excommunication. The second change established that no steps could be taken to provide for a papal successor until three days after a pope's burial. This suggests that he was serious in his desire to keep papal elections free. Boniface's other notable act resulted from his close relationship with Emperor Phocas. He sought and obtained a decree from Phocas which restated that "the See of Blessed Peter the Apostle should be the head of all the Churches". This ensured that the title of "universal bishop" belonged exclusively to the bishop of Rome, and effectively ended the attempt by Patriarch Cyriacus of Constantinople to establish himself as "universal bishop". Boniface III was buried in Old St. Peter's Basilica, Rome, on 12 November 607. References Ekonomou, Andrew J. 2007. Byzantine Rome and the Greek Popes: Eastern influences on Rome and the papacy from Gregory the Great to Zacharias, A.D. 590–752. Lexington Books. Greek popes 607 deaths Boniface 03 Diplomats of the Holy See Papal Apocrisiarii to Constantinople Popes of the Byzantine Papacy Boniface 03 Boniface 03 Year of birth unknown 7th-century popes Burials at St. Peter's Basilica