Antipope Constantine II (; died ) was a Roman prelate who claimed the papacy from 28 June 767 to 6 August 768. He was overthrown through the intervention of the Lombards and tortured before he was condemned and expelled from the Church during the Lateran Council of 769.

Upon the death of Pope Paul I various factions contended to secure the appointment of their respective candidates as pope. Constantine, although a layman, was supported by a group of Tuscan nobles, led by his brother. They secured his election by force of arms. The following spring, local authorities, with Lombard support, succeeded in deposing him. The Lombards then attempted to install their own candidate, a priest named Philip. He, in turn, was overthrown the same day by the local authorities who then elected the churchman Stephen. For a short time Constantine retained some support outside the city, which resulted in armed conflict. The supporters of Stephen had the imprisoned Constantine blinded, which, it seems to be generally allowed, Stephen was unable to hinder. Christophorus, the primicerius of the notaries, forced Toto to take an oath to respect the traditional clerical method of papal elections.

Since Constantine was still a layperson, he needed to be ordained deacon and priest and then consecrated as bishop in rapid succession. Although frowned upon by canon law, this approach was far from unknown at the time. Therefore, accompanied by a group of armed men, he was escorted to the Lateran Palace, where they attempted to force George, the Bishop of Praeneste, to ordain Constantine as a monk. George threw himself at Constantine’s feet, begging Constantine not to make him do this. However, Constantine and his supporters made it clear that he would be forced to, one way or another. Noting, however, that their lives were in danger, they fled for sanctuary to St. Peter’s Basilica, where they remained until April 768.

Reign

One of Constantine’s first acts was to give notice to the Frankish King, Pepin the Short of his election, to secure the king’s approval of his actions. Constantine’s letter to Pepin declared that, against his wishes, he had been raised to the Apostolic See by "the people of Rome and the cities adjoining it", and that he hoped for the continuation of the friendship Pepin had shown to both his predecessors, Paul I and Stephen II. Pepin ignored this letter; Constantine wrote another, in which he declared that only the actions of the people had compelled him to take on the burdensome office. He begged Pepin to bestow his friendship, promising that he would be even more in his debt than his predecessors were, and to pay no attention to any slanderous accusations regarding him or his election. Pepin refused to reply to either letter. Constantine had the letter read before the Roman people, after which he forwarded it to King Pepin.

Meanwhile, Christophorus and Sergius had hatched a plot with key supporters in the city.

As soon as word came through that the Lombards had entered the city, Toto came out to confront them with his own forces. During a battle in the streets of Rome, Toto was killed, and his brother Passivus rushed to warn Constantine to flee. The two brothers finally shut themselves within the oratory of St. Cesarius, Constantine was taken from prison, put on a horse and driven through the city on top of a woman’s saddle, with heavy weights attached to his feet, among jeering crowds. There was still support for Constantine, however. The town of Alatri, under the leadership of its governor, Gracilis, who held the title of a Tribune, They prohibited anyone from giving him aid; after 24 hours, however, complaints from the people prompted the monks to re-imprison him in the monastery.

In April 769, Pope Stephen III opened a new Lateran Council; a major topic for discussion was the elevation of Constantine. The blinded prisoner was brought before the council, where they questioned his elevation to the Apostolic See when he was still a layman. Constantine responded that he had been forced to take on the role, as the Roman people had been looking for someone to fix the problems left behind by Pope Paul I. He then confessed to the charges, and threw himself on the mercy of the synod.

Notes

References

  • Mann, Horace K., The Lives of the Popes in the Early Middle Ages, Vol. I: The Popes Under the Lombard Rule, Part 2, 657–795 (1903)
  • DeCormenin, Louis Marie; Gihon, James L., A Complete History of the Popes of Rome, from Saint Peter, the First Bishop to Pius the Ninth (1857)
  • Georg Schwaiger, "Die Rechtmäßigkeit der Päpste Dioskur (530) und Konstantin II. (767–768)," in Fleckenstein, Gisela / Klöcker, Michael / Schloßmacher, Norbert (Hrsg.), Kirchengeschichte. Alte und neue Wege. Festschrift für Christoph Weber. Band 1. Frankfurt am Main u.a., Peter Lang, 2008, pp. 17–24