Of the Dreadful Time, Called by the Papists the Iron and Leaden Century

Cardinal Caesar Baronius, who has often been mentioned, goes on with his account of the Register of the Popes and comes to the year 901, the beginning of the tenth century. There he bursts out, as though in sorrow, calling this time hard, unfruitful, and productive of much evil, and comparing it to an iron and leaden century, full of wickedness and darkness, especially in regard to the great disorder practiced in the installing and deposing of the Roman popes. This was done partly by the Roman princes and partly by the princes of Tuscany, who, now this one and now that one, seized for themselves the authority to elect the popes and to pull them down; and this happened in such a way that all the earlier abuses committed with regard to the Roman chair were mere child's play compared with it.

For now, as Baronius writes, many monsters were thrust into this chair as popes; and this went on throughout that whole century, indeed for a hundred and fifty years, namely from the year 900 to about the year 1049, when the German Ottoes, who held the imperial throne, stepped in between them both, although they, no less than their predecessors, kept as their own privilege the right of electing and rejecting the popes. Baronius, Annales, in the year 901, number 1. [n76-1]

The same cardinal relates that in these awful and terrible times some popes came to the popedom not only by the power of princes and rulers, but through the foolish love of certain dishonorable and loose women, by whom Rome was ruled. We could in no way believe this, if so eminent a man and so strict a papist as Baronius was had not described it so plainly and in such detail. See Baronius' Church History, printed at Antwerp in 1623, for the year 912, number 1; also 928, number 1; also 931, number 1.

Our soul is amazed, and we are ashamed to tell all that is brought forward there from various papistic writers about the election of some of the popes.

O God! Open the eyes of these blind lovers of the papacy, so that they may see what kind of succession it is that they have boasted of so long in vain, and so may truly turn to You and to Your church, and be saved!

NOTE. On this matter the writer of the Introduction to the Martyr's Mirror, of the year 1831, says: "After that arose a time far more horrible, and so on, for the margraves of Tuscany, and after them the emperors, used so much violence with regard to the papal chair that they thrust into it many monsters, among whom was John the Tenth, who was thrust into the chair by Theodora, mistress of Rome, while Lando was deposed." Introduction, folio 26, column 2, from Baronius' Church History, in the year 912, number 1.

After that he relates that John the Tenth was deposed by Theodora's daughter, who also reigned over Rome, and that John the Eleventh, a bastard child of Pope Sergius the Third, was put into it. "And thus," he writes, "whores and rogues have ruled the papal chair, according to the testimony of cardinal Baronius, deposing and installing whomever they pleased." Folio 27, column 1, from Baronius, in the year 931, number 1. Continuing, the author already mentioned remarks: "In this iron century it also happened that Stephen the Ninth, having come to the chair unlawfully, was marked in the face by some rogues, and for that reason stayed in his house." Same place, from Baronius, in the year 940, number 2. [n76-2]

But in order to give an account only of those particular ones who came to the papal chair unlawfully, since we are treating of the succession and mission of the popes, we must also mention Pope John the Twelfth, who, being only eighteen years old, was forcibly put into the chair and made pope by his father, the margrave of Tuscany. Afterwards he was deposed by a council at Rome because of his wicked life; but he remained pope nevertheless, since no one would excommunicate the pope, however wicked his life might be, as Baronius relates. Compare Baronius, in the year 955, number 1, with the year 963, number 2. [n76-3]

After that, Albericus, the count of Tusculum, made his son, who was only ten years old, pope, and by his authority put him into the chair under the name of Benedict the Ninth. After he had reigned about nine years, a certain faction of the Romans elected another pope. When Gratianus, a priest at Rome, saw this, he bought both of them out with money, and called himself Gregory the Sixth.

But the Emperor, not willing to tolerate this, deposed all three of them, and put Clemens the Second in their place; and then Damascus the Second; after him Leo the Ninth; and finally Victor the Second.

Thus the imperial line of the popes continued, until the clergy itself became powerful enough to elect the popes without waiting for the imperial mission, which had formerly been thought necessary; and this afterwards gave rise to great schisms and divisions in the Roman Church. On all this compare Baronius, Historia Ecclesiastica, in the year 1033, number 2, with the year 1044, numbers 2 and 3; also the year 1046, number 1; the year 1048, number 1; the year 1049, number 2; the year 1055. [n76-4]

With regard to the matters mentioned above, the writer "of the Introduction mentioned says (folio 27, column 2): " [n76-5] Taking this into consideration, we say that it is not true that they, namely the Romanists, have an unbroken succession from the days of the apostles to the present time, as they would make the people believe with their long register of popes, whom they have linked together like the links of a chain, as though through lawful mission they had always kept up a continuous succession; but we have proved here that this chain of succession is broken in many ways.

"In the first place, by Stephen the Seventh and his successors, who have forcibly thrust themselves into the chair. These certainly had no mission; and where the mission ceases, the succession ceases also.

"In the second place, by those who were thrust into the chair without the order or approval of the church, only by kings and princes, indeed even by whores, through lewd love; or who bought it with money, as we have shown. These also were certainly not sent; or, if they were sent, it must be proved by whom: for two contrary things cannot stand together. If they were sent, then they did not thrust themselves into the chair, as Baronius nevertheless says; but if they thrust themselves into it, or were thrust into it by others through unlawful means, then they were not sent, and therefore had no succession from the apostles." Introduction, folio 28, column 2.