Pope Vitalian ( la, Vitalianus; died 27 January 672) 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 30 July 657 to his death. His pontificate was marked by the dispute between 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 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 (" ...

over

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 ...

, which Rome condemned. Vitalian tried to resolve the dispute and had a conciliatory relationship with Emperor

Constans II Constans II ( grc-gre, Κώνστας, Kōnstas; 7 November 630 – 15 July 668), nicknamed "the Bearded" ( la, Pogonatus; grc-gre, ὁ Πωγωνᾶτος, ho Pōgōnãtos), was the Eastern Roman emperor from 641 to 668. Constans was the last ...

, who visited him in

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 ...

and gave him gifts. Vitalian's pontificate also saw the secession of the Archbishopric of Ravenna from the papal authority.

Election

Vitalian was born in

Segni Segni (, ) is an Italian town and '' comune'' located in Lazio. The city is situated on a hilltop in the Lepini Mountains, and overlooks the valley of the Sacco River. History Early history According to ancient Roman sources, Lucius Tarquini ...

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, the son of Anastasius.Miranda, Salvatore. "The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church", Florida International University
/ref> After the death of

Eugene I Pope Eugene I ( la, Eugenius I; died 2 June 657) was the bishop of Rome from 10 August 654 to his death. He was chosen to become Pope after the deposition and banishment of Martin I by Emperor Constans II over the dispute about Monothelitism. Un ...

on 2 or 3 June 657, Vitalian was elected to succeed him. He was

consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different gro ...

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 ...

on 30 July, keeping his baptismal name.

Pontificate

Monothelitism

Like Eugene, Vitalian tried to restore the connection with

by making friendly advances to Emperor

and to prepare the way for the settlement of the Monothelite controversy. He sent letters (synodica) announcing his elevation to the emperor and to

Patriarch Peter of Constantinople Peter (? – October 666) was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 654 to 666. He was condemned as a heretic in the Third Council of Constantinople. He was succeeded as ecumenical patriarch by Thomas II of Constantinople. Peter succ ...

, who was inclined to Monothelitism. The emperor confirmed the privileges of the

Holy 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 R ...

as head of the Church in the West and sent to Rome a codex of the Gospels in a cover of gold richly ornamented with precious stones as a good-will gesture. Patriarch Peter also replied, although his answer was somewhat noncommittal as to Monothelitism, a belief he defended. In his letter, he gave the impression of being in accord with the pope, whose letter to Peter had expounded the Catholic faith. Thus ecclesiastical intercourse between Rome and Constantinople was restored, but the mutual reserve over the dogmatic question of Monothelitism remained. Vitalian's name was entered on the diptychs of the churches in Byzantium—the only name of a pope so entered between the pontificate of Honorius I (d. 638) and the

Sixth Ecumenical Council 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 ...

of 680–81. The inclusion of Vitalian's name on the diptych was seen by some as being too conciliatory towards heresy, but that charge was unfounded. Vitalian showed reciprocity toward Constans when the latter came to Rome in 663 to spend twelve days there during a campaign against the

Lombards The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 an ...

. On 5 July, the pope and members of the Roman clergy met the emperor at the sixth milestone and accompanied him to St. Peter's Basilica, where the emperor offered gifts. The following Sunday, Constans went in state to St. Peter's, offered a pallium wrought with gold, and was present during the

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different ele ...

celebrated by the pope. The emperor dined with the pope on the following Saturday, attended Mass again on Sunday at St. Peter's, and after Mass took leave of the pope. On his departure Constans removed a large number of bronze artworks, including the bronze tiles from the roof of the

Pantheon Pantheon may refer to: * Pantheon (religion), a set of gods belonging to a particular religion or tradition, and a temple or sacred building Arts and entertainment Comics *Pantheon (Marvel Comics), a fictional organization * ''Pantheon'' (Lone St ...

, which had been dedicated to Christian worship. Constans then moved on to

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

, oppressed the population, and was assassinated at

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy * Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' * Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York ** North Syracuse, New York * Syracuse, Indiana *Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, M ...

in 668. Vitalian supported Constans' son Constantine IV against the usurper Mezezius and thus helped him attain the throne. As Constantine had no desire to maintain the Monothelite decree of his father, Vitalian made use of this inclination to take a more decided stand against Monothelitism and to win the emperor over to orthodoxy. In this latter attempt, however, he did not succeed. The Monothelite Patriarch Theodore I of Constantinople removed Vitalian's name from the diptychs. It was not until the Sixth Ecumenical Council (681) that Monothelitism was suppressed and Vitalian's name was replaced on the diptychs of the churches in Byzantium.

Western Church relations

Pope Vitalian was successful in improving relations with England, where the

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened wit ...

and British clergies were divided regarding various ecclesiastical customs. At the Synod of Whitby, King

Oswy Oswiu, also known as Oswy or Oswig ( ang, Ōswīg; c. 612 – 15 February 670), was King of Bernicia from 642 and of Northumbria from 654 until his death. He is notable for his role at the Synod of Whitby in 664, which ultimately brought the chur ...

Northumbria la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria , common_name = Northumbria , status = State , status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...

accepted Roman practices regarding the keeping of Easter and the shape of the

tonsure Tonsure () is the practice of cutting or shaving some or all of the hair on the scalp as a sign of religious devotion or humility. The term originates from the Latin word ' (meaning "clipping" or "shearing") and referred to a specific practice i ...

. Vitalian sent a highly educated monk,

Theodore of Tarsus Theodore of Tarsus ( gr, Θεόδωρος Ταρσοῦ; 60219 September 690) was Archbishop of Canterbury from 668 to 690. Theodore grew up in Tarsus, but fled to Constantinople after the Persian Empire conquered Tarsus and other cities. Afte ...

, who understood both

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

and Greek, to be

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 Just ...

.Stenton, ''Anglo-Saxon England'', p. 131 The archiepiscopal See of Ravenna reported directly to Rome. Archbishop Maurus (644–71) sought to end this dependence and make his see

autocephalous Autocephaly (; from el, αὐτοκεφαλία, meaning "property of being self-headed") is the status of a hierarchical Christian church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop. The term is primarily used in Eastern O ...

. When Pope Vitalian called upon him to justify his theological views, Maurus refused to obey and declared himself independent of Rome, initiating a

schism A schism ( , , or, less commonly, ) is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization, movement, or religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a split in what had previously been a single religious body, suc ...

. The pope

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

him, but Maurus did not submit and excommunicated Vitalian in return. Emperor Constans II sided with the archbishop and issued an edict removing the archbishop of Ravenna from the patriarchal jurisdiction of Rome. He ordained that the former should receive 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 metropol ...

from the emperor. The successor of Maurus, Reparatus, was consecrated in 671. It was not until the pontificate of Leo II (682–83) that the independence of the See of Ravenna was suppressed.

Authority over Eastern Church

Vitalian played a role in exonerating a bishop of the Eastern Church. Bishop John of Lappa had been deposed by a synod under the presidency of Metropolitan Paul. John appealed to the pope and was imprisoned by Paul for so doing. He escaped, however, and went to Rome, where Vitalian held a synod in December 667 to investigate the matter and pronounced John guiltless. He then wrote to Paul demanding the restoration of John to his diocese and the return of the monasteries which had been unjustly taken from him. At the same time the pope directed the metropolitan to remove two deacons who had each married after consecration.

Death and legacy

Vitalian died on 27 January 672 and was succeeded by Adeodatus II. Venerated as a

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Or ...

by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

, his

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 do ...

is celebrated each year on January 27.Kirsch, Johann Peter (1912). "Pope St. Vitalian" in ''The Catholic Encyclopedia''. Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company. The introduction of church organ music is traditionally believed to date from the time of Vitalian's papacy.

Notes

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vitalian 672 deaths Popes Italian popes Popes of the Byzantine Papacy 7th-century archbishops Italian saints Papal saints 7th-century Christian saints Year of birth unknown People from Segni 7th-century popes 580 births Burials at St. Peter's Basilica