The most unhinged trial in papal history

In January 897, Pope Stephen VI put the nine-month-old corpse of Pope Formosus on trial.
The decaying body was dressed in papal robes and propped up on a throne to face charges.
Formosus was accused of perjury and illegally serving as a bishop while technically a layman.
The corpse was found guilty, stripped of its vestments, and had its three blessing fingers severed.
Stephen VI was soon imprisoned and strangled after the public turned against his macabre spectacle.

The most unhinged trial in papal history

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