In the period from 882 to 963, the Roman throne was occupied by as many as 24 popes, whom the historiography of the Catholic Church generally called "bad popes". This period is also called by historians "the era of Formosa". The pontiff, whose name gave the name to an entire era, during his lifetime was clearly not deprived of the talents of a state-level manager, but after his death he became a victim of an unprecedented trial, which received in history the name “cadaveric council”, or “cadaveric synod”.
Educated ambitious
The future Pope Formosus was formerly a cardinal - bishop of the city of Porto and for decades the chief adviser to the pontiffs and the head of the bishop's curia. He was close to the family of the dukes of Spoleto, which had risen against the background of other Italian aristocratic clans. Formosus did not particularly hide his desire to become the head of the Roman Catholic Church. At some point, this led to a conflict with Pope John VIII, who at one of the councils defrocked Formosus and sent him into exile. It is very likely that the supporters of the bishop of Porto, in revenge, had a hand in the assassination of John VIII. The new pontiff Marin I (882-884) completely rehabilitated Formosa, returned him the episcopal mantle and cardinal title, and he managed to gain his former influence in Rome.
In the 80s and 90s of the 9th century, the popes found themselves, as they say, under the crossfire of the Margrave of Friuli Berengar and Duke of Spoleta, Guido, rivaling each other. Pope Stephen V (885-891) was a creature of the dukes of Spoleto. After his death, Formosus was finally able to ascend to the much-desired papal throne and occupied it from 891 to 896. Initially, he was also dependent on the Spoletian house and in 892 he even crowned 13-year-old Lambert of Spoletsky, son of Guido, as emperor. However, in the future, Formosus stubbornly tried to get rid of this slavish dependence, in which he relied on the East Frankish (essentially German) king, and later on the Emperor of the West, Arnulf of Carinthia, one of the last Carolingians. Arnulf fought a lot and for a long time - either with the kingdom of Moravia, or with his German competitors,- but did not forget to pay attention to Italian affairs.
Pope Formosus was not only a great ambitious, but also an intelligent, educated diplomat. With his clever political maneuvers, he incurred the indomitable hatred of the head of the Spoletan party - the widow of Guido Agiltruda, who died of illness. As soon as Formosus died, the Spoletans took back power in Rome. The new Pope Stephen VI (896-897) was such a miserable nonentity that he was ready to serve as an instrument of Agiltruda's sophisticated revenge.
The trial of the dead
Promotional video:
The new pontiff did not differ in special talents, but he was selflessly devoted to his benefactors. Therefore, when young Lambert Spoletsky arrived in Rome surrounded by numerous relatives and demanded that Formosa be brought to justice, Stephen VI enthusiastically set about fulfilling the assignment. The terrible trial took place in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist on the Lateran Hill, otherwise - the Lateran Basilica.
The half-decayed corpse of Formosus was seated on the throne that served him during his lifetime, and was interrogated, during which a certain person answered for the deceased, imitating his voice. The trial was real: with the prosecutor, defenders, court speeches. Formosus was charged with all the same charges that John VIII had advanced against him. Like the performance of religious sacraments by him, a layman. The deceased was also accused of having crowned the "illegitimate" Arnulf as emperor of the West, while at that time both "legitimate" (from the Spoletan point of view, of course) pretenders, Guido and Lambert, were still alive.
The verdict of the court was not only cruel and inhuman, but in many respects contradicted the principles of the Christian Church, which are headed by kindness and philanthropy. Thus, the synod decided that the election of Formosus as a pontiff should be considered illegal, due to which all his instructions were canceled. The late Pope was also accused of perjury and cut off three fingers on his right hand - the very ones with which he performed the signs of the Cross. The clothes of the highest church hierarch were torn off from him and dressed in secular clothes as a sign that he was expelled from the priestly estate. Then they deprived of this too. Formosa's naked body was dragged through the streets of Rome and buried in a grave for strangers.
Earthquake
The misadventures of the deceased did not end there. After a while, his body was dug up by graveyard thieves, hoping for a rich booty. Having found out that there was nothing of value on the body of the deceased, they threw him into the Tiber, tying a load to his feet. As if in condemnation of the actions of the "cadaveric synod", during the mockery of the dead in Rome, a rather tangible earthquake occurred, which brought down part of the Lateran Basilica. This supernatural event caused genuine horror among the inhabitants of the Eternal City and caused indignation at the actions of the court. Rumors began to spread that the body of the former pontiff had somehow freed itself from the load and floated to the surface of the Tiber. When he was caught, miracles began to happen around.
The Italian diplomat and historian of the 10th century Liutprand Cremona wrote literally the following about what was happening: “How great were the authority and piety of Pope Formosa, we can conclude from the fact that when he was later found by fishermen and carried to the church of the blessed prince of the Apostles Peter, he was lying in the coffin, respectfully greeted the images of the saints. I have often heard about this from the most pious men in the city of Rome."
As for Pope Stephen VI, a rebellion broke out against the organizer of the disgusting trial, he was seized, overthrown from the papal throne and imprisoned. In the gloomy casemates he was strangled. Pope Theodore II succeeded him and rehabilitated Formosa. The body of the unfortunate man, dressed in papal vestments, was reburied with honors.
A year later, Pope John IX issued a circular prohibiting the trial of the dead, condemned the actions of the "cadaveric cathedral" and ordered the destruction of all documents relating to this terrible performance. However, the fuss around the "cadaveric synod" did not stop there. Only Pope Sergius III (904-911), who himself took an active part in the holding of the ill-fated council, put an end to this unusual story. He reversed the decisions of Theodore II and John IX, again condemning Formosus.
Valdis PEYPINSH