- Byname:
- Nicholas the Great
- Born:
- c. 800, Rome
- Died:
- November 13, 867, Rome (died on this day)
- Title / Office:
- pope (858-867)
- Subjects Of Study:
- papal primacy
- Role In:
- Photian Schism
Saint Nicholas I
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Who was Saint Nicholas I?
Saint Nicholas I, who served as pope from 858 to 867, was a significant figure in medieval church history. He is recognized as a master theorist of papal power and was instrumental in asserting the authority of the Roman see. His pontificate was marked by key disputes, including his support for Patriarch St. Ignatius of Constantinople against Photius, his intervention in the marital affairs of King Lothar of Lorraine, and his affirmation of bishops' right to appeal to Rome. Nicholas I's actions laid important groundwork for the reforms that would shape the papacy in the following centuries.
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When did Saint Nicholas I serve as pope?
Saint Nicholas I served as pope from 858 to 867. He is recognized as a significant figure in the early medieval period, known for his strong advocacy of papal power and his role in shaping the papacy's influence. His pontificate was marked by important contests, including his support for the patriarch St. Ignatius of Constantinople against Byzantine Emperor Michael III, and his intervention in the marital dispute of King Lothar of Lorraine. Nicholas I also upheld the right of bishops to appeal to Rome, utilizing the False Decretals to assert papal jurisdiction. He is considered a master theorist of papal power and a precursor to the reform popes of the 11th century.
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What were some important actions taken by Saint Nicholas I as pope?
Saint Nicholas I, who served as pope from 858 to 867, was a significant figure in asserting papal authority. He is known for his strong stance in three major contests:
- The Photian Schism: Nicholas supported Patriarch St. Ignatius of Constantinople against Photius, excommunicating Photius in 863. This action highlighted Rome's claim to ecclesiastical jurisdiction.
- King Lothar of Lorraine: Nicholas intervened in King Lothar's attempt to divorce his wife, Theutberga. He quashed the king's annulment and deposed the archbishops who supported it, setting a precedent for papal authority over secular rulers in marital matters.
- Bishop Rothad of Soissons: Nicholas upheld the right of bishops to appeal to Rome, restoring Bishop Rothad against his metropolitan, Archbishop Hincmar of Reims. This reinforced the primacy of the Roman see.
Nicholas I's pontificate was crucial in establishing the foundations for the papacy's supremacy over Western churches.
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How did Saint Nicholas I handle conflicts with rulers during his time?
Saint Nicholas I, as pope from 858 to 867, asserted papal authority in significant conflicts with rulers. He supported Patriarch St. Ignatius of Constantinople against Byzantine Emperor Michael III, excommunicating Photius, Ignatius's replacement. Nicholas also intervened in the marital dispute of King Lothar II of Lorraine, quashing the king's annulment and deposing the archbishops who supported it. Furthermore, he upheld the right of bishops to appeal to Rome, as seen in the case of Bishop Rothad II of Soissons, using the False Decretals to assert Rome's jurisdictional primacy. Nicholas firmly believed in the Roman see's divine commission and supremacy, advocating for papal theocracy and asserting the right to legislate for all Christendom.
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Why is Saint Nicholas I sometimes called "Nicholas the Great"?
Saint Nicholas I is sometimes called "Nicholas the Great" because of his forceful pontificate, which was the most significant of the Carolingian period and laid the groundwork for the reform popes of the 11th century. He was a master theorist of papal power and engaged in three major historical contests: supporting Patriarch Ignatius of Constantinople against Photius, intervening in King Lothar of Lorraine's divorce proceedings, and upholding the right of bishops to appeal to Rome. Nicholas consistently asserted the supremacy of Rome, believing the papacy held divine authority and was the head of the Catholic Church.
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How did Saint Nicholas I influence the relationship between the church and government in Europe?
Saint Nicholas I, pope from 858 to 867, significantly influenced the relationship between the church and government by asserting papal authority. He intervened in disputes involving the Byzantine emperor Michael III and King Lothar of Lorraine, challenging their secular power over ecclesiastical matters. Nicholas I championed the right of bishops to appeal to Rome, using the False Decretals to support the independence of bishops against archbishops. He firmly believed in the Roman see's divine commission and its supremacy, advocating for the pope's role as the head of the church and asserting the right to legislate for all of Christendom, laying groundwork for papal theocracy.
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Saint Nicholas I (born c. 800, Romeādied November 13, 867, Rome; feast day November 13) was the pope from 858 to 867, master theorist of papal power, considered to have been the most forceful of the early medieval pontiffs, whose pontificate was the most important of the Carolingian period and prepared the way for the 11th-century reform popes.
He had served in the Curia for almost 15 years before his election in April 858 as Pope Benedict IIIās successor. His reign was marked by three historically significant contests.
Nicholas supported the patriarch St. Ignatius of Constantinople, who was uncanonically replaced by the scholar Photius after the Byzantine emperor Michael III had unjustly humiliated and deposed him. To investigate this state of affairs, Nicholas dispatched legates to Constantinople, but when they confirmed judgment against Ignatius in 861, he disavowed them. After receiving word from the exiled Ignatius in 862, Nicholas, having studied the case, favoured Ignatius and excommunicated Photius (863), who counterdeposed the pope in 867. Nicholas did not live to learn of this act or of its extreme culmination: the Photian Schism, a split between the Eastern and Western churches.
Nicholasās second great struggle was with King Lothar of Lorraine, who wanted to divorce his wife, Theutberga, on false charges of incest. Theutberga appealed to Nicholas, while a synod at Aachen in April 862 gave Lothar permission to remarry. At a synod at Metz, in 863, Lothar obtained confirmation of the Aachen decision, probably through bribery, from Nicholasās legates, Archbishops GĆ¼nther of Cologne and Theutgaud of Trier (TrĆØves). When these legates arrived in Rome with the libellous decree of Metz, Nicholas, treating Lothar as his ecclesiastical subject, quashed the whole proceedings against Theutberga and, creating a precedent, deposed the archbishops.
The third great ecclesiastical affair of Nicholasās pontificate involved the deposition in 862 of Bishop Rothad II of Soissons by Archbishop Hincmar of Reims, a classic example of the right of bishops to appeal to Rome against their metropolitans. Nicholas, a strict upholder of Romeās primacy of jurisdiction, ordered an examination that led to Rothadās restoration in 865 by using, probably for the first time, the False Decretals, a 9th-century collection of revolutionary but partially forged documents that, in part, maintained bishopsā independence against the encroachments of archbishops who were attempting to extend their power.
For Nicholas, the Roman see, having power by divine commission, was the head and the epitome of the Catholic church. Consistently urging the supremacy of Rome, he fully endorsed the papal inheritance of sacerdotal and royal functions as conferred by Christ on St. Peter and the delegation of temporal power to the emperor for the protection of the church. He reacted against Carolingian domination in ecclesiastical matters and claimed the right to legislate for the whole of Christendom. Thus, his teaching contained the rudiments of papal theocracy and helped to found Roman supremacy over the Western sees by declaring that all must observe what the pope decides.