John V, Pope

GIOVANNI V, POPE. – Of a Syrian family originating in Antioch, he was elected after the death of the aged pontiff Benedetto II and consecrated in St Peter’s on 23 July 685; he had already been to Constantinople as the first legate of the Westerners to the Sixth Ecumenical Council (known as the Trullan Council). For these two reasons, his election was welcomed by the Byzantine imperial court; but, as he suffered from a chronic illness, he was able to accomplish little, and died after barely a year (2 August 686). He reaffirmed the principle that the consecration of the bishops of Sardinia depended on the pontiff. After the death of G. V, internal conflicts resumed in the city of Rome, having been absent for several years, and relations with the East also became strained once more.