Zacharias, Saint

Zacharias or Zachary, Saint (zăkərī`əs, zăk`ərē), pope (741–52), a Calabrian Greek; successor of St. Gregory III. He was the first pope after Gregory the Great not to seek confirmation of his election from the Byzantine emperor. By his personal prestige he forced Luitprand, king of the Lombards, to restore some towns he had taken from the pope. He sanctioned the assumption by Pepin the Short of the Frankish crown, thus beginning the cordial relations between Pepin's house and the papacy. St. Zachary's correspondence is extant; the letters to St. Boniface confirming the ecclesiastical settlements in Germany are notable. An illustrious pope, he did much to strengthen the authority of the Holy See. He was succeeded by Stephen II. Feast: Mar. 22.