Pope Constantine ( la, Constantinus; 6649 April 715) 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 ...

from 25 March 708 to his death. One of the last popes of the Byzantine Papacy, the defining moment of Constantine's pontificate was his 710/711 visit 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 (" ...

where he compromised with Justinian II on the Trullan canons of the

Quinisext Council The Quinisext Council (Latin: ''Concilium Quinisextum''; Koine Greek: , ''Penthékti Sýnodos''), i.e. the Fifth-Sixth Council, often called the Council ''in Trullo'', Trullan Council, or the Penthekte Synod, was a church council held in 692 at ...

. Constantine's was the last papal visit to Constantinople until 1967.

Early career

Constantine was born in Tyre (modern-day

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus lie ...

). He was fluent in the

Greek language Greek ( el, label= Modern Greek, Ελληνικά, Elliniká, ; grc, Ἑλληνική, Hellēnikḗ) is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece, Cyprus, southern Italy ( Calabria and Salento), souther ...

and immersed in Eastern rituals and practices. By his upbringing, he would have been "fully at ease in the oriental milieu of the early-eighth-century Byzantine court". With the exception of Antipope Constantine, he was the only pope to bear such a "quintessentially" Eastern name of an emperor. Before his selection as pope, he had visited

twice. He was one of the

papal legates 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title '' legatus'') is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic ...

to the

Third Council of Constantinople The Third Council of Constantinople, counted as the Sixth Ecumenical Council by the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Churches, as well by certain other Western Churches, met in 680–681 and condemned monoenergism and monothelitism as heretic ...

in 680/681. He also delivered a combative letter from Pope Leo II to Emperor Constantine IV in 682. He met and developed a rapport with Constantine IV's son Justinian II on both occasions.

Pontificate

Constantine's brother and predecessor, Sisinnius, was pope for only twenty days. Constantine became pope in March 708, less than two months later. He was one of the many Greek popes of the Byzantine Papacy, the period during which Rome was under the rule of the

Byzantine 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 ...

and popes required the approval of the emperor for consecration as pope. The defining issue of the papacy at the time of Constantine's election was the Western rejection of the Trullan canons of the

. Pope John VII had been sent the canons for approval and instead had sent them back, "without any emendations at all". John VII's predecessor, Sergius I, had declared that he would rather die than subscribe to the council.

Visit to Constantinople

In 710, Emperor Justinian II demanded in a '' iussio'' that Pope Constantine appear before him in Constantinople. The imperial mandate made it "obvious that the relentless emperor meant to settle once and for all the issue of Rome's acceptance of the Trullan decrees". Unlike his predecessors, Constantine neither delayed nor made excuses to avoid appearing in the imperial city; in fact, he "identified with Byzantium as perhaps no Roman pontiff before him ever had". Prior to Constantine's departure, Justinian had blinded Archbishop Felix of Ravenna for plotting to overthrow him, an act that had improved the papal-Byzantine rapport. However, Constantine's primary motivation for the trip was to forestall a rift between Rome and Constantinople over the Trullan decrees. Constantine departed on 5 October 710. In Constantinople, Constantine stayed in the Placidia Palace, which had formerly been occupied by Pope Vigilius in 547, the representatives of Popes

Martin I Martin I may refer to: * Pope Martin I (c. 590/600–655), bishop of Rome 649–655 * Martin I (bishop of Oviedo) (died 1101) * Martin I (archbishop of Gniezno) (died after 1112) * Martin I of Aragon (1356–1410) * Martin I of Sicily (1374/6–1 ...

and Agatho (while attending the

). Eleven of Constantine's thirteen companions who can be identified by name (two bishops, three priests, and all the ranking members of the papal chancellery and household) were also of Eastern extraction. Also accompanying Constantine was the future Pope Gregory II, then a deacon, and another Latin subdeacon Julian. Constantine specifically chose attendants who were "cut from similar cloth" as he, and likely to be sympathetic to the East. While stopping in transit in Naples, Constantine crossed paths with 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 ...

, John III Rizocopo, then on his way to Rome to execute four high-ranking papal officials by cutting their throats. The four (as evidenced by their staying behind) were opposed to Constantine's new policy of rapprochement with Constantinople. Doubtlessly, Constantine himself learned of the exarch's errand before departing for

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, then Gallipoli, and then Otranto, where the group stayed for winter. In the spring, Constantine crossed the Ionian Sea, meeting the ''

strategos ''Strategos'', plural ''strategoi'', Latinized ''strategus'', ( el, στρατηγός, pl. στρατηγοί; Doric Greek: στραταγός, ''stratagos''; meaning "army leader") is used in Greek to mean military general. In the Helleni ...

'' of the imperial fleet on the island of

Chios Chios (; el, Χίος, Chíos , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greek island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. Chios is notable for its exports of mast ...

and was received by the

Karabisianoi The ''Karabisianoi'' ( el, Καραβισιάνοι), sometimes anglicized as the Carabisians, were the main forces of the Byzantine navy from the mid-7th century until the early 8th century. The name derives from the Greek ''karabos'' or ''karabis' ...

before proceeding to Constantinople. Constantine entered Constantinople on a "horse caparisoned with gilded saddle clothes and golden bridles and bearing on his head the '' kamelaukion'', or diadem, which the sovereign alone was authorized to wear and then only on 'a great public festival of the Lord'". Justinian II's son and co-emperor

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...

, along with Patriarch Kyros, senators, nobles, clerics, and many others, greeted Constantine at the seventh milestone from the city in the style of an imperial '' adventus''. Justinian II was in

Nicaea Nicaea, also known as Nicea or Nikaia (; ; grc-gre, Νίκαια, ) was an ancient Greek city in Bithynia, where located in northwestern Anatolia and is primarily known as the site of the First and Second Councils of Nicaea (the first and s ...

at the time and urged the pontiff to meet him in

Nicomedia Nicomedia (; el, Νικομήδεια, ''Nikomedeia''; modern İzmit) was an ancient Greek city located in what is now Turkey. In 286, Nicomedia became the eastern and most senior capital city of the Roman Empire (chosen by the emperor Diocle ...

. The '' Liber pontificalis'' recounts a bizarre scene of the crowned emperor prostrating himself before the pope, but a more mutual greeting is probable. That Sunday, Justinian II received communion from the hands of the pope and issued a vague confirmation of the various privileges of the

Roman See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

. The negotiations regarding the Trullan canons were conducted by the future Pope Gregory II. A degree of compromise (the "so-called Compromise of Nicomedia")—which "diplomatically skirted" the actual issue of their acceptance—was reached. While Constantine made concessions regarding the '' economia'', he did not give ground on the vast majority of the Roman grievances. The agreement was more designed to secure East-West political unity than resolve any doctrinal dispute. The fact of Constantine's having been summoned to Constantinople was the real proof that the "imperial writ still ran in Rome". Constantine left Constantinople in October 711. He was the last pope to visit the city until Paul VI did in 1967.

Rejection of Monothelitism

Justinian II was killed by his mutinous troops in November 711, shortly after Constantine's return to Rome. The new emperor, Philippikos Bardanes, was an adherent of

Monothelitism Monothelitism, or monotheletism (from el, μονοθελητισμός, monothelētismós, doctrine of one will), is a theological doctrine in Christianity, that holds Christ as having only one will. The doctrine is thus contrary to dyothe ...

, and rejected the arrangements of the Third Council of Constantinople. He demanded Constantine's support of the view that Christ had only one will. In 712, Constantine rejected Philippikos' demand to revive Monothelitism. He further refused to receive an imperial portrait or coins with the emperor's image and also refused to commemorate the emperor in Mass. As the exarch attempted to enforce the imperial presence, clashes occurred, but Constantine was able to calm the situation. Philippikos was overthrown in June 713 and his successor, Anastasius II, had Exarch Scholasticus deliver to the pope a letter affirming his support for the Sixth General Council. Upon his death in Rome on 9 April 715, Constantine was succeeded by Gregory II.

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Constantine 7th-century births 715 deaths Popes Asian popes Syrian popes Popes of the Byzantine Papacy 8th-century archbishops 8th-century popes 8th-century people Burials at St. Peter's Basilica