Pope John XV
Encyclopedia
Pope John XV Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...

 from 985 to 996, succeeding Boniface VII
Antipope Boniface VII
Antipope Boniface VII , was an antipope . He is supposed to have put Pope Benedict VI to death. A popular tumult compelled him to flee to Constantinople in 974; he carried off a vast treasure, and returned in 984 and removed Pope John XIV from office, who had been elected in his absence, by murder...

 (974, 984–985). He was said to have been Pope after another Pope John that reigned four months after Pope John XIV
Pope John XIV
Pope John XIV was Pope from December, 983 to August 20, 984, successor to Pope Benedict VII He was born at Pavia, and before his elevation to the papal chair was imperial chancellor of Emperor Otto II , and was the latter's second choice.His original name was Pietro Canepanova, but he took the...

 (983–984) and was named "Papa Ioannes XIV Bis" or "Pope John XIVb". This John XIV Two never existed, because he was confused with a certain cardinal deacon, John son of Robert, who was opposed to Boniface VII
Antipope Boniface VII
Antipope Boniface VII , was an antipope . He is supposed to have put Pope Benedict VI to death. A popular tumult compelled him to flee to Constantinople in 974; he carried off a vast treasure, and returned in 984 and removed Pope John XIV from office, who had been elected in his absence, by murder...

, and who now is excluded from the papal lists.

Early life and elevation to papacy

John XV was the son of Leo, a Roman
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

 presbyter
Presbyter
Presbyter in the New Testament refers to a leader in local Christian congregations, then a synonym of episkopos...

. At the time he mounted the papal chair, Crescentius II was Patrician of Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

, significantly hampering the pope's influence, but the presence of the Empress Theophanu
Theophanu
Theophanu , also spelled Theophania, Theophana or Theophano, was born in Constantinople, and was the wife of Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor.-Family:...

, regent for her son, Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...

 Otto III (983–1002), in Rome from 989 to 991 restrained Crescentius's ambition.

The Pope's venality and nepotism had made him very unpopular with the citizens, but to his credit, John XV was a patron and protector of the reforming monks of Cluny
Cluny
Cluny or Clungy is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne in eastern France. It is 20 km northwest of Mâcon.The town grew up around the Benedictine Cluny Abbey, founded by Duke William I of Aquitaine in 910...

.

French dispute

During this papacy, however, a serious dispute arose over the King of France's investing and then deposing Arnulf, Archbishop of Reims
Arnulf, Archbishop of Reims
Arnulf was archbishop of Reims and the illegitimate son of King Lothair of France.Archbishop Adalberon wanted Gerbert of Aurillac to succeed him, but King Hugh Capet accepted the elected Arnulf, a Carolingian, in March 989. In September of that year, Arnulf supported an attempt to place his uncle...

, the Pope's interference leading at first to no definite result. This affair is sometimes read as an early groundswell of the conflicts between Popes and the new Kings of France that came to a head later in the Investiture Controversy
Investiture Controversy
The Investiture Controversy or Investiture Contest was the most significant conflict between Church and state in medieval Europe. In the 11th and 12th centuries, a series of Popes challenged the authority of European monarchies over control of appointments, or investitures, of church officials such...

, so it is worth relating in some detail. Hugh Capet (987–996), now King of France, made Arnulf
Arnulf, Archbishop of Reims
Arnulf was archbishop of Reims and the illegitimate son of King Lothair of France.Archbishop Adalberon wanted Gerbert of Aurillac to succeed him, but King Hugh Capet accepted the elected Arnulf, a Carolingian, in March 989. In September of that year, Arnulf supported an attempt to place his uncle...

 archbishop of Reims in 988, even though Arnulf was the nephew of the King's bitter rival, Charles of Lorraine
Charles of Lorraine
Charles of Lorraine may refer to:*Charles, Duke of Lower Lorraine *Charles II, Duke of Lorraine *Charles III, Duke of Lorraine *Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine...

. Charles thereupon succeeded in capturing Reims
Reims
Reims , a city in the Champagne-Ardenne region of France, lies east-northeast of Paris. Founded by the Gauls, it became a major city during the period of the Roman Empire....

 and took the archbishop prisoner. Hugh, however, considered Arnulf a turncoat and demanded his deposition by John XV. The turn of events outran the messages, when Hugh Capet captured both Charles and Archbishop Arnulf and convoked a synod at Reims in June 991, which obediently deposed Arnulf and chose as his successor Abbot Gerbert, afterwards Pope Silvester II
Pope Silvester II
Pope Sylvester II , born Gerbert d'Aurillac, was a prolific scholar, teacher, and Pope. He endorsed and promoted study of Arab/Greco-Roman arithmetic, mathematics, and astronomy, reintroducing to Europe the abacus and armillary sphere, which had been lost to Europe since the end of the Greco-Roman...

 (999–1003). At this synod, Arnulf accused John XV:
Are any bold enough to maintain that the priests of the Lord all over the world are to take their law from monsters of guilt like these—men branded with ignominy, illiterate men, and ignorant alike of things human and divine? If, holy fathers, we are bound to weigh in the balance the lives, the morals, and the attainments of the humblest candidate for the priestly office, how much more ought we to look to the fitness of him who aspires to be the Lord and Master of all priests! Yet how would it fare with us, if it should happen that the man the most deficient in all these virtues, unworthy of the lowest place in the priesthood, should be chosen to fill the highest place of all? What would you say of such a one, when you see him sitting upon the throne glittering in purple and gold? Must he not be the "Antichrist, sitting in the temple of God and showing himself as God"?

Church reaction

The proceedings of the Synod of Riems were repudiated by Rome, although a second synod had ratified the decrees issued at Reims. John XV summoned the French bishops to hold an independent synod outside the King's realm, at Aachen
Aachen
Aachen has historically been a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost town of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, ...

, to reconsider the case. When they refused, he called them to Rome, but they protested that the unsettled conditions en route and in Rome made that impossible. The Pope then sent a legate with instructions to call a council of French and German bishops at Mousson
Mousson
Mousson is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France....

, where only the German bishops appeared, the French being stopped on the way by Hugh Capet and Robert. Through the exertions of the legate, the deposition of Arnulf was finally pronounced illegal. After Hugh Capet's death (October 23, 996), Arnulf was released from his imprisonment, and soon restored to all his dignities. As for Gerbert, he set out for the imperial court at Magdeburg
Magdeburg
Magdeburg , is the largest city and the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Magdeburg is situated on the Elbe River and was one of the most important medieval cities of Europe....

, and became the preceptor
Preceptor
A preceptor is a teacher responsible to uphold a certain law or tradition, a precept.-Christian military orders:A preceptor was historically in charge of a preceptory, the headquarters of certain orders of monastic Knights, such as the Knights Hospitaller and Knights Templar, within a given...

 to Emperor Otto III.

At a Roman synod held in the Lateran on January 31, 993, John XV solemnly canonized Bishop Ulrich of Augsburg
Ulrich of Augsburg
Saint Ulrich , sometimes spelled Uodalric or Odalrici, was Bishop of Augsburg and a leader of the Roman Catholic Church in Germany. He was the first saint to be canonized.-Family:...

, an event which the Pope announced to the French and German bishops in a papal bull
Papal bull
A Papal bull is a particular type of letters patent or charter issued by a Pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the bulla that was appended to the end in order to authenticate it....

 dated 3 February. This was the first time in history that a solemn canonization had been made by a Pope.

Later life and death

In 996, Otto III undertook a journey to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 to obtain imperial coronation from the Pope, but John XV died of fever early in March 996, while Otto III lingered in Pavia
Pavia
Pavia , the ancient Ticinum, is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 35 km south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It is the capital of the province of Pavia. It has a population of c. 71,000...

 until 12 April to celebrate Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...

. The Emperor elevated his own kinsman Bruno to the papal dignity under the name of Gregory V
Pope Gregory V
Pope Gregory V, né Bruno of Carinthia , Pope from May 3, 996 to February 18, 999, son of the Salian Otto I, Duke of Carinthia, who was a grandson of the Emperor Otto I the Great . Gregory V succeeded Pope John XV , when only twenty-four years of age...

 (996–999).
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