Righteous
Righteous Gregory III of Rome (Orthodox veneration unconfirmed)
папа Римский 731-741
Gregory III — Pope of Rome from 731 to 741, the immediate successor of Gregory II, who convened a Roman synod in 731 condemning iconoclasm and appealed for military aid against the Lombards to the Frankish mayor of the palace, Charles Martel; a real historical figure, but his veneration as a saint in the Orthodox Church is not confirmed by any source.
Gregory III held the papal see in Rome from 731 to 741, as the immediate successor of Gregory II. On November 1, 731, he convened a synod in Rome that once again firmly condemned Emperor Leo III the Isaurian's iconoclast policy, continuing his predecessor's line. He repeatedly sent protests to Constantinople against the persecution of icon venerators. Facing intensified pressure from the Lombard King Liutprand on Roman territory in 739, he appealed for military support to the Frankish mayor of the palace, Charles Martel (not Charlemagne, who was not born until 742, after Gregory III's death) — this episode is regarded as one of the first steps toward the future alliance between the papacy and the Frankish realm.
IMPORTANT CAVEAT: despite his significant historical role, Gregory III's veneration as a saint in the Orthodox Church is NOT CONFIRMED by any source — neither azbyka.ru/days nor days.pravoslavie.ru carries a dedicated article; pravenc.ru attributes his commemoration exclusively to the Western calendar. The entry's original structured dates (identical to the same 6 January-March dates found on the Gregory II card) constituted contamination, apparently including the leaked genuine feast of St. Gregory I Dvoeslov (Mar 12/25); removed as unreliable. A text-generation artifact has also been corrected — "Григорий ИИИ" (Cyrillic letters spelling out the Roman numeral III instead of using it properly).