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The Cadaver Synod (also called the Cadaver Trial; (ラテン語:Synodus Horrenda)) is the name commonly given to the posthumous ecclesiastical trial of Pope Formosus, held in the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome during January of 897.〔For the date cf. Joseph Duhr, “Le concile de Ravenne in 898: la réhabilitation du pape Formose,” ''Recherches de science religieuse'' 22 (1932), p. 541 note 1〕 The trial was conducted by the successor, Pope Stephen (VI) VII, to Formosus' successor, Pope Boniface VI. Stephen accused Formosus of perjury and of having acceded to the papacy illegally. At the end of the trial, Formosus was pronounced guilty and his papacy retroactively declared null. The Cadaver Synod is remembered as one of the most bizarre episodes in the history of the medieval papacy. ==Remote context== The Cadaver Synod and related events took place during a period of political instability in Italy. This period, which lasted from the middle of the 9th century to the middle of the 10th century, was marked by a rapid succession of pontiffs. Often, these brief papal reigns were the result of the political machinations of local Roman factions, about which few sources survive. Formosus became bishop of Porto in 864 during the pontificate of Pope Nicholas I. He carried out missionary activity among the Bulgarians, and was so successful that they requested him for their bishop. Nicholas refused his permission, because an appointment in Bulgaria would require Formosus to leave his see in Porto, and the fifteenth canon of the Second Council of Nicaea forbade a bishop to leave his own see to administer another. In 875, shortly after Charles the Bald's imperial coronation, Formosus fled Rome in fear of then-pope John VIII. A few months later in 876, at a synod in Santa Maria Rotunda, John VIII issued a series of accusations against Formosus and some of his associates. He asserted that Formosus had corrupted the mind of the Bulgarians "so that, so long as () was alive, () would not accept any other bishop from the apostolic see,"〔John VIII, JE 3041, ed. E.L.E. Caspar, ''MGH Epistolae Karolini Aevi'', vol. 5, p. 327〕 that he and his fellow conspirators had attempted to usurp the papacy from John, and finally that he had deserted his see in Porto and was conspiring "against the salvation of the republic and of our beloved Charles (Bald )."〔John VIII, ''Epistolae'', ed. Caspar, p. 327〕 Formosus and his associates were excommunicated. In 878, at another council held at Troyes, John may have confirmed the excommunications. He also legislated more generally against those who "plunder" ecclesiastical goods.〔The council ''acta'' do not survive, but the proceedings are described by Hincmar,''Annales'', entry for 878, ed. in Monumenta Germaniae Historica ''Scriptores'' vol. I, p. 507〕 According to the tenth-century author Auxilius of Naples, Formosus was also present at this council. Auxilius says he begged the bishops for their forgiveness, and in return for the lifting of the excommunication, swore an oath to remain a layman for the rest of his life, to never again enter Rome, and to make no attempts to reassume his former see at Porto.〔Auxilius,''Auxilius, ''In defensionem sacrae ordinationis papae Formosi'', I.4, ed. Dümmler, ''Auxilius und Vulgarius'' (Leipzig, 1866), p. 64〕 This story is doubtful: another description of the synod does not mention Formosus’ presence and says instead that John confirmed his excommunication.〔Hubert Mordek and Gerhard Schmitz, "Papst Johannes VIII. und das Konzil von Troyes," in ''Geschichtsschreibung und Geistiges Leben im Mittelalter: Festschrift für Heinz Löwe zum 65. Geburtstag,'' ed. Karl Hauck and Hubert Mordeck (Cologne, 1978), p. 212 n 22.〕 After the death of John VIII in December 882, Formosus' troubles ended. He reassumed his bishopric at Porto, where he remained until elected pope on 6 October 891.〔Dümmler, Auxilius und Vulgarius, p. 6 nn. 5 and 6〕 Yet this earlier quarrel with John VIII formed the basis of the accusations made at the Cadaver Synod. According to the tenth-century historian Liutprand of Cremona, Stephen (VI) VII asked Formosus' corpse why he "usurped the universal Roman See in such a spirit of ambition" after the death of John VIII, echoing John VIII's own assertion that Formosus had tried to seize the papal throne while he was alive.〔Liutprand, ''Antapodosis'', I.30, ed. in Corpus Christianorum: Continuatio Medievalis, vol 156, p. 23, lines 639-43〕 Two further accusations were also made against Formosus at the Cadaver Synod: that he had committed perjury, and that he had attempted to exercise the office of bishop as a layman.〔Council of Ravenna in 898, ''acta'' edited by J.D. Mansi,''Sacrorum conciliorum, nova, et amplissima collectio'', vol. 18, col. 221〕 These are related to the oath Formosus is said to have sworn before the council at Troyes in 878. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Cadaver Synod」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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