Pope Zachary(Latin:Zacharias;679 – March 752) was thebishop of Romefrom 28 November 741[1]to his death. He was the lastpopeof theByzantine Papacy.Zachary built the original church ofSanta Maria sopra Minerva,forbade the traffic of slaves inRome,negotiated peace with theLombards,and sanctionedPepin the Short's usurpation of the Frankish throne fromChilderic III.Zachary is regarded as a capable administrator and a skillful and subtle diplomat in a dangerous time.
Zachary | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Rome | |
 Contemporary Byzantine fresco inSanta Maria Antiqua | |
| Church | Church of Rome |
| Papacy began | 3 December or 5 December 741 |
| Papacy ended | March 752 |
| Predecessor | Gregory III |
| Successor | Stephen II |
| Orders | |
| Consecration | 4 or 6 December 741 |
| Created cardinal | 12 April 732 byGregory III |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 679 |
| Died | 15 March 752(aged 72–73) Rome,Kingdom of the Lombards |
| Sainthood | |
| Feast day | 15 March |
| Venerated in | Catholic Church Eastern Orthodox Church |
Early career
editZachary was born into a family of Greek origin,[1]in theCalabriantown ofSanta Severina.He was most probably adeaconof the Roman Church and as such signed the decrees of the Roman council of 732. He wasselectedto succeedGregory IIIaspopeon 3 December[2]or 5 December 741.[3]
Pontificate
editGregory III's alliance with theLombardDuchy of Spoletoput papal cities at risk when thedukes of SpoletoandBeneventorebelled. Zachary turned to KingLiutprand the Lombarddirectly. Out of respect for Zachary the king restored to the church of Rome all the territory seized by the Lombards and sent back the captives without ransom.[4]The contemporary history (Liber pontificalis) dwells chiefly on Zachary's personal influence with Liutprand, and with his successorRatchis.[5]At the request of theExarchate of Ravenna,Zachary persuaded Liutprand to abandon a planned attack on Ravenna and to restore territory seized from the city.[3]
Zachary corresponded with ArchbishopBonifaceofMainz,[5]counseling him about dealing with disreputable prelates such asMilo, bishop of Reims and Trier."As for Milo and his like, who are doing great injury to the church of God, preach in season and out of season, according to the word of the Apostle, that they cease from their evil ways."[6]At Boniface's request, Zachary confirmed three newly established bishoprics ofWürzburg,Büraburg,andErfurt.In 742 he appointed Boniface as papal legate to theConcilium Germanicum,hosted byCarloman,one of the Frankishmayors of the Palace.In a later letter Zachary confirmed the metropolitans appointed by Boniface toRouen,Reims,andSens.In 745 Zachary convened a synod in Rome to discourage a tendency toward the worship of angels.[7]
Zachary corresponded with temporal rulers as well. Answering a question from the Frankish Mayor of the PalacePepin the Short,who planned to usurp the Frankish throne from the puppet-kingChilderic III,Zachary rendered the opinion that it was better that he should be king who had the royal power than he who had not. Shortly thereafter, the Frankish nobles decided to abandon Childeric, the lastMerovingianking, in favor of Pepin.[5]Zachary remonstrated with theByzantine emperorConstantine V Copronymuson hisiconoclastic policies.[5][3]
Zachary built the original church ofSanta Maria sopra Minervaover an ancient temple toMinervanear thePantheon.He also restored the decayingLateran Palace,moving the relic of the head ofSaint Georgeto the church ofSan Giorgio al Velabro.After Venetian merchants bought many slaves in Rome to sell to the Muslims ofAfrica,Zachary forbade such traffic and then paid the merchants their price, giving the slaves their freedom.[4][8][9]
Death and legacy
editPope Zachary died around 15 March 752 (it may also have been the 12th or 14th)[2]and was buried inSt. Peter's Basilica.His elected successor,Stephen,died within days, and Zachary was finally succeeded byStephen II.The letters and decrees of Zachary are published inJacques Paul Migne,Patrolog. lat.lxxxix. p. 917–960.[5]
Church historianJohann Peter Kirschsaid of Zachary: "In a troubled era Zachary proved himself to be an excellent, capable, vigorous, and charitable successor of Peter."[3]Peter Partnercalled Zachary a skilled diplomat, "perhaps the most subtle and able of all the Roman pontiffs, in this dark corridor in which the Roman See hovered just inside the doors of the Byzantine world."[10]
References
edit- ^abCormenin, Louis-Marie de Lahaye vicomte de (1851).A Complete History of the Popes of Rome, from Saint Peter, the First Bishop, to Pius the Ninth, the Present Pope.J. & J. L. Gihon. p. 185.
...the priest Zachary, a Greek by descent, who was ordained sovereign pontiff on the 28th of November, 741.
- ^abMiranda, Salvador."The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church".Retrieved9 July2015.
- ^abcdKirsch, Johann Peter (1912)..In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).Catholic Encyclopedia.Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- ^abButler, Alban (1866)."Zachary, Pope and Confessor".The Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Other Principal Saints.Vol. III. Dublin: James Duffy.
- ^abcdeChisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911)..Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 20 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 950.
- ^Wansbrough OSB, Henry. "St. Boniface, Monk and Missioner",Prayer and Thought in Monastic Tradition: Essays in Honour of Benedicta Ward SLG,(Santha Bhattacharji, Dominic Mattos, Rowan Williams, eds.), A&C Black, 2014, p. 133,ISBN9780567082954
- ^"Assigning Names to Angels – ZENIT – English".zenit.org.September 2015.Retrieved2018-02-13.
- ^Stefan K. Stantchev (3 Jul 2014).Spiritual Rationality: Papal Embargo as Cultural Practice.Oxford University Press. p. 28.ISBN9780191009235.
- ^Annali d'Italia: Dall'anno 601 dell'era volare fino all'anno 840,by Lodovico Antonio Muratori, Giuseppe Catalani, Monaco (1742); page 298.
- ^Partner, Peter.The Lands of St. Peter: The Papal State in the Middle Ages and the Early Renaissance,University of California Press, 1972, p. 17,ISBN9780520021815
Further reading
edit
- Baronius, Cesare (1867). Augustinus Theiner (ed.).Annales ecclesiastici denuo excusi et ad nostra usque tempora perducti ab Augustino Theiner...(in Latin). Vol. Tomus Duodecimus. Barri-Ducis. pp. 466–562.
{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Davis, Raymond (1992).The Lives of the Eighth-century Popes (Liber Pontificalis): The Ancient Biographies of Nine Popes from AD 715 to AD 817.Liverpool University Press.ISBN978-0-85323-018-2.
- Delogu, Paolo (2000). "Zaccaria, santo",Enciclopedia dei papi Treccani.(in Italian)
- Duchesne, Louis,Le Liber Pontificalis:texte,introduction et commentaire par L. DuchesneTome I (Paris: E. Thorin 1886), pp. 426–439. (in Latin)
- Hallenbeck, Jan T. (1982).Pavia and Rome: The Lombard Monarchy and the Papacy in the Eighth Century.Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society. pp. 39–55.ISBN9780871697240.
- Noble, Thomas F. X. (1984).The Republic of St. Peter: The Birth of the Papal State, 680-825.University of Pennsylvania Press. pp.49–60.ISBN978-0-8122-1239-6.
