Vigilius
Vigilius · 537 – 555
Rose to the papacy through political scheming and spent years under imperial pressure at the Second Council of Constantinople.
Vigilius is nobody's idea of a saintly pope. He got the job through the backing of Empress Theodora around 537, reportedly in exchange for promises to soften Chalcedonian theology, promises he could not fully keep. Emperor Justinian dragged him to Constantinople to support the condemnation of the Three Chapters, writings by theologians who had died in communion with the Church. Vigilius waffled, reversed himself, was placed under house arrest, took refuge in a church and reportedly clung to the altar columns when soldiers came for him. He eventually gave in and endorsed the Second Council of Constantinople in 553. He died on the journey home. His papacy is a case study in what happens when a pope is outmatched by an emperor.
A Pope Under Duress
Vigilius' story is uncomfortable precisely because it is honest. He was politically compromised from the start and spent years being bullied by Justinian. His reversals and capitulations show that popes are human beings subject to pressure. Catholic theology holds that the Holy Spirit protects the Church's teaching even through flawed instruments, and Vigilius tests that belief about as far as it can go.