Pope Sergius III

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sergius III
Image:Emblem of the Papacy.svg
Birth name	Sergius
Papacy began	January 29 904
Papacy ended	April 14, 911
Predecessor	Leo V
Successor	Anastasius III
Born	??? Rome, Italy
Died	April 14 911 Rome, Italy
Other popes named Sergius

Sergius III was a pope of the Roman Catholic Church in two intervals (between 897 and April 14, 911). Because Sergius III was the only pope known to have ordered the murder of another pope and the only pope known to have fathered an illegitimate son who later became pope, his pontificate has been described as "dismal and disgraceful."^[1]

His tenure was part of a period of feudal violence and disorder in central Italy, when the Papacy was a pawn of warring aristocratic factions. It was also the dawn of an age of powerful women. Sergius was the son of Benedictus, and came from a noble Roman family.

The pontificate of Sergius III, according to Liutprand of Cremona, was remarkable for the rise of what papal historians saw as a "pornocracy," or rule of the harlots, a reversal of the natural order as they saw it, according to Liber pontificalis and a later chronicler who was also biased against Sergius III. This "pornocracy" was an age with women in power: Theodora, whom Liutprand characterized as a "shameless whore... [who] exercised power on the Roman citizenry like a man" and her daughter Marozia, the mother of Pope John XI (931–935) and reputed to be the mistress of Sergius III, largely upon a remark by Liutprand (see Brook link below).

Sergius III owed his rise to the power of his patron, the military commander Theophylact, Count of Tusculum who held the position of vestarius in control of the disbursements at the top of papal patronage. Sergius III and his party opposed Pope Formosus (891–896), who ordained him bishop of Caere (Cerveteri) – in order to remove him from Rome, as an unsympathetic source records. He was his faction's unsuccessful candidate for the papacy in 896; when Pope John IX (898–900) was elected instead, he excommunicated Sergius III, who had to withdraw from his see at Cerveteri for safety. Elected Pope in 897, Sergius III was forcibly exiled by Lambert, duke of Spoleto, and all the official records were destroyed; consequently most of the surviving documentation about Sergius comes from his opponents.

When antipope Christopher (903–904) seized the seat of St. Peter by force, the Theophylact faction of Romans revolted and ejected him in 903–904. They then invited Sergius III to come out of retirement. His return is marked as January 29 904.

Back in power, Sergius III now annulled all the ordinations of Formosus and demanded all bishops ordained by Formosus be reordained, an unwelcomed decision reversed again after his death. Sergius III honoured pope Stephen VI (896–897), who had been responsible for the "Cadaver Synod" that had condemned and mutilated the corpse of Pope Formosus, and placed a laudatory remark on Stephen VI's tombstone. He then reportedly had the much-abused corpse of Formosus exhumed once more, tried, found guilty again, and beheaded, thus in effect conducting a second Cadaver Synod.

His nemeses, Pope Leo V (903) and Antipope Christopher, both died in 904, allegedly strangled in prison, a claim that the Catholic Encyclopedia called "extremely doubtful."

Sergius III restored the Lateran Palace, which had been shattered by an earthquake in 896. He is the first pope to be depicted wearing the triple-crowned papal tiara.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Catholic Forum.com: Pope Sergius III
• Catholic Encyclopedia: Pope Sergius III
• Societas Christianae Encyclopedia: The "Pornocracy"
• Lindsay Brook, "Popes and pornocrats: Rome in the Early Middle Ages" offers some more specific documentation

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Leo V	Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Peter (deprecated A.D. 495), Vicar of Christ, Successor of the Prince of the Apostles Supreme Pontiff (Pontifex Maximus) Patriarch of the West (deprecated 2006), Primate of Italy, Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Roman Province Servant of the Servants of God Pope 904–911	Succeeded by Anastasius III

v • d • e Popes of the Catholic Church (chronologically)
Peter Linus Anacletus Clement I Evaristus Alexander I Sixtus I Telesphorus Hyginus Pius I Anicetus Soter Eleuterus Victor I Zephyrinus Callixtus I Urban I Pontian Anterus Fabian Cornelius Lucius I Stephen I Sixtus II Dionysius Felix I Eutychian Caius Marcellinus Marcellus I Eusebius Miltiades Sylvester I Mark Julius I Liberius Damasus I Siricius Anastasius I Innocent I Zosimus Boniface I Celestine I Sixtus III Leo I Hilarius Simplicius Felix III Gelasius I Anastasius II Symmachus Hormisdas John I Felix IV Boniface II John II Agapetus I Silverius Vigilius Pelagius I John III Benedict I Pelagius II Gregory I Sabinian Boniface III Boniface IV Adeodatus I Boniface V Honorius I Severinus John IV Theodore I Martin I Eugene I Vitalian Adeodatus II Donus Agatho Leo II Benedict II John V Conon Sergius I John VI John VII Sisinnius Constantine Gregory II Gregory III Zachary Stephen II Paul I Stephen III Adrian I Leo III Stephen IV Paschal I Eugene II Valentine Gregory IV Sergius II Leo IV Benedict III Nicholas I Adrian II John VIII Marinus I Adrian III Stephen V Formosus Boniface VI Stephen VI Romanus Theodore II John IX Benedict IV Leo V Sergius III Anastasius III Lando John X Leo VI Stephen VII John XI Leo VII Stephen VIII Marinus II Agapetus II John XII Leo VIII Benedict V John XIII Benedict VI Benedict VII John XIV John XV Gregory V Sylvester II John XVII John XVIII Sergius IV Benedict VIII John XIX Benedict IX Sylvester III Benedict IX Gregory VI Clement II Benedict IX Damasus II Leo IX Victor II Stephen IX Nicholas II Alexander II Gregory VII Victor III Urban II Paschal II Gelasius II Callixtus II Honorius II Innocent II Celestine II Lucius II Eugene III Anastasius IV Adrian IV Alexander III Lucius III Urban III Gregory VIII Clement III Celestine III Innocent III Honorius III Gregory IX Celestine IV Innocent IV Alexander IV Urban IV Clement IV Gregory X Innocent V Adrian V John XXI Nicholas III Martin IV Honorius IV Nicholas IV Celestine V Boniface VIII Benedict XI Clement V John XXII Benedict XII Clement VI Innocent VI Urban V Gregory XI Urban VI Boniface IX Innocent VII Gregory XII Martin V Eugene IV Nicholas V Callixtus III Pius II Paul II Sixtus IV Innocent VIII Alexander VI Pius III Julius II Leo X Adrian VI Clement VII Paul III Julius III Marcellus II Paul IV Pius IV Pius V Gregory XIII Sixtus V Urban VII Gregory XIV Innocent IX Clement VIII Leo XI Paul V Gregory XV Urban VIII Innocent X Alexander VII Clement IX Clement X Innocent XI Alexander VIII Innocent XII Clement XI Innocent XIII Benedict XIII Clement XII Benedict XIV Clement XIII Clement XIV Pius VI Pius VII Leo XII Pius VIII Gregory XVI Pius IX Leo XIII Pius X Benedict XV Pius XI Pius XII John XXIII Paul VI John Paul I John Paul II
Currently: Benedict XVI

ca:Sergi III

cs:Sergius III. de:Sergius III. es:Sergio III fr:Serge III gl:Serxio III, papa ko:교황 세르지오 3세 hr:Sergije III. id:Paus Sergius III it:Papa Sergio III jv:Paus Sergius III sw:Papa Sergio III la:Sergius III hu:III. Sergius pápa nl:Paus Sergius III pl:Sergiusz III pt:Papa Sérgio III ru:Сергий III (папа римский) fi:Sergius III sv:Sergius III th:สมเด็จพระสันตะปาปาเซอร์จิอุสที่ 3 uk:Сергій III zh:思齊三世