italianartsociety:By Ioannis TzortzakakisPope St. Zachary ascended to the papal throne,succeeding Gr
italianartsociety:By Ioannis TzortzakakisPope St. Zachary ascended to the papal throne,succeeding Gregory III, probably, on 3 December 741 until his death in 752. He camefrom a Greek family living in Calabria. He was the last pope of the ByzantinePapacy, yet strongly opposed the iconoclasm (the destruction of religiousobjects) of Emperor Constantine V Copronymous. Furthermore, he supported the establishmentof the Carolingian line in France. Pope Zachary built the original church of SantaMaria sopra Minerva and restored the Lateran Palace, moving the relic of thehead of Saint George to the church of San Giorgio al Velabro. In addition, in the Council of Rome of 745,he played a key role in the veneration of three archangels, Gabriel, Michaeland Raphael, intending to clarify the Church’s teaching on the subject ofangels. He is also known for his Greek translation of the Dialogues of Pope St. Gregory I the Great. Further readingJeffrey Richards (1979) Popes and thePapacy in the Early Middle Ages, 476-752, Routledge & Kegan Paul Books.This illustration is from The Livesand Times of the Popes by Chevalier Artaud de Montor, New York: TheCatholic Publication Society of America, 1911. It was originally published in1842.Francesco Solimenaknown as Abate Ciccio, The Encounterbetween Rachtis King of the Longobards and Pope Zachary during the Siege ofPerugia, 1700 - 1730, oil on canvas, Pinacoteca di Brera. The church of San Giorgio in Velabro.Santa Maria sopra Minerva façade by CarloMaderno. -- source link