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disputes over the succession. His ideas about that, however, were somewhat unorthodox. The synod met on 1 March 499. The pope proposed, and it was agreed, that the Bishop of Rome should be elected by a majority of the clergy of the city – there was no mention of laity – but apparently only if the previous holder of the o ffi ce had died without naming a successor. Only if the clergy were equally divided were lay people to have a say. Meanwhile it was strictly forbidden during a pope’s lifetime to canvass for his successor. If anyone
    24 The Conclave
    knew that such canvassing was going on, the synod declared, then he was obliged to report it and the whistle-blower was to be rewarded. This decree governing papal elections is the oldest to have survived, preserved by the eleventh-century lawyer Gratian. Lawrence was made a bishop.
    However, this did not put an end to conflict, even during Symmachus’s own pontificate. When he decided in 501 to celebrate Easter on the day fixed by the old Roman system for cal- culating that date, rather than the Eastern one which had been employed in recent years, those favoring closer links with Constantinople accused him of breaking Church law and he was again summoned to Ravenna. Once there, however, he learned that he was also going to be accused of immorality, which made him rush back to Rome. It was a mistake. His failure to answer the charges appeared to many, including King Theodoric, to be evi- dence of his guilt.
    In the meantime Lawrence’s supporters, the majority of the senior clergy, had occupied most of the Roman churches, includ- ing the Lateran. Symmachus had to take refuge in St. Peter’s. Theo- doric proposed a council for Easter 502, which was attended by many bishops from around Italy. It took place in Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, in the midst of riots in the city. Many Christians were killed, reports the Liber Pontificalis , and it was not safe for priests to walk the streets either by day or by night. The bishops appealed pathetically to King Theodoric: “the simplicity of priests is not equal to the cunning of the laity,” they said. Theodoric was unmoved, but the synod was adjourned to meet again in September.
    By September the violence had still not stopped. On his way to Santa Croce, Symmachus was attacked by supporters of Lawrence and two of the priests with him were killed – one of them Gordianus, the father of the future pope Agapitus (celibacy had not yet been imposed on the church and many clergy were married, though those elected as bishops were expected to separate from
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    their wives). Despite this, the synod came down on the side of Symmachus, much to the irritation of both Theodoric and Festus. Symmachus had the backing of the Roman mob and was conscious of it. As pope he increased both the level of poor relief and the stipends of the clergy. He built a public toilet just outside St. Peter’s. But he was not immediately able to regain control of Rome’s churches. So he called another synod for November. High on the agenda was the annulment of the 483 decree that popes could not dispose of papal property. It had been passed at the instigation of Basilius, the praetorian prefect, who was also chief minister of Odoacer, the first barbarian (i.e., a mem- ber of one of the Germanic tribes that had entered the empire; the word “barbarian” comes from ancient Greek and means “non- Greek-speaking” and so “uncivilized”) to become king of Italy. The purpose of the decree has been much disputed. It may be that it was an attempt to limit the papacy to rich men who would have no need to spend the papal inheritance – and Felix, elected in 483, was indeed a wealthy aristocrat, the first to be chosen, as far as we can tell. Or it may have been intended to cut down corruption in papal elections; paying o ff those whose support had been bought regularly bankrupted the papal treasury. Whatever the reason behind it, the decree was