page_title: Ostrogothic Papacy
section_title: After Symmachus
hierarchical_section_title: Ostrogothic Papacy / History / After Symmachus
caption_attribution_description: English: A depiction of Pope Felix IV, also known as Felix III. When numbering of the Popes began to be used, Antipope Felix II was counted as one of the Popes of that name. The second true Pope Felix is thus known by the number III, and the true third Pope Felix – the subject of this mosaic – was given the number IV.
context_page_description: The Ostrogothic Papacy was a period from 493 to 537 where the papacy was strongly influenced by the Ostrogothic Kingdom, if the pope was not outright appointed by the Ostrogothic King. The selection and administration of popes during this period was strongly influenced by Theodoric the Great and his successors Athalaric and Theodahad. This period terminated with Justinian I's conquest of Rome during the Gothic War, inaugurating the Byzantine Papacy.
  According to Howorth, "while they were not much interfered with in their administrative work, so long as they did not themselves interfere with politics, the Gothic kings meddled considerably in the selection of the new popes and largely dominated their election. Simony prevailed to a scandalous extent, as did intrigues of a discreditable kind, and the quality and endowments of the candidates became of secondary importance in their chances of being elected, compared with their skill in corrupting the officials of the foreign kings and in their powers of chicane." According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, "[Theodoric] was tolerant towards the Catholic Church and did not interfere in dogmatic matters.
context_section_description: According to Richards, "the death of Pope Symmachus in July 514 was a crucial test for the election regulations after nearly sixteen controversial years of Symmachian rule." However, the "Symmachian old guard" controlled a supermajority of the priests and deacons and thus were able to elect Pope Hormisdas (514-523) after only seven days. Hormisdas was likely appointed by Symmachus himself, "a procedure which was implicit in the electoral regulations." Hormisdas had prepared complicated written instructions for his envoys to the East long before his election and kept Theodoric well apprised of his negotiations with the Byzantines.
  Hormisdas was succeeded by Pope John I (523-526). Theodoric married his daughters to the kings of Burgundy, the Visigoths, and Vandals, fellow adherents of Arianism. However, Clovis, king of the Franks, renounced Arianism in 506, as did Sigismund of Burgundy in 516 – acts that could possibly describe the act of having "converted to Catholicism." In 523, Eutharic, king of the Visigoths, ceased persecuting non-Arians, around the same time that the Eastern Church began its persecution of Arians. Theodoric created an Ostrogothic navy and sent an emissary to the East, headed by Pope John I himself in 526.
  John I was succeeded by Pope Felix IV (526-530) with the recommendation of Theodoric and his election was confirmed by Athalaric. He was thus appointed "for all practical purposes" by Theodoric. The process of predecessor appointment was used without serious issue until the death of Felix IV, who had given his pallium to Pope Boniface II on his deathbed in 530 and decreed excommunication of any who refused to accept the succession. The Roman Senate disliked the lack of election and denounced Felix, affirming a decree of Pope Anastasius II which had prohibited the practice of a pope designating a successor. Boniface II was supported only by a minority of the clergy, with the larger share supporting Dioscorus, with only Dioscorus's death halting the schism.
  Boniface II attempted to re-entrench the practice of appointing his successor, but the public outcry was too great, resulting in a highly disputed election in 532 characterized by widespread accounts of bribery and coercion, which resulted in Pope John II (the first to take a papal name). Pope John was chosen by Athalaric to avoid a split between the Byzantine and Gothic factions. Athalaric, the Ostrogoth king, forced John II to approve decrees that banned any private agreements to elect a pope and enacting limits on the amount of money that could be spent during a papal election (an early example of campaign finance reform). In fact, Athalaric himself was able to engineer the election of Pope Silverius, the son of Pope Hormisdas, upon John II's death.
  Theodahad threw his support behind Pope Agapetus I and was thus "well placed to coerce the new pope Agapetus, for he had been elected with his support." Theodahad also played a decisive role in the selection of Pope Silverius (536-537), the legitimate son of Hormisdas.
caption: Pope Felix IV (526-530) was the first successor of Symmachus to have trouble designating a successor.
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