Stephen II (Pope)

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Stephan II. (III.) († April 26, 757 ) was Pope from 752 to 757.

Life

Early life

Stephan, who came from a noble family, became an orphan at an early age . He was raised in the Lateran . Pope Zacharias appointed him and his younger brother Paulus, who later became Pope Paul I , deacons . They were present at the synod of 743 and, on behalf of Zacharias, countersigned the acts of the synod.

After the death of his consecrated predecessor Stephan (II.) At the end of March 752, four days after his election as Pope, Stephan was appointed the new Pope on March 26th in S. Maria Maggiore . Since Stephan (II.) Died without having received the ordinations, his successor of the same name was entered in the pontificate lists as Stephan II. In the scientific field he is called Stephan II. (III.) , Also obsolete Stephan III. (II.) , Counted; The same applies to later popes of the same name.

pontificate

Stephen's pontificate was initially on weak feet, because Rome was repeatedly threatened by the Lombards under King Aistulf , who had recently conquered Ravenna . Stephan negotiated a 40-year armistice with Aistulf, but this turned out to be ineffective, as Aistulf regarded Rome as his property and demanded high taxes from every inhabitant. Even a delegation under Stephen's brother Paul, who asked Aistulf to give up the conquered territories, went unheard. When even a request for help to Constantine V had no effect, Stephan turned to the Frankish king Pippin and asked for a meeting in Frankish territory.

Pippin sent the Bishop of Metz and his brother-in-law Autchar to Rome to protect Pope Chrodegang . Stephan left Rome with this delegation on October 14, 753. The train made a stopover in Pavia and Stephan asked Aistulf there again, unsuccessfully, to return Rome's lands. On November 15, the Pope continued his journey and was the first Pope to cross the Alps on the Great St. Bernhard .

Presentation of the Pippin donation in Quierzy

Stephan and Pippin met on January 6, 754 at Ponthion . There the Pope threw himself at Pippin's feet in penitent clothes and asked him to help the people of Rome in their fight against the Lombards. Stephan and Pippin negotiated until April 14, including in Quierzy and Laon . Pippin and his sons pledged to secure Rome and some other areas and confirmed them as the property of Saint Peter . Based on the Constantinian donation , the resulting contract was called the Pippin donation . With this donation, the Papal State was founded, the last remnant of which still exists today as the State of Vatican City . The negotiations had seriously damaged Stephan's health. So he had to spend large parts of the spring of 754 in the Abbey of Saint-Denis near Paris .

In return, Stephan anointed the king and his family on July 28, 754 and gave him and his descendants the title of "patricius romanorum" . This laid the basis for the close connection between the Roman papacy and the Frankish royal family. The Roman-German Empire was later built on this foundation . On December 25, 800, Leo III crowned , Pippin's son, Charlemagne , to the Roman emperor .

Pippin now began to fulfill his obligations under the contract. When, as expected, diplomatic efforts by King Aistulf went unheard, he took to the field against the Lombards in August 754 and was victorious. The first Peace of Pavia , which Pippin negotiated with Aistulf, provided for the unconditional surrender of the Church's lands to Pope Stephen. For this success, the Pope was celebrated like a hero on his return to Rome.

When the Franks had withdrawn again, Aistulf's troops devastated the suburbs of Rome in January 756. Stephan asked Pippin again for help. In a second battle, the Franconian struck Aistulf again. In August 756 the second peace of Pavia was negotiated. The following contract was formulated a little stricter. So Aistulf's troops also had to evacuate Comacchio , south of the Po estuary .

After the heirless death of Aistulf in December 756, the Pope and the Frankish king enforced the accession to the throne of the former Dux Desiderius of Tuscia as the new ruler of the Lombards, but this only led to better relationships between the Pope and Lombards for a short time. At Stephen's instigation, the Duchies of Spoleto and Benevento , once allies of the Lombards, swore allegiance to Pippin.

Stephan had numerous Roman churches beautified, several hospices founded and created a monastery from the family seat, which he consecrated to St. Dionysius of Paris . Under him, Pippin converted the Gallican into the Roman liturgy.

Stephan died on April 26, 757. His successor was his brother Paul I.

literature

Web links

Commons : Stephan III.  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Jan Hendrik Stens: The Pope, who was twice: Pope Stephan II. In: Domradio.de . March 22, 2019, accessed March 22, 2019 .
predecessor Office successor
Zacharias Pope
752-757 		Paul I.
personal data
SURNAME Stephan II
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Stephan III.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Pope (752-757)
DATE OF BIRTH 7th century or 8th century
DATE OF DEATH April 26, 757