The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church

Biographical Dictionary
Agatho (678-681)
680


(1) 1. GIOVENALE (?-682?)

Birth. (No date or place found). He is also listed as Juvénal.

Education. (No information found).

Cardinalate. Bishop cardinalis of Albano in 680 (1).

Death. 682? (2), (no place found). Buried at an unknown place.

Bibliography. Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificum Romanorum : et S.R.E. Cardinalium ab initio nascentis Ecclesiae usque ad Clementem IX P. O. M. Alphonsi Ciaconii Ord. Praed. & aliorum opera descriptæ : cum uberrimis notis. Ab Augustino Oldoino, Soc. Jesu recognitae, et ad quatuor tomos ingenti ubique rerum accessione productae. Additis Pontificum recentiorum imaginibus, & Cardinalium insignibus, plurimisque aeneis figuris, cum indicibus locupletissimis. Romæ : P. et A. De Rubeis, 1677, I, col. , no. ; and ; Cristofori, Francesco. Cronotasi dei cardinali di Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Tipografia de Propaganda Fide, 1888, p. 40; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. Les cardinaux des 10 premiers siècles". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1926. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1927, p. 145, no. 1; Gams, Pius Bonifatius. Series episcoporum Ecclesiae catholicae. 3 v. in 1. Graz : Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt, 1957, p. XXII.

(1) The suburbicarian see of Albano dates back from to the 4th century. Its episcopal list starts in 355. This is its first cardinal.
(2) Resigned or died in 682 because according to Gams, Series Episcoporum Ecclesiae Catholicae, p. XXII, the see was vacant that year.

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(2) 2. LEONE (?-683)

Birth. (No date found), Sicily (1). Of Greek Origin. Son of Paulus. He was called Medicus.

Education. Liber pontificalis celebrates his eloquence, vast erudition in Sacred Scripture, proficiency in Greek and Latin, as well as his skills of liturgical chanting and psalmody. This leads to the assumption that he had been part of, or had even been at the helm of the Lateran Schola Cantorum. His ecclesiastical career took place in Rome. His erudition and mastery of the Greek language made him a suitable candidate to give continuity to the work of Pope Agatho.

Cardinalate. Presbyter cardinalis of an unknown title in 680. A long period of vacancy of the Holy See followed the death of Pope Agatho. Presbyter cardinalis Leone was elected pope in January 681 and took the name Leo II. Before December 681, he sent an apocrisiario to Constantinople to notify Emperor Constantine IV Pagonato of his election. News of the death of Pope Agatho and the election of Pope Leo II his election arrived in Constantinople on March 10, 681. The imperial approval of the newly elected pope had to wait eighteen months. The Sixth Ecumenical Council of Constantinople, which was still in session, had issued the official condemnation of Pope Honorius I and it was a quite delicate matter on which Emperor Constantine IV Pagonato demanded the total adherence of the West, delaying the election's approval as a tactic. The papal delegation to the council returned to Rome in July 682 bringing the imperial approval.

Papacy. He was consecrated on August 17, 682, by Bishops Andrea of Ostia, Giovanni of Porto, and Piacentino of Velletri. Later, between September and December 682, the new pope sent the emperor a letter in which he approved all decisions of the council. In particular, concerning Pope Honorius I, the pontiff observed that his predecessor had not tried to keep pure the Roman Church in the apostolic tradition and his profane condescendence had allowed the fearless Roman Church to be tarnished. And yet the pope softened his tone in a letter to the metropolitans of Spain, giving them the details of the council and asking for their endorsement of its decision, Pope Leo II stated that Pope Honorius I was guilty because he had not diligently studied early, as befitted a pope, the flame of heresy, but had favored it with his negligence. One of his major efforts was to finalize an agreement between Rome and the Church of Ravenna, obtaining that the later abandoned the privilege of autocephaly granted by Emperor Constans II. He restored two churches, S. Bibiana and S. Giorgio in Velabro, from Velabrum, as was called the river marsh that originally divided the Palatino from the Campidoglio. Located just behind the Arch of Giano, the latter church was restored again early in the 20th century, always maintaining the simple structure given to it by Pope Leo II, with its three naves, which emanated from a deep spirit of Christian purity. He had the relics of Saints Simplicio, Faustino and Beatrice transferred from the zone of Porto to the church of S. Bibiana. In February 22, 683, he consecrated the church of S. Paolo, situated near the church of S. Bibiana. During his pontificate, he ordained twenty two bishops, nine priests and three deacons.

Death. July 3, 683, Rome. Buried in St. Peter's basilica, Rome. Pope Paschal II placed Pope Leo II's remains, together with those of Popes Leo III and Leo IV, in a marble tomb under the altar of the chapel of the Madonna della Colonna. The tomb was found in 1580 by Pope Gregory XIII. In 1601, Pope Paul V had the remains of Pope Leo I included in the sarcophagus when they were found in St. Peter's basilica (2).

Sainthood. Inscribed in the Roman Martyrology, his feast was celebrated for a long time on June 28 until Pope Benedict XV in 1921 transferred it to July 3.

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1792, I, pt. 1, 27-30; Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificum Romanorum : et S.R.E. Cardinalium ab initio nascentis Ecclesiae usque ad Clementem IX P. O. M. Alphonsi Ciaconii Ord. Praed. & aliorum opera descriptæ : cum uberrimis notis. Ab Augustino Oldoino, Soc. Jesu recognitae, et ad quatuor tomos ingenti ubique rerum accessione productae. Additis Pontificum recentiorum imaginibus, & Cardinalium insignibus, plurimisque aeneis figuris, cum indicibus locupletissimis. Romæ : P. et A. De Rubeis, 1677, I, col. 225-226; Cristofori, Francesco. Cronotasi dei cardinali di Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Tipografia de Propaganda Fide, 1888, p. XXXVII; Ekonomou, Andrew J. Byzantine Rome and the Greek popes: Eastern influences on Rome and the papacy from Gregory the Great to Zacharias, A.D. 590-752. Lanham, MD : Lexington Books, 2007, p. 200, 225, note 9, and 226-227, notes 10-16; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. Les cardinaux des 10 premiers siècles". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1926. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1927, p. 145, no. 2; Kelly, John Norman Davidson. The Oxford Dictionary of Popes. Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 1986, p. 78-79; Le Liber pontificalis. Paris : E. de Boccard, 1981, 1955. 3 v. : facsims. (Bibliothèque des Écoles françaises d'Athènes et de Rome). Notes: Reprint of the 1955 edition./ Includes indexes./ Vol. 3: "Additions et corrections de L. Duchesne publiées par Cyrille Vogel ... avec L'Histoire du Liber pontificalis dupuis l'édition de L. Duchesne une bibliographie et des tables générales, I, 59-362; Montini, Renzo Uberto. Le tombe dei papi. Roma : Angelo Belardetti, 1957. Note: At head of title: Instituto di studi romani, p. 124-126, no. 80; Reardon, Wendy J. The deaths of the popes : comprehensive accounts, including funerals, burial places and epitaphs. Jefferson, N.C. : McFarland & Co., Publishers, 2004, p. 54-55; Regesta pontificum Romanorum ab conditio Ecclesia. Ad annum post Christum natum MCXCVIII. Graz : Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt, 1956. 2 v. Reprint. Originally published : Lipsiae : Veit et comp., 1885-1888. Original t.p. included : Regesta pontificum Romanorum ab condita ecclesia : ad annum post Christum natum MCXCVIII. Editionem secundam correctam et auctam edidit Philippus Jaffè ; auspiciis Gulielmi Wattenbach; curaverunt S. Loewenfeld, F. Kaltenbrunner, P. Ewald, I, 240-241; Susi, Eugenio. "Leone II, santo." Enciclopedia dei papi. 3 vols. Roma : Istituto della Enciclopedia italiana, 2000, I, 617-620; Scano, Gaetana. "Leone II, papa, santo." Mondo vaticano. Passato e presente. Città del Vaticano : Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1995, p. 642-643.

Webgraphy. Biography by Eugenio Susi, in Italian, Enciclopedia dei papi (2000), Treccani; biography by Horace Mann, in English, The Catholc Encyclopedia; biography, in English, Encyclopaedia Britannica; biography by Joseph Brusher, S.J., in English, Pope through the Ages; biography, in English, Monastère du Magnificat, Mont-Tremblant, Québec, Canada; biography, in Italian, Wikipedia; biography, in Italian, Santi e Beati; images and biography, in Italian, Gran Mirci Messina; biography, in Italian, Panoramic, biography, in Italian, cronologia.leonardo.it; biography, in Norwegian, Den katolske kirke; his portrait, Panoramio; his engraving, Biblioteca comunale dell'Archiginnasio, Bologna; engravings, Araldica Vaticana; his engraving, iStockphoto; his engraving, in color, Fotosearch; his engraving, Il Mercante in Asta; his engraving, Bildarchiv Austria. Die Bildplattform der Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek; his engraving, Bildarchiv Austria. Die Bildplattform der Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek; his engraving, Bildarchiv Austria. Die Bildplattform der Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek; and another engraving from the same source.

(1) The sources consulted give different provinces and cities as the place of his birth: today's province of Messina or Enna; Aidone , Cittadella Morgantina or piana di Gioia Tauro; Messina; Alcara li Fusi; and Piazza Armerina.
(2) Reardon, The deaths of the popes : comprehensive accounts, including funerals, burial places and epitaphs, p. 55, adds the following: "For centuries the people of Ferrara thought that Leo II was enshrined under an altar in the church of San Stefano. The finding of a tombstone by the bishop Giacomo Benzoni from 1509 stating that the Duke Alfonso d'Este and Cardinal Ippolito placed the remains of Leo under the altar was considered proof. After some checking, Benzoni found a notice that in 754 Pope Zacharis donated to King Astolfo, for the Abbey of Nonantola, the bodies of Pope Saint Silvester and Leo II, and that the relics of Pope Leo would be brought in 1006 to Vicoventia, and from there to Ferrara. During the demolition of St. Peter's in the early seventeenth century, the remains of Popes Leo II, III, and IV were found in one sarcophagus, thus proving that Leo II rested at the Vatican. The Apostolic Nuncio then forbade the cult of Pope Leo at Ferrara. The relics under the altar in Ferrara actually belong to a different Leo II who was bishop of Voghenza in 611. Perhaps the rumor was started because for a church to contain the body of a pope, let alone a sainted pope, brought in much revenue from people on pilgrimage to his shrine. The relics of the bishop Leo are still preserved at the first altar on the right side of the church of San Stefano, in a wooden urn ... "

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(3) 3. TEODORO (?-ca. 716?)

Birth. (No date or place found). He is also listed as Teodoro II, antipapa.

Education. (No information found).

Cardinalate. Presbyter cardinalis of an unknown title ca. 680. Given his knowledge of ecclesiastical matters and his devotion to the Apostolic See, he was sent to England by Pope Agatho to promote and extend the glory of God and the spiritual health of the souls (1). He returned to Rome in 683. He generously distributed among the poor the gifts received from the emperor. He may have been legate to the Sixth Ecumenical Council of Constantinople, 680-681, together with Presbyter cardinalis Giorgio and Deacon cardinalis Giovanni. Returned to Rome in July 682 bringing to Pope Leo II the acts of the council and the imperial approval of his election to the papacy.

Antipapacy. At the death of Pope John V in August 686, there was a heated debate over his successor. The Roman clergy wanted to elect Archpriest cardinalis Pietro, but the army favored Presbyter cardinalis Teodoro. The clerical faction gathered outside the Lateran basilica and the military occupied the church of S. Stefano Rotondo. The negotiatons between the two groups were unsuccessful. Finally, the clergy faction entered the Lateran patriarchium, and forsaking Presbyter cardinalis Teodoro, elected the Greco-Sicilian Presbyter cardinalis Conone as Pope John V's successor. Presbyter cardinalis Teodoro made his submission to Pope Conon I. Archpriest cardinalis Pietro was also abandoned by his supporters in favor of Pope Conon. When Pope Conon died eleven months later, on September 21, 687, there was another dispute concerning the election of his successor. Part of the Roman population supported the same Teodoro, now new archpriest cardinalis, while another proposed the election of Archdeacon cardinalis Pasquale. The former's supporters were able to occupy the Lateran patriarchium, while the other group took over an adjacent oratory and the basilica. The combat that followed during which each side tried to expel the other from the places they had occupied, finally ended when a group of judges together with members of the army, the clergy, and a large number of citizens proposed the candidacy of a Syrian presbyter cardinalis named Sergius. The new pope was taken to the imperial palace on the Palatine hill, and from there he was led to the papal residence at the Lateran. Forcing their way into the patriarchium, the supporters of the new pope succeeded in having Archpriest cardinalis Teodoro give up his cause and recognize Sergius as pope. Archdeacon cardinalis Pasquale did not abandon his quest for the papacy and was eventually imprisoned in a monastery. Since Archpriest cardinalis Teodoro was never consecrated and accepted Sergius as legitimate pontiff, it is doubtful that he should be recognized as an antipope (2).

Death. Ca. 716 (?), (no place found). Buried at an unknown place.

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1792, I, pt. 1, 26; Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificum Romanorum : et S.R.E. Cardinalium ab initio nascentis Ecclesiae usque ad Clementem IX P. O. M. Alphonsi Ciaconii Ord. Praed. & aliorum opera descriptæ : cum uberrimis notis. Ab Augustino Oldoino, Soc. Jesu recognitae, et ad quatuor tomos ingenti ubique rerum accessione productae. Additis Pontificum recentiorum imaginibus, & Cardinalium insignibus, plurimisque aeneis figuris, cum indicibus locupletissimis. Romæ : P. et A. De Rubeis, 1677, I, col. 486 and 488; Cristofori, Francesco. Cronotasi dei cardinali di Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Tipografia de Propaganda Fide, 1888, p. XXXVIII; Ekonomou, Andrew J. Byzantine Rome and the Greek popes: Eastern influences on Rome and the papacy from Gregory the Great to Zacharias, A.D. 590-752. Lanham, MD : Lexington Books, 2007, p. 216; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. Les cardinaux des 10 premiers siècles". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1926. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1927, p. 145, no. 4; Kelly, John Norman Davidson. The Oxford Dictionary of Popes. Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 1986, p. 81-82; Longo, Umberto. "Teodoro, antipapa." Enciclopedia dei papi. 3 vols. Roma : Istituto della Enciclopedia italiana, 2000, I, 629-631; Mondo vaticano. Passato e presente. Città del Vaticano : Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1995, p. ; Reardon, Wendy J. The deaths of the popes : comprehensive accounts, including funerals, burial places and epitaphs. Jefferson, N.C. : McFarland & Co., Publishers, 2004, p. 56; Regesta pontificum Romanorum ab conditio Ecclesia. Ad annum post Christum natum MCXCVIII. Graz : Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt, 1956. 2 v. Reprint. Originally published : Lipsiae : Veit et comp., 1885-1888. Original t.p. included : Regesta pontificum Romanorum ab condita ecclesia : ad annum post Christum natum MCXCVIII. Editionem secundam correctam et auctam edidit Philippus Jaffè ; auspiciis Gulielmi Wattenbach; curaverunt S. Loewenfeld, F. Kaltenbrunner, P. Ewald, I, 239, 240 and 244.

Webgraphy. Biography by Umberto Longo, Enciclopedia dei papi (2000), Treccani; biography, in English, Encyclopaedia Britannica; biography, in Italian, Wikipedia.

(1) This is according to Cardella, Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa, I, pt. 1, 26.
(2) This is according to Kelly, The Oxford Dictionary of Popes, p. 82. Annuario Pontificio per l'anno 2010(Città del Vaticano : Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2010), p. 10*, lists him as antipope in 687. According to Chacsn-Oldoini, Vitae et res gestae Pontificum Romanorum et S. R. E. Cardinalium, I, cols. 486 and 488, mentions an Antipope Theodorus in both Schisma Octavuum and Schisma Nonum. Cristofori, Cronotassi dei Cardinali de Santa Romana Chiesa, p. XXXVIII, says that he was an antipope from November to December 686 (?) and again in December 687.

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(4) 4. GIORGIO (?-?)

Birth. (No date or place found).

Education. (No information found).

Cardinalate. Presbyter cardinalis of an unknown title ca. 680. He was papal legate to the Sixth Ecumenical Council of Constantinople, 680-681, together with Presbyter cardinalis Teodoro and Deacon cardinalis Giovanni. Returned to Rome in July 682 bringing to Pope Leo II the acts of the council and the imperial approval of his election to the papacy.

Death. (No date or place found). Buried at an unknown place.

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1792, I, pt. 1, 26; Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificum Romanorum : et S.R.E. Cardinalium ab initio nascentis Ecclesiae usque ad Clementem IX P. O. M. Alphonsi Ciaconii Ord. Praed. & aliorum opera descriptæ : cum uberrimis notis. Ab Augustino Oldoino, Soc. Jesu recognitae, et ad quatuor tomos ingenti ubique rerum accessione productae. Additis Pontificum recentiorum imaginibus, & Cardinalium insignibus, plurimisque aeneis figuris, cum indicibus locupletissimis. Romæ : P. et A. De Rubeis, 1677, I, col. ; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. Les cardinaux des 10 premiers siècles". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1926. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1927, p. 145, no. 5; Regesta pontificum Romanorum ab conditio Ecclesia. Ad annum post Christum natum MCXCVIII. Graz : Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt, 1956. 2 v. Reprint. Originally published : Lipsiae : Veit et comp., 1885-1888. Original t.p. included : Regesta pontificum Romanorum ab condita ecclesia : ad annum post Christum natum MCXCVIII. Editionem secundam correctam et auctam edidit Philippus Jaffè ; auspiciis Gulielmi Wattenbach; curaverunt S. Loewenfeld, F. Kaltenbrunner, P. Ewald, I, 239 and 240.

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(5) 5. GIOVANNI (?-686)

Birth. (No date found), Antioch, Syria. Son of Cyriacus. He may have gone to Rome to seek refuge from the Arab invasions.

Education. He was well educated and energetic.

Cardinalate. Deacon cardinalis of the Holy Roman Church in 680. Papal legate to the Sixth Ecumenical Council of Constantinople, 680-681, together with Presbyter cardinalis Teodoro and Presbyter cardinalis Giorgio. Returned to Rome in July 682 bringing to Pope Leo II the acts of the council and the imperial approval of his election to the papacy. He was unanimously elected in the Lateran basilica and immediately installed in the Lateran patriarchium to await confirmation from the exarch of Ravenna. During the pontificate of his predecessor, Pope Benedict II, Emperor Constantine IV Pagonato had removed the requirement of imperial approval as a precondition for the consecration of the new pope. The emperor also allowed the pope to be elected by the general population.

Papacy. Consecrated Pope John V on July 23, 685, by the bishops of Ostia, Porto and Velletri. He intervened in the controversy concerning the consecration of the bishops of Sardinia; Citonato, archbishop of Cagliari, ignoring a constitution of Pope Martin I, had continued exercising the abusive privilege that the metropolitans of the island had attributed to themselves of consecrating the bishops of the island; the pope suspended the archbishop; then, the pope celebrated a synod had the metropolitan restored, firmly establishing that the right of consecrating new bishops belonged exclusively to the Apostolic See. On May 8, 686, by the bull "Audite sententiam", confirmed the privileges and possessions of the church of Saint-Marie of Arras, at the request of its bishop, Vinditian; the document was signed by Martinus, vicar of the Apostolic See and sixteen bishops. During his pontificate, he consecrated thirteen bishops. He was afflicted by a long illness which almost impeded him from consecrating more new bishops. The new emperor, Justinian II, son of Emperor Constantine IV Pagonato, wrote to the pope addressing him as universalis papa but by the time the missive arrived in Rome, Pope John V had already died, and the letter was received by his successor Pope Conon. Pope John V started an unbroken series of popes who were Oriental. This very important fact can not find its explanation in the influence and pressure exerted by the Byzantine court on the election of the pope, because during these decades the empire was shaken by the attacks of external enemies and the internal disturbances. The emperor succeeded one another at short intervals, as they were raised and dismissed by mutinous troops and the change of monarchs was always accompanied by murder and cruelty. At the same time, in Rome there was a succession of very short duration papacies. The speed with which at that time the popes took turns in the chair of Peter is a strange and disturbing phenomenon. Pontificates of thirteen years and more, such as the ones of Popes Gregory I the Great, Honorius I and Vitalian, are real exceptions, as in the sixth and seventh centuries the popes never ruled more than two or three years at most. It remains unknown if the short life of the popes was due to the fact that they were elected at a very old age or to other causes rather more complex.

Death. August 2, 686, from a long illness, Rome. In his will, the pope ordered the distribution of 1900 soldi d'oro among the monasteries, deaconries and mansionari (sacristans of churches). Buried in the atrium of St. Peter's basilica, Rome. His tomb has been lost (1).

Bibliography. Berto, Luigi Andrea. "Giovanni V." Enciclopedia dei papi. 3 vols. Roma : Istituto della Enciclopedia italiana, 2000, I, 625-626; Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1792, I, pt. 1, 26; Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificum Romanorum : et S.R.E. Cardinalium ab initio nascentis Ecclesiae usque ad Clementem IX P. O. M. Alphonsi Ciaconii Ord. Praed. & aliorum opera descriptæ : cum uberrimis notis. Ab Augustino Oldoino, Soc. Jesu recognitae, et ad quatuor tomos ingenti ubique rerum accessione productae. Additis Pontificum recentiorum imaginibus, & Cardinalium insignibus, plurimisque aeneis figuris, cum indicibus locupletissimis. Romæ : P. et A. De Rubeis, 1677, I, col. ; Cristofori, Francesco. Cronotasi dei cardinali di Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Tipografia de Propaganda Fide, 1888, p. XXXVIII; Duchesne, Louis ; Vogel, Cyrille. Le Liber pontificalis. Paris : E. de Boccard, 1981, 1955. 3 v. : facsims. (Bibliothèque des Écoles françaises d'Athènes et de Rome). Notes: Reprint of the 1955 edition./ Includes indexes./ Vol. 3: "Additions et corrections de L. Duchesne publiées par Cyrille Vogel ... avec L'Histoire du Liber pontificalis dupuis l'édition de L. Duchesne une bibliographie et des tables générales, I, 366-367; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. Les cardinaux des 10 premiers siècles". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1926. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1927, p. 145, no. 6; Kelly, John Norman Davidson. The Oxford Dictionary of Popes. Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 1986, p. 80-81; Montini, Renzo Uberto. Le tombe dei papi. Roma : Angelo Belardetti, 1957. Note: At head of title: Instituto di studi romani, p. 127, no. 82; Petruzzi, Caterina. "Giovanni V, papa." Mondo vaticano. Passato e presente. Città del Vaticano : Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1995, p. 531; Reardon, Wendy J. The deaths of the popes : comprehensive accounts, including funerals, burial places and epitaphs. Jefferson, N.C. : McFarland & Co., Publishers, 2004, p. 55-56; Regesta pontificum Romanorum ab conditio Ecclesia. Ad annum post Christum natum MCXCVIII. Graz : Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt, 1956. 2 v. Reprint. Originally published : Lipsiae : Veit et comp., 1885-1888. Original t.p. included : Regesta pontificum Romanorum ab condita ecclesia : ad annum post Christum natum MCXCVIII. Editionem secundam correctam et auctam edidit Philippus Jaffè ; auspiciis Gulielmi Wattenbach; curaverunt S. Loewenfeld, F. Kaltenbrunner, P. Ewald, I, 242.

Webgraphy. Biography by Luigi Andrea Berto, in Italian, Enciclopedia dei papi (2000), Treccani; biography by Horace Mann, in English, The Catholic Encyclopedia; biography, in English, Encyclopaedia Britannica; his image and biography, in English, Wikipedia; biography by Joseph Brusher, S.J., in English, Popes through the Ages; his engravings, Araldica Vaticana; his engraving, in color, Fotosearch; his engraving, Bildarchiv Austria. Die Bildplattform der Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek; his engraving, Bildarchiv Austria. Die Bildplattform der Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek; his engraving, Bildarchiv Austria. Die Bildplattform der Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek; and another engraving from the same source.

(1) His epitaph was recorded and this is its text taken from Montini, Le tombe dei papi, p. 127:

IOHANNEM TVMVLVS VATEM TEGIT ASTRVAT AETAS
OPTIMA COEPTA VIRI SI FORET ET SPATIVM
HIC ET IN EXTREMIS SOLLERS FIDVSQVE MINISTER
CLARVIT ET PRIMVS IVRE LEVITA FVIT
MISSVS AD IMPERIVM VICE PRESVLIS EXTiTIT AVCTOR
HVNC MEMORAT SYNODVS PONTIFICISQVE
TOMVS CVM TITVLIS FIDEI VIGILANTIA QVANTA REGENDI
COMMISSAS ANIMAS NE LVPVS HOSTIS OVES
CARPERET AMMIXTVS PREMERETVE POTENTIOR IMAM
IVSTITIAM CVNCTOS VISVS HABERE PAREM
PROVIDVS HVMANVS FIRMVS VERVSQVE SACERDOS
NIL TEMERE ATQVE NIMIS PONDERE CVNCTA GERENS


    Montini, on the same page, says that Pietro Mallio, an ecclesiastical historian of the 12th century, erroneously attributed the tomb of Pope John V to Pope John II, and added that Mallio instead of the first couplet, has two hexameters:

HIC TVMVLVS VATIS CONSERVAT MEMBRA IOHANNIS
ORDINE PONTIFICVM QVI FERTVR IVRE SECVNDVS,


    This, Montini says has suggested to Luis Duchesne (Mélanges, 416) the hypothesis that the tomb of Pope John V was damaged during the sack of the Saracens in 846 and that the epigraph was subsequently repaired for which the exchange between the two Johns should be attributed not to Mallio, but instead to those who badly restored the epitaph in the ninth century.


    Reardon, The deaths of the popes : comprehensive accounts, including funerals, burial places and epitaphs, p. 56, says that Pietro Mallio, recorded an epitaph for Pope John V, which Montini, p. 129, says belongs to Pope Marinus I. Reardon adds that because the epitaph does not name a specific person, it is impossible to say which is correct. This is the text of the second epitaph, taken from Reardon, p. 56:

QUAM SOLERS DOMINO PLACUIT, QUAM MENTE MODESTA
PRAESUL APOSTOLICUS ORBIS ET OMNE DECUS
HIC STATUIT TUMULO CLAUDI SUA MEMBRA SUB ISTO
HAEC EADEM SPERANS, UT SIBI REDDAT HUMUS.
ARDUA QUI FULSIT CUNCTIS UT SYDERA CAELI,
AUGUSTIS CHARUS GENTIBUS ET TRIBUBUS.
DOCTRINIS COMPTUS SACRIS ET DOGMATE CLARO
PER PATRIAS SANCTA SEMINA FUDIT OVANS.
NAM GRAIOS SUPERANS EOIS PARTIBUS UNAM,
SCISMATA PELLENDO REDDIDIT ECCLESIAM
PRINCIPIS HIC PETRI SED QUISQUIS TENDIS AD AULAM.
DIC SUPPLEX, ISDEM REGNET UT ARCE POLI.


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