Wikipedia:

Pope Sylvester III

Sylvester III
Pope_Silvester_III.jpg
Birth name John
Papacy began January 20, 1045
Papacy ended February 10, 1045
Predecessor Benedict IX
Successor Benedict IX
Born  ???
Rome, Italy
Died 1062 or 1063
Sabina, Italy

Sylvester III, né John of Crescenzi – Ottaviani family (born in Rome; probably died in February 10, 1045); was Pope in 1045. When Pope Benedict IX (1032–44, 1045, 1047–48) was driven from Rome in September, 1044, John, bishop of Sabina, was elected after fierce and protracted infighting and took the title of Sylvester III in January 1045. He was later charged with having bribed his way into the election; a charge that was never confirmed to be true. Benedict IX issued an excommunication of the new Pope and within three months returned to Rome and expelled his rival, who himself returned to Sabina to again take up his office of bishop in that diocese. Nearly two years later (December 1046) the Council of Sutri deprived him of his bishopric and priesthood and ordered him sent to a monastery. This sentence was obviously suspended because he continued to function and was recognized as Bishop of Sabina until at least 1062. A successor bishop to the see of Sabina is recorded for October 1063, indicating that John must have died prior to this date.

While someone considered him to have been an antipope, Sylvester III continues to be listed as an official Pope (1046) in Vatican lists. A similar situation applies to both Pope Gregory VI (1045–46) and Pope Clement II (1046–47).

External links


Catholic Church titles
Preceded by
Benedict IX
Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Peter (deprecated A.D. 495), Vicar of Christ, Successor of the Prince of the Apostles
Supreme Pontiff (Pontifex Maximus)
Patriarch of the West (deprecated 2006), Primate of Italy,
Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Roman Province
Servant of the Servants of God
Pope

1045
Succeeded by
Benedict IX



 
 
 

Join the WikiAnswers Q&A community. Post a question or answer questions about "Pope Sylvester III" at WikiAnswers.

 

Copyrights:

Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Pope Sylvester III" Read more

Search for answers directly from your browser with the FREE Answers.com Toolbar!  
Click here to download now. 

Get Answers your way! Check out all our free tools and products.

On this page:   E-mail   print Print  Link  

 

Keep Reading

Mentioned In: