Born in Rome, Stephen was a member of the ruling house of Spoleto. Before he was elected pope in 931, he was bishop of Agnani. Shortly after his election, he ordered the corpse of his predecessor, Formosus, disinterred, and he tried the dead pontiff on various charges in what is now called the Cadaver Synod. Formosus, whose part was taken by a deacon, was found guilty, and his corpse was mutilated and thrown into the Tiber. Stephen declared all of Formosus' ordinations invalid and required that any clergyman whom Formosus had ordained write a letter acknowledging that his ordination had been and was invalid. Formosus had ordained Stephen, who argued that he had been ordained against his will. However, he did accept demotion and was reordained. The basilica of the Lateran collapsed not long after this bizarre event, and many credited divine judgement. Fifteen months after his election, Stephen was ousted and imprisoned; he was strangled in prison. Rumors abound that he was insane.
"Stephen VII" redirects here. For the Moldavian ruler, see Ștefan Tomșa. In sources prior to the 1960s, this pope is called Stephen VIII and Pope Stephen VI is called Stephen VII; see Pope-elect Stephen for a detailed explanation.Pope Stephen VII (Latin: Stephanus VII; died 15 March 931) was the bishop of Rome and nominal ruler of the Papal States from February 929 to his death in 931. A candidate of the infamous Marozia, his pontificate occurred during the period known as the Saeculum obscurum.
Election
Stephen was a Roman by birth, the son of Theodemundus. He was the cardinal-priest of St Anastasia in Rome. He was probably handpicked by Marozia, the true ruler of Rome during the Saeculum obscurum, to become pope as a stop-gap measure until her own son John was ready to assume the role.
Pontificate
Very little is known about Stephen's pontificate. During his two years as pope, Stephen confirmed the privileges of a few religious houses in France and Italy. As a reward for helping free Stephen from the oppression of Hugh of Arles, Stephen granted Cante di Gabrielli the position of papal governor of Gubbio, and control over a number of key fortresses. Stephen was also noted for the severity with which he treated clergy who strayed in their morals. He was also, apparently, according to a hostile Greek source from the twelfth century, the first pope who went around clean shaved whilst pope.
Stephen died around 15 March 931, and was succeeded by Marozia's son John XI.
