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544 19. italy, a.d. 425,605
church of Ravenna – in its defence of the condemnation of the Three
Chapters. 89 By the pontificates of Pelagius II (579–90) and Gregory the
Great, the position of the papacy was becoming increasingly beleaguered.
In Italy, the church of Ravenna was no longer a malleable ally, while in the
east the bishop of Constantinople, using the title ‘oecumenical patriarch’,
was once more challenging the Roman church’s apostolic primacy. Cooperation
between Rome and Constantinople was always seen as desirable,
and throughout his pontificate, Gregory the Great sought to achieve peaceful
coexistence while at no time compromising his conviction of Roman
pre-eminence. Gregory was a realist, and his dealings with the eastern court
reveal a pragmatic politician seeking to secure imperial support for papal
supremacy. It was this pragmatism that led him to write with enthusiasm to
the new emperor Phocas, shortly after he had deposed and executed his
predecessor Maurice, a man whom Gregory had befriended in his years as
pope Pelagius II’s legate in Constantinople. 90
By the age of Gregory and Phocas, the relationship between Rome and
Constantinople epitomized the post-Justinianic status of Italy in the empire.
While the papacy existed in that part of Italy under Byzantine control, the
Roman church was by no means submissive to Constantinopolitan dictates,
whether imperial or ecclesiastical. In part, this reflected the administrative
importance of the pope, which at times was recognized by the emperor, as
when Phocas yielded to Boniface III’s request that Rome be recognized as
apostolic and the ‘head of all churches’ (caput omnium ecclesiarum) and gave
the Pantheon to Boniface IV for use as a church. 91 During the seventh and
eighth centuries, links between Byzantium and the papacy remained strong:
many popes were themselves easterners, and they maintained close links
with the opponents of Monotheletism and iconoclasm. Yet there can be no
denying the uneasiness in relations between pope and emperor in the
seventh century. Popes could be uncompromising in the defence of their
apostolic prestige, while emperors were as ruthless in their treatment of
obdurate popes as they were with inefficient provincial governors, periodically
deporting to Constantinople those who caused the imperial authorities
trouble. 92
vii. settlement and society
The transformation of the ruling élite and the transformation of the
church were significant aspects of social change in fifth- and sixth-century
Italy, and, as has been seen, the process had ramifications for patterns of
89 Markus (1981) 567–73.
90 Greg. Mag. Epp. 13.34, 42; for commentary, see Herrin, Formation of Christendom 179–181 contra
Richards (1980) 226–7. 91 Lib. Pont. 1.317; Paul. Diac. Hist. Lang. iv.36.
92 Herrin, Formation of Christendom 250–90.
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