[1] John opened the first session, addressing the council in the following terms: ”You know, dearly beloved brethren, that by the power of the emperor I was expelled from my see for two months.
Next, the actions of Sico, Bishop of Ostia, in rapidly ordaining and consecrating Leo VIII, were condemned, and he was asked to present himself at the third session for judgement.
John then passed a sentence on Leo: ”By the authority of God Almighty, of the Princes of the Apostles, Peter and Paul, of the ecumenical councils and by the judgment of the Holy Spirit pronounced by us, may Leo, one of the employees of our curia, a neophyte, and a man who has broken his troth to us, be deprived of all clerical honours ; and if, hereafter, he should again attempt to sit on the apostolic throne, or perform any sacerdotal function, let him be anathematised along with his aiders and abettors, and, except in danger of death, not receive the sacred body of Our Lord Jesus Christ.”[3]Then those who had been ordained by Leo were introduced before the synod, and were made to sign a paper that their ordinations were invalid.
Finally, in a matter not related to the elevation of Leo, the synod also ruled that laypeople were forbidden to take a place on the sanctuary during the celebration of the Mass.
The emperor Otto besieged Rome and on 23 June 964, he entered the city, accompanied by Leo VIII who convened a council at the Lateran Palace.