Pope John IV (Latin:Ioannes IV; died 12 October 642) was thebishop of Rome from 24 December 640 to his death on 12 October 642.[1] His election followed a four-monthvacancy. He wrote to the clergy ofIreland andScotland to tell them of the mistakes they were making with regard to the time of keepingEaster and condemnedMonothelitism as heresy.According tosacred tradition, he created theCatholic Church in Croatia with Abbot Martin.
Pope John was a native ofIadera,Dalmatia.[2] He was the son of thescholasticus (advocate) Venantius. At the time of hiselection, he wasarchdeacon of theRoman Church, an important role in governing the see. John was considered "a very cultured man".[3] As John'sconsecration on 24 December 640 followed very soon after his election, it is supposed that the elections were beingconfirmed by theexarch of Ravenna rather than directly by the emperor in Constantinople.[4]
While still only pope-elect, John, with the other bishops of theCatholic Church, wrote to the clergy ofIreland andScotland to tell them of the mistakes they were making with regard to the time of keepingEaster, and exhort them to be on their guard against thePelagian heresy. At about the same time, he condemnedMonothelism as heresy. EmperorHeraclius immediately disowned the Monothelite document known as the "Ecthesis". To Heraclius' son,Constantine III, John addressed his apology toPope Honorius I, in which he deprecated the attempt to connect the name of Honorius with Monothelism. Honorius, he declared, in speaking of one will inJesus, only meant to assert that there were not two contrary wills in Him.[4]
Troubles in his native land caused by theinvasions of Slavs directed John's attention there. To alleviate the distress of the inhabitants, John sent the abbot Martin into Dalmatia andIstria with large sums of money for the redemption of captives. As the ruined churches could not be rebuilt, therelics of some of the more important Dalmatian saints were brought toRome. John then erected an oratory in their honour.[2] It was adorned by the pope withmosaics depicting John himself holding a model of his oratory in his hands. John endeavoured thereby to convert the Slavs in Dalmatia and Istria to Christianity. EmperorConstantine Porphyrogenitus claimed that DukePorga of Croatia, archon ofWhite Croats who have been invited into Dalmatia byHeraclius, sent to Emperor Heraclius for Christian teachers. It is supposed that the emperor to whom this message was sent was Emperor Heraclius himself, and that he sent it to Pope John IV.[4]
The Popes and the Church of Rome in Late Antiquity John Moorhead - Taylor and Francis - 2014ISBN9781317578277
Attribution:
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Mann, Horace Kinder (1910). "Pope John IV". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
