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Pope John VIII ( la, Ioannes VIII; died 16 December 882) 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 i ...
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 Sovereignty, sovereign rule of ...
from 14 December 872 to his death. He is often considered one of the ablest
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 ...
s of the 9th century. John devoted much of his papacy attempting to halt and reverse the Muslim gains in southern Italy and their march northwards. When his efforts to obtain assistance from either the Franks or the Byzantines failed, John strengthened the defenses of
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
. He supported
Methodius of Thessalonica Cyril (born Constantine, 826–869) and Methodius (815–885) were two brothers and Byzantine Christian theologians and missionaries. For their work evangelizing the Slavs, they are known as the "Apostles to the Slavs". They are credited wit ...
in his mission to the Slavs, defended him against the Carolingian rulers and Bavarian clergy, and authorized the translation of the Bible into Slavonic. John also extended diplomatic recognition to the Duchy of Croatia and resolved the Photian schism. John's pontificate ended with his assassination, and the papacy became significantly weaker in the aftermath.


Slavonic liturgy

Pope Adrian II consecrated
Methodius of Thessalonica Cyril (born Constantine, 826–869) and Methodius (815–885) were two brothers and Byzantine Christian theologians and missionaries. For their work evangelizing the Slavs, they are known as the "Apostles to the Slavs". They are credited wit ...
as archbishop and supported his mission to the Slavs. Unbeknownst to Rome, Methodius was imprisoned in 870 by the Carolingian King Louis the German and Bavarian bishops, who objected to his use of the Slavonic language in the liturgy and his encroachment on their jurisdiction in
Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. Th ...
. Adrian II died in 872, and John VIII, a Roman native, was selected to succeed him. When Bishop
Anno of Freising Anno may refer to: People *Anno of Saint Gall (died 954), Anti-Abbot of St. Gall *Anno II (Archbishop of Cologne) ( 1010–1075), Archbishop of Cologne from 1056 to 1075 *Anno (surname) *Anno Birkin (1980–2001), English musician *Hideaki Anno ( ...
visited Rome, John inquired about the whereabouts of the missing Methodius, but Anno lied to him. In the summer of 873, John finally learned the truth. Furious, he forbade the celebration of
mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different element ...
in Bavaria until Methodius was released. After his release, Methodius came to Rome and convinced John to allow him to translate the Bible to Slavonic as well as to perform liturgy in Slavonic. John wrote: "He who made three main languages -
Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
,
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
, and Roman - also made all other languages to sing his praise and glory."


Saracen incursions

As a young man, John witnessed the Arab raid against Rome. Their expansion into Italy was severely affecting the economy 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 Sovereignty, sovereign rule of ...
. After the raids against
Campania (man), it, Campana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demog ...
and the Sabine Hills, Pope John asked for military aid from Emperor
Charles the Bald Charles the Bald (french: Charles le Chauve; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as Charles II, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), king of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a s ...
and later Count Boso of Provence. His efforts failed and he was forced to pay tribute to the Emirate of Sicily. The threatening Muslim military presence (which he believed was God's punishment against "bad Christians"), coupled with alliances they formed with the local Christians, prompted John to promote "a new and uncompromisingly hostile view of the Saracens." This included a ban on forming alliances with the Muslims. However, his efforts proved unsuccessful, partly because Christian leaders viewed his calls for unity as an excuse to assert papal authority in southern Italy. In 876, John VIII traveled throughout
Campania (man), it, Campana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demog ...
in an effort to form an alliance among the cities of
Salerno Salerno (, , ; nap, label= Salernitano, Saliernë, ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' in Campania (southwestern Italy) and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after ...
,
Capua Capua ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta, in the region of Campania, southern Italy, situated north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. History Ancient era The name of Capua comes from the Etrusc ...
,
Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
, Gaeta and Amalfi against Muslim raids. By 877, all five cities sent delegates to Traietto to formalize an alliance. Pope John VIII urged Charles to come to his defence in Italy. Charles again crossed the Alps, but this expedition was received with little enthusiasm by the nobles, and even by his regent in Lombardy, Boso, and they refused to join his army. At the same time Carloman of Bavaria, son of Louis the German, entered northern Italy. Charles, ill and in great distress, started on his way back to Gaul, but died while crossing the pass of Mont Cenis on 6 October 877. Obtaining relatively little support from outside sources, John fell back on what resources he could command. He reinforced the walls previously restored by Pope Leo IV. As the
Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls The Papal Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls ( it, Basilica Papale di San Paolo fuori le Mura), commonly known as Saint Paul's Outside the Walls, is one of Rome's four major papal basilicas, along with the basilicas of Saint John in the ...
was located outside the Aurelian Walls, and had been damaged in a Saracen raid, the pope fortified the basilica, the monastery, and the nearby dwellings of the peasants. He also founded a papal fleet.


Constantinople problems

In 879, John recognised the reinstatement of
Photios I 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 ...
as the legitimate patriarch of Constantinople. Photius had been condemned in 869 by Adrian II. This was undertaken mainly to appease the Byzantines, since in them he saw the only hope of removing the Arabs from Italy. It was commonly believed that some time afterward John VIII re-confirmed the
excommunication Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...
of Photius, which eventually enabled Emperor Leo VI to move against Photius. However, modern scholarship particularly influenced by Catholic scholar Francis Dvornik has demonstrated this to be a Latin myth, as Photius died in visible perfect communion within the Roman Church. John was anxious that the Duchy of Croatia would follow in the steps of
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Mac ...
, which had recently accepted the spiritual authority of Constantinople rather than that of Rome. After the overthrow of the pro-Byzantine
Zdeslav Zdeslav or Zdislav may refer to: People *Zdeslav of Croatia, a Prince of Dalmatian Croatia * Zdeslav of Sternberg, Czech nobleman * Zdislav Soroko, Soviet canoer *Zdeslav Vrdoljak, Croatian water polo player Places *Zdeslav, a village and part of ...
in 879, John thanked the new duke, Branimir, for returning Croatia to papal jurisdiction. In return, John recognized Croatian independence from the Carolingians.


Death

John VIII was assassinated in 882 by his own clerics; he was first poisoned, and then clubbed to death. The motives may have been his exhaustion of the papal treasury, his lack of support among the Carolingians, his gestures towards the Byzantines, and his failure to stop the Saracen raids. Without the protection of powerful magnates or the Carolingian emperor, the papacy after John VIII's reign became increasingly subject to the machinations and greedy ambition of the rival clans of the local nobility.


See also

* Council of Constantinople (879) * List of murdered popes * Pope Joan


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * *


Further reading

* Fred E. Engreen
"Pope John the Eighth and the Arabs," ''Speculum''
20 (1945), pp. 318–30


External links

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Profile
''Enciclopedia dei Papi''; accessed 27 August 2016. {{DEFAULTSORT:John 08 Popes Italian popes 882 deaths 9th-century archbishops Year of birth unknown 9th-century popes 9th-century Latin writers 9th-century Italian writers Burials at St. Peter's Basilica