The Cadaver Synod: A Dead Pope’s Trial

The Vatican once put a dead pope on trial. In 897 AD, Pope Stephen VII

dug up the corpse of his predecessor Pope Formosus, who had been dead for nine months.

They dressed the rotting body in papal robes, propped it up on a throne,

and held a full trial. A deacon stood behind the corpse and answered questions in a fake

voice. The dead pope was found guilty of perjury, stripped of his

robes, and had three fingers cut off. They dragged the body through the

streets of Rome before throwing it into the Tiber River. A fisherman later

pulled it out and gave it a proper burial. This bizarre event became known as