and irregular marriages. In England, it lost this position under Henry VIII, but recovered it under
Edward VIII.
When Lothar II demanded a divorce, the clergy of his kingdom agreed. Pope Nicholas, however,
deposed the bishops who had acquiesced, and totally refused to admit the king's plea for divorce.
Lothar's brother, the Emperor Louis II, thereupon marched on Rome with the intention of
overawing the Pope; but superstitious terrors prevailed, and he retired. In the end, the Pope's will
was victorious.
The business of the Patriarch Ignatius was interesting, as showing that the Pope could still assert
himself in the East. Ignatius, who was obnoxious to the Regent Bardas, was deposed, and Photius,
hitherto a layman, was elevated to his place. The Byzantine government asked the Pope to
sanction this proceeding. He sent two legates to inquire into the matter; when they arrived in
Constantinople, they were terrorized, and gave their assent. For some time, the facts were
concealed from the Pope, but when he came to know them, he took a high line. He summoned a
council in Rome to consider the question; he deposed one of the legates from his bishopric, and
also the archbishop of Syracuse, who had consecrated Photius; he anathematized Photius, deposed
all whom he had ordained, and restored all who had been deposed for opposing him. The Emperor
Michael III was furious, and wrote the Pope an angry letter, but the Pope replied: "The day of
king-priests and emperor-pontiffs is past, Christianity has separated the two functions, and
Christian emperors have need of the Pope in view of the life eternal, whereas popes have no need
of emperors except as regards temporal things." Phofius and the Emperor retorted by summoning
a council, which excommunicated the Pope and declared the Roman Church heretical. Soon after
this, however, Michael III was murdered, and his successor Basil restored Ignatius, explicitly
recognizing papal jurisdiction in the matter. This triumph happened just after the death of
Nicholas, and was attributable almost entirely to the accidents of palace revolutions. After the
death of Ignatius, Photius again became patriarch, and the split between the Eastern and the
Western Churches was widened. Thus it cannot be said that Nicholas's policy in this matter was
victorious in the long run.
Nicholas had almost more difficulty in imposing his will upon the episcopate than upon kings.
Archbishops had come to consider themselves very great men, and they were reluctant to submit
tamely to an