Pope Benedict II () 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 26 June 684 to his death on 8 May 685. Pope Benedict II's feast day is 7 May.

Early life

Benedict was born in

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, ...

. It is possible that he was a member of the Savelli family, though this is not certain. Sent when young to the ''schola cantorum'', he distinguished himself by his knowledge of the Scriptures and by his singing.

Papacy

The bishops of Rome were anciently chosen by the clergy and people of Rome, according to the discipline of those times; the Roman emperor was the head of the people, on which account his consent was required. But whilst the emperors resided in

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 ...

, this condition produced often long delays and considerable inconveniences. Although chosen in 683, he was not

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

until 684 awaiting the permission of Emperor

Constantine IV Constantine IV (); 650 – 10 July 685), called the Younger () and often incorrectly the Bearded () out of confusion with Constans II, his father, was Byzantine emperor from 668 to 685. His reign saw the first serious check to nearly 50 years ...

. According to the '' Liber Diurnus Romanorum Pontificum'', he obtained from the emperor a decree which either abolished imperial confirmations altogether or made them obtainable from the

exarch of Ravenna The Exarchate of Ravenna (; ), also known as the Exarchate of Italy, was an administrative district of the Byzantine Empire comprising, between the 6th and 8th centuries, the territories under the jurisdiction of the exarch of Italy (''exarchus ...

. Benedict symbolically adopted Constantine's sons,

Justinian II Justinian II (; ; 668/69 – 4 November 711), nicknamed "the Slit-Nosed" (), was the last Byzantine emperor of the Heraclian dynasty, reigning from 685 to 695 and again from 705 to 711. Like his namesake, Justinian I, Justinian II was an ambitio ...

and

Heraclius Heraclius (; 11 February 641) was Byzantine emperor from 610 to 641. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the Exarch of Africa, led a revolt against the unpopular emperor Phocas. Heraclius's reign was ...

. To help to suppress

Monothelitism 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 ...

, Benedict endeavoured to secure the subscriptions of the bishops of

Hispania Hispania was the Ancient Rome, Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two Roman province, provinces: Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior. During the Principate, Hispania Ulterior was divide ...

to the decrees of the

Third Council of Constantinople 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 a ...

of 680/1, and to bring about the submission to the decrees of Macarius, the deposed bishop of Antioch. Restorations of numerous churches in Rome are ascribed to the less than a year's pontificate of Benedict II, including

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 ...

and San Lorenzo in Lucina."St Benedict II", ''A Dictionary of Popes'', 2nd ed. (J. N. D. Kelly and Michael J. Walsh, eds.) OUP, 2014
After a pontificate of about eleven months, Pope Benedict II died on May 8, 685 and was buried in St. Peter's.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benedict 02, Pope Popes 7th-century popes Papal saints Popes of the Byzantine Papacy 7th-century archbishops 7th-century Christian saints 635 births 685 deaths Burials at St. Peter's Basilica