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The Cadaver Synod, when a pope put his dead predecessor's corpse on trial

Hard to believe

The Cadaver Synod, when a pope put his dead predecessor's corpse on trial

10 min

In 897 a pope had the exhumed body of a former pope dressed in robes, propped on a throne, and formally tried — then mutilated and thrown into the Tiber, in one of the strangest episodes in Church history.

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Show notes

Pope Stephen the Sixth exhumed his predecessor's corpse to stand trial for violating canon law.

The trial aimed to void every official act and ordination performed by Formosus during his papacy.

An earthquake struck the Basilica of Saint John Lateran while the decomposing body sat on the throne.

Executioners hacked off the corpse's three blessing fingers before dragging it through the streets of Rome.

Public outrage over the trial led to the imprisonment and strangulation of Pope Stephen the Sixth.

Pope John the Ninth eventually banned the practice of putting dead people on trial.

In this episode

  1. 1Intro1 min
  2. 2The Iron Century and the Rise of Formosus2 min
  3. 3The Synodus Horrenda3 min
  4. 4Mutilation and the Tiber2 min
  5. 5The Backlash and Rehabilitation2 min
  6. 6Outro1 min

Sources

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The Cadaver Synod, when a pope put his dead predecessor's corpse on trial — Fylom