NICHOLAS I, POPE, Saint. — Son of Theodore, a regional deacon of Leo IV, Nicholas was elected and consecrated pope on 24 April 858, following the death of Benedict III (17 April), in the presence of the Emperor Louis II. He was one of the most eminent pontiffs to govern the Church, distinguished by the major problems he had to resolve, overcoming serious political and ecclesiastical obstacles.
Of particular importance in the public eye was the divorce case of Lothar II, King of Lotharingia and brother of Louis II. Desirous of marrying Waldrada, Lothar sought grounds to repudiate his lawful wife, Theutberga. Supported by the archbishops Gunther of Cologne and Theutgaud of Trier, he obtained favorable sentences in two synods; a third, held at Metz in June 863 in the presence of papal legates, confirmed the previous decisions. Nicholas annulled these sentences and imposed penance on the two archbishops and their accomplices. They appealed to Louis II, who marched from Benevento against Rome; but Nicholas did not yield to his threats, and Louis was forced to retreat after making peace with the Pope. The controversy over the divorce ended only with Lothar’s death in August 869, by which time he had also been excommunicated.
Of immense importance for relations with the Empire and the Byzantine episcopate were the controversy concerning Photius (v.) and the celebration of the Eighth Ecumenical Council.
Nicholas also had to oppose the abuses of the archbishops of Ravenna, which had persisted since the time of Leo IV, perpetrated by George, Duke of Emilia, and his brother John, Archbishop of Ravenna, who oppressed soldiers and pilgrims and refused to submit to papal authority. The archbishop was excommunicated and fled to Louis II at Pavia; but Nicholas went to Ravenna to judge the two brothers, and John was compelled to appear before the Pope in Rome, where he was summoned and forced to render an account of his conduct (861–62). Another notable episode was the dispute between Hincmar, Archbishop of Reims, and Nicholas over Rothad, Bishop of Soissons, who had appealed to Rome. Nicholas extended his care to the Danubian provinces, which had long belonged to the Roman patriarchate, and PORTA (v.) and Paul of Populonia to the Bulgars, for whom he wrote his famous Responsio ad consulta Bulgarorum. He protected the missions begun by SS. Cyril and Methodius (v.) among the Slavs of Great Moravia and defended those in Denmark by writing to King Horik (864), who seemed inclined toward Christianity (Jaffé–Wattenbach, no. 2758). He died on 13 November 867 and was included in the Roman Martyrology by Urban VIII in 1630. His feast is celebrated on 13 November.