Was Alexander Nevsky Catholic?

Originally posted 2/20/2011.

MYTH Alexander Nevsky (1220-1263), Prince of Novgorod and Grand Prince of Vladimir, was anti-Catholic his whole life

1. Did Alexander Nevsky, canonized by the Russian Orthodox Metropolitan Macarius of Moscow and All Russia (1542-1563) in 1547,{1} convert to Catholicism? The conventional wisdom is that he did not; this is the “unanimous” consensus of “Russian writers,”, according to the expert Aurelio Palmieri (1870-1926).{2} His Life asserts that he said in 1248 to visiting papal legates that Russian Orthodox are members of Christ’s One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church and that they adhere firmly to the Seven Ecumenical Councils: “These we know very well, but we do not accept your teaching.”{3}

Pope St. Anicetus of Rome

Originally posted 6/18/2010.

The 10th successor of the glorious martyr St. Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, was Pope St. Anicetus of Rome, son of John{1} and a native of Emesa in Syria,{2} who reigned from 155{3} until his death from natural causes{4} on April 20, 166.{5} Bishop St. Polycarp the Martyr of Smyrna (February 23) visited St. Anicetus soon after he became pope, and they agreed to disagree regarding the day to celebrate Easter.{6} St. Anicetus had St. Polycarp celebrate Mass.{7} The holy pontiff, who kept in touch with the anti-Gnostic Church Fathers Sts. Hegesippus (April 7) and Justin Martyr (June 1),{8} constructed a memorial shrine for St. Peter on Vatican Hill.{9} St. Anicetus, whose feast day is April 20,{10} was first buried next to St. Peter in the Vatican, after which his holy relics were transferred to the Cemetery of St. Callistus.{11} In 1604, the holy{12} Pope Clement VIII of Rome (1/30/1592-3/3/1605) permitted the exhumation of his holy relics.{13} Duke Giovanni Angelo of Altemps put the body in an ornate chapel in his palace,{14} and Duke Maximilian I of Bavaria received the holy head of St. Anicetus.{15} One of the pope’s relics is in the Church of St. Vulfran in Abbeville, France.{16}

O righteous pontiff St. Anicetus, you shepherded the Catholic faithful wisely and peacefully. Pray that all those who are outside of the Catholic Church will promptly enter into her and find salvation in her, the only saving ark. Amen. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. Amen.

Pope Leo VI of Rome

Originally posted 6/16/2010.

The 122nd successor of the glorious martyr St. Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, was the upper-class{1} Roman-born{2} Pope Leo VI of Rome, son of Christopher, who was “primicerius under John VIII.”{3} After the unjustly deposed and imprisoned Pope John X, a holy pontiff,{4} died of grief{5} in Castello Sant’Angelo in Rome{6} in June 928,{7} the Romans, probably under the influence of Marozia,{8} elected the aged{9} Leo, who was cardinal priest in the church of St. Susanna.{10} Leo VI governed the universal Church without tyranny{11} for seven months and five days,{12} from June 928 to January 929,{13} when he reposed peacefully in the Lord.{14} As pope, he ordered Bishops Formine of Zara, Gregory of Nona, and other Dalmatian and Croatian bishops to obey Archbishop John of Spalato, “to whom he had” given “the pallium.”{15} He ordered the bishops of Arba, Lošinj, and Ragusa (Dubrovnik) to accept the territorial limits “of their respective dioceses,” and commanded them to let the Croatian bishop Gregory govern the see of Skradin.{16} The grave of Pope Leo VI “in the pavement of the portico of the Vatican basilica … was destroyed during the demolition of the old basilica and the construction of the new one in the 16th and 17th centuries.”{17}

O just shepherd Pope Leo VI, pray for all us poor sinners and pray especially for the Holy Father and his successors, that they may govern the Church wisely and ably like you did. Amen. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. Amen.

Pope Gregory VI of Rome Bibliography

Originally posted 1/23/2010.

*H. H. ANTON, “Die Synode von Sutri, ihr zeitgeschichtlicher Kontext und Nachklang,” Zeitschrift der Savingny-Stifung für Rechtsgeschichte. Germanistische Abteilung (Wien 1997) 576–84.
*O. J. BLUM, “Gregory VI, Pope,” New Catholic Encyclopedia (Detroit 2003) 6:489-491.
*GIOVANNI BATTISTA BORINO, “L’elezione e la deposizione di Gregorio VI,” Archivio della Società Romana di Storia Patria (1916) 39:142–252,295–410.
*A. CLERVAL, Dictionnaire de théologie catholique, ed. A. VACANT (Paris 1921) 6.2:1791.
*Liber Pontificalis, ed. LOUIS DUCHESNE (Paris 1892) 2:270-271.
*D. FEYTMANS, “Grégoire VI était – il simoniaque?” Revue belge de philologie et d’histoire (1932) 11:130-137.
*JOHANNES HALLER, Das Papsttum: Idee und Wirklichkeit (Stuttgart 1951) 2:279-280,572-576.
*KLAUS-JÜRGEN HERMANN, Das Tuskulaner Papstum 1012–1046 (Stuttgart 1973) 154–60.
*–. “Gregory VI,” The Papacy: An Encyclopedia, ed. PHILIPPE LEVILLAIN (New York 2002) 2:647-648.
*J. N. D. KELLY, Oxford Dictionary of Popes (Oxford 1986) 144-145.
*JOHANNES LAUDAGE, “Gregory VI., Päpst,” Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche (Freiburg 1995) 4:1015-1016.
*REGINALD LANE POOLE, “Benedict IX and Gregory VI,” Proceedings of the British Academy (London 1917–18) 8:199–235.
*FRANZ-JOSEF SCHMALE, “Die “Absetzung” Gregors VI. in Sutri und die synodale Tradition,” Annuarium Historiae Conciliorum (1979) 11:58-59.
*FRANZ XAVER SEPPELT, Geschichte der Päpste von den Anfängen bis zur Mitte des 20. Jh. (Munich 1934) 2:406–409.
*JOHANNES MATTHIAS WATTERICH, Pontificum Romanorum qui fuerunt inde ab exeunte saeculo IX usque ad finem saeculi XIII vitae (Leipzig 1862) 1:72-73,75-80,712-716.
*O. WIDDING, “An Old Norse Version of a Pamphlet on the Papacy of Gregor VI,” Analecta Romana Instituti Danici (Odense 1986) 15:51–65.
*HARALD ZIMMERMANN, Papstabsetzungen des Mittelalters (Graz, Vienna, Cologne 1968) 122-136.

Pope St. Gaius of Rome

Originally posted 1/16/2010.

Pope St. Gaius of Rome, the 27th successor of the glorious martyr St. Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, ruled from December 17, 283 until his death from natural causes{1} on April 22, 296.{2} In 257 he was imprisoned with future popes Sts. Sixtus II the Martyr (257-258) and Dionysius of Rome (260-268).{3} He was laid to rest in the cemetery of St. Callistus apart from the old papal crypt,{4} and his Greek epitaph reads “Burial of Gaius, bishop … April 22.”{5} Pope Urban VIII of Rome (1623-1644) transferred his holy relics to the Church of St. Gaius of 1631.{6} The feast day of St. Gaius is April 22.{7}

O faithful shepherd Pope St. Gaius of Rome, entreat the merciful God to save our souls. Amen. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Pope St. Eutychian of Rome

Originally posted 1/15/2010.

Pope St. Eutychian of Rome, the 26th successor of the glorious martyr St. Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, was born in Tuscany{1} to Marinus,{2} and ruled from January 7, 275 until his death from natural causes{3} on December 7, 283.{4} Pope St. Eutychian was the last pope interred in the papal crypt in the Catacomb of St. Callistus,{5} where a fragment of his epitaph reads “EUTYCHIANOS EPIS(KOPOS).”{6} His feast day is December 8.{7}

O wise shepherd and Vicar of Christ, Pope St. Eutychian of Rome, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death, so that we may join you in Heavenly bliss after a long and fruitful life. Amen. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Pope St. Pius I of Rome

Originally posted 1/14/2010.

The ninth successor of the glorious martyr St. Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, was Pope St. Pius I of Rome, born in Aquileia{1} to Rufinus of Aquileia.{2} St. Pius I, who was the brother of the holy ex-slave Hermas, author of The Shepherd,{3} ruled from 142{4} until his death from natural causes{5} in 155.{6} The holy pontiff, who knew the Church Father St. Justin Martyr{7} and presided over a council of priests that excommunicated the heretic Marcion in July 144,{8} was buried at an unknown location.{9} His feast day is July 11.{10}

O great and righteous pope St. Pius I of Rome, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death, that we might follow your virtuous example and die in the odor of sanctity. Amen. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Pope St. Telesphorus the Martyr of Rome

Originally posted 1/13/2010.

The Greek{1} Pope St. Telesphorus the Martyr of Rome, the seventh successor to St. Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, ruled from 125 to 136.{2} All we know of his pontificate is that he celebrated Easter on Sunday but remained in communion with those observing different customs,{3} and that he was gloriously martyred under the Roman Emperor Hadrian.{4} The feast day of St. Telesphorus, whose burial place is unknown,{5} is January 5.{6}

O glorious martyr Pope St. Telesphorus of Rome, entreat the merciful God to grant us such grace that we, like you, can courageously bear witness to His wondrous deeds in our everyday lives, even unto death, and that we one day join you in the Kingdom of Heaven and see God face to face. Amen. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Pope Valentine of Rome

Originally posted 1/13/2010.

The 99th successor of St. Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, was Pope Valentine of Rome, who was born in Rome{1} to Leontius of the Via Lata.{2} His upper-class{3} parents raised him devoutly,{4} and Valentine started serving the Church at a young age.{5} Pope St. Paschal I, noting his sanctity,{6} ordained him and took him into the papal palace,{7} and made Valentine archdeacon of the Roman diaconate.{8} The clergy, nobility, and general populace of Rome unanimously elected him pope at the Lateran{9} and, after finding him praying inside the church of St. Mary Major,{10} consecrated him bishop and enthroned him as pope at St. Peter’s.{11} While pope, Valentine was renowned for his liberality, clemency, and piety.{12} Nothing else is known of what he did as pope.{13} After reigning from August 827 to September 827,{14} he reposed in the Lord at Rome{15} and was buried in the Vatican.{16}

O righteous pontiff Valentine of Rome, from your youth God raised you up to be His faithful servant. Pray for us, now and at the hour of our death, that we may lead a graceful life like you did and one day meet you in the choir of the saints. Amen. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Pope Romanus of Rome

Originally posted 1/13/2010.

The 113th successor of St. Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, was Pope Romanus of Rome, born to Constantine{1} in Gallese near Cività Castellana.{2} The holy{3} pro-Formosan{4} Romanus, previously a cardinal priest of San Pietro in Vincoli,{5} reigned from August 897 to November 897,{6} when he reposed in the Lord.{7} He gave the pallium to Vitalis, the patriarch of Grado, and confirmed the bishops of Elne, Rousillon and Gerona, Spain in possession of their sees.{8}