Pope Stephen IV ( la, Stephanus IV; c. 770 – 24 January 817) 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 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 June 816 to his death.Mann, Horace. "Pope Stephen (IV) V." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 14. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 19 September 2017 Stephen belonged to a noble Roman family. In October 816, he crowned

Louis the Pious Louis the Pious (german: Ludwig der Fromme; french: Louis le Pieux; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aqu ...

as emperor at

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded b ...

, and persuaded him to release some Roman political prisoners he held in custody. He returned to

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 way of Ravenna, sometime in November and died the following January.

Rise

The son of a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

noble called Marinus, Stephen belonged to the same family which also produced the Popes Sergius II and Adrian II. At a young age he was raised at 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. ...

during the pontificate of Adrian I, and it was under Leo III that he was

ordained 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 ...

subdeacon Subdeacon (or sub-deacon) is a minor order or ministry for men in various branches of Christianity. The subdeacon has a specific liturgical role and is placed between the acolyte (or reader) and the deacon in the order of precedence. Subdeacons i ...

before he was subsequently made a

deacon 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 Chur ...

. Very popular among the Roman people,Mann, pg. 112 within ten days of Leo III's death, he was escorted to

Saint Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal ...

and

consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different gro ...

on or about 22 June 816. It has been conjectured that his rapid election was an attempt by the Roman clergy to ensure that the Carolingian emperor

could not interfere.

Pontificate

Immediately after his consecration Stephen ordered the Roman people to swear fidelity to Emperor Louis, after which Stephen sent envoys to the emperor notifying him of his election, and to arrange a meeting between the two at the emperor's convenience. With Louis’ invitation, Stephen left Rome in August 816. Louis's nephew, King

Bernard of Italy Bernard (797 – 17 April 818) was the King of the Lombards from 810 to 818. He plotted against his uncle, Emperor Louis the Pious, when the latter's ''Ordinatio Imperii'' made Bernard a vassal of his cousin Lothair. When his plot was discovered, ...

, was ordered to accompany Stephen to the emperor and the two crossed the Alps together. In early October, the pope and the emperor met at

Rheims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

, where Louis prostrated himself three times before Stephen. At Mass on Sunday, 5 October 816, Stephen

anointed Anointing is the ritual act of pouring aromatic oil over a person's head or entire body. By extension, the term is also applied to related acts of sprinkling, dousing, or smearing a person or object with any perfumed oil, milk, butter, or oth ...

Louis as emperor, placing a crown on his head that was claimed to belong to

Constantine the Great Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to convert to Christianity. Born in Naissus, Dacia Mediterran ...

. At the same time he also crowned Louis’ wife,

Ermengarde of Hesbaye Ermengarde (or Irmingard) of Hesbaye (c. 778 – 3 October 818), probably a member of the Robertian dynasty, was Carolingian empress from 813 and Queen of the Franks from 814 until her death as the wife of the Carolingian emperor Louis the Piou ...

, and saluted her as '' augusta''. This event has been seen as an attempt by the papacy to establish a role in the creation of an emperor, which had been placed in doubt by Louis' self-coronation in 813. Louis gave Stephen a number of presents, including an estate of land (most likely at

Vendeuvre-sur-Barse Vendeuvre-sur-Barse (, literally ''Vendeuvre on Barse'') is a commune in the Aube department in north-central France. Geography The Barse has its source in the commune, under the chateau. Population Vendeuvre-sur-Barse_Eglise_R05.jpg, ...

) granted to the Roman church. They also renewed the pact between the popes and the kings of the

Franks The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools ...

, confirming the privileges of the Roman church, and the continued existence of the recently emerged

. Stephen also raised Bishop Theodulf of Orléans to the rank of

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...

, and had Louis release from their exile all political prisoners originally from Rome who had been held by the emperor resulting from the conflict that plagued the early part of Pope Leo III's reign. It is also believed that Stephen asked Louis to enforce reforms for the clergy who lived under the Rule of Chrodegang. This included ensuring that the men and women who lived there were to stay in separate convents, and that they were to hold the houses under a title of common property. He also regulated how much food and wine they could consume. After visiting

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the c ...

on his way back from Rheims, Stephen returned to Rome before the end of November 816. Here, he apparently discontinued Leo III's policies of favouring clergy over lay aristocracy. After holding the traditional ordination of priests and bishops in December and confirming

Farfa Abbey Farfa Abbey ( it, Abbazia di Farfa) is a territorial abbey in northern Lazio, central Italy. In the Middle Ages it was one of the richest and most famous abbeys in Italy. It belongs to the Benedictine Order and is located about from Rome, ...

’s possessions on condition that every day the monks would recite one hundred

Kyrie Kyrie, a transliteration of Greek , vocative case of (''Kyrios''), is a common name of an important prayer of Christian liturgy, also called the Kyrie eleison ( ; ). In the Bible The prayer, "Kyrie, eleison," "Lord, have mercy" derives f ...

eleison as well as a yearly payment to the Roman Church of ten golden

solidi The ''solidus'' (Latin 'solid'; ''solidi'') or nomisma ( grc-gre, νόμισμα, ''nómisma'', 'coin') was a highly pure gold coin issued in the Late Roman Empire and Byzantine Empire. Constantine introduced the coin, and its weigh ...

, Stephen died on 24 January 817. He was buried at St. Peter's, and was succeeded by Paschal I.Artaud de Montor, ''The lives and times of the Roman Pontiffs, from St. Peter to Pius IX'' Volume 1 (1867), pg. 94

Notes

References

* Duffy, Eamon, ''Saints and Sinners: A History of the Popes'', Yale University Press (1997) * Mann, Horace K., ''The Lives of the Popes in the Early Middle Ages, Vol. II: The Popes During the Carolingian Empire, 795–858'' (1906) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stephen 04 770s births 817 deaths Popes 9th-century archbishops 9th-century popes Burials at St. Peter's Basilica