Pope John VIII

Description

Pope John VIII (Latin: Ioannes VIII; died 16 December 882) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 14 December 872 to his death. He is often considered one of the ablest popes of the 9th century.

John devoted much of his papacy attempting to halt and reverse the Muslim gains in southern Italy and their march northwards. When his efforts to obtain assistance from either the Franks or the Byzantines failed, John strengthened the defences of Rome. He supported Methodius of Thessalonica in his mission to the Slavs, defended him against the Carolingian rulers and Bavarian clergy, and authorized the translation of the Bible into Slavonic. John also extended diplomatic recognition to the Duchy of Croatia and resolved the Photian schism. John’s pontificate ended with his assassination, and the papacy became significantly weaker in the aftermath.
Pope Adrian II consecrated Methodius of Thessalonica as archbishop and supported his mission to the Slavs. Unbeknownst to Rome, Methodius was imprisoned in 870 by the Carolingian King Louis the German and Bavarian bishops, who objected to his use of the Slavonic language in the liturgy and his encroachment on their jurisdiction in Moravia. Adrian II died in 872, and John VIII, a Roman native, was selected to succeed him. When Bishop Anno of Freising visited Rome, John inquired about the whereabouts of the missing Methodius, but Anno lied to him. In the summer of 873, John finally learned the truth. Furious, he forbade the celebration of mass in Bavaria until Methodius was released. After his release, Methodius came to Rome and convinced John to allow him to translate the Bible to Slavonic as well as to perform liturgy in Slavonic. John wrote: “He who made three main languages – Hebrew, Greek, and Roman – also made all other languages to sing his praise and glory.