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Why did Otto I depose Pope John XII in 963?

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Stone sculptures of Otto I and his wife Edith, both crowned and seated, displayed side by side in the cathedral at Magdeburg, Germany. — Otto I Otto I and his wife Edith, sculptures in the cathedral at Magdeburg, Germany.

In 963, Otto I deposed Pope John XII primarily due to the Pope's rebellion against imperial authority and his political maneuvering against the emperor.

The conflict escalated after Otto issued the Privilegium Ottonianum, a treaty intended to regulate relations between the papacy and the empire, which required the Pope to take an oath of obedience to the emperor. Fearing that Otto intended to exert imperial supremacy over the papacy, John XII began conspiring against him, notably by treating with Berengar II, a known enemy of the emperor.

In response, Otto convened a council at St. Peter’s in Rome on November 6, 963. On December 4, 963, the council formally deposed John XII, citing his armed conspiracy against the emperor and his record of dishonorable conduct. The council subsequently replaced him with Leo VIII.12