Pope Simplicius

Simplicius became bishop of Rome in 468, inheriting a Church pressed by heresy and the chaos of Germanic invasions. He fought the Eutychian heresy and changed canon law to allow bishops to be consecrated outside December, a practical reform in unstable times. In 476, midway through his tenure, Odoacer removed Romulus Augustulus and the Western Roman Empire ceased to exist. The Church's hold on Rome barely wavered. Simplicius died on 10 March 483, fifteen years into a pontificate that outlasted the empire itself.