Patriarch Acacius of Constantinople
Encyclopedia
Acacius was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 471 to 489. Acacius was practically the first prelate
throughout the Eastern Orthodoxy and renowned for ambitious participation in the Chalcedonian controversy.
Acacius advised the Byzantine emperor Zeno
to issue the Henotikon
edict in 482, in which Nestorius
and Eutyches
were condemned, the twelve chapters of Cyril of Alexandria
accepted, and the Chalcedon
Definition ignored. This effort to shelve the dispute over the orthodoxy of the Council of Chalcedon
was quite in vain. Pope Felix III
saw the prestige of his see involved in this slighting of Chalcedon and his predecessor Leo’s epistle. He condemned and deposed Acacius, a proceeding which the latter regarded with contempt, but which involved a schism between the two sees that lasted after Acacius’s death. The Acacian schism
lasted through the long and troubled reign of the Byzantine emperor Anastasius I, and was only healed by Justin I
under Pope Hormisdas
in 519.
The Coptic Orthodox Church celebrates The Departure of St. Acacius, Patriarch of Constantinople on the 30th of the Coptic month of Hatour.
, which he administered with conspicuous success. Suidas further describes Acacius as possessing an undoubtedly striking personality of making the most of his opportunities. He seems to have affected an engaging magnificence of manner; was openhanded; suave, yet noble, in demeanour; courtly in speech, and fond of a certain ecclesiastical display.
His abilities attracted the notice of the Roman emperor
Leo I, over whom he obtained great influence by the arts of an accomplished courtier, which led to his succession to the seat of Patriarch on the death of the Gennadius in 471. The first five or six years of his episcopate were uneventful enough. Soon he involved in controversies, which lasted throughout his patriarchate, and ended in a schism
of thirty-five years between the churches of the East and West.
On the one side he laboured to restore unity to Eastern Orthodoxy, which was distracted by the varieties of opinion to which the Eutychian debates
had given rise; and on the other to magnify the authority of his see
by asserting its independence of Rome, and extending its influence over Alexandria
and Antioch
. In both respects he appears to have acted more in the spirit of a statesman than of a theologian; and in this relation the personal traits of liberality, courtliness, and ostentation, noticed by Suidas, are of worthy importance.
. In conjunction with a Stylite monk, Daniel the Stylite
, he placed himself at the head of the opposition to the usurped emperor Basiliscus
. Timothy Aelerus
, the Non-Chalcedonian patriarch of Alexandria under Basiliscus' protection since 476, had already induced Basiliscus to put forth an encyclical or imperial proclamation (egkyklios) condemning the teaching of the council of Chalcedon
. Acacius himself seems to have hesitated at first about adding his name to the list of the Asiatic bishops who had already signed the encyclical; but, warned by a letter from Pope Simplicius, who had learned of his questionable attitude from the ever-vigilant monastic party, he reconsidered his position and threw himself violently into the debate. This sudden change of front redeemed him in popular estimation, and he won the regard of the Chalcedonian party, particularly among the various monastic communities throughout the East, by his now ostentatious concern for sound doctrine. Even Pope Simplicius wrote him a letter of commendation.
The chief circumstance to which Acacius owed this sudden wave of popularity was the adroitness with which he succeeded in putting himself at the head of the particular movement of which Daniel the Stylite was both the coryphaeus and the true inspirer. The agitation was, of course, a spontaneous one on the part of its monastic promoters and of the populace at large, who sincerely detested Eutychian theories of the Incarnation; but it may be doubted whether Acacius, either in Chalcedonian opposition now, or in efforts at compromise later on, was anything profounder than a politician seeking to compass his own personal ends. Of theological principles he seems never to have had a consistent grasp. He had the soul of a gamester, and he played only for influence. Basiliscus was beaten.
Basiliscus withdrew his offensive encyclical by a counter-proclamation, but his surrender did not save him. In the meantime the emperor Zeno
, a fugitive up to the time of the Acacian opposition, reclaimed the throne which he had lost; and Basiliscus, after abject and vain concessions to the ecclesiastical power, was given up to him (as tradition says) by Acacias, after he had taken sanctuary in his church in 477. At this moment the relations between Zeno, Acacius, and Simplicius appear to have been amicable. They agreed on the necessity of taking vigorous measures to affirm the decrees of the council of Chalcedon, and for a time acted in concert.
, and thus exceeded the proper limits of his jurisdiction. However, Pope Simplicius admitted the appointment on the plea of necessity.
Trouble soon broke out of all dimensions when the Non-Chalcedonian party of Alexandria attempted to force Peter Mongus
into that see
against John Talaia in 482. Simplicus protested against Peter Mongus's appointment as patriarch, because of his role in the Non-Chalcedonian party of Alexandria, siding with John Talaia.
Both aspirants lay open to grave objections. Mongus was, or at least had been, Non-Chalcedonian; John Talaia was bound by a solemn promise to the Emperor not to seek or (as it appears) accept the Patriarchate. Talaia at once sought and obtained the support of Simplicius, and slighted Acacius. Mongus represented to Acacius that he was able, if confirmed in his post, to heal the divisions caused by the dispute.
This time events gave Acacius the opportunity he seems to have been long waiting for — to claim a primacy of honour and jurisdiction over the entire East, which would emancipate the bishops of the capital not only from all responsibility to the sees of Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, but to the Roman Pontiff as well. Acacius, who had now fully ingratiated himself with Zeno, suggested the emperor to take sides with Mongus in spite of the vehement opposition of Simplicius. Acacius counteracted by sending envoys to discuss the terms of reunion for all churches of the East.
as the Henotikon
, was originally directed to the irreconcilable factions in Egypt. It was a plea for reunion on a basis of reticence and compromise. And under this aspect it suggests a significant comparison with another and better known set of "articles" composed nearly eleven centuries later, when the leaders of the Anglican schism
were threading a careful way between the extremes of Roman teaching on the one side and of Lutheran
and Calvinistic
negations on the other.
The Henotikon edict in 482 affirmed the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed (i.e. the Creed of Nicaea completed at Constantinople
) as affording a common, final and united symbol or expression of faith. All other symbola or mathemata were excluded; Eutyches
and Nestorius
were unmistakably condemned in an anathema
, while the twelve chapters of Cyril of Alexandria
were accepted. The teaching of Chalcedon was not so much repudiated as passed over in silence; Jesus Christ was described as the "only-begotten Son of God … one and not two" and there was no explicit reference to the two natures.
Peter Mongus naturally accepted the Henoticon and was hence confirmed in his see. John Talaia refused to subscribe to it and retired to Rome (482-483), where his cause was taken up with great vigour by letters of Pope Simplicius urging Acacius to check the progress of heresy
elsewhere and at Alexandria
. The letters were futile, and Simplicius died soon afterwards.
His successor, Pope Felix III
zealously espoused the cause of Talaia and despatched two bishops, Vitalis and Misenus, to Constantinople with letters to Zeno and Acacius, demanding that the latter should repair to Rome to answer the charges brought against him by Talaia (Felix, Epp. 1, 2). The mission utterly failed. Vitalis and Misenus were induced to communicate publicly with Acacius and the representatives of Mongus, and returned embarrassingly to Italy in 484.
On their arrival at Rome
an indignant synod
was held. They were themselves deposed and excommunicated; a new anathema was issued against Mongus, and Acacius was irrevocably excommunicated for his connection with Mongus, for exceeding the limits of his jurisdiction, and for refusing to answer at Rome the accusations of Talaia; but no direct heretical opinion was proved or urged against him. Acacius was branded by Pope Felix as one who had sinned against the Holy Spirit and apostolic authority (Habe ergo cum his … portionem S. Spiritus judicio et apostolica auctoritate damnatus); and he was declared to be perpetually excommunicated (nunquamque anathematis vinculis exuendus).
Felix communicated the sentence to Acacias, and at the same time wrote to Zeno, and to the church at Constantinople, charging every one, under pain of excommunication
, to separate from the deposed patriarch. Another envoy
, named Tutus, was sent to carry the decree
of this double excommunication to Acacius in person. Acacius refused to accept the documents brought by Tutus and showed his sense of the authority of the Roman See, and of the synod which had condemned him, by erasing the name of Pope Felix from the diptychs. For the rest, the threats of Felix produced no practical effect. The Eastern Christians, with very few exceptions, remained in communion with Acacias.
Talaia equivalently gave up the fight by consenting to become Bishop of Nola
; and Zeno and Acacius took active measures to obtain the general acceptance of the Henoticon throughout the East. According to some (and probably biased) sources, Acacius began a brutal policy of violence and persecution, directed chiefly against his old opponents the monks, to work with Zeno for the general adoption of the Henoticon. The condemnation of Acacius, which had been made in the name of the Pope, was repeated in the name of the council of Chalcedon, and the schism was complete in 485. Acacius took no heed of the sentence up to his death in 489, which was followed by that of Mongus in 490, and of Zeno in 491.
Fravitas (Flavitas, Flavianus), his successor, during a very short patriarchate, entered on negotiations with Felix, which resulted in nothing. The policy of Acacius broke down when he was no longer able to animate it. In a few years all his labour was undone. The Henoticon failed to restore unity to the East, and in 519 the Byzantine emperor Justin I
submitted to Pope Hormisdas
, and the condemnation of Acacius was recognized by the church of Constantinople.
Prelate
A prelate is a high-ranking member of the clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin prælatus, the past participle of præferre, which means "carry before", "be set above or over" or "prefer"; hence, a prelate is one set over others.-Related...
throughout the Eastern Orthodoxy and renowned for ambitious participation in the Chalcedonian controversy.
Acacius advised the Byzantine emperor Zeno
Zeno (emperor)
Zeno , originally named Tarasis, was Byzantine Emperor from 474 to 475 and again from 476 to 491. Domestic revolts and religious dissension plagued his reign, which nevertheless succeeded to some extent in foreign issues...
to issue the Henotikon
Henotikon
The Henotikon was issued by Byzantine emperor Zeno in 482, in an unsuccessful attempt to reconcile the differences between the supporters of the Council of Chalcedon and the miaphysites...
edict in 482, in which Nestorius
Nestorius
Nestorius was Archbishop of Constantinople from 10 April 428 to 22 June 431.Drawing on his studies at the School of Antioch, his teachings, which included a rejection of the long-used title of Theotokos for the Virgin Mary, brought him into conflict with other prominent churchmen of the time,...
and Eutyches
Eutyches
Eutyches was a presbyter and archimandrite at Constantinople. He first came to notice in 431 at the First Council of Ephesus, for his vehement opposition to the teachings of Nestorius; his condemnation of Nestorianism as heresy precipitated his being denounced as a heretic...
were condemned, the twelve chapters of Cyril of Alexandria
Cyril of Alexandria
Cyril of Alexandria was the Patriarch of Alexandria from 412 to 444. He came to power when the city was at its height of influence and power within the Roman Empire. Cyril wrote extensively and was a leading protagonist in the Christological controversies of the later 4th and 5th centuries...
accepted, and the Chalcedon
Chalcedon
Chalcedon , sometimes transliterated as Chalkedon) was an ancient maritime town of Bithynia, in Asia Minor, almost directly opposite Byzantium, south of Scutari . It is now a district of the city of Istanbul named Kadıköy...
Definition ignored. This effort to shelve the dispute over the orthodoxy of the Council of Chalcedon
Council of Chalcedon
The Council of Chalcedon was a church council held from 8 October to 1 November, 451 AD, at Chalcedon , on the Asian side of the Bosporus. The council marked a significant turning point in the Christological debates that led to the separation of the church of the Eastern Roman Empire in the 5th...
was quite in vain. Pope Felix III
Pope Felix III
Pope Saint Felix III was pope from March 13, 483 to january 3, 492. His repudiation of the Henoticon is considered the beginning of the Acacian schism.-Biography:...
saw the prestige of his see involved in this slighting of Chalcedon and his predecessor Leo’s epistle. He condemned and deposed Acacius, a proceeding which the latter regarded with contempt, but which involved a schism between the two sees that lasted after Acacius’s death. The Acacian schism
Acacian schism
The Acacian schism between the Eastern and Western Christian Churches lasted thirty-five years, from 484-519. It resulted from a drift in the leaders of Eastern Christianity toward Monophysitism, and Emperor Zeno's unsuccessful attempt to reconcile the parties with the Henotikon.-Chronology:In the...
lasted through the long and troubled reign of the Byzantine emperor Anastasius I, and was only healed by Justin I
Justin I
Justin I was Byzantine Emperor from 518 to 527. He rose through the ranks of the army and ultimately became its Emperor, in spite of the fact he was illiterate and almost 70 years old at the time of accession...
under Pope Hormisdas
Pope Hormisdas
Pope Saint Hormisdas was Pope from July 20, 514 to 523. His papacy was dominated by the Acacian schism, started in 484 by Acacius of Constantinople's efforts to placate the Monophysites...
in 519.
The Coptic Orthodox Church celebrates The Departure of St. Acacius, Patriarch of Constantinople on the 30th of the Coptic month of Hatour.
Early life and episcopate
Acacius first appearers in authentic history as the orphanotrophos, or an official entrusted with the care of the orphans, in the Church of ConstantinopleConstantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
, which he administered with conspicuous success. Suidas further describes Acacius as possessing an undoubtedly striking personality of making the most of his opportunities. He seems to have affected an engaging magnificence of manner; was openhanded; suave, yet noble, in demeanour; courtly in speech, and fond of a certain ecclesiastical display.
His abilities attracted the notice of the Roman emperor
Roman Emperor
The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...
Leo I, over whom he obtained great influence by the arts of an accomplished courtier, which led to his succession to the seat of Patriarch on the death of the Gennadius in 471. The first five or six years of his episcopate were uneventful enough. Soon he involved in controversies, which lasted throughout his patriarchate, and ended in a schism
Schism (religion)
A schism , from Greek σχίσμα, skhísma , is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization or movement religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a break of communion between two sections of Christianity that were previously a single body, or to a division within...
of thirty-five years between the churches of the East and West.
On the one side he laboured to restore unity to Eastern Orthodoxy, which was distracted by the varieties of opinion to which the Eutychian debates
Eutychius
Eutychius was the last Exarch of Ravenna .The exarchate had risen in revolt in 727 at the imposition of iconoclasm; the Exarch Paul lost his life attempting to quash the revolt. In response, Emperor Leo III sent the patrician Eutychius to take control of the situation. Eutychius landed in Naples,...
had given rise; and on the other to magnify the authority of his see
Episcopal See
An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
by asserting its independence of Rome, and extending its influence over Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
and Antioch
Antioch
Antioch on the Orontes was an ancient city on the eastern side of the Orontes River. It is near the modern city of Antakya, Turkey.Founded near the end of the 4th century BC by Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander the Great's generals, Antioch eventually rivaled Alexandria as the chief city of the...
. In both respects he appears to have acted more in the spirit of a statesman than of a theologian; and in this relation the personal traits of liberality, courtliness, and ostentation, noticed by Suidas, are of worthy importance.
Allied opposition against Basilicus and Timothy Aelerus
The opposition was the first important measures earning Acacius the enthusiastic popular support and praise of Pope SimpliciusPope Simplicius
Pope Saint Simplicius was Pope from 468 to March 10, 483.He was born in Tivoli, Italy, the son of a citizen named Castinus. Most of what is known of him is derived from the Liber Pontificalis....
. In conjunction with a Stylite monk, Daniel the Stylite
Daniel the Stylite
Saint Daniel the Stylite is a saint of the Eastern Orthodox, and Roman Catholic and Eastern Catholic Churches. He was born in a village by the name of Maratha in upper Mesopotamia near Samosata, in today what is now a region of Turkey. He entered a monastery at the age of twelve and lived there...
, he placed himself at the head of the opposition to the usurped emperor Basiliscus
Basiliscus
Basiliscus was Eastern Roman Emperor from 475 to 476. A member of the House of Leo, he came to power when Emperor Zeno had been forced out of Constantinople by a revolt....
. Timothy Aelerus
Pope Timothy II of Alexandria
Pope Timothy II of Alexandria , also known as Αἴλουρος/Aelurus , succeeded twice in supplanting the Chalcedonian Patriarch of Alexandria....
, the Non-Chalcedonian patriarch of Alexandria under Basiliscus' protection since 476, had already induced Basiliscus to put forth an encyclical or imperial proclamation (egkyklios) condemning the teaching of the council of Chalcedon
Council of Chalcedon
The Council of Chalcedon was a church council held from 8 October to 1 November, 451 AD, at Chalcedon , on the Asian side of the Bosporus. The council marked a significant turning point in the Christological debates that led to the separation of the church of the Eastern Roman Empire in the 5th...
. Acacius himself seems to have hesitated at first about adding his name to the list of the Asiatic bishops who had already signed the encyclical; but, warned by a letter from Pope Simplicius, who had learned of his questionable attitude from the ever-vigilant monastic party, he reconsidered his position and threw himself violently into the debate. This sudden change of front redeemed him in popular estimation, and he won the regard of the Chalcedonian party, particularly among the various monastic communities throughout the East, by his now ostentatious concern for sound doctrine. Even Pope Simplicius wrote him a letter of commendation.
The chief circumstance to which Acacius owed this sudden wave of popularity was the adroitness with which he succeeded in putting himself at the head of the particular movement of which Daniel the Stylite was both the coryphaeus and the true inspirer. The agitation was, of course, a spontaneous one on the part of its monastic promoters and of the populace at large, who sincerely detested Eutychian theories of the Incarnation; but it may be doubted whether Acacius, either in Chalcedonian opposition now, or in efforts at compromise later on, was anything profounder than a politician seeking to compass his own personal ends. Of theological principles he seems never to have had a consistent grasp. He had the soul of a gamester, and he played only for influence. Basiliscus was beaten.
Basiliscus withdrew his offensive encyclical by a counter-proclamation, but his surrender did not save him. In the meantime the emperor Zeno
Zeno (emperor)
Zeno , originally named Tarasis, was Byzantine Emperor from 474 to 475 and again from 476 to 491. Domestic revolts and religious dissension plagued his reign, which nevertheless succeeded to some extent in foreign issues...
, a fugitive up to the time of the Acacian opposition, reclaimed the throne which he had lost; and Basiliscus, after abject and vain concessions to the ecclesiastical power, was given up to him (as tradition says) by Acacias, after he had taken sanctuary in his church in 477. At this moment the relations between Zeno, Acacius, and Simplicius appear to have been amicable. They agreed on the necessity of taking vigorous measures to affirm the decrees of the council of Chalcedon, and for a time acted in concert.
Disputes over Peter Mongus and John Talaia
In 479 Acacias consecrated a Patriarch of AntiochPatriarch of Antioch
Patriarch of Antioch is a traditional title held by the Bishop of Antioch. As the traditional "overseer" of the first gentile Christian community, the position has been of prime importance in the church from its earliest period...
, and thus exceeded the proper limits of his jurisdiction. However, Pope Simplicius admitted the appointment on the plea of necessity.
Trouble soon broke out of all dimensions when the Non-Chalcedonian party of Alexandria attempted to force Peter Mongus
Pope Peter III of Alexandria
Pope Peter III of Alexandria , also known as Mongus , was Coptic Pope from 477 until his death and after 482 also recognized as Patriarch of Alexandria by the Eastern Orthodox Church.-Biography:...
into that see
Patriarch of Alexandria
The Patriarch of Alexandria is the Archbishop of Alexandria and Cairo, Egypt. Historically, this office has included the designation of Pope , and did so earlier than that of the Bishop of Rome...
against John Talaia in 482. Simplicus protested against Peter Mongus's appointment as patriarch, because of his role in the Non-Chalcedonian party of Alexandria, siding with John Talaia.
Both aspirants lay open to grave objections. Mongus was, or at least had been, Non-Chalcedonian; John Talaia was bound by a solemn promise to the Emperor not to seek or (as it appears) accept the Patriarchate. Talaia at once sought and obtained the support of Simplicius, and slighted Acacius. Mongus represented to Acacius that he was able, if confirmed in his post, to heal the divisions caused by the dispute.
This time events gave Acacius the opportunity he seems to have been long waiting for — to claim a primacy of honour and jurisdiction over the entire East, which would emancipate the bishops of the capital not only from all responsibility to the sees of Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, but to the Roman Pontiff as well. Acacius, who had now fully ingratiated himself with Zeno, suggested the emperor to take sides with Mongus in spite of the vehement opposition of Simplicius. Acacius counteracted by sending envoys to discuss the terms of reunion for all churches of the East.
Henotikon Edict and the Acacian Schism
Shortly afterwards Acacius drawn up a document, or series of articles, which constituted at once both a creed and an instrument of reunion, as his measure to claim jurisdiction over the entire East. This creed, known to theologyTheology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
as the Henotikon
Henotikon
The Henotikon was issued by Byzantine emperor Zeno in 482, in an unsuccessful attempt to reconcile the differences between the supporters of the Council of Chalcedon and the miaphysites...
, was originally directed to the irreconcilable factions in Egypt. It was a plea for reunion on a basis of reticence and compromise. And under this aspect it suggests a significant comparison with another and better known set of "articles" composed nearly eleven centuries later, when the leaders of the Anglican schism
Schism (religion)
A schism , from Greek σχίσμα, skhísma , is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization or movement religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a break of communion between two sections of Christianity that were previously a single body, or to a division within...
were threading a careful way between the extremes of Roman teaching on the one side and of Lutheran
Martin Luther
Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...
and Calvinistic
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
negations on the other.
The Henotikon edict in 482 affirmed the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed (i.e. the Creed of Nicaea completed at Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
) as affording a common, final and united symbol or expression of faith. All other symbola or mathemata were excluded; Eutyches
Eutyches
Eutyches was a presbyter and archimandrite at Constantinople. He first came to notice in 431 at the First Council of Ephesus, for his vehement opposition to the teachings of Nestorius; his condemnation of Nestorianism as heresy precipitated his being denounced as a heretic...
and Nestorius
Nestorius
Nestorius was Archbishop of Constantinople from 10 April 428 to 22 June 431.Drawing on his studies at the School of Antioch, his teachings, which included a rejection of the long-used title of Theotokos for the Virgin Mary, brought him into conflict with other prominent churchmen of the time,...
were unmistakably condemned in an anathema
Anathema
Anathema originally meant something lifted up as an offering to the gods; it later evolved to mean:...
, while the twelve chapters of Cyril of Alexandria
Cyril of Alexandria
Cyril of Alexandria was the Patriarch of Alexandria from 412 to 444. He came to power when the city was at its height of influence and power within the Roman Empire. Cyril wrote extensively and was a leading protagonist in the Christological controversies of the later 4th and 5th centuries...
were accepted. The teaching of Chalcedon was not so much repudiated as passed over in silence; Jesus Christ was described as the "only-begotten Son of God … one and not two" and there was no explicit reference to the two natures.
Peter Mongus naturally accepted the Henoticon and was hence confirmed in his see. John Talaia refused to subscribe to it and retired to Rome (482-483), where his cause was taken up with great vigour by letters of Pope Simplicius urging Acacius to check the progress of heresy
Heresy
Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...
elsewhere and at Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
. The letters were futile, and Simplicius died soon afterwards.
His successor, Pope Felix III
Pope Felix III
Pope Saint Felix III was pope from March 13, 483 to january 3, 492. His repudiation of the Henoticon is considered the beginning of the Acacian schism.-Biography:...
zealously espoused the cause of Talaia and despatched two bishops, Vitalis and Misenus, to Constantinople with letters to Zeno and Acacius, demanding that the latter should repair to Rome to answer the charges brought against him by Talaia (Felix, Epp. 1, 2). The mission utterly failed. Vitalis and Misenus were induced to communicate publicly with Acacius and the representatives of Mongus, and returned embarrassingly to Italy in 484.
On their arrival at Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
an indignant synod
Synod
A synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not...
was held. They were themselves deposed and excommunicated; a new anathema was issued against Mongus, and Acacius was irrevocably excommunicated for his connection with Mongus, for exceeding the limits of his jurisdiction, and for refusing to answer at Rome the accusations of Talaia; but no direct heretical opinion was proved or urged against him. Acacius was branded by Pope Felix as one who had sinned against the Holy Spirit and apostolic authority (Habe ergo cum his … portionem S. Spiritus judicio et apostolica auctoritate damnatus); and he was declared to be perpetually excommunicated (nunquamque anathematis vinculis exuendus).
Felix communicated the sentence to Acacias, and at the same time wrote to Zeno, and to the church at Constantinople, charging every one, under pain of excommunication
Excommunication
Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive, suspend or limit membership in a religious community. The word means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group...
, to separate from the deposed patriarch. Another envoy
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
, named Tutus, was sent to carry the decree
Decree
A decree is a rule of law issued by a head of state , according to certain procedures . It has the force of law...
of this double excommunication to Acacius in person. Acacius refused to accept the documents brought by Tutus and showed his sense of the authority of the Roman See, and of the synod which had condemned him, by erasing the name of Pope Felix from the diptychs. For the rest, the threats of Felix produced no practical effect. The Eastern Christians, with very few exceptions, remained in communion with Acacias.
Talaia equivalently gave up the fight by consenting to become Bishop of Nola
Bishop of Nola
The Diocese of Nola is a Roman Catholic diocese in Italy, with its seat in the ancient city Nola. The diocese is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Naples....
; and Zeno and Acacius took active measures to obtain the general acceptance of the Henoticon throughout the East. According to some (and probably biased) sources, Acacius began a brutal policy of violence and persecution, directed chiefly against his old opponents the monks, to work with Zeno for the general adoption of the Henoticon. The condemnation of Acacius, which had been made in the name of the Pope, was repeated in the name of the council of Chalcedon, and the schism was complete in 485. Acacius took no heed of the sentence up to his death in 489, which was followed by that of Mongus in 490, and of Zeno in 491.
Fravitas (Flavitas, Flavianus), his successor, during a very short patriarchate, entered on negotiations with Felix, which resulted in nothing. The policy of Acacius broke down when he was no longer able to animate it. In a few years all his labour was undone. The Henoticon failed to restore unity to the East, and in 519 the Byzantine emperor Justin I
Justin I
Justin I was Byzantine Emperor from 518 to 527. He rose through the ranks of the army and ultimately became its Emperor, in spite of the fact he was illiterate and almost 70 years old at the time of accession...
submitted to Pope Hormisdas
Pope Hormisdas
Pope Saint Hormisdas was Pope from July 20, 514 to 523. His papacy was dominated by the Acacian schism, started in 484 by Acacius of Constantinople's efforts to placate the Monophysites...
, and the condemnation of Acacius was recognized by the church of Constantinople.