Pope Formosus

Formosus (* ca 816, † April 4 896 in Rome) was 891-896 Pope.

The at the time of his election 75 years Formosus had previously been Bishop of Porto. 864 he took over the job of a legate with the Bulgarians and the first Metropolitan of Bulgaria should be according to the will of Khan Boris. Canon law, the establishment of the Metropolitats not let prevail. In the following years he took multiple diplomatic missions for the popes. 875 he negotiated with Charles the Bald on the imperial coronation. A year later deposed Pope John VIII Formosus his episcopal ministry because he had participated in a conspiracy. Of Marinus I. it was used a few years later and was again papal adviser.

On October 6, 891 Formosus was Pope without major election disputes. He repeated probably reluctantly crowned emperor by Guido of Spoleto and crowned his son, Count Lambert of Spoleto as co-emperor, but these were soon so powerful that Formosus called the German king Arnulf of Carinthia to help. This conquered Rome and was himself Emperor 896. In addition, Formosus came into conflict with the Roman town nobility.

Formosus died on April 4, 896 After the brief tenure of Boniface VI. held the Spoleto - friendly Stephan VI. in January 897 over the corpse of Formosus court ( body Synod ) for his alleged usurpation of the papal throne. The body amputated the oath fingers and he was thrown into the Tiber, but still 897 raised Stephen successor Theodore II the decisions of the body Synod back on and let Formosus, whose corpse had been recovered by his followers from the Tiber, the back in the crypt Peter Domes buried. Under Pope Sergius III. , A resolute followers of Stephen VI. , Tracking the party of Formosus was operated again. He had Formosus ' corpse exhumed after ten years in the grave a second time, decapitate, separate the remaining three fingers of the monkey hand and then re- cast into the Tiber, where the headless body caught in a fisherman's net, returned to St Peter's and there was buried again.