Pope John XVIII

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Pope

John XVIII
Bishop of Rome
Church Catholic Church
Papacy beganJanuary 1004
Papacy endedJuly 1009
Predecessor John XVII
Successor Sergius IV
Personal details
Born
DiedJuly 1009
Rome, Papal States
Other popes named John

Pope John XVIII (Latin : Ioannes XVIII; died June or July 1009) was the bishop of Rome and nominal ruler of the Papal States from January 1004 (25 December 1003 NS) to his abdication in July 1009. He wielded little temporal power, ruling during the struggle between John Crescentius and Emperor Henry II for the control of Rome.

Contents

Family

John was born to the Fasano family in Rome. [1] His father was a priest, either named Leo according to Johann Peter Kirsch, [2] or Ursus according to Horace K Mann. [3]

Pontificate

John owed his election to the influence and power of the Crescentii clan. During his whole pontificate, he was allegedly subordinate to the head of the Crescentii, who controlled Rome, the patricius (an aristocratic military leader) John Crescentius III. [4] This period was disrupted by continuing conflicts between the Ottonian Emperor Henry II and Arduin of Ivrea, who had claimed the Kingdom of Italy in 1002 after the death of Emperor Otto III. Rome was wracked with bouts of plague, and Saracens operated freely out of the Emirate of Sicily ravaging the Tyrrhenian coasts. [5]

As pope, John XVIII occupied his time mainly with details of ecclesiastical administration. He authorized a new Diocese of Bamberg to serve as a base for missionary activity among the Slavs, a concern of Henry II. He also adjudicated the over-reaching of the bishops of Sens and Orléans regarding the privileges of the abbot of Fleury. [6] John was successful in creating, at least temporarily, a rapprochement between the Eastern and Western churches. His name could be found on Eastern diptychs and he was prayed for in Masses in Constantinople. [7]

John XVIII abdicated in July 1009 and, according to one catalogue of popes, retired to a monastery, where he died shortly afterwards. [5] His successor was Pope Sergius IV.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crescentii</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crescentius the Elder</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Crescentius</span> Consul and patrician of Rome from 1002 to 1012

John Crescentius also John II Crescentius or Crescentius III was the son of Crescentius the Younger. He succeeded to his father's title of consul and patrician of Rome in 1002 and held it to his death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Papal appointment</span>

Papal appointment was a medieval method of selecting a pope. Popes have always been selected by a council of Church fathers, however, Papal selection before 1059 was often characterized by confirmation or nomination by secular European rulers or by their predecessors. The later procedures of the papal conclave are in large part designed to constrain the interference of secular rulers which characterized the first millennium of the Roman Catholic Church, and persisted in practices such as the creation of crown-cardinals and the jus exclusivae. Appointment might have taken several forms, with a variety of roles for the laity and civic leaders, Byzantine and Germanic emperors, and noble Roman families. The role of the election vis-a-vis the general population and the clergy was prone to vary considerably, with a nomination carrying weight that ranged from near total to a mere suggestion or ratification of a prior election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tusculan Papacy</span> Period of papal history from 1012 to 1048

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References

  1. "John XVIII (or XIX) Pope [1004–1009]". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  2. Kirsch, Johann Peter. "Pope John XVIII (XIX)." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 18 September 2017
  3. Mann 1906, p. 126.
  4. Mann 1906, p. 127.
  5. 1 2 Mann 1906, p. 140.
  6. Richard P. McBrien, Lives of the Popes: The Pontiffs from St. Peter to Benedict XVI, (HarperCollins Publishers, 2000) ISBN   978-0060878078. P. 168.
  7. Mann 1906, pp. 129–130.

Sources

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Pope
1004–09
Succeeded by