"Stephen VI" redirects here. For the Moldavian ruler, seeŞtefan VI Rareş.
In sources prior to the 1960s, this pope is called Stephen VII andPope Stephen V is called Stephen VI; seePope-elect Stephen for a detailed explanation.
Jean-Paul Laurens,Le Pape Formose et Étienne VI, 1870; Stephen (at left) accuses the corpse of his predecessor Formosus (seated right)
Pope Stephen VI (Latin:Stephanus VI; died August 897) was thebishop of Rome and ruler of thePapal States from 22 May 896 until his death in August 897. He is best known for instigating theCadaver Synod, which ultimately led to his downfall and death.
The circumstances of his election aspope are unclear, but he was sponsored by one of the powerful Roman families, thedukes of Spoleto, that contested the papacy at the time.
An earthquake severely damaged theArchbasilica of Saint John Lateran during Stephen VI's tenure and the poor state of Papal finances meant that it was not repaired for years.[4] The structure was not repaired until the reign ofPope Sergius III.[5]
Stephen is chiefly remembered in connection with his conduct towards the remains of Pope Formosus. The rotting corpse of Formosus was exhumed and put on trial, before an unwilling synod of the Roman clergy, in the so-calledCadaver Synod in January 897. Pressure from the Spoleto contingent and Stephen's fury with Formosus probably precipitated this extraordinary event.[6] With the corpse propped up on a throne, adeacon was appointed to answer for the deceased pontiff. During the trial, Formosus's corpse was condemned for performing the functions of a bishop when he had been deposed and for accepting the papacy while he was thebishop of Portus, among other revived charges that had been levelled against him in the strife during the pontificate ofJohn VIII. The corpse was found guilty, stripped of its sacred vestments, deprived of three fingers of its right hand (the blessing fingers), clad in the garb of a layman, and quickly buried; it was then re-exhumed and thrown in theTiber. All ordinations performed by Formosus were annulled.[7]
The trial excited a tumult. Though the instigators of the deed may actually have been Formosus' Spoletan enemies, notablyGuy IV of Spoleto, who had recovered their authority in Rome at the beginning of 897 by renouncing their broader claims incentral Italy, the scandal ended in Stephen's imprisonment and his death by strangulation that summer.[8]
