Pope Sergius III (c. 860 − 14 April 911) was the

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 nominal 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 29 January 904 to his death. He was

pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

during a period of violence and disorder in central Italy, when warring aristocratic factions sought to use the material and military resources of the papacy. At the behest of

Theophylact I of Tusculum Theophylact I (before 864 – 924/925) was a medieval count of Tusculum who was the effective ruler of Rome from around 905 through to his death in 924. His descendants controlled the papacy for the next 100 years. Biography Theophylact was th ...

, Sergius seized the papal throne from

Antipope Christopher Christopher claimed the papacy from October 903 to January 904. Although he was listed as a legitimate pope in most modern lists of popes until the first half of the 20th century, the apparently uncanonical method by which he obtained the papac ...

, who in turn had deposed Pope Leo V. Sergius' reign was subsequently marked by Theophylact's influence. As pope, Sergius continued many ecclesiastical controversies of his predecessors, including conflict over Pope Formosus' legacy, annulling all ordinations made by the late pope, and the '' filioque'' controversy with eastern patriarchs. His pontificate was similarly marked by temporal conflicts, with Sergius' refusal to crown Berengar I of Italy as Holy Roman Emperor, and his support of

Byzantine Emperor This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as ...

Leo VI the Wise's fourth marriage. Sergius also saw the restoration of the

Lateran Palace The Lateran Palace ( la, Palatium Lateranense), formally the Apostolic Palace of the Lateran ( la, Palatium Apostolicum Lateranense), is an ancient palace of the Roman Empire and later the main papal residence in southeast Rome. Located on St. ...

. Sergius III today is largely seen an unscrupulous character as contemporary records had included a number of accusations against him; Sergius III had reputedly ordered the murder of his two immediate predecessors,

Leo V Leo V or Leon V may refer to: * Leo V the Armenian (813–820), Byzantine emperor * Pope Leo V, pope in 903 * Leo V, King of Armenia Leo V or Levon V (occasionally Levon VI; hy, Լևոն, ''Levon V''; 1342 – 29 November 1393), of the House of ...

and

Christopher Christopher is the English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or '' Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Christ" or " Anointed", and φέρε� ...

, and allegedly fathered an illegitimate son who later became pope, John XI. His

pontificate The pontificate is the form of government used in Vatican City. The word came to English from French and simply means ''papacy'', or "to perform the functions of the Pope or other high official in the Church". Since there is only one bishop of R ...

has been variously described as "dismal and disgraceful", and "efficient and ruthless".

Early life and career

Sergius was the son of Benedictus, and traditionally was believed descended from a noble Roman family, although it has been speculated that he was in fact related to the family of

. He was ordained as a subdeacon by Pope Marinus I, followed by his being raised to the

diaconate A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chu ...

by Pope Stephen V. During the pontificate of Pope Formosus (891–896), he was a member of the party of nobles who supported the

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( ...

Lambert, who was the opponent of Formosus and the pope's preferred imperial candidate, Arnulf of Carinthia. Formosus consecrated Sergius as bishop of Caere ( Cerveteri) in 893, apparently in order to remove him from Rome. Sergius ceased to act as bishop of Caere with the death of Formosus in 896, as all of the ordinations conferred by Formosus were declared null and void, although Formosus’ ordination of Sergius was later reconfirmed by Theodore II. He also actively participated in the farcical Cadaver synod that condemned the pontificate of Formosus. With the death of Theodore in 898, Sergius, with a small following of Roman nobility led by his father Benedictus, attempted to have himself elected

, contrary to the wishes of Emperor Lambert, who was also duke of Spoleto. Although Sergius was actually elected, a rival candidate, Pope John IX (898–900), was also elected. With Lambert's support, John was successfully installed as pope, and one of his first acts was to convene a

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin word mean ...

which

excommunicate Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

d Sergius and his followers. Sergius was then forcibly exiled by Lambert, fleeing to his see at Caere, where he placed himself under the protection of Margrave Adalbert II of Tuscany.

Papal reign

By the time the

(903–904) seized the chair of

Saint Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupat ...

by force, circumstances had changed at Rome, with the rise of the ''

magister militum (Latin for "master of soldiers", plural ) was a top-level military command used in the later Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine the Great. The term referred to the senior military officer (equivalent to a war theatre commander, ...

'' Theophylact of Tusculum, who had been stationed at Rome by the retreating Emperor Louis the Blind in 902. Putting himself at the head of a faction of the nobility, Theophylact revolted against Christopher, and asked Sergius to return to Rome to become pope.Mann, pg. 113; DeCormenin, pg. 281 Sergius accepted, and with the armed backing of Adalbert II, he entered Rome, by which stage Christopher had already been cast into prison by Theophylact. Sergius was then consecrated pope on 29 January 904. Sergius III owed his rise to the power of his new patron Theophylact, and rewarded him with the position of '' sacri palatii vestararius'', the principal official at the top of papal patronage in control of the disbursements, and thus of patronage. All real power now devolved onto Theophylact, and Sergius essentially became his puppet. Perhaps the first clear sign of this shift in power was the fate of Sergius’ two predecessors, Pope Leo V and the Antipope Christopher. According to the pro-Formosan Eugenius Vulgarius, Sergius ordered both men to be strangled in prison sometime in early 904. That both men were murdered during Sergius’ pontificate appears probable, although other accounts state that Christopher at least was allowed to retire to a monastery. Given where the real power lay, it seems more likely that either Theophylact gave the orders directly, or that he directed Sergius to give the orders. For the remainder of his pontificate, Sergius promoted his family and members of his aristocratic party to positions of authority and prominence within the church.

Activity in Italy

Pope Sergius III convoked a synod which annulled all the

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

s of Formosus and required all

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 ...

s ordained by Formosus to be. It was alleged that Sergius managed to get the consent of the Roman clergy at the synod by threatening them with exile, violence or through the use of bribery.Mann, pg. 122 The decision to require reordination was very unpopular, and those affected at sees distant from Rome not only ignored the synod's instructions, but wrote letters both condemning the revoking of ordinations and justifying validity of the original ordinations. The ruling was subsequently reversed again after his death. Confirming his continued support of the anti-Formosus faction, Sergius honoured the murdered Pope Stephen VI (896–897), who had been responsible for the " Cadaver Synod" that had condemned and mutilated the corpse of Pope Formosus, by writing a laudatory

epitaph An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...

on Stephen VI's tombstone. For centuries it was believed that Sergius then had the much-abused corpse of Formosus exhumed once more, tried, found guilty again, and beheaded, thus in effect conducting a second Cadaver Synod. However, the source for this was Liutprand of Cremona, who mistakenly placed the cadaver synod in the pontificate of Sergius III, instead of Stephen VI. Although neither Sergius nor Theophylact supported the continued nominal rule of Emperor Louis the Blind, they were somewhat unwilling to grant the imperial title to the only other contender, Berengar I of Italy. On the one occasion that Sergius agreed to crown Berengar in around 906, Berengar was prevented from reaching

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 ...

by the forces of Alberic I of Spoleto and Adalbert II of Tuscany, both of whom had been supporters of Sergius, but were unhappy with his decision to support Berengar. Nevertheless, Berengar's unwillingness to control his vassals also contributed to the papal reluctance; when Albuinus, the

margrave of Istria The March of Istria (or Margraviate of Istria ) was originally a Carolingian frontier march covering the Istrian peninsula and surrounding territory conquered by Charlemagne's son Pepin of Italy in 789. After 1364, it was the name of the Istrian ...

, began taking papal territory off John, the

archbishop of Ravenna This page is a list of Roman Catholic bishops and archbishops of Ravenna and, from 1985, of the Archdiocese of Ravenna-Cervia.bishop of Pola in 910, making it clear that: ”he would never bestow the (imperial) crown on Berenger till he promised to take the (Istrian) March from Albuinus, and give it to some better man.”Mann, pg. 127 Sergius rebuilt the

, which had been shattered by an earthquake in 896, and then stripped of its treasures by the Antipope Christopher. Sergius refurbished it with objects, images and crucifixes, and decorated its newly built walls with frescos. In 905 he provided funds to the Church of Silva Candida, which had been devastated by a

Saracen upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia ...

raid. He also helped with the rebuilding of Nonantola Abbey, which had suffered attacks from the Magyars, and finally he granted privileges to some monasteries and churches in West and East Francia.

Relations with Constantinople

Sergius, like his predecessors, continued to defend the Filioque interpolation into the Nicene Creed, which was at odds with the position of the eastern church. Papal legates who attended the Synod of Trosle in June 909 attacked the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

position, which the synod then condemned in the fourteenth canon: Almost a century later, this decision led to the removal of Sergius's name from the Diptychs by

Patriarch Sergius II of Constantinople Sergius II ( el, Σέργιος Β′; ? – July 1019) was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from July 1001 to 1019. According to the history of John Skylitzes, he was a relative of the celebrated 9th-century patriarch Photius. In 1001, ...

. However, the major issue with

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

that presented itself during Sergius’ pontificate was the question over the fourth marriage of the

Leo VI the Wise. Both the emperor, who wanted to marry Zoe Karbonopsina, and the patriarch of Constantinople, Nicholas Mystikos, appealed to Sergius; the pope sent legates to Constantinople, who confirmed the pope's ruling in favour of the emperor, on the grounds that fourth marriages had not been condemned by the Church as a whole.Treadgold, Warren ''A History of the Byzantine State and Society'' (1997), pg. 468 Nicholas’ refusal to accept this ruling saw him deposed by Leo VI, upon which he too appealed to Sergius, claiming his deposition was unjustified.

Alleged affair with Marozia

Sergius’ ties with the family of Theophylact were made even closer, at least according to rumour, by Sergius’ supposed affair with Theophylact's daughter,

Marozia Marozia, born Maria and also known as Mariuccia or Mariozza ( 890 – 937), was a Roman noblewoman who was the alleged mistress of Pope Sergius III and was given the unprecedented titles ''senatrix'' ("senatoress") and ''patricia'' of Rome by ...

. This relationship was promoted by Marozia's mother, Theodora, and the result of this affair was a male child who in time became

Pope John XI Pope John XI ( la, Ioannes XI; c. 910 – December 935) was the bishop of Rome and nominal ruler of the Papal States from March 931 to his death. The true ruler of Rome at the time was his mother, Marozia, followed by his brother Alberic II. Hi ...

(931–935). The only source of this alleged affair is the chronicler Liutprand of Cremona, writing some 50 years after the events of Sergius’ pontificate. Neither Auxilius of Naples nor Eugenius Vulgarius, both of whom were exact contemporaries of Sergius, and both of whom were hostile towards Sergius for his attacks on Formosus, mention this allegation at all. The highly reliable chronicler Flodoard, who also is a contemporary does not mention it either. It should also be noted that Liutprand, as firm supporter of Emperor

Otto I Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the oldest son of He ...

was often heavily biased against the papacy. The affair, while not an impossibility, would certainly not have persisted beyond Marozia's marriage to Alberic I of Spoleto in 909. The question of whether Theophylact and Theodora needed to tie Sergius to them by such means, particularly when Sergius was already deeply indebted to them for his elevation to the papacy, as well as wasting Marozia in a relationship when, as the daughter of an important house, she would have been a valuable tool to link via marriage to another noble house, is open to debate. The birth of the future John XI in 910, after her marriage to Alberic, would seem to indicate that Sergius was not the father.

Death

Sergius III died on 14 April 911, and was succeeded by

Pope Anastasius III Pope Anastasius III (Latin: ''Anastasius Tertius''; c. 865 - June 913) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from April 911 to his death. Anastasius was a Roman by birth. A Roman nobleman, Lucian, is sometimes recognized as his f ...

. He was buried in the Church of St. Peter, between the Silver gate and the gate of Ravenna.

Legacy

Much of Sergius’ pontificate has been maligned throughout history, principally through the reporting of his character and the state of Rome at the time by Liutprand of Cremona. His recounting of the period has led sixteenth century cardinal and historian

Caesar Baronius Cesare Baronio (as an author also known as Caesar Baronius; 30 August 1538 – 30 June 1607) was an Italian cardinal and historian of the Catholic Church. His best-known works are his ''Annales Ecclesiastici'' ("Ecclesiastical Annals"), w ...

in his '' Annales Ecclesiastici'' to call it the '' Saeculum obscurum'', or dark century. Similarly 19th century protestant historians saw this period as a "pornocracy", or "rule of the harlots",Paolo Squatriti, "Pornocracy", in Christopher Kleinhenz (ed.), ''Medieval Italy: An Encyclopedia'', Vol. 2 (New York and London:

Routledge Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law ...

, 2004), pp. 926–27. . 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... hoexercised power on the Roman citizenry like a man" and her daughter

, the mother of

and reputed to be the mistress of Sergius III, largely upon a remark by Liutprand.

, writing in the 16th century, and basing himself on Liutprand, was particularly scathing, describing Sergius as: ”a wretch, worthy of the rope and of fire... flames could not have caused this execrable monster to suffer the punishments which he merited. It is impossible to believe that such a pope was a lawful one.” The reality is that when Sergius was forcibly exiled by

Lambert of Spoleto Lambert (c. 880 – 15 October 898) was the King of Italy from 891, Holy Roman Emperor, co-ruling with his father from 892, and Duke of Spoleto and Camerino (as Lambert II) from his father's death in 894. He was the son of Guy III of Spoleto and ...

, all the official records were destroyed; consequently, most of the surviving documentation about Sergius comes from his pro-Formosan opponents who had fled to

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adm ...

. Horace Mann, writing in 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 Encyclopedia'') i ...

'' states the following concerning the alleged illicit relationship of Pope Sergius III with Marozia: "that he put his two predecessors to death, and by illicit relations with Marozia had a son, who was afterwards John XI, must be regarded as highly doubtful. These assertions are only made by bitter or ill-informed adversaries, and are inconsistent with what is said of him by respectable contemporaries." Nevertheless, most modern opinions about Sergius’ pontificate remain poor. According to Horace K. Mann, “Sergius was, unfortunately, a pronounced party-man, and anxious for the supremacy of his party.” The best that Ferdinand Gregorovius could say of him was: “That Sergius, who remained Pope throughout the storms of seven years, was at least a man of energy must be admitted, although apostolic virtues are scarcely to be looked for in a character such as his.” James S. Packer described him as malignant and ferocious, slaughtering his enemies with a private army, while Walter Ullmann described Sergius as a typical representative of the House of Theophylact, concerned with power and sexual liaisons.Ullmann, Walter, ''A Short History of the Papacy in the Middle Ages'' (2003), pg. 113

Notes

References

* Collins, Roger, ''Keepers of the Keys of Heaven: A History of the Papacy'' (2010) * DeCormenin, Louis Marie; Gihon, James L., ''A Complete History of the Popes of Rome, from Saint Peter, the First Bishop to Pius the Ninth'' (1857) * Gregorovius, Ferdinand, ''History of the City of Rome in the Middle Ages'', Vol. III (1895) * Mann, Horace K., ''The Lives of the Popes in the Early Middle Ages, Vol. IV: The Popes in the Days of Feudal Anarchy, 891–999'' (1910) * Norwich, John Julius, ''The Popes: A History'' (2011)

External links

Catholic Forum.com
Pope Sergius III

Pope Sergius III
Lindsay Brook, "Popes and pornocrats: Rome in the Early Middle Ages"
offers some more specific documentation

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sergius 03 Popes Italian popes 9th-century archbishops 860s births 911 deaths Year of birth uncertain Burials at St. Peter's Basilica 10th-century popes People temporarily excommunicated by the Catholic Church