Pope Stephen II

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In sources prior to the 1960s, this pope is called Stephen III and Pope-elect Stephen is called Stephen II; see Pope-elect Stephen for a detailed explanation.
Bishop of Rome
ChurchCatholic Church
Papacy began26 March 752
Papacy ended26 April 757
PredecessorZachary
SuccessorPaul I
Orders
Created cardinalbefore 750
by Zachary
Personal details
Born
Rome, Byzantine Empire
Died26 April 757 (aged 43)
Rome, Papal States
Other popes named Stephen

Pope Stephen II (

bishop of Rome from 26 March 752 to his death. Stephen II marks the historical delineation between the Byzantine Papacy and the Frankish Papacy. During Stephen's pontificate, Rome was facing invasion by the Lombards when Stephen II went to Paris to seek assistance from Pepin the Short. Pepin defeated the Lombards and made a gift of land to the pope, eventually leading to the establishment of the Papal States
.

Election

In 751, the Lombard king Aistulf captured the Exarchate of Ravenna, and turned his attention to the Duchy of Rome.[1] Stephen, a Roman aristocrat and member of the Orsini family,[2][3] was selected on 26 March 752 to succeed Pope Zachary following the recent death of Pope-elect Stephen.

Lombard threat

Relations were very strained in the mid-8th century between the

Constantine V Copronymus, in answer to the repeated requests for help of the new pope, Stephen II, could only offer him the advice to act in accordance with the ancient policy of Rome, to pit some other Germanic tribe against the Lombards.[4]

Stephen turned to

king of the Franks who had recently defeated the Muslim Umayyad invasion of Gaul.[5] He traveled to Paris to plead for help in person against the surrounding Lombard and Muslim threats.[6] On 6 January 754, Stephen re-consecrated Pepin as king. In return, Pepin assumed the role of ordained protector of the Church and set his sights on the Lombards, as well as addressing the threat of Islamic Al-Andalus.[7] Pepin invaded Italy twice to settle the Lombard problem and delivered the territory between Rome and Ravenna
to the papacy, but left the Lombard kings in possession of their kingdom.

Duchy of Rome and the Papal States

Painting depicting Abbot Fulrad giving Pepin's written guarantee to Stephen II

Prior to Stephen II's alliance with Pepin, Rome had constituted the central city of the

Catholic tradition asserts that then and there Pepin executed in writing a promise to give to the Church certain territories that were to be wrested from the Lombards, and which would be referred to later as the Papal States. Known as the Donation of Pepin
, no actual document has been preserved, but later 8th century sources quote from it.

Stephen anointed Pepin as king of the Franks

rocca
.

Pepin confirmed his Donation in Rome in 756, and in 774 Charlemagne confirmed the donation of his father.[8] Stephen II died on 26 April 757 and was succeeded by his brother Paul I.[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Mann, Horace. "Pope Stephen (II) III." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 14. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 12 September 2017
  2. ^ Norwich, J. J. "The Popes: A History", p. 756. 2011
  3. ^ George L. Williams, Papal Genealogy, (McFarland & Company, 2004), 215.
  4. ^ Schnürer, Gustav. "States of the Church." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 14. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 12 September 2017
  5. ISBN 9781439119013
    . He transferred his political allegiance from the empire to the king of the Franks, who lived north of the Alps, who had recently defeated the Muslims who were invading from Spain...
  6. ISBN 9780230617803
    .
  7. ISBN 9780143531555
    . To address the threat of an Islamic empire settled in south-western Europe, Pope Stephen II crowned Pippin (the son of Charles Martel) as king of the Frankish dynasty...
  8. ^ Pierre Riche, The Carolingians: A Family Who Forged Europe, transl. Michael Idomir Allen, (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1993), 97.
  9. ^ Biagia Catanzaro, Francesco Gligora, Breve Storia dei papi, da San Pietro a Paolo VI, Padova 1975, p. 84

Sources

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stephanus II.
Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Pope
752–757 		Succeeded by
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