Pope Sisinnius

Pope
Sisinnius
Papacy began 15 January 708
Papacy ended 4 February 708
Predecessor John VII
Successor Constantine
Personal details
Born 650
Syria, Rashidun Caliphate
Died (708-02-04)4 February 708
Rome, Byzantine Empire

Pope Sisinnius (c. 650  4 February 708) was Pope from 15 January to his death in 708.[1]

A Syrian by birth,[2] Sisinnius' father's name was John.[1] The paucity of donations to the papacy during his reign (42 pounds of gold and 310 pounds of silver, a fraction of the personal donations of other contemporary pontiffs) indicate that he was probably not from the aristocracy.[3]

Sisinnius was selected as pope during the Byzantine Papacy. He succeeded Pope John VII after a sede vacante of three months.[4] He was consecrated around 15 January 708.[1]

Sisinnius remained pope for just twenty days.[4] According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, "although he was so afflicted with gout that he was unable even to feed himself, he is nevertheless said to have been a man of strong character, and to have been able to take thought for the good of the city".[1] Among his few acts as pope was the consecration of a bishop for Corsica.[1] He also ordered "that lime be burned in order to restore portions" of the walls of Rome.[5] The restoration of the walls planned by Sisinnius was carried out by Pope Gregory II.[6]

Sisinnius was buried in Old St. Peter's Basilica.[1] He was succeeded less than two months later by Pope Constantine.[4] Constantine, also Syrian by birth, was probably the brother of Sisinnius.[7]

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6  Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Pope Sisinnius". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  2. Joseph S. Brusher, Popes through the Ages, (Neff-Kane, 1980), 174.
  3. Jeffrey Richards. 1979. The popes and the papacy in the early Middle Ages, 476–752. p. 245.
  4. 1 2 3 Ekonomou, 2007, p. 246.
  5. Ekonomou, 2007, p. 248.
  6. Charles Isidore Hemans. 1874. Historic and monumental Rome. p. 100.
    • Williams, George L. 2004. Papal Genealogy: The Families and Descendants of the Popes. McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-2071-5. p. 10.

References

  • Ekonomou, Andrew J. 2007. Byzantine Rome and the Greek Popes: Eastern influences on Rome and the papacy from Gregory the Great to Zacharias, A.D. 590–752. Lexington Books.
Catholic Church titles
Preceded by
John VII
Pope
708
Succeeded by
Constantine
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