On the death of

Pope Sergius IV Pope Sergius IV (died 12 May 1012) was the bishop of Rome and nominal ruler of the Papal States from 31 July 1009 to his death. His temporal power (papal), temporal power was eclipsed by the patrician John Crescentius. Sergius IV may have calle ...

in June 1012, "a certain Gregory" opposed the party of the Theophylae (which elected

Pope Benedict VIII Pope Benedict VIII (; – 9 April 1024) was bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 18 May 1012 until his death. He was born Theophylact to the noble family of the counts of Tusculum. Unusually for a medieval pope, he had strong aut ...

against him), and had himself made

pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

, seemingly by a small faction. Gregory VI was the first to claim to be pope as successor to Sergius IV, and Benedict VIII's claim was subsequent. Promptly expelled from Rome, Gregory made his way to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, and craved the support of the Emperor Henry II (25 December 1012). That monarch, however, after promising him that his case should be carefully examined in accordance with

canon law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

and Roman custom, took away from him the papal insignia which he was wearing, and bade him cease to act as pope in the meanwhile. After this, history knows the "certain Gregory" no more. Of Benedict VIII, the ''

Catholic Encyclopedia ''The'' ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'', also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedi ...

'' says:

References

External links

Catholic Encyclopedia, Pope Benedict VIII

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gregory 6 Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown 11th-century antipopes 11th-century Christian clergy Gregory 06

See also

References

External links