Saint Eugenius I | Roman Emperor, Bishop, Martyr | Britannica (original) (raw)

Quick Facts

Also Known As:

Saint Eugene I

Saint Eugenius I (born, Rome—died June 2, 657, Rome; feast day June 2) was the pope from 654 to 657. He was elected while his predecessor, Pope St. Martin I, was still alive in exile. Later, in a letter of September 655, Martin acknowledged Eugenius to be the legitimate pope. The Byzantine emperor Constans II Pogonatus urged Eugenius to recognize Patriarch Peter of Constantinople, but Eugenius refused because Peter was a Monothelite—i.e., advocator of a condemned doctrine proposing that Christ had only one will. Eugenius died before the emperor could exact revenge and was buried at St. Peter’s.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.