Pope St. Zachary

Zachary, the last pope of the Byzantine-era 'Greek' line, was a Calabrian of Greek descent who proved a gifted diplomat. He persuaded the Lombard king Liutprand to return seized territories and restrained Lombard pressure on Rome and Ravenna through personal negotiation. Most consequentially, when Frankish envoys asked whether the man who held royal power should bear the royal title, Zachary's reply helped legitimize Pippin III's deposition of the Merovingians—seeding the Frankish-papal alliance later realized by his successors. He also translated Gregory the Great's Dialogues into Greek and is remembered as a conciliatory, capable shepherd.