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John Chrysostom, Saint

(Encyclopedia)John Chrysostom, Saint krĭsˈəstəm, krĭsŏsˈ– [key] [Gr.,=golden-mouth], c.347–407, Doctor of the Church, one of the greatest of the Greek Fathers. He was born in Antioch and studied Greek cl...

Leo X, pope

(Encyclopedia)Leo X, 1475–1521, pope (1513–21), a Florentine named Giovanni de' Medici; successor of Julius II. He was the son of Lorenzo de' Medici, was made a cardinal in his boyhood, and was head of his fami...

Leo I, Saint, pope

(Encyclopedia)Leo I, Saint (Saint Leo the Great), c.400–461, pope (440–61), an Italian; successor of St. Sixtus III. A Doctor of the Church, he was one of the greatest pontiffs of the early years of the church....

John of Procida

(Encyclopedia)John of Procida prōˈchēdä [key], c.1225–c.1302, Italian conspirator, lord of the island of Procida. He was an ardent supporter of the Hohenstaufen cause in Sicily and attempted to secure the isl...

John, king of England

(Encyclopedia)John, 1167–1216, king of England (1199–1216), son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. John, though often cruel and treacherous, was an excellent administrator, much concerned with rendering...

O'Connor, John Joseph

(Encyclopedia)O'Connor, John Joseph, 1920–2000, American Roman Catholic cardinal, b. Philadelphia. He was ordained a priest in 1945 and served as a military chaplain for 27 years, achieving the rank of rear admir...

Leo III, Saint, pope

(Encyclopedia)Leo III, Saint, pope (795–816), a Roman; successor of Adrian I. He was attacked about the face and eyes by members of Adrian's family, who hoped to render him unfit for the papacy. Leo recovered and...

Martin IV, d. 1285, pope

(Encyclopedia)Martin IV, d. 1285, pope (1281–85), a Frenchman named Simon de Brie; successor of Nicholas III. He was chancellor under Louis IX of France and was created cardinal by Urban IV. He was thus a support...

Martin I, Saint, d. 655?, pope

(Encyclopedia)Martin I, Saint, d. 655?, pope (649–55?), an Italian, b. Todi; successor of Theodore I. On his accession he summoned a great council at the Lateran, as St. Maximus had urged, to deal with Monothelet...

bull, papal letter

(Encyclopedia)bull [Lat. bulla=leaden seal], papal letter. As the diplomatic organization of the papal chancery progressed in the Middle Ages, the papal bull came to be more solemn than the papal brief or encyclica...