A closer look
Pope Stephen VI ordered the nine-month-old corpse of his predecessor, Pope Formosus, to be dug up, dressed in papal vestments, and put on trial in 897. During this macabre event known as the Cadaver Synod, a deacon was appointed to speak on behalf of the rotting body while Stephen screamed accusations at it. Unsurprisingly, the dead guy was found guilty, had his blessing fingers violently hacked off, and was unceremoniously dumped into the Tiber River. This wildly unhinged display of posthumous pettiness proves that modern workplace drama is absolutely nothing compared to the absolute psychological meltdown of ninth-century religious leaders who literally refused to let their rivals rest in peace
