Our navigation bar is loading . . . . . .



Advertise on JCSM - Hear JCSM's Weekly Devotions via Podcast/RSS Feed! - Skip These Ads

You can advertise your site right here!Click here to learn more!

10,000 Wise Quotes and Spiritual Sayings by Jason Gastrich, Ph.D.

 JCSM's Top 1000 Christian Sites - Free Traffic Sharing Service! Join the Online Christ-Centered Ministries!

-

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries

Click here and add this page to your favorites!

Return to the JCSM Study Center!

Encyclopedia Britannica



SIXTUS IV

This article appears in Volume V25, Page 164 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: SIV-SOU
SIXTUS IV . (Francesco , della Rovere), pope from the 9th of August 1471 to the 12th of August 1484, was born of a poor family near
Savona
  in 1414. He entered the Franciscan order at an early age and studied philosophy and theology at the universities of Padua and Bologna. He speedily acquired a
great
  reputation as an eloquent preacher, and, after filling the offices of procurator at Rome and provincial of Liguria, he was chosen general of his order in 1464. Three years later he was, to his own surprise, made cardinal-priest of St Pietro in Vincoli by Paul II., whom he succeeded as pope. Some writers have maintained that this sudden
elevation
  of the most
recent
  member of the Sacred College was due to bribery in the conclave, whilst the apologists of Sixtus affirm it was due to the friend-ship of the powerful and upright Cardinal Bessarion, and explain that the pope, having been brought up in a mendicant order, was inexperienced and did not appreciate the liberality of his donations after his election. There is no doubt that the expenditures of his pontificate were prodigal. Sixtus sent Cardinal Caraffa with a
fleet
  against the Turks, but the expedition was unsuccessful. He continued to condemn the Pragmatic Sanction in France, and denounced especially the
ordinance
  of Louis XI. which required (8th of January 1475) the royal placet for the publication of all papal decrees. He likewise continued his predecessor's negotiations with the Tsar Ivan III. for thereunion of the Russian Church with the Roman see and for support against the Turks, but without result. He was visited in 1474 by King Christian of Denmark and Norway, and in the following year (12th of June) he established the university of Copenhagen. Sixtus soon abandoned his universal policy in order to concentrate attention on Italian politics, and the' admirable energy which he had shown at first was clouded by the favours which he now heaped upon unworthy relations. Not content with enriching them by gifts and lucrative offices, he made their aggrandizement the principal object of his policy as a secular prince. Sixtus was cognisant of the conspiracy of the Pazzi, plotted (1478) by his nephew, Cardinal Riario, against Lorenzo de' Medici. He entered into a fruitless and inglorious war with Florence, which kept Italy for two years (14788o) in confusion. He next incited the Venetians to attack Ferrara, and then, after having been delivered by their general, Roberto Malatesta, from a Neapolitan invasion, he turned upon them and eventually assailed them for refusing to .desist from the hostilities which he had himself instigated. He relied on the co-operation of Lodovico Sforza, who speedily forsook him; and vexation at having peace forced upon him by the princes and cities of Italy is said to have hastened his death. Several events of his pontificate are noteworthy: he granted many privileges to the mendicant orders, especially to the Franciscans; he endeavoured to suppress abuses in the Spanish
Inquisition
 ; he took
measures
  against the Waldenses; he approved (1475) the office of the Immaculate Conception for the 8th of December; in 1478 he formally annulled the decrees of the council of Con-stance; and he canonized St Bonaventura (14111 of April 1482). The most praiseworthy side of his pontificate *as his munificence as a founder or restorer of useful institutions, and a patron of letters and art. He established and richly endowed the first foundling
hospital
 
    See Also:
, built and repaired numerous churches, constructed the Sistine Chapel and the Sistine Bridge, improved church music and instituted the famous Sistine choir, commissioned paintings on the largest scale, pensioned men of learning, and, above all, immortalized himself as the second founder of the Vatican library. These
great
  works, however, were not accomplished without grievous taxation.
Annates
  were increased and simony flourished. Though himself pious, of blameless morality, hospitable to a fault, and so exempt from avarice, says his secretary Conti, that he could not endure the sight of money, it was Sixtus's misfortune to have had no natural outlet for strong affections except unworthy relatives; and his great vices were nepotism, ambition and extravagance. He died on the 12th of August 1484, and was succeeded by Innocent VIII.
See L. Pastor, History of the Popes, vol. iv., trans. by F. I. Antrobus (London, 1898) ; M. Creighton, History of the Papacy, vol. iv. (London, 1901); F. Gregorovius, Rome in the Middle Ages, vol. vii., trans. by Mrs G. W. Hamilton (London, 19001902); Jacob Burckhardt, Geschichte der Renaissance in Italien (4th ed., 1904); J. A. Symonds, Renaissance in Italy; E. Frantz, Sixtus IV. u. die Republik Florenz (Regensburg, 188o) ; I. Schlecht, " Sixtus IV. u. die deutschen Drucker in Rom," in S. .Ehses, Festschrift zu elfhunderljahrigen Tubilaum des Campo Santo (Freiburg, 1897) ; Aus den Annaten-Registern der PdpsteEugen IV., Pius II., Paul II. u. Sixtus IV., ed. by K. Hayn (Cologne, 1896). (C. H. HA.)


End of Article: SIXTUS IV


If you wish, you can link directly to this article.
<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/SIV_SOU/SIXTUS_IV.html">
SIXTUS IV
</a>


(Previous)
SIXTUS III
(Next)
SIXTUS V



 

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries

The JCSM Study CenterAmerica's Christian FoundationSkeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and ExplainedNKJV Web Hosting and Services
JCSM's Sermons, Debates and the Bible on MP3The Online Christ-Centered MinistriesDo You Have A Web Site?  Your Ad Could Be Here!Seminary Notes and PapersThe Picturesque Photo Albums


Jesus Christ Saves Ministries, P.O. Box 70696, Pasadena, CA 91117

JCSM is a 501(c)(3), non-profit organization. Copyright © 1997-present.


Kingdom Debt Solutions - Be Debt Free! Sport Logos - Quality Athletic Equipment The JCSM Study Center Your Ad Could Be Here! Launch A Successful Internet Organization or Business! Learn Guitar, Bass, or Piano in San Diego county!

You can advertise your site right here!

Free & Cheap Cell Phones  |  Cheap Long Distance Phone Service Carriers  |  Talk America Local Phone Service  |  Ztel & MCI - Unlimited Long Distance
Compare Cell Phone Plans & Companies  | 
International Calling Cards & Prepaid Phone Cards  |  Voice Over IP Broadband Internet Phone Service  |  Wireless Phone Plans & Cheap Cell Phones

Dr. Jason Gastrich

Jason Gastrich, Ph.D.

 

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries is directed by Dr. Jason Gastrich.  It was founded in 1997 and it exists to bring people into a life-changing and productive relationship with Jesus Christ.  JCSM offers over 200,000 free web pages, discussion boards, weekly html and mp3 devotionals, free email accounts, and much more.

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries
P.O. Box 9297
San Diego, CA  92169
1-877-850-3878 or Email

JCSM is a 501(c)(3), non-profit organization. Copyright © 1997-2008.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Online First Aid and CPR Certification  .  The Online Christ Centered Ministries  .  The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained  .  The Inerrancy Discussion Board  .  Free Email Accounts  .  Home Equity Loans  .  JasonGastrich.com  .  The Missions, Apologetics, and Creation Bible Conference  .  Young Earth Creation Science  .  San Diego Music Lessons  .  10,000 Wise Quotes and Spiritual Sayings  .  Gastrich.net  .  Maximizing the Internet: 12 Keys to Success  .  Louisiana Baptist University  .  NKJV Web Hosting and Services  .  Michael Newdow  .  San Diego Soccer Training  . Christian Guitar Lessons  .  Jesus Christ Saves Ministries  .  Eternal Security