Pope Adrian II

Adrian (792 - 872; shown here in a detail from a fresco in the San Clemente basilica in Rome) was a member of a noble Roman family, related to two popes: Stephen IV and Sergius II. He married a woman named Stephania and had a daughter.

Later in life he decided to become a priest. The subject of priests getting married had been quashed by popes centuries earlier, but an already married man joining the priesthood turned out to be something of an allowable loophole. He was known to be a gentle and amiable man, respected by all. After Pope Nicholas I died on 13 November 867, Adrian was chosen to replace him on 14 December, becoming Pope Adrian II (also called Hadrian II).

He did not want the position—perhaps partially out of humility, but also likely because he was 75 years old and it was a demanding job—but was pressured into it as an obligation. He moved into the Lateran Palace with his wife and daughter. Other popes had been married, but none were married at the time they became pope.

Nicholas had been a very forceful leader of the papacy, but Adrian was not as strong-willed. King Lothair II of Lotharingia died in 869 and Adrian was asked to mediate between claimants to the succession which contributed to chaos. Charles the Bald of France ignored the pope. Adrian's legates to Constantinople at the council that condemned Photios failed to bring jurisdiction of the Bulgarian Church under Rome.

Louis II, descendant of Charlemagne and emperor of the Carolingian Empire, distrusted Adrian and kept him "under surveillance" by a trusted advisor, Bishop Arsenius of Orte (Central Italy). Arsenius' nephew was Anastasius Bibliothecarius, the papal archivist. Arsenius' son, Eleutherius, married Adrian and Stephania's daughter, but this seems purely a calculated political move to cause trouble for Adrian.

Why do we think this? Because Eleutherius was already engaged. In 868, Stephania and the daughter were kidnapped, removed from the Lateran, and killed. Eleutherius was condemned to death. Anastasius was accused of being part of his cousin's plot, and excommunicated.

Adrian died on 14 December 872, five years exactly after becoming pope, which I'm sure he wished he had refused more firmly.

But how about this Anastasius, who had a privileged position in the papacy? What was he like, and how did he get to be appointed to manage the papal archives? Let me tell you about his life and career tomorrow.