Pope Formosus 24593 221263245 2008-06-23T19:36:44Z Carlaude 4622434 Removed category "9th century bishops"; Quick-adding category "9th century archbishops" (using [[WP:HOTCAT|HotCat]]) {{Infobox Pope| English name=Formosus| image=[[Image:Jean Paul Laurens Le Pape Formose et Etienne VII 1870.jpg|300px]]| caption= [[Jean-Paul Laurens]], ''Le Pape Formose et Étienne VII'' ("Pope Formosus and Stephen VII"), [[1870]]. Note the latter is now called [[Pope Stephen VI]].| birth_name=???| term_start=[[October 6]] [[891]]| term_end=[[April 4]], [[896]]| predecessor=[[Pope Stephen V|Stephen V]]| successor=[[Pope Boniface VI|Boniface VI]]| birth_date=c. [[816]]| birthplace=[[Ostia Antica (archaeological site)|Ostia]], [[Italy]]| dead=dead|death_date={{death date|896|4|4|mf=y}}| deathplace=[[Rome]], [[Italy]]|}} '''Formosus''' (c. [[816]] in [[Ostia Antica (archaeological site)|Ostia]]–[[896]]) was [[Pope]] of the [[Roman Catholic Church]] from [[891]] to [[896]]. His brief reign as Pope was troubled, and his remains were exhumed and put on trial in the notorious [[Cadaver Synod]]. ==Biography== He became [[Cardinal Bishop]] of [[Portus]] in [[864]]. He undertook diplomatic missions to [[Bulgaria]] ([[866]]) and [[France]] ([[869]] and [[872]]), and he persuaded [[Charles the Bald]], King of France, to be crowned by the Pope. As early as 872 he was a candidate for the papacy, but due to political complications he left [[Rome]] and the court of [[Pope John VIII]] that year. John convened a [[synod]], and Formosus was ordered to return, or be [[excommunication|excommunicated]] on charges that he had aspired to the [[Bulgarian Archbishopric]] and the [[Holy See]], had opposed the [[emperor]] and had deserted his diocese without papal permission, had despoiled the [[cloister]]s in Rome, had performed the divine service in spite of the [[Interdict (Roman Catholic Church)|interdict]], and had "conspired with certain iniquitous men and women for the destruction of the papal see" {{Fact|date=March 2007}}. The condemnation of Formosus and others was announced in July 872. In [[878]] the sentence of excommunication was withdrawn after he promised never to return to Rome or exercise his priestly functions. In [[883]] John's successor, [[Pope Marinus I]], restored Formosus to his suburbicarian [[diocese of Portus]]. Following the reigns of Marinus, [[Pope Hadrian III]] ([[884]]–[[885]]) and [[Pope Stephen V]] ([[885]]–[[891]]), Formosus was elected Pope on [[October 6]] [[891]]. Supporters of [[Guy II of Spoleto]] forced Formosus to crown him as a Roman Emperor in April [[892]]. Other immediate issues were that in [[Constantinople]], the [[Patriarch Photius I of Constantinople|Patriarch Photius]] had been ejected and [[Stephen I of Constantinople|Stephen]], the son of Emperor [[Basil I]], had taken the office. There was a quarrel between the Archbishops of [[Cologne]] and [[Hamburg]] concerning the Bishopric of [[Bremen (city)|Bremen]]. In the contest between [[Odo, Count of Paris]] and [[Charles the Simple]] for the [[France|French]] crown, the Pope sided with Charles. Formosus persuaded [[Arnulf of Carinthia]] to advance to Rome, invade the Italian peninsula, and take control of [[Italy]]. In [[894]], Arnulf's army occupied all the country north of the [[Po River]]. Guido died in December, leaving his son [[Lambert of Spoleto|Lambert]] in the care of his mother [[Agiltrude]], an opponent of the [[Carolingian]]s. In autumn [[895]] Arnulf undertook his second Italian campaign, and in [[896]] he was crowned by the Pope in Rome. The new emperor moved against Spoleto but was struck with [[paralysis]] on the way and was unable to continue the campaign. On [[April 4]] [[896]], Formosus died. He was succeeded by [[Pope Boniface VI]]. ==Posthumous trial== {{main|Cadaver Synod}} [[Image:Tafel paepste.jpg|thumb|left|The list of [[pope]]s buried in [[Saint Peter's Basilica]] includes [[Pope Formosus]], whose body was retrieved from the [[Tiber River]] following the [[Cadaver Synod]].]] [[Pope Stephen VI]], the successor of Boniface, influenced by Lambert and Agiltrude, sat in judgment of Formosus in [[897]], in what was called the [[Cadaver Synod]]. The corpse was disinterred, clad in papal vestments, and seated on a throne to face all the charges from John VIII. The verdict was that the deceased had been unworthy of the pontificate. All his measures and acts were annulled, and the orders conferred by him were declared invalid. The papal vestments were torn from his body, the three fingers from his right hand that he had used in consecrations were cut off and the corpse was thrown into the Tiber (and later retrieved by a monk). Following the death of Stephen VI, Formosus' body was reinterred in St Peter's. Further trials of this nature against deceased persons were banned, but [[Pope Sergius III]] ([[904]]–[[911]]) reapproved the decisions against Formosus. Sergius demanded the re-ordination of the bishops consecrated by Formosus, who in turn had meanwhile conferred orders on many other clerics, causing great confusion. Later the validity of Formosus's work was re-reinstated. The decision of Sergius with respect to Formosus has been subsequently disregarded by the Church. ==References== * {{ws|"[[s:Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Pope Formosus|Pope Formosus]]" in the 1913 ''Catholic Encyclopedia''}} {{Pope| Predecessor=[[Pope Stephen V|Stephen V]]| Successor=[[Pope Boniface VI|Boniface VI]]|Dates=891–896}} {{Popes}} == External links == *[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06139b.htm Pope Formosus entry in the Catholic Encyclopedia] {{DEFAULTSORT:Formosus}} [[Category:Popes]] [[Category:Italian popes]] [[Category:People from Lazio]] [[Category:Diplomats of the Holy See]] [[Category:816 births]] [[Category:896 deaths]] [[Category:9th century archbishops]] [[af:Pous Formosus]] [[br:Formosus]] [[bg:Формоза (папа)]] [[ca:Formós I]] [[cs:Formosus]] [[cy:Pab Fformosws]] [[de:Formosus]] [[el:Πάπας Φορμόζος]] [[es:Formoso]] [[eo:Formoso la 1-a]] [[fr:Formose (pape)]] [[gl:Formoso, papa]] [[ko:교황 포르모소]] [[id:Paus Formosus]] [[it:Papa Formoso]] [[he:פורמוסוס]] [[jv:Paus Formosus]] [[sw:Papa Formosus]] [[la:Formosus]] [[hu:Formosus pápa]] [[nl:Paus Formosus]] [[ja:フォルモスス (ローマ教皇)]] [[pl:Formozus]] [[pt:Papa Formoso]] [[ro:Papa Formosus]] [[ru:Формоз (папа римский)]] [[sk:Formozus]] [[fi:Formosus]] [[sv:Formosus]] [[tl:Formoso]] [[th:สมเด็จพระสันตะปาปาฟอร์โมซุส]] [[uk:Формоз]]