Vitalian tried to resolve the dispute and had a conciliatory relationship with Emperor Constans II, who visited him in Rome and gave him gifts.

[2] Like Eugene, Vitalian tried to restore the connection with Constantinople by making friendly advances to Emperor Constans II and to prepare the way for the settlement of the Monothelite controversy.

The emperor confirmed the privileges of the Holy See as head of the Church in the West and sent to Rome a codex of the Gospels in a cover of gold richly ornamented with precious stones as a good-will gesture.

The following Sunday, Constans went in state to St. Peter's, offered a pallium wrought with gold, and was present during the Mass celebrated by the pope.

[5] Pope Vitalian was successful in improving relations with England, where the Anglo-Saxon and British clergies were divided regarding various ecclesiastical customs.

At the Synod of Whitby, King Oswy of Northumbria accepted Roman practices regarding the keeping of Easter and the shape of the tonsure.

[6] Vitalian sent a highly educated monk, Theodore of Tarsus, who understood both Latin and Greek, to be archbishop of Canterbury.

When Pope Vitalian called upon him to justify his theological views, Maurus refused to obey and declared himself independent of Rome, initiating a schism.

He escaped, however, and went to Rome, where Vitalian held a synod in December 667 to investigate the matter and pronounced John guiltless.