John John VII

650 (age 57)

Rossano, Province of Cosenza, Italy

The successor of John VI, he was (like his predecessor) of Greek ancestry. He is one of the popes of the Byzantine Papacy. John was a native of Rossano in Calabria. John VII had good relations with the Lombards, who then ruled much of Italy. However, his relations with Justinian II, the Byzantine Emperor, were far from smooth. Papal relations with Byzantium had soured over the Quinisext (or Trullan) council of 692. Scholarly debate contests John VII"s stance on the Canons. He did not ratify the Canons, which were deeply unpopular in Italy. Nonetheless, he was criticized, most unusually, by the Liber Pontificalis for not signing them: But he, terrified in his human weakness, sent them back to the prince by the same metropolitans without any emendations at all. Several monuments in Rome are connected with John. The most notable is the Church of Saint Maria Antiqua at the foot of the Palatine Hill. Traces of an episcopal palace Episcopium associated with John have been discovered upon the Palatine. John VII also constructed an Oratory dedicated to the Theotokos. The Oratory was located within the Old basilica of Saint Peter. Fragments of the mosaic decoration can be found in the Vatican grottoes. Furthermore, a sizeable icon, known as the Madonna della Clemenza and housed in Santa Maria in Trastevere, is believed to have been commissioned under the patronage of John. He also restored the monastery of Subiaco, destroyed by the Lombards in 601. He was succeeded by Sisinnius.

John John VII Edit Profile

Background

His father, Plato (c 620 – 686), was imperial cura palatii urbis Romae, or curator of the Palatine Hill. This makes John the first pope to be the son of a Byzantine official His mother was called Blatta (c 627 – 687).

Career

The successor of John VI, he was (like his predecessor) of Greek ancestry. He is one of the popes of the Byzantine Papacy. John was a native of Rossano in Calabria.

John VII had good relations with the Lombards, who then ruled much of Italy.

However, his relations with Justinian II, the Byzantine Emperor, were far from smooth. Papal relations with Byzantium had soured over the Quinisext (or Trullan) council of 692.

Scholarly debate contests John VII"s stance on the Canons. He did not ratify the Canons, which were deeply unpopular in Italy.

Nonetheless, he was criticized, most unusually, by the Liber Pontificalis for not signing them:

But he, terrified in his human weakness, sent them back to the prince by the same metropolitans without any emendations at all.

Several monuments in Rome are connected with John. The most notable is the Church of Saint Maria Antiqua at the foot of the Palatine Hill. Traces of an episcopal palace Episcopium associated with John have been discovered upon the Palatine.

John VII also constructed an Oratory dedicated to the Theotokos.

The Oratory was located within the Old basilica of Saint Peter. Fragments of the mosaic decoration can be found in the Vatican grottoes.

Furthermore, a sizeable icon, known as the Madonna della Clemenza and housed in Santa Maria in Trastevere, is believed to have been commissioned under the patronage of John. He also restored the monastery of Subiaco, destroyed by the Lombards in 601.

He was succeeded by Sisinnius.

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John John VII Edit Profile

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