Pope Symmachus

Infobox Pope
English name=Symmachus


birth_name=Symmachus
term_start=November 22, 498
term_end=July 19, 514
predecessor=Anastasius II
successor=Hormisdas
birth_date=???
birthplace=Sardinia, Italy
dead=dead|death_date=death date|514|7|19|mf=y
deathplace=???|infobox popestyles
papal name=Pope Symmachus
dipstyle=His Holiness
offstyle=Your Holiness
relstyle=Holy Father
deathstyle=Saint|Infobox Saint
name=Pope Saint Symmachus
birth_date=
death_date=
feast_day=19 July
venerated_in=Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Catholic Churches, Oriental Orthodox Church


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Pope Saint Symmachus was pope from 498 to 514.

He was born on Sardinia, the son of Fortunatus. He was baptized in Rome, where he became archdeacon of the Church under Pope Anastasius II.

Symmachus was elected pope on November 22, 498. The archpriest of Santa Prassede, Laurentius, was elected pope, that same day, by a dissenting minority faction with Byzantine sympathies. Laurentius was supported by Emperor Anastasius, but the Gothic King Theodoric the Great, in the end, ruled against him and in favor of Symmachus.

At a synod held at Rome on March 1, 499, Symmachus bestowed on Laurentius the diocesis of Nuceria in Campania. The synod also ordained that any cleric who sought to gain votes for a successor to the papacy during the lifetime of the pope, or who called conferences and held consultations for that purpose, should be deposed.

In 501, senator Festus, a supporter of Laurentius, accused Symmachus of various crimes. The pope refused to appear before the king to answer the charges, asserting that the secular ruler had no jurisdiction over the supreme pontiff. A synod, called "Synodus Palmaris", convoked by King Theodoric on 23 October 502 confirmed this view, declaring that the decision "must be left to the judgment of God" and that Symmachus was to be regarded "as free from all the crimes of which he was accused". The synod also confirmed Symmachus' right to the papacy.

Nonetheless, Theodoric installed Laurentius in the Lateran Palace as pope. The schism continued for four years until Theodoric, deciding that the adherents of Laurentius were too pro-Byzantine, withdrew his support of Laurentius and had him removed from Rome, and opposition to Symmachus eventually was stilled.

The pope contributed large sums for the support of the Catholic bishops of Africa who were persecuted by the rulers of the Arian Vandals. He also aided the inhabitants of upper Italy who suffered from the invasions of barbarians.

External links

*"Catholic Encyclopedia", [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14377a.htm Pope St. Symmachus (498-514)] (1913).