St. Agatho the Wonderworker,
Pope of Rome
A Sicilian cleric, Pope/St. Agatho was born c. 577 and
was elected to the Roman see in 678. He had been a monk
before his election and was well-versed in Latin and Greek.
Although the exarch of Ravenna, Theodore, desired independence
from Rome, he eventually submitted to Agatho's rule. In 678,
Bishop Wilfrid of York, claiming he had been unjustly deposed,
appealed to the pope, who ruled that Bishop Wilfrid should be
returned immediately to his see. Concerned about the condition
of the English church, Agatho sent an envoy to teach the Britons
about chant and to report to him on the state of the church.
The Sixth Ecumenical Council (680-681) accepted Agatho's
definitions of the two wills of Christ, although the pope
did not attend the council. Agatho died during a plague in 681.
Karen Rae Keck
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