Pope Pelagius I (died 4 March 561) was the

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

from 556 to his death. A former ''

apocrisiarius An ''apocrisiarius'', the Latinized form of ''apokrisiarios'' ( el, ), sometimes Anglicized as apocrisiary, was a high diplomatic representative during Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages. The corresponding (purist) Latin term was ''respons ...

'' 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 ( ...

, Pelagius I was elected

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 ...

as the candidate of Emperor

Justinian I Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renova ...

, a designation not well received in the

Western Church Western Christianity is one of two sub-divisions of Christianity (Eastern Christianity being the other). Western Christianity is composed of the Latin Church and Western Protestantism, together with their offshoots such as the Old Catholic ...

. Before his papacy, he opposed Justinian's efforts to condemn the " Three Chapters" in order to reconcile theological factions within the Church, but later adopted Justinian's position.

Family and early career

Pelagius was born into a noble family from

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 ...

. His father, John, seems to have been vicar of one of the two civil districts into which Italy was then divided. Pelagius accompanied

Pope Agapetus I Pope Agapetus I (489/490 – 22 April 536) was the bishop of Rome from 13 May 535 to his death. His father, Gordianus, was a priest in Rome and he may have been related to two previous popes, Felix III and Gregory I. In 536, Agapetus traveled ...

and was appointed ''

''. As such, Pelagius acquired great influence with Emperor

. He returned to Rome in 543. In 545, when

Pope Vigilius Pope Vigilius (died 7 June 555) was the bishop of Rome from 29 March 537 to his death. He is considered the first pope of the Byzantine papacy. Born into Roman aristocracy, Vigilius served as a deacon and papal ''apocrisiarius'' in Constantino ...

went to Constantinople on Justinian's orders, Pelagius stayed in Rome as the pope's representative.

Totila Totila, original name Baduila (died 1 July 552), was the penultimate King of the Ostrogoths, reigning from 541 to 552 AD. A skilled military and political leader, Totila reversed the tide of the Gothic War, recovering by 543 almost all the t ...

, king of the

Goths The Goths ( got, 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰, translit=''Gutþiuda''; la, Gothi, grc-gre, Γότθοι, Gótthoi) were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe ...

, had begun to blockade the city. Pelagius poured out his own fortune for the benefit of the famine-stricken people, and tried to induce the king to grant a truce. Though he failed, he afterwards induced Totila to spare the lives of the people when he captured Rome in December 546. Totila sent Pelagius to Constantinople in order to arrange a peace with Justinian I, but the emperor sent him back to say that his general

Belisarius Belisarius (; el, Βελισάριος; The exact date of his birth is unknown. – 565) was a military commander of the Byzantine Empire under the emperor Justinian I. He was instrumental in the reconquest of much of the Mediterranean terr ...

was in command in Italy.

Papacy

Vigilius died on 7 June 555, and Pelagius 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 him as

. Pelagius was the emperor's candidate, a designation not well received by the Western clergy and laity.Brusher, Joseph S., ''Popes Through the Ages''
1980, San Rafael, California, Neff-Kane, While before his ordination he opposed Justinian's efforts to condemn the " Three Chapters" in order to reconcile theological factions in the Church, afterwards Pelagius adopted Justinian's position. Pelagius I's pontificate was undermined by rumors that he might have somehow been complicit in the death of Virgilius, and suspicion that his conceding to Justinian indicating a support for

monophysitism Monophysitism ( or ) or monophysism () is a Christological term derived from the Greek (, "alone, solitary") and (, a word that has many meanings but in this context means "nature"). It is defined as "a doctrine that in the person of the incarn ...

. To overcome this he worked to maintain public order in Rome, and correct abuses among the clergy. He also labored on behalf of the poor and the victims of famine and war. In response to a request from the garrison commander at Civitavecchia, Pelagius directed Bishop Lawrence of that town, to provide chaplains for the army. He is credited with the construction of the

Santi Apostoli, Rome Santi Dodici Apostoli (Church of the Twelve Holy Apostles; la, SS. Duodecim Apostolorum), commonly known simply as Santi Apostoli, is a 6th-century Roman Catholic parish and titular church and minor basilica in Rome, Italy, dedicated origina ...

,"Santi XII Apostoli", Pontifical North American College
/ref> built to celebrate the complete victory of

Narses , image=Narses.jpg , image_size=250 , caption=Man traditionally identified as Narses, from the mosaic depicting Justinian and his entourage in the Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna , birth_date=478 or 480 , death_date=566 or 573 (aged 86/95) , allegi ...

over the Ostrogoths. Pelagius I served five years, and upon his death on 4 March 561 was buried in

Old St. Peter's Basilica Old St. Peter's Basilica was the building that stood, from the 4th to 16th centuries, where the new St. Peter's Basilica stands today in Vatican City. Construction of the basilica, built over the historical site of the Circus of Nero, began dur ...

Notes

References

*Ekonomou, Andrew J. 2007. ''Byzantine Rome and the Greek Popes: Eastern influences on Rome and the papacy from Gregory the Great to Zacharias, A.D. 590–752''. Lexington Books.
''Pelagius I''
*The Popes and the Church of Rome in Late Antiquity John Moorhead - Taylor and Francis - 2014 *The Faith of the early Fathers W. Jurgens - Liturgical Press - 1970 *The Byzantine Fathers of the sixth to eighth century Georges Florovsky - Büchervertriebsanstalt - 1987 {{DEFAULTSORT:Pelagius 01 561 deaths 6th-century archbishops Popes of the Byzantine Papacy Diplomats of the Holy See Italian popes Papal Apocrisiarii to Constantinople Popes Year of birth unknown 6th-century popes Burials at St. Peter's Basilica