Jeffrey Richards describes him as "the last survivor of the
Symmachan old guard", having been ordained as a deacon perhaps as early as 502, during the
Laurentian schism. He was elevated from
archdeacon to pope in 535. His first official act was to burn, in the presence of the assembled clergy, the
anathema which
Boniface II had pronounced against the latter's deceased rival
Dioscurus on a false charge of
simony and had ordered to be preserved in the Roman archives. Agapetus assisted
Cassiodorus in the founding of his monastery at
Vivarium. He confirmed the decrees of the
Council of Carthage, after the retaking of North Africa from the
Vandals, according to which converts from
Arianism were declared ineligible to
Holy Orders and those already ordained were merely admitted to
lay communion. He accepted an appeal from
Contumeliosus,
Bishop of Riez, whom the
Council of Marseilles had condemned for immorality, and he ordered
Caesarius of Arles to grant the accused a new trial before papal delegates. Meanwhile, the
Byzantine general
Belisarius was preparing for an invasion of Italy. King
Theodahad of the
Ostrogoths begged Agapetus to proceed on an embassy to
Constantinople and use his personal influence to appease
Emperor Justinian I following the death of
Amalasuntha. To defray the costs of the embassy, Agapetus pledged the sacred vessels of the Church of Rome. He set out in mid-winter with five bishops and a large retinue. In February 536, he appeared in the capital of the East. Justinian declined to call a halt to the planned invasion as preparations were far too advanced. Shortly afterwards, Agapetus fell ill and died on 22 April 536, == Veneration ==