Crescentius the Elder, also known as Crescenzio de Theodora, (died 7 July 984) was a politician and aristocrat in Rome who played a part in the papal appointment.

[1] With the disappearance of the Carolingian dynasty the papal government of Rome lost its most powerful protector, and the Romans took matters into their own hands.

The unfortunate Pope Benedict VI was dethroned, thrown into the Castel Sant'Angelo, and strangled there in July, 974.

The protests of the imperial envoy Sicco were of no avail against this manifestation of national aspirations on the part of the Romans.

[4] Towards the end of his life, whether before or after the restoration of Boniface VII is uncertain, Crescentius took the monastic habit in the monastery of St. Alexius on the Aventine, where he died, 7 July 984, and was buried within the cloister.