Johannes Hymonides, known as John the Deacon of Rome (d. between 876 and 882), was a

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 ...

of the Roman Church. Few details are known of his life: after the death of St Nicholas I, he was briefly exiled from Rome at the behest of the emperor Louis II, but was recalled by Adrian II. Possessed of considerable learning, he was closely associated with Anastasius, Librarian of the Roman Church (died 879). At the instance of

Pope John VIII Pope John VIII ( la, Ioannes VIII; died 16 December 882) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 14 December 872 to his death. He is often considered one of the ablest popes of the 9th century. John devoted much of his papacy ...

(872-82), John wrote a

life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...

of St. Gregory the Great, making use of the works of this

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 ...

and above all of extracts made at an earlier date from the pope's letters in the archives of the Roman Church. The work is divided into four books: in the first he gives an account of the life of Gregory up to the time of his

pontificate The pontificate is the form of government used in Vatican City. The word came to English from French and simply means ''papacy'', or "to perform the functions of the Pope or other high official in the Church". Since there is only one bishop of Ro ...

; in the second, of his activities as pope; in the third, of his teachings; and in the fourth, of his progress in

perfection Perfection is a state, variously, of completeness, flawlessness, or supreme excellence. The term is used to designate a range of diverse, if often kindred, concepts. These have historically been addressed in a number of discrete disciplines, n ...

. The life was most recently edited by the Maurists. For John VIII, John also composed in 876 an adaptation of the

Cena Cypriani The ''Cena'' or ''Coena Cypriani'' (i.e. "Feast of Cyprian") is an anonymous prose work written in Latin. Tradition ascribes original authorship to the 3rd-century saint Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, but the text was probably written around 400.Jo ...

. John also intended to write a detailed history of the Church, and at his request the aforesaid Anastasius compiled a history in three parts (''tripartita'') from Greek sources for the use of John, whose purpose, however, was never executed. On the invitation of Bishop Gaudericus of Velletri (867-79), he undertook to re-edit the ''Gesta Clementis'', a life of

Pope Clement I Pope Clement I ( la, Clemens Romanus; Greek: grc, Κλήμης Ῥώμης, Klēmēs Rōmēs) ( – 99 AD) was bishop of Rome in the late first century AD. He is listed by Irenaeus and Tertullian as the bishop of Rome, holding office from 88 AD t ...

(died about end of the 1st century), but did not live to finish the work, which Gaudericus undertook to complete, though it never appeared in full. A letter from a certain Johannes Diaconus to Senarius, "

vir illustris The title ''vir illustris'' ('illustrious man') is used as a formal indication of standing in late antiquity to describe the highest ranks within the senates of Rome and Constantinople. All senators had the title ''vir clarissimus'' ('very famous ...

", treats of the ceremonies of

baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

; it is not however, the work of the John treated here, but of an older deacon of this name.ed. ''P.L.'', LIX, 399-408. The short commentary on the Heptateuch based on

patristic Patristics or patrology is the study of the early Christian writers who are designated Church Fathers. The names derive from the combined forms of Latin ''pater'' and Greek ''patḗr'' (father). The period is generally considered to run from ...

sources in

Bibliothèque Nationale A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

manuscript Lat. 12309 is also no longer attributed to John.

References

*
P. Chiesa, Giovanni Diacono, ''Dizionaria Biografico degli Italiani'', vol. 56 (2001, Rome), 4-7.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hymonides, Johannes Italian religious writers 9th-century births 9th-century deaths 9th-century Latin writers Writers from the Carolingian Empire Deacons 9th-century Italian writers 9th-century historians