JOHN
421
JOHN
then led him to the village. On IS October, 1046,
when entering a cabin he was struck with a tomahawk
and afterwards decapitated. The head was fixed on
the palisades and the body thrown into the Moliawk.
In view of liis possible canonization a preliminary court was established in Quebec by the ecclesiastical authorities to receive testimony as to his sanctity and the cause of his death.
Paiikman. The Jesuits in North America (1S67): Bancroft, History of the United Slates, III; J. G. Shea, Life of Father J agues (New York, 1885); Jesuit Relations. 1640-1647: Abbe Forest, Life of Isaac Jogues, MSS. (St. Mary's College, Montreal); Memorial of the death of Isaac Jogues and others, MSS. (Uni- versity of Laval. Quebec); Dean Harris. History of the Early Missions in Western Canada (Toronto, 189.3) ; Ecclesiastical Records of the State of New York, I (published by the State, 1891); Charlevoix, History of New France, II; Rochemon- TEix, The Jesuits and New France, I, II.
T. J. CAMPBELL.
John I, Saint, Pope; d. at Ravenna on IS or 19 May (according to the most probable calculation), 526. A Tuscan by birth and the son of Const antius, he was, after an interregnum of seven days, elected on 13 August, 523, and occupied the Apostolic see for two years, nine months, and seven days. We know nothing of the manner of his administration, for his Bidlarium contains only the two letters atklrcssed to an Archbishop Zacharias and to the bishops of Italy respectively, and it is very certain that both are apocryphal. We possess information — though unfortunately very vague — only about his journey to Constantinople, a journey which appears to have had results of great importance, and which was the cause of his death. The Emperor Justin, in his zeal for orthodoxy, had issued in 523 a severe decree against the Arians, compelling them, among other things, to surrender to the Catholics the churches which they occupied. Theodoric. King of the Ostro- goths and of Italy, the ardent defender of Arianism, keenly resented these measures directed against his coreligionists in the Orient, and was moreover highly displeased at seeing the progress of a mutual under- standing between the Latin and Greek Churches, such as might favour certain secret dealings Ijetween the Roman senators and the Byzantine Court, aim- ing at the re-establishment of the imperial authority in Italy. To bring pressure to bear upon the emperor, and force him to moderate his policy of repression in regard to the heretics, Theodoric sent to him early in 525 an embassy composed of Roman senators, of which he obliged the pope to assume the direction, and imposed on the latter the task of securing a withdrawal of the Edict of 523 and — if we are to believe " Anonymus Valesianus" — of even urging the emperor to facilitate the return to Arianism of the Arians who had been converted.
There has been much discussion as to the l)art played by John I in this affair. The sources which enable us to study the subject are far from explicit and may be reduced to four in number: "Anonymus Valesianus", already cited; the "Liber Pontificalis"; Gregory of Tours's "Liber in gloria martyrum"; and the "Liber Pontificalis Ecclesiae Ravennatis". But it is beyond question that the pope could only counsel Justin to use gentleness and discretion to- wards the .Arians; his position as head of the Church prevented his inviting the emperor to favour heresy. That this analysis of the situation is cor- rect is evident from the reception which the pope was accorded in the East — a reception which certainly would not have been kindly, had the Roman am- bassadors opposed the emperor and his Catholic sub- jects in their struggle waged against the .\rian sect. The inhabitants of Constantinople went out in throrigs to meet John. The Emperor Justin on meeting him prostrated himself, and, some time afterwards, he had himself crowned liy the pope. All the patriarchs of the East made haste to manifest their communion iu the Faith with the supreme
pontiff; only Timothy of Alexandria, who had shown
himself hostile to the Council of Chalcedon, held
aloof. Finally, the pope, exercising his right of
precedence over Epiphanius, Patriarch of Constan-
tinople, solemnly officiated at St. Sophia in the
Latin Rite on Easter Day, 19 April, 526. Imme-
diately afterwards he made his way back to the West.
If this brilliant reception of John I by the emperor,
the clergy, and the faithful of the Orient proves that
he had not been wanting in his task as supreme
Eastor of the Church, the strongly contrasting be- aviour of Theodoric towards him on his return is no less evident proof. This monarch, enraged at see- ing the national party reviving in Italy, had just stained his hands with the murder of Boethius, the great philosopher, and of Symmachus, his father-in- law. He was exasperated against the pope, whose embassy had obtained a success very different from that which he, Theodoric, desired and whom, more- over, he suspected of favouring the defenders of the ancient liberty of Rome. As soon as John, returning from the East, had landed in Italy, Theodoric caused him to be arrested and incarcerated at Ravenna. Worn out by the fatigues of the journey, and sub- jected to severe privations, John soon died in prison. His body was transported to Rome and Iniried in the Basihca of St. Peter. In his epitaph there is no allusion to his historical role. The Latin Church lias placed liim among its martyrs, and commemorates him on 27 May, the ninth lesson in the Roman Breviary for that date being consecrated to him.
Baronius, Ann. eccl., ad ann. 523, 10; ad ann. 526, 8-21 (Rome, 1597); Ceillier, Hist. gen. des aut. sac. et eccl., XVI (Paris, 1748), 203-5; Friedrich in Sitzungsh. Miinchen. Akad. Wissensch. (Munich, 1891), 87-127; Rosi, Uambasceria di papa Giovanni I a Costantinopoli secundo alcuni principali scrittori in Arch, delta Soc. rom. di star, pair., XXI (Rome, 189S), 567-84.
Leon Clugnet.
John II, Pope (533-535).— The date of the birth of this pope is not known. He was a Roman and the son of Projectus; if not born in the second region (Ciiii- monlium) he had at least been a priest of St. Clement's Basilica on the slope of Mons Ccelius. He seems to have been the first who changed his name on being raised to the papacy (2 Jan., 533). The basilica of St. Clem- ent still retains several memorials of "Johannes surnamed Mercurius". Presbyter Mcrcurius is found on a fragment of an ancient ciborium, and several of the marble slabs which enclose the schola cantorum bear upon them, in the style of the sixth century, the monogram of Johannes. At this period simony in the election of popes and bishops was rife among clergy and laity. After the death of the predecessor of John II there was a vacancy of over two months, and during that period shameless trafficking in sacred things was indulged in. Even sacred vessels were exposed for sale. The matter was brought before the Senate, and before the Arian Ostrogothic Court at Ravenna. As a result the last decree {Scnatus Con- siiltum) which the Senate of Rome is known to have i.ssued, and which, passed under Boniface II, was directed against simony in papal elections, was con- firmed by the Gothic King Athalaric. lie ordered it to be engraved on marble, and to be placed in the atrium of St. Peter's (533). _ By one of .^thalaric's own additions to the decree, it was decitled, that if a disputed election was carried before the Gothic offi- cials of Ravenna by the Roman clergy and people, three thousand solidi would have to be paid into court. This sum was to be given to the poor. John himself, however, always remainerl on good terms with .\thalaric, who referred to his tribunal all actions brought against the Roman clergy. Justinian also showed his good will to the See of Rome in John's person. He sent him his profession of faith and many valuable presents. Some time before John became pope, the East was agitated by the formula.
