Adrian II, Pope

ADRIAN II, Pope. - Born in Rome in 792 to one of the foremost families, which had already given the Church the popes Stephen IV (816-17) and Sergius II (844-47). Before entering the sacred orders, he had married Stefania, by whom he had a daughter. In 822 Gregory IV ordained him subdeacon and received him at the Lateran. Shortly afterward he consecrated him priest and named him cardinal of the title of St. Mark. He was so pious and charitable that already twice, on the death of Leo IV (855) and of Benedict III (858), attempts were made to elect him Pope. On the death of Nicholas I (13 Nov. 867) a pontiff was wanted who would continue his policies but with a less rough hand. A. seemed the most suitable. There was no time to lose, because Lambert of Spoleto had invaded the city, it is not known whether by order of the emperor Louis II (850-75), committing violence and injustices there. The imperial ratification was not long in coming, and A. was consecrated in St. Peter's on 14 Dec. 867.

His benevolence toward those who had been struck with anathema by his predecessor aroused fears in Rome and in Gaul. A. hastened to reassure the Fathers of the Council of Troyes (2 Feb. 868) and Ado, archbishop of Vienne (8 May 868). In Rome, on the other hand, he invited the whole clergy to dinner and implored them to remain faithful to the doctrine of his predecessor. He kept in the office of chancellor Anastasius the Librarian, who from a rebel had become a servant of the popes. It seems that this man was complicit with his brother Eleutherius in the latter's abduction and marriage of A.'s daughter, for which A. sought justice from the emperor. Eleutherius, enraged, killed the bride and her mother, but, overtaken by imperial justice, was hanged. Anastasius, on the other hand, was excommunicated in the gravest form (12 Oct. 868), but not a year would pass before we find him again in the papal chancery.

One of the most acute problems left as a legacy to A. by his predecessor was the burning question of the marriage of Lothair II, who, having repudiated the virtuous Teutberga, had married his concubine Waldrada. Nicholas I had excommunicated her; A., having received solemn assurance that after the excommunication she had broken off all relations with Lothair, absolved her. Lothair deluded himself into obtaining recognition of the new bond with Waldrada and sent Teutberga to Rome to ask for the dissolution of the marriage, but in vain. Then he himself came to Italy and met with the Pope at Montecassino, but he could receive the Eucharist only after assuring him that he had had no further relations with the excommunicated woman (1 July 869). Having died suddenly on the return journey without leaving legitimate heirs (7 Aug. 869), the inheritance of his kingdom, Lotharingia, remained open. Charles the Bald, Louis the German and the emperor all aspired to it. A. supported the latter, but without success. During these controversies A. had much to struggle with Hincmar of Reims, who in a long letter (Epist., XXVII: PL 126, 181) set forth "what will later be called political Gallicanism" (E. Amann). He had had his nephew Hincmar promoted to the see of Laon, a suffragan of Reims (858), a turbulent and obstinate man. Some time later he had to defend him from the wrath of Charles the Bald (868). Soon, however, Hincmar of Laon broke off relations even with his uncle, who had him deposed at the Council of Douzy (Aug. 871). He then turned to Rome, where his appeal was received and both the conduct of the king and that of Hincmar of Reims were censured. These reacted harshly, and A., unaware of the matter because the chancellor Anastasius had acted without his knowledge, finally informed of everything, replied in a conciliatory manner, holding out to Charles the Bald the mirage of the imperial crown, which, however, had just then suffered a grave humiliation. The duke of Benevento, Adelchis, had seized Louis II, a guest of that city, and had not released him until he learned of the landing of the Saracens at Salerno. A., in order to raise up again the imperial prestige and to comfort Louis, invited him to Rome and crowned him again at St. Peter's (872).

The great Pontiff also had worries from the East. A cause for joy was the rapid conversion of the Moravians through the work of Constantine and Methodius (863 and following). Invited to Rome by Nicholas I to justify their use of the Slavic language in the liturgy, they found there

A., who received them kindly, all the more so because they brought the relics of St. Clement, found at Cherson. A. approved the use of the Slavic language, consecrated Methodius priest and some Moravians, and would have consecrated Constantine bishop had he not died, after having put on the monastic habit and changed his name to Cyril. Shortly afterward A. re-established the see of Sirmium, consecrating Methodius bishop there with jurisdiction over Pannonia, Moravia and Serbia. The usurper Basil the Macedonian, who in Nov. 867 had overthrown Photius and restored Ignatius to the see of Constantinople, wanted the convocation of a great council to settle the question. A. preceded it with the Council of the Roman province (10 June 869), in which he condemned Photius and dismissed the legates. The Eighth Ecumenical Council, Constantinople IV (5 Oct. 869 - 28 Feb. 870), deposed Photius. A. accepted this, just as for the love of peace he also accepted canon 21, which recognized the second place after that of Rome for the patriarch of Constantinople. He rejected, however, the decisions of a conference gathered on the margins of the Council, with the papal legates also present, which assigned Bulgaria to the Byzantine patriarch. A. died between 26 Nov. and 14 Dec. 872.

Ireneo Daniele