On top of that legal conundrum, Stephen also had a noble family pressuring him to delegitimize Formosus for an act he performed that snatched away from their ruling rights to the Holy Roman Empire. While Stephen did succeed in the legitimizing department, he monstrously failed at winning the hearts and minds of his flock.
Even back in the early middle ages, Stephen VI, and his morbidly absurd trial, was simply too much for medieval minds to handle. As for its place in medieval history, the Cadaver Synod appears to be merely another morbid repetition commonly seen during the 9th century. From AD to AD, there were 24 elected Popes, in contrast to only nine during the 20th century.
Historians estimate that 7 of those 24 Popes died under suspicious circumstances, while five died from assassinations by rivals and upper-class families seeking revenge or political gain. Still, the Cadaver Synod protrudes from the rest like a rotting thumb on an otherwise healthy hand.
Despite the event being just one historical oddity amongst dozens, it is by far the most memorable. Sources: Alberto Reche Ontillera August 20, From the Grave. Amelia Soth February 7, Stephen was determined to revisit the crimes of his predecessor Formosus. It wasn't enough to simply accuse him or smear his name. Stephen had Formosus' body dug up, dressed up in pontifical robes and put up on a throne to stand trial.
The Cadaver Synod levied the charges of coveting the papacy and ruling over multiple bishoprics at the same time. The prohibition against being bishop of more than one place at a time makes political sense as it would help prevent a bishop from amassing too much power. As for seeking the papacy, that's clearly inappropriate. Buying and selling ecclesiastical goods is forbidden, and just as buying your way into an election isn't just a political crime, it's an ecclesiastical one too.
While Stephen VI didn't give Formosus what would be considered a fair trial today, he did assign a deacon to speak for him.
Stephen is reported to have screamed at the corpse, and the deacon's weak defense did little to plead Formosus' case. The drama of the macabre scene was increased when an earthquake shook the San Giovanni Laterano basilica.
Unsurprisingly, Formosus was found guilty. He was stripped of his robes and his three fingers used for the blessing were chopped off. All his measures and acts were annulled, and all the orders conferred by him were declared invalid. After burying him a second time in a cemetery for strangers outside of Church lands, Stephen VI had Formosus dug up yet again and thrown into the Tiber River.
A fisherman or a monk, depending on the legend, found his body, pulled it from the water, and hid it. Later, Formosus was reburied a third time at St. Peter's and his name cleared.
The people of Rome were disgusted by the trial, and a few months later there was a riot, according to Valente. Stephen VI was imprisoned and strangled to death. His maneuver was clearly not appreciated, so what was he hoping to gain from the trial? That was good for Stephen because he had been made bishop by Formosus, which meant he was guilty of holding multiple positions at once too.
The Cadaver Synod was the last instance of a posthumous trial by the Church, but in the 17th century, English Civil War leader Oliver Cromwell 's body was exhumed, tried for high treason and executed by hanging and beheading. Sign up for our Newsletter! Mobile Newsletter banner close. Mobile Newsletter chat close. Mobile Newsletter chat dots. The synod signed the order to depose Formosus, and then condemned him and revoked all his appointments, so that all clerics ordained by him were forced to repeat the appointment process all over again.
The three fingers he had used in consecrations and blessings were chopped off. Not content with that outcome, Stephen VI had the body dug up again and thrown into the Tiber.
Contemporary accounts say he died in great pain. After the deceased pope was condemned, his furious followers had Stephen arrested in the Lateran Palace. He was strangled soon after in prison. Even for the Romans of the time, who were accustomed to interminable political upheaval, this episode marked an unacceptable low. Stephen VI was imprisoned and strangled to death in jail a few months after the Cadaver Synod. All rights reserved. History Magazine. In , the corpse of a pope was exhumed—to be put on trial.
From the Grave French painter Jean-Paul Laurens re-created the trial of Formosus, dressed in his papal robes and propped up to face justice. The Fortress of the Popes. Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Sins of the Dead. Bishop's crosier from the year Popes, Poison, and Plots.
The Trial of Formosus was just one of the episodes that marked the turbulent history of the papacy in the ninth and tenth centuries. The political struggles for control over Rome and the Catholic Church led to several popes dying in circumstances that would not be out of place in a modern-day mystery.
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