Pope Boniface V ( la, Bonifatius V; died 25 October 625) was the

bishop of Rome A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

from 23 December 619 to his death. He did much for the

Christianisation of Anglo-Saxon England The Christianisation of Anglo-Saxon England was a process spanning the 7th century. It was essentially the result of the Gregorian mission of 597, which was joined by the efforts of the Hiberno-Scottish mission from the 630s. From the 8th centu ...

, and enacted the decree by which churches became places of sanctuary.

Election

Boniface came from

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. His father's name was John. Nothing is known about his career before he became

pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

. He was

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population ...

to succeed

Adeodatus I Pope Adeodatus I (570 – 8 November 618), also called Deodatus I or Deusdedit, was the bishop of Rome from 19 October 615 to his death. He was the first priest to be elected pope since John II in 533. The first use of lead seals or '' bullae'' ...

after the latter's death in November 618, but thirteen months of ''

sede vacante ''Sede vacante'' ( in Latin.) is a term for the state of a diocese while without a bishop. In the canon law of the Catholic Church, the term is used to refer to the vacancy of the bishop's or Pope's authority upon his death or resignation. Hi ...

'' ensued before the election was ratified by the imperial government in

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 (" ...

. During that time, Italy was disturbed by the rebellion of the

exarch of Ravenna The Exarchate of Ravenna ( la, Exarchatus Ravennatis; el, Εξαρχάτο της Ραβέννας) or of Italy was a lordship of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire) in Italy, from 584 to 751, when the last exarch was put to death by the ...

, Eleutherius, who proclaimed himself emperor. Eleutherius advanced towards

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, but before he reached the city, he was slain by his own troops.Oestereich, Thomas. "Pope Boniface V." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 13 October 2017 Boniface had been loyal to Emperor

Heraclius Heraclius ( grc-gre, Ἡράκλειος, Hērákleios; c. 575 – 11 February 641), was List of Byzantine emperors, Eastern Roman emperor from 610 to 641. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the Exa ...

, and his election was ratified on 23 December 619.

Pontificate

Like Adeodatus I, Boniface V opposed

Gregory I Gregory I may refer to: * Gregory the Illuminator (250s–330s), Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church in 288–325 * Gregory of Nazianzus (329–390), Patriarch Gregory I of Constantinople, in office 379–381 * Pope Gregory I (540–604), i ...

's pro-monastic policy. For that reason, he prescribed that

acolyte An acolyte is an assistant or follower assisting the celebrant in a religious service or procession. In many Christian denominations, an acolyte is anyone performing ceremonial duties such as lighting altar candles. In others, the term is used f ...

s should not presume to translate the relics of

martyrs A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external ...

and that, in the

Basilica of Saint John Lateran The Archbasilica Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and of Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist in the Lateran ( it, Arcibasilica del Santissimo Salvatore e dei Santi Giovanni Battista ed Evangelista in Laterano), also known as the Papa ...

, they should not take the place of

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

s in administering

baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

. Boniface made certain enactments relative to the rights of

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a saf ...

, and that he ordered the ecclesiastical

notaries A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems. A notary, while a legal professional, is disti ...

to obey the laws of the empire on the subject of

wills Wills may refer to: * Will (law) A will or testament is a legal document that expresses a person's (testator) wishes as to how their property ( estate) is to be distributed after their death and as to which person (executor) is to manage the pr ...

. Boniface completed and consecrated the cemetery of

Saint Nicomedes Saint Nicomedes was a Martyr of unknown era, whose feast is observed 15 September. He was buried in a catacomb on the Via Nomentana near the gate of that name.

on the

Via Nomentana Via Nomentana is an ancient road of Italy, leading North-East from Rome to Nomentum (modern Mentana), a distance of . It originally bore the name "Via Ficulensis", from the old Latin village of Ficulea, about from Rome. It was subsequently extend ...

. In the ''Liber Pontificalis'', Boniface is described as "the mildest of men", whose chief distinction was his great love for the clergy.

Bede Bede ( ; ang, Bǣda , ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, The Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable ( la, Beda Venerabilis), was an English monk at the monastery of St Peter and its companion monastery of St Paul in the Kingdom o ...

writes of the pope's affectionate concern for the English Church. The "letters of exhortation" which he is said to have addressed to Archbishop

Mellitus Saint Mellitus (died 24 April 624) was the first bishop of London in the Saxon period, the third Archbishop of Canterbury, and a member of the Gregorian mission sent to England to convert the Anglo-Saxons from their native paganism to Chris ...

of Canterbury and Bishop

Justus Justus (died on 10 November between 627 and 631) was the fourth Archbishop of Canterbury. He was sent from Italy to England by Pope Gregory the Great, on a mission to Christianize the Anglo-Saxons from their native paganism, probably arrivin ...

of Rochester are no longer extant, but certain other letters of his have been preserved. One is written to Justus after he had succeeded Mellitus as

archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

in 624, conferring the

pallium The pallium (derived from the Roman ''pallium'' or ''palla'', a woolen cloak; : ''pallia'') is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the pope, but for many centuries bestowed by the Holy See upon metropolit ...

upon him and directing him to "ordain bishops as occasion should require." According to Bede, Pope Boniface also sent letters to King

Edwin of Northumbria Edwin ( ang, Ēadwine; c. 586 – 12 October 632/633), also known as Eadwine or Æduinus, was the List of monarchs of Northumbria, King of Deira and Bernicia – which later became known as Northumbria – from about 616 until hi ...

in 625 urging him to embrace the Christian faith, and to Edwin's Christian wife, Æthelburg of Kent, exhorting her to use her best endeavours for the conversion of her husband. Boniface V was buried in

St. Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal e ...

on 25 October 625. He was succeeded by

Honorius I Pope Honorius I (died 12 October 638) was the bishop of Rome from 27 October 625 to his death. He was active in spreading Christianity among Anglo-Saxons and attempted to convince the Celts to calculate Easter in the Roman fashion. He is chiefl ...

Notes

References

. ''

Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum The ''Ecclesiastical History of the English People'' ( la, Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum), written by Bede in about AD 731, is a history of the Christian Churches in England, and of England generally; its main focus is on the conflict be ...

'' * Gasquet, Francis Aidan. ''A Short History of the Catholic Church in England'', 19 *Gregorovius, Ferdinand. II, 113 *Hunt, William. ''The English Church from Its Foundation to the Norman Conquest''. Vol. 1. "A History of the English Church", W. R. W. Stephens and William Hunt, ed. London: Macmillan and Co., 1912. 49, 56, 58 *Jaffé, ''Regesta Pontificum Romanorum ab condita ecclesia ad annum 1198''. Berlin, 1851; 2d ed., Leipsic, 1881–88. I, 222 *Jungmann, ''Dissertationes Selectae in Historiam Ecclesiasticam'', II, 389. *Langen, 506 *''

Liber Pontificalis The ''Liber Pontificalis'' (Latin for 'pontifical book' or ''Book of the Popes'') is a book of biographies of popes from Saint Peter until the 15th century. The original publication of the ''Liber Pontificalis'' stopped with Pope Adrian II (867� ...

'' (ed. Duchesne), I, 321–322 * Mansi, Gian Domenico. X, 547–554 *Mann, Horace K. ''Lives of the Popes'' I, 294–303 {{DEFAULTSORT:Boniface 5 6th-century births 625 deaths Clergy from Naples Popes of the Byzantine Papacy Boniface 05 Boniface 05 Boniface 05 7th-century popes Burials at St. Peter's Basilica