Pope Adrian II (Latin:Adrianus II; alsoHadrian II; 792 – 14 December 872) was thebishop of Rome and ruler of thePapal States from 867 to his death. He continued the policy of his predecessor,Nicholas I. Despite seeking good relations withLouis II of Italy, he was placed under surveillance, and his wife and daughters were killed by Louis' supporters.
Adrian was a member of a noble Roman family, related to PopesStephen IV andSergius II.[2] In his youth, he married a woman namedStephania and had a daughter with her. Adrian later became a priest after having already been married.[3] Catholic priests had been required to abstain from all further sexual relations since the 4th century at the latest.[4]
Adrian wasselected to becomepope on 14 December 867. He was already at an advanced age (75), and objected to assuming the papacy.[3] His wife and daughter moved with him to theLateran Palace.[5]
Adrian II maintained, but with less energy, the policies of his predecessor,Nicholas I. KingLothair II of Lotharingia, who died in 869, left Adrian to mediate between theFrankish kings with a view to secure the imperial inheritance to Lothair's brother,Louis II of Italy.[6] Adrian sought to maintain good relations with Louis, since the latter's campaigns in southern Italy had the potential to free the papacy from the threat posed by the Muslims.[7]
Adrian supported the work ofCyril and Methodius inMoravia, and authorized the use of the new Slavic liturgy. He subsequently ordained Methodius a priest. In 869, he consecrated Methodius archbishop and Metropolitan ofSirmium.[8]
Like Nicholas I, Adrian was forced to submit in temporal affairs to the interference of Emperor Louis II, who placed him under the surveillance of Bishop Arsenius ofOrte, his confidential adviser, and Arsenius' nephew,Anastasius the Librarian.[6] Arsenius' son Eleutherius married Adrian's daughter, having withheld the fact that he was already espoused to another. In 868, he abducted and murdered Adrian's wife and daughter.[5] Eleutherius was condemned to death for his crimes.
Adrian died on 14 December 872, after exactly five years of pontificate.[6]
^Kleinhenz, Christopher (2 Aug 2004). "Hadrian II, Pope".Medieval Italy: An Encyclopedia. Routledge.ISBN9781135948795.Hadrian sought to alienate no one in Rome, while also maintaining good relations with Louis II, whose campaigns in the south might free the papacy from the threat posed by the Muslims.
^"The Life of Methodius",Medieval Slavic Lives of Saints and Princes (Marvin Kantor) [Michigan Slavic Translation 5]. University of Michigan. (1983) p. 117.ISBN0-930042-44-1