Pope Conon (Cono) governed the Church of Rome from October 686 to September 21, 687 (consecration dated 21 October by Mann, 23 October by the Holy See, Treccani, and the New Catholic Encyclopedia: see below). The Holy See presents him as the 83rd pope of the Catholic Church, successor to John V and predecessor to Sergius I.[1]
His pontificate lasted barely eleven months, but he holds a unique place in the history of the Byzantine papacy. Conon was elected at the end of an open crisis: the clergy supported Archpriest Peter, the Roman army favoured Priest Theodore; the clergy waited before the closed doors of the Constantinian basilica while the army was gathered at Saint Stephen. It was an elderly Roman priest with an angelic appearance — son, according to the Liber Pontificalis, of a man of the Thraceseus, interpreted as a Byzantine officer by Mann, Treccani, and the NCE — who ultimately gathered all votes as a compromise candidate.[2][3]
His origin illustrates the actual composition of the Roman clergy at the end of the 7th century. The Liber Pontificalis states he was the son of a man of the Thraceseus, educated in Sicily, and later came to Rome to enter the clergy.[4] The term Thraceseus does not designate an ethnic region but an imperial military unit—the Thracesian Theme (Byzantine military district), normally stationed in western Asia Minor. Sicily then served as a school before Rome.[5][6]
Despite his age, illness, and the weight of the dossiers, Conon was the pope who received the divalis iussio from Justinian II announcing the "recovery" of the Acts of the Sixth Ecumenical Council, who obtained tax relief on the Roman patrimonies of Lucania and Bruttium, and who—according to the hagiographic tradition followed by Mann—received the Irishman Kilian and entrusted him with the mission to Franconia. His death opened a contested sede vacante (vacant see), from which Sergius I emerged after a corruption affair involving Archdeacon Paschal and the Exarch of Ravenna.[7][8][9][10]
“CONON, son of a man of the Thraceseus, was educated in Sicily; then came to Rome and serving this Church, he attained the honor of the presbyterate.” — Liber Pontificalis, entry on Conon ("officer": interpretation by Mann, Treccani, and the NCE, the Latin reading only patre Thraceseo)[11]
Why does Conon matter?
The compromise that saved the Roman election
Conon is, in the history of the Byzantine papacy, the quintessential compromise pope. Before him, vacancies had been long but once elections opened, they were settled at the Lateran with the clergy, the people, and the Roman army. The death of John V on August 2, 686, triggered instead a vertical fracture between clergy and militia: each camp stood firm on its candidate, each physically occupied a place in Rome.[12][13]
That Conon—an old priest, without known political networks, marked by his humility—ended up gathering all votes says two things. First, that the 7th-century papacy did not function solely as a juridical seat: it depended on a living consensus between the Lateran clergy and the Roman exercitus. Second, that this consensus, when broken, could only be restored by a figure whom no one could suspect of factionalism. Conon embodied precisely that.
A "Thracesian" and Sicilian pope, who became a Roman pope
Ancient historiography liked to speak of a "Byzantine papacy": between 678 and 752, popes Agatho, Leo II, Benedict II, John V, Conon, Sergius I, John VI, John VII, Constantine, and Gregory III were almost all of Eastern origin. Conon does not escape this formula, but the Liber Pontificalis and Treccani strongly nuance it.[14][15]
His father was, in the interpretation of Mann, Treccani, and the NCE, a Byzantine officer, but the word "Thraceseus" refers to a military theme, not a nation. His formation took place in Sicily, a Byzantine island that had repeatedly welcomed Eastern clerics fleeing Muslim conquests. And it was in Rome that he became a priest, after a long career in the presbyterate. Conon was therefore Eastern by origin, Sicilian by culture, and Roman by service—exactly like John V, but without the conciliar role that had prepared the latter at Constantinople III.
A pivotal pontificate between John V and Sergius I
Conon does not mark history by a great council or a preserved doctrinal work. But he occupies a pivotal place. Before him, the dyothelite peace (doctrine of the two wills of Christ, divine and human) sealed at Constantinople III under Agatho and Leo II was still recent; the Romano-Byzantine sky seemed clear. After him, Sergius I would face the Council in Trullo of 692 and Justinian II’s attempt to have him arrested by armed force.[16][17]
Conon stands right at the border of these two worlds. He received one of the last frankly conciliatory iussiones from Justinian II and died before the imperial hand hardened against Rome. Reading his pontificate is like watching the window close.
Main Sources
Table of Witnesses
The memory of Conon rests on a small number of sources, whose value and caution in use vary considerably. The following table ranks them by authority, from the official Holy See record to key academic essays, indicating for each what it contributes and the precautions required in its use.
| Source | Date | Contribution | Caution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Holy See | current list | 83rd pope, dates 23.X.686 - 21.IX.687 | Very brief official notice, states origin "unknown" |
| Liber Pontificalis | written c. 687-700, ed. Duchesne 1886-1892 | Origin "Thraceseus" + Sicily, moral portrait, election account (Peter / Theodore / Saint Stephen the Round / Lateran), affair of Constantine of Syracuse, gifts, ordinations, burial | Main narrative source, contemporary or near-contemporary |
| Treccani / Paolo Bertolini | 2000 | Historical analysis: Thraceseus = military theme, birth in the 620s, compromise election, solemn consecration on 23 October 686, divalis iussio of 17 February 687 then fiscal divales iussiones (Lucania-Bruttium, Sicily), Constantine affair (subdeacon of Syracuse) and arrest, bequest of 2160 solidi, contested succession | Best accessible modern synthesis |
| Catholic Encyclopedia (H. Mann) | 1908 | Biographical summary, compromise election, consecration 21 October 686, Kilian’s mission, Justinian II, death 21 September 687 | Catholic, older but useful; repeats Kilian tradition without questioning historicity |
| New Catholic Encyclopedia (R. E. Sullivan) | modern, via Encyclopedia.com | Pontificate 23 October 686 - 21 September 687, election at the Lateran, confirmation by exarch of Ravenna, Constantine of Syracuse (Sicilian deacon, greed and duplicity), modern bibliography (Caspar, O. Bertolini, Bréhier and Aigrain, Richards, Noble) | Very brief but precise on canonical framework |
| Wikipedia FR/EN | collaborative encyclopedia | Modern summary with dates, Kilian’s mission, Byzantine context | Should always be cross-checked with primary sources |
| A. J. Ekonomou, Byzantine Rome and the Greek Popes | 2007 | Demography of late 7th-century Roman clergy, Eastern popes | Key academic essay for context |
The Holy See: Reliable Boundaries
The official Vatican record fixes the pontificate from 23 October 686 to 21 September 687.[18] Treccani gives the same date: Conon "venne consacrato solennemente il 23 ottobre 686"; the New Catholic Encyclopedia likewise gives "Oct. 23, 686".[19][20] Mann, in the Catholic Encyclopedia (1908), like Wikipedia, retains 21 October 686: Conon "was consecrated (21 October, 686) after notice of his election had been sent to the Exarch of Ravenna, or after it had been confirmed by him".[21] The Liber Pontificalis, for its part, gives no date: it merely states that the consecration took place after notification to the exarch of Ravenna, according to custom.[22] The Vatican record, cautiously, states the origin as "unknown" — a phrase reflecting the difficulty the Liber Pontificalis has in geographically locating the term Thraceseus.
The Liber Pontificalis: A Close Witness
According to Duchesne, as summarized by J. P. Kirsch (Catholic Encyclopedia, art. Liber Pontificalis), the first series of notices in the Liber Pontificalis ran from Saint Peter to Felix IV (d. 530), compiled no later than under Boniface II; it is a continuation that ends with Conon (d. 687) — hence the summary known as the Catalogus Cononianus. The Epitome Cononiana is an abridgement (one witness of which is in Paris, BnF lat. 2123), not a family of manuscripts.[23] This gives the testimony on Conon particular value: it is a near-contemporary Roman memory, not a reconstructed narrative after the fact.
“Angelic appearance, venerable white hair, truthful speech, advanced age, simple soul, peaceful manners.” — Liber Pontificalis, portrait of Conon (in quo vere aspectus angelicus, veneranda canicies, sermo verus, provecta aetas, simplex animus, quieti mores)[24]
The text begins with origin and formation, gives a moral portrait, recounts the rivalry between Peter and Theodore, describes the election, mentions Justinian II’s iussio, exposes the affair of the Sicilian rector Constantine, indicates illness, gifts, and burial. It is a complete framework on which all modern commentary rests.[25]
Treccani: The Key to Interpretation
Paolo Bertolini’s notice in the Enciclopedia dei Papi (2000) is the best accessible modern synthesis. It avoids two pitfalls. First, it reminds that “Thraceseus” is a military and institutional term, not geographical: Conon is not a “Thracian” ethnically, his father served in the military theme of the Thracesians.[26] Second, it rereads the affair of Constantine of Syracuse not as mere administrative negligence, but as the breaking of a Roman custom whereby the rectors of the patrimonies were chosen from among the deacons or subdeacons of the Church of Rome.[27]
Treccani also publishes the detail of the divalis iussio of 17 February 687, an imperial order announcing the “recovery” of the Acts of Constantinople III; shortly afterwards, other imperial orders (divales iussiones) granted tax relief to the patrimonies of Lucania, the Bruttii, and Sicily.[28]
Catholic Encyclopedia and New Catholic Encyclopedia
Horace K. Mann in the Catholic Encyclopedia (1908) summarizes the Catholic tradition prior to critical historiography. He retains the compromise election, the consecration of 21 October 686, Kilian’s mission, good relations with Justinian II, and death on 21 September 687.[29] The notice is devout but factual, and remains widely used.
The New Catholic Encyclopedia (R. E. Sullivan, via Encyclopedia.com) adds the decisive canonical point: the election is confirmed by the exarch of Ravenna, within the framework relaxed by Constantine IV for Benedict II. It is the source that explicitly cites modern scholarly bibliography: Caspar, O. Bertolini, Bréhier and Aigrain (vol. 5 of Fliche and Martin), Richards, Noble.[30]
Limits of the Sources
Several shadows remain. The Liber Pontificalis does not give the precise birth date of Conon, only that he was aged. Treccani places it, very approximately, in the 620s (third decade of the 7th century); the date of 630 often repeated (Wikipedia) is unsourced.[31][32] The Kilian narrative, meanwhile, does not appear in the Liber Pontificalis: it comes from the Frankish Passiones of the 8th-9th centuries, whose historicity is partially debated — the New Catholic Encyclopedia holds the journey to Rome and the meeting with Conon to be unhistorical.[33]
No letter or decree of Conon has been preserved under his name. His memory thus rests almost entirely on the Liber Pontificalis notice, supplemented by Frankish hagiographical sources and modern Byzantine analysis.
Before the Pontificate: A Son of the Thraceseus
The "Thraceseus": A Military Theme, Not a People
The incipit of the Liber Pontificalis is tricky. "Oriundus patre Thraceseo" can be literally translated as "born of a Thracian father," but Treccani and modern Byzantine philology are categorical: Thraceseus refers to the military theme of the Thracesians (Thrakēsiōn thema), a unit originally formed from Thracian troops transferred to western Asia Minor in the 7th century, then stabilized as a military district encompassing the ancient Proconsular Asia.[34]
This changes a lot. Conon's father is not a peasant or a tribal man: he is, in the interpretation retained by Treccani (followed by Mann and the NCE), an imperial officer, integrated into the Byzantine military machine, liable to be moved from one frontier to another according to the Empire’s needs. Treccani supposes that the family settled in Sicily following a service transfer of the father.[35]
This reading is central: for Treccani, Thraceseus does not designate a region of origin but an imperial military unit. Conon's father is therefore situated administratively, not ethnically.[36]
A Sicilian Formation
7th-century Sicily is Byzantine, but it is also a refuge. After the Arab conquests of the Levant, Greek and Syrian clerics settle there — an Eastern influx documented by Ekonomou's essay on Byzantine Rome.[37] Treccani names no emperor in this connection: he merely notes that Conon's family settled on the island, perhaps following a service transfer of the father, and that Conon pursued his studies there, in a milieu marked by the influence of Byzantine civilization and the action of imperial power.[38]
It is in this environment that the young Conon is educated. The Greek language, Byzantine liturgy, and Eastern theological culture are familiar to him. Having then moved to Rome for unknown reasons, he completed his formation there and, having entered the Roman clergy, passed through all its degrees up to the presbyterate; the New Catholic Encyclopedia specifies that he entered the service of the Roman Church from a young age.[39][40]
The Roman Clergy: From Presbyterate to Pontifical Orders
The Liber Pontificalis states simply: Conon comes to Rome and, serving this Church, attains the honor of the presbyterate.[41] There is no mention of archpriest, archdeacon, or diplomatic mission: the trajectory is silent, almost monastic.
Several details are implied. First, Conon does not become a priest by chance: he is admitted to the Roman clerical cursus, which presupposes stability, formation, and a testimony of life. Then, his career within the Roman presbyterate is long—so much so that at the 686 election, he appears as a recognized old man but without a higher office (neither archpriest, nor archdeacon, nor Roman deacon on mission). His institutional modesty will precisely be what allows his election.
Historian Andrew J. Ekonomou studies the influx of Eastern clerics into late-7th-century Rome, the context into which Conon's trajectory fits without exception: it illustrates the real composition of the Church of Rome at that time.[42]
The Contested Election of October 686
The Vacancy after John V
The death of John V, on August 2, 686, opens a vacancy that the Liber Pontificalis measures at two months and eighteen days.[43] The duration is not exceptional in itself: since the reform obtained by Pope Benedict II from Constantine IV, the administrative delays linked to imperial confirmation had been reduced. But the delay in 686 is not administrative: it is political.
Roman institutions then openly opposed each other over the name of the future pope: Treccani sees in this the first clash between the power groups disputing predominance in the city, resolved by a compromise.[44] From Conon onward, and even more so at Conon's death, papal elections will replay the same pattern until Sergius I.
The Clergy for Peter the Archpriest, the Army for Theodore
Two camps form, identified clearly by the Liber Pontificalis:
- The clergy supports Archpriest Peter (Petrus archipresbyter), a regular figure of the Roman presbyterate, the natural candidate for the regular succession.[45]
- The Roman army (exercitus) supports Priest Theodore (Theodorus presbyter), an alternative candidate backed by the militia officers.[46][47]
The army thus represented a voice independent of the clergy, and it had learned to weigh in.[48]
| Faction | Candidate | Roman Position | Place of Occupation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clergy | Peter the Archpriest | Archpriest of the Roman clergy | In front of the Constantinian basilica (Saint John Lateran) |
| Army (exercitus) | Theodore the Priest | Roman priest | Basilica of Saint Stephen in the Round (Santo Stefano Rotondo) |
Saint Stephen in the Round versus Saint John Lateran
The topographical detail is striking. The military occupy the basilica of Saint Stephen in the Round (basilica beati Stephani protomartyris), a circular monument on the Caelian Hill whose consecration is attributed to Pope Simplicius (468–483), and block access to the Lateran.[49][50]
The clergy therefore remain outside, in front of the doors of the Constantinian basilica, that is, in front of Saint John Lateran. For the first time in a long while, the city of Peter is physically divided in two. The pope cannot be consecrated at the Lateran because the Lateran is inaccessible.
“A considerable conflict arose between the clerics and the Roman army.” — Liber Pontificalis, entry on Conon (literal translation of non minima contentio)[51]
This architectural deadlock has theological significance: the 7th-century Roman election presupposes the visible consensus of all components of the city. As long as clergy and army face each other in two different places, the bishop of Rome cannot be born.
Conon, the Compromise Candidate
The way out of the crisis comes from the clergy. The Liber Pontificalis specifies that the priests, after consultation, abandon Peter and enter unanimously into the episcopal palace of the Lateran to elect a third name.[52] The text immediately follows with the moral portrait of the newly elected—already cited above: angelic appearance, venerable white hair, truthful speech, advanced age, simple soul, peaceful manners.[53] Conon was elderly (born in the 620s according to Treccani's approximation), modest, without any known factional backing, and his Eastern origin appealed to part of the militia while reassuring the Roman clergy due to his long-standing presbyteral status.[54][55]
“His age, venerable appearance, and simplicity of character persuaded the clergy and the Roman army, previously at odds, to set aside their respective candidates and elect him pope.” — Horace K. Mann, Catholic Encyclopedia, art. "Pope Conon", 1908[56]
Thus, the military does not lose: its veto against Archpriest Peter is respected. Nor does the clergy: it retains control over the electoral act but proposes a name acceptable to all. The reformed city rallies around Conon.
An Election Ratified by the Exarch of Ravenna
The entry in the Liber Pontificalis indicates that the consecration took place after notification to the exarch of Ravenna, the representative of the Byzantine emperor in Italy.[57] Mann specifies that Conon was consecrated on 21 October 686, after notification of his election had been sent to the exarch of Ravenna, or after it had been confirmed by him; the New Catholic Encyclopedia retains 23 October 686.[58][59]
This wording is significant. Since the reform obtained by Pope Saint Benedict II, the pontifical election no longer awaited direct confirmation from Constantinople, but the authority of the exarch of Ravenna remained available as a local guarantee. Conon’s election demonstrates that this shortened process worked: the See of Peter was filled again within a few weeks after the compromise, rather than several months as before the reform.
Conon and Justinian II
The divalis iussio of 17 February 687
On 17 February 687, Justinian II sent Conon a divalis iussio (sacred imperial order, addressed to his predecessor John V) announcing the "recovery" of the Acts of the Sixth Ecumenical Council of Constantinople III. Treccani reads in it the reaffirmation of the emperor's religious role as guardian of doctrinal orthodoxy, charged with preserving the Acts and having them observed.[60] Mann summarizes: the emperor "informed him that he had recovered the Acts of the Sixth Ecumenical Council, to which, he wrote, he intended to conform".[61]
“He was in favour with the fierce Emperor Justinian II, who informed him that he had recovered the Acts of the Sixth Ecumenical Council, to which, he wrote, he intended to conform; Justinian also remitted certain taxes and dues owing to the imperial exchequer from several papal patrimonies.” — Horace K. Mann, Catholic Encyclopedia, art. "Pope Conon", 1908[62]
The gesture is doctrinally significant. Constantinople III, under Constantine IV, had condemned Monothelitism and defined two natural wills and two natural operations in the single person of Christ. This definition remained the basis of communion between Rome and the East. Justinian II’s gesture toward Conon thus manifested—for a time—the continuity of this doctrinal peace.
Treccani, however, emphasizes that this iussio was also a political staging. Justinian II was still young (he began to reign in 685 at sixteen years old); he sought to assert his role as guarantor of the faith in the face of a temporarily weak Roman See. The conciliatory tone would not last long.[63]
The Recovery of the Acts of Constantinople III
The Liber Pontificalis reports that the emperor signified to the pope that he had recovered the Acts of the holy sixth council and held them with him (repperisse acta sanctae sexte synodi et apud se habere).[64] According to Treccani, an assembly of ecclesiastical and lay dignitaries convened at the imperial palace solemnly handed the sovereign the official copy of the Acts, after public reading and seals affixed against any falsification, charging him with keeping them and having them observed; the letter aimed to dispel the Apostolic See's concerns about Justinian II's intentions.[65]
For Rome, this was a practical but important point: without officially recognized Acts, the condemnation of Monothelitism could be reinterpreted or contested by resistant Eastern circles. The iussio of 687 thus closed—at least temporarily—this gap.
Tax Relief in Lucania and Bruttium
Other imperial orders (divales iussiones) contain very concrete economic provisions. The Liber Pontificalis distinguishes: a remission of two hundred annonocapita (tax units) owed each year by the patrimonies of Bruttium (Calabria) and Lucania (modern Basilicata), and another order (aliam iussionem) restoring to the colonists of the Sicilian patrimony the serfs (familiae) held in pledge by the militia for arrears owed.[66] Treccani summarizes: reduction of the tax units and of wheat deliveries at imposed prices (coemptiones) in Lucania and among the Bruttii, and liberation of the serfs sequestered by the agents of the fisc.[67] Mann simply generalizes to "several papal patrimonies."[68]
The issue was not minor. The patrimonies of Lucania and Bruttium supported part of the Roman diaconiae, monasteries, and ordinary charity in Rome. Treccani recalls the precedent of 681: Constantine IV had already granted relief to Calabria and Sicily after Agatho's protests.[69] This sequence reveals a stabilized imperial policy: the Empire accepted relieving the patrimonies of the Roman Church, insofar as Rome accepted the staging of the orthodox emperor.
| Justinian II’s Measure toward Conon | Source | Effect for Rome |
|---|---|---|
| Divalis iussio of 17 February 687 (Acts of the council) | Treccani, Liber Pontificalis | Imperial recognition of Constantinople III |
| Remission of 200 annonocapita (Bruttium, Lucania) | Liber Pontificalis, Treccani | Relief for southern Italian patrimonies |
| Other iussio: restitution of the familiae (Sicily) | Liber Pontificalis, Treccani | Liberation of the colonists held in pledge |
A Fragile Peace before the Council in Trullo
This détente did not last. Justinian II would convene in 692 a council in Constantinople, called in Trullo or Quinisext, which claimed to complete the fifth and sixth ecumenical councils with 102 disciplinary canons. Several canons contradicted Roman usage (married clergy, Saturday fasting, representation of the lamb rather than the human Christ). Rome refused to sign, and Justinian II ordered the arrest of Sergius I—a move that failed miserably due to the revolt of the Italian militias.[70][71]
Conon died before this confrontation. But it was under him that one already perceives the dual nature of Justinian II: conciliatory on 17 February 687, authoritarian in the following decade.
The Sicilian Patrimony Affair
Appointment of Constantine of Syracuse as Rector
The Liber Pontificalis and Treccani recount in detail this episode, one of the most discussed of the pontificate. Conon appoints at the head of the pontifical patrimony of Sicily a certain Constantine: deacon of the Church of Syracuse according to the Liber Pontificalis (Constantinum, diaconum ecclesiae Syracusane), subdeacon according to Treccani.[72][73] The New Catholic Encyclopedia recalls that this position traditionally belonged to a member of the Roman pontifical administration.[74]
Why this choice? The Liber Pontificalis specifies that it was made without the agreement of the clergy (absque consensu cleri), at the instigation of evil men (ex inmissione malorum hominum), in contempt of the ecclesiastics.[75] Treccani sees in it a more reasonable explanation: the living ties between Conon and Sicily, and the desire to show his openness to the Greco-Eastern world.[76]
The Transgression of Roman Custom
The Roman clergy did not forgive the appointment. For them, the Sicilian patrimony was a vital economic reserve of the Church of Rome: food, grain, wax, liturgical metals passed through this channel. Entrusting its management to a foreigner to the Roman clergy weakened the chain of command and, above all, opened the door to local abuses that Rome could no longer control in real time.
The Liber Pontificalis summarizes the decision in a terse formula: Constantine, deacon of the Church of Syracuse, becomes rector of the Sicilian patrimony, without the agreement of the clergy and at the instigation of evil men.[77] The very conciseness of the notice betrays the rupture: a local man takes charge of a patrimony that practice reserved for a Roman — Treccani specifies that the rectors were chosen from among the deacons or subdeacons of the Church of Rome.[78]
The Lateran circles judged this choice severely, as it also harmed their material interests: these positions were prestigious and lucrative. The biographer echoes this, reporting that the pope acted "at the instigation of evil men".[79][80]
The Scandal and Arrest by Imperial Authorities
On site, Constantine — "a perverse and shifty man" (homo perperus et tergiversutus) according to the biographer — quickly came into conflict with his subordinates: violence and disorder followed.[81][82] The abuses were such that the Byzantine authorities intervened: the judge of the province (iudex provinciae) placed Constantine under guard, then sent him to the capital to be judged by the emperor.[83] Treccani summarizes: arrested and sent to the capital to be brought before the imperial tribunal.[84] The New Catholic Encyclopedia speaks of the rector's greed and deception (greed and deception), of which the Sicilian cultivators of the patrimonial lands were the victims.[85]
The episode is revealing. It was neither Rome nor the Roman clergy who sanctioned Constantine: it was the imperial civil authority.
What the Affair Reveals About Pontifical Governance
The affair of Constantine of Syracuse is not merely an administrative blunder. The following table summarizes the chain of four actors involved, from the sick pope to the humiliated Roman clergy, passing through the Sicilian rector and the Byzantine judge of the province:
| Actor | Action | Problem | Consequence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conon | Appoints Constantine of Syracuse (deacon according to the LP, subdeacon according to Treccani) instead of a Roman cleric | Appointment without the agreement of the clergy, at the instigation of evil men | Resentment of the Roman clergy |
| Constantine | Comes into conflict with his subordinates, violence and disorder | Greed and duplicity (NCE) | Arrest by the judge of the province |
| Judge of the province (iudex provinciae) | Places the rector under guard and sends him to the emperor | Substitution of civil authority for ecclesiastical authority | Weakening of Roman jurisdiction |
| Roman clergy | Endures the appointment, powerless to act | Institutional weakness during the pope’s illness | Tension that will erupt after Conon’s death |
Treccani concludes that this appointment was not only a grave psychological error towards the Roman clergy, but also an unfortunate administrative measure.[86]
Saint Kilian and the Mission to Franconia
The Hagiographic Account: Three Irishmen in Rome
The Liber Pontificalis is silent on Kilian’s mission. The account comes from a Frankish hagiographic tradition, formalized in the Passiones known as Prima and Secunda of Saint Kilian, and more broadly by the memory of the bishopric of Würzburg.[87]
According to this tradition, an Irish monk named Kilian, accompanied by his companions Colman (priest) and Totnan (deacon), came to Rome to request from the pope a mission to evangelize eastern Franconia. Conon received them, consecrated Kilian bishop, and entrusted the companions with preaching — at least according to Mann (1908), who follows here the Vita edited by Canisius.[88][89]
Mann (1908) summarizes succinctly:
“He received the Irish missionaries, St. Kilian and his companions, consecrated Kilian bishop, and commissioned him and the others to preach the Faith in Franconia.” — Horace K. Mann, Catholic Encyclopedia, art. "Pope Conon", 1908[90]
Conon as Consecrator and Commissioner
For Mann and the Catholic tradition, this episode exemplifies the missionary dimension of the Roman pontificate in the 7th century. Even weakened and brief, a pope could ordain a bishop for the still poorly evangelized borderlands of Central Europe. Kilian’s consecration places the papacy within the Irish missionary network which, since Saint Columban, traversed the continent.
The bishopric of Würzburg later made Kilian its patron: his relics rest there, and the solemn translation of 752 established his cult. The connection with Conon then became a mark of honour for the Church of Franconia, which presented itself as founded by Roman mandate.[91]
Debated Historicity: Between Passio Prima and Modern Criticism
The historicity of the account is debated. The main arguments in the discussion are:
| Position | Arguments | Authors |
|---|---|---|
| Already bishop, meeting unhistorical | According to the oldest and most trustworthy Passio, Kilian was already bishop when he left Ireland; "the account of this journey and of his meeting with Pope Conon is certainly unhistorical" | New Catholic Encyclopedia (T. Ó Fiaich) |
| Faculties received from Conon | The old, trustworthy Passio says Kilian was raised to the episcopate before leaving his country; from Conon, successor of John V, who died on 2 August 686, he obtained his missionary faculties | Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), F. Lauchert, art. St. Kilian |
| Conon as consecrator | Conon receives Kilian and his companions, consecrates Kilian bishop, and entrusts them with preaching in Franconia | Mann (1908), following the Vita edited by Canisius |
A. Bigelmair dates the Passio Prima to 752 and holds it to be historical, despite legendary additions.[92] Kilian, Colman, and Totnan's mission to eastern Franconia is historical; the detail of the journey to Rome and the meeting with Conon must be handled with caution, although the chronology (death of John V on August 2, 686, reception by Conon in the following months) has nothing fanciful about it.
Illness, Gifts, and Death
A Long Illness That Paralyzed Governance
The Liber Pontificalis specifies that Conon, "a most holy man", was detained by a long illness, to the point of being barely able to accomplish the ordinations of priests (diutina infirmitate detentus ut etiam vix ordinationes sacerdotum explere potuisset).[93][94]
“Detained by a long illness, to the point of being barely able to accomplish the ordinations of the priests, he died.” — Liber Pontificalis, notice on Conon[95]
This detail humanizes an office too often imagined as triumphant. Pope Conon ended his pontificate tired, ill, supported by the Roman clergy who were already preparing to settle — poorly — his succession.
The 2160 Solidi: Thirty Pounds of Gold for Rome
Like his predecessors, Conon left at his death significant gifts to the Roman clergy, the monasteries of the diaconiae (monasteria diaconiae, Roman religious establishments devoted to charitable and assistance works) and the church custodians (mansionarii). Treccani indicates the sum of 2160 solidi, thirty pounds of gold; the Liber Pontificalis itself gives no amount.[96][97] For comparison, John V had left 1900 solidi a year earlier.[98]
This material continuity is instructive. Beyond election disputes, the bishop of Rome remained a redistributor of resources: the 7th-century papacy lived off an economy of patrimony, diaconies, monasteries, and foundations. Giving at death was equivalent to honouring this function as common father of the city.
Sixteen Bishops Ordained According to the Liber Pontificalis
The Liber Pontificalis attributes to Conon the ordination of sixteen bishops during his short pontificate.[99] The number is high for eleven months and testifies to real activity despite illness. These ordinations likely concerned various ecclesiastical provinces of central and southern Italy, where Rome exercised metropolitan jurisdiction de facto.
It is the Liber Pontificalis itself that says that, detained by a long illness, Conon could barely accomplish the ordinations of priests — not that they could not have been completed.[100]
Death on September 21, 687, and Burial at Saint Peter’s
Conon died in Rome on September 21, 687, after a long illness — as Mann confirms.[101][102] The Liber Pontificalis alone specifies his burial near the blessed Apostle Peter, in the old Constantinian basilica of the Vatican; Mann does not mention the burial.[103]
The anniversary date — September 21 — did not inspire any particular liturgical cult. Unlike Leo II or Benedict II, Conon was not raised to the altars by later memory. His tomb remains, however, one more stone in the Roman pontifical memory gathered in the Vatican necropolis.
“He was buried near the blessed Apostle Peter.” — Liber Pontificalis, notice on Conon[104]
The Succession Crisis and Sergius I
Archpriest Theodore versus Archdeacon Paschal
At Conon's death, the crisis erupted again, more violently than in 686. This time, two major clerics of the city presented themselves:
- Theodore, archpriest (probably the same one supported by the army a year earlier), candidate of a large part of the clergy.
- Paschal, archdeacon, a more ambitious candidate who did not hesitate to resort to corruption to secure the See.[105]
The two factions armed themselves and each occupied a portion of the Lateran Palace, the episcopal and administrative residence of the pope. For the first time in a long while, the papal residence became a miniature battlefield.
The Corruption of Exarch John II Platyn
Archdeacon Paschal committed the irreparable. He promised gold to the Exarch of Ravenna, John II Platyn, to obtain his support (promittens dationes, ut persona eius ad pontificatum eligeretur). The exarch sent judges (iudices) to Rome to support the archdeacon's candidacy in every way. The main source here is the notice on Sergius in the Liber Pontificalis (Duchesne, I, notice LXXXVI).[106]
This reveals a fundamental trait of the Byzantine-Roman system: imperial confirmation does not create the pope, it ratifies the election. When the election itself is obstructed, the exarch cannot force anything.
The Compromise of Sergius I, Probably Consecrated December 15, 687
To break the deadlock, a group representing civil authorities, army officers, the clergy, and "other citizens" gathered at the imperial palace on the Palatine Hill, elected the priest Sergius as a compromise candidate, then stormed the Lateran to force the two rivals to accept.[107]
Paschal, cunningly, pretended to accept but continued to solicit the exarch. The latter finally recognized that Sergius had been duly elected — while still demanding the promised gold. Sergius I was consecrated probably on December 15, 687 — the Catholic Encyclopedia (1913) prudently writes "probably on 15 Dec. 687", and the Liber Pontificalis itself gives no date for this ordination. Paschal was later confined to a monastery on charges of sorcery.[108]
This consecration closes the sequence of contested elections of 686-687.[109] From Sergius I onward, Roman elections took place in a more stable framework, until the shock of 692 with the in Trullo council.
The End of the "Byzantine Papacy" and the Horizon of Trullo
Conon's pontificate thus falls between two pivotal moments. Before: the dyothelite peace of Constantine IV, sealed by Constantinople III, successively received by Agatho, Leo II, Benedict II, John V. After: the rupture between Justinian II and Sergius I around the in Trullo council of 692, and the harsher turn in imperial policy toward Rome.
Conon is the last pope to witness the first sequence without enduring the second. His death opens the final, more tense sequence in which the Byzantine papacy gradually becomes an imperial papacy in resistance, until the iconoclastic break and the Carolingian alliance of the 8th century.
Legacy
A "Thracesian," Sicilian, and Roman Pope
Conon's legacy is not a great treatise nor a spectacular reform. It is to have embodied a figure: that of the foreign old man who became Roman and saved an election on the verge of civil war. The fact that this old man was the son of a man of the Thraceseus — interpreted as a Byzantine officer by Mann, Treccani, and the NCE —, trained in Sicily, and a priest in Rome, speaks to the concrete catholicity of the Roman clergy of that era.
The Eastern contribution to late-7th-century Rome — Greeks, Syrians, Sicilians of Greek culture — is the very subject of Andrew J. Ekonomou's essay on Byzantine Rome and the Greek popes (590-752); Conon's trajectory fits into it without exception.[110] Conon is therefore not an ethnic exception: he is representative of a Roman Church in which the East weighed heavily. His modesty, his "venerable white hair," his "angelic appearance" became, in the rhetoric of the Liber Pontificalis, the symbol of a fragile and precious unity.[111]
The Institutional Fragility of the 7th-Century Papacy
Conon also reminds us, by default, of the institutional fragility of the papacy in his time. The affair of Constantine of Syracuse, the pope's illness, the tensions at the Lateran before and after him: all this documents a Roman Church still largely dependent on the cohesion between clergy, army, and exarchate.
Reading his pontificate is to understand that the great canonical architecture of the medieval papacy was not yet in place. Roman primacy was recognized, doctrine was clear, the Lateran liturgy functioned — but the electoral and administrative machinery left room for ruptures that only a morally credible man could mend.
A Modest but Pivotal Case
His pontificate left neither council nor preserved doctrinal work. But without Conon, one cannot understand either the resolution of the 686 crisis, the sequence leading to the double election of 687, or Justinian II's position on the eve of the in Trullo council.
Like John V, Conon is a secondary pontificate in the Catholic collective imagination, but precisely a historical crossroads: a pope minor in notoriety can be a major hinge for Church history, and Conon illustrates this exactly.
Objections and Responses
"Was Conon merely a compromise candidate without stature?"
The phrase "compromise candidate" can give the impression of a minor pope, chosen by default. This is partly true regarding the circumstances of the election, but false concerning the significance of this choice. The 686 compromise made it possible to break an impasse that could have become lasting: Conon's figure suffices to rebuild a consensus that neither Archpriest Peter nor Priest Theodore had been able to establish.
"Is Kilian’s mission under Conon historical?"
The historicity of Kilian's journey to Rome is partially debated. The Liber Pontificalis does not mention it; the account comes from the Frankish Passiones. Kilian, Colman, and Totnan's mission to eastern Franconia is historical, and the Passio Prima, dated around 752 by A. Bigelmair, is held by him to be historical despite legendary additions. But the detail of the journey to Rome and the meeting with Conon must be handled with caution: the New Catholic Encyclopedia holds it to be certainly unhistorical, while the Catholic Encyclopedia (1913) sees in it Kilian obtaining his missionary faculties. The chronology (death of John V on August 2, 686, reception by Conon in the following months) matches exactly the known pontificates, which argues for a tradition that is not purely fictional.[112][113]
"Is Conon really a Byzantine pope?"
The label "Byzantine papacy" is convenient to designate the period 678–752 when most popes were of Eastern origin. But it can be misleading. Conon is neither an agent of Constantinople nor a man imposed by the exarch: he is elected by the Roman clergy, after the withdrawal of the clerical candidate Peter, as a figure capable of uniting the city. His Eastern origin helps to understand his linguistic and cultural competence, not to reduce him to an imperial instrument. He acts as pope of the Catholic Church, receives the imperial iussio with respect but without servility, and dies in Rome after eleven months in office. He is a Roman pope in the full sense, simply coming from afar—and the Constantinian basilica of Saint Peter, where he rests, seals this Roman status better than any title.
The Roman clergy of the late 7th century included many Easterners, but the canonical cohesion remained Lateran-based: elections took place at the Lateran, notifications passed through Ravenna, burials occurred near the tomb of Peter.[114] Conon did not change this institutional grammar; he carried it to his own tomb.
For Further Reading
- Pope John V (685–686) — immediate predecessor of Conon, legate to Constantinople III, died August 2, 686; his death opens the electoral crisis from which Conon emerges victorious.
- Pope Saint Sergius I — successor of Conon, elected after the crisis of antipopes Theodore and Paschal, future opponent of the in Trullo council of 692.
- Pope Saint Benedict II (684–685) — reformer of the imperial confirmation whose easing benefited Conon’s election, predecessor of John V.
- Pope Saint Agathon (678–681) — pope who sent Roman legates to Constantinople III, opening the dyothelite sequence whose fruits Conon reaped.
- Pope Saint Leo II (682–683) — confirmer of Constantinople III, translator of the Acts, intermediary between Agathon and Benedict II.
- Council of Constantinople III (680–681) — Catholic definition of the two natural wills and natural operations in the single person of Christ; Acts "recovered" under Conon by Justinian II.
- Basilica of Saint Peter in Rome — burial place of Conon in the old Constantinian basilica, Roman pontifical memory of the Byzantine papacy.
- The Basilica of Saint John Lateran (consecrated in 324) — the "Constantinian basilica" whose access was blocked by the military in October 686.
Notes and References
Holy See, official record "Conone": 83rd pope of the Catholic Church, pontificate beginning 23.X.686 (solemn consecration), ending 21.IX.687, origin "unknown" (Herkunft unbekannt). URL: https://www.vatican.va/content/vatican/de/holy-father/conone.html (checked online on 4 October 2026: 83rd pope, 23.X.686 – 21.IX.687, unknown origin).
1 18Liber Pontificalis, notice "Cono" (no. LXXXV in Duchesne's numbering: John V is LXXXIIII, Sergius LXXXVI), ed. Louis Duchesne, Le Liber pontificalis, vol. I, Paris, 1886, pp. 368-370 (pagination verified directly on the scan of Duchesne vol. I via archive.org on 4 October 2026: notice LXXXV from p. 368 to p. 370, followed by Sergius p. 371); English transl. R. Davis, The Book of Pontiffs, Liverpool, 1989, pp. 81-82; Latin text, ed. Duchesne, vol. I, pp. 368-369 (reproduced via Fontistoriche, which here carries the misprint 'apus' for 'apud'): "CONON, oriundus patre Thraceseo, edocatus apud Siciliam, postmodum Romam veniens eiusdem ecclesiae militans ad presbyterii honorem devenit"; the word "officer" does not come from the Latin (which reads only patre Thraceseo): it renders the interpretation of Mann ("an officer in the Thracesian troop"), Treccani ("figlio di un ufficiale al servizio di Bisanzio") and the NCE ("his father was an officer"); Duchesne himself glosses, in his explanatory notes, that the father "belonged to the army corps which bore that name"; moral portrait ("in quo vere aspectus angelicus, veneranda canicies, sermo verus, provecta aetas, simplex animus, quieti mores"); clergy-army conflict (the clergy in Petrum archipresbiterum intendebat, the army in Theodorum presbiterum), clergy before the doors of the Constantinian basilica guarded by men of the army, army assembled at Saint Stephen, unanimous election at the episcopal palace of the Lateran, consecration after notification to the exarch (no date); divalis iussio (repperisse acta sanctae sexte synodi), remission of ducenta annonocapita (Bruttium, Lucania) and aliam iussionem (restituantur familia, Sicily); affair of Constantine of Syracuse, diaconum ecclesiae Syracusane appointed rector absque consensu cleri, ex inmissione malorum hominum (homo perperus et tergiversutus), placed under guard by the iudex provinciae and sent to the imperial judgment; ordination of sixteen bishops; long illness (diutina infirmitate detentus ut etiam vix ordinationes sacerdotum explere potuisset); death on 21 September 687, burial at Saint Peter; bequest in gold (benedictionem in auro, sicuti praecessor eius Benedictus papa), without amount. URL: https://fontistoriche.org/papa-conone/ (checked online on 4 October 2026: Thraceseo, annonocapita, diutina infirmitate confirmed in the Latin text).
2 4 11 12 22 24 25 41 45 46 48 49 51 52 53 57 64 66 72 75 77 80 81 83 93 97 99 101 103 104 111 114Paolo Bertolini, "CONONE", Enciclopedia dei Papi, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana Treccani, 2000: "Thraceseus" as a corps of the imperial army of Asia Minor and not a region of origin; birth in the 620s (third decade of the 7th century, very approximately); studies in Sicily (family perhaps transferred for the father's service; no emperor named); election as a compromise between clergy (Archpriest Peter) and exercitus (Priest Theodore), army concentrated on the Caelius (Saint Stephen in the Round) and guards at the Lateran; solemn consecration on 23 October 686; divalis iussio of Justinian II dated 17 February 687 (addressed to John V): official copy of the Acts handed to the emperor after public reading and seals, letter aiming to dispel Roman concerns and reaffirming the emperor as guardian of orthodoxy; then divales iussiones: relief (annonocapita, coemptiones) in Lucania and among the Bruttii, liberation of the sequestered serfs in Sicily; precedent of 681 (Constantine IV, Calabria and Sicily, after Agatho's forceful protests and insistence); appointment of Constantine, subdeacon of Syracuse, as rector of the Sicilian patrimony, in derogation of the practice (rectors chosen from among the deacons or subdeacons of Rome); homo perperus et tergiversutus, in conflict with his subordinates, arrested and sent to the capital for the imperial tribunal; long illness; bequest of 2160 solidi (30 pounds of gold) to the clerics, monasteria diaconiae and mansionarii; death and burial at Saint Peter on 21 September 687; troubled succession (Paschal promising gold to the exarch). URL: https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/conone_%28Enciclopedia-dei-Papi%29/ (checked online on 4 October 2026: solemn consecration on 23 October 686, divalis iussio of 17 February 687, precedent of 681, 2,160 solidi = 30 pounds of gold, promittens dationes confirmed in the Italian text).
3 5 7 13 14 17 19 26 27 28 31 34 35 36 38 39 44 47 50 54 60 63 65 67 69 71 73 76 78 79 82 84 86 96Horace K. Mann, "Pope Conon", The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 4, Robert Appleton Company, New York, 1908; New Advent transcription: son, it seems, of an officer of the Thracesian troop, educated in Sicily, ordained priest in Rome; original English on the election: "His age, venerable appearance, and simple character caused the clergy and soldiery of Rome, who were in disagreement, to put aside their respective candidates and to elect him as pope"; consecration 21 October 686 after notification to the exarch of Ravenna (or confirmation by him); original English on Kilian: "He received the Irish missionaries, St. Kilian and his companions, consecrated Kilian bishop, and commissioned him and the others to preach the Faith in Franconia" (from the Vita S. Kiliani edited by Canisius, Lect. Antiquae, III, 175-180); Justinian II "informed him that he had recovered the Acts of the Sixth Ecumenical Council, to which, he wrote, he intended to conform" and "remitted certain taxes and dues owing to the imperial exchequer from several papal patrimonies" (remitted certain taxes and dues owing to the imperial exchequer from several papal patrimonies); death on 21 September 687 after a long illness; no mention of the burial; sources cited: Duchesne, Liber Pontificalis, I, 368 ff. URL: https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04258a.htm (checked online on 4 October 2026: consecration 21 October 686, Kilian consecrated bishop, Acts recovered, taxes remitted).
6 8 21 29 56 58 61 62 68 88 90 102 113R. E. Sullivan, "Conon, Pope", New Catholic Encyclopedia, via Encyclopedia.com: pontificate Oct. 23, 686 to Sept. 21, 687; father an officer of an imperial army corps based in the East; Sicilian education and entry into the service of the Roman Church from a young age, up to the presbyterate; succession of John V: Archpriest Peter (clergy) against Priest Theodore (choice of "the army", the local militia); Conon, an already aged priest, "of uncomplicated mind", as a compromise; election confirmed by the exarch of Ravenna; Justinian II informing Conon that he had recovered the authentic Acts of the VIth council and lowering the taxes of the southern Italian patrimonies, with liberation of the Sicilian dependents retained by the imperial officers; illness limiting administrative capacity, including ordinations; appointment of a Sicilian deacon as rector of the Sicilian patrimony — a position traditionally held by a member of the pontifical administration — hence Roman resentment, aggravated by the rector's greed and duplicity towards the Sicilian cultivators; Archdeacon Paschal bribing the exarch to secure the election, hence the disputed election decided in favour of Sergius I; bibliography: Duchesne, Le Liber Pontificalis (Paris 1955-1957) 1:368-370, transl. R. Davis, The Book of Pontiffs (Liverpool 1989) 81-82, Jaffé 1:243; E. Caspar, O. Bertolini, L. Bréhier and R. Aigrain (Histoire de l'Église of Fliche and Martin, vol. 5, Paris 1947), J. Richards, T. F. X. Noble. URL: https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/conon-pope (checked online on 4 October 2026: pontificate 23 Oct. 686 – 21 Sept. 687, confirmation by the exarch, lowered taxes, Sicilian rector — greed and duplicity —, Paschal bribing the exarch; bibliography Caspar, O. Bertolini, Bréhier-Aigrain, Richards, Noble).
9 20 30 40 55 59 74 85Liber Pontificalis, notice on Sergius (no. LXXXVI in Duchesne's numbering), ed. Louis Duchesne, Le Liber pontificalis, vol. I, Paris, 1886, pp. 371-382 (pagination verified directly on the scan of Duchesne vol. I via archive.org on 4 October 2026: headings 371, 372, 374, 375, 376, 377, 379, 380, 381 and 382 on notice LXXXVI, followed by John VI p. 383; Latin text checked online on 4 October 2026, via Fontistoriche): at Conon's death, Rome divides into two parts — una pars elegit Theodorum archipresbiterum, alia vero Paschalem archidiaconum — Theodore holding the inside of the Lateran, Paschal the outside; council of the chief judges, the army, the clergy, and the citizens at the palace, election of Sergius, led from the oratory of Saint Caesarius to the Lateran; submission of Theodore, resistance of Paschal, who secretly brings in Exarch John Platyn (Iohannem patricium et exarchum cognomento Platyn) with his judges in exchange for a promise of gold; the exarch, finding all in agreement on Sergius, nevertheless demands the promised gold (auri libras); Sergius ordained pontiff; Paschal deprived of the archdeaconate pro aliquas incantationes... vel sortes, confined to the monastery, died impenitent five years later (post quinquennium... inpenitens defunctus est); consecration dated 15 December 687 by the received dating — the Catholic Encyclopedia (1913) writes "probably on 15 Dec., 687", and the Liber Pontificalis itself gives no date. Modern syntheses: New Catholic Encyclopedia, "Sergius I, Pope, St." (threefold election decided in December 687 in favour of Sergius, submission of Theodore, Paschal dead in prison five years later impenitent, John Platyn demanding the promised gold before allowing the consecration; pontificate: 15 December 687 – 7 September 701; bibliography: LP Duchesne I, Hefele, Mann, Fliche-Martin — checked online on 4 October 2026; URL: https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/sergius-i-pope-st); Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), "Pope St. Sergius I" (Paschal offering a large sum to the exarch, Theodore elected by another faction, clergy and people setting both aside in favour of Sergius; consecration probably on 15 Dec., 687 — checked online on 4 October 2026; URL: https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13728b.htm); Treccani, Bertolini, Conone notice (Paschal archdeacon, promittens dationes, ut persona eius ad pontificatum eligeretur, Exarch Giovanni Platyn, iudices sent to Rome — checked online on 4 October 2026).
10 105 106 107 108 109Andrew J. Ekonomou, Byzantine Rome and the Greek Popes: Eastern Influences on Rome and the Papacy from Gregory the Great to Zacharias, A.D. 590-752, Lexington Books, Lanham (Maryland), 2007. Context: Eastern contribution to Rome and sequence of Eastern popes from Agatho to Gregory III. The demographic figure relayed by the English Wikipedia (p. 247: Syrians, Greeks, and Greco-Sicilians together outnumbering the Latins) could not be verified in the book (no consultable access online, 4 October 2026): figure removed from the body, which retains only the general context documented by the work.
15 37 42 110Main source: Liber Pontificalis, notice on Sergius (Duchesne, vol. I, notice LXXXVI): Paschal promises gold to the exarch (promittens dationes), the exarch sends his judges to Rome, Sergius is elected on the Palatine then imposed at the Lateran, the exarch recognizes the regular election while still demanding the promised gold. Wikipedia, "Pope Sergius I" — section on the 687 election: at Conon's death, conflict between Archpriest Theodore and Archdeacon Paschal; gold promised (not paid) to the Exarch of Ravenna John II Platyn by Paschal; confrontation at the Lateran Palace; compromise found by a gathering of civil authorities, military officers, clergy, and citizens on the Palatine electing Sergius; consecration of Sergius I on 15 December 687; Paschal later confined to a monastery under accusations of sorcery; this election closes the last contested sede vacante of the "Byzantine papacy". URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Sergius_I.
16 70Manuscript tradition of the Liber Pontificalis: according to Duchesne, as summarized by J. P. Kirsch (Catholic Encyclopedia, art. Liber Pontificalis, New Advent), the first series of notices (Saint Peter - Felix IV, d. 530) was compiled no later than under Boniface II, and "it is certain that a continuation ended with Pope Conon (d. 687); the summary ending at this pope (Catalogus Cononianus) is the proof". The Epitome Cononiana is an abridgement (with one witness in Paris, BnF lat. 2123 — shelfmark confirmed in Duchesne, vol. I, Introduction: "Abrégé cononien (K): a = Parisinus 2123, s. IX", 9th-century parchment manuscript, 156 folios, passed through Pithou and de Thou, alongside the second 9th-century Veronese witness; Duchesne's text checked via archive.org on 4 October 2026), not a family of manuscripts. The mention of "two 9th-century manuscripts" does not appear in Kirsch: mention removed from the body (checked online on 4 October 2026). URL: https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09224a.htm.
23Wikipedia (FR and EN), "Conon (pope)" / "Pope Conon": date of birth "630" given without source (to be replaced by Treccani's approximation: the 620s); clarifications on the "Thracesian Theme" origin and Sicily (link with Constans II in the conditional, not adopted here); Kilian's mission; relations with Justinian II; burial at the patriarchal basilica of Saint Peter; succession by Sergius I. URL: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conon_(pape) and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Conon.
32Positions to be distinguished. NCE (T. Ó Fiaich), "Kilian of Würzburg, St.", via Encyclopedia.com: according to the oldest and most trustworthy Passio, Kilian "was already a bishop when he left Ireland"; "the account of this journey and of his meeting with Pope Conon is certainly unhistorical"; A. Bigelmair dates the Passio Prima to 752 and holds it to be historical despite legendary additions. CE 1913 (F. Lauchert), "St. Kilian", via Wikisource: the old, trustworthy Passio says Kilian was raised to the episcopate before leaving his country; having left with eleven companions, he reaches Würzburg then goes to Rome "to receive missionary faculties from the pope"; John V, whom he hoped to find, having died (2 August 686), it is from Conon that he obtains his faculties. Mann (1908), alone, following the Vita edited by Canisius: Conon consecrates Kilian bishop. Translation of the relics in 752 to Würzburg. URL: https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/kilian-wurzburg-st and https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Catholic_Encyclopedia_(1913)/St._Kilian.
33 87 89 91 92 112Liber Pontificalis, notice on John V: length of pontificate ("annum unum et dies novem") and subsequent vacancy ("cessavit episcopatus mense duos dies decem et octo"). The date of 2 August 686 is given explicitly by Treccani (Bertolini, Conone notice: "scomparso Giovanni V (2 agosto 686)"). See the Ignispedia article Pope John V (685–686).
43Liber Pontificalis, notice on Conon, ed. Louis Duchesne, Le Liber pontificalis, vol. I, Paris, 1886, pp. 368-370. Exact Latin text: "Qui sanctissimus vir diutina infirmitate detentus ut etiam vix ordinationes sacerdotum explere potuisset, obiit" — that is: detained by a long illness, so that he could barely accomplish the ordinations of the priests, he died. It is the Liber Pontificalis that says this, not the Catholic Encyclopedia (Mann does not comment on the ordinations). URL: https://fontistoriche.org/papa-conone/.
94 95 100Liber Pontificalis, notice on John V (Latin text checked online on 4 October 2026, via Fontistoriche): gifts of 1900 solidi to the clergy and monasteries (Hic dimisit omni clero, monasteriis diaconiae et mansionariis solidos MDCCCC). The same notice links to John's return — then deacon and legate of Agatho — from the VIth council divales iussiones alleviating the annonocapita of the patrimonies of Sicily and Calabria and the wheat coemptum (necnon et alias divales iussiones relevans annonocapita patrimoniorum Siciliae et Calabriae... sed et coemptum frumenti), under the "most clement prince" — Constantine IV, Justinian entering the scene only further down in the notice (Huius temporibus regnavit domnus Iustinianus Augustus defuncto patre). The dating to 681 and the role of Agatho's protests come from Treccani (Bertolini, Conone notice: "alleviamenti fiscali concessi nel 681 da Costantino IV ai Patrimoni della Chiesa romana in Calabria e in Sicilia in seguito alle vibrate proteste ed alle insistenze di papa Agatone", checked online on 4 October 2026). See the Ignispedia article Pope John V (685–686).
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