Pope Callixtus II or Callistus II ( – 13 December 1124), born Guy of Burgundy, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from February 1119 to his death in 1124. His pontificate was shaped by the Investiture Controversy, which he was able to settle through the Concordat of Worms in 1122.
As the son of Count William I of Burgundy, Guy was a member of and connected to the highest nobility in Europe. He became archbishop of Vienne and served as papal legate to France. He attended the Lateran Synod of 1112. He was elected pope at Cluny in 1119. The following year, prompted by attacks on Jews, he issued the bull Sicut Judaeis which forbade Christians, on pain of excommunication, from forcing Jews to convert, from harming them, from taking their property, from disturbing the celebration of their festivals, and from interfering with their cemeteries. In March 1123, Calixtus II convened the First Lateran Council, which passed several disciplinary decrees, such as those against simony and concubinage among the clergy, and violators of the Truce of God.
Early life
Born the fourth son of Count William I of Burgundy, one of the wealthiest rulers in Europe, Guy was a member of the highest aristocracy in Europe. His family was part of a network of noble alliances. He was a cousin of Arduin of Ivrea, the king of Italy. One sister, Gisela, was married to Count Humbert II of Savoy and then to Renier I of Montferrat; another sister, Maud, was the wife of Duke Odo I of Burgundy. Another sister, Clementia, married Count Robert II of Flanders. His brother Raymond was married to Urraca, the future queen of León, and fathered the future King Alfonso VII of León. His brother Hugh was archbishop of Besançon.
Archbishop of Vienne
Guy first appears in contemporary records when he became the archbishop of Vienne in 1088. He held strong pro-papal views about the Investiture controversy. As archbishop, he was appointed papal legate to France by Pope Paschal II during the time that Paschal was induced under pressure from Holy Roman Emperor Henry V to issue the Privilegium of 1111, by which he yielded much of the papal prerogatives that had been so forcefully claimed by Pope Gregory VII in the Gregorian Reforms. These concessions were received with violent opposition and nowhere more so than in France, where the opposition was led by Archbishop Guy, who had attended the Lateran Synod of 1112. These decrees were sent to Paschal II with a request for a confirmation, which they received on 20 October 1112. He was crowned at Vienne on 9 February 1119 as Calixtus II. The imperial allies in Rome soon disbanded.
Sicut Judaeis
In 1120 Calixtus II issued the papal bull Sicut Judaeis (Latin: "As the Jews") setting out the official position of the papacy regarding the treatment of Jews. The bull was intended to protect Jews and echoed the position of Pope Gregory I that Jews were entitled to "enjoy their lawful liberty". The bull forbade Christians, on pain of excommunication, from forcing Jews to convert, from harming them, from taking their property, from disturbing the celebration of their festivals, and from interfering with their cemeteries. It was reaffirmed by popes Alexander III, Celestine III (1191–1198), Innocent III (1199), Honorius III (1216), Gregory IX (1235), Innocent IV (1246), Alexander IV (1255), Urban IV (1262), Gregory X (1272 & 1274), Nicholas III, Martin IV (1281), Honorius IV (1285–1287), Nicholas IV (1288–92), Clement VI (1348), Urban V (1365), Boniface IX (1389), Martin V (1422), and Nicholas V (1447).
Concordat of Worms
Having established his power in Italy, the pope resolved to re-open negotiations with Henry V on the question of investiture. Henry V was anxious to put an end to a controversy, which had reduced imperial authority in Germany terminally so as it appeared in the long run. An embassy of three cardinals was sent by Calixtus II to Germany, and negotiations for a permanent settlement of the investiture struggle were begun in October 1121 at Würzburg, where it was agreed that a general truce should be proclaimed in Germany, the Church should have free use of its possessions and the lands of those in rebellion should be restored.
Those decrees were communicated to Calixtus II, who despatched the legate Lambert to assist at the synod that had been convoked at Worms, where, on 23 September 1122, the agreement known as the Concordat of Worms was concluded. On his side, the Emperor abandoned his claim to investiture with ring and crosier and granted freedom of election to episcopal sees. On the papal side, it was conceded that the bishops should receive investiture with the sceptre; the episcopal elections should be held in the presence of the Emperor or his representatives; in case of disputed elections the emperor should, after the decision of the metropolitan and the suffragan bishops, confirm the rightfully-elected candidate; and the imperial investiture of the temporal properties connected to the sees should take place in Germany before the consecration.
In Burgundy and in Italy, the imperial investiture would take place after the consecration ceremony, and in the Papal States, the pope alone had the right of investiture without any interference on the part of the emperor. As a result of the Concordat, the Emperor still retained in his hands the controlling influence in the election of the bishops in Germany though he had abandoned much in regard to episcopal elections in Italy and Burgundy.