Pope Sergius I
Encyclopedia
Pope Saint Sergius I was pope
from 687 to 701. Selected to end a schism between Antipope Paschal
and Antipope Theodore
, Sergius I ended the last disputed sede vacante
of the Byzantine Papacy
.
His papacy was dominated by his response to the Quinisext Council
, whose canons he refused to accept. As a result of the dispute Justinian II
ordered Sergius I's abduction (as his predecessor Constans II had done with Pope Martin I
), but with the assistance of the exarch of Ravenna, Sergius I was able to avoid trial in Constantinople.
ene Syria
n family which had settled at Palermo
in Sicily
. Sergius left Sicily and arrived in Rome during the pontificate of Pope Adeodatus
. A fellow Sicilian Pope Leo II
ordained him cardinal-priest of Santa Susanna
on June 27, 683 and he rose through the ranks of the clergy. He remained cardinal-priest of S. Susanna until his selection as pope.
's successor to skillful intrigues against Antipope Paschal
and Antipope Theodore
, the other candidates. The two armed factions entered open combat before Sergius I was chosen by a group of judges, soldiers, clergy, and citizens. Sergius I was brought to the Palatine imperial palace and then the Lateran. The "numerical superiority" of this new faction forced Theodore from the patriarchium, whereafter he acknowledged Sergius I as pope.
Paschal remained unconvinced, and while pretending to accept Sergius, sent messengers to the exarch of Ravenna John Platyn promising gold in exchange for military support. The exarch arrived, demanded the gold, and looted Old St. Peter's Basilica, but departed after Sergius I's consecration. Paschal was eventually confined to a monastery on charges of witchcraft.
Sergius I was consecrated on December 15, 687, ending the last disputed sede vacante
of the Byzantine Papacy
. "After the deaths of some pontiffs, Osporco, a Roman, succeeded to the papacy; but on account of his unseemly appellation, he took the name of Sergius, and this was the origin of that change of names which the popes adopt upon their election to the pontificate."
in Rome
. He also ordained Saint Willibrord as bishop of the Frisia
ns, and the Liber Pontificalis
states he also ordained Berhtwald as Archbishop of Canterbury
.
Sergius founded the diaconie of S. Maria in Via Lata, on the Corso from the Porta Flaminia to Capitoline Hill
, encompassing a quarter of the city which developed in the eighth century. He also "restored and embellished" the Eastern church of SS. Cosmas and Damian.
of 692, but sent legates (including his apocrisiarius
and suffragan Basil, the bishop of Gortyna in Crete), who ended up subscribing to the canons as "holding the place of the entire synod of the Holy Roman Church". Sergius I himself rejected certain canons of the Council, although he continued to support political unity with Constantinople. It is unknown exactly which canons Sergius I objected to, but he declared that he would "rather die than consent to erroneous novelties". Sergius I's objections, however, did not extend to the anathemization of his predecessor, Pope Honorius I
, who at the time was also condemned in Western formulas. The canon which declared Constantinople equal in privileges but second in honor to Rome was also probably not the point of contention as it differed little from the pronouncements of earlier councils.
However, the Quinisext Council did approve all eighty-five of the Apostolic Canons, while Sergius I would only have supported the first fifty. The bulk of the resistance probably stemmed from varying doctrines and practices between east and west; for example, Roman deacons were prohibited from living with their wives after ordination, Roman priests were prohibited from having married twice prior to ordination, and Roman Christians were prohibited from fasting on the Saturdays of Great Lent
and allowed to consume animal blood. These and other practices differed from the Trullan canons.
In a symbolically important step, Sergius I declared support for the chant "Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us" at the breaking of the Host during Mass, and restored the damaged facade mosaic in St. Peter's atrium that depicted the Worship of the Lamb; the depiction of Christ as lamb had been prohibited by the Council. The Agnus Dei would have been chanted in both Greek and Latin during this period, in the same manner as the other liturgical changes of Sergius I. Sergius I himself composed a litany in Greek (extant in the Athelstan Psalter to be recited on the feast of all saints.
Enraged, Emperor Justinian II
dispatched his magistrianus, also named Sergius, to Rome to arrest bishop John of Portus, the chief papal legate to the Third Council of Constantinople
and Boniface, the papal counselor. The two high ranking officials were brought to Constantinople as a warning to the pope. Eventually, Justinian II ordered Sergius I's arrest and abduction to Constantinople by his notoriously violent bodyguard protospatharios
Zacharias. However, the militia of the exarch of Ravenna and the Duchy of Pentapolis frustrated the attempt. Zacharias nearly lost his own life in an attempt to arrest Sergius I. Rather than seizing upon the anti-Byzantine sentiment, Sergius I did his best to quell the uprising.
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
from 687 to 701. Selected to end a schism between Antipope Paschal
Antipope Paschal
Paschal was a rival with Theodore for Pope following the death of Pope Conon , and thus is considered an antipope of the Roman Catholic Church.Prior to the disputed election, Paschal was an archdeacon...
and Antipope Theodore
Antipope Theodore
Theodore was a rival with Paschal for Pope following the death of Pope Conon , and thus is considered an antipope of the Roman Catholic Church.Prior to the disputed election, Theodore was an archpriest...
, Sergius I ended the last disputed sede vacante
Sede vacante
Sede vacante is an expression, used in the Canon Law of the Catholic Church, that refers to the vacancy of the episcopal see of a particular church...
of the Byzantine Papacy
Byzantine Papacy
The Byzantine Papacy was a period of Byzantine domination of the papacy from 537 to 752, when popes required the approval of the Byzantine Emperor for episcopal consecration, and many popes were chosen from the apocrisiarii or the inhabitants of Byzantine Greece, Byzantine Syria, or Byzantine Sicily...
.
His papacy was dominated by his response to the Quinisext Council
Quinisext Council
The Quinisext Council was a church council held in 692 at Constantinople under Justinian II. It is often known as the Council in Trullo, because it was held in the same domed hall where the Sixth Ecumenical Council had met...
, whose canons he refused to accept. As a result of the dispute Justinian II
Justinian II
Justinian II , surnamed the Rhinotmetos or Rhinotmetus , was the last Byzantine Emperor of the Heraclian Dynasty, reigning from 685 to 695 and again from 705 to 711...
ordered Sergius I's abduction (as his predecessor Constans II had done with Pope Martin I
Pope Martin I
Pope Martin I, born near Todi, Umbria in the place now named after him , was pope from 649 to 653, succeeding Pope Theodore I in July 5, 649. The only pope during the Byzantine Papacy whose election was not approved by a iussio from Constantinople, Martin I was abducted by Constans II and died in...
), but with the assistance of the exarch of Ravenna, Sergius I was able to avoid trial in Constantinople.
Early life
Sergius I came from an AntiochAntioch
Antioch on the Orontes was an ancient city on the eastern side of the Orontes River. It is near the modern city of Antakya, Turkey.Founded near the end of the 4th century BC by Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander the Great's generals, Antioch eventually rivaled Alexandria as the chief city of the...
ene Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
n family which had settled at Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
in Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
. Sergius left Sicily and arrived in Rome during the pontificate of Pope Adeodatus
Pope Adeodatus II
Pope Adeodatus II or Pope Deodatus II reigned as Pope from April 11, 672 to June 17, 676. Little is known about him. Most records which remain indicate that Adeodatus was known for his generosity, especially when it came to the poor and to pilgrims....
. A fellow Sicilian Pope Leo II
Pope Leo II
-Background and early activity in the Church:He was a Sicilian by birth , and succeeded Agatho. Though elected pope a few days after the death of St. Agatho , he was not consecrated till after the lapse of a year and seven months...
ordained him cardinal-priest of Santa Susanna
Santa Susanna
The Church of Saint Susanna at the baths of Diocletian is a Roman Catholic parish church on the Quirinal Hill in Rome, with a titulus associated to its site that dates back to about 280...
on June 27, 683 and he rose through the ranks of the clergy. He remained cardinal-priest of S. Susanna until his selection as pope.
Election
Sergius I owed his election as Pope CononPope Conon
Pope Conon was Pope from October 21, 686 until his death in Rome. Conon was buried in the Patriarchal Basilica of St...
's successor to skillful intrigues against Antipope Paschal
Antipope Paschal
Paschal was a rival with Theodore for Pope following the death of Pope Conon , and thus is considered an antipope of the Roman Catholic Church.Prior to the disputed election, Paschal was an archdeacon...
and Antipope Theodore
Antipope Theodore
Theodore was a rival with Paschal for Pope following the death of Pope Conon , and thus is considered an antipope of the Roman Catholic Church.Prior to the disputed election, Theodore was an archpriest...
, the other candidates. The two armed factions entered open combat before Sergius I was chosen by a group of judges, soldiers, clergy, and citizens. Sergius I was brought to the Palatine imperial palace and then the Lateran. The "numerical superiority" of this new faction forced Theodore from the patriarchium, whereafter he acknowledged Sergius I as pope.
Paschal remained unconvinced, and while pretending to accept Sergius, sent messengers to the exarch of Ravenna John Platyn promising gold in exchange for military support. The exarch arrived, demanded the gold, and looted Old St. Peter's Basilica, but departed after Sergius I's consecration. Paschal was eventually confined to a monastery on charges of witchcraft.
Sergius I was consecrated on December 15, 687, ending the last disputed sede vacante
Sede vacante
Sede vacante is an expression, used in the Canon Law of the Catholic Church, that refers to the vacancy of the episcopal see of a particular church...
of the Byzantine Papacy
Byzantine Papacy
The Byzantine Papacy was a period of Byzantine domination of the papacy from 537 to 752, when popes required the approval of the Byzantine Emperor for episcopal consecration, and many popes were chosen from the apocrisiarii or the inhabitants of Byzantine Greece, Byzantine Syria, or Byzantine Sicily...
. "After the deaths of some pontiffs, Osporco, a Roman, succeeded to the papacy; but on account of his unseemly appellation, he took the name of Sergius, and this was the origin of that change of names which the popes adopt upon their election to the pontificate."
Papacy (687–701)
On April 10, 689, Sergius I baptised King Caedwalla of WessexCaedwalla of Wessex
Cædwalla was the King of Wessex from approximately 685 until he abdicated in 688. His name is derived from the British Cadwallon. He was exiled as a youth, and during this time attacked the South Saxons and killed their king, Æthelwealh, in what is now Sussex. Cædwalla was unable to hold the...
in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. He also ordained Saint Willibrord as bishop of the Frisia
Frisia
Frisia is a coastal region along the southeastern corner of the North Sea, i.e. the German Bight. Frisia is the traditional homeland of the Frisians, a Germanic people who speak Frisian, a language group closely related to the English language...
ns, and the Liber Pontificalis
Liber Pontificalis
The Liber Pontificalis is a book of biographies of popes from Saint Peter until the 15th century. The original publication of the Liber Pontificalis stopped with Pope Adrian II or Pope Stephen V , but it was later supplemented in a different style until Pope Eugene IV and then Pope Pius II...
states he also ordained Berhtwald as Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
.
Sergius founded the diaconie of S. Maria in Via Lata, on the Corso from the Porta Flaminia to Capitoline Hill
Capitoline Hill
The Capitoline Hill , between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the seven hills of Rome. It was the citadel of the earliest Romans. By the 16th century, Capitolinus had become Capitolino in Italian, with the alternative Campidoglio stemming from Capitolium. The English word capitol...
, encompassing a quarter of the city which developed in the eighth century. He also "restored and embellished" the Eastern church of SS. Cosmas and Damian.
Response to the Quinisext Council
Sergius I did not attend the Quinisext CouncilQuinisext Council
The Quinisext Council was a church council held in 692 at Constantinople under Justinian II. It is often known as the Council in Trullo, because it was held in the same domed hall where the Sixth Ecumenical Council had met...
of 692, but sent legates (including his apocrisiarius
Apocrisiarius
An apocrisiarius, the Latinized form of apokrisiarios , sometimes Anglicized as apocrisiary, was a high diplomatic representative during Late Antiquity and the early medieval period. The corresponding Latin term was responsalis...
and suffragan Basil, the bishop of Gortyna in Crete), who ended up subscribing to the canons as "holding the place of the entire synod of the Holy Roman Church". Sergius I himself rejected certain canons of the Council, although he continued to support political unity with Constantinople. It is unknown exactly which canons Sergius I objected to, but he declared that he would "rather die than consent to erroneous novelties". Sergius I's objections, however, did not extend to the anathemization of his predecessor, Pope Honorius I
Pope Honorius I
Pope Honorius I was pope from 625 to 638.Honorius, according to the Liber Pontificalis, came from Campania and was the son of the consul Petronius. He became pope on October 27, 625, two days after the death of his predecessor, Boniface V...
, who at the time was also condemned in Western formulas. The canon which declared Constantinople equal in privileges but second in honor to Rome was also probably not the point of contention as it differed little from the pronouncements of earlier councils.
However, the Quinisext Council did approve all eighty-five of the Apostolic Canons, while Sergius I would only have supported the first fifty. The bulk of the resistance probably stemmed from varying doctrines and practices between east and west; for example, Roman deacons were prohibited from living with their wives after ordination, Roman priests were prohibited from having married twice prior to ordination, and Roman Christians were prohibited from fasting on the Saturdays of Great Lent
Great Lent
Great Lent, or the Great Fast, is the most important fasting season in the church year in Eastern Christianity, which prepares Christians for the greatest feast of the church year, Pascha . In many ways Great Lent is similar to Lent in Western Christianity...
and allowed to consume animal blood. These and other practices differed from the Trullan canons.
In a symbolically important step, Sergius I declared support for the chant "Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us" at the breaking of the Host during Mass, and restored the damaged facade mosaic in St. Peter's atrium that depicted the Worship of the Lamb; the depiction of Christ as lamb had been prohibited by the Council. The Agnus Dei would have been chanted in both Greek and Latin during this period, in the same manner as the other liturgical changes of Sergius I. Sergius I himself composed a litany in Greek (extant in the Athelstan Psalter to be recited on the feast of all saints.
Enraged, Emperor Justinian II
Justinian II
Justinian II , surnamed the Rhinotmetos or Rhinotmetus , was the last Byzantine Emperor of the Heraclian Dynasty, reigning from 685 to 695 and again from 705 to 711...
dispatched his magistrianus, also named Sergius, to Rome to arrest bishop John of Portus, the chief papal legate to the Third Council of Constantinople
Third Council of Constantinople
The Third Council of Constantinople, counted as the Sixth Ecumenical Council by the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches and other Christian groups, met in 680/681 and condemned monoenergism and monothelitism as heretical and defined Jesus Christ as having two energies and two wills...
and Boniface, the papal counselor. The two high ranking officials were brought to Constantinople as a warning to the pope. Eventually, Justinian II ordered Sergius I's arrest and abduction to Constantinople by his notoriously violent bodyguard protospatharios
Protospatharios
Prōtospatharios was one of the highest court dignities of the middle Byzantine period , awarded to senior generals and provincial governors, as well as to foreign princes.-History:...
Zacharias. However, the militia of the exarch of Ravenna and the Duchy of Pentapolis frustrated the attempt. Zacharias nearly lost his own life in an attempt to arrest Sergius I. Rather than seizing upon the anti-Byzantine sentiment, Sergius I did his best to quell the uprising.