Pope John X
Bishop of Rome | |
---|---|
Church | Catholic Church |
Papacy began | March 914 |
Papacy ended | May 928 |
Predecessor | Lando |
Successor | Leo VI |
Personal details | |
Born | |
Died | Rome, Papal States |
Previous post(s) | Cardinal-Priest (907–914) |
Other popes named John |
Pope John X (
Early career
John X, whose father’s name was also John,
It was through Theodora’s influence that John was on the verge of succeeding Peter as bishop of Bologna, when the
After the death of Pope Lando in 914, a faction of the Roman nobility, headed by Theophylact of Tusculum, summoned John to Rome to assume the vacant papal chair. Although this was again interpreted by Liutprand as Theodora personally intervening to have her lover made pope, it is far more likely that John’s close working relationship with Theophylact, and his opposition to the ordinations of Pope Formosus, were the real reasons for his being transferred from Ravenna to Rome.[8] Since switching sees was considered an infraction of canon law, as well as contravening the decrees of the Lateran Council of 769, which prohibited the installation of a pope without election, John’s appointment was criticised by his contemporaries.[9] Nevertheless, whilst Theophylact was alive, John adhered to his patron’s cause.
War with Saracens
The first task that confronted John X was the existence of a
After some preliminary engagements at Campo Baccano and at
Berengar had pressed for the imperial crown ever since he had defeated and driven Emperor
Political realignments
Although Berengar had the support of the major Roman nobility and the pope, he had enemies elsewhere. In 923, a combination of the Italian princes brought about the defeat of Berengar, again frustrating the hopes of a united Italy, followed by his assassination in 924.[16] Then in 925 Theophylact of Tusculum and Alberic I of Spoleto also died; this meant that within the course of a year, three of Pope John’s key supporters had died, leaving John dangerously exposed to the ambitions of Theophylact’s daughter, Marozia, who, it was said, resented John’s alleged affair with her mother, Theodora.[17]
To counter the rising threat, John X invited
Marozia in the meantime had married Margrave
Eastern affairs
Although these troubles were continuing to trouble John in Rome, he was still able to participate and influence broader ecclesiastical and political questions across Europe. In 920, he was asked by the
In 925 John attempted to stem the use of the Slav
The result was a synod held in Split in 926, which confirmed John’s request; it forbade the ordination of anyone ignorant of Latin, and forbade Mass to be said in the Slav tongue, except when there was a shortage of priests.[24] The decrees of the synod were sent to Rome for John’s confirmation, who confirmed them all except for the ruling which placed the Croatian Bishop of Nona under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Spalatro. He summoned the parties to see him at Rome, but they were unable to attend, forcing John to send some papal legates to settle the matter, which were only resolved by Pope Leo VI after John’s deposition and death.[25]
Around the same time, Tsar Simeon I of Bulgaria made overtures to John, offering the renounce his nation’s obedience to the Patriarch of Constantinople, and place his kingdom under the ecclesiastical authority of the popes at Rome. John sent two legates, who only made it as far as Constantinople, but whose letters urging Simeon to come to terms with the Byzantine Empire were delivered to him.[26] However, John did confirm Simeon’s title of Tsar (emperor), and it was John’s representatives who crowned Simeon’s son Peter I of Bulgaria as Tsar in 927.[27] Finally, John sent a legate to act as intermediary to attempt to stop a war between the Bulgarians and Croatians.[28]
Affairs in western Europe
John was just as vigorous in his activities in Western Europe. Early on in his pontificate he gave his support to King Conrad I of Germany in his struggles against the German dukes. He sent a papal legate to a synod of bishops convoked by Conrad at Altheim in 916, with the result that the synod ordered Conrad’s opponents to present themselves before Pope John at Rome if they did not appear before another synod for judgement, under pain of excommunication.[29]
In 920, John was called upon by
John also supported the spiritual side of the Church, such as his advice to Archbishop Herive of Reims in 914, who asked for advice on converting the Normans to Christianity.[33] He wrote:
”Your letter has filled me at once with sorrow and with joy. With sorrow at the sufferings you have to endure not only from the pagans, but also from Christians; with gladness at the conversion of the Northmen, who once revelled in human blood, but who now, by your words, rejoice that they are redeemed by the life-giving blood of Christ. For this we thank God, and implore Him to strengthen them in the faith. As to how far, inasmuch as they are uncultured, and but novices in the faith, they are to be subjected to severe canonical penances for their relapsing, killing of priests, and sacrificing to idols, we leave to your judgment to decide, as no one will know better than you the manners and customs of this people. You will, of course, understand well enough that it will not be advisable to treat them with the severity required by the canons, lest, thinking they will never be able to bear the unaccustomed burdens, they return to their old errors.”[34]
In addition, John supported the monastic reform movement at
In 924 John X sent a papal legate named Zanello to Spain to investigate the
Finally, during his pontificate, John also restored the
Deposition and death
The power struggle between John X and Guy of Tuscany and Marozia came to a conclusion in 928. Guy had secretly collected a body of troops, and with them made an attack on the Lateran Palace. Peter was caught off guard, having only a few soldiers with him, and was cut to pieces before his brother's eyes. John was thrown into a dungeon, where he remained until he died.[41] There are two variant traditions surrounding his death; the first has it that he was smothered to death by a pillow in the dungeon within a couple of months of his deposition. Another has it he died sometime in 929 without violence, but through a combination of the conditions of his incarceration and depression.[42]
According to John the Deacon of the Lateran, John X was buried in the atrium of the Lateran Basilica, near the main entrance.[43] He was succeeded by Pope Leo VI in 928.
Reputation and legacy
For centuries, John X’s pontificate has been seen as one of the most disgraceful during the Saeculum obscurum. Much of this can be laid at the feet of the Liutprand of Cremona, whose account of the period is both inaccurate and uniformly hostile.[44] His characterisation of John as an unscrupulous cleric who slept his way to the papal chair, becoming the lover of Theodora,[45] and who held the throne of Saint Peter as a puppet of Theophylact I of Tusculum until he was murdered to make way for Marozia’s son John XI, has coloured much of the analysis of his reign, and was used by opponents of the Catholic Church as a propagandist tool.[46]
Thus according to
However, in recent times, his pontificate has been re-evaluated, and he is now seen as a man who attempted to stand against the aristocratic domination of the papacy, who promoted a unified Italy under an imperial ruler, only to be murdered for his efforts.[49]
According to Ferdinand Gregorovius (not known for his sympathies towards the Papacy), John X was the foremost statesman of his age. He wrote:
”John X, however, the man whose sins are known only by report, whose great qualities are conspicuous in history, stands forth amid the darkness of the time as one of the most memorable figures among the Popes. The acts of the history of the Church praise his activity, and his relations with every country of Christendom. And since he confirmed the strict rule of Cluny, they extol him further as one of the reformers of monasticism.”[50]
References
- ^ Johann Lorenz von Mosheim (1841). Soames, Henry (ed.). Institutes of ecclesiastical history, ancient and modern. A new and literal tr. Longman. p. 721.
- ^ Mann, p. 152
- ^ a b c d Levillain, p. 838
- ^ a b Kirsch, Johann Peter. "Pope John X." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 23 September 2017
- ^ Norwich, John Julius, The Popes: A History (2011), p. 75; Mann, p. 151
- ^ Richard P. McBrien, Lives of the Popes, (HarperCollins, 2000), p. 152.
- ^ Mann, p. 153
- ^ Levillain, p. 838; Mann, p. 153
- ^ Mann, p. 153; Levillain, p. 838
- ^ Mann, p. 154
- ^ a b Mann, p. 155
- ^ Mann, pp. 155–156
- ^ Mann, p. 156
- ^ Mann, p. 157
- ^ Mann, pp. 158–159
- ^ Mann, pp. 159–160
- ^ Mann, p. 161; Norwich, p. 75
- ^ Levillain, p. 839; Mann, p. 161
- ^ Norwich, p. 75; Mann, pp. 161–162
- ^ Mann, p. 162
- ^ Norwich, John Julius, Byzantium: The Apogee (1993), p. 137; Mann, pp. 133–134
- ISBN 978-0521074599.
- ^ Mann, pp. 165–166
- ^ Mann, p. 166
- ^ Levillain, p. 839; Mann, pp. 167–168
- ^ Mann, p. 169
- ^ Levillain, p. 839; Mann, p. 170
- ^ Mann, p. 171
- ^ Levillain, p. 839; Mann, pp. 171–173
- ^ Mann, pp. 174–175
- ^ Levillain, p. 839; Mann, pp. 175–176
- ^ Mann, p. 176
- ^ a b Levillain, p. 839
- ^ Mann, pp. 177–178
- ^ Mann, pp. 178–179
- ^ Mann, p. 179
- ^ Mann, p. 181
- ^ Mann, pp., 182–183
- ^ Mann, p. 184
- ^ Levillain, p. 839; Mann, p. 185
- ^ Mann, pp. 162–163
- ^ Norwich, p. 75; Mann, pp. 163–164
- ^ Mann, p. 185
- ^ Mann, p. 151
- ^ Platina, Bartolomeo (1479). "The Lives of the Popes From The Time Of Our Saviour Jesus Christ to the Accession of Gregory VII". I. London: Griffith Farran & Co.: 245–246. Retrieved 2013-04-25.
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(help) - ^ Mann, pp. 151–152
- ^ John Foxe, George Townsend, Josiah Pratt, The acts and monuments of John Foxe, with a life and defence of the martyrologist, Vol. II (1870), p. 35
- ^ 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), pp. 285–286
- ^ Duffy, Eamon, Saints & Sinners: A History of the Popes (1997), p. 83
- ^ Gregorovius, Ferdinand, The History of Rome in the Middle Ages, Vol. III, p. 280
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Pope John X". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
Further reading
- Norwich, John Julius, The Popes: A History (2011) [ISBN missing]
- Levillain, Philippe, The Papacy: Gaius-Proxies, Routledge (2002) [ISBN missing]
- 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)
External links
- Opera Omnia by Migne Patrologia Latina with analytical indexes
- Catholic Forum: Pope John X
- New Catholic Dictionary: Pope John X