Pope Simplicius (died 2 or 10 March 483) 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 468 to his death. He combated the

Eutychian heresy Eutyches ( grc, Εὐτυχής; c. 380c. 456) or Eutyches of Constantinoplebishops 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 ...

only in December, and sought to offset the effects of

Germanic invasions The Migration Period was a period in European history marked by large-scale migrations that saw the fall of the Western Roman Empire and subsequent settlement of its former territories by various tribes, and the establishment of the post-Roman ...

Election

Simplicius was born in

Tivoli, Italy Tivoli ( , ; la, Tibur) is a town and in Lazio, central Italy, north-east of Rome, at the falls of the Aniene river where it issues from the Sabine hills. The city offers a wide view over the Roman Campagna. History Gaius Julius Solinu ...

, the son of a

citizen Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

named Castinus.J. P. Kirsch, "Simplicius, Pope St." After a vacancy of 10 days following the death of

Pope Hilarius Pope Hilarius (or Hilary) was the bishop of Rome from 19 November 461 to his death on 29 February 468. In 449, Hilarius served as a legate for Pope Leo I at the Second Council of Ephesus. His opposition to the condemnation of Flavian of Constanti ...

, Simplicius was consecrated on 25 February 468.

Pontificate

Simplicius defended the decisions of the

Council of Chalcedon The Council of Chalcedon (; la, Concilium Chalcedonense), ''Synodos tēs Chalkēdonos'' was the fourth ecumenical council of the Christian Church. It was convoked by the Roman emperor Marcian. The council convened in the city of Chalcedon, Bith ...

against the

Eutychian heresy Eutyches ( grc, Εὐτυχής; c. 380c. 456) or Eutyches of ConstantinopleBasiliscus Basiliscus ( grc-gre, Βασιλίσκος, Basilískos; died 476/477) was Eastern Roman emperor from 9 January 475 to August 476. He became in 464, under his brother-in-law, Emperor Leo (457–474). Basiliscus commanded the army for an inva ...

and

Leo I The LEO I (Lyons Electronic Office I) was the first computer used for commercial business applications. The prototype LEO I was modelled closely on the Cambridge EDSAC. Its construction was overseen by Oliver Standingford, Raymond Thompson and D ...

, emperors of the

Eastern Roman Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

, for the restoration of the Catholic bishop; he did the same when Petrus Fullo usurped the seat of the

patriarch of Alexandria The Patriarch of Alexandria is the archbishop of Alexandria, Egypt. Historically, this office has included the designation "pope" (etymologically "Father", like "Abbot"). The Alexandrian episcopate was revered as one of the three major episco ...

. He rehabilitated Patriarch Timotheos Solofaciolus. In 478, Simplicius held a synod in Rome, which pronounced anathemas against eastern heretical bishops Peter Fullo, John of Apamea, and Paul of Ephesus. Simplicius worked to maintain the authority of

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 ...

in the West. He named Zeno, Bishop of Hispalis (Seville) as Papal Vicar in Spain. In 482, Bishop Gregory of Modena was consecrated a bishop against his will by Archbishop Joannes I of Ravenna. This brought the archbishop a sharp rebuke from Pope Simplicius. According to the Carolingian liturgist

Amalarius of Metz Amalarius (''c''. 775–''c''. 850) was a Frankish prelate and courtier, temporary bishop of Trier (812–13) and Lyon (835–38), and an accomplished liturgist. He was close to Charlemagne and a partisan of his successor, Louis the Pious, througho ...

, Pope Simplicius was the first pope to carry out consecrations at any other time than in December before Christmas. He began to confer holy orders in February as well. Simplicius is credited with the construction of a church named

Santa Bibiana Santa Bibiana is a small Baroque style, Roman Catholic church in Rome devoted to Saint Bibiana. The church façade was designed and built by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, who also produced a sculpture of the saint holding the palm leaf of martyrs. History ...

, in memory of the virgin and martyr St. Bibiana. He also dedicated the Church of

San Stefano Rotondo The Basilica of St. Stephen in the Round on the Celian Hill ( it, Basilica di Santo Stefano al Monte Celio, la, Basilica S. Stephani in Caelio Monte) is an ancient basilica and titular church in Rome, Italy. Commonly named Santo Stefano Rotondo, ...

on the Celian Hill, the church of S. Andrea near S. Maria Maggiore, and a church dedicated to Saint Lawrence in the Campo Verano. He labored to help the people of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

against the marauding raids of barbarian invaders. He saw the

Heruli The Heruli (or Herules) were an early Germanic people. Possibly originating in Scandinavia, the Heruli are first mentioned by Roman authors as one of several "Scythian" groups raiding Roman provinces in the Balkans and the Aegean Sea, attacking b ...

ian mercenaries revolt, depose

Romulus Augustulus Romulus Augustus ( 465 – after 511), nicknamed Augustulus, was Roman emperor of the West from 31 October 475 until 4 September 476. Romulus was placed on the imperial throne by his father, the ''magister militum'' Orestes, and, at that time, ...

, the last emperor of the

Western Roman Empire The Western Roman Empire comprised the western provinces of the Roman Empire at any time during which they were administered by a separate independent Imperial court; in particular, this term is used in historiography to describe the period fr ...

, and proclaim

Odoacer Odoacer ( ; – 15 March 493 AD), also spelled Odovacer or Odovacar, was a soldier and statesman of barbarian background, who deposed the child emperor Romulus Augustulus and became Rex/Dux (476–493). Odoacer's overthrow of Romulus Augustul ...

king of Italy in 476. Odoacer made few changes in the administration in Rome, leaving the city firmly in the hands of its bishop, Simplicius.

Death and aftermath

He was buried in the Basilica of St. Peter on 2 March 483. Rome was without a pope for six days. Since 1971, St. Simplicius's

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...

is celebrated on 10 March.''Martyrologium Romanum'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2001 ) The date of 10 March is also a calculated one; it begins with a calculated date for the death of Pope Hilarius (29 February), and then adds the ten days of the ''Sede Vacante'' reported in the ''Liber Pontificalis''. See Duchesne, pp. 247-248.

References

Sources

* * *
Opera Omnia
edited by J.-P. Migne, ''Patrologia Latina'', with analytical indexes. This link also holds the "Vita Operaque" section of the ''Liber Pontificalis''. *Pennacchio, Maria Cristina (2000)
"Simplicio, santo"
''Enciclopedia dei Papi'' (2000). *"S. Simplicii papae Epistolae et decreta," in: {{DEFAULTSORT:Simplicius 5th-century births 483 deaths People from Tivoli, Lazio Popes Italian popes Italian saints Papal saints 5th-century archbishops 5th-century Christian saints 5th-century Romans Year of birth unknown 5th-century popes Burials at St. Peter's Basilica

Election

Pontificate

Death and aftermath

See also

References

Sources