Pelagius I
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Who was Pelagius I?
Pelagius I was pope from 556 to 561. He played significant ecclesiastical roles under Popes Agapetus I, Silverius, and Vigilius.
As a deacon, Pelagius accompanied Agapetus to Constantinople to dissuade Emperor Justinian I from reconquering Italy. After Vigilius became pope, Pelagius went to Constantinople, later returning to Rome as an imperial representative.
Pelagius initially opposed Justinian's edict against certain Nestorian writings during the Three Chapters Controversy but later supported it. After becoming pope, Pelagius focused on rebuilding Rome and protecting Italy from barbarian invasions. His pontificate was marked by the schism that followed the Council of Constantinople and the challenge of unifying the church.
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When did Pelagius I serve as pope?
Pelagius I was pope from 556 to 561. He was consecrated in Rome on April 16, 556, and he died on March 4, 561. Before becoming pope, Pelagius I held important ecclesiastical roles under popes St. Agapetus I, St. Silverius, and Vigilius.
During his papacy, Italy was in chaos, and one of his priorities was to rebuild Rome. He also faced the problem of a schism because the West had not accepted the decrees of the Council of Constantinople.
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What major events happened during Pelagius I's papacy?
During his papacy (556-561), Pelagius I faced significant challenges, including the Three Chapters Controversy, which caused a schism with bishops in Milan and Istria that lasted until 610 because he upheld the Council of Constantinople. He worked to rebuild Rome and protect the Italian people from barbarian invasions. Justinian's Pragmatic Sanction in 554, which confirmed and increased the pope’s temporal power, helped Pelagius in his efforts to protect the civil population and organize the temporal government of papal sovereignty, effectively beginning the foundation of the papacy’s political power. Despite rumors about his role in his predecessor's death, Pelagius was consecrated as pope on April 16, 556.
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What challenges did Pelagius I face while he was pope?
During his time as pope, Pelagius I faced significant challenges, including the need to rebuild Rome and address the Three Chapters Controversy. Italy was in chaos, and the West rejected the Council of Constantinople's decrees, leading to a schism that lasted until 610.
One of his most pressing issues was reconstructing Rome. This task was facilitated by Justinian's Pragmatic Sanction in 554, which expanded the pope's temporal power, making Pelagius the official protector of the civil population and enabling him to begin establishing the papacy's political power.
Pelagius was unable to prevent the schism of bishops in Milan and Istria because he reversed his opinion and upheld the Council of Constantinople. His primary goal was church unification, and his authority was backed by the imperial government.
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How did conflicts with the Byzantine Empire affect Pelagius I?
Conflicts with the Byzantine Empire significantly impacted Pope Pelagius I. As a deacon, Pelagius accompanied Pope Agapetus I to Constantinople to dissuade Emperor Justinian I from reconquering Italy.
Later, the "Three Chapters Controversy" complicated matters when Justinian I condemned certain Nestorian writings. Pope Vigilius was summoned to Constantinople to ratify the edict, but Pelagius withdrew his support, leading to his excommunication and imprisonment until Vigilius' death in 555. Despite rumors about his role in Vigilius' death, Pelagius was eventually reconciled with Justinian and elected pope in 555 due to imperial insistence.
As pope, Pelagius aimed for church unification but faced resistance, particularly regarding the decrees of the Council of Constantinople. The West did not accept the decrees, and a schism erupted that lasted until 610.
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What impact did Pelagius I have on the Catholic Church after his death?
Following Pelagius I's death, the West did not accept the Council of Constantinople's decrees, leading to a schism that lasted until 610. Despite reversing his opinion to align with the council as pope, his efforts to unify the church were unsuccessful because the bishops of Milan and Istria remained in schism.
His pontificate underscored the period's difficulties, but he helped to solidify the papacy's political power by affirming new rights and organizing the temporal government of papal sovereignty. This was made easier because Justinian had promulgated his Pragmatic Sanction in 554, which confirmed and increased the pope’s temporal power.
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Pelagius I (born, Rome—died March 4, 561, Rome) was the pope from 556 to 561. His ecclesiastical roles under the popes St. Agapetus I, St. Silverius, and Vigilius were highly important in the history of the church.
As a deacon, Pelagius accompanied Agapetus to Constantinople to help him dissuade the Byzantine emperor Justinian I from attempting the reconquest of Italy. Before he died at Constantinople, Agapetus appointed Pelagius nuncio. When the Byzantine empress Theodora, Justinian’s wife, apparently effected the deposition and banishment in March 537 of Agapetus’s successor, Silverius, Pelagius returned to Rome. After the deacon Vigilius was made pope, Pelagius went to Constantinople, where he counselled Justinian, returning to Rome as imperial representative.
In the church a massive complication subsequently called the “Three Chapters Controversy” arose in reaction to Justinian’s edict of 544 against certain Nestorian writings. When Vigilius was summoned to Constantinople in 545 to ratify the edict, Pelagius served as defender of Rome when it was captured in 546 by the Ostrogothic king Totila, whom he courageously persuaded to spare the Romans. Since the Goths had been warring with the Byzantines in Italy, Totila sent Pelagius on an unsuccessful mission to Constantinople to negotiate a settlement with Justinian.
Pelagius remained in Constantinople with Vigilius, whom he accompanied to Rome and back to Constantinople in 552, where they refused to attend the council of 553 to settle the Three Chapters Controversy. The council condemned the Nestorian writings and their authors. When, however, Vigilius decided, in 554, to sanction Justinian’s edict and the council’s condemnation, Pelagius withdrew his support of the pope, for which he was excommunicated. Imprisoned, he was not released until the death in 555 of Vigilius, whom he formally condemned in his In defensione trium capitulorum (“In Defense of the Three Chapters”). Although rumours persisted about his role in the death of his predecessor, Pelagius was reconciled with Justinian and was elected, through imperial insistence, to succeed Vigilius in 555, being consecrated at Rome on April 16, 556.
Italy, meanwhile, remained in chaos. The West had not accepted the decrees of the Council of Constantinople, and a schism immediately erupted that continued until 610. One of Pelagius’s most urgent problems was to rebuild Rome, a task made easier because Justinian in 554 had promulgated his Pragmatic Sanction, confirming and increasing the pope’s temporal power. In effect, Pelagius was the official protector of the civil population. By making his new rights resolute and by organizing the temporal government of papal sovereignty, Pelagius began the foundation of the papacy’s political power. With the Eastern emperors no longer papal opponents, his focus as spiritual head of the church shifted to the danger of barbarian invasion and the protection of the Italian peoples.
Pelagius was unable to prevent the bishops of Milan and Istria from schism because as pope he reversed his opinion and upheld the Council of Constantinople. His aim was church unification, and his power was set by the imperial government. Pelagius’s pontificate illustrates the enormous difficulties of his time. Editions of his writings appeared in 1932 and 1956.