John II (pope)

John II (Rome, c. 470 - May 8, 535) was the 56th pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 533 to 535.

Biography

The son of Project, his birth name was Mercurius and he became the first pope to change his baptismal name when he was elected pontiff, the origin of the custom of adopting a papal name.

His election took place two months after the death of his predecessor, this period of papal interregnum was characterized by a boom in simony fostered by the different aspirants to succeed the late Pope Boniface II. The scandal was so resounding that the matter was brought before the Roman Senate and before the Ostrogoda Court of Ravenna, resulting in a senatorial decree condemning simony in the papal elections and which was confirmed by the Gothic king Athalaric, who also provided that if a disputed election was brought before the court in Ravenna, 3,000 solidi should be paid to the court and that amount to be distributed among the poor.

During his pontificate, in 535, a council was held in Carthage in which two hundred and seventeen bishops participated and who questioned John II to define the treatment that should be given to the clergy who had embraced the Arian doctrine and who now returned to orthodoxy. However, the death of Juan, on May 8, 535, caused the answer to the question to be made by Agapito I, his successor.