Hierarch Symmachus, Pope of Rome

Symmachus, Bishop (Pope) of Rome, led the Roman Church from 22 November 498 until his death on 19 July 514. Born around 460 on Sardinia to a pagan family, he was baptized in Rome. His election was immediately contested: on the same day, a rival faction of clergy and senators elected the archpriest Laurentius, a candidate favored by those seeking accommodation with Constantinople under Emperor Zeno's Henotikon. The Ostrogothic king Theodoric arbitrated in Symmachus's favor, but the "Laurentian schism" dragged on until 506, accompanied by accusations against Symmachus of misconduct — charges that synods ultimately dismissed. Symmachus firmly upheld Chalcedonian orthodoxy amid the Acacian schism, aided African and Sardinian bishops exiled by the Vandals, ransomed captives, and undertook extensive church building in Rome. He died on 19 July 514 and was buried at St. Peter's. He is venerated in Orthodox tradition among the saints of the undivided Church, commemorated in certain local Western calendars.