On the death of

Pope Sergius IV Pope Sergius IV (died 12 May 1012) was the bishop of Rome and nominal ruler of the Papal States from 31 July 1009 to his death. His temporal power was eclipsed by the patrician John Crescentius. Sergius IV may have called for the expulsion of M ...

in June 1012, "a certain Gregory" opposed the party of the Theophylae (which elected

Pope Benedict VIII Pope Benedict VIII ( la, Benedictus VIII; c. 980 – 9 April 1024) was bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 18 May 1012 until his death. He was born Theophylact to the noble family of the counts of Tusculum. Unusually for a medieva ...

against him), and had himself made

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 ...

, seemingly by a small faction. Gregory VI was the first to claim to be pope as successor to Sergius IV, and that Benedict VIII's claim was subsequent. Promptly expelled from Rome, Gregory made his way to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, and craved the support of the

Emperor Henry II Henry II (german: Heinrich II; it, Enrico II; 6 May 973 – 13 July 1024), also known as Saint Henry the Exuberant, Obl. S. B., was Holy Roman Emperor ("Romanorum Imperator") from 1014. He died without an heir in 1024, and was the last ruler ...

(25 December 1012). That monarch, however, after promising him that his case should be carefully examined in accordance with

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

and Roman custom, took away from him the papal insignia which he was wearing, and bade him cease to act as pope in the meanwhile. After this, history knows the "certain Gregory" no more. Of Benedict VIII, the ''

Catholic Encyclopedia The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...

'' says:

References

External links

Catholic Encyclopedia, Pope Benedict VIII

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gregory 6 Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown 11th-century antipopes 11th-century Christian clergy Gregory 06

See also

References

External links