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Benedict VIII, Pope of Rome
X/XI Centuries
Count Theophylact of Tusculum (c. 980-1024) was a layman when elected pope
in 1012. Two years later, he crowned Henry II Holy Roman Emperor and
convened a synod to condemn simony. Benedict, at the emperor's request,
ordered that the controversial filioque
be sung as a part of the creed
during the mass. The pope took part in a naval battle against the Arabs in
1016 and helped to restore papal power in the Campagna and Tuscany. A
synod at Pavia in 1022 forbade clerical marriage and concubinage; it also
condemned the children of such unions to serfdom.
Karen Rae Keck
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