Pope Saint Agatho depicted in the Menologion of Basil II
(circa 1000). [The Menologion of Basil II is a Greek illuminated manuscript, designed as a Church Calendar, or Eastern Orthodox Church Service Book (Menologion) that was compiled circa 1000 for the Byzantine Emperor, Basil II (reigned 976 A.D. – 1025).]
Прп. Агафон, папа Римский
Константинополь. 985 г.
Миниатюра Минология Василия II.
Ватиканская библиотека. Рим.
Date: 985 A.D.
(Wikimedia Commons)
unless stated otherwise.
Pope Agatho (circa 577 A.D. – 10 January 681 A.D.), served as the Bishop of Rome from 27 June 678 A.D. until his death on 10 January 681 A.D.[2]
He heard the appeal of Saint Wilfrid of York, who had been displaced from his See by the division of the Archdiocese ordered by Archbishop Saint Theodore of Canterbury.
During Agatho’s tenure, the Sixth Ecumenical Council, held at Constantinople, was convened to deal with Monothelitism.
He is Venerated as a Saint by both the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches. He is said to have been the longest-lived Pope ever.[3]
The details of Agatho’s early life are uncertain. It has been written that he was born around 577 A.D.[4] in Palermo, Sicily, and was a Greek, whose parents died when he was young.
The details of Agatho’s early life are uncertain. It has been written that he was born around 577 A.D.[4] in Palermo, Sicily, and was a Greek, whose parents died when he was young.
After the death of his parents, it is said that he joined the Monastery of San Giovanni degli Eremiti in Palermo.[5]
Due to the Rashidun Caliphate’s raids on Sicily that began in 652 A.D., many Sicilian Clergy had fled to Rome, and Agatho may have been among them.[6]
He served several years as Treasurer of the Church of Rome. He succeeded Pope Donus, and ascended to the Papacy on 27 June 678 A.D., a Sunday.[7]
Shortly after Agatho became Pope, Bishop Wilfrid of York arrived in Rome to invoke the authority of the Holy See on his behalf.
Wilfrid had been deposed from his See by Archbishop Theodore of Canterbury, who had carved up Wilfrid’s Diocese and appointed three Bishops to govern the new Sees.
At a Synod, which Pope Agatho convoked in the Lateran to investigate the affair, it was decided that Wilfrid’s Diocese should indeed be divided, but that Wilfrid should name the Bishops.[8]
The major event of Agatho’s Pontificate was the Sixth Ecumenical Council (680 A.D. – 681 A.D.), following the end of the Muslim Siege of Constantinople,[9] which suppressed Monothelitism, which had been tolerated by previous Popes (Honorius I among them).
The Sixth Ecumenical Council began when Emperor Constantine IV, wanting to heal the Schism that separated the two sides, wrote to Pope Donus suggesting a Conference on the matter, but Donus was dead by the time the Letter arrived.
Agatho was quick to seize the Olive Branch offered by the Emperor.
He ordered Councils held throughout the West, so that Legates could present the Universal Tradition of the Western Church.
Then he sent a large delegation to meet the Easterners at Constantinople.[8]
The Legates and Patriarchs gathered in the Imperial Palace on 7 November 680 A.D.
The Legates and Patriarchs gathered in the Imperial Palace on 7 November 680 A.D.
The Monothelites presented their case. Then, a Letter of Pope Agatho was read that explained the Traditional belief of The Church that Christ was of two Wills, Divine and Human.
Patriarch George of Constantinople accepted Agatho’s Letter, as did most of the Bishops present. The Council proclaimed the existence of the two Wills in Christ and condemned Monothelitism, with Pope Honorius I being included in the condemnation.
When the Council ended in September 681 A.D., the decrees were sent to the Pope, but Agatho had died in January 681 A,D. The Council had not only ended Monothelism, but also had healed the Schism.[8]
Agatho also undertook negotiations between the Holy See and Emperor Constantine IV concerning the interference of the Byzantine Court in Papal Elections.
Agatho also undertook negotiations between the Holy See and Emperor Constantine IV concerning the interference of the Byzantine Court in Papal Elections.
Constantine promised Agatho to abolish or reduce the tax that the Popes had to pay to the Imperial Treasury on their Consecration.[8]
Church records state that Agatho served as Pope as a Centenarian, dying between the ages of 103 and 104.[10][11]
Recent research has cast doubt on his age, with some claiming that Pope Agatho and a Monk, called Agathon, have been confused, and are two different people.[12]
Anastatius says that the number of his Miracles procured Pope Agatho the title of Thaumaturgus (Miracle Worker).
Anastatius says that the number of his Miracles procured Pope Agatho the title of Thaumaturgus (Miracle Worker).
He is Venerated as a Saint by both Catholics and Eastern Orthodox.[13] His Feast Day in Western Christianity is 10 January.[14] Eastern Christians, including Eastern Orthodox and the Eastern Catholic Churches, Commemorate him on 20 February.[15]
