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 should sign it. But Vigilius had now been joined by some Western bishops and clerics, and especially by the resolute Pelagius, who thought the contest demanded his presence in the East. With the support of these coadjutors, Vigilius persisted in his refusal to sign, while the attitude of the Emperor became more and more threatening from day to day. At length, fearing that personal violence would be resorted to, he fled from his residence in the palace of Placidia to take sanctuary in the adjacent church of St. Peter in Hormisdas; and here the Pope with some of his supporters sought to save themselves by clinging to the columns of the altar. As soon as this flight was announced to Justinian, he commanded a praetor with an armed guard to arrest the fugitives in the sanctuary, and drag them to his presence. The military entered the church, followed by a popular concourse, and proceeded to execute their orders. The lesser clerics were soon detached, but Vigilius embraced the pillars of the altar with all his might. The soldiers laid hold of him, some by the feet, some by the hair and beard, and strove to bear him off by main force, but the massive structure gave way and would have crushed the pontiff in its fall had its collapse not been prevented by some of the deacons standing by. A groan of horror arose from the crowd of on-*lookers; the assailants then desisted from the struggle and released their victim. Fearing that he might have gone too far, the praetor now called off his men, and retired to inform the Emperor of what had occurred. On hearing his report Justinian decided to proceed no further by compulsion, and sent a deputation to give the Pope assurances that he might