Pelagius I, (born , Rome—died March 4, 561, Rome), pope from 556 to 561. His ecclesiastical roles under the popes St. Agapetus I, St. Silverius, and Vigilius were highly important in the history of the church.
As a deacon, Pelagius accompanied Agapetus to Constantinople to help him dissuade the Byzantine emperor Justinian I from attempting the reconquest of Italy. Before he died at Constantinople, Agapetus appointed Pelagius nuncio. When the Byzantine empress Theodora, Justinian’s wife, apparently effected the deposition and banishment in March 537 of Agapetus’s successor, Silverius, Pelagius returned to Rome. After the deacon Vigilius was made pope, Pelagius went to ... (100 of 535 words)