Who he was
John came of a Roman noble family descended from the senator Theophylact, became a priest in Rome as a young man, and was Bishop of Narni when he was elected, as the emperor's candidate, in 965. Within weeks hostile nobles seized him and imprisoned him in Castel Sant'Angelo and then in the Campagna. He escaped to Prince Pandulf of Capua and returned to Rome in November 966.
What he is remembered for
Working closely with Otto I, he crowned Otto's son Otto II joint emperor on Christmas Day 967 and blessed his marriage to the Byzantine princess Theophano in 972. He made Magdeburg an archbishopric for the Slav lands, from which new sees such as Merseburg, Meissen and Zeitz were founded, and raised Capua and Benevento to metropolitan rank. He also approved the plan for a see at Prague and granted privileges to Cluny.
Sources
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