Roman Catholic Pope. He served as Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 678 to 681. Born towards the end of the sixth century in Sicily, it is generally believed that Agatho was originally a Benedictine monk at St. Hermes in Palermo and there is good authority that he was more than 100 years old when, in 678, he ascended the Papal chair as successor to Pope Donus. Shortly after Agatho became Pope, Saint Wilfred, Archbishop of York, who had been unjustly and uncanonically deposed from his see by Theodore of Canterbury, arrived in Rome to invoke the authority of the Holy See in his behalf. At a synod which Pope Agatho convoked in the Lateran to investigate the affair, Wilfred was restored to his see. The main event of Agatho's pontificate remains however, the Sixth Ecumenical Council, held in Constantinople in 680, at which the papal legates presided and which practically ended the Monothelite heresy. Before the decrees of the council arrived in Rome for the approval of the Pope, Agatho had died on January 10, 681 and was laid to rest in St. Peter's Old Basilica. Known for his affability and charity, on account of the many miracles attributed to his intercession he has been styled as "Thaumaturgus", or Wonderworker. His memory is celebrated by both Latin and Greek Churches.
Roman Catholic Pope. He served as Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 678 to 681. Born towards the end of the sixth century in Sicily, it is generally believed that Agatho was originally a Benedictine monk at St. Hermes in Palermo and there is good authority that he was more than 100 years old when, in 678, he ascended the Papal chair as successor to Pope Donus. Shortly after Agatho became Pope, Saint Wilfred, Archbishop of York, who had been unjustly and uncanonically deposed from his see by Theodore of Canterbury, arrived in Rome to invoke the authority of the Holy See in his behalf. At a synod which Pope Agatho convoked in the Lateran to investigate the affair, Wilfred was restored to his see. The main event of Agatho's pontificate remains however, the Sixth Ecumenical Council, held in Constantinople in 680, at which the papal legates presided and which practically ended the Monothelite heresy. Before the decrees of the council arrived in Rome for the approval of the Pope, Agatho had died on January 10, 681 and was laid to rest in St. Peter's Old Basilica. Known for his affability and charity, on account of the many miracles attributed to his intercession he has been styled as "Thaumaturgus", or Wonderworker. His memory is celebrated by both Latin and Greek Churches.
Bio by: Eman Bonnici
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