Calixtus II.
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died Dec. 13/14, 1124, Rome [Italy]
original name Guido, or Guy, Of Burgundy, French Gui, or Guy, De Bourgogne
pope from 1119 to 1124.
A son of Count William I of Burgundy, he was appointed archbishop of Vienne, in Lower Burgundy, in 1088. He became well known as a spokesman of a reform party within the church and as a foe of the policy of the Holy Roman emperor Heinrich V. (1086-1125). When Pope Gelasius II. (d. 1119) died at Cluny, Calixtus was elected by the cardinals there to succeed him. He held a synod at Reims that condemned lay investiture and excommunicated Henry and the antipope Gregory VIII. (d. c. 1137). In 1120 Calixtus was able to enter Rome in triumph. The German princes soon forced Henry to reconcile with Calixtus, and the Concordat of Worms (1122) terminated the Investiture Controversy. Calixtus called the first Lateran Council (1123), which ratified the Concordat, securing peace between church and empire for the next 35 years. His bull Etsi Judaeis (1120) gave a considerable measure of protection to Roman Jews.
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Sources
- Encylopedia Britannica 2002, Expanded Edition DVD
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