Theodoric was an

antipope An antipope () is a person who claims to be Bishop of Rome and leader of the Roman Catholic Church in opposition to the officially elected pope. Between the 3rd and mid-15th centuries, antipopes were supported by factions within the Church its ...

in 1100 and 1101, in the schism that began with Wibert of Ravenna in 1080, in opposition to the excesses of

Pope Gregory VII Pope Gregory VII (; 1015 – 25 May 1085), born Hildebrand of Sovana (), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 April 1073 to his death in 1085. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. One of the great ...

and in support of the

Emperor Henry IV Henry IV (; 11 November 1050 – 7 August 1106) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 to 1105, King of Germany from 1054 to 1105, King of Italy and Burgundy from 1056 to 1105, and Duke of Bavaria from 1052 to 1054. He was the son of Henry III, Holy ...

Biography

The earliest record of Theodoric is his signature on a document of the antipope Clement III (Wibert) dated 4 November 1084, where he signs as

cardinal deacon A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. C ...

of S. Maria in Via Lata. In a letter of 29 July 1099, Clement III refers to Theoderic as one of those cardinals who

anathematized The word anathema has two main meanings. One is to describe that something or someone is being hated or avoided. The other refers to a formal excommunication by a church. These meanings come from the New Testament, where an anathema was a person ...

Gregory VII (who died on 25 May 1085) as a

heretic Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy. Heresy in Christianity, Judai ...

and

simoniac Simony () is the act of selling church offices and roles or sacred things. It is named after Simon Magus, who is described in the Acts of the Apostles as having offered two disciples of Jesus payment in exchange for their empowering him to imp ...

. In 1098, Cardinal Theodoric became involved in German affairs, as

papal legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the Pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title '' legatus'') is a personal representative of the Pope to foreign nations, to some other part of the Catho ...

Clement III Pope Clement III (; 1130 – 20 March 1191), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 December 1187 to his death in 1191. He ended the conflict between the Papacy and the city of Rome, by allowing the electi ...

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 archdi ...

Rothardus of Mainz had not only refused to accept the legitimacy of antipope Clement III, but was working against the Emperor Henry and his antipope by rallying the bishops of Germany to meet in 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 Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

in Mainz on 1 December 1097. Clement had tried several times to bring the archbishop under control. First, he had Rothardus summoned to the papal court to answer charges of simony; when he refused to appear, Theodoric and another bishop summoned him; finally the Deacon Hugo also summoned him. Having failed to appear, on 29 July 1099 the people of Mainz were released from their obedience to Rothardus and warned of the

interdict In Catholic canon law, an interdict () is an ecclesiastical censure, or ban that prohibits certain persons or groups from participating in particular rites, or that the rites and services of the church are prohibited in certain territories for ...

that would be inflicted on any who associated with him. Theodoric wrote and witnessed the

papal letter Ecclesiastical letters are publications or announcements of the organs of Roman Catholic ecclesiastical authority, e.g. the synods, but more particularly of pope and bishops, addressed to the faithful in the form of letters. Letters of the po ...

. On 18 October 1099, he was in Tivoli, where he witnessed a document of antipope Clement III in favor of Cardinal Romanus of S. Ciriaco. The legitimate pope,

Urban II Pope Urban II (; – 29 July 1099), otherwise known as Odo of Châtillon or Otho de Lagery, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 March 1088 to his death. He is best known for convening the Council of Clermon ...

, died on 29 July 1099, and his successor

Paschal II Pope Paschal II (; 1050 1055 – 21 January 1118), born Raniero Raineri di Bleda, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 August 1099 to his death in 1118. A monk of the Abbey of Cluny, he was creat ...

was

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population ch ...

at the church of

San Clemente San Clemente (; Spanish for " St. Clement" ) is a coastal city in southern Orange County, California, United States. It was named in 1925 after the Spanish colonial island (which was named after a Pope from the first century). Located in the O ...

on 13 August 1099, and consecrated on 14 August 1099 in

St. Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican (), or simply St. Peter's Basilica (; ), is a church of the Italian High Renaissance located in Vatican City, an independent microstate enclaved within the city of Rome, Italy. It was initiall ...

. The Antipope Clement III was expelled from Rome at the same time, and died on 8 September 1100, at

Civita Castellana Civita Castellana is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Viterbo, north of Rome. Mount Soracte lies about to the south-east. History Civita Castellana was settled during the Iron Age by the Italic Falisci, who called it " Falerii". Afte ...

, some 60km (37 mi) north of Rome. According to the "Annales Romani", the followers of Clement met secretly in Rome, at night, in St. Peter's Basilica, where they elected and enthroned Cardinal Theodoric, the

Bishop of Albano The Diocese of Albano () is a Latin suburbicarian see of the Diocese of Rome in Italy, comprising seven towns in the Province of Rome. Albano Laziale is situated on the Appian Way some from Rome. Since 1966, it has both a titular bishop and a ...

, who may have assumed the name Sylvester III. But he did not dare to remain in the city. Forced to abandon Rome to seek protection of the emperor, Theodoric was seized by partisans of

Pope Paschal II Pope Paschal II (; 1050 1055 – 21 January 1118), born Raniero Raineri di Bleda, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 August 1099 to his death in 1118. A monk of the Abbey of Cluny, he was creat ...

, and sent to Rome. He was convicted by judgment of the fathers, and immediately sent to the monastery of Santissima Trinità di Cava, near

Salerno Salerno (, ; ; ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Campania, southwestern Italy, and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after Naples. It is located ...

, where he was compelled to become a monk, or, according to the "Life of Pope Paschal II," a hermit. He died at Cava in 1102, according to the epitaph in the crypt of the monastery. A later memorial plaque in La Cava commemorates him under the pontifical name of "Sylvester III", because the earlier Pope Sylvester III (Giovanni dei Crescenzi), at that time was considered an antipope. Theodoric's successor was Antipope Albert, elected in 1101, or in February or March 1102.Jaffé, ''Regesta pontificum'', p. 773, whose editors point out that Albertus would not have been elected by the Wibertines until after the death of their Pope Theoderic.

References

Sources

Annales Romani The ''Annales Romani'' are a set of annals covering the history of the city of Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Re ...

," in: * Hüls, Rudolf. ''Kardinäle, Klerus und Kirchen Roms: 1049–1130 ''(Tübingen 1977) ibliothek des Deutschen Historischen Instituts in Rom, Band 48 * *Kehr, Paul Fridolin (1900). "Due documenti pontifici illustranti la storia di Roma negli ultimi anni del secolo IX," in
''Archivio della reale Società romana di storia patria''
XXIII (1900), pp. 277–283, at pp. 280–283. *Piazza, Andrea; Anzoise, Stefania (2019)
"Teodorico, antipapa"
''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani'' Volume 95 (Treccani: 2019) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Theodoric Year of birth missing 1102 deaths 11th-century antipopes 12th-century antipopes Antipopes Cardinal-bishops of Albano