Pope Sisinnius

Pope Sisinnius (c. 650 – 4 February 708) was the bishop of Rome from 15 January 708 to his death.[1]

Pope Sisinnius
Papacy began	15 January 708
Papacy ended	4 February 708
Predecessor	John VII
Successor	Constantine
Personal details
Born	650 Syria, Rashidun Caliphate
Died	4 February 708 Rome, Byzantine Empire

Sisinnius was Syrian by origin,[2][3][4] and his father's name was John.[1] The paucity of donations to the papacy during his reign (42 pounds of gold and 310 pounds of silver, a fraction of the personal donations of other contemporary pontiffs) indicate that he was probably not from the aristocracy.[5]

Sisinnius was selected as pope during the period of Byzantine domination, succeeding John VII after a vacancy of three months.[6] He was consecrated around 15 January 708.[1] His pontificate lasted just twenty days.[6] According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, "although he was so afflicted with gout that he was unable even to feed himself, he is nevertheless said to have been a man of strong character, and to have been able to take thought for the good of the city".[1] Among his few acts as pope was the consecration of a bishop for Corsica.[1] He also ordered "that lime be burned in order to restore portions" of the walls of Rome.[7] The restoration of the walls planned by Sisinnius was eventually carried out by Gregory II.[8]

Sisinnius was buried in Old St. Peter's Basilica.[1] He was succeeded less than two months later by another Syrian, Constantine,[6] who was probably his brother.[9]

Notes

1. Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Pope Sisinnius" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
2. Joseph S. Brusher, Popes through the Ages, (Neff-Kane, 1980), 174.
3. Latham, Robert Gordon (1863). The Nationalities of Europe. W. H. Allen & Company.
4. Milman, Henry Hart (1872). Históry of Latin Christianity Including that of the Popes to the Pontificate of Médas V, 2. Murray.
5. Jeffrey Richards. 1979. The popes and the papacy in the early Middle Ages, 476–752. p. 245.
6. Ekonomou, 2007, p. 246.
7. Ekonomou, 2007, p. 248.
8. Charles Isidore Hemans. 1874. Historic and monumental Rome. p. 100.
9. • Williams, George L. 2004. Papal Genealogy: The Families and Descendants of the Popes. McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-2071-5. p. 10.

References

• Ekonomou, Andrew J. 2007. Byzantine Rome and the Greek Popes: Eastern influences on Rome and the papacy from Gregory the Great to Zacharias, A.D. 590–752. Lexington Books.