The Papacy is one of the oldest institutions in the world, and the Pope is the central figure of the Roman Catholic Church. Over the long history of Catholicism among the pontiffs (and the current Pope is already 266th) there were, although it seems impossible, sinister personalities who performed unusual and sometimes harsh acts. The story of Pope Stephen VI is a striking example of this.
Illustration of Pope Formosa from The Life and Times of the Popes by Chevalier Artaud de Montor, 1842
Sometimes they even conferred titles of nobility on bishops. One of the most famous pontiers was Stephen VI, whose papacy began in 896 and ended in 897. In those days, there was virtually no separation of church and state, so the popes were involved in imperial politics. He became famous thanks to the so-called "Corpse Synod" - one of the strangest and most violent events in the history of the papacy.
Jean-Paul Laurent "Pope Formosus and Stephen VI", 1870
Stephen VI hated his predecessor, Pope Formosa, and accused him of heresy, collecting evidence from brothels in Rome. Formosus was already dead for 9 months when the papacy of Stephen VI began, but Stephen, after ascending to the papal throne, decided to organize a posthumous trial of Formosus. The half-decomposed corpse of Formosus was exhumed, dressed in ceremonial clothes and seated on the papal throne so that he could appear before the court.
Vatican flag
Promotional video:
During the "interrogation" of Formosus, the deacon was responsible for the deceased, since the corpse, naturally, could not say anything. Predictably, at the end of the trial, Formosus was found guilty and his papacy was retroactively invalidated. As punishment, three fingers were cut off from the corpse's right hand, which the former Pope used to bless him during his lifetime. Then the sacred garments and ornaments were publicly stripped from the corpse, and the body was dragged through the streets of Rome, where people publicly ridiculed it.
List of popes buried in St. Peter's Basilica
In the end, the badly damaged corpse of Formosa was thrown into the Tiber River, where it was almost immediately torn apart by a strong current (it is believed that the remains of the pope were later caught by a monk). Although the "Corpse Synod" served as a crude display of Pope Stephen's authority, such a spectacle turned the public against the Pope. There were rumors that Formosus's body was thrown onto the banks of the Tiber, where it began to perform miraculous healings. The Roman mob revolted, after which Pope Stephen VI was imprisoned by the rebels, where he was strangled.
