Nicholas

Nicholas, name of 5 popes, especially Nicholas I, Nicholas II, and Nicholas V. Saint Nicholas I, or Nicholas the Great (c.825–867), a Roman, was pope from 858 to 867. A strong pontiff, he supported St. Ignatius, Patriarch of Constantinople, after the Byzantine emperor Michael III deposed Ignatius in favor of Photius, and he excommunicated Photius (863). After Nicholas's death Photius counterdeposed the pope (867), an act that culminated in the Photian Schism, a split between the Eastern and Western churches. Nicholas II (Gerhard; 1010?–1061), who was French-born, was pope from 1059 to 1061. His papacy is famous for the Lateran synod of 1059, which eliminated the Roman nobility's influence on papal elections. The 7 cardinal bishops were given the power to choose a candidate that the rest of the cardinals would have to approve. The other clergy and the people would be presented with their new pope, and the emperor would be sent notice. This edict was rejected by the German bishops in 1061, ending their alliance with Rome. The council also passed church laws enforcing celibacy, prohibiting the selling of clerical offices, and preventing secular persons from investing members of the clergy with the symbols of their office. Nicholas V (Tom-maso Parentucelli; 1397–1455), an Italian, was pope from 1447 to 1455; he was the first Renaissance pope. He sought to reestablish Rome's importance in the Christian world. Toward that end, he patronized famous humanists and literary scholars and founded what would became the Vatican Library, an important collection of ancient Greek, Roman, and early Christian manuscripts. He also initiated the restoration of many famous buildings in Rome, including St. Peter's Church.