Pope Sisinnius (died 4 February 708) was thebishop of Rome from 15 January 708 to his death on 4 February 708. Besides beingSyrian and his father being named John, little is known of Sisinnius' early life or career. At the time of his election to thepapal throne, Sisinnius suffered from severegout, leaving him weak. During the course of his twenty-day papacy, Sisinniusconsecrated a bishop forCorsica and ordered the reinforcement of thewalls surrounding the papal capital ofRome. On his death, Sisinnius was buried inOld St. Peter's Basilica. He was succeeded byPope Constantine.
In the late fifth century, the churches of the East and West were divided over themonophysite controversy, the East largely accepting thatJesus Christ's divine nature overshadowed his human nature, and the West (under the guidance of the 451Council of Chalcedon) believing in ahypostatic union.[1] The EasternByzantine emperors sought a theological compromise to hold their domains together, but thepopes in Rome (the papal capital) suspected them of harboringheretical sympathies and accordingly attempted to resist imperial claims of dominance over the Church.[2] By the time ofPope Martin I (r. 649–655), East–West relations had become incredibly strained;[3] by the late seventh century, as the historianEamon Duffy describes, "[t]he requirement that the pope[s] should wait forconfirmation of their appointment fromConstantinople before they could be considered was waived, theExarch at Ravenna [the Byzantine representative in theItalian Peninsula] being empowered to issue the necessary mandate".[4]
The role of the pope in the time of Sisinnius, and the first millennium as a whole, was limited to that of a mediator. As the theologianRichard McBrien explains, the popes were not able to appoint all bishops, nor were they able to "govern the universal Church". They also did not publishencyclicals orcatechisms, and were not able tocanonize saints or conveneecumenical councils.[5]
The centuries preceding the reign of Sisinnius were characterized by external intervention in the selection of the pope. The easternByzantine Empire nominated men of the Roman aristocracy to the office; the ItalianOstrogothic kingdom chose members of the provincial aristocracy. As the historianJeffrey Richards explains, "[t]he reasons for this are both political and social". The monarchs of both states relied on the support of the groups they installed on the papal throne.[6] The seventh century saw a shift in the geographical origins of the popes: only eight out of twenty-seven popes between 604 and 752 were Roman,[a] compared to the figure of eleven out of seventeen from 483 to 604.[7] The change has its origins in therestoration of Byzantine dominion over Italy underJustinian I (r. 527–565), which saw the phasing out of theRoman senate as an institution as senatorial families were either executed or fled to the East.[8] During the Ostrogothic kingdom's rule over Rome from the late-fifth to the mid-sixth century, the senate held major sway over the selection of new popes, but following the imperial reconquest, control over the papal throne was no longer in its hands. Instead, the election of the pope was left to theclergy of Rome, the city's people, and the Imperial military garrison.[9] Richards argues that before the fall of theWestern Roman Empire in 476 and after the rise of theHoly Roman Empire in Italy in 752, the "prestige, power and influence" of the pope was augmented under the protection of the imperial powers, and notes the papacy's growth in power during the sixth and seventh centuries.[10]
Sisinnius' predecessor,John VII (r. 705–707) was installed as the bishop of Rome the same year that the Byzantine emperorJustinian II (r. 685–695, 705–711) was restored to his throne.[11] Shortly after regaining power, the latter sent several decrees ofcanon law from the 692Quinisext Council to John, any of which he could approve or reject. Out of worry of displeasing the Emperor, the Pope sent the decrees back to Justinian unchanged.[12] The issue of the Quinisext canons continued into the reign of Sisinnius' successor,Constantine, who travelled to Constantinople in 711 to negotiate with the East over the matter.[13]
Little information about Sisinnius before his election to the papal throne is extant.[14] Much of what is known about him is deduced from four lines of theLiber Pontificalis (English:Book of the Popes), a collection of papalbiographies.[15] The historian Jean Durliat stated that "[t]he concision of his biography may be interpreted as the result of aversion to him on the part of the Roman clergy, or perhaps a reflection of the absence of anomaly in an ecclesiastical career that led naturally to the pontificate".[15] By birth, Sisinnius was Syrian and his father was named John.[16] Sisinnius was respected for his upright, moral disposition and concern for the people of Rome, politically and militarily part of the Exarchate of Ravenna.[14][16] Like many of his immediate predecessors, he was likely not a member of the upper class, as indicated by the paucity of donations of gold and silver during his pontificate and the pontificates of the popes between him andPope Honorius I in the seventh century.[17]
Sisinnius was elected to become the bishop of Rome, likely in October 707, and wasconsecrated on 15 January 708;[14] the nearly three-month delay was due to a wait for confirmation of Sisinnius' election by the exarch of Ravenna.[14] By the time of his election, Sisinnius was ridden withgout and could not feed himself using his hands.[16] He was one of many such earlymedieval popes who were elderly,[14][18] which Richards explains by saying that "[o]ld age in the popes generally also betokened experience" in either administrative or spiritual tasks, which the electorate would have taken into consideration when choosing a new pope.[18] During his reign, Sisinnius consecrated abishop forCorsica. He also ordered the preparation oflime so that thewalls surrounding the city of Rome, which by then were in poor condition due to past attacks, could be reinforced.[14] The task was never executed, as Sisinnius died in Rome on 4 February after a reign of twenty days.[16]He was buried in the left nave ofOld St. Peter's Basilica; his tomb was destroyed in the 17th century during the Basilica's demolition.[19] The next pope elected wasConstantine, another Syrian,[14][16] who was consecrated on 25 March 708.[20]
