Here is a detailed explanation of one of the most bizarre and grisly events in the history of the Catholic Church: the Cadaver Synod (also known as the Synodus Horrenda).
The Scene: Rome, 897 AD
The setting was the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome. The atmosphere was thick with incense, likely used to mask the overwhelming stench of decay. Gathered in the hall were the clergy of Rome, trembling before Pope Stephen VI, who sat on the papal throne.
Opposite him sat the defendant: Pope Formosus.
The problem was that Pope Formosus had been dead for seven months.
His corpse had been exhumed from the crypt, dressed in full pontifical vestments, and propped up on a throne. Because rigor mortis had long since passed, and decay had set in, it is believed his body was tied to the chair to keep it upright. A teenage deacon stood behind the corpse, tasked with answering on behalf of the dead pontiff.
The Historical Context: The "Iron Century"
To understand how such madness occurred, one must understand the era. The late 9th and early 10th centuries are often called the Saeculum obscurum (the Dark Age) of the papacy. Rome was a snake pit of political factionalism. The Papacy was not just a spiritual office; it was the ultimate political prize for warring aristocratic families in central Italy.
Two primary factions were at war: 1. The Spoleto Faction: Supporters of the House of Spoleto (to which the presiding Pope Stephen VI was loyal). 2. The Imperial Faction: Supporters of the Carolingian German emperors (to which the dead Pope Formosus had been loyal).
Formosus, during his life, had betrayed the House of Spoleto by crowning a German king, Arnulf of Carinthia, as Holy Roman Emperor instead of the Spoletan candidate, Lambert. When Formosus died (likely of natural causes, though poison was suspected), the Spoleto faction regained power.
Pope Stephen VI, likely pressured by the vengeful Lambert of Spoleto and his mother Ageltrude, decided that death was not enough to punish Formosus's "treachery." They needed to destroy his legacy legally and spiritually.
The Charges
The trial was a piece of theatrical absurdity. Pope Stephen VI screamed accusations at the corpse, which stared back silently with empty eye sockets. The primary charges were strictly canonical but politically motivated:
- Perjury: Accusing Formosus of violating oaths he had taken earlier in his career.
- Coveting the Papacy: Claiming he had sought the office out of ambition rather than divine selection.
- Violation of Canon Law: Specifically, the rule prohibiting a bishop from moving from one see (bishopric) to another. Formosus had been Bishop of Porto before becoming Bishop of Rome (Pope).
When Stephen asked the corpse, "Why did you usurp the universal Roman See in such a spirit of ambition?", the terrified teenage deacon crouching behind the throne would stutter out a confession on the corpse’s behalf.
The Verdict and Desecration
Unsurprisingly, the defense was weak. Formosus was found guilty on all counts. What followed was a ritual of systematic desecration:
- Damnatio Memoriae: All of Formosus’s acts and ordinations as Pope were declared null and void. (This created chaos, as priests ordained by him suddenly found their priesthood invalid).
- Defrocking: The papal vestments were stripped from the rotting body. Beneath them, he was wearing a hair shirt, a sign of piety, which confused the onlookers but did not stop the proceedings.
- The Three Fingers: The three fingers of his right hand—used for papal blessings—were hacked off.
- Burial and Re-burial: The body was dragged out of the palace and buried in a common grave for foreigners. However, shortly after, Stephen decided this was too dignified. The body was dug up again, tied to weights, and thrown into the Tiber River.
The Aftermath
The spectacle was too much, even for the hardened Romans of the Dark Ages. The image of a dead Pope being put on trial shocked the public conscience.
When Formosus’s body washed up on the banks of the Tiber days later, rumors began to spread that the corpse had performed miracles and that the saints themselves had saluted the body. A violent public uprising ensued. The Roman mob, furious at the sacrilege, seized Pope Stephen VI. He was stripped of his office, imprisoned, and shortly thereafter strangled to death in his cell.
The Final Twist
The saga did not end with Stephen’s death. Over the next few years, successive Popes spent their time overturning the verdicts of their predecessors:
- Pope Romanus (897) annulled the actions of Stephen VI.
- Pope Theodore II (897) recovered Formosus's body from the riverbank and solemnly reburied it in St. Peter's Basilica with full honors.
- Pope Sergius III (904-911), a member of the Spoleto faction who had actually taken part in the Cadaver Synod as a judge, eventually regained power. He reaffirmed the conviction of the corpse and placed a laudatory epitaph on the tomb of Stephen VI.
Ultimately, history sided with the victim. The Vatican eventually banned the practice of trying dead people, ensuring the Synodus Horrenda remained a singular, terrifying anomaly in the history of the church.