“ Vigilius continued him in his diplomatic appointment, and he was sent by the emperor Justinian in 542 to Antioch on ecclesiastical business; he afterwards took part in the synod at Gaza which deposed Paul of Alexandria. He had amassed some wealth, which on his return to Rome he so employed among the poor as to secure for himself great popularity; and, when Vigilius was summoned to Byzantium in 544, Pelagius, now archdeacon, was left behind as his vicar, and by his tact in dealing with Totila, the Gothic invader, saved the citizens from murder and outrage. ”