Pope Sylvester III (c. 1000 – October 1063), born John in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, was

Bishop of Rome A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

and hence ruler of the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

from 20 January to March 1045.

Background

Christened John, he was born into the powerful Roman patrician family

Crescentii The Crescentii (in modern Italian Crescenzi) were a baronial family, attested in Rome from the beginning of the 10th century and which in fact ruled the city and the election of the popes until the beginning of the 11th century. History Several ...

. Upon the death of

Pope John XIX Pope John XIX ( la, Ioannes XIX; died October 1032), born Romanus, was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 1024 to his death. He belonged to the family of the powerful counts of Tusculum, succeeding his brother, Benedict VIII ...

in October 1032, the papal throne became the subject of dispute between rival factions of nobles. Theophylactus, a youth of about twenty, the son of

Alberic III, Count of Tusculum Alberic III (died 1044) was the Count of Tusculum, along with Galeria, Preneste, and Arce, from 1024, when his brother the count Roman was elected Pope John XIX, until his own death. He was a son of Gregory I and Maria, brother of Popes Benedict ...

, was supported by the nobles of Tusculum. Giovanni de' Crescenzi–Ottaviani was supported by the Crescenzi family. Alberic secured the election of his son through bribery. The nephew and namesake of

Pope Benedict VIII Pope Benedict VIII ( la, Benedictus VIII; c. 980 – 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 medieva ...

, he took the name Benedict IX. The young man was not only unqualified, but led a reportedly dissolute life, and factional strife continued. A revolt in

led to Benedict IX being driven from the city in 1044.

Papacy

John,

bishop of Sabina A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

, was elected after fierce and protracted infighting, c. 21 January 1045. He took the name Sylvester III. Benedict IX excommunicated him, and in March returned to Rome and expelled Sylvester, who himself returned to Sabina to again take up his office of bishop in that diocese. Nearly two years later, on 20 December 1046, the

Council of Sutri The Council of Sutri (or Synod of Sutri) was called by the Holy Roman Emperor Henry III and opened on December 20, 1046, in the hilltown of Sutri, at the edge of the Duchy of Rome. The Catholic Church does not list this as an ecumenical council. ...

, summoned and presided over by the

Emperor Henry III Henry III (28 October 1016 – 5 October 1056), called the Black or the Pious, was Holy Roman Emperor from 1046 until his death in 1056. A member of the Salian dynasty, he was the eldest son of Conrad II and Gisela of Swabia. Henry was raised by ...

, deprived him of his bishopric and priesthood, and ordered him sent to a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...

for the rest of his life.Logan, p. 96. Jaffé, p. 524 and 525. This sentence was obviously suspended, because he continued to function and was recognized as

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

of Sabina until at least 1062.Kelly, p. 144. A successor bishop to the see of Sabina, Hubaldus, is recorded under Pope Alexander II, on October 1063, indicating that John must have died prior to that date. Though some consider him to have been an

antipope An antipope ( la, antipapa) is a person who makes a significant and substantial attempt to occupy the position of Bishop of Rome and leader of the Catholic Church in opposition to the legitimately elected pope. At times between the 3rd and mi ...

, Sylvester III continues to be listed as an official pope (1045) in Vatican lists. A similar situation applies to Pope Gregory VI (1045–1046). Sylvester's pontifical name was used again by

Antipope Theodoric Theodoric was an antipope in 1100 and 1101, in the schism that began with Wibert of Ravenna in 1080, in opposition to the excesses of Pope Gregory VII and in support of the Emperor Henry IV. The earliest record of Theodoric is his signature on ...

because at that time he was not considered a legitimate pontiff.

Notes

References

* *J.N.D. Kelly and Michael J. Walsh, ''A Dictionary of Popes'', second edition, Oxford University Press, 2010. *F. Donald Logan, ''A History of the Church in the Middle Ages'', 2nd edition, Routledge, 2013. *Joseph H. Lynch, and Philip C. Adamo
''The Medieval Church''
Routledge, 2014. *Richard P. McBrien, ''Lives of the Popes'', HarperCollins, 2000. *Megan McLaughlin, ''Sex, Gender, and Episcopal Authority in an Age of Reform, 1000-1122'', Cambridge University Press, 2010. *John-Peter Pham, ''Heirs of the Fisherman : Behind the Scenes of Papal Death and Succession'', Oxford University Press, 2004. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sylvester 03 Popes Papal names Italian popes Cardinal-bishops of Sabina 11th-century archbishops 1000s births 1060s deaths Year of birth uncertain 11th-century popes