Editing Pope Boniface III

{{short description|Head of the Catholic Church in 607}}
{{Redirect|Boniface III|ruler of Tuscany|Boniface III of Tuscany|ruler of Montferrat|Boniface III of Montferrat}}
{{Infobox Christian leader 
|type=Pope
|honorific-prefix= [[List of popes|Pope]]
|name=Boniface III
|title = [[Bishop of Rome]]
|church = [[Catholic Church]]
|image =
|term_start=19 February 607
|term_end=12 November 607
|predecessor=[[Pope Sabinian|Sabinian]]
|successor=[[Pope Boniface IV|Boniface IV]]
|birth_date=
|birth_place=[[Rome]], [[Roman Italy|Italy]], [[Eastern Roman Empire]]
|death_date=12 November 607 (aged 67)
|death_place= [[Rome]], [[Exarchate of Italy|Italy]], [[Eastern Roman Empire]]
|other=Boniface
}}

'''Pope Boniface III''' ({{langx|la|Bonifatius III}}) was the [[bishop of Rome]] from 19 February 607 to his death on 12 November of the same year.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://w2.vatican.va/content/vatican/en/holy-father/bonifacio-iii.html| title = "Boniface III", The Holy See}}</ref> Despite his short pontificate, he made a significant contribution to the Catholic Church.

==Early career==
[[File:Phocas cons.jpg|thumb|Coin of the [[Emperor Phocas]] ({{reign|602|610}}); Boniface III had an important relationship with him.]]
The son of Iohannes (John) Cataadioce, Boniface was of [[Rome|Roman]] extraction.<ref name="ce">{{CE1913|inline=1 |first=Thomas |last=Oestreich |wstitle=Pope Boniface III |volume=2}}</ref> While serving as a [[deacon]], Boniface impressed [[Pope Gregory I]], who described him as a man "of tried faith and character" and selected him to be [[papal apocrisiarius]] to the imperial court in [[Constantinople]] in 603. This was to be a significant time in his life and helped to shape his short but eventful papacy.<ref name="ce"/>

As ''apocrisarius'', Boniface had the ear of Emperor [[Phocas]] and was held in esteem by him. This proved important when he was instructed by Pope Gregory to intercede with Emperor Phocas on behalf of Bishop Alcison of Cassiope on the island of [[Corcyra]]. Alcison found his episcopate being usurped by [[Bishop]] John of Euria in [[Epirus]], who had fled his home along with his clergy to escape from attacks by the [[Slavs]] and [[Avars (Carpathians)|Avars]]. John, having found himself safe on Corcyra, was not content to serve under Bishop Alcison; instead he set about trying to usurp his episcopal authority. Normally, this behaviour would not have been tolerated, but Emperor Phocas was sympathetic to Bishop John and not inclined to interfere. Alcison appealed to Pope Gregory, who left the problem to Boniface to resolve. In a stroke of diplomatic genius, Boniface managed to reconcile all the parties while still retaining the confidence of the emperor.<ref name="ce"/>

==Papacy==
Boniface was [[papal selection before 1059|elected]] to succeed [[Pope Sabinian]], who died in February 606, but his return from Constantinople to Rome was delayed by almost a year. There is much debate over why there was such a long [[sede vacante|vacancy]]. Some authorities believe that it was to allow Boniface to complete his work in Constantinople, but the more widely held belief is that [[Byzantine papacy|imperial ratification]] was delayed due to dissension between those who supported the policies of Gregory I and those who did not.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.spirituality.org/is/199/pope_66.asp| title = "The 66th Pope", ''Spirituality.org'', Diocese of Bridgeport}}</ref> Boniface himself is thought to have insisted on the elections being free and fair and may have refused to take up the papacy until convinced that they had been.<ref name="ce"/>

Boniface III made two significant changes to papal selections. The first was the enacting of a decree forbidding anyone during the lifetime of a pope to discuss the appointment of his successor under pain of [[excommunication]]. The second change established that no steps could be taken to provide for a papal successor until three days after a pope's burial. This suggests that he was serious in his desire to keep papal elections free.<ref name="ce"/>

Boniface's other notable act resulted from his close relationship with Emperor Phocas. He sought and obtained a decree from Phocas which restated that "the See of Blessed Peter the Apostle should be the head of all the Churches". This ensured that the title of "[[Papal supremacy|universal bishop]]" belonged exclusively to the bishop of Rome, and effectively ended the attempt by [[Patriarch Cyriacus of Constantinople]] to establish himself as "universal bishop".<ref name="ce"/>

Boniface III was buried in [[Old St. Peter's Basilica]], Rome, on 12 November 607.<ref name="ce"/>

==References==
{{Portal|Biography|Christianity|History}}
{{Reflist}}
*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.

{{s-start}}
{{s-rel|ca}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Pope Sabinian|Sabinian]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Pope]]|years=607}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Pope Boniface IV|Boniface IV]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Popes}}
{{Catholicism}}
{{History of the Catholic Church}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boniface 3}}
[[Category:Greek popes]]
[[Category:607 deaths]]
[[Category:Popes|Boniface 03]]
[[Category:Papal Apocrisiarii to Constantinople]]
[[Category:Popes of the Byzantine Papacy]]
[[Category:7th-century archbishops|Boniface 03]]
[[Category:Italian popes|Boniface 03]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:7th-century popes]]
[[Category:Burials at St. Peter's Basilica]]