Boniface Cataadioce

Born [date unknown] in Rome, Byzantine Empire

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Biography

Pope Boniface III Cataadioce is Notable.

Boniface was a Roman, son of John Cataadioce.^[1]

He was ordained a deacon. In 603 he was selected to be papal apocrisiarius or legate to the imperial court in Constantinople.^[2]

Though elected to replace Pope Sabinian who died in February 606, Boniface's return to Rome from Constantinople was delayed by almost a year.

His pontificate began on 19 February 607 and ended with his death on 10 November 607.^[3] He was buried in St Peter's Basilica on 12 November 607.^[2]

One act of his short pontificate was to obtain a decree from Emperor Phocas in Constantinople that restated that the See of Blessed Peter the Apostle should be the head of all the Churches, ensuring that the title of universal bishop belonged exclusively to the bishop of Rome, ending the attempt by Patriarch Cyriacus of Constantinople to establish himself as universal bishop.^[2]

Flocknote Popes in a Year ^[4] tells us:

Pope from February 19, 607 - November 12, 607 A.D.

Died: November 12, 607 A.D.

Pronounced: BAHN-ih-fuss (not “bony face”)

Boniface was a Roman, and was the son of John Cataadioce. Prior to being pope, he served as St. Gregory the Great’s representative in Constantinople. After Pope Sabinian’s death, almost a year went by before Boniface III was consecrated as the next pope on February 19, 607. Some think this happened so he could finish his work in the East, but a more plausible reason could have just been some pesky problems with the election itself.

Boniface reportedly wanted everyone to play nice and hold a fair election, because one of his only acts as pope was to convene a synod of bishops and declare that three days must pass between the death of the pope and the beginning of a search for his successor. He enacted these rules under pain of excommunication, and for good measure also decreed that those three days be spent in prayer and fasting. Mic drop.

Boniface III died on November 12 of the same year, having been pope less than eight months. St. Gregory the Great spoke of him as being a man of “tried faith and character”. He was buried in St. Peter’s Basilica.

Both before his election and after, Boniface III worked to clarify the pope’s position as head of the whole Church. In the East, the Patriarch of Constantinople had been attempting to call himself the “universal patriarch,” which St. Gregory didn’t particularly appreciate (hence Boniface’s objective). Though the struggle lasted for some time, by the time he was elected, Boniface was able to deal with a new emperor who was more favorable to the Church. This emperor, Phocas, happily decreed against Constantinople’s patriarch saying, “the See of Blessed Peter the Apostle should be head of all of the Churches,” and that the title of “Universal Bishop” belonged solely to the man seated on the Chair of Peter in Rome.

Boniface III was the third pope in a row to have previously served as papal nuncio in Constantinople, following both Sabinian and Gregory the Great (who served under Pelagius II).

Research Notes

This profile is being updated by the Popes Project.

Sources

1. ↑ Oestreich, Thomas (1907). "Pope Boniface III". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} Wikipedia: Pope Boniface III
3. ↑ Vatican
4. ↑ Flocknote Popes in a Year
   SOURCES (and further reading)
   John, E. (1964). The Popes: A concise biographical history. New York: Hawthorn Books.
   Pope Boniface III - http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02660b.htm
   Pope Boniface III - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Boniface_III
   St. Trudpert - http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15069c.htm