Stephan (II.)
Stephan (II.) († March 25 or 26, 752 ) was elected Pope for a few days . As the oldest presbyter of Rome on March 22nd or 23rd, 752 he was appointed the official successor of Pope Zacharias . At the time of his unanimous election, he was already a very old man and died of a stroke four days later without having received episcopal ordination . His pontificate was the shortest of all popes.
With retrospective effect, he is either regarded as the pope with the shortest term of office or not recognized as pope. The Catholic Church counted him as Pope from the 16th century until 1961, not since then. However, in the case of the later popes of the same name, the number he increased in brackets is given as an alternative, for example in the case of his direct successor as Stephen II (III.) .
Question of recognition
Throughout the Middle Ages, episcopal ordination was considered an essential prerequisite for a pontificate and therefore he was excluded from the papal lists. In the course of the debates about the rights of the cardinalate in the 15th and 16th centuries, this view changed, as it was now assumed that the election by the college was sufficient to legitimize a pope.
From the 16th century until 1961, Stephan (II.) Was on the pontificate lists. With the Annuario Pontificio of 1961, the earlier view is confirmed again. The innovations of the papal election by Paul VI. subsequently this view (episcopal ordination as a mandatory requirement) is included in the Codex Iuris Canonici of 1983 (Can. 332).
The problematic in this case is the name of the immediate successor: Stephan II. For this reason, Stephan (II.) Can often be found in lists of anti-popes , but where he is incorrectly classified, he was legally elected pontiff - only without consecration.
literature
- Richard Puza: Catholic Church Law (= UTB No. 1395). 2nd edition, Müller, Juristischer Verlag, Heidelberg 1993, p. 153
- Ekkart Sauser : Stephan II. (III.). In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 10, Bautz, Herzberg 1995, ISBN 3-88309-062-X , Sp. 1351-1354.
- Horace Mann: Pope Stephen II . In: Catholic Encyclopedia , Volume 14, Robert Appleton Company, New York 1912.
Web links
- Stefano. In: Salvador Miranda : The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church. ( Florida International University website), accessed December 31, 2017.
- Jan Hendrik Stens: The Pope who existed twice: Pope Stephan II. In: Domradio.de . March 22, 2019 .
Individual evidence
- ^ List of Popes. Holy See , accessed May 7, 2018 .
- ↑ Codex Iuris Canonici of 1983, Can. 332 at codex-iuris-canonici.de
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Zacharias |
Pope 752 |
Stephan II |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Stephan II |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Stephan II the first |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Pope |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 7th century |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 25, 752 or March 26, 752 |