Pope Adrian II ( la, Adrianus II; also Hadrian II; 79214 December 872) was the
bishop of Rome
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
and ruler of the
Papal States
The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...
from 867 to his death. He continued the policy of his predecessor,
Nicholas I. Despite seeking good relations with
Louis II of Italy, he was placed under surveillance, and his wife and daughters were killed by Louis' supporters.
Family
Adrian was a member of a noble Roman family. In his youth, he married a woman named Stephania and had a daughter with her. Adrian was
selected to become
pope
The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
on 14 December 867. He was already at an advanced age, and objected to assuming the papacy. His wife and daughter moved with him to the
Lateran Palace
The Lateran Palace ( la, Palatium Lateranense), formally the Apostolic Palace of the Lateran ( la, Palatium Apostolicum Lateranense), is an ancient palace of the Roman Empire and later the main papal residence in southeast Rome.
Located on St. ...
.
Pontificate
Adrian II maintained, but with less energy, the policies of his predecessor,
Nicholas I. King
Lothair II of Lotharingia
Lothair II (835 – 8 August 869) was the king of Lotharingia from 855 until his death. He was the second son of Emperor Lothair I and Ermengarde of Tours. He was married to Teutberga (died 875), daughter of Boso the Elder.
Reign
For politic ...
, who died in 869, left Adrian to mediate between the
Frankish
Frankish may refer to:
* Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture
** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages
* Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany
* East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...
kings with a view to secure the imperial inheritance to Lothair's brother,
Louis II of Italy. 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.
Patriarch
Photius I of Constantinople
Photios I ( el, Φώτιος, ''Phōtios''; c. 810/820 – 6 February 893), also spelled PhotiusFr. Justin Taylor, essay "Canon Law in the Age of the Fathers" (published in Jordan Hite, T.O.R., & Daniel J. Ward, O.S.B., "Readings, Cases, Materia ...
, shortly after the council in which he had pronounced sentence of deposition against
Pope Nicholas I, was driven from the patriarchate by a new
Byzantine emperor
This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...
,
Basil the Macedonian
Basil I, called the Macedonian ( el, Βασίλειος ὁ Μακεδών, ''Basíleios ō Makedṓn'', 811 – 29 August 886), was a Byzantine Emperor who reigned from 867 to 886. Born a lowly peasant in the theme of Macedonia, he rose in the ...
, who favoured Photius' rival,
Ignatius Ignatius is a male given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include:
Given name
Religious
* Ignatius of Antioch (35–108), saint and martyr, Apostolic Father, early Christian bishop
* Ignatius of Constantinople (797–877), Cath ...
. The
Fourth Council of Constantinople was convoked to decide this matter. At this council, Adrian was represented by
legates
A ''legatus'' (; anglicised as legate) was a high-ranking Roman military officer in the Roman Army, equivalent to a modern high-ranking general officer. Initially used to delegate power, the term became formalised under Augustus as the office ...
who presided at the condemnation of Photius as a heretic, but did not succeed in coming to an understanding with Ignatius on the subject of jurisdiction over the
Bulgarian Church.
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 of
Orte
Orte is a town, ''comune'', former Catholic bishopric and Latin titular see in the province of Viterbo, in the central Italian region of Lazio, located about north of Rome and about east of Viterbo.
Geography
Orte is situated in the Tiber vall ...
, his confidential adviser, and Arsenius' nephew,
Anastasius the Librarian
Anastasius Bibliothecarius or Anastasius the Librarian (c. 810 – c. 878) was ''bibliothecarius'' (literally "librarian") and chief archivist of the Church of Rome and also briefly a claimant to the papacy.
Early life
He was a nephew of Bis ...
. In 868, Adrian's wife and daughter were carried off and murdered by Arsenius' son Eleutherius, who had forcibly married the daughter.
[Riche, Pierre, ''The Carolingians'']
Adrian died on 14 December 872, after exactly five years of pontificate.
See also
*
List of sexually active popes
This is a list of sexually active popes, Catholic priests who were not celibate before they became pope, and popes who were legally married, while people under holy orders are usually required to be celibate. Some candidates were sexually active b ...
References
Further reading
*
*
*
External links
Opera Omnia by Migne Patrologia Latina with analytical indexes*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adrian 02
Popes
Italian popes
Adrian II
Pope Adrian II ( la, Adrianus II; also Hadrian II; 79214 December 872) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 867 to his death. He continued the policy of his predecessor, Nicholas I. Despite seeking good relations with Louis ...
Adrian II
Pope Adrian II ( la, Adrianus II; also Hadrian II; 79214 December 872) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 867 to his death. He continued the policy of his predecessor, Nicholas I. Despite seeking good relations with Louis ...
9th-century archbishops
Married Roman Catholic bishops
9th-century popes
Burials at St. Peter's Basilica