The Threatened Series - 23
Meanwhile, back at the ranch. El Rancho Grande, no less: Rome.
HILARUS (19 Nov 461 - 29 Feb 468)
Leo the Great, author of the Tome, repulsor of Attila, died in November
461. He was succeeded by his archdeacon, Hilar(i)us. This Hilarus had
been Leo's delegate at the Latrocinium, and had uttered the one word of
manly Latin against the supple suffrages of the servile orientals.
Hilarus had escaped with some difficulty from that council, attributing
his escape to St John the Evangelist, in whose burial-chamber outside
the walls of Ephesus he had hidden himself.
"A man of character and energy, Hilarus took his predecessor as his
model. All that is known of his dealings with the east is as decretal
which he apparently circulated to eastern bishops confirming the
councils of Nicæa (325), Ephesus (431), and Chalcedon (451) and Leo's
Tome, and also condemning heresies and emphasizing the Roman primacy.
If authentic, the object of the decretal was to counter growing
monophysite opposition to Chalcedon."
(J.N.D. Kelly, "The Oxford Dictionary of Popes" [ = ODP] p. 45).
SIMPLICIUS (3 March 468 - 10 March 483)
Simplicius saw the deposition in September 476 of the last western
emperor, Romulus Augustulus, and his replacement by the German (and
furthermore Arian) general Odoacer, who owed theoretical allegiance to
Zeno, the eastern emperor. It was during the reign of Simplicius that
the usurper of the eastern empire, Basiliscus, condemned the
Chalcedonian Christology and Leo's Tome, and allowed monophysites to
take control of the greater sees.
"The restoration of Zeno, however, did not assure Chalcedonian
orthodoxy, for he and Acacius were soon pursuing a policy of
conciliation which found expression in the Henoticon (482), a
superficially innocuous statement which made concessions to
monophysitism. News of these happenings reached Simplicius, often
belatedly, and until 479 his correspondence shows him struggling
unsuccessfully to exert an influence . . . Clearly the holy see did not
count for much with either emperor or patriarch." (ODP p. 46).
FELIX III [ = II] (13 March 483 - 1 March 492.)
The confusion about numbering arises from the inclusion of the antipope
Felix among the list of legitimate popes as Felix II; this one was
therefore known from his accession as Felix III.
"Felix, who relied heavily on his archdeacon (and successor) Gelasius,
was from the start closely involved with the east. News had just
reached Rome of the Henoticon, a compromise doctrinal statement
designed to appease the monophysite opposition to the 'two natures'
Christology approved at Chalcedon (451) which Emperor Zeno (474-91) had
published in 482. A monophysite, Peter Mongos, had been installed as
bishop of Alexandria, and his orthodox but extruded predecessor, John
Talaia, was in Rome full of bitter complaints. Felix dispatched an
embassy to Constantinople with letters to emperor and patriarch . . .
"The embassy proved a fiasco: the legates let themselves be imposed
upon and failed to protest when Acacius included Mongos in the
diptychs, i.e. the names of living and departed publicly prayed for at
mass, thus giving the impression that Rome approved of him and the
Henoticon. On their return the infuriated pope excommunicated both the
lagates and Acacius at a synod held on 28th July 484. He angrily
warned the emperor not to interfere in matters which belonged to the
church's bishops, and sent his sentence of excommunication on Acacius
to Constantinople by a special messenger. Some over-zealous orthodox
monks in the city made it blatantly public by pinning it on to
Acacius's vestments as he was celebrating mass."
(ODP pp. 46-7).
Thus began the Acacian Schism.
And you can see how it continued if you log on tomorrow as the West
Strikes Back.
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
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
|