of Humbert of Villersexel, count
de la Roche, receives the castle of Varambon and revenues from the estate of
Miribel near Lyon for 'valuable services' to Duke Louis of
Savoy. These services are
believed to be the bequest of the Shroud of Turin, which remains with the
Savoyard dukes, and their descendant kings of first
Savoy and then all of
Italy until the ending
of the monarchy in 1946. For her pains, Margaret de Charny is excommunicated
in 1457 for not returning the shroud to the canons of Lirey. The canons are
compensated for their loss, and the excommunication is lifted in 1459. |
1455 - 1458 |
Calixtus III |
An
Aragonese
cardinal elected as a compromise pope. |
1455 |
During his short term of office, Calixtus is notable for raising two of his
nephews to cardinals. One of these, Roderic de Borgia, will soon become
infamous for his term of office as Pope Alexander VI. |
1458 - 1464 |
Pius II |
Formerly prince-bishop of
Warmia. |
1464 |
Pius II is notable for writing Commentaries,
the only autobiography by a reigning pope. The work is first published in
1584 by a distant relative, Cardinal Francesco Bandini Piccolomini. |
1464 - 1471 |
Paul II |
Venetian
nephew of Pope Eugenius IV. |
1471 - 1484 |
Sixtus IV |
|
1481 - 1484 |
Venice is at
war against Ferrara at the insistence of Sixtus IV. Rovigo and Polesine
are annexed, but the pope is under pressure on all sides to end the
hostilities that he has started, so in 1483 he places Venice under
interdict. |
1483 |
The
first mass is held in the Sistine Chapel, built as a restoration of the old
Cappella Magna between 1477-1480 by Sixtus, and named after him as the
official residence of the pope in Vatican City. Today it is best known for
being the place in which papal conclaves are held. |
1484 - 1492 |
Innocent VIII |
|
1484 |
During
what becomes known as the Little Ice Age in Europe, Innocent VIII instigates
harsh measures against witches and warlocks. It is his response to freezing
weather, lost crops, general starvation and intense hardship in central
Europe which lead to accusations of witchery from amongst the sufferers. He
orders witches to be persecuted. |
1492 - 1503 |
Alexander VI Borgia |
Aragonese. Formerly bishop of Urgel,
joint sovereign of
Andorra. |
1492 |
The
election of Rodrigo Borgia (Roderic de Borja) to the papacy begins one of the
lowest points in the history of the office. Borgia's name becomes a by-word
for debauchery, bribery, nepotism, and scandal, and this period severely weakens
the moral authority of the Roman Catholic church. He shows few scruples about
enriching members of his family at the expense of the church, and fathers at
least four children by his married mistress, Vannoza dei Cattani. Two of those,
Cesare Borgia (Archbishop of Valencia) and Lucrezia Borgia, became almost as
infamous as their father for their ruthlessness and avariciousness. |
1495 |
An alliance
is formed between Naples, the
pope,
Milan, Venice, and the
Emperor in order to defend Italy from
Charles VIII of France. |
1503 |
Pius III |
A compromise pope. In office for 28 days. |
1503 - 1513 |
Julius II |
Nephew of Pope Sixtus IV. |
1506 - 1512 |
Construction begins in 1506 of the Late Renaissance Basilica of St Peter in
Rome,
which still stands today at the centre of Vatican City. In 1508, Pope Julius
commissions the artist Michelangelo to paint the vast ceiling of the Sistine
Chapel, work which takes him until 1512 and is considered to be his greatest
effort. He himself sees it as little more than serving the pope's quest for
grandeur (memorably shown in the 1965 feature film, The Agony and the
Ecstasy). |
1508 - 1509 |
The
League of Cambrai is formed with
France,
Castile,
Hungary,
the Papal States, the Holy Roman
empire, and Ferrara
against Venice. Venice is defeated at Agnadello, with the loss
of all the Dry Land Dominion - essentially its territories in
Italy. |
1512 |
The archbishopric of
Warmia becomes exempt, removing it
from regional
Polish control and placing it under the direct jurisdiction of the pope. |
1512 - 1517 |
Julius II recovers by
combat all of the Papal States. The Fifth Lateran Council is held and, at
its end,
in 1517, German
theologian Martin Luther publishes his '95 theses', sparking the Protestant
Reformation. |
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Early Modern Popes (Roman Catholic Church)
AD 1513 - 1700
With the Late Renaissance period witnessing the completion of the Basilica
of St Peter in Rome, there was change in the air for the start of the early
modern age in Europe. The Protestant Reformation emphasised the removal of
the overly elaborate ceremony of the Catholic rite and the imperial
structure of the Catholic church in favour of a simple, unadorned worship
(in modern terms, a 'People's Church'). It swept through northern Europe
following Martin Luther's proclamation of his '95 theses' in 1517.
The Protestants, or 'protesters' created new churches governed by new
church organisations, most notably those of the Lutherans in
Germany and the
northern Baltics, and the
Anglican Church in
Britain (not necessary Protestant at first, it was more of a moderated
Catholicism, finding something of a middle way between the two extremes).
The Roman church suffered a tremendous loss of authority in the north,
but soon struck back with the Counter-Reformation, which regained some
territory, especially in southern and central areas of Germany, mostly
through warfare. |
1513 - 1522 |
Leo X Medici |
The Reformation
begins at this time. |
1521 |
Largely due to
Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V, the Edict of Worms on 25 May condemns Protestant Reformation leader Martin
Luther as an outlaw and heretic. Leo X grants Henry VIII of
England the title 'Defender of the Faith' for a tract defending
Catholicism. |
1522 - 1523 |
Adrian VI |
In office for 18 months. |
1523 - 1534 |
Clement VII |
Cousin of Pope Leo X. |
1525 |
The French are defeated at
the Battle of Pavia, leaving
Holy Roman Emperor Charles
V dominant in Italy. Newly-installed Duke Francesco Sforza of
Milan joins the
League of Cognac against the emperor along with Florence, France,
the Pope, and
Venice. This backfires when the
emperor takes military action against Milan. |
1526 |
Sweden's part in
the Reformation is to remove its church organisation from the control of
Rome. The Church of Sweden is founded by Gustav Vasa, with the king as its
head. Over the next few years the king oversees the appointment of bishops
and the country's archbishop. On a more pragmatic level, the move is ideal
for solving Gustav's budget crisis, with the Crown heavily in debt following
the costly wars to remove
Danish dominance. |
1527 |
Pope Clement has sided with
France to ward off
domination of the papacy by the
Holy Roman empire.
With the French having been defeated in
Italy, and
the Imperial/Spanish
troops remaining unpaid, they rebel and sack Rome. Amongst the destruction
wrought on the city, the tombs of Sixtus IV and Julius II are destroyed.
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In the struggle for political domination in Europe the pope
sided with France, with the result that the Habsburg army
sacked Rome in 1527, as painted by Johannes Lingelbach
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1534 |
The English Reformation had gained political support when Henry VIII of
England wanted his marriage to Catherine of Aragon annulled. Under
pressure from Catherine's nephew, Emperor Charles V,
Holy Roman Emperor,
the annulment is refused by Clement VII, the latest point in an ongoing
conflict of authority between England and Rome. Henry, although
theologically a Catholic, decides to become Supreme Head of the Church
of England to ensure the annulment of his marriage. |
1534 - 1550 |
Paul III |
Triggered the Catholic fightback against Protestantism. |
1535 - 1536 |
The
first English translation of the entire Bible is printed, with translations
by Tyndale and
Coverdale. In 1536, the dissolution of the monasteries begins in
England, and Catholic decorations in churches are removed or whitewashed
over. |
1545 |
The duchy of Parma is
created out of a portion of territory that had belonged to the duchy of
Milan
- an area to the south of the River Po that is centred around the city of
Parma. The new duchy is for Pope Paul III's illegitimate son, Pier Luigi Farnese.
As the duchy's overlord,
Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V soon invests his own son with the title. |
1545 - 1563 |
The Council of Trent
is convened,
being the nineteenth Ecumenical Council. The church changes its view on the
existence of a soul in women, now allowing for such a possibility.
Previously the claim, 'mulier tota in utero', - the woman is totally
compromised within her uterus - had made it clear what the role of women
(including the wives of kings) should be; to ensure the existence of
descendants. The council also serves to establish the Counter-Reformation
(or Catholic Reformation), Rome's reply to the Protestant Reformation. |
1547 - 1553 |
Protestantism is established for the first time in
England (more as a simplified form of Catholicism than the Protestantism
practised in Northern Europe), and Thomas Cranmer,
the archbishop of
Canterbury,
implements the Book of Common Prayer.
|
1550 - 1555 |
Julius III |
Indolent and devoted to personal pleasure. |
1555 |
Marcellus II |
Last pope to retain his own name. In office for 22 days. |
1555 - 1559 |
Paul IV |
Formerly archbishop of
Naples. |
1559 - 1566 |
Pius IV Medici |
A distant, and poorer, relative of the powerful Medicis. |
1566 - 1572 |
St Pius V |
|
1571 |
Arranged by Pius V, the
'Holy League' of the Papal States,
Spain and
Venice routs the
Ottoman
navy at the Battle of Lepanto, considered to be a great naval victory. |
1572 - 1585 |
Gregory XIII |
Pushed through Catholic church reforms. |
1582 |
On 5-15 October
1582 the pope's Gregorian Calendar is instituted in Catholic Europe, but
Protestant northern Europe takes another century before it accepts the
change.
Great
Britain accepts it in 1752, and
Russia after
the October Revolution of 1917. |
1585 - 1590 |
Sixtus V |
|
1590 |
Urban VII |
Genoese. In office for 13 days. |
1590 |
Despite his short term of office, Urban VII is notable for one very
important ruling: he is perhaps the first person in history to impose a
public smoking ban, in this case for anyone within the precincts of a church. |
1590 - 1591 |
Gregory XIV |
Milanese. In office for 10 months. Suffered from malaria. |
1591 |
On 18 April, Pope Gregory commands that Catholics in the Philippines make
reparations to natives who had been forced into slavery. All native slaves
are ordered to be set free, under pain of excommunication for owners who
disobey the command. |
1591 |
Innocent IX |
Former Titular Latin Patriarch of
Jerusalem. In office for
2 months. |
1592 - 1605 |
Clement VIII |
An able and efficient pope who threw off
Spanish
influence. |
1605 |
Leo XI |
In office for 26 days. |
1605 - 1621 |
Paul V |
|
1605 |
Catholic plotters, unhappy with
the unsympathetic attitude of James I of
England towards their
faith (which he also shares) decide to try and blow up
Parliament
at the state opening, thereby leaving the way open for a Catholic takeover
of Britain. The plot is foiled and it sours relations between Rome and
England thereafter. |
1621 - 1623 |
Gregory XV |
|
1623 - 1644 |
Urban VIII |
The last pope to extend the Papal States by force of arms. |
1626 |
The construction of the Basilica of St Peter in Rome is completed. It boasts
the largest interior of any Christian place of worship in the world, a
record unbroken today. |
1633 |
Astronomer Galileo Galilei is tried before the Inquisition for teaching that
the Earth orbits the sun. |
1634 & 1642 |
Despite
the ongoing
Second Anglo-Powhatan
War (1622-1644) in the Americas (and presumably only due to the relatively
peaceful relations between
English
and the
Patawomeck
tribe) the Jesuit priest, Father Andrew White visits the main Patawomeck village,
with the English Captain Henry Fleet as his guide. He makes peace with Archihu,
the uncle and guardian of the young Patawomeck chief, Wahanganoche. In 1642
the chief and his family are baptised into the Catholic church by Father
Andrew. |
1644 - 1655 |
Innocent X |
Great-great-great-grandson of Pope Alexander VI. |
1648 |
The near-constant warfare and rapid change brought about by the Reformation
and its papal response, the Counter Reformation, is finally ended by the
Peace of Westphalia. Under its terms, Pomerania is carved up, with
Sweden losing
Further-Pomerania
to
Brandenburg-Prussia, while retaining Nearer-Pomerania. The northern
part of the Netherlands emerges as an independent state under the house
of Orange. The bitter
Marburger Succession Conflict between
Hessen-Kassel and
Hessen-Darmstadt
sees part of
Hessen-Marburg ceded to Darmstadt to end the quarrel.
Switzerland gains full
independence from the
Austrian-dominated
Holy Roman empire.
The papacy itself has been weakened by the aggressive acquisition of
territory under Pope Urban VIII, and saddled with massive debts which
severely weakens the options available to subsequent popes in defending
the Papal States and maintaining military influence in Europe. |
1655 - 1667 |
Alexander VII |
|
1667 - 1670 |
Clement IX |
In office for 17 months. |
1670 - 1676 |
Clement X |
|
1676 - 1689 |
Innocent XI |
|
1688 |
Feeling
against the blatantly anti-Protestant James II of
England flares up when his second
wife, Mary of Modena, gives birth to a Catholic heir (commonly believed to
be a changeling). His brother-in-law, William of Orange,
lands in Britain with a
Dutch army and, such is the state of James' relations with the papacy,
it seems that the pope himself provides financing for William's Glorious
Revolution. |
1689 - 1691 |
Alexander VIII |
Son of the chancellor of
Venice. In
office for 16 months. |
1691 - 1700 |
Innocent XII |
Neapolitan. |
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Modern Popes (Roman Catholic Church)
AD 1700 - Present Day
The papacy in the modern era was very different to that of its heyday in the
medieval period. Its military power faded fast, its territories were lost
during the revolutionary age until all it retained was Vatican City, and its
authority over the world's Catholics was steadily diminished by the rise of
rationalism and scientific discovery. Even its last warship had to be sold
in the nineteenth century thanks to the lack of a papal harbour. However,
the period did see a sensible and much-needed retrenchment, and a stronger
office emerged in the late twentieth century which, especially during the
long papacy of Pope John Paul II, confirmed the faith of many millions of
Catholics around the world.
|
1700 - 1721 |
Clement XI |
|
1702 - 1715 |
Spain is involved in the
War of Succession as
Austria,
Britain,
and Portugal
dispute the Bourbon accession. The conclusion of the war sees Spain giving up
Milan,
Naples,
Sardinia, and the
Spanish Netherlands (modern
Belgium) to Austria, and
Sicily to the
duchy of Savoy. The Papal
States are forced to hand over the territories of Parma and Piacenza to
Austria, a definite blow to the papacy's prestige. Philip, duke of Anjou,
is recognised as the Bourbon King Philip V of Spain, but only on the
condition that the Bourbon crowns of Spain and
France can never be
united under a single ruler.
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The War of the Spanish Succession was fought to avoid a shift in
the balance of power in Europe with the proposed unification of
the Bourbon kingdoms of Spain and France
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1721 - 1724 |
Innocent XIII |
|
1724 - 1730 |
Benedict XIII |
|
1730 - 1740 |
Clement XII |
|
1740 - 1758 |
Benedict XIV |
Resolved problems surrounding the secular nomination of
bishops. |
1758 - 1769 |
Clement XIII |
Fought a losing battle to prevent the expulsion of Jesuits
in Europe. |
1769 - 1775 |
Clement XIV |
|
1773 |
Over the past few years the Jesuits have been expelled from
Brazil
(1754),
Portugal
(1759), France (1764),
Spain and its colonies
(1767), and Parma (1768). They are formally suppressed by the pope in 1773,
although the Protestant states of Europe ignore this, as they do not
recognise the authority of the pope, In 1815, following the end of the
Napoleonic Wars, the Jesuits are restored throughout Europe. |
1775 - 1800 |
Pius VI |
Reformed the administration of the Papal States. |
1796 - 1800 |
Republican
France
begins the conquest of
Austria's territories in
Italy. Rome
is occupied by force in 1798 and a Roman republic is proclaimed (1798-1799),
using the territory of the Papal States. The pope is required to renounce
his temporal authority, and when he refuses he is taken prisoner. He is
taken off into captivity and dies shortly after his arrival in Valence.
Austrian victories in Italy force the French to withdraw from Rome. |
1800 - 1823 |
Pius VII |
Continually in conflict with Napoleon Bonaparte. |
1801 |
A Concordat
is agreed with
French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte to restore the links between Rome and
the French Church. However, the Peace of Luneville in the same year
compensates several German princes for losses of territory by assigning to
them ecclesiastical land in
Germany
taken from the pope. |
1808 - 1815 |
With
relations between
French Emperor
Napoleon Bonaparte and the pope deteriorating rapidly in 1808, Rome is
occupied by a division of French troops. The following year the remaining
Papal States are annexed to the French empire, including
Spoleto.
When Pius VII subsequently excommunicates Napoleon, the French capture
Castel Sant'Angelo, and a French officer breaks into the papal residence and
kidnaps the pope himself. The pope remains a French captive for six years,
being moved around Europe to various holding points. In 1815, with Napoleon's
removal from European politics,
Austria
renews its control of northern
Italy, and
the Papal States are restored to Rome. |
1823 - 1829 |
Leo XII |
Elected as he was thought to be dying. He rallied. |
1829 - 1831 |
Pius VIII |
In office for 20 months. |
1831 - 1846 |
Gregory XVI |
An opponent of democratic reform and modernisation. |
1846 - 1878 |
Blessed Pius IX |
Enjoyed the longest pontificate in history. |
1859 - 1866 |
During
1859-1861, Italy is forged
by nationalist Giuseppe Garibaldi into a single kingdom during the War of
Unification, freeing Italy from
Austrian control.
The Savoyard king of
Sardinia becomes king
of Italy (a title previously held by the
Holy Roman Emperors),
gaining Parma,
Sicily & Naples,
and Spoleto, but at the same time
losing Savoy to France.
In 1866 Venice is annexed and
added to Italy, while much of the Papal States has already been absorbed
by this date. |
1869 - 1870 |
The First Vatican
Council follows the 1868 papal decree which forbids
Italian Catholics from
participating in parliamentary elections. The council also serves to
consolidate papal authority during a century of revolution and rapid change. |
1870 - 1871 |
With the seizure of Rome in 1870,
Italy
achieves full union under the House of
Savoy. The following year, Rome becomes its capital for
the first time since the collapse of the Western
Roman empire,
and the last vestiges of the Papal States are absorbed into the new kingdom. |
1878 - 1903 |
Leo XIII |
Ended his papacy as the oldest pope in history. |
1878 |
Leo XIII is the first pope since the eighth century to inherit no papal
territories. During his period in office, the last papal warship, the
Immaculate Conception, which had been anchored at Toulon in the south of
France,
is sold due to the lack of a papal harbour. |
1903 |
Construction
of the Cathedral Church of Westminster is completed in London to
serve as the senior church in the British Isles for the Catholic Church. It
is the first time the Catholic Church has possessed such a building in
Britain since its loss of Canterbury Cathedral in the 1530s.
In the same year, political manoeuvring denies the
pro-French Cardinal
Rampolla the office of pope to replace the late Leo XIII. Although Rampolla
achieves the sufficient level of support during conclave, Cardinal Jan Puzyna
de Kosielsko, archbishop of Krakow, delivers the veto on behalf of Franz Joseph I of
Austria-Hungary.
This is in revenge for the cardinal denying a church funeral for the
emperor's son, Crown Prince Rudolph, when the latter had committed suicide. |
1903 - 1914 |
St Pius X |
An opponent of 'modernism'. |
1914 - 1922 |
Benedict XV |
Attempted to negotiate peace during the First World War. |
1914 - 1918 |
The
German empire moves
swiftly to support its ally,
Austria-Hungary,
in a long-anticipated Great War (later more readily known as the First
World War, or World War I). The
Baltic Provinces,
Belgium,
Bolivia,
Brazil,
Costa Rica,
Cuba,
Ecuador,
Estonia,
France,
Great Britain and its territories and colonies (including
India),
Guatemala,
Honduras,
Italy,
Latvia,
Lithuania,
Nicaragua,
Panama,
Peru,
Portugal,
Russia,
Turkey,
Uruguay,
and the USA
are all dragged in, but other countries remain neutral, including the Holy See.
Pope
Benedict attempts to suggest a truce at Christmas 1914. The Germans accept
but he is generally snubbed by the Allies. In 1918, with the collapse of the
Austro-Hungarian
empire at the end of the war, and the agreement of a ceasefire on 3
November, Italy inherits the province of
Istria. |
1922 - 1939 |
Pius XI |
Healed the rift between papal office and
Italy. |
1922 |
The
fascist leader Benito Mussolini becomes dictator of
Italy
and has the support (officially, at least) of the king. He also seeks to
heal the breach between church and state, an act that will strengthen his
position, but this takes until 1929 to achieve. |
1929 |
The
pope and Mussolini sign the Lateran Treaty, finally settling the breach
between the Italian government and the papacy that has existed since the
seizure of the Papal States in 1870. The treaty establishes the independent
Vatican City State. |
1939 - 1958 |
Pius XII |
|
1943 - 1945 |
The
Italian
fleet surrenders at Valetta, Malta, on 10 September 1943, giving
Britain's Royal Navy control of the Mediterranean. With
the collapse and surrender of the Italians, much of Italy (especially the
north) is occupied by Nazi
Germans. Mussolini
is summarily executed after being captured by partisans in 1945.
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Pope Pius XII is pictured with Mussolini in the uniform of the
Knights of Malta which, when added to the pope's silence during
the worst of the Second World War's atrocities, gave him a
rather dubious reputation
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1946 |
Italy
becomes a republic when the king is forced into exile as punishment for
his support of Mussolini. |
1958 - 1963 |
St John XXIII |
First Pope John since 1334. |
1960 |
British archbishop of
Canterbury
Geoffrey Francis Fisher is the first incumbent of his office to visit the
pope since the Reformation.
|
1962 - 1965 |
The Second Vatican
Council is called in order to revise the liturgy and reform the church's
approach to the modern world. This pope is the last to use the full papal
ceremonial, and following his death not long after the council is convened,
his successor uses a trimmed-down version of the ceremonial, with some
features being abandoned. |
1963 - 1978 |
Paul VI |
|
1978 |
John Paul I |
In office for 33
days before his death. |
1978 - 2005 |
St John Paul II |
264th (Official)
pope. First Polish pope.
Died 2 April aged 84. |
2005 - 2013 |
Benedict XVI |
Conservative
Bavarian
Cardinal John Ratzinger. Abdicated aged 85. |
2013 |
On 11
February, Benedict XVI makes the shock announcement that he is to resign his
office at the end of the month. His decision is based on his age and his
belief that he can no longer adequately perform the duties of office. With
little time for the Vatican to prepare a papal election, the office remains
vacant for a brief period of time. |
2013 - Present |
Francis |
Argentine Jesuit Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio. Aged 76. |
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