The Cadaver Synod: When the Church Put a Dead Pope on Trial

In 897, Pope Stephen VI had the corpse of a former pope dug up, dressed in papal robes, seated on a throne—and put on trial.

Apparently Being Dead Wasn’t a Good Enough Defense

Pope Formosus died in 896.
Normally, that would have ended his involvement in church politics.
It did not.

Several months later, Pope Stephen VI ordered Formosus’s decomposing body exhumed.

The corpse was dressed in papal vestments and placed on a throne inside the Basilica of St. John Lateran.
Then the trial began.

The Defendant Was Not Very Talkative

Formosus faced accusations connected to his rise to the papacy and violations of church law.

Since the defendant was dead, a deacon was appointed to speak for him.
This did not improve his chances.

Formosus was found guilty.
His papal acts were invalidated, his vestments were removed, and the fingers he had used for blessings were cut from his right hand.

His corpse was eventually thrown into the Tiber River.

Somehow This Backfired

Instead of permanently destroying Formosus’s reputation, the spectacle helped turn opinion against Stephen VI.

Stephen was eventually deposed, imprisoned and strangled.

Later church authorities reversed the Cadaver Synod’s decisions and rehabilitated Formosus.

So the plan was:
Dig up your enemy.
Put his corpse on trial.
Humiliate the corpse.
Problem solved.

…You clearly haven’t watched Ugly History before.

History can be ugly.
But this? This was ridiculous.

Sources & References

• National Geographic — The Cadaver Synod
• Cadaver Synod historical overview