Anastasius III

Anastasius was born and lived in Rome . The son of Lucian, although some historians consider him the son of Pope Sergius III .

Almost nothing is known about him. Lobbied the interests of the family of Count . At the same time, court poets praised Anastasius III for mercy. The chronicler Flodoard (893–966) praised him for his gentleness, perhaps this is a sign that he was an obedient instrument in the hands of the wife of Theophylact I, Theodora I the Elder - the mother of Marozia and Theodora II the Younger. Two messages are attributed to him, but there is no evidence of their authenticity.

At the request of King Berengar I of Italy (888–924), Anastasius III placed bishop pallium on Ragimbert and gave privileges to Bishop Pavia . Pavia and Vercelli were important possessions of Berengar I, and this suggests that the king and pope tried to maintain good relations.

Anastasius resumed communication with the Church of Constantinople , supporting the Patriarch of Constantinople Nicholas Mystic against the Byzantine emperor Leo VI . In 912, Anastasius III received a letter from Nicholas Mystic, who was reinstated as patriarch of Constantinople (912–925). In this letter, Nicholas regretted the approval by Pope Sergius III of the fourth marriage of Emperor Leo VI and demanded redress. We do not know what Anastasius III answered, but the answer should have been negative, since the patriarch crossed out the pope’s name from the diptychs , which caused a deep schism between Rome and Constantinople.

• Anastasius, popes // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
• Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.