Nicholas I (Pope)

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Nicholas I , sometimes also called Nicholas the Great (* 820 in Rome ; † November 13, 867 ibid), was Pope from April 24, 858 until his death in 867 . The day of his election in the presence of Emperor Ludwig II is uncertain, but he was enthroned on April 24th . Nicholas I is considered to be the renewer of papal authority and power and one of the most important popes of the early Middle Ages .

Life

Nicholas was ordained a subdeacon by Pope Sergius II and became a deacon in 847 . He is described in the sources as an intelligent and capable man. He was one of the closest advisers to Pope Benedict III. ; when he died, he was elected to succeed him.

In fact, nothing is known about the first two years of his pontificate , but Nicholas evidently developed a very strong self-image of his office and emphasized the papal authority. Since the middle of the 8th century, functioned Frankish kings of the Carolingian as papal protecting power, which led political fact to a dependence of the papacy. Under Nicholas, the papacy began to free itself from this dependency. To this end, he made use of the resistance of many bishops against their metropolitans , who referred more to the authority of the Pope in order to weaken the intermediate level of the church hierarchy . In 861 he deposed the archbishop John VII of Ravenna , who was friendly to the emperor , after he had interfered in Roman affairs. Nicholas also asserted the papal priority claim against Hinkmar von Reims .

Nikolaus refused to divorce the Frankish king Lothar II from Theutberga , who wanted to marry his mistress Waldrada . When the Council of Metz spoke out in favor of divorce, Nikolaus annulled its resolutions and excommunicated three archbishops in 863 (including Gunthar von Cologne ). His successor Hadrian II upheld this decision, but took Lothar back into the community of the Church.

Nicholas I is known for his suggestion of an abbreviated baptismal formula “In the name of Christ” instead of the Trinitarian baptismal formula. His suggestion was rejected and is considered heresy .

Responsa Nicolai ad consulta Bulgarorum , printed in Patrologia Latina , Volume 119, pp. 978-1016.

At the time of Nicholas' pontificate, the Slavic mission began , with which Cyril and Methodius were entrusted. This engagement in Southeast Europe led to tensions between the Western and Eastern Churches in Constantinople , which became increasingly acute. They broke out openly when Ignatius , the then patriarch of Constantinople, was deposed and the lay theologian Photios was appointed patriarch . Nicholas complained to the Byzantine Emperor Michael III. and sent a commission of inquiry to Constantinople. In a synod in the Lateran (August 863) he deposed and excommunicated Photios. In 866, Boris I , the first Christian Bulgarian ruler, was linked to Rome. Photios, for his part, deposed the Pope in a synod in Constantinople in September 867, but Nicholas died that same year, so that the conflict ended. The conflict between Rome and Constantinople triggered by Nicholas finally led in 1054 to the separation of the Roman Church from the rest of the Christian community, i.e. H. the “one, holy, catholic and apostolic church” (in the Greek original: “… μίαν, ἁγίαν, καθολικὴν καὶ ἀποστολικὴν ἐκκλησίαν”). Contrary to this, Rome later referred to the two historical events as the “Photian Schism” and the Oriental Schism . In addition, from then on, the Roman bishop referred exclusively to his own patriarchy as "Catholic" .

In recent research, Nicholas I is considered to be a power-conscious and powerful Pope who consciously articulated the papal claim to priority. He was thus a pioneer of the papal universal claim, which was then particularly strong in the High Middle Ages . Only Gregory the Great is mentioned more often by the popes in the Decretum Gratiani .

literature

Web links

Commons : Nikolaus I.  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files
  • Nicolaus I papa in the repertory "Historical Sources of the German Middle Ages"
predecessor Office successor
Benedict III Pope
858-867
Hadrian II