Editing Pope John I

{{Short description|Head of the Catholic Church from 523 to 526}}
{{about|the Catholic pope|the Coptic pope|Pope John I of Alexandria|}}
{{Infobox Christian leader 
|type=Pope
|honorific-prefix=[[Pope Saint]]
|name=John I
|title = [[Bishop of Rome]]
|church = [[Catholic Church]]
|image = 
|term_start=13 August 523
|term_end=18 May 526
|predecessor=[[Pope Hormisdas|Hormisdas]]
|successor=[[Pope Felix IV|Felix IV]]
|cardinal       = ca. 495
|created_cardinal_by = [[Gelasius I]]
|rank           = Priest
|birth_date=
|birth_place=[[Sena Iulia]], [[Roman Italy|Italy]], [[Western Roman Empire]]
|death_date=18 May 526
|death_place=[[Ravenna]], [[Ostrogothic Kingdom]]
|other=John
|feast_day=18 May
}}

'''Pope John I''' ({{langx|la|Ioannes I}}; died 18 May 526) was the [[bishop of Rome]] from 13 August 523 to his death.<ref name="ce">{{CathEncy|wstitle=Pope St. John I}}</ref> He was a native of [[Siena]] (or the "Castello di Serena", near [[Chiusdino]]), in [[Italy]]. He was sent on a diplomatic mission to [[Constantinople]] by the Ostrogoth King [[Theoderic the Great|Theoderic]] to negotiate better treatment for Arians. Although John was relatively successful, upon his return to Ravenna, Theoderic had him imprisoned for allegedly conspiring with Constantinople. The frail pope died of neglect and ill-treatment.

==Early life==
While a [[deacon]] in [[Rome]], John  is known to have been a partisan of the [[Antipope Laurentius]], for in a ''[[libellus]]'' written to [[Pope Symmachus]] in 506, John confessed his error in opposing him, condemned [[Peter of Altinum]] and Laurentius, and begged pardon of Symmachus. He would then be the "Deacon John" who signed the ''acta'' ([[ecclesiastic]] publication) of the Roman [[synod]] of 499 and 502; the fact the Roman church only had seven deacons at the time makes identifying him with this person very likely.<ref>John Moorhead, [https://www.jstor.org/stable/4435834 "The Last Years of Theoderic", ''Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte''], '''32''' (1983), p. 113</ref> He may also be the "Deacon John" to whom [[Boethius]], the 6th-Century philosopher, dedicated three of his five religious [[Tract (literature)|tractates]], or [[treatises]], written between 512 and 520.<ref>This identification was first proposed by E.K. Rand in 1928, and recently defended by Moorhead, "Last years", p. 113</ref>

==Pontificate==
John was very frail when he was [[papal selection before 1059|elected]] to the [[papacy]]. Despite his protests, Pope John was sent by [[Theodoric the Great]], the [[Arian]] king of the [[Ostrogoths]] in Italy, to [[Constantinople]] to secure the moderation of a decree, issued in 523, of [[Justin I]], emperor of the [[East Roman Empire| Eastern Roman Empire]], against the Arians. King Theoderic threatened that if John should fail in his mission, there would be reprisals against the non-Arian Christians in the West. John proceeded to Constantinople with a considerable entourage: including his fellow bishops [[Ecclesius of Ravenna]],  Eusebius of [[Fanum Fortunae]], and Sabinus of [[Campania]].<ref>''[[Anonymus Valesianus]]'', 15.90; translated by J.C. Rolfe, ''Ammianus Marcellinus'' (Harvard: Loeb Classical Library, 1972), vol. 3 p. 565</ref> His secular companions were the [[Roman senate|senators]] [[Theodorus (consul 505)|Flavius Theodorus]], [[Inportunus]], and the Patrician [[Agapitus (consul 517)|Agapitus]].<ref>Raymond Davis (translator), ''The Book of Pontiffs (Liber Pontificalis)'', first edition (Liverpool: University of Liverpool Press, 1989), p. 49</ref>

Emperor Justin is recorded as receiving John honorably and promised to do everything the embassy asked of him, with the exception that those converting from Arianism to Catholicism would not be "restored" (i.e., allowed to retain their place in the Catholic hierarchy as deacons, priests, or bishops).<ref>''Anonymus Valesianus'', 15.91; translated by J.C. Rolfe, vol. 3 p. 565</ref> Although John was successful in his mission, when he returned to [[Ravenna, Italy|Ravenna]], Theoderic's capital in Italy, Theoderic had John arrested on the suspicion of having conspired with Emperor Justin.  John was imprisoned at Ravenna, where he died of neglect and ill treatment. His body was transported to [[Rome, Italy|Rome]] and buried in the [[Basilica of St. Peter]].

The ''Liber Pontificalis'' credits John with making repairs to the cemetery of the martyrs [[Nereus and Achilleus]] on the [[Via Ardeatina]], that of [[Felix and Adauctus]], and the cemetery of [[Priscilla]].<ref>Raymond Davis, ''The Book of Pontiffs (Liber Pontificalis)'', p. 50</ref>

==Veneration==
[[File:Busto relicário do Papa São João I.jpg|thumb|[[Reliquary bust]] in the [[Sé Nova de Coimbra]]]]
Pope John I is depicted in art as looking through the bars of a prison or imprisoned with a [[deacon]] and a [[subdeacon]]. He is venerated at Ravenna and in [[Tuscany]]. His feast day is 18 May, the anniversary of the day of his death (whereas it had formerly been 27 May).<ref>[http://saints.sqpn.com/saintj37.htm Patron Saints Index:] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090521091642/http://saints.sqpn.com/saintj37.htm |date=2009-05-21 }} "Pope Saint John I" (last accessed 23 October 2011)</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography|Christianity|History}}
*[[List of Catholic saints]]
*[[List of popes]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
*{{commons category inline|Ioannes I}}
*{{cite CE1913|wstitle=Pope St. John I}}
* {{cite web|title=Giovann|url=https://webdept.fiu.edu/~mirandas/bios495.htm#Giovanni|access-date=7 February 2019|archive-date=9 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190209125930/https://webdept.fiu.edu/~mirandas/bios495.htm#Giovanni|url-status=dead}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-rel|ca}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Pope Hormisdas|Hormisdas]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Pope]]|years=523–526}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Pope Felix IV|Felix IV]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Popes}}
{{Catholic saints}} 
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:John 01}}
[[Category:526 deaths]]
[[Category:6th-century Christian saints]]
[[Category:Italian popes]]
[[Category:Ostrogothic Papacy]]
[[Category:Papal saints]]
[[Category:People from the Province of Siena]]
[[Category:6th-century popes]]
[[Category:6th-century writers in Latin]]
[[Category:6th-century Italian writers]]
[[Category:Popes]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:Burials at St. Peter's Basilica]]