Editing Pope Nicholas I (section)

{{Short description|Head of the Catholic Church from 858 to 867}}

{{Infobox Christian leader
| type = Pope
| honorific-prefix = [[Pope Saint]]
| name = Nicholas the Great
| title = [[Bishop of Rome]]
| church = [[Catholic Church]]
| image = St_Nicholas,_Great_Wakering_-_Stained_glass_window_-_geograph.org.uk_-_3916715.jpg
| image_upright = 0.75
| caption = Stained glass window of Pope Nicholas in Great Wakering, UK
| birth_name = 
| term_start = 24 April 858
| term_end = 13 November 867
| predecessor = [[Pope Benedict III|Benedict III]]
| successor = [[Pope Adrian II|Adrian II]]
| birth_date = c. 800
| birth_place = [[Rome]], [[Papal States]]
| death_date = 	13 November 867 (aged c. 67)
| death_place = Rome, Papal States
| other = Nicholas
| feast_day = [[13 November]] (from 1883)<br>[[6 December]] (until 1883)
| venerated = [[Catholic Church]]
| canonized_date   = Pre-[[Dicastery for the Causes of Saints|Congregation]]
}}

'''Pope Nicholas I''' ({{langx|la|Nicolaus I}}; c. 800 – 13 November 867), called '''Nicholas the Great''', was the [[bishop of Rome]] and ruler of the [[Papal States]] from 24 April 858 until his death on 13 November 867. He is the last of the three [[pope]]s listed in the [[Annuario Pontificio]] with the title "the Great",<ref>{{Cite book |last= |title=Annuario Pontificio |publisher=Holy See}}</ref> alongside [[Pope Leo I|Leo I]] and [[Pope Gregory I|Gregory I]]. 

Nicholas is remembered as a consolidator of papal authority, exerting decisive influence on the historical development of the papacy and its position among the Christian nations of [[Western Europe]]. Nicholas I asserted that the pope should have [[suzerainty]] over all [[Christians]], even royalty, in matters of faith and morals.<ref>[[Will Durant]]. ''The Age of Faith''. New York, New York, USA: Simon and Schuster, 1972. Chapter 21: Christianity in Conflict, p. 517-51</ref>

Nicholas refused King [[Lothair II]] of [[Lotharingia]]'s request for an [[annulment]] of his marriage to [[Teutberga]]. When a council pronounced in favor of annulment, Nicholas I declared the council deposed, its messengers [[excommunicated]], and its decisions invalid. Despite pressure from the [[Carolingians]], who laid siege to [[Rome]], his decision held. During his reign, relations with the [[Byzantine Empire]] soured because of his support for [[Patriarch Ignatios of Constantinople]], who had been removed from his post in favor of [[Photius I]].

Since the seventeenth century, Nicholas has been venerated as a saint in the [[Catholic Church]], with his feast on 13 November.<ref>''Martyrologium Romanum'' (Vatican Press, 2001, {{ISBN|978-88-209-7210-3}}), p. 587. Nicholas was added to the list of saints by Cardinal Lambertini - see F. Bougard, 'Anastase le bibliothécaire ou Jean Diacre ? Qui a récrit la vie de Nicolas Ier et pourquoi ?', Vaticana et medievalia. Études en l’honneur de Louis Duval-Arnould, Jean-Marie Martin, Bernadette Martin-Hisard e Agostino Paravicini Bagliani (ed.), Firenze, Sismel, 2008 (Millennio medievale, 71 ; Strumenti e studi, n.s., 16), pp. 27-40, p. 8 (online http://www.rmoa.unina.it/333/1/RM-Bougard-Diacre.pdf)</ref>

His claims of supremacy over territories outside his jurisdiction, the incorporation of the [[filioque]] in the Constantinopolitan Nicene creed, and his pressure on Bulgaria to remain under Roman rule, provoked tensions between Rome and Constantinople, leading to his excommunication by the Greeks at the [[Fourth Council of Constantinople (Eastern Orthodox)|fourth Council of Constantinople]].