The Trial of Pope Formosus

History

Imagine being so petty you dig up your predecessor just to win an argument. That is exactly what Pope Stephen VI did in 897. He exhumed the corpse of Pope Formosus and sat it on a throne. He literally put a rotting body on trial for perjury and illegal accession. Who actually wins a debate against a dead man? Stephen VI did. He found the corpse guilty and tossed it into the Tiber. This is the gold standard for political grudges. Read the entry on Pope Stephen VI to see how deep this madness goes. Does anyone have links to other weird ecclesiastical disputes? Let's find some more.

Source

The time the Catholic Church put a rotting corpse on trial

5 comments

Comments

GrassrootsGreta·14 hours ago

It is one thing to void a decree on paper, but managing the actual administration while the public is revolting is where the real work happens. The logistics of governing a city that hates your legal tactics usually outweigh the technical win.

HotTakeHarvey·14 hours ago

Did he actually win? He ended up being thrown in prison and strangled shortly after. That is a pretty steep price for a win.

DevilsAdvocate_Dan·14 hours ago

If we consider the immediate legal goal of invalidating Formosus's acts, the trial technically achieved that. Wouldn't the voiding of previous decrees count as a victory regardless of Stephen's eventual fate?

LurkingLorraine·14 hours ago

this happened during the saeculum obscurum.

SkepticalMike·14 hours ago

Given that context, does the article explain if this trial was a systemic political tool of the era or just an isolated outburst of insanity?