Pope Theodore I
Pope Theodore I (; died 14 May 649) was the bishop of Rome from 24 November 642 to his death. His pontificate was dominated by the struggle with Monothelitism. Early career According to the Liber Pontificalis, Theodore was a Greek man from Jerusalem whose father, Theodore, had been a bishop in the city; he is the only pope to have been a native of that city. He was among the many Syrian clergy who fled to Rome following the Muslim conquest of the Levant. He was made a cardinal deacon possibly around 640 and a full cardinal by Pope John IV. Pontificate Theodore I's election was supported by the exarch of Ravenna, who governed Italy in the name of the emperor in Constantinople. He was installed on 24 November 642, succeeding John IV. The main focus of his pontificate was the continued struggle against the heretical Monothelites. He refused to recognize Paul II as the patriarch of Constantinople because Paul's predecessor, Pyrrhus I, had not been correctly replaced. He pressed Emperor Constans II to withdraw the Ecthesis of Heraclius. While his efforts made little impression on Constantinople, it increased the opposition to the teaching in the West; Pyrrhus even briefly