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The Threatened Series - 22 My one appearance on the stage, in a school play, was as Zeno the Isaurian, the Eastern Emperor (450-91). "His life was a tissue of treachery and violence, and his reign a succession of disastrous wars against his relations and ministers, and against the Ostrogoths" (ODCC). I would of course have turned down the part if I had known this at the time. He found it necessary to make concessions to the Monophysites, and accordingly put forward an Edict of Unity, the 'Henotikon' in 482. This was the work of Acacius, Patriarch of Constantinople, and Peter Mongo, Patriarch of Alexandria. You can find the text in Bettenson, "Documents of the Christian Church" pp. 123-126. It reaffirmed the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed, accepted the 'Twelve Anathemas' of Cyril of Alexandria, and anathematized both Nestorius and Eutyches. So far so good. However, it made no mention of the number of natures in Christ, appeared to disclaim the Council of Chalcedon, and failed to mention the Tome of Leo. It was widely accepted in the East, but cut no ice in the West, and in fact was the occasion of the first schism between East and West, the "Acacian Schism" (482-519). Despite the attempts of Acacius' successors, Flavitas (490) and Euphemius (490-6), it was not healed until the accession of the Emperor Justin (518). It is curious that so many Theology students study the development of Christian doctrine only as far as Chalcedon, AD 451, as though that completed all there was to be said about the principal theological doctrines. In fact Chalcedon finished nothing; it took another Ecumenical Council (two, actually) to tidy up the mess it caused. Oriens. ____________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.co.uk address at http://mail.yahoo.co.uk or your free @yahoo.ie address at http://mail.yahoo.ie %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%