May 18 | Pope Saint John I

Welcome, young history buffs and curious minds, to My Daily Saint, the podcast that digs deep into the incredible lives of the saints, those remarkable people who shaped history and continue to inspire us today. Forget dusty old portraits and boring stories. Today, imagine being trapped in the ultimate no-win situation. On one side, you have a furious, heavily armed emperor who rules your homeland, threatening to unleash total war and destroy your people. On the other side, you have an equally powerful emperor far away, who has just seized a bunch of churches and refuses to back down.

And you? You're a You are a priest who was just promoted to the toughest job in the world. You are forced to walk straight into the crossfire, knowing that one wrong word could cost thousands of lives, including your own. This was real life in the year 523, and today we are looking at a man who walked a literal tightrope of peace, Pope St. John I.

So, who was John, and how did he get into this mess? Let's rewind. Born in Tuscany, Italy, John was a devoted man who started his career in the church as an archdeacon. He was known as a faithful leader, and in the year 523, he became pope. But this wasn't exactly a time for celebration. When John took the seat of St. Peter, he inherited a massive and huge power. He was a great man. He was a great man. He was a great man.

He was a explosive problem from his predecessor. You see, the Christian world was being torn apart by something called the Arian heresy, which falsely taught that Jesus was not truly divine. This was a massive conflict that had been splitting the church apart during the 4th century.

Many Christians believed in this heresy, including a very dangerous man named Theodoric the Goth, who happened to be the emperor of Italy. For a while, Theodoric had been fairly tolerant of Orthodox Catholics who lived in his domain. But right around the time John became Pope, Theodoric changed his policies and became intolerant. Meanwhile, over in the East, the Byzantine Emperor Justin I dropped a massive bombshell. In that same year, 523, Justin ordered that all Arian clergy had to surrender their churches into Orthodox Catholic hands.

Emperor Theodoric was absolutely furious. He threatened to go to war against Justin and all Catholics. This is where John's impossible mission begins. Eventually, Emperor Theodoric reluctantly agreed to try negotiating with Emperor Justin. And who did he appoint as his ambassador? Pope John I. John had an incredibly delicate line to walk. On one hand, as the pope, he absolutely did not agree with the heretics. But on the other hand, he did agree with the heretics. Desperately did not want any violence to break out within the two sects.

Somehow, John was able to reunite the Eastern and Western churches. This was a massive historic victory, considering these churches had been in a bitter schism for the last forty years. But remember, no good deed goes unpunished in the turbulent politics of the sixth century.

Back in Italy, Emperor Theodoric wasn't celebrating this newfound peace. Instead, he was growing deeply suspicious. Theodoric was so paranoid that he had already murdered John's good friend, the well-known Catholic writer Boethius. Now he decided to take action against the Pope as well. When John returned, instead of being hailed as a peacemaking hero, he was captured. Theodoric had the Pope imprisoned in the city of Ravenna.

Pope John I was martyred, dying in his prison cell on May 18, 526. Think about the delicate lines you have to walk in your own life. Have you ever been stuck in the middle of two friends who are fighting? Or maybe you've seen a toxic argument break out on social media or in your group chat. It is so easy to either jump in and start throwing punches, or to just run away entirely.

St. John I shows us a different, heroic path, the path of the peacemaker. Today, your challenge is to Be that peacemaker in your own world. If you see gossip spreading or friends tearing each other apart, don't add to the drama. Instead, try to walk that delicate line. Stand up for what is true and right, but do everything in your power to stop the cruelty and the fighting. It's not easy, and it takes real bravery, but that's exactly what makes a saint. Thank you for joining us on My Daily Saint. We look forward to sharing another incredible story of faith and courage with you tomorrow.