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Nicholas I, Saint, pope

(Encyclopedia)Nicholas I, Saint, c.825–867, pope (858–67), a Roman; successor of Benedict III. He was a vigorous and politically active pope who arbitrated both temporal and religious disputes. His decisions of...

Nicholas III, pope

(Encyclopedia)Nicholas III, d. 1280, pope (1277–80), a Roman named Giovanni Gaetano Orsini; successor of John XXI. As a cardinal he made a great reputation in diplomacy, and he was a close confidant of popes for ...

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....

Nicholas V, pope

(Encyclopedia)Nicholas V, 1397–1455, pope (1447–55), an Italian named Tommaso Parentucelli, b. probably Sarzana, Liguria; successor of Eugene IV. From Eugene IV he inherited the antipapal enactments of the Coun...

Nicholas II, pope

(Encyclopedia)Nicholas II (c.1010–61), pope (1058–61), a Roman named Gerard, b. Lorraine, France; successor to Pope Stephen IX. A strong proponent of papal reform, he issued (1059) the Papal Election Decree in ...

Damasus I, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Damasus I, Saint dămˈəsəs [key], c.305–384, pope (366–84), a Spaniard; successor of Liberius. His election was opposed by the Arian Ursinus (antipope 366–67). The Roman emperor Valentinian I...

Nicholas, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Nicholas, Saint, patron of children and sailors, of Greece, Sicily, and Russia, and of many other places and persons. Little is known of him, but he is traditionally identified as a 4th-century bishop...

Celestine I, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Celestine I, Saint sĕlˈəstĭn [key], d. 432, pope (422–32), an Italian; successor of St. Boniface I. The opposition of St. Cyril of Alexandria to Nestorianism inspired both sides to appeal to the...

Sylvester I, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Sylvester I, Saint, pope (314–35), a Roman; successor of St. Miltiades (St. Melchiades). He was pope under the reign of Emperor Constantine I, who built for him the Lateran and other churches. St. S...

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...