While still only pope
-elect, John, with the other bishops of the
Catholic Church, wrote to the clergy of
Ireland and
Scotland to tell them of the mistakes they were making with regard to the time of keeping
Easter, and exhort them to be on their guard against the
Pelagian heresy. At about the same time, he condemned
Monothelism as heresy. Emperor
Heraclius immediately disowned the Monothelite document known as the "Ecthesis". To Heraclius' son,
Constantine III, John addressed his apology to
Pope Honorius I, in which he deprecated the attempt to connect the name of Honorius with Monothelism. Honorius, he declared, in speaking of one will in
Jesus, only meant to assert that there were not two contrary wills in Him. Troubles in his native land caused by the
invasions of Slavs directed John's attention there. To alleviate the distress of the inhabitants, John sent the abbot Martin into Dalmatia and
Istria with large sums of money for the redemption of captives. As the ruined churches could not be rebuilt, the
relics of some of the more important Dalmatian saints were brought to
Rome. John then erected an oratory in their honour. It was adorned by the pope with
mosaics depicting John himself holding a model of his oratory in his hands. John endeavoured thereby to convert the Slavs in Dalmatia and Istria to Christianity. Emperor
Constantine Porphyrogenitus claimed that Duke
Porga of Croatia, archon of
White Croats who have been invited into Dalmatia by
Heraclius, sent to Emperor Heraclius for Christian teachers. It is supposed that the emperor to whom this message was sent was Emperor Heraclius himself, and that he sent it to Pope John IV. John was buried in the
Basilica of St. Peter. ==Notes==