The Placidia Palace was the official residence of the papal ''apocrisiarius'', the ambassador from the

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 ...

to the

patriarch of Constantinople The ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople () is the archbishop of Constantinople and (first among equals) among the heads of the several autocephalous churches that comprise the Eastern Orthodox Church. The ecumenical patriarch is regarded as ...

, and the intermittent home of the pope himself when in residence at

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 ...

.Ekonomou, 2007, p. 9. The ''apocrisiarius'' held "considerable influence as a conduit for both public and covert communications" between pope and

Byzantine emperor The foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, which Fall of Constantinople, fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as legitimate rulers and exercised s ...

. The residence of the ''apocrisiarius'' in the Placidia Palace dates to the end of the Acacian schism in 519.Herrin, 1989, p. 152. The ambassador was usually 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 denominations, such as the Cathol ...

of Rome, and held an official position in the Byzantine imperial court. Anachronistically, the building can be referred to as the first

nunciature An apostolic nunciature is a top-level diplomatic mission of the Holy See that is equivalent to an embassy. However, it neither issues visas nor has consulates. The head of the apostolic nunciature is called a ''nuncio'', an ecclesiastical dip ...

.Silas McBee,
Normal Relations
" p. 651-53 (PDF).

Construction and localization

The palace was built by

Galla Placidia Galla Placidia (392/3 – 27 November 450), daughter of the Roman emperor Theodosius I, was the mother and a tutor and advisor to emperor Valentinian III. She was queen consort to Ataulf, King of the Visigoths from 414 until his death in 415, ...

, near the ta Armatiou quarter in the tenth district of the city between the Gate of the Plataea and the

Monastery of the Pantokrator Zeyrek Mosque () or the Monastery of the Pantokrator (; ), is a large mosque on the Fazilet Street in the Zeyrek district of Fatih in Istanbul, overlooking the Golden Horn. It is made up of two former Byzantine churches and a chapel joined toge ...

. The palace of Galla Placidia was one of several aristocratic residences (''oikoi'') built in the city's northwestern region during the late 4th and early 5th centuries. The tenth district included the palaces built by the '' Augusta''

Aelia Eudocia Aelia Eudocia Augusta (; ; 460 AD), also called Saint Eudocia, was an Eastern Roman empress by marriage to Emperor Theodosius II (). Daughter of an Athenian philosopher, she was also a poet, whose works include ''Homerocentones'', or Homeric re ...

, the ''

nobilissima (Latin for "most noble"), in Byzantine Greek (Greek: ),. was one of the highest imperial titles in the late Roman and Byzantine empires. The feminine form of the title was . History and functions The term ''nobilissimus'' originated as an epi ...

'' Arcadia (sister of

Theodosius II Theodosius II ( ; 10 April 401 – 28 July 450), called "the Calligraphy, Calligrapher", was Roman emperor from 402 to 450. He was proclaimed ''Augustus (title), Augustus'' as an infant and ruled as the Eastern Empire's sole emperor after the ...

), while the nearby eleventh district included the house of ''Augusta''

Pulcheria Aelia Pulcheria (; ; 19 January 398 or 399 – 453) was an Eastern Roman empress who advised her brother, the emperor Theodosius II, during his minority and then became wife to emperor Marcian from November 450 to her death in 453. She was th ...

and the Palace of

Flaccilla Aelia Flavia Flaccilla (died 386), better known simply as Aelia Flacilla or Flacilla, was a Roman empress and first wife of the Roman Emperor Theodosius I. She was of Hispanian Roman descent. During her marriage to Theodosius, she gave birth to ...

(''palataium Flaccillianum'').

Paul Magdalino Paul Magdalino (born 10 May 1948) is a British Byzantinist who is Bishop Wardlaw Professor (Emeritus) of Byzantine History at the University of St Andrews. He received the 1993 Runciman Award for his monograph on the reign of Manuel I Komneno ...

. Nevra Necipoğlu (Ed.). 2001. "Aristocratic ''Oikoi'' in the Tenth and Eleventh Regions of Constantinople" in ''Byzantine Constantinople''. pp. 53-72. These mansions formed a counterpart to the old-established aristocratic center of the eastern parts of the city, formed around the

Great Palace The Great Palace of Constantinople (, ''Méga Palátion''; ), also known as the Sacred Palace (, ''Hieròn Palátion''; ), was the large imperial Byzantine palace complex located in the south-eastern end of the peninsula today making up the Fati ...

; however, Most of these

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word ''manse'' originally defined a property l ...

s in the northwestern districts seem to have been only in use as seasonal retreats. The tenth district also included 636 ''

domus insulae In Roman architecture, an ''insula'' (Latin for "island", : ''insulae'') was one of two things: either a kind of apartment building, or a city block. This article deals with the former definition, that of a type of apartment building. ''Insulae' ...

'' all together. Other landmarks of the tenth included the

Baths of Constantius Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

and the

Nymphaeum A ''nymphaeum'' (Latin : ''nymphaea'') or ''nymphaion'' (), in ancient Greece and Rome, was a monument consecrated to the nymphs, especially those of springs. These monuments were originally natural grottoes, which tradition assigned as habit ...

Papal use

Vigilius

The palace was occupied by

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' ...

, the first pope of the Byzantine Papacy, in 547 during a papal visit to Constantinople.Ekonomou, 2007, p. 30. In 550, Vigilius decided that the Placidia Palace was not secure enough for his needs, and moved into the basilica of St. Peter of Hormisdas.Browning, 2003, p. 148. From the basilica, Vigilius drafted a document of excommunication of

Patriarch Menas Menas of Constantinople (also ''Minas''; ; died 25 August 552), considered a saint in the Chalcedonian-affirming Church and by extension both the Eastern Orthodox Church and Catholic Church of modern times, was born in Alexandria, and enters ...

and his followers, signed by another dozen Western bishops. Upon its publication,

Comitas Dupondiaristes ''Comitas'' is a genus of medium-sized sea snails, which are marine gastropod molluscs in the family Pseudomelatomidae. Species and subspecies Species and subspecies (indented) in the genus ''Comitas'' include: * † '' Comitas abnormis'' L. ...

, the

praetor of the Plebs ''Praetor'' ( , ), also ''pretor'', was the title granted by the government of ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected ''magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discha ...

, was dispatched to the basilica to arrest Vigilius and the African bishops with him. According to one account, Vigilius clung to the altar, and as the guards attempted to drag him, it toppled, nearly crushing him. The praetor withdrew, leaving several bishops injured. The next day, a group of Byzantine dignitaries convinced Vigilius that no more harm would be done to him if he returned to the Placidia Palace, which he did. There, Vigilius was more or less placed under

house arrest House arrest (also called home confinement, or nowadays electronic monitoring) is a legal measure where a person is required to remain at their residence under supervision, typically as an alternative to imprisonment. The person is confined b ...

. On the night of December 23/24, 551, Vigilius fled across the

Bosporus The Bosporus or Bosphorus Strait ( ; , colloquially ) is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul, Turkey. The Bosporus connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and forms one of the continental bo ...

to the Church of St. Euphemia in

Chalcedon Chalcedon (; ; sometimes transliterated as ) was an ancient maritime town of Bithynia, in Asia Minor, Turkey. It was located almost directly opposite Byzantium, south of Scutari (modern Üsküdar) and it is now a district of the city of Ist ...

. In February, the other bishops, but not Vigilius, were arrested.Browning, 2003, p. 149. On June 26, the pope and the emperor reconciled and Vigilius returned to the Placidia. Although he was in the "immediate neighborhood" during the

Second Council of Constantinople The Second Council of Constantinople is the fifth of the first seven ecumenical councils recognized by both the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. It is also recognized by the Old Catholics and others. Protestant opinions and re ...

(553), Vigilius refused to either attend or send a representative.Dolan, 1910, pp. 120-121. Claiming illness, Vigilius refused even to meet with the three Oriental patriarchs who travelled from the council to the Placidia Palace. The next day, Vigilius conveyed to the council a request to delay for 20 days—a request that likely would have struck the council as "strange" because the matter had been under discussion for seven years, during which Vigilius himself had been in residence in Constantinople. The emperor's second delegation to Vigilius—of bishops and lay officials —was similarly unsuccessful. From Constantinople, Vigilius published a '' Constitutum'' (or memorial to the emperor), condemning the council.

Gregory

The future

Pope Gregory I Pope Gregory I (; ; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great (; ), was the 64th Bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 until his death on 12 March 604. He is known for instituting the first recorded large-scale mission from Ro ...

resided in the Placidia Palace during his apocrisiariat, where he was eventually joined by a group of monks from his order—making the palace "virtually another St. Andrew's."Ekonomou, 2007, p. 10. During Gregory's tenure, the palace was the site of a trial conducted by

Tiberius II Tiberius II Constantine (; ; died 14 August 582) was Eastern Roman emperor from 574 to 582. Tiberius rose to power in 574 when Justin II, prior to a mental breakdown, proclaimed him ''caesar'' and adopted him as his own son. In 578, the dying J ...

of a group of alleged Satan worshipers, including Gregory,

patriarch of Antioch The Patriarch of Antioch is a traditional title held by the bishop of Antioch (modern-day Antakya, Turkey). As the traditional "overseer" (, , from which the word ''bishop'' is derived) of the first gentile Christian community, the position has ...

, and Eulogius, the future

patriarch of Alexandria The Patriarch of Alexandria is the archbishop of Alexandria, Egypt. Historically, this office has included the designation "pope" (etymologically "Father", like "Abbot"). The Alexandrian episcopate was revered as one of the three major epi ...

.Ekonomou, 2007, p. 13. When they were acquitted, perhaps as the result of bribery, a riot involving 100,000 persons erupted in the city. The Placidia Palace, as well as the palace of Patriarch Eutychius, were attacked by the mob, requiring the emperor himself to intervene and restore order.

Anastasios

One of the complaints of the

Lateran Council of 649 The Lateran Council of 649 was a synod held in the Basilica of St. John Lateran to condemn Monothelitism, a Christology espoused by many Eastern Christians, and Pope Honorius. The Council did not achieve ecumenical status in either East or West, ...

against the patriarch of Constantinople read: "''He has done what no heretic heretofore has dared to do, namely, he has destroyed the altar of our holy see in the Placidia palace.''"Dolan, 1910, p. 144. The anathema alludes to the "reign of terror" to which the Roman church had been subject from 638 to 656: Roman clergy had been exiled, the treasury plundered, and the ''apocrisiarius'' himself kidnapped and exiled.Foley, 1992, p. 98. The altar was destroyed in 648 or 649.

Pope Martin I Pope Martin I (, ; between 590 and 600 – 16 September 655), also known as Martin the Confessor, was the bishop of Rome from 21 July 649 to his death 16 September 655. He had served as Pope Theodore I's ambassador to Constantinople, and was pap ...

's ''apocrisiarius'', Anastasios, was prohibited from celebrating Mass in the palace in the mid-seventh century. This sanction was imposed by Patriarch Paul II as a result of disagreements over

Monotheletism Monothelitism, or monotheletism was a theological doctrine in Christianity that was proposed in the 7th century, but was ultimately rejected by the sixth ecumenical council. It held Christ as having only one will and was thus contrary to dyoth ...

.Ekonomou, 2007, p. 130.

Agatho

The palace was used by the large delegation of

Pope Agatho Pope Agatho (577 – 10 January 681) served as the bishop of Rome from 27 June 678 until his death on 10 January 681. He heard the appeal of Wilfrid of York, who had been displaced from his see by the division of the archdiocese ordered by ...

at the

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

(680–681). The emperor provided the delegation with a variety of luxuries, including a string of saddled horses to convey them to the Church of the Theotokos at Blachernae.Ekonomou, 2007, p. 217. They participated in a procession at that church on the first Sunday after their arrival.

Constantine

Pope Constantine Pope Constantine (; 6649 April 715) was the bishop of Rome from 25 March 708 to his death on 9 April 715. One of the last popes of the Byzantine Papacy, the defining moment of his pontificate was his 710/711 visit to Constantinople, where he com ...

occupied the palace in 711, during the last papal visit to Constantinople in 1250 years.

End of papal use

The popes continued to have a permanent

apocrisiary 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' ...

in Constantinople until the time of the

Byzantine Iconoclasm The Byzantine Iconoclasm () are two periods in the history of the Byzantine Empire when the use of religious images or icons was opposed by religious and imperial authorities within the Ecumenical Patriarchate (at the time still comprising the ...

edict of 726. Thereafter, popes Gregory II, Gregory III, Zacharias, and Stephen II are known to have sent non-permanent apocrisiaries to Constantinople. The office ceased having any religious role in the 8th century, although it continued to be regularly occupied well into the 10th century. Circa 900, the office began being referred to as a ''

syncellus ''Synkellos'' (), latinized as ''syncellus'', is an ecclesiastical office in the Eastern Rite churches. In the Byzantine Empire, the ''synkellos'' of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople was a position of major importance in the state, and ...

''. A permanent envoy may have been re-established after the reconciliation of 886. A ''syncellus'', unlike an ''apocrisiarius'', was a representative to the emperor, not the patriarch. These ambassadors continued into the 11th century, even after the

East-West Schism East West (or East and West) may refer to: *East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture Arts and entertainment Books, journals and magazines *'' East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salm ...

Notes

References

*Browning, Robert. 2003. ''Justinian and Theodora''. *Dolan, Thomas Stanislaus. 1910.
The papacy and the first councils of the church
' (PDF). *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: Lexington Books. *Foley, William Trent. 1992. ''Images of sanctity in Eddius Stephanus' Life of Bishop Wilfrid''. *Herrin, Judith. 1989. ''The formation of Christendom''.