As my thesis rubs off...

[rushthatspeaks]

Which Historical Lunatic Are You?
From the fecund loins of Rum and Monkey.

I *had* to answer yes when it asked if I was feeling papal, right?

Comments

[wayman.livejournal.com]

All ordinations performed by the luckless Formosus were annulled.

That seems to have been the fatal flaw, given that Stephen's own ordination was performed by Formosus! Unless I'm misunderstanding something.

[tirerim.livejournal.com]

No, that was actually intentional, so he couldn't be accused of abandoning the See of Anagni for the See of Rome. (Apparently, bishops are supposed to stick to their posts, or something like that.)

[wayman.livejournal.com]

But being a bishop is a major eligibility condition for becoming pope, right? So if he declares he was never made a bishop (of Anagni), doesn't that equate to denouncing himself as a false pope?

[tirerim.livejournal.com]

I think one just has to be a priest. But see this site for more details on Stephen. I'm not really too sure about how it all works (or, for that matter, how it worked in the ninth century) but other sites seem to confirm this view.