The Dead Pope on Trial: The Cadaver Synod of 897

The Dead Pope on Trial: The Cadaver Synod of 897 – A True Tale of Power, Madness, and the Collapse of Sanctity

In one of the most surreal and horrifying chapters in Church history, Pope Stephen VI puts his predecessor—a dead man—on trial.

This documentary uncovers the true events of 897 AD, when the rotting corpse of Pope Formosus was exhumed, dressed in sacred robes, and dragged into a cathedral courtroom to answer for alleged crimes against the Church. What followed was a grotesque spectacle of political revenge, spiritual desecration, and unrelenting madness.

From the rise of Formosus during a fractured and feudal era, to the bitter rivalries that consumed the Vatican, and finally to the chilling Cadaver Synod itself, this film dives deep into the deadliest power struggle ever to haunt the papacy.