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Pope John VIII
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Please see the discussion on the talk page. This article has been tagged since March 2007. |
| John VIII | |
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| Birth name | ??? |
| Papacy began | 872 |
| Papacy ended | 882 |
| Predecessor | Adrian II |
| Successor | Marinus I |
| Born | ??? Rome, Italy |
| Died | 882 ??? |
| Other popes named John | |
John VIII was pope from 872 to 882. He is often considered one of the ablest pontiffs of the ninth century and the last bright spot on the papacy until Gregory VII two centuries later.
He was born in Rome. Among the reforms achieved during his pontificate was a notable administrative reorganisation of the papal curia. With little help from European kings, he attempted to expel the Saracens from Italy after they had penetrated as far as Rome. He failed and was forced to pay tribute. John defended St. Methodius against his German enemies, who objected to his use of the Slavonic language in the liturgy. John later confirmed the permission to use Slavonic that had been originally granted by Pope Adrian II, John's predecessor. In 879 he recognised the reinstatement of Photius as the legitimate patriarch of Constantinople; Photius had been condemned in 869 by Pope Adrian II. Consequently, John VIII was in favour of reciting the Creed without the filioque. In 878 John crowned Louis II, king of France. He also crowned two Holy Roman Emperors: Charles II and Charles III.
According to the legend of Pope Joan, a woman named Joan reigned as Pope under the name of John VIII earlier in the 9th century; the legend says that she was erased from the historical record when her identity was discovered. This is a slander invented by the Franks to mock John VIII's friendship with Saint Photios of Constantinople and his sympathy for the Greek Church.
| Preceded by Adrian II |
Pope 872 – 882 |
Succeeded by Marinus I |
