Antipope Christopher

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Christopher was an antipope from October 903 to January 904, probably dying that year. Some say he was a legitimate pope, and although he did not become pope in the usual way, he was recognized as pope some time later. He was included in most modern lists of popes until the first half of the 20th century. He is now considered an antipope by the Catholic Church.

Contents 1 Life and Reign 2 Dethroning 3 Legitimacy 4 Notes 5 External links

[edit] Life and Reign

Little is known about the life of Christopher, and the lack of reliable sources, as well as many varying accounts, make it difficult to establish a concise biography. What is known, however, is that he was a Roman and that his father's name was Leo. He was cardinal-priest of the title of St. Damasus when he became Pope, which was done by forcibly dethroning his predecessor, Leo V, and imprisoning him, most likely around October 903. As it is believed that Leo died in prison, Christopher may be regarded as Pope after his death. However, the account of Auxilius of Naples says that Sergius III murdered both Leo V and Christopher. A Greek eleventh-century document^[1] says that Christopher was the first pope who, in his profession of faith which he sent according to custom to Sergius, Patriarch of Constantinople, stated that the Holy Ghost proceeded "from the Father and from the Son". The difficulty in accepting this statement is that there was no Patriarch Sergius at this time.

[edit] Dethroning

Christopher was driven from the papacy by Pope Sergius III (904 — 911), and compelled to end his days as a monk^[2], though Vulgarius says he was strangled in prison^[3].

[edit] Legitimacy

Some hold that Christopher, although his manner of taking possession of the papacy was wholly uncanonical, was a legitimate pope. Hence we find his name included in all the more or less contemporary catalogues of the popes^[4]. His portrait figures among the other likenesses of the popes in the church of St. Paul Outside the Walls, at Rome, and among the frescoes of tenth-century popes painted in the thirteenth century on the walls of the ancient church of San Pier-in-Grado, outside Pisa. He was, moreover, acknowledged as pope by his successors; for, in confirming the privileges of the Abbey of Corbie in France, Leo IX mentioned the preceding grants of Benedict and Christopher^[5]. This privilege is the only one of Christopher's acts which is extant^[6]. However, he has not been considered a legitimate pope since the first half of the 20th century and has been erased from the Annuario pontificio's list of popes.

[edit] Notes

1. ^ Mon. Græca ad Photium pertinent., p. 160, ed. Hergenröther, Ratisbon, 1869.
2. ^ Chronicle of Hermannus Contractus, ad an. 904.
3. ^ Ernst Dümmler, Auxilius und Vulgarius (Leipzig, 1866), 160, 135.
4. ^ Liber Pontificalis, II, ed. Duchesne; Watterich, Pontificum Romanorum Vitae, I; and Origines de l'Église romaine, I, par les membres de la communauté de Solesmes, Paris, 1836.
5. ^ Philipp Jaffé, Regesta RR. Pont., I, n. 4212.
6. ^ ibid., 3532, 2d ed.

[edit] External links

• Catholic Encyclopedia: Pope Christopher

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This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913.