This period cover the 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 1Oth, and part of the 11th centuries, ending in the year 1020. As with most eras, they are not in perfect one hundred year increments, they overlap. What the Dark Ages actually were, as you the reader will soon see, was an attack, or a siege on the Catholic Church. These attacks, in the form of heresies, apostates, and schisms, caused some severe Dark times, most of which lasted years, for the Church. This should not come as a shock to anyone, Our Blessed Lord warned us about the False prophets that would come in His Name and told us to remain firm in the Truth. He comforted us by saying, "I will be with you always, even on to the end of time."

502
St. Fulgence becomes Bishop of Ruspe.

504
King Clovis is cured by the prayers of St. Severinus, Abbot of Agaunum.

505
Death of St. Macartan, Bishop of Clogher. He was consecrated a Bishop by St. Patrick.

506
Council of Agde. This local Council, held in Languedoc, France, published fifty Canons on Church discipline.

King Clovis conquered the Alamanni.

507
The Visigoths were decisively defeated when their king, Alaric II, was killed by King Clovis in a battle near Poitiers. Clovis made Paris the capital of the Frankish kingdom, which at that time included most of present-day France and southwestern Germany. According to Salian custom, he divided his kingdom among his four sons.

Death of St. Severinus, Abbot of Agaunum.

510
St. Fulgence of Ruspe wrote his work on the Holy Trinity.

Death of St.Eugendus, Abbot of Condat.

511
The Council of Orleans. Under the patronage of King Clovis, this national French Council enacted important Church legislation.

Death of Clovis, King of the Francs.

514
St. Hormisdas becomes Pope. He was married before taking Holy Orders. His son went on to become Pope St. Silverius.

GLOOM AND STORM MARKED THE PONTIFICATES of Anastasius II and Symmachus, but on St. Hormisdas the sun of peace and victory shone with cheerful splendor. St. Hormisdas was born at Frosinone in the Roman Campagna. Married before ordination, he had a son, Silverius, who also became pope. As a deacon, Hormisdas had staunchly backed St. Symmachus in his trouble with the antipope Lawrence and the pro-Byzantine faction. Elected with difficulty, St. Hormisdas began his career of peace with victory by receiving back into the Church the last die-hards of the Laurentian schism.

A greater victory was in the making. Ever since 484 the Church of Constantinople had been in schism. First, Patriarch Acacius had supported the Henoticon and had died excommunicated and in schism. Then even when the patriarchs had returned to orthodoxy, they could not bring themselves to strike the name of Acacius from the liturgical diptychs or tablets. The fact that Emperor Anastasius, who ruled during most of this time, tended to the Monophysite heresy did not help matters. But more and more the orthodox clergy, monks, and laity of the East longed for an end to this schism which weakened their stand against the Monophysites.

In 514 Ceneral Vitalian revolted and forced Anastasius to make overtures towards reunion; but since Anastasius was not serious, nothing came of this attempt. A number of Eastern bishops, however, independently made their submission to Rome. When Anastasius died in 517 hopes rose. His successor, the rugged soldier Justin I was orthodox. Popular opinion, the Emperor, and orthodoxy for once all agreeing, the way to reunion was easy. A synod at Constantinople sent a legate to Pope Hormisdas to seek reunion.

The Pope sent back a legation with a formula of faith, and on Holy Thursday, March 28, 519, the papal legates received the Church of Constantinople back to Catholic unity. The ceremony was hailed with tears of joy, for this union was extremely popular.

The formula of Hormisdas which the Pope sent to be signed on this occasion is a masterpiece of clarity. It repeats the condemnation of the heresies condemned by the ecumenical councils and it formally condemns the memory of Acacius who had started this schism. It so clearly stated the primacy and infallibility of the Roman See that from that day to the time of the Vatican Council, it has been a powerful weapon in the arsenal of Catholic orthodoxy. It was subscribed to by the patriarch of Constantinople, it swept the East and in the end was signed by 2,500 bishops.

Another joyous moment for St. Hormisdas came when word was brought from Africa that after the death of the Vandal king Thrasamund, the hardpressed African Church enjoyed a little peace·

Hormisdas forbade the use of the expression "one of the Trinity was crucified," not because it could not be understood in a true sense, but because it was used as a Monophysite catchword. He sent letters to the bishops of Gaul and Spain on disciplinary matters.

When St. Hormisdas died in 523 the Church was, on the whole, peaceful, but black clouds were piling up in the West.

Taken from the Book, Popes Through the Ages, Joseph S. Brusher, S. J.

515
Patriarch Anastasius I invited Pope St. Hormisdas to preside over a local Council in Heraclea, in Thrace. This Council was to restore Church unity.

516
Parish priests are established.

Segismund succeeds his father Gondebald as King of Burgundy and converts to the Catholic Faith.

517
Council of Heraclea II. This local Council aimed at getting Rome's jurisdictional primacy recognized. This Council, like the first one, also failed.

Council of Epaon.

St. Avitus becomes Bishop of Clermont.

518
Death of Patriarch Anastasius I.

Justin I becomes Emperor of the Roman Empire. He named his nephew, Justinian, administrator.

520
Death of St. Apollinaris, Bishop of Valence.

Death of St. Antony of Lerins, Monk.

521
Birth of St. Columba.

523
St. John I becomes Pope. He was the first Pontiff to change his name.

Justinian, the administrator marries Theodora, a former actress.

524
Death of Clodomir I, son of Clovis.

525
Death of St. Brigid, Abbess of Kildare.

Death of St. Avitus, Bishop of Vienne.

526
St. Felix III becomes Pope. The same year, his grandson, Athalaric, succeeded to the Throne in Italy after the death of King Ostrogoth. The Pope's grandson was a minor and ruled Italy with Ostrogoth's widow, Queen Amalasuntha.

527
Death of St. Fulgence, Bishop of Ruspe on January 1.

Justinian becomes Emperor of the Roman Empire. He was successful in re-establishing the people of Constantinople, to the Doctrine of Consubstantiality. He also reaffirmed Christendom as the official religion of the Empire.

529
Synod of Orange II. Condemns Semi-Pelagianism. (Adam was not whole body and soul, Limbo, Predestination).

St. Benedict founds the Benedictine Orderand.

Death of St. Caesaria, Virgin.

530
St. Benedict founds monastery at Monte Cassino and writes the Benedictine Rule.

St. Datius becomes Bishop of Milan.

Death of St. Dositheus, Monk.

Death of St. Kieran, Bishop in Ossory.

Death of Saints Edna, Abbot; and his sister Fanchea, Virgin.

Death of St. Remigius, Bishop of Rheims.

Boniface II becomes Pope. Pope Boniface II approved of the Decrees of the Second Synod of Orange in Gaul, which condemned the semi-Pelagian error. He helped to re-organize the Church in Africa, rebuilding after the storm of the Vandal persecution. He was a very charitable man and spent a great deal on the poor, especially when a famine threatened the city. He is buried in St. Peter's.

Dioscorus is anti-Pone.

532
Death of St. Eleutherius, Bishop of Tournai.

The Nika Revolt. A popular uprising took place in Constantinople against Justinian. Constantinople was nearly destroyed by fire. The insurrection quelled with great cruelty by Belisarius. Thirty thousand people were slain.

533
John II becomes Pope. He was elected two and a half months after the death of Pope Boniface II. He was a compromise choice; he was an elderly priest named Mercury. He took the name John after the Martyred Pope, John I.

Death of St. Fulgentius, Bishop of Ruspe.

534
Death of Theodoric I, son of Clovis.

535
Anthimus, Patriarch of Constantinople is exposed as a Monophysite heretic and is excommunicated and anathematized. This act caused the Empress, Theodora to become furious.

Birth of St. Venantius Fortunatus.

St. Agapitus becomes Pope. He was the son of a priest named Gordianus, who had been murdered by anti-Pope Lawrence fanatics in September of 502. St. Agapatus was an Archdeacon when elected Pontiff.

536
The Empress Theodora, a Monophysite heretic, succeeded by means of forged letters, accusing the Pope of plotting with the Goths. He was deposed and exiled to Patara, a seaport in Lycia (south-west Anatolia).

St. Sylverius becomes Pope. He was the son of Pope St. Hormisdas. He was only a sub-Deacon at the time of St. Agapitus' death, Theodahad, the last of the Ostrogothic Kings, terrorized the clergy into electing him Pontiff. Theodahad's motive was he wanted a pro Gothic Pope he could trust.

A SAINT AND THE SON OF THE GREAT POPE ST. Hormisdas, Silverius was to enjoy no such glory as had his father. But if he could not follow him in his brilliant achievements, he could imitate his virtue and devotion. Silverius was the nominee of Gothic King Theodahad. That monarch, quivering with fear at the imminent East Roman invasion, determined to have a loyal pope as the zero hour drew near. He appointed the subdeacon Silverius. Since Silverius was an excellent cleric, the clergy of Rome accepted Theodahad's choice. But while the Goth put his candidate on Peter's throne, Empress Theodora was taking measures to get her pet patriarch back in Constantinople and her pet project of at least a compromise on the Monophysite heresy adopted. She had the power and the tool to make life miserable for Pope Silverius.

Justinian's great general Belisarius, after a triumphant sweep through Sicily, was marching on Rome. Silverius, seeing that resistance was useless, advised surrender and on December 9, 536, the East Roman army filed through the Porta Asinaria to enter Rome in triumph. But the Goths were not finished yet. They deposed the useless Theodahad and made Witiges their new king. He came storming down to Rome with a large army and besieged the city. While this was going on, Belisarius received orders from Theodora to put Pressure on Pope Silverius to allow the deposed Anthimus to return as patriarch of Constantinople and to surrender to the one-nature heresy. Belisarius summoned Silverius to his headquarters in the Pincian Palace to answer trumped-up charges of plotting to open a gate to the Goths. He then abruptly demanded that the Pope should surrender to Theedora by recalling Anthimus and giving in on the Monophysite question. Silverius refused and on another visit to the Pincian Palace was seized, stripped of his pallium,· and clothed in a monk's habit. It was then announced that Pope Silverius had been deposed. Belisarius summoned the clergy and ordered them to elect another pope. Theodora had her creature ready for the occasion. He was none other than that deacon, Vigilius, who had been chosen by Boniface II as his successor. When Boniface changed his mind about appointing his own successor, Vigilius did not despair. He intrigued with Empress Theodora; indeed, he paid her a large sum of money and promised to carry out her wishes as far as he could. Now he was elected to replace St. Silverius.

St. Silverius was exiled to Patara in Lycia, but the bishop there wrote feelingly to Emperor Justinian that it was a shame to see the "pope who rules the Church through the world . . . a home less exile." Justinian, troubled, was about to restore the Pope when Theodora once more intervened. Silverius was indeed sent back to Italy, but as a prisoner of his intruded successor. Vigilius sent him to Palmaria, an island in the Tyrrhenian Sea, and very shortly afterward this noble confessor died in exile.

Taken from the Book, Popes Through the Ages, Joseph S. Brusher, S. J.

537
To prevent further turmoil from tearing apart the Church Silverius abdicated from the papacy on November 11. After his abdication, his successor, Vigilius, gained more legitimacy. He became the confidant of Empress Theodora, however, he did not entirely give in to her wishes; he supported the Council of Chalcedon.

Pope St. Silverius died less than a month later, on December 2, while still in exile. He is considered a martyr because he died defending the faith.

The Hagia Sophia Cathedral in Constantinople was completed. The cathedral represented the culmination of Byzantine architecture, with a large domed basilica.

538
St. Gregory of Tours is born.

Death of the Monphysite heretic, Severus of Antioch.

539
Death of St. Gregory, Bishop of Langres.

Death of St. Vedast, Bishop of Arras.

540
St. Columba, Bishop returns to Ulster founding monasteries.

The earliest reference to Candlemas Day or the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary feast day on February 2, is recorded.

St. Benedict names "Tramp Monks" (Monophysites).

Death of St. Leontius of Byzantium.

Pope Vigilius writes to Emperor Justinian I that he is a True-Blue Chalcedonian who rejoiced in the Emperor's repudiation of Anthimusd and other Monophysites.

543
Death of St. Scholastica, Virgin and sister of St. Benedict.

544
The Holy Mandylion, the face on the Holy Shroud, was rediscovered in Edessa, now Urfa, Turkey. The cloth was previously known as the Image of Edessa.

Death of St. John of Reomay, Abbot of Lerins, which was later renamed, "Moutier-Saint-Jean" to honor him.

545
Emperor Justinian I had the police arrest Pope Vigilius and sent him to Sicily. St. Datius boldly supported the Pope against Justinian in the controversy concerning the Three Chapters.

547
Death of St. Benedict, Abbot, Patriarch of Western Monks.

Pope Vigilus excommunicates the Bishop of Constantinople, Menas.

549
St. Praetextatus becomes Bishop of Rouen.

550
African bishops excommunicate the Pope. Pope Vigilus in turn, excommunicated others of his own entourage.

Death of St. Severinus, Bishop of Septempeda.

Death of St. Modan, Abbot of Stirling and at Falkirk.

Death of St. Benedict the Hermit.

Death of St. Galla, Widow.

552
Death of St. Datius, Bishop of Milan.

553
Council of Constantinople II. Condemned the Three Chapters as having been infested with Nestorianism. The Three Chapters were propositions anathematizing:

At a very early stage of the controversy the incriminated writings themselves came to be spoken of as the Three Chapters.

554
Athanaglid becomes King of the Visigoths in Spain.

555
Death of St. Marius, Abbot of Bodon.

556
Pelagius I becomes Pope. He was a Roman of noble birth. He served as a Deacon for Pope St. Agapitus. He spent a majority of his time as a Deacon deeply involved with the controversy of the Three Chapters.

558
Death of Childebert I, son of Clovis.

Death of St. Victorian, Abbot of Asan in Aragon.

The Avars, a Turkish Mongolian group, formed an Empire that extended from the Volga to the Hungarian plains.

Death of St. Leobinus, Bishop of Chartres.

Death of St. Marculf.

560
Birth of St. Isidore of Seville, at Cartagena, Spain.

Death of St. Stephen of Rieti, Abbot.

Death of St. Arthelais, Virgin.

Death of St. Senan, Bishop of Scatter Island.

Death of St. Finnian Lobhar, Abbot of Swords.

561
John III becomes Pope. He was originally named Catelinus, he was the son of Anasasius, a Roman senator and provincial governor. His reign witnessed the invasion of the Lombards under King Alboin.

Death of Clotaire I, son of Clovis.

Sigebert becomes King of Austrasia and Auvergne.

St. Guntramnus becomes King of Burgundy

563
St. Columba stands up in his boat and orders the Loch Ness monster to remain beneath the waves. It hasn't surfaced since!

565
Death of Emperor Justinian.

566
The Council of Tours II proclaimed the Sanctity of the "Twelve Days" from Christmas to Epiphany.

Death of St. Sabinus, Bishop of Canosa.

568
Lombards migrated into Italy.

569
Emperor Justin II sent a relic of the True Cross of Christ to the Monastery at Tours.

570
Death of St. Ita, Virgin.

Death of St. Gildas the Wise, Abbot of Llanilltud.

572
The Lombards invaded Italy. This Germanic Tribe crushed the Byzantine Rule.

Leovigild King Of Visigoths- Leovigild the King of Visigoths set off to reinvigorate the empire. He extended the Vistigoth dominance to all parts of the Iberian Pennisular.

573
Death of St. Paul Aurelian, Bishop of Leon.

St. Gregory of Tours at the behest of King Sigbert I and the people was consecrated Bishop and succeeded St. Euphronius of Tours.

Chilperic, King of Neustria, after a long conflict seized Tours, but was soon contained and he abandoned the city.

575
Benedict I becomes Pope. He was a Roman by birth. He was consecrated eleven months after his election due to a breakdown in communications from Constantinople.

Synod of Drumoeat.

Sigebert I the Merovingian King of Austrasia is assassinated. His wife, Queen Brunhilda was captured by her husband's assailant but escaped to become the sole Ruler of the Frankish Kingdom, Austrasia.

576
Death of St. Laurence, Bishop of Spoleto.

King Sigebert I is assassinated. Chilperic takes over Tours as its final Master.

579
Pelagius II becomes Pope. He was a Roman by birth and the son of Winigild, a Goth. He worked zealously to foster celibacy among the Western clergy. He adorned St. Peter's and rebuilt St/ Lawrence's. he was a charitable man who turned his own home into a hospital. His charity was needed for at this time Rome was devastated by a great flood.

Death of St. Martin, Archbishop of Braga.

The Martyrs of the Lombards. The Lombards from Scandinavia and Pomerania, who had already descended upon Austria and Bavaria, penetrated further south into Italy, bringing ruin and desolation in their train. They attempted to pervert the Christian population, forcing their pagan rites upon them. They tried to force forty Catholics to eat the meat offered to idols; when they refused the barbarians put them to death with the sword. In another case, the captors sought to make the Catholic Faithful join them in the worship of their favorite deity, a goat's head, which they carried in a procession and to which they bowed the knee, singing obscene songs in its honor. The greater part of the Christians, about 400 in all, chose to die rather than to flout God thus.

580
Death of St. Felix, Bishop of Bourges.

Death of St. Droctoveus, Abbot of Saint-Germain.

Death of St. Agricola, Bishop of Chalon-sur-Saone.

583
In Constantinople St. Leander met the future Pope St Gregory the Great and the two formed a lasting friendship. It was St. Leander who suggested to the Pope to write his Morals on the Book of Job.

584
Pepin the Elder of Landen, a powerful landowner who served Clotaire II, the Merovigian King of the Franks, begins serving as mayor of the palace of Austrasia. His reign as Mayor began the Carolingian Dynasty. His grandson was Pepin Herstal, who was the father of Charles Martel, who was the grandfather of Charlemagne.

Death of St. Maurkus, Abbot of Glanfeuil.

St. Sulpicius becomes Bishop of Bourges.

Death of Chilperic, Master of Tours.

585
The local Council of Macon was held.

586
Death of St. Praetextatus, Bishop of Rouen and Martyr.

Martyrdom of St. Hermenegild. His father Leovigild caused his son's death because St. Hermengild refused to receive Holy Communion from an Arian Bishop. He was banished along with St. Leander, and his brother, St. Fulgentius.

587
Battle of Cull Feda. Spain is converted to the Roman Catholic Faith.

Treaty of Andelot. This treaty brought about the cession of Tours by Guntram to Childebert II.

Death of St. Radegund, Abbess.

588
Death of St. Frigidian, Bishop of Lucca.

589
Council of Toledo I . Added the word Filoque to the Nicene Creed. The word itself is a theological formula of great dogmatic importance. It expresses the Procession of the Holy Spirit from both the Father and the Son as one Principle. The Dogma of Filoque is directly opposed to the error that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and not from the Son. At this time, neither Dogma nor error created much difficulty, in fact, there was no quarrel about for four hundred years! St. Leander presided over this Council.

Death of St. Dewi, Bishop in Mynyw, Patron of Wales.

590
Death of Pope Pelagius II, February, 7. He fell victim of a plague.

St. Gregory the Great becomes Pope.

Ash Wednesday established as first day of Lent.

Pope Gregory the Great was born about the year 540, in Rome. His father's name was Gordianus, his mother is St. Silvia (Feast day November 3). Our beloved Pontiff and Saint also has two aunts that have been Canonized, Saints Tarsilla and Aemiliana, both the sisters of Gordianus.

He,Pope St. Nicholas, and Pope St. Leo I are the only three Popes to called "The Great." Pope St. Gregory the Great is also related to Popes Felix III and Agapitus I.

He was Prefect of Rome from 572-574. He was Ordained upon the death of his father.

Pope Gregory the Great converted his family's home on Caelian Hill into the Monastery of St. Andrew at the end of the year 574. It was there that our Great Doctor of the Church embarked on a rigorous Monastic novitiate.

Pope St. Gregory was humble-minded. He died on March 12, 604; the epitaph on his tomb at St. Peter's reads, Consul of God.

Death of St. Servulus. He was a poor begger who was plagued with palsy from his infantcy. He could not stand up, walk, sit up right, lift his hand to his mouth or turn himslef from one side to another. He lived on alms his whole life. He managed to save some money to buy some books of the Holy Scriptures which were read to him and learned them by heart. He divided his alms with other needy persons. When he knew his end was near, he asked his friends to sings hymns and psalms by his bed. When he joined his voice with theirs, he cried out, "Do you hear the great and wonderful music in Heaven?" When he had spoken these words, he died and his soul was carried off into eternal bliss. He is buried in St. Clement's Church where wanted to be put to rest.

591
Death of St. Sulpicius, Bishop of Bourges.

592
Death of St. Guntramnus, King of Burgundy and part of Aquitaine.

594
Death of St. Gregory of Tours.

596
Pope St. Gregory the Great wrote his letter to Brunhilda, Queen of the Franks.

Death of St. Leander, Bishop of Seville.

Death of St. Ebrulf, Abbot.

597
St. Augustine of Canterbury begins conversion of the English.

Pope St. Gregory the Great wrote his letter to Gregoria, Chambermaid of Augusta.

Death of St. Columba.

598
Pope Greogory Obtains a Thirty Year Truce with the Lombards, insuring the independence of Rome.

599
Upon the death of his brother Leander, St. Isidore succeeds to the See at Seville on March 13.

St. Isidore was the last of the ancient Christian philosophers, as he was the last of the Great Latin Fathers. He was undoubtedly the most learned man of his age and exercised a far-reaching and immeasurable influence on the educational life of the Middle Ages. His contemporary and friend, Braulio, Bishop of Saragossa, regarded him as a man raised up by God to save the Spanish people from the tidal wave of barbarism that threatened to inundate the ancient civilization of Spain.

600
Pope St. Gregory the Great wrote his letter to Eulogius, Patriarch of Alexandria.

St. Venantius Fortunatus becomes Bishop of Poitiers.