Constantine I (Pope)

Constantine I, depiction in the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls

Constantine I (* year of birth unknown in Syria , † April 9, 715 in Rome ) was enthroned as Pope on March 25, 708 .

He must have been an esteemed member of the Church under Pope Agatho , since he was a member of the papal delegation to the Third Council of Constantinople in 680 .

Little is known about Constantine, the last Byzantine "vassal pope". By order of the local emperor Justinian II , he visited Byzantium in the year 710 during his second reign, possibly to confirm the results of the Trullan Synod .

There were conflicts with the Archbishop of Ravenna because he did not want to submit to the Pope; with Benedict of Milan , the Milan archbishop, who urged the pope, the bishops of Pavia use themselves; and with Justinian's successor, the Byzantine emperor Philippikos Bardanes , who unsuccessfully demanded that he renounce the definition of faith of the Third Council of Constantinople.

The Pope was supposed to ensure that the resolutions of the Trullan Synod of 692 were adhered to , since the emperor had been told that Popes Sergius I and John VII in particular rejected the doctrines on discipline or only followed them half-heartedly. Deacon Gregory (who later became Pope Gregory II ) excelled in the negotiations and offered a compromise solution that both sides could accept. The stay in Constantinople (710/711) was to be the last visit of a Pope to the Eastern Church for 1250 years (only Paul VI met Patriarch Athenagoras in Jerusalem in 1964 and visited Istanbul in 1967).

The good relationship with Ostrom was short-lived, however, as Justinian II was slain by a group of soldiers (November 4, 711). They put Philippikos Bardanes, a staunch monothelite , on the emperor's throne , whereupon a new dispute broke out. After the new emperor had instructed the Exarch of Ravenna to introduce monotheleticism in Rome, there were real street battles . Pope Constantinus then brought a large number of priests into the city, who stood in the way of the anti-imperial demonstrators with crosses and gospels and urged peace.

The fall of Philip in 713 was a great relief for both sides. The new emperor, Anastasios II , confirmed the agreements of Emperor Justinian II and thus reconciled the warring camps.

Constantine appointed three cardinals in his pontificate , including the later Pope Gregory II, who also succeeded him.

The Roman number I. after his name is optional, as his only successor, Constantine II, was an antipope .

literature

• David Miller:  Costantino I, papa. In: Alberto M. Ghisalberti (Ed.): Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (DBI). Volume 30:  Cosattini – Crispolto. Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Rome 1984.
• David Miller: Costantino . In: Enciclopedia dei Papi , Volume I, Rome 2000. largely identical wording
• Ph. Levillain (editor): Dictionnaire Historique de la Papauté. Paris 1994.
• R. Barth & F. Needy: Pocket Lexicon Popes. 2000.

Web links

Commons : Constantine I.  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Constantine. In: Salvador Miranda : The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church. ( Florida International University website), accessed January 23, 2016.

predecessor	Office	successor
Sisinnius	Pope 708-715	Gregory II