For the Boniface III count of Montferrat see Boniface of Montferrat

Boniface of Montferrat

Boniface of Montferrat was Marquess of Montferrat and the leader of the Fourth Crusade. He was the third son of William V of Montferrat and Judith of Babenberg, born after his father's return from the Second Crusade...

Pope Boniface III was Pope

Pope

The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...

 from February 19 to November 12, 607. Despite his relatively short time as Pope he made a significant contribution to the organization of the Catholic Church.

Early life

The son of John Cataadioce, he was a Roman

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

 by birth although of Greek

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

 extraction.

Apokrisiariat (603–606)

As a deacon

Deacon

Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...

, Boniface had impressed Pope Gregory I

Pope Gregory I

Pope Gregory I , better known in English as Gregory the Great, was pope from 3 September 590 until his death...

, (also known as Gregory the Great), who described him as a man "of tried faith and character" and, in 603, selected him to be apocrisiarius

Apocrisiarius

An apocrisiarius, the Latinized form of apokrisiarios , sometimes Anglicized as apocrisiary, was a high diplomatic representative during Late Antiquity and the early medieval period. The corresponding Latin term was responsalis...

 (legate, essentially the papal nuncio

Nuncio

Nuncio is an ecclesiastical diplomatic title, derived from the ancient Latin word, Nuntius, meaning "envoy." This article addresses this title as well as derived similar titles, all within the structure of the Roman Catholic Church...

) to the court of Constantinople

Constantinople

Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...

. This was to be a significant time in his life and helped to shape his short but eventful papacy.

As apocrisarius he had the ear of Emperor Phocas

Phocas

Phocas was Byzantine Emperor from 602 to 610. He usurped the throne from the Emperor Maurice, and was himself overthrown by Heraclius after losing a civil war.-Origins:...

 and was held in esteem by him. This was to prove important when he was instructed by Gregory the Great to intercede with Emperor Phocas on behalf of Bishop Alcison of Cassiope on the island of Corcyra. Alcison found his position as bishop

Bishop

A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...

 being usurped by Bishop John of Euria in Epirus

Epirus

The name Epirus, from the Greek "Ήπειρος" meaning continent may refer to:-Geographical:* Epirus - a historical and geographical region of the southwestern Balkans, straddling modern Greece and Albania...

, who had fled his home along with his clergy to escape from attacks by the Slavs and Avars

Eurasian Avars

The Eurasian Avars or Ancient Avars were a highly organized nomadic confederacy of mixed origins. They were ruled by a khagan, who was surrounded by a tight-knit entourage of nomad warriors, an organization characteristic of Turko-Mongol groups...

. John, having found himself safe on Corcyra, wasn't content to serve under Bishop Alcison; instead he set about trying to usurp his episcopal authority. Normally this behaviour would not have been tolerated, but Emperor Phocas was sympathetic to Bishop John and so was not inclined to interfere. Alcison appealed to Gregory the Great, who left the problem to Boniface to resolve. In a stroke of diplomatic genius Boniface managed to reconcile all the parties while still retaining the confidence of the emperor.

Selection as pope (606–607)

On the death of Pope Sabinian

Pope Sabinian

Pope Sabinian was pope from 604 to 606. He was born at Blera near Viterbo. Pope during the Byzantine Papacy, he was fourth former apocrisiarius to Constantinople elected pope.-Apokrisiariat :...

 in February 606, Boniface was elected his successor although his return from Constantinople to Rome was delayed by almost a year. There is much debate over why there was such a long interregnum

Interregnum

An interregnum is a period of discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order...

. Some authorities believe that it was to allow Boniface to complete his work in Constantinople but the more widely held belief is that there were problems with the election. Boniface himself is thought to have insisted on the elections being free and fair and may have refused to take up the papacy until convinced that they had been. This view is given credence by his actions on being consecrated to the office of Pope.

Papacy (607)

He made two significant changes to papal selections; the first was the enacting of a decree forbidding anyone during the lifetime of a pope to discuss the appointment of his successor. This was under pain of excommunication

Excommunication

Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive, suspend or limit membership in a religious community. The word means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group...

. The second change established that no steps could be taken to provide for a papal successor until three days after a pope's burial. This suggests that he was serious in his desire to keep papal elections free.

His other notable act resulted from his close relationship with Emperor Phocas. He sought and obtained a decree from Phocas which restated that "the See of Blessed Peter the Apostle should be the head of all the Churches". This ensured that the title of "Universal Bishop" belonged exclusively to the Bishop of Rome, and effectively ended the attempt by Patriarch Cyriacus of Constantinople

Patriarch Cyriacus of Constantinople

Cyriacus was the thirtieth Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople . He was previously presbyter and steward, oikonomos, of the great church at Constantinople...

, to establish himself as "Universal Bishop". Although some authorities cite this as evidence that Boniface founded the Catholic Church, this decree simply restated the much earlier view held by Justinian I

Justinian I

Justinian I ; , ; 483– 13 or 14 November 565), commonly known as Justinian the Great, was Byzantine Emperor from 527 to 565. During his reign, Justinian sought to revive the Empire's greatness and reconquer the lost western half of the classical Roman Empire.One of the most important figures of...

 who had given legal recognition to the primacy of the Roman pontiff.

Boniface III was buried in St. Peter's Basilica

St. Peter's Basilica

The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter , officially known in Italian as ' and commonly known as Saint Peter's Basilica, is a Late Renaissance church located within the Vatican City. Saint Peter's Basilica has the largest interior of any Christian church in the world...

, Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

, on November 12, 607.