[1] In his dealings with Photius I of Constantinople, as in his relations with the young Slavic Orthodox church, he pursued the policy of Pope Nicholas I.
His father Hadrian, who belonged to the Roman aristocracy, entrusted his education to his relative, Bishop Zachary, librarian of the Holy See.
[1] Stephen was called upon to face a famine caused by a drought and by locusts, and as the papal treasury was empty he had to fall back on his father's wealth to relieve the poor, to redeem captives, and to repair churches.
He had also opposed the arbitrary proceedings of the archbishops of Bordeaux and Ravenna, and resisted the attacks which Patriarch Photius I of Constantinople made on the Holy See.
[8] Stephen, who received many English pilgrims and envoys bringing Peterspence, was buried in the portico of Saint Peter's Basilica.