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Pope Stephen IV
Stephen IV, (720 – January 24, 772), pope August 1, 768 – January 24, 772, was a native of Sicily.
He came to Rome during the pontificate of Gregory III and gradually rose to high office in the service of successive popes.
On the deposition of Antipope Constantine II, Stephen was chosen to succeed him. Fragmentary records are preserved of the council (April 769) at which the degradation of Constantine was completed, certain new arrangements for papal elections made, and the practice of devotion to icons confirmed (see iconoclasm). The politics of Stephen's reign are obscure, but he inclined to alliance between the Papacy and the Lombards rather than to the Franks. He was succeeded by Adrian I
There is a problem in numbering the Popes Stephen. See Pope Stephen II for the explanation.
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