Pope Sergius III

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

Sergius III today is largely seen as 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 and Christopher, and allegedly fathered an illegitimate son who later became pope, John XI. His pontificate has been variously described as "dismal and disgraceful",^[8] and "efficient and ruthless".^[9]

Early life and career

Sergius was the son of Benedictus,

By the time the Antipope Christopher (903–904) seized the chair of Saint Peter by force, circumstances had changed at Rome, with the rise of the magister militum 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.^[2] 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.^[20]

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 some time in early 904.^[21] 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.^[22] 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.^[23] 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.^[24]

Activity in Italy

Pope Sergius III convoked a synod which annulled all the ordinations of Formosus and required all bishops ordained by Formosus to be reordained. 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.^[3] 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 the validity of the original ordinations.^[25] The ruling was subsequently reversed again after his death.^{[citation needed]}

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 on Stephen VI's tombstone.^[26] 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.^[27] 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.^[28]

Although neither Sergius nor Theophylact supported the continued nominal rule of Emperor

As the Holy Apostolic See has made known to us that the blasphemous errors of a certain

Roman See, after a careful study of the works of the Fathers, to draw from the quiver of Holy Writ arrows sharp enough to slay the monster which is again springing into life.^[4]

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.^[37]

Death

Sergius III died on 14 April 911, and was succeeded by Pope Anastasius III. He was buried in the Church of St. Peter, between the Silver gate and the gate of Ravenna.^[38]

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

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".^[45] 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".^[46] James S. Packer described him as malignant and ferocious, slaughtering his enemies with a private army,^[47] while Walter Ullmann described Sergius as a typical representative of the House of Theophylact, concerned with power and sexual liaisons.^[48]

See also

• List of popes

Notes