Flavius Agapitus (''

floruit ''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...

'' 502–523) was a Roman politician during the reign of

Theodoric the Great Theodoric (or Theoderic) the Great (454 – 30 August 526), also called Theodoric the Amal ( got, , *Þiudareiks; Greek: , romanized: ; Latin: ), was king of the Ostrogoths (471–526), and ruler of the independent Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy b ...

. He held the

consulship A consul held the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC), and ancient Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum'' (an ascending sequence of public offices to which politic ...

with Flavius Anastasius Paulus Probus Sabinianus Pompeius Anastasius as his colleague in 517. He started his public career late in life, having lived in seclusion in

Liguria Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...

, where Ennodius made his acquaintance. Ennodius helped Agapitus obtain a high position at the court of Theodoric the Great in 502, and subsequently was appointed

urban prefect The ''praefectus urbanus'', also called ''praefectus urbi'' or urban prefect in English, was prefect of the city of Rome, and later also of Constantinople. The office originated under the Roman kings, continued during the Republic and Empire, and ...

of Rome. His Prefecture is mentioned in a legal document from the time of Theodoric. During his tenure as urban prefect, or shortly afterwards, he was made

Patrician Patrician may refer to: * Patrician (ancient Rome), the original aristocratic families of ancient Rome, and a synonym for "aristocratic" in modern English usage * Patrician (post-Roman Europe), the governing elites of cities in parts of medieval ...

and settled many cases affecting the Senate. Ennodius comments that he had achieved a favorable reputation in the Senate, which possibly led to his appointment as consul. In 523, Agapitus was part of the entourage of

Pope John I Pope John I ( la, Ioannes I; died 18 May 526) was the bishop of Rome from 13 August 523 to his death. He was a native of Siena (or the "Castello di Serena", near Chiusdino), in Italy. He was sent on a diplomatic mission to Constantinople by the ...

, who had been ordered by king Theodoric to proceed to

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

and obtain a moderation of Emperor Justin's decree of 523 against the

Arians Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God t ...

. Theodoric threatened that if John should fail in his mission, there would be reprisals against the orthodox Catholics in the West. Other Senators accompanying Pope John included

Inportunus Inportunus ( 509–523) was a Roman aristocrat who lived during the reign of Theodoric the Great. He held the consulship without colleague in 509. Inportunus was the son of Caecina Decius Maximus Basilius (consul in 480), and brother of Albinus ...

, Theodorus, and the patrician Agapitus.Raymond Davis (translator), ''The Book of Pontiffs (Liber Pontificalis)'', first edition (Liverpool: University Press, 1989), p. 49

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Agapitus 6th-century Romans 6th-century Roman consuls patricii Imperial Roman consuls Urban prefects of Rome