Editing Pope Vitalian (section)

===Western Church relations===
Pope Vitalian was successful in improving relations with England, where the [[Anglo-Saxon]] and British clergies were divided regarding various ecclesiastical customs. At the [[Synod of Whitby]], King [[Oswy]] of [[Kingdom of Northumbria|Northumbria]] accepted Roman practices regarding the keeping of Easter and the shape of the [[tonsure]].<ref>Sir [[Frank Stenton]], ''Anglo-Saxon England'', third edition (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1971), pp. 123, 130</ref> Vitalian sent a highly educated monk, [[Theodore of Tarsus]], who understood both [[Latin]] and [[Greek language|Greek]], to be [[archbishop of Canterbury]].<ref>Stenton, ''Anglo-Saxon England'', p. 131</ref>

The archiepiscopal [[See of Ravenna]] reported directly to Rome. Archbishop [[Maurus (archbishop of Ravenna)|Maurus]] (644–71) sought to end this dependence and make his see [[autocephalous]]. When Pope Vitalian called upon him to justify his theological views, Maurus refused to obey and declared himself independent of Rome, initiating a [[Schism (religion)|schism]]. The pope [[excommunicated]] him, but Maurus did not submit and excommunicated Vitalian in return.<ref name="ce"/> Emperor Constans II sided with the archbishop and issued an edict removing the archbishop of Ravenna from the patriarchal jurisdiction of Rome. He ordained that the former should receive the [[pallium]] from the emperor. The successor of Maurus, [[Reparatus (archbishop of Ravenna)|Reparatus]], was consecrated in 671. It was not until the pontificate of [[Pope Leo II|Leo II]] (682–83) that the independence of the See of Ravenna was suppressed.<ref name="ce"/>