Pope Innocent I

Pope Saint Innocent I
Bishop of Rome
Statue in San Martino ai Monti, Rome
Church	Catholic Church
Papacy began	22 December 401[1]
Papacy ended	12 March 417
Predecessor	Anastasius I
Successor	Zosimus
Personal details
Born	Albano, Roman Empire
Died	(417-03-12)12 March 417 Rome, Western Roman Empire
Sainthood
Feast day	12 March 28 July (13th–20th centuries)
Venerated in	Catholic Church Eastern Orthodox Church
Other popes named Innocent

Pope Innocent I (Latin: Innocentius I) was the bishop of Rome from 401 to his death on 12 March 417. From the beginning of his papacy, he was seen as the general arbitrator of ecclesiastical disputes in both the East and the West. He confirmed the prerogatives of the Archbishop of Thessalonica, and issued a decretal on disciplinary matters referred to him by the Bishop of Rouen. He defended the exiled John Chrysostom and consulted with the bishops of Africa concerning the Pelagian controversy, confirming the decisions of the African synods.

The Catholic priest-scholar Johann Peter Kirsch, 1500 years later, described Innocent as a very energetic and highly gifted individual "...who fulfilled admirably the duties of his office".^[2]