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~ During the papal reign of St. John (d.526), Italy was ruled by King Theodoric, an ardent defender of Arianism. The King sent John as his delegate to Emperor Justin in Constantinople, to moderate the emperor’s decree against the Arians. The King threatened that if the mission failed, there would be retribution against the non-Arian Christians in the West. Although St. John was successful in his mission, Theodoric mistrusted the reconciliation and was suspect of the friendly relations between the Pope and the orthodox emperor. When John returned he was imprisoned by the King at Ravenna, where he died of ill treatment.