Listen "The Cadaver Synod"
Episode Synopsis
In the winter of 897, the city of Rome gathered in silence to witness the unthinkable. Inside the Basilica of St. John Lateran, a corpse sat propped on a throne — the body of Pope Formosus, dead for nine months, dressed again in papal robes. And before him, another pope pronounced judgment.This was the Cadaver Synod — one of the strangest and darkest moments in Church history. A trial of the dead. A symbol of power gone mad. But also, a mirror of the Cross: when heaven’s instruments are twisted by human hands, and yet grace still refuses to depart.In this episode of Strange Church History, we enter the madness of medieval Rome, trace the politics that led to the Synodus Horrenda, and uncover the meaning hidden within the grotesque — the truth that even in corruption, resurrection waits.
More episodes of the podcast Strange Church History
Re-enchanting the Cosmos | C.R. Wiley
04/12/2025
Re-enchanting the Church
04/12/2025
The Strange History of Halloween
16/10/2025
Preview | The Strange History of Halloween
09/10/2025
The Dancing Plague of 1518
09/10/2025
Preview | The Dancing Plague of 1518
04/10/2025
The Bishop Who Walked Without A Head
02/10/2025
ZARZA We are Zarza, the prestigious firm behind major projects in information technology.