This century was the lowest period of the Dark Ages. The Church suffered the most and was shaken to her Holy Foundation. This century witnessed the death of Charlemagne, his Empire divided up, and saw the resurgence of the Iconoclasts and the avarice of Photius, who was the first to create fault with the Dogmatic definition of the word Filoque. The Church also produced great Saints like Cyril and Methodius.

801
Charlemagne's son, Louis, captures Barcelona and his younger son invaded the territory of the Sorbs.

802
Egbert becomes King of England.

806
Nicephorus I becomes Patriarch of Constantinople.

Hien Tsung becomes the Emperor of China. During his reign a shortage of copper leads to the introduction of paper money.

807
Baldred becomes king of Kent.

808
The city of Fez is founded by the Moroccan ruler Idris II.

813
Synod of Tours. The Bishops attending this Synod considered "kneeling' as the ordinary posture for Holy Mass.

814
Death of Holy Roman Emperor, Charlemagne.

The Iconoclasts assembled at the palace and prepared an elaborate attack against the Sacred Images, repeating almost the same decrees of the Synod of 754.

Louis I (The Pious) becomes Holy Roman Emperor.

815
Patriarch Nicephorus I was deposed. He was one of the chief defenders of the Sacred Images in this second persecution.

Theodotus Cassiteras (Theodotus I), was elected Patriarch of Constantinople.

Patriarch Nicephorus was banished across the Bosporus. He defended the Holy Images in controversial writings until his death.

816
Stephen V becomes Pope. He was the first Pope to be elected under the restored Western Empire.

817
St. Paschal I becomes Pope. He was a Roman by birth. St. Paschal's reign saw the revival of the Iconoclast heresy in the East by Emperor Leo V.

Theodore of Studios, the leading defender of image veneration, appealed to Pope St. Paschal I for help.

820
The tyrannical reign of Emperor Leo V ended with his murder. One of his generals, Michael the Stammerer, was named Emperor. He was also an Iconoclast and continued the work of his predecessor.

821
Death of anti-Patriarch, Theodotus. Another usurper, Antony, Bishop of Sylaeum, was made Patriarch.

822
The Slav, Thomas, led a revolution with the aid of the Arabs. He represented the party of the murdered Emperor, Leo V.

823
Ceolwulf of Mercia is deposed.

824
Eugene II becomes Pope.

The revolution led by the Slav, Thomas, was put down.

Michael the Stammerer became much more severe towards the so-called image worshipers.

In the West there were a few isolated incidents of Iconoclasm. Claudius, Bishop of Turin, destroyed all the holy pictures and crosses in his Diocese, forbade pilgrimages, recourse to the intercessions to the Saints, veneration of Relies, even lighted candles, except for practical purposes.

Claudius was then condemned for his actions at a local Synod.

826
St. Ansgar begins conversion of Norway, Denmark, and Sweden.

Martyrdom of St. Theodore the Studite.

Arabs conqueror the island of Crete.

827
Valentine becomes Pope. He was a Roman of an upper-class family, the son of Leonitus of the Via Lata. He was unanimously elected Pope by the Clerby, nobility, and the people of Rome. His Pontificate was cut short by his death, forty days later.

Gregory IV succeeds Valentine as Pope.

Wiglaf becomes king of Mercia.

829
Death of the exiled Patriarch Nicephorus I.

Death of the Emperor, Michael the Stammerer. He was succeeded by his son, Theophilus, who continued the persecutions still more fiercely.

832
John VII becomes Patriarch of Constantinople.

838
The Vikings come to Cornwall where together with the Cornish they battle against King Egbert of Wessex, Egbert defeated his attackers.

839
Ethelwulf becomes King of England.

840
Lothaire becomes Emperor.

841
Lothair I of the Holy Roman Empire is defeated by his brothers.

842
Death of Emperor Theophilus. His three year old son, Michael III, later would be called The Drunkard, becomes Emperor. His mother, Theodora, became the Empress Regent. Like the Empress Irene in the first persecution, she immediately began to change the situation. She opened the prisons, let out the confessors who were locked up for defending the Sacred Images, and recalled all those who had been exiled.

John VII was given a choice of either restoring the images or retiring, he retired. He was then replaced by Methodius.

The Synod of Constantinople approved the deposition of Patriarch John VII, renewed the decree of the Council of Nicea II, and excommunicated the Iconoclasts. This was the final act in the story of this heresy: On the First Sunday in Lent, was made into a perpetual memory of triumph of Orthodoxy at the end of the long

Iconoclast persecution. It is the Feast of Orthodoxy of the Byzantine Church, still kept very solemnly by both Uniats and Orthodox.

843
The Treaty of Verdun. This treaty divided Charlemagne's Empire into three parts.

Charles the Bald arranged this treaty with his two half brothers, they were the grandsons of Charlemagne.

Charles the Bald, became Charles I, King of France; he received the western portion of the Empire and became the first to rule the country called the "Eldest Daughter of the Church" as a separate Kingdom.

844
John is anti-Pope.

Sergius II becomes Pope. He was a Roman by birth. He was Deacon under Pope Gregory IV.

846
The Arabs sack Rome.

847
St. Leo IV becomes Pope. He was a Roman by birth. He was also a Benedictine monk and served as sub-Deacon under Pope Gregory IV.

85-
Louis II becomes co-ruler with his father, Lothair I of the Holy Roman Empire.

851
Three hundred and fifty Viking ships appear in the Thames estuary, and Viking raiders attack Canterbury.

852
Boris I becomes Khan of Bulgaria.

855
Benedict III becomes Pope.

Anastasius is anti-Pope.

Louis II becomes Holy Roman Emperor.

856
Empress Theodora retired as regent and was succeeded by her brother, Bardas, who used the title Caesar. Bardas lived in incest with his daughter-in-law, Eudocia.

857
Ignatius, Patriarch of Constantinople refused to Holy Communion to Emperor Bardas, for his living in incest. Ignatius was deposed on November 23.

Photius leads the Great Schism. He uncanonically replaced Ignatius as Patriarch of Constantinople. Photius, was hurried through the Sacrament of Holy Orders in six days. On Christmas Day, he was ordained by the excommunicated Gregory Asbestas of Syracuse. He had been excommunicated by Ignatius for insubordination. By this act, Photius committed three offenses against Canon Law: 1). He was ordained bishop without having kept the interstices,

2). by an excommunicate consecrator, and

3). to an already occupied See. This act made Photius an excommunicate, ipso facto.

858
Ethelbald is crowned King of England.

St. Nicholas I becomes Pope. He was born in Rome, the son of a leading city official, Theodore. He was an uncompromising defender of the Sacrament of Matrimony.

The Fujiwara family becomes the virtual masters of Japan, monopolizing the court and administrative offices.

860
Ethelbert becomes King of England.

861
The Synod at St. Sophia's. Pope St. Nicholas I sent two legates to hear and report the findings in the case of Photius, who was urged to resign his usurped See. The legates took heavy bribes and agreed to Ignatius' deposition and Photius' succession. The legates returned to Rome and the Emperor sent his Secretary of State, Lee, with further explanations. In all these letters both Photius and the Emperor emphatically and categorically invoke the Pontiffs jurisdiction to confirm what has happened.

Ignatius was exiled at the Island Terebinth, he sent his friend, the Archimandrite, Theognostus to Rome.

John, Archbishop of Ravenna was excommunicated by Pope St. Nicholas I for interfering with his suffragans, abusing the Pope's subjects and agents, and refusing to obey his summons. He was restored in November of this year.

862
Theognostus arrived in Rome with an urgent letter from Ignatius setting forth his case.

Pope St. Nicholas I, upon hearing both sides, decided for Ignatius. The Pope sent Photius and the Emperor Michael the Drunkard a letter stating that the usurpation must cease at once. He then sent letters to other Eastern patriarchs as well.

Hincmar, the Archbishop of Rheims, the most powerful metropolitan in the Empire, deposed Bishop Rothad of Soissons. He was later re-examined by Pope St. Nicholas I and reinstated.

Synod of Aachen. The Bishops sanctioned the divorce of Lothair II. The Pope excommunicated the bishops for conniving at bigamy.

863
Saints Cyril and Methodius, both brothers, begin their missionary work in Southeastern Europe.

Pope St. Nicholas I held a Synod at the Lateran and tried the two legates he had sent to Constantinople. They were degraded and excommunicated. The Synod repeated Pope St. Nicholas I's decision, that Ignatius was the lawful Patriarch of Constantinople. Photius was to be excommunicated unless he retired immediately from his usurped place. But Photius had the Emperor and the Court on his side and chose to disobey the Pope, to whom he himself appealed too, and resolved to deny his authority altogether. The Emperor Bardas sent the Pontiff a letter dictated by Photius stating that nothing the Pope could do would help Ignatius, and the Eastern Emperors were on Photius' side, and unless he altered his decision, Michael the Emperor would come to Rome with an army and punish him severely. Photius remained Patriarch at Constantinople for four years.

864
Death of Chinese poet and government official Po Chü-i.

865
Ethelred becomes King of England.

866
With the permission of Micheal III, Basil I, murdered Micheal's uncle Ceaser Bardus, he becomes co-ruler of the Byzantine Empire with Micheal.

867
Photius, on his own invalid authority, excommunicated Pope St. Nicholas I and his Latins. He gave five reasons for this: That Latins: 1). Fast on Saturday.

2). Do not begin Lent till Ash Wednesday, (instead of three days earlier, as in the East).

3). Do not allow Priests to be married.

4). Do not allow Priests to administer the Sacrament of Confirmation.

5). Have added the word Filoque to the Creed."

"Because of this," said Photius, "The Pope and all the Latins are forerunners of apostacy, servants of the anti-Christ who deserve a thousand deaths, liars, and fighters against God." Suddenly, in September of this year, Photius fell.

Emperor Michael the Drunkard was murdered.

Basil I, the Macedonian, seized the fate of Michael"s friends. He was ejected from the palace, and Ignatius, the rightful Patriarch, was restored.

Pope St. Nicholas I died on November 13th.

Adrian II becomes Pope. He answered Ignatius' appeal for legates to attend a Synod.

869
The Ecumenical Council of Constantinople IV. Pope Adrian II sent Bishop Donatus of Ostia; Stephen, Bishop of Nepi; and the Deacon, Marinus as Papal legates to the Eighth General Council of the Church. The Council ended the Greek Schism, condemned Photius in twenty-seven Canons, and excommunicated the usurper.

Photius was banished to a monastery on the Bosporus, where he schemed and plotted his next moves. He sent letters to friends and a few to the Emperor Bardas, whom he professed great admiration for. He kept this game up for seven years, until he got his chance.

870
The Council of Constantinople IV was ratified.

871
Alfred the Great becomes King of England.

872
Ethelred becomes King of England.

873
John VIII becomes Pope. He too was a Roman, the son of Gundo. He had been an Archdeacon for twenty years. He was elderly at the time of his election, but still energetic, resourceful, and highly experienced.

875
Death of Holy Roman Emperor, Louis II. He had becomes good friends with Pope John VIII.

Pope John VIIl got the Clergy and the Senate of Rome to acclaim Louis' uncle, Charles the Bald, who was also King of France, Holy Roman Emperor. He was crowned by the Pope on Christmas Day. Charles in return, extended the boundaries of the Papal State and renounced the Emperor's right to have resident envoys in the city.

Muslim conquests extend from Spain to Indus Valley.

The Norwegians began to take over Iceland.

876
Basil I, upon receiving a letter from Photius, which turned out to be a forged prophesy acclaiming Photius' greatness, recalled the excommunicated exile and appointed him tutor to his son, Constantine.

877
Death of Charles the Bald, King of France and Holy Roman Emperor on October 6.

Death of Ignatius, Patriarch of Constantinople on October 23.

878
Louis the Stammerer was crowned Holy Roman Emperor on September 7.

Photius lawfully obtained the place he had formerly usurped. He was acknowledged by Rome and restored to Communion. He still had a great hatred for Rome and carried on the old quarrel with as much bitterness as ever and more influence. He applied to Rome for legates for another Synod. There was no reason for another Synod, but he persuaded Pope John VIII that it would clear up the last remains of the schism and rivet more firmly the union between East and West. His real motive was to undo the effect of the Synod that had deposed him.

879
The Synod of Sophia opened in November. This Synod has been referred to as the Pseudosynodus Photiana, which the Orthodox count as the Eighth General Council. The Pope sent three legates, Cardinal Peter Chrysogonus; Paul, Bishop of Anecona; and Eugene, Bishop of Ostia. Photius had it all his own way throughout the Synod. He revoked the acts of the Council of Constantinople IV, repeated his accusations against the Latins, dwelling especially on the Filoque grievance, anathematized all who added anything to the Creed, and declared that Bulgaria should belong to the Byzantine Patriarchate. The fact that there was a great majority for all these measures shows how strong Photius' party had become in the East. The Legates, like their predecessors in 861, agreed to everything the majority desired. As soon as they returned to Rome, Photius sent the Acts to the Pope, for his confirmation. Instead Pope John VIII excommunicated Photius again. The schism broke out once again. This time it lasted seven years, till the death of Basil I.

Pope John VIII recognized Charles the Fat as King of Italy. He was the second son of Louis the German.

881
Pope John VIII crowns Charles The Fat as Holy Roman Emperor.

882
Marinus I becomes Pope. He was on of the Papal Legates at the Council of Constantinople IV.

884
St. Adrian III becomes Pope. He was a Roman by birth, the son of Benedict. He was sympathetic to the polices of Pope John VIII.

Fujiwara Mototsune becomes the first official civil dictator of Japan. His dictatorship is regarded as the classical age of Japanese literature.

885
Charles The Fat becomes King of France as Charles II.

Stephen VI becomes Pope.

Pope Stephen VI was made Cardinal-Priest of the Four-Crowned Martyrs by Pope Marinug I. He was a pious Saintly man, also practical. He would bring people into the Papal Treasury and show them how empty it was. He loved the poor. During his Pontificate, Rome was being plagued with locusts. He offered a reward for every pint of locusts that were brought in. When this attempt to control the insects failed, he blessed Holy Water and gave it to the people to sprinkle on their fields. The plague ended. He died in September of 891.

886
Death of Emperor Basil I. He was succeeded by his son, Leo IV. Leo IV, strongly disliked Photius. One of his first acts was to accuse Photius of treason, and deposed and banished him.

Stephen, Leo IV's younger brother, was made Patriarch of Constantinople.

887
Charles II, The Fat, is deposed as King of France.

888
Death of Charles II, The Fat, King of France and Italy and Holy Roman Emperor. He was deposed in France because he was ineffective.

The Statue of Our Lady of Montserrat is found in a Chapel dedicated to the Mother of God.

889
Death of King Boris I of Bulgaria.

891
Lambert of Spoleto becomes King of Italy.

Formosus becomes Pope. He was gifted and well educated. He severed as Papal Legate in France and Germany under Pope Nicholas I and Adrian II. He played an important role in the Roman Synod of 869, which anathematizes the usurper, Photius. Pope John VIII entrusted him to crown Charles the Bald as Holy Roman Emperor. Pope John VIII also had him deposed and excommunicated on charges of treason, that is, deserting his See. He fled Rome for his own personal safety. He was reconciled and was restricted to Lay Communion and lived in exile. Upon the Death of Pope John VIII. Pope Marinus I recalled him from exile in France, rehabilitated him, and restored him as Bishop of Porto, his former See.

Pope St. Nicholas the Great made Formosus Cardinal-Bishop of Porto in 864, and in 866 sent him to convert the Bulgarians. Formosus made such am impression of King Boris, he demanded Formosus for his Archbishop, but neither Pope St. Nicholas the Great nor Adrian II would listen to the Bulgarian’s plea. Formosus served on several important legations, his chastity, austerity, prayer, and kindness to the poor were his trademarks. His career was brilliant until Pope John VIII made his famous Purge. When Pope John VIII swept away the nest of evildoers, headed by men like Gregory and George of the Aventine, Formosus fled his See in Porto.

Pope John VIII had Formosus deposed and excommunicated. It still remains obscure just what the trouble was. Formosus was accused of ambition and of conspiracy. Pope Marinus I recalled Formosus and restored him to his position as Cardinal-Bishop of Porto.

At the death of Pope Stephen VI, Formosus was the popular choice for Pope. He showed no ambition to be Pontiff. In fact, history records that he clinged to the alter of his Church at Porto when they came to bring him to Rome.

Formosus lived up to his high character by his efforts to rule the Church wisely. He held a Council at Rome and ordered or encouraged Councils at Chalons, Tribur, and Vienne. He was deeply concerned with the growing interference of laymen in Church affairs. He made some regulation about the ordinations of Photius. He decided that Bremen should remain under the Archdiocese of Hamburg.

In high politics, Formosus was, perhaps, not so wise. In the welter of anarchy which followed the deposition of the King of France, Charles the Fat, Stephen VI had crowned Guido, Duke of Spoleto, Emperor. Formosus had followed the same policy, even crowning Guido’s little son, Lambert as Emperor; but since order and peace were not to be expected from the turbulent Spoletans, Formosus invited Arnulf of Carinthia, King of Germany and the ablest of Charlemagne’s descendants, to come down to Italy and rescue the Holy See from the stifling grasp of the House of Spoleto. Arnulf defeated Guido, who died at that time, and then marched on Rome to expel the Empress Mother, Ageltruda. Pope Formosus welcomed Arnulf and Crowned him Emperor in 896. Arnulf marched on Spoleto, but was struck down by paralysis. Ageltruda was now safe, but she did not forget what she considered was the double-dealing of Pope Formosus. Pope Formosus, died April 4, 896.

He was followed by Boniface VI who was Pope a mere 15 days. Then of Course; Stephen VII, from the House of Spoleto was elected Pope.

The information you just read was taken from the Book, Pope's Through the Ages, By Rev. Joseph S. Brusher, S.J.

982
Lamberto of Spoleto was Crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Formosus.

983
Holy Roman Emperor, Lambert of Spoleto, also the King of Italy, was killed in a hunting accident on October 15.

Charles III, The Simple becomes King of France. He recognized the Norsemen's conquest of Normandy, but added to his territory by seizing Lorraine.

894
Arnulf, king of the East Franks (Germany) campaigns in Italy.

896
Amulf becomes Emperor of Germany.

Boniface VI becomes Pope. He was a Roman by birth, the son of a Bishop named, Hadrian. His past was a bit murky, he was twice degraded by Pope John VIII. His reign lasted only fifteen days, he suffered from severe gout. He is buried in the portico of St. Peter's.

Stephen VII succeeds Boniface VI as Pope. He was assassinated.

897
Romanus becomes Pope. His Pontificate lasted less than four months. He was afterwards made a monk.

Theodore II succeeds Romanus as Pope. He was a Roman by birth and his Pontificate lasted a short fifteen months.

898
John IX becomes Pope. He is recorded as having confirmed the privileges of the great Abbey of Monte Cassino, province of Frosinone, founded by St. Benedict.

899
Edward the Elder becomes King of England.

900
Benedict IV becomes Pope.