Paschalis 5 was the bishop of Rome from 817 to 824. A native of Rome, he was the son of Bonosus (Bonosos 1): Lib. Pont. 100. 1. His mother was Theodora 3: inscription in the Church of St Praxedis, cited by Duchesne, Lib. Pont. II, p. 64, n. 12, lines 36-41. Dedicated to the Church from his earliest years ("a primevo etatis suae divino cultu mancipatus"), he studied the Scriptures (identified as the Psalms and the Old as well as the New Testament), apparently in the Lateran palace ("sacrosanctae ecclesiae patriarchio"), and became successively subdeacon and then deacon; he is described as saintly, chaste, pious, innocent, expressing noble thoughts when he spoke ("magnanimus loquela"), devout, modest, and as one who gave to the poor with a good will; he frequented the company of holy men and monks and practised prayer, vigils and fasting with enthusiasm: Lib. Pont. 100. 1. He was made head of the monastery of Sanctus Stephanus Major by pope Leo III (Leo 11), and carried out his duties conscientiously and with vigour: Lib. Pont. 100. 2. His reputation was such that, when pope Stephen V (IV) (Stephanos 90) died, he was chosen to succeed him: Lib. Pont. 100. 3. When he was pope he carefully observed the established practices of the Church; he was slow to anger, swift to pity, and never repaid harm with harm; he was active in restoring and in adorning church buildings: Lib. Pont. 100. 3 (the description consists largely of topoi with rhetorical variations). Details of his repairs and restoration work and the gifts which he made to churches are recorded in Lib. Pont. 100. 5- 40. When the English quarter (?burgus?) at Rome was destroyed by fire, taking with it the portico of St Peter's, he attended the fire and subsequently made funds available to help those who had lost their homes and possessions, as well as restoring the portico: Lib. Pont. 100. 7. He founded a Greek monastery (?cenobium?) at St Praxedis and settled a Greek community there ("sanctam Grecorum congregationem adgregans") to worship in Greek ("quae die noctuque grece modulationis psalmodie laudes ... sedule persolverent"): Lib. Pont. 100. 9. He was active in recovering the neglected relics of martyrs and saints and in reburying them with due honours: Lib. Pont. 100. 4, 5, 9, 10, 15-17. Addressee of two letters from Theodore the Stoudite (Theodoros 15) written in 817 and seeking his support for the iconophile cause: Theod. Stud., Ep. 271, pp. 399- 401 (addressed Πασχαλίῳ πάπᾳ Ῥώμης); Ep. 272, pp. 402- 403. He is mentioned in another of Theodoros 15's letters written after the Western Church gave its support to the veneration of icons: Theod. Stud., Ep. 407, pp. 564-566, line 15. He is alluded to, but not named, in Vita A Theod. Stud. 192D-193A, Vita B Theod. Stud. 289C, Vita C Theod. Stud. §45, p. 285. After the death of Leo V (Leo 15) (December 820), the pope (Paschalis 5) sent Methodios 1 to Constantinople with documents for the new emperor Michael II (Michael 10) containing statements of the orthodox (iconophile) position (τόμους δογματικοὺς ἤτοι ὅρους ὀρθοδοξίας παρὰ τοῦ πάπα λαβών) intended to convince Michael 10 and to secure the release of the patriarch Nikephoros 2: Vita Method. 1248B-C. Paschalis 5 was bishop of Rome for seven years and seventeen days and a number of months, which is lost: Lib. Pont. 100. 1. He died in 824 and was buried in St Peter's: Lib. Pont. 100. 40 (the date here given, "mense Ianuario, indictione prima", i.e. January 823, is wrong; see Duchesne, Lib. Pont. II, p. 68, n. 47). He promoted the ecclesiastical career of the future pope Valentinus (Valentinus 4): Lib. Pont. 102. 3-4.

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