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At the Cadaver Synod, a church trial held in Rome in 897, Pope Stephen VI had the body of his predecessor Formosus dug up, dressed in papal robes and propped on a throne. A deacon answered the charges for the corpse, and it was found guilty.

Rome, 897

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Formosus had been pope from 891 to 896 and had been dead for about nine months. The trial was political: Rome's noble families fought over the papacy, and Formosus had crowned a German rival of the powerful Spoleto family as emperor, while Stephen owed his position to that family. The verdict declared that Formosus had never been a lawful pope, annulled his acts, including the priests he had ordained, and cut off the three fingers of his right hand used for blessing. The body was later thrown into the Tiber. Public anger grew, and within months Stephen was deposed, imprisoned and strangled. Later popes annulled the trial and banned trials of the dead.

Türkçe oku
Papa VI. Stephanus 897'de, kendinden önceki papalardan Formosus'un cesedini mezardan çıkarttı, papalık giysileri giydirtip bir tahta oturttu ve yargılattı. “Kadavra Sinodu” diye anılan bu kilise mahkemesinde ceset adına bir diyakoz cevap verdi; ceset suçlu bulundu.
Roma, 897

Formosus 891-896 yılları arasında papalık yapmış ve yaklaşık dokuz ay önce ölmüştü. Yargılama siyasiydi: Roma'nın soylu aileleri papalık için birbiriyle yarışıyordu. Formosus, güçlü Spoleto ailesinin rakibi olan bir Alman hükümdarı imparator olarak taçlandırmıştı; Stephanus ise papalığını bu aileye borçluydu. Karara göre Formosus hiçbir zaman meşru bir papa olmamıştı; aldığı kararlar, atadığı rahipler de dahil, geçersiz sayıldı ve sağ elinin kutsamada kullanılan üç parmağı kesildi. Ceset sonradan Tiber Nehri'ne atıldı. Halkın öfkesi büyüdü ve birkaç ay içinde Stephanus tahttan indirilip hapsedildi ve boğularak öldürüldü. Sonraki papalar bu yargılamayı geçersiz ilan etti ve ölülerin yargılanmasını yasakladı.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Cadaver Synod
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