Alphabetical list of Popes

The Popes, in chronological order

AD 600-700

66. Boniface III. b. Rome; elected 19 Feb, 607; d. 12 Nov, 607. Another of Gregory's nuncios in Constantinople where he had served at the court of Emperor Phocas, he enlisted the support of  the emperor for his decree that the pope of Rome was the only universal bishop. Boniface decreed that under pain of excommunication there should be no discussion of a pope's successor during his lifetime and that election of new popes must not be before three days after the death of his predecessor'.

67. St Boniface IV. b. Abruzzo; elected 25 Aug, 608; d. 8 May, 615.  Son of a doctor he had been a deacon in Gregory's ponitifcate. He enhanced  the peaceful relationship with the new Emperor Phocas who allowed him to consecrate Agrippa's pagan temple, the Pantheon, to the memory of the Virgin and all martyrs.(ISPR) .Boniface instituted All Saints Day, Nov 1 (ISPR).  "Pious, industrious and devoted to the poor" (NCE) , he was petitioned by the Irish scholar (later saint) Columbanus who challenged papal supremacy and pleaded with the pope not to endorse Eutychianism or encourage those who believed there was only one nature in Christ (BS).

68. St Deusdedit I. b. Rome; elected 10 Nov, 615;  d. 8 Nov, 618. Son of a subdeacon he had been a priest for four decades at his election. He ordained many priests-- "he greatly loved the clergy" (LP)-- and at his death left bequests to each of them, the first pope to do so. Described in some ancient texts as a Benedictine monk for which (says BS) there is no evidence. He began to use lead seals for Bulls and pontifical decrees, and attended lepers and those stricken with the plague (ISPR). Ruling that papal elections be delayed for three days,  he added:"Nobody may presume while the Pontiff...is alive to create votes for himself". He later became known as Adeodatus.

69. Boniface V. b. Naples; elected 23 Dec, 619; d. 25 Oct, 625. The ratification for his pontificate took a full year because Emperor Heraclius was campaigning against the Persians. Boniface, noted for his organizing ability, continued the preference of his oredecessor for secular clergy rather than those from monastic orders, encouraged the propagation of faith in England and instituted the privilege of sanctuary in the churches for the persecuted. Mohammed  began preaching during his papacy and Jerusalem, Antioch and Alexandria "became, in effect, Christian caliphates' (NCE) "A compassionate and kindly man he was generous to the needy and distributed his personal fortune in alms" (ODP)

70. Honorius I. b. Capua; elected 25 Oct, 625; d. 12 Oct, 638. Son of a consul, he followed Gregory's example, turning his mansion into a monastery and favoring the principle of some autonomy for monasteries. Honorius despatched missionaries worldwide and granted the archbishops of York and Canterbury the power to name their successors. He built and restored many acqueducts and churches, among them  St Peter's. Impatient with the endless argument between the factions,  the pope maligned the "pointless, bombastic and time-wasting philosophers" who "croak at us like frogs" about whether Christ had two natures or not. Nevetheless, his  stance, through the wiles of the Constantinope patriarch Sergius, aligned him  with the monothelites and in approval , the emperor issued a decree, Ecthesis, imposing monothelitism as an official doctrine. Eventually the tide turned and Rome's public resistance to the one-will doctrine revived the schism with Constantinople.  Pope Leo II, 40 years later, declared that Honorius "tried with profane treachery to subvert the immaculate faith".
Depicted in 7th c. fresco in Sta Agnese fuori le Mura, Rome

71. Severinus. b. Rome; elected 28 May, 640; d. 2, Aug, 640. He battled with the Byzantine emperor Heraclius over some heretical concept that tP terms as "obscure" prompting a delay of  the necessary imperial mandate for his pontificate. Finally he was 'approved' after accepting, under pressure,  Ecthesis --the monothelite heresy formulated by Sergius, patriarch of Constantinople that Christ had only one will . Besieged by the emperor's troops in Rome who sacked the Lateran Palace and depleted it of its funds, Severinus  died soon afterwards. LP describes him as a good and charitable man.

72. John IV. b. Dalmatia; elected 24 Dec, 640; d. 12 Oct, 642. He had been archdeacon of Rome and was initially at odds with the emperor over the Ecthesis  although  eventually able to come to a peaceful resolution of the matter. In honor of the saints of the Dalmatian region (his own birthplace) he endowed a chapel next to the Lateran palace. "On his death he granted his clergy a year's stipend each" (ODP) .
7th c. mosaic in Lateran Palace.

73. Theodore I. b. Jerusalem; elected 24 Sept, 642; d. 14 May, 649.  After the pope withheld recognition of the new patriarch of Constantinople, Paul, and later excommunicated him for defending monethelitism, the new emperor, Constans II,  abrogated the Ecthesis   banning further argument about the whole subject. Priests who disobeyed it were flogged and exiled. The former patriarch Pyrrhus recanted his monothelite heresy and was reinstalled as patriarch. Before getting into a dispute over the emperor's own unorthodox theological philosophies, Theodore died. "Although chiefly known as the implacable foe of monothelitism he was generous to the poor..." (ODP) and "left a reputation for mercy and charity" (tP)

74. St Martin I. b. Todi; elected 5, July 649; d. 16 Sept, 653. Consecrated within two days of his election, he refused to apply for the  imperial mandate. Defying Constans' typos, he battled with the Monothelites ("a somewhat artificial heresy" --PDS) organizing a synod to denounce it, causing the emperor to have him tried for treason, dragged through the streets in chains, imprisoned  on Naxos and later starved to death in the Crimea. Ignored by Rome, Martin wrote "I am surprised at the indifference and hard-heartedness of my former associates...have I appeared such an enemy to the whole church and an adversary to them?"  He died still in captivity later to be venerated as a martyr.

75. St Eugene I. b. Rome; elected 19 Aug, 654; d. 2 June, 657. A saintly, life-long churchman, he was elected while Martin was still alive, ratified after his death. With the collaboration of Constantinople patriarch Peter, the new pope  framed a compromise formula to deal with the still-active question of monothelitism but this was not only rejected by the Roman clergy but so  aggravated Emperor Constans II in 656 that he wrote to Abbot Maximus: "Know that when we get a rest from the heathen we will treat you like the pope who is now lifted up and we will roast all of you each in his own place as Pope Martin has been roasted". Dying before any such action could be taken, Eugene was "revered for his unaffected goodness" (ODP)..

76. St Vitalian. b. Segni; elected 30 July 657; d. 27 Jan, 672. Attempted to be conciliatory to the emperor over Monothelism which was a contentious issue still endlessly bickered over by differing  factions.  The subject was carefully avoided during the emperor's 663 visit to Rome where he was much celebrated, despite ordering his workmen to dismantle and ship to Constantinople many of the city's treasures. LP notes that he "took away all the sacred vessels and equipment of God's holy churches, leaving nothing behind".  Seeking a counter-weight to Rome's papal power Constans II  appointed deacon Maurus as archbishop of Ravenna. In 666 Maurus refused the pope's summons to Rome to attend a synod,  and after mutual excommunications by both parties, Maurus was rewarded with an imperial decree that elevated Ravenna to virtually equal status with the papacy. This autonomy lasted only a few years. After Constans was assassinated in his bathtub by army officers, he was succeeded by his son, Constantine IV and monothelism --originally  formulated to appease the eastern provinces, now lost to the Arabs--was finally abandoned by the emperor. Vitalian who, says LP, "preserved the customary ecclesiastical rule and authority in every way" despatched papal nuncios to Spain and Gaul and ordained Theodore of Tarsus as archbishop of Canterbury with instructions to reorganize the church in England.

77. Adeodatus II. b. Rome; elected 11 April, 672; d. 17 June 676. A longtime monk he was elderly when elected and his pontificate is obscure, though ODP reports "he was generous to all, compassionate to pilgrims and kind to his clergy" and that he corresponded with a Canterbury monastery confirming its "exemption from episopal supervision"  ISPR says Adeodatus sent missionaries to convert the Syrian Maronites.

78. Donus. b. Rome; elected 2 Sept. 676; d. 2 April 678.  Ended the schism with the church in coastal Ravenna,  but died before he could respond to overtures by Emperor Constantine V to restore unity with the church in Constantinople. Here the  monothelite patriarch Theodore continued to be  an obstacle to agreement. Donus restored several Roman churches.

79. St Agatho. b. Palermo; elected 27 June, 678; d. 10 Jan, 681. Probably a Benedictine monk before his election, and solicitous of his clergy as pope. NCE says one of his letters to Constantine "combined clear thinking with a firm proclamation of Roman infallibility". At the emperor's suggestion,  a General Council of the church was held in 680/1  at which orthodoxy was restored with the abandonment of monothelitism. It was agreed that Ravenna would no longer be of independent status and would again come under the jurisdiction of Rome.   Agatho enlisted the support of Theodore, archbishop of Canterbury, in his conciliation of Constantinople and mediated in the dispute between that churchman and his colleague, the archbishop of York. ODP calls Agatho "a kindly man, loved by all for his cheerful good humor".  Portrayed in a window at England's York Minster.

80. St Leo II. b. Sicily; elected 17 Aug, 682; d. 3 Aug, 683. His ratification was held up by the emperor until he was willing to agree with criticisms made of former pope Honorius for not having settled the  monothelitist disputes half a century before. Leo implied that he "did not think his predecessor actually heretical" (tP). According to ISPR, Leo  introduced the habit of sprinkling holy water on those attending religious functions. He had been trained in the papal choir as a musician and was both eloquent and cultured. LP pays tribute to his love and charity towards the poor. 8th c. fresco in Sa. Maria Antiqua, Rome.

81. St Benedict II. b. Rome; elected 26 June, 684; d. 8 May, 685. Waited 10 months for his consecration until Constantine gave his approval.  While still demonstrating imperial supremacy, the emperor amiably accompanied his message with a lock of his son's hair (NCE). Benedict negotiated with the emperor to lessen the latter's influence on papal elections by allowing his viceroy in Italy to ratify elections, rather than by Constantinople as had been the custom up to then. LP says Benedict was humble, gentle and generous to the poor. He reintroduced the principle of sanctuary, which had fallen into disrepute.

82. St John V. b. Syria; elected 23 July, 685; d. 2 Aug, 686.  As a deacon, he had represented Pope Agatho at the council in Constantinople,  As Pope John he cracked down on  a challenge to his authority from Sardinia, reaffirming Roman supremacy. He was ill for much of his short reign.

83. Conon. b. Thrace; elected 21 Oct, 686; d. 21 Sept, 687. He was the compromise candidate after the local militia's choice of a priest named Theodore was opposed by the Roman clergy who backed the archpriest Peter. In his brief reign, Conon re-established good relations with Emperor Justinian I, but "unworldly and of saintly appearance, he was simple minded and continuously ill" records ODP which adds that his death left tensions "unresolved and festering dangerously". There were unsupported rumors that he may have been poisoned (ISPR) and his death was followed by the militia electing Theodore and the opposing faction electing  Paschal. This Roman archdeacon had offered the new Byzantine exarch at Ravenna money to assure his election, only to learn that yet a third faction had elected as pope the compromise candidate Sergius.

anti-pope  Theodore  (687)
anti-pope  Paschal  (687)

84. St Sergius I. b. Antioch; elected  15 Dec, 687; d. 8 Sept, 701. He defied  the emperor not least over the latter's  declaration that Constantinople's patriarch was independent from Rome. Justinian II, who had unilaterally called a council in Constantinople  to establish his own version of canon law  (which, needless to say, was at odds with Rome), sent his armed envoy with a copy of the council's edicts which the pope was commanded to sign. The council had been dominated by Eastern bishops whose more relaxed precepts (allowing clergy to marry; fasting allowed on Saturday) were anathema to Rome. Romans rallied, drove the envoy out of the city and Justinian was deposed before he could retaliate adequately. Meanwhile the exarch of Ravenna was bribed to rescind his support of Paschal, and Theodore resigned leaving Sergius unchallenged as pope. He supported missionary monks in Germany and introduced into the Mass from Syria, the Agnus Dei , a prayer for peace.