Donus (died April 11, 678) was pope from November 2, 676 to his death. He was the son of a Roman named Mauricius. Not much is known of this pope.
While he was pope, he paved the enclosed forecourt of St. Peter's Basilica and restored other churches of Rome. Also, he dispersed a group of Nestorian monks who were discovered at a Syrian monastery in Rome and gave their monastery to Catholic monks.
He came to an arrangement with Reparatus , archbishop of Ravenna, resulting in the latter's abandonment of claims to autocephalous status and return to the authority of Rome.
Relations with Constantinople tended towards the conciliatory.
Donus' pontificate lasted one year, five months, and ten days. He was buried in St. Peter's.
An apocryphal Pope Donus II used to be listed in the official lists. He was mistakenly inserted after Pope Benedict VI. The name comes from a confusion of the title domnus (dominus) and the Roman name Donus (LP II, XVIII, and 256).
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Last updated: 10-12-2005 12:25:42
