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767-769 · 2 years · show in timeline

Rome 768/769: Antipope Constantine and his followers were blinded, and the Lateran Synod had the blind man beaten and thrown out

In 767 Duke Toto of Nepi had his brother Constantine, a layman, forcibly raised to the papacy. In 768 the papal primicerius Christopher and his son Sergius overthrew him, and Stephen III was elected. According to Hefele, Constantine and his adherents were subjected by the embittered people to frightful acts of violence and blinded, and the priest Waldipert had his eyes put out and his tongue cut out. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, Stephen was unable to prevent this. At the Lateran Synod of 769 the bishops had the blind Constantine beaten and thrown out of the church.

Period
767-769 (2 years)
Country
Italy
Institutions
Pope Stephen III
Lateran Synod of 769
Primicerius Christopher
Category
Torture, Violence
Level of evidence
B two independent scholarly sources · what does this mean?
Persons
Constantine II (layman, forcibly made pope in 767, overthrown and blinded in 768)
Waldipert (Lombard priest, blinded, tongue cut out)
Stephen III (pope 768 to 772, president of the Lateran Synod of 769)

What happened to the people

How were they charged and sentenced?

  1. In April 769 a synod of 52 bishops or their representatives, among them twelve from the Frankish kingdom, met in the Lateran under the presidency of the pope. The deposed and blinded Constantine was brought forward and asked how he, as a layman, had dared to aspire to the papal chair. He cast himself on the ground and acknowledged himself guilty.
    Evidence: Carl Joseph Hefele, übers. von William R. Clark, T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh 1896, Bd. 5, S. 333
    „altogether fifty -two bishops or representatives of bishops“
    A History of the Councils of the Church, from the Original Documents, Bd. 5 (A.D. 626 to the close of the Second Council of Nicaea, A.D. 787), Bd. 5, S. 333. Original
    Evidence: Carl Joseph Hefele, übers. von William R. Clark, T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh 1896, Bd. 5, S. 336
    „the deposed and blinded Antipope Constantine was brought forward, and asked how he had dared, as a layman, to aspire to the papal chair“
    A History of the Councils of the Church, from the Original Documents, Bd. 5 (A.D. 626 to the close of the Second Council of Nicaea, A.D. 787), Bd. 5, S. 336. Original
    Evidence: Carl Joseph Hefele, übers. von William R. Clark, T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh 1896, Bd. 5, S. 336
    „Thereupon he cast himself on the ground, with outstretched hands, and acknowledged himself as guilty.“
    A History of the Councils of the Church, from the Original Documents, Bd. 5 (A.D. 626 to the close of the Second Council of Nicaea, A.D. 787), Bd. 5, S. 336. Original

What happened to those affected?

  1. According to Hefele, Constantine and his adherents were treated by the embittered people with frightful acts of violence, among other things having their eyes put out. The Lombard priest Waldipert, who was accused of plotting the murder of Christopher, had his eyes put out and his tongue cut out. The Catholic Encyclopedia writes that the antipopes were treated with the greatest cruelty, which, it is generally allowed, Stephen was unable to hinder.
    Evidence: Carl Joseph Hefele, übers. von William R. Clark, T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh 1896, Bd. 5, S. 333
    „Constantine and his adherents, however, were treated by the embittered people with frightful acts of violence, having their eyes put out and the like. The new Pope seems to have been powerless in this confusion“
    A History of the Councils of the Church, from the Original Documents, Bd. 5 (A.D. 626 to the close of the Second Council of Nicaea, A.D. 787), Bd. 5, S. 333. Original
    Evidence: Carl Joseph Hefele, übers. von William R. Clark, T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh 1896, Bd. 5, S. 333, Anm. 1
    „The eyes of the Lombard priest Waldipert were also put out, and his tongue cut out, because he had plotted a conspiracy for the murder of Christopher.“
    A History of the Councils of the Church, from the Original Documents, Bd. 5 (A.D. 626 to the close of the Second Council of Nicaea, A.D. 787), Bd. 5, S. 333, Anm. 1. Original
    Evidence: The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 14 (1912), Artikel Pope Stephen (III) IV
    „After his consecration the antipopes were treated with the greatest cruelty which, it seems to be generally allowed, Stephen was unable to hinder.“
    Pope Stephen (III) IV, Artikel Pope Stephen (III) IV. Original · Archive copy
  2. In the second session Constantine pointed out that other bishops too had been elected as laymen. This embittered those present so much that they had him beaten and taken out of the church. According to the source quoted by Hefele (Anastasius), all the bishops present struck him on the neck. His synodal acts were burned, and all sacraments he had administered except baptism and confirmation had to be repeated.
    Evidence: Carl Joseph Hefele, übers. von William R. Clark, T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh 1896, Bd. 5, S. 336 f.
    „The further course of his speech embittered those present so far that they caused him to be“
    A History of the Councils of the Church, from the Original Documents, Bd. 5 (A.D. 626 to the close of the Second Council of Nicaea, A.D. 787), Bd. 5, S. 336 f.. Original
    Evidence: Carl Joseph Hefele, übers. von William R. Clark, T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh 1896, Bd. 5, S. 337
    „beaten and taken out of the church.“
    A History of the Councils of the Church, from the Original Documents, Bd. 5 (A.D. 626 to the close of the Second Council of Nicaea, A.D. 787), Bd. 5, S. 337. Original
    Evidence: Carl Joseph Hefele, übers. von William R. Clark, T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh 1896, Bd. 5, S. 337, Anm. 1
    „Universi sacerdotes (bishops) alapis ejus cervicem csedere facientes eum extra eamdem ecclesiam ejecerunt.“
    A History of the Councils of the Church, from the Original Documents, Bd. 5 (A.D. 626 to the close of the Second Council of Nicaea, A.D. 787), Bd. 5, S. 337, Anm. 1. Original
    Evidence: Carl Joseph Hefele, übers. von William R. Clark, T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh 1896, Bd. 5, S. 337
    „Then the Acts of a Conciliabulum which the antipope had held were burnt in the presbytery of the Church of the Lateran.“
    A History of the Councils of the Church, from the Original Documents, Bd. 5 (A.D. 626 to the close of the Second Council of Nicaea, A.D. 787), Bd. 5, S. 337. Original
    Evidence: Carl Joseph Hefele, übers. von William R. Clark, T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh 1896, Bd. 5, S. 338
    „all sacraments which have been admini stered by the antipope must be repeated, except baptism and confirmation“
    A History of the Councils of the Church, from the Original Documents, Bd. 5 (A.D. 626 to the close of the Second Council of Nicaea, A.D. 787), Bd. 5, S. 338. Original

Background

Course of events

  1. Even before the death of Paul I, Toto of Nepi burst into Rome with Tuscans and in June 767, despite the opposition of the primicerius Christopher, forcibly intruded his brother Constantine, a layman, into the chair of Peter. In the spring of 768 Christopher and his son Sergius escaped from the city and, with the aid of the Lombards, deposed the usurper. On 7 August 768 Stephen III was elected and consecrated.
    Evidence: The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 14 (1912), Artikel Pope Stephen (III) IV
    „Toto of Nepi with a body of Tuscans burst into Rome , and, despite the opposition of the primicerius Christopher, forcibly intruded his brother Constantine, a layman , into the chair of Peter (June, 767).“
    Pope Stephen (III) IV, Artikel Pope Stephen (III) IV. Original · Archive copy
    Evidence: The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 14 (1912), Artikel Pope Stephen (III) IV
    „Christopher and his son Sergius contrived to escape from the city, and with the aid of the Lombards deposed the usurper“
    Pope Stephen (III) IV, Artikel Pope Stephen (III) IV. Original · Archive copy
    Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Artikel Stephen (Popes), Abschnitt Stephen III.
    „pope from the 7th of August 768 to the 3rd of February 772“
    Stephen (Popes), Artikel Stephen (Popes), Abschnitt Stephen III.. Original · Archive copy

Response of the Church

  1. The synod forbade laymen in future to be elected pope or to take part in the election; only cardinals could be chosen. These decisions were taken into the Corpus Juris Canonici. Stephen III is honoured as a saint in some martyrologies.
    Evidence: The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 14 (1912), Artikel Pope Stephen (III) IV
    „the Lateran council forbade laymen to be elected popes or to take part in their election for the future. Only cardinals were to be chosen popes (April, 769)“
    Pope Stephen (III) IV, Artikel Pope Stephen (III) IV. Original · Archive copy
    Evidence: Carl Joseph Hefele, übers. von William R. Clark, T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh 1896, Bd. 5, S. 337, Anm. 3
    „The words of the Synod relating to this were taken into the Corpus juris canonici“
    A History of the Councils of the Church, from the Original Documents, Bd. 5 (A.D. 626 to the close of the Second Council of Nicaea, A.D. 787), Bd. 5, S. 337, Anm. 3. Original
    Evidence: The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 14 (1912), Artikel Pope Stephen (III) IV
    „Stephen is honoured as saint in some Martyrologies.“
    Pope Stephen (III) IV, Artikel Pope Stephen (III) IV. Original · Archive copy

See also

Scholarly literature and reference works

  1. Reference work
    The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 14 (1912): Pope Stephen (III) IV, 1 January 1912. Original · Archive copy (retrieved 23 Oct 2026)
  2. Reference work
    Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911): Stephen (Popes), 1 January 1911. Original · Archive copy (retrieved 23 Oct 2026)
  3. Scholarly literature
    Carl Joseph Hefele, übers. von William R. Clark, T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh 1896: A History of the Councils of the Church, from the Original Documents, Bd. 5 (A.D. 626 to the close of the Second Council of Nicaea, A.D. 787), 1 January 1896. Original (retrieved 23 Oct 2026)
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