John I

   1) Patriarch of Antioch (qq.v.) from 429-442. He supported Nestorios at the Council of Ephesus (qq.v.) in 431, but arrived late to the council after Cyril of Alexandria (q.v.) had engineered the condemnation of Nestorios. John immediately organized a rival council that condemned Cyril, creating a schism in the council that took two years to resolve. However, John agreed to a compromise in 433 that condemned Nestorios and accepted the term Theotokos (q.v.). The compromise also papered over specific differences of opinion about the relationship of Christ's two natures by stating vaguely that they existed in an unconfused union.

   2) Pope (q.v.) from 523-526. Theodoric the Great (q.v.) forced him to undertake a mission to Constantinople (q.v.) to urge Justin I (q.v.) to lift restrictions against the Arians (q.v.) in the East. The implied threat was that otherwise there would be reprisals against Italian Orthodox (q.v.) believers. Justin I (q.v.), anxious to maintain good relations with the papacy (q.v.) after the end of the Akakian Schism (q.v.), received the pope warmly. Justin agreed to restore churches to the Arians, and permitted them to hold services. Despite this success, upon John I's return Theodoric threw him into prison, where the pope died a few days later on 18 May 526.