Pope John III

Pope John III can also refer to Pope John III of Alexandria.

Pope John III
Papacy began	17 July 561
Papacy ended	13 July 574
Predecessor	Pelagius I
Successor	Benedict I
Personal details
Birth name	Catelinus
Born	Rome, Eastern Roman Empire
Died	13 July 574(574-07-13) Rome, Eastern Roman Empire
Other popes named John

Pope John III (Latin: Ioannes III; died 13 July 574) was Pope from 17 July 561 to his death in 574.^[1] He was born in Rome of a distinguished family. The Liber Pontificalis calls him a son of one Anastasius. His father bore the title illustris, more than likely being a vir illustris ("illustrius man", high-ranking member of the Roman Senate).^[2] According to the historian Evagrius, his birth name was Catelinus, but he took the name John on his accession.^[3]

He may be identical with the subdeacon John who made a collection of extracts from the Greek Fathers and completed the translation of the Vitae patrum into Latin which Pope Pelagius I had begun.^[4]

His pontificate is characterized by two major events over which he had no control. The first was the death of Emperor Justinian I in 565. Jeffrey Richards considers his reign was an "anomaly", "a temporary damming up of the stream of history." With his death, the Byzantine Empire turned its attention from Rome and the West to pressing problems in the Balkans, from the Avars, Persians and the Arabs. "Italy, being geographically peripheral to the imperial heartland, inevitably took bottom place on the strategic priority list."^[5]

The other major event was the invasion of the Lombards, which began in 568. Much of northern Italy was overrun, as well as the central spine of the peninsula, making a shambles of the imperial administration. Further, their warriors threatened the survival of Rome herself, subjecting the Eternal City to repeated sieges. Lastly, their entrance reintroduced the newly extinguished Arian belief, which threatened the predominance of Roman Catholicism.^[6]

As the Lombards poured south into Italy, the newly appointed governor Longinus sat powerless in Ravenna, unable to stop them. Pope John took it upon himself to go to Naples, where the former governor Narses was preparing to return to Constantinople, and beg him to take charge. He had been recalled by the new Emperor Justin II in response to Italian petitions over his oppressive taxation. Narses agreed to this, and returned to Rome. However, popular hatred of Narses was then extended to John for inviting him back. This unrest reached such a pitch that the Pope was forced to retire from Rome and take up residence at the catacombs along the Via Appia two miles outside the city. There he carried out his duties, including the consecration of bishops.^[6]

One recorded act of Pope John involved two bishops, Salonius of Embrun and Sagittarius of Gap, who had been condemned in a synod at Lyons (c. 567). This pair succeeded in persuading Guntram, King of Burgundy, that they had been condemned unjustly, and appealed to the pope. Influenced by Guntram's letters, John decided that they should be restored to their sees.^[1]

It is recorded in the Liber Pontificalis that he died on 13 July 574.

References

Popes of the Catholic Church
List of popes canonised Tombs extant non-extant Antipope Pope emeritus Papal resignation Pope-elect
1st–4th centuries During the Roman Empire (until 493) including under Constantine (312–337)	Peter Linus Anacletus Clement I Evaristus Alexander I Sixtus I Telesphorus Hyginus Pius I Anicetus Soter Eleuterus Victor I Zephyrinus Callixtus I Urban I Pontian Anterus Fabian Cornelius Lucius I Stephen I Sixtus II Dionysius Felix I Eutychian Caius Marcellinus Marcellus I Eusebius Miltiades Sylvester I Mark Julius I Liberius Damasus I Siricius Anastasius I
5th–8th centuries Ostrogothic Papacy (493–537) Byzantine Papacy (537–752) Frankish Papacy (756–857)	Innocent I Zosimus Boniface I Celestine I Sixtus III Leo I Hilarius Simplicius Felix III Gelasius I Anastasius II Symmachus Hormisdas John I Felix IV Boniface II John II Agapetus I Silverius Vigilius Pelagius I John III Benedict I Pelagius II Gregory I Sabinian Boniface III Boniface IV Adeodatus I Boniface V Honorius I Severinus John IV Theodore I Martin I Eugene I Vitalian Adeodatus II Donus Agatho Leo II Benedict II John V Conon Sergius I John VI John VII Sisinnius Constantine Gregory II Gregory III Zachary Stephen II Paul I Stephen III Adrian I Leo III
9th–12th centuries Papal selection before 1059 Saeculum obscurum (904–964) Crescentii era (974–1012) Tusculan Papacy (1012–1044/1048) Imperial Papacy (1048–1257)	Stephen IV Paschal I Eugene II Valentine Gregory IV Sergius II Leo IV Benedict III Nicholas I Adrian II John VIII Marinus I Adrian III Stephen V Formosus Boniface VI Stephen VI Romanus Theodore II John IX Benedict IV Leo V Sergius III Anastasius III Lando John X Leo VI Stephen VII John XI Leo VII Stephen VIII Marinus II Agapetus II John XII Benedict V Leo VIII John XIII Benedict VI Benedict VII John XIV John XV Gregory V Sylvester II John XVII John XVIII Sergius IV Benedict VIII John XIX Benedict IX Sylvester III Benedict IX Gregory VI Clement II Benedict IX Damasus II Leo IX Victor II Stephen IX Nicholas II Alexander II Gregory VII Victor III Urban II Paschal II Gelasius II Callixtus II Honorius II Innocent II Celestine II Lucius II Eugene III Anastasius IV Adrian IV Alexander III Lucius III Urban III Gregory VIII Clement III Celestine III Innocent III
13th–16th centuries Viterbo (1257–1281) Orvieto (1262–1297) Perugia (1228–1304) Avignon Papacy (1309–1378) Western Schism (1378–1417) Renaissance Papacy (1417–1534) Reformation Papacy (1534–1585) Baroque Papacy (1585–1689)	Honorius III Gregory IX Celestine IV Innocent IV Alexander IV Urban IV Clement IV Gregory X Innocent V Adrian V John XXI Nicholas III Martin IV Honorius IV Nicholas IV Celestine V Boniface VIII Benedict XI Clement V John XXII Benedict XII Clement VI Innocent VI Urban V Gregory XI Urban VI Boniface IX Innocent VII Gregory XII Martin V Eugene IV Nicholas V Callixtus III Pius II Paul II Sixtus IV Innocent VIII Alexander VI Pius III Julius II Leo X Adrian VI Clement VII Paul III Julius III Marcellus II Paul IV Pius IV Pius V Gregory XIII Sixtus V Urban VII Gregory XIV Innocent IX Clement VIII
17th–20th centuries Revolutionary Papacy (1775–1848) Roman Question (1870–1929) Vatican City (1929–present) World War II (1939–1945) Cold War (1945-1991)	Leo XI Paul V Gregory XV Urban VIII Innocent X Alexander VII Clement IX Clement X Innocent XI Alexander VIII Innocent XII Clement XI Innocent XIII Benedict XIII Clement XII Benedict XIV Clement XIII Clement XIV Pius VI Pius VII Leo XII Pius VIII Gregory XVI Pius IX Leo XIII Pius X Benedict XV Pius XI Pius XII John XXIII Paul VI John Paul I John Paul II
21st century	Benedict XVI Francis
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