Constantine II.
(fl. 8th Century)
Antipope (767-768)
born 8th century
died , Rome?
antipope from 767 to 768.
He was a soldier and—through the support of his brother Toto, duke of the bishopric of Nepi near Rome—was elected pope on July 5, 767, to succeed St. Paul I. (d. 767). Constantine's opponents, led by Christopher, the powerful chief of the notaries, fled to the Lomabards. Constantine, failing to win support from the Carolingian king Pippin III the Short or from the Franks, was deposed the next year by a Lombard army. His deposition was canonically ratified by a council of Italian and Frankish bishops. After 769 no more was heard of him. His brief reign revealed how the Holy See was then coveted by temporal rulers.
Copyright © 1994-2002 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Sources
- Encylopedia Britannica 2002, Expanded Edition DVD
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