Pope Paul I ( la, Paulus I; 70028 June 767) 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 ...

and ruler of the emerging

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

from 29 May 757 to his death. He first served as a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

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 Chur ...

and was frequently employed by his brother, Pope Stephen II, in negotiations with the Lombard kings.

Rise

Paul was a Roman aristocrat and member of the Orsini family. George L. Williams, ''Papal Genealogy'' (London 2004). He and his brother Stephen had been educated for the priesthood at the

Lateran Palace The Lateran Palace ( la, Palatium Lateranense), formally the Apostolic Palace of the Lateran ( la, Palatium Apostolicum Lateranense), is an ancient palace of the Roman Empire and later the main papal residence in southeast Rome. Located on St. ...

. Stephen 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 ...

in 752. After Stephen's death on 26 April 757, Paul prevailed over a faction that wanted to make Archdeacon Theophylact pope and was chosen to succeed his brother by the majority that wished a continuation of Stephen's policy.

Pontificate

Paul I's reign was dominated by relations with the Frankish and Lombard kings and with the Eastern Roman emperor. He wrote to Pepin the Younger that the Frankish alliance should be maintained unimpaired. Paul was likely concerned of the danger posed by the Lombard king Desiderius. The Lombards held the cities of Imola, Osimo,

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different na ...

, and

Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic ...

, which were claimed by the

papacy 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 ...

, and in 758 seized upon the duchies of

Spoleto Spoleto (, also , , ; la, Spoletum) is an ancient city in the Italian province of Perugia in east-central Umbria on a foothill of the Apennines. It is S. of Trevi, N. of Terni, SE of Perugia; SE of Florence; and N of Rome. History Sp ...

and Benevento. On his return from suppressing a revolt in Benevento, Desiderius visited Rome and compelled Paul to write to Pepin asking him to concede all the Lombard claims. He promised to return Imola, but on condition that the pope should persuade Pepin to send back Lombard hostages held by the Franks. Paul agreed and sent a letter to Pepin. Pepin found it advisable to maintain good relations with Desiderius, and Paul apparently accomplished little by his double-dealing. Later, however, Pepin gave the pope some support and acted as arbiter between the Roman and Lombard claims. In 765, papal privileges were restored in the duchies of Benevento and

Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

and partially in Spoleto. Meanwhile, the alienation from

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 Constantino ...

grew greater. Several times, especially in 759, Paul feared that the emperor would send an army against Rome. Paul lived in continual dread lest Eastern Roman ambitions turn the Frankish influence in favor of the Lombards. This was actually attempted, but Pepin held to his original foreign policy regarding Italy. Paul died in Rome on 28 June 767.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Paul 01 767 deaths Popes Papal saints 8th-century Christian saints 700 births 8th-century popes Burials at St. Peter's Basilica