Pope Sisinnius
Pope Sisinnius | |
---|---|
Papacy began | 15 January 708 |
Papacy ended | 4 February 708 |
Predecessor | John VII |
Successor | Constantine |
Personal details | |
Born | 650 |
Died | Rome, Byzantine Empire | 4 February 708
Pope Sisinnius (c. 650 – 4 February 708) was the bishop of Rome from 15 January 708 to his death.[1]
Sisinnius was Syrian by birth,[2] and his 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 period of Byzantine domination, succeeding John VII after a vacancy of three months.[4] He was consecrated around 15 January 708.[1] His pontificate lasted 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 eventually carried out by Gregory II.[6]
Sisinnius was buried in Old St. Peter's Basilica.[1] He was succeeded less than two months later by another Syrian, Constantine,[4] who was probably his brother.[7]
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. .
- ^ Joseph S. Brusher, Popes through the Ages, (Neff-Kane, 1980), 174.
- ^ Jeffrey Richards. 1979. The popes and the papacy in the early Middle Ages, 476–752. p. 245.
- ^ a b c Ekonomou, 2007, p. 246.
- ^ Ekonomou, 2007, p. 248.
- ^ 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.