Pope Agatho (577 – 10 January 681) served as thebishop of Rome from 27 June 678 until his death on 10 January 681.[3] He heard the appeal ofWilfrid of York, who had been displaced from his see by the division of the archdiocese ordered byTheodore of Canterbury. During Agatho's tenure, theSixth Ecumenical Council was convened to deal withmonothelitism. He is venerated as a saint by both theCatholic andEastern Orthodox churches. He is said to have been the longest lived pope ever.[4]
The details of Agatho's early life are uncertain. It has been written that he was born inPalermo, Sicily, and was aGreek, whose parents died when he was young. After the death of his parents, it is said that he joined the monastery ofSan Giovanni degli Eremiti in Palermo.[5] Due to theRashidun Caliphate'sraids on Sicily that began in 652, many Sicilian clergy had fled to Rome, and Agatho may have been among them.[6]
He served several years as treasurer of the church of Rome. He succeededPope Donus, and ascended to the papacy on 27 June 678, a Sunday.[7]
Shortly after Agatho became pope, BishopWilfrid of York arrived inRome to invoke the authority of theHoly See on his behalf. Wilfrid had been deposed from his see by ArchbishopTheodore of Canterbury, who had carved up Wilfrid's diocese and appointed three bishops to govern the new sees. At asynod which Pope Agatho convoked in theLateran to investigate the affair, it was decided that Wilfrid's diocese should indeed be divided, but that Wilfrid himself should name the bishops.[8]
The major event of Agatho’s pontificate was theSixth Ecumenical Council (680–681), following the end of the MuslimSiege of Constantinople,[9] which suppressedMonothelitism, which had been tolerated by previous popes (Honorius I among them). The council began when EmperorConstantine IV, wanting to heal theschism that separated the two sides, wrote toPope Donus suggesting a conference on the matter, but Donus was dead by the time the letter arrived. Agatho was quick to seize the olive branch offered by the Emperor. He ordered councils held throughout the West so that legates could present the universal tradition of the Western Church. Then he sent a large delegation to meet the Easterners at Constantinople.[8]
The legates and patriarchs gathered in the imperial palace on 7 November 680. TheMonothelites presented their case. Then a letter of Pope Agatho was read that explained the traditional belief of the Church thatChrist was of two wills, divine and human. Patriarch George of Constantinople accepted Agatho's letter, as did most of the bishops present. The council proclaimed the existence of the two wills in Christ and condemned Monothelitism, with Pope Honorius I being included in the condemnation. When the council ended in September 681 the decrees were sent to the Pope, but Agatho had died in January. The council had not only ended Monothelism, but also had healed the schism.[8]
Agatho also undertook negotiations between the Holy See and Constantine IV concerning the interference of the Byzantine court inpapal elections. Constantine promised Agatho to abolish or reduce the tax that the popes had to pay to the imperial treasury on theirconsecration.[8]
Church records state that Agatho served as pope as acentenarian, dying between the ages of 103–104.[10][11] Recent research has cast doubt on his age, with some claiming that Pope Agatho and a monk called Agathon have been confused, and are two different people.[12]
Anastatius says that the number of his miracles procured him the title ofThaumaturgus. He died in 681, having held the pontificate about two and a half years.[1][7] He is venerated as a saint by both Catholics and Eastern Orthodox.[13] Hisfeast day in Western Christianity is on 10 January.[14]Eastern Christians, including Eastern Orthodox and theEastern Catholic Churches, commemorate him on 20 February.[15]
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