Pelagius II

Pontificate

Pelagius II came from a family of Ostrogoths who settled in Rome . Son of Vinigilda.

He replaced Pope Benedict at a time when the Lombards besieged Rome, and his enthronement was postponed in order for his election to be confirmed by the emperor. However, the siege proved so effective that the new pope was able to receive the ambassador from Constantinople with the recognition of the election results only on November 26, four months after the election.

After paying a high tribute in gold, the Lombards left the outskirts of Rome and retreated across the River Liri, but before that they destroyed the Montecassino Abbey, whose monks fled to Rome. Pelagius immediately sent an embassy to Constantinople (one of the ambassadors almost certainly was Deacon Gregory, the future Pope Gregory I ) to explain the circumstances of his election and ask for help in fighting the barbarians. The deacons were instructed not to leave the imperial palace day or night until they received an answer. The emperor assured the ambassadors that he would help Rome. At the same time, Pelagius sent a letter after letter to the emperor, urging him to great efforts in the fight against the Lombards.

But the requests were not heard. The emperor Mauritius only a few years later, in about 584 , sent a representative, bestowing upon him the office of Exarch Ravenna with civil and military power over the entire peninsula. But, as it turned out, the Exarch did not have adequate military strength, and the Pope and the Emperor turned to the Franks.

At the beginning of her pontificate (October 580 or 581 ), Pelagius wrote to Avnarius , Bishop of Auxerre , who was respected by the Frankish kings, begging him to prove his zeal and call on the Frankish kings to come to the aid of Rome: “We believe that the Franks profess the true faith , was determined by the law of Divine Providence; like the Roman emperors did, so that they could help the city and give it a second birth. ”

Pope’s calls (or the emperor’s political moves) forced the Franks to intervene in the war in Italy and oppose the Lombards, but their zeal in defending the faith and Rome soon faded, and they left the peninsula.

Pelagius also asked the new Exarch Ravenna Decius ( 584 ) to help Rome, but he was told that the Exarch was not even able to protect his lands, let alone Rome.

Having failed in trying to get help from Ravenna, Pelagius sent a new embassy to Constantinople and called on Deacon Gregory to do everything possible to get the emperor to help: “Here we are in such trouble that if God does not touch the emperor and will not force him to send the commander with the army , we will fall at the mercy of our enemies, Rome with little or no protection; and the owner of these disgusting people will seize the lands of the empire. "

Although imperial military aid did not arrive in Rome, the exarch was able to conclude a truce with the Lombards. Taking advantage of this “peace and quiet”, Pelagius resumed the efforts of his predecessor Pelagius I to put an end to the schism that occurred in Italy regarding the “Three Chapters” . In one of the letters to the bishops, he indicated that the faith, the provisions of which were established by the Council of Chalcedon , should remain unchanged, and called on the bishops to rally around the single Church. The pope's words had no effect on the schismatics, the schism continued for about two hundred years.

Pelagius was a supporter of celibacy . He established the first Benedictine monastery in Rome and rebuilt the church of San Lorenzo fuori le Mura . The pope argued with the Patriarchate of Constantinople for the right to lead the Spanish dioceses.

Death

The situation in Rome remained dramatic: in 589, the Tiber overflowed and caused extensive flooding. The following year, the city fell victim to a plague epidemic ( lues inguinaria ), which came from Egypt. Pelagius II, who died on February 7, 590, and was buried in St. Peter's Basilica, became a victim of the plague.

• Korelin M.S. Pelagiy, papa // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron : in 86 tons (82 tons and 4 extras). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
• Catholic Encyclopedia (1913 ) . Date of treatment February 18, 2011. Archived February 12, 2012.
• Claudio Rendina . I papi. Storia e segreti, Newton Compton, Roma, 1983.