Pope Pelagius I (died 3 March 561) was the

bishop of Rome The pope is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the pope was the sovereign or head of sta ...

from 556 to his death on 3 March 561. A former ''

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

'' to

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

, Pelagius I was elected

pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

as the candidate of Emperor

Justinian I Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565. His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...

, a designation not well received in the

Western Church Western Christianity is one of two subdivisions 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 C ...

. 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 Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. 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 on 22 April 536. His father, Gordianus, was a priest in Rome and he may have been related to two popes, Pope Felix III, Felix III and Pope Gregory I, ...

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 on 7 June 555. He is considered the first pope of the Byzantine papacy. Born into Roman aristocracy, Vigilius served as a deacon and papal ''apocrisiarius' ...

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 (535–554), Gothic War, recovering b ...

, king of the

Goths The Goths were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe. They were first reported by Graeco-Roman authors in the 3rd century AD, living north of the Danube in what is ...

, 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 BelisariusSometimes called Flavia gens#Later use, Flavius Belisarius. The name became a courtesy title by the late 4th century, see (; ; The exact date of his birth is unknown. March 565) was a military commander of the Byzantine Empire under ...

was in command in Italy.

Papacy

Vigilius died on 7 June 555, and Pelagius was elected 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 Vigilius, and suspicion that his conceding to Justinian indicating a support for

monophysitism Monophysitism ( ) or monophysism ( ; from Greek , "solitary" and , "nature") is a Christological doctrine that states that there was only one nature—the divine—in the person of Jesus Christ, who was the incarnated Word. It is rejected as he ...

. 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; ), commonly known as Santi Apostoli, is a 6th-century Catholic parish and titular church and minor basilica in Rome, Italy, the mother church of the Conventual Franciscan Order whose Ge ...

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

Narses Narses (also spelled Nerses; ; ; ; c. 478–573) was a distinguished Byzantine general and statesman of Armenian heritage, renowned for his critical role in Emperor Justinian I’s military campaigns. Alongside the famed Belisarius, Narses was ...

over the

Ostrogoth The Ostrogoths () were a Roman-era Germanic peoples, Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Goths, Gothic kingdoms within the Western Roman Empire, drawing upon the large Gothic populatio ...

s. Pelagius I served five years, and upon his death on 3 March 561 was buried in

Old St. Peter's Basilica Old St. Peter's Basilica was the church buildings that stood, from the 4th to 16th centuries, where 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

*176 *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 Italian popes Papal Apocrisiarii to Constantinople Popes Year of birth unknown 6th-century popes Burials at St. Peter's Basilica