Pontificati interrotti nella storia della Chiesa: il primo millennio

During the first three centuries of Christianity, internal conflicts were behind interruptions of the incumbency of leaders of the Roman Church. In the history of the papacy after Constantine, three factors played an important role: the ongoing relationship between Popes and Roman Emperors; the essential role of the papacy in the West; repeated conflicts with Byzantine Christianity. One or more of these factors led at times to the interruptions of a pontificate.