Editing Pope Agapetus I (section)

== Pontificate==
[[File:Saint-Maixent-l'École - Statue de Saint-Agapit 1.jpg|thumb|Statue of Agapetus I in [[Saint-Maixent-l'École]]]]
Jeffrey Richards describes him as "the last survivor of the [[Pope Symmachus|Symmachan]] old guard", having been ordained as a deacon perhaps as early as 502, during the [[Laurentian schism]].<ref>Richards, ''The Popes and the Papacy in the Early Middle Ages'' (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1979), p. 127</ref> He was elevated from [[archdeacon]] to pope in 535. His first official act was to burn, in the presence of the assembled clergy, the [[Anathema#Anathema in the Catholic Church|anathema]] which [[Boniface II]] had pronounced against the latter's deceased rival [[Antipope Dioscorus|Dioscurus]] on a false charge of [[simony]] and had ordered to be preserved in the Roman archives.

Agapetus assisted [[Cassiodorus]] in the founding of his monastery at [[Vivarium (monastery)|Vivarium]]. He confirmed the decrees of the [[Council of Carthage]], after the retaking of North Africa from the [[Vandals]], according to which converts from [[Arianism]] were declared ineligible to [[Holy Orders]] and those already ordained were merely admitted to [[lay communion]]. He accepted an appeal from [[Contumeliosus]], [[Bishop of Riez]], whom the [[Council of Marseilles]] had condemned for immorality, and he ordered [[Caesarius of Arles]] to grant the accused a new trial before papal delegates.<ref name=Brusher>[http://www.stsmarthaandmary.org/popes/St.%20Agapetus%20I.htm Brusher, Joseph S., ''Popes Through the Ages'', 1980, San Rafael, California, Neff-Kane], {{ISBN|978-0-89-141110-9}}</ref>

Meanwhile, the [[Byzantine]] general [[Belisarius]] was preparing for an invasion of Italy. King [[Theodahad]] of the [[Ostrogoths]] begged Agapetus to proceed on an embassy to [[Constantinople]] and use his personal influence to appease [[Byzantine Emperor|Emperor]] [[Justinian I]] following the death of [[Amalasuntha]].<ref>''Breviarium S. Liberati'', ap. Mansi, ''Concilia'', vol. ix. p. 695</ref>  To defray the costs of the embassy, Agapetus pledged the sacred vessels of the Church of Rome. He set out in mid-winter with five bishops and a large retinue. In February 536, he appeared in the capital of the East. Justinian declined to call a halt to the planned invasion as preparations were far too advanced.<ref name=Brusher/> Agapetus immediately turned his attention from the political matter Theodahad had sent him to address to a religious one.

The occupant of the Byzantine patriarchal see was [[Anthimus I of Constantinople|Anthimus I]], who had left his episcopal see of [[Trabzon|Trebizond]]. Against the protests of the orthodox, the [[Theodora (6th century)|Empress Theodora]] finally seated Anthimus in the patriarchal chair. When Agapetus arrived members of the clergy entered charges against Anthimus as an intruder and a heretic. Agapetus ordered him to make a written profession of faith and to return to his forsaken see; upon Anthimus' refusal, Agapetus deposed him. The Emperor threatened Agapetus with banishment. Agapetus is said to have replied, "With eager longing have I come to gaze upon the Most Christian Emperor Justinian. In his place I find a [[Diocletian]], whose threats, however, terrify me not."<ref name=loughlin/> Agapetus, for the first time in the history of the Church, personally consecrated Anthimus' legally elected successor, [[Patriarch Menas of Constantinople|Menas]].
Justinian delivered to the Pope a written confession of faith, which the latter accepted with the proviso that "although he could not admit in a layman the right of teaching religion, yet he observed with pleasure that the zeal of the Emperor was in perfect accord with the decisions of the Fathers".<ref name=loughlin/> Four of Agapetus' letters have survived. Two are addressed to Justinian in reply to a letter from the emperor, in the latter of which Agapetus refuses to acknowledge the [[Arianism|Orders of the Arians]]. A third is addressed to the bishops of Africa, on the same subject. The fourth is a response to Reparatus, [[Carthage (episcopal see)|Bishop of Carthage]], who had sent him congratulations upon his elevation to the Pontificate.<ref>{{Cite DGRBM  | wstitle = Agapetus (2). <!--NB the dot is currently in the article name-->  |volume = 1 |pages = 59–60}}</ref><ref>Mansi, ''Concilia'', viii. pp. 846–850</ref>

Shortly afterwards, Agapetus fell ill and died on 22 April 536,<ref name=Brusher/> after a reign of just ten months. His remains were brought in a lead coffin to Rome and deposited in [[St. Peter's Basilica]]. On the [[Clivus Scauri]] the archeological remains known as the 'apsidal Hall of the Library of Pope Agapitus I' is located near the ancient Church of St. Andrew on the Caelian Hill.<ref>"The Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore: Church of Saint Andrew on Caelian Hill" [https://www.vatican.va/various/basiliche/sm_maggiore/en/a_oratori/oratorio.htm Vatican website]  Retrieved 20 December 2017.</ref>