Pope Hormisdas
Encyclopedia
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. His efforts to resolve this schism was successful, and on 28 March, 519, the reunion of the Greek Church with Rome was ratified in the cathedral of Constantinople before a large crowd.
Jeffrey Richards explains Hormisdas' Persian
name as probably in honor of an exiled Persian noble, Hormizd
, "celebrated in the Roman martyrology
(8 August) but not so honoured in the East." The names of his father and son suggest he had an otherwise "straightforward Italian pedigree."
, Campagna di Roma
, Italy
. Before becoming a Roman
deacon
, Hormisdas was married, and his son became pope under the name of Silverius
. During the Laurentian schism
, Hormisdas was one of the most prominent clerical partisans of Pope Symmachus
. He was notary at the synod held at St. Peter's in 502. Two letters of Magnus Felix Ennodius
, bishop of Pavia, survive addressed to him, written when the latter tried to regain horses and money he had lent the pope
Unlike his predecessor Symmachus, his election lacked any notable controversies. Upon becoming Pope, one of Hormisdas's first actions was to remove the last vestiges of the schism in Rome, receiving back into the Church those adherents of the Laurentian party who had not already been reconciled. "The schism had lingered on largely out of personal hatred to Symmachus," writes Jeffrey Richards, "something with which Hormisdas was apparently not tainted."
The account of his tenure in the Liber Pontificalis
, as well as the overwhelming bulk of his surviving correspondence, is dominated by efforts to restore communion between the sees of Rome and Constantinople, caused by the Acacian schism
. This schism was the consequence of the "Henoticon" of the Emperor Zeno and supported by his successor Anastasius
, who became more and more inclined towards Monophysitism
, and persecuted those bishops who refused to repudiate the Council of Chalcedon
.
The emperor Anastasius took the first steps to resolve this schism pressured by Vitalian
, the commander of the imperial cavalry, who, having taken up the cause of orthodoxy, led Thracia
, Scythia Minor
, and Mysia
to revolt, and marched with an army of Huns and Bulgarians to the gates of Constantinople. Richards points out that there would bound to be some tentative efforts from Constantinople, "if only because there was a new man on the throne of St. Peter. Relations between Symmachus and the emperor Anastasius had been virtually non-existent".
Anastasius wrote to Hormisdas on 28 December 514, inviting him to a synod that would be held 1 July of the following year. A second, less courteous invitation, dated 12 January 515, was also sent by Anastasius to the pope, which reached Rome before the first. On 4 April Hormisdas answered, expressing his delight at the prospect of peace, but at the same time defending the position of his predecessors, and welcoming a synod but believing it unnecessary. The bearers of the emperor's first letter at last reached Rome 14 May. The pope guardedly carried on negotiations, convened a synod at Rome and wrote to the emperor 8 July, announcing the departure of an embassy for Constantinople. Meanwhile the two hundred bishops who had assembled on 1 July at Heraclea
, separated without accomplishing anything.
The pope's embassy to the imperial court consisted of two bishops, Ennodius of Pavia and Fortunatus of Catina, the priest Venantius, the deacon Vitalis, and the notary Hilarius. According to Rev. J. Barmby, Hormisdas made several demands: (1) The emperor should publicly announce his acceptance of the council of Chalcedon and the letters of Pope Leo
; (2) the Eastern bishops should make a similar public declaration, and in addition anathematize Nestorius, Eutyches, Dioscorus, Aelurus, Peter Mongus, Peter the Fuller, and Acacius, with all their followers; (3) everyone exiled in this dispute should be recalled and their cases reserved for the judgment of the apostolic see; (4) those exiles who had been in communion with Rome and professed Catholicism
should first be recalled; and (5) bishops accused of having persecuted the orthodox should be sent to Rome to be judged. "Thus the emperor proposed a free discussion in council; the pope required the unqualified acceptance of orthodoxy, and submission to himself as head of Christendom, before he would treat at all."
An imperial embassy of two high civil officials, came to Rome bringing one letter dated 16 July 516, for the pope, and one dated 28 July for the Roman Senate; the aim of the latter was to convince the senators to take a stand against Hormisdas. However both the senate, as well as King Theodoric, stayed loyal to the pope. Meanwhile Hormisdas reported to Avitus of Vienne
that an additional number of Balkan bishops had entered into relations with Rome, and bishop John of Nicopolis, who was also the archbishop of Epirus
, had broken communion with Constantinople and resumed it with Rome.
A second papal embassy consisting of Ennodius and Bishop Peregrinus of Misenum was as unsuccessful as the first. Anastasius even attempted to bribe the legates, but was unsuccessful. Secure now that Vitalian had been defeated outside Constantinople, forced into hiding, and his supporters executed, Anastasius announced on 11 July 517 that he was breaking off the negotiations. But less than a year later the emperor died; the Liber Pontificalis claims he was struck dead by a thunderbolt. His successor, the Catholic Justin I
, immediately reversed Anastasius' policies. All the demands of Pope Hormisdas were granted: the name of the condemned Patriarch Acacius as well as the names of the Emperors Anastasius and Zeno were stricken from the church diptychs, and the Patriarch John II
accepted the formula of Hormisdas. On 28 March, 519, in the cathedral of Constantinople in presence of a great throng of people, the end of the schism was concluded in a solemn ceremony.
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
from July 20, 514 to 523. His papacy was dominated by 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...
, started in 484 by Acacius of Constantinople's efforts to placate the Monophysites. His efforts to resolve this schism was successful, and on 28 March, 519, the reunion of the Greek Church with Rome was ratified in the cathedral of Constantinople before a large crowd.
Jeffrey Richards explains Hormisdas' Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
name as probably in honor of an exiled Persian noble, Hormizd
Hormizd
Hormizd may refer to:Any of the several kings of the Sassanid dynasty of Persia:*Hormizd I of Persia *Hormizd II of Persia *Hormizd III of Persia *Hormizd IV of Persia...
, "celebrated in the Roman martyrology
Roman Martyrology
The Roman Martyrology is the official martyrology of the Roman Rite of the Roman Catholic Church. It provides an extensive but not exhaustive list of the saints recognized by the Church.-History:...
(8 August) but not so honoured in the East." The names of his father and son suggest he had an otherwise "straightforward Italian pedigree."
Life
He was born at FrosinoneFrosinone
Frosinone is a town and comune in Lazio, central Italy, the administrative seat of the Province of Frosinone. It is located about 75 km south-east of Rome close to the Rome-Naples Autostrada A1...
, Campagna di Roma
Campagna Di Roma
The Roman Campagna , or just Campagna, is a low-lying area surrounding Rome in the Lazio region of central Italy, with an area of approximately ....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Before becoming a Roman
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...
deacon
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
, Hormisdas was married, and his son became pope under the name of Silverius
Pope Silverius
Pope Saint Silverius was Pope from June 8, 536 until March 537. According to the "New Catholic Encyclopedia" , the dates of Pope Silverius' pontificate are in doubt: "June 1 or 8, 536, to c. November 11, 537; d. Palmaria, probably December 2, 537."...
. During the Laurentian schism
Antipope Laurentius
Laurentius was an antipope of the Roman Catholic Church, from 498 to 506.-Biography:Archpriest of Santa Prassede, Laurentius was elected pope on 22 November 498, in opposition to Symmachus, by a dissenting faction...
, Hormisdas was one of the most prominent clerical partisans of Pope Symmachus
Pope Symmachus
Saint Symmachus was pope from 498 to 514. His tenure was marked by a serious schism over who was legitimately elected pope by the citizens of Rome....
. He was notary at the synod held at St. Peter's in 502. Two letters of Magnus Felix Ennodius
Magnus Felix Ennodius
Magnus Felix Ennodius was Bishop of Pavia in 514, and a Latin rhetorician and poet.He was one of four fifth to sixth-century Gallo-Roman aristocrats whose letters survive in quantity: the others are Sidonius Apollinaris, prefect of Rome in 468 and bishop of Clermont , Ruricius bishop of Limoges ...
, bishop of Pavia, survive addressed to him, written when the latter tried to regain horses and money he had lent the pope
Unlike his predecessor Symmachus, his election lacked any notable controversies. Upon becoming Pope, one of Hormisdas's first actions was to remove the last vestiges of the schism in Rome, receiving back into the Church those adherents of the Laurentian party who had not already been reconciled. "The schism had lingered on largely out of personal hatred to Symmachus," writes Jeffrey Richards, "something with which Hormisdas was apparently not tainted."
The account of his tenure in the Liber Pontificalis
Liber Pontificalis
The Liber Pontificalis is a book of biographies of popes from Saint Peter until the 15th century. The original publication of the Liber Pontificalis stopped with Pope Adrian II or Pope Stephen V , but it was later supplemented in a different style until Pope Eugene IV and then Pope Pius II...
, as well as the overwhelming bulk of his surviving correspondence, is dominated by efforts to restore communion between the sees of Rome and Constantinople, caused by 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...
. This schism was the consequence of the "Henoticon" of the Emperor Zeno and supported by his successor Anastasius
Anastasius I (emperor)
Anastasius I was Byzantine Emperor from 491 to 518. During his reign the Roman eastern frontier underwent extensive re-fortification, including the construction of Dara, a stronghold intended to counter the Persian fortress of Nisibis....
, who became more and more inclined towards Monophysitism
Monophysitism
Monophysitism , or Monophysiticism, is the Christological position that Jesus Christ has only one nature, his humanity being absorbed by his Deity...
, and persecuted those bishops who refused to repudiate 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...
.
The emperor Anastasius took the first steps to resolve this schism pressured by Vitalian
Vitalian (general)
Vitalian was an East Roman general. Rebelling in 513 against Emperor Anastasius I, he won over large parts of the army and people of Thrace. Successive rapprochements with Anastasius failed, and the revolt continued until it was finally defeated in 515. Vitalian then went into hiding until...
, the commander of the imperial cavalry, who, having taken up the cause of orthodoxy, led Thracia
Thracia
Thracia is a Web-Based computer game created and developed by an exclusively Romanian team, part of Infotrend Consulting, and launched in 2009. At the time, it was the first endeavor of its kind. All browser games were text based, made up mostly of static content...
, Scythia Minor
Scythia Minor
Scythia Minor, "Lesser Scythia" was in ancient times the region surrounded by the Danube at the north and west and the Black Sea at the east, corresponding to today's Dobruja, with a part in Romania and a part in Bulgaria....
, and Mysia
Mysia
Mysia was a region in the northwest of ancient Asia Minor or Anatolia . It was located on the south coast of the Sea of Marmara. It was bounded by Bithynia on the east, Phrygia on the southeast, Lydia on the south, Aeolis on the southwest, Troad on the west and by the Propontis on the north...
to revolt, and marched with an army of Huns and Bulgarians to the gates of Constantinople. Richards points out that there would bound to be some tentative efforts from Constantinople, "if only because there was a new man on the throne of St. Peter. Relations between Symmachus and the emperor Anastasius had been virtually non-existent".
Anastasius wrote to Hormisdas on 28 December 514, inviting him to a synod that would be held 1 July of the following year. A second, less courteous invitation, dated 12 January 515, was also sent by Anastasius to the pope, which reached Rome before the first. On 4 April Hormisdas answered, expressing his delight at the prospect of peace, but at the same time defending the position of his predecessors, and welcoming a synod but believing it unnecessary. The bearers of the emperor's first letter at last reached Rome 14 May. The pope guardedly carried on negotiations, convened a synod at Rome and wrote to the emperor 8 July, announcing the departure of an embassy for Constantinople. Meanwhile the two hundred bishops who had assembled on 1 July at Heraclea
Heraclea
-Ancient cities:* Heraclea Cybistra, Konya Province, Turkey* Heracleia by Latmus, near Lake Bafa, Turkey* Heraclea Lucania, Lucanian district of southern Italy...
, separated without accomplishing anything.
The pope's embassy to the imperial court consisted of two bishops, Ennodius of Pavia and Fortunatus of Catina, the priest Venantius, the deacon Vitalis, and the notary Hilarius. According to Rev. J. Barmby, Hormisdas made several demands: (1) The emperor should publicly announce his acceptance of the council of Chalcedon and the letters of Pope Leo
Pope Leo
Pope Leo was the name of thirteen Roman Catholic Popes:*Pope Leo I Leo the Great *Pope Leo II *Pope Leo III *Pope Leo IV *Pope Leo V *Pope Leo VI *Pope Leo VII *Pope Leo VIII...
; (2) the Eastern bishops should make a similar public declaration, and in addition anathematize Nestorius, Eutyches, Dioscorus, Aelurus, Peter Mongus, Peter the Fuller, and Acacius, with all their followers; (3) everyone exiled in this dispute should be recalled and their cases reserved for the judgment of the apostolic see; (4) those exiles who had been in communion with Rome and professed Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
should first be recalled; and (5) bishops accused of having persecuted the orthodox should be sent to Rome to be judged. "Thus the emperor proposed a free discussion in council; the pope required the unqualified acceptance of orthodoxy, and submission to himself as head of Christendom, before he would treat at all."
An imperial embassy of two high civil officials, came to Rome bringing one letter dated 16 July 516, for the pope, and one dated 28 July for the Roman Senate; the aim of the latter was to convince the senators to take a stand against Hormisdas. However both the senate, as well as King Theodoric, stayed loyal to the pope. Meanwhile Hormisdas reported to Avitus of Vienne
Avitus of Vienne
Alcimus Ecdicius Avitus was a Latin poet and archbishop of Vienne in Gaul.Avitus was born of a prominent Gallo-Roman senatorial family in the kinship of Emperor Avitus.-Life:...
that an additional number of Balkan bishops had entered into relations with Rome, and bishop John of Nicopolis, who was also the archbishop of Epirus
Epirus
The name Epirus, from the Greek "Ήπειρος" meaning continent may refer to:-Geographical:* Epirus - a historical and geographical region of the southwestern Balkans, straddling modern Greece and Albania...
, had broken communion with Constantinople and resumed it with Rome.
A second papal embassy consisting of Ennodius and Bishop Peregrinus of Misenum was as unsuccessful as the first. Anastasius even attempted to bribe the legates, but was unsuccessful. Secure now that Vitalian had been defeated outside Constantinople, forced into hiding, and his supporters executed, Anastasius announced on 11 July 517 that he was breaking off the negotiations. But less than a year later the emperor died; the Liber Pontificalis claims he was struck dead by a thunderbolt. His successor, the Catholic 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...
, immediately reversed Anastasius' policies. All the demands of Pope Hormisdas were granted: the name of the condemned Patriarch Acacius as well as the names of the Emperors Anastasius and Zeno were stricken from the church diptychs, and the Patriarch John II
John of Cappadocia
John II, surnamed Cappadox or the Cappadocian, was Patriarch of Constantinople in 518-520, during the reign of Byzantine emperor Anastasius I after an enforced condemnation of the Council of Chalcedon. His short patriarchate is memorable for the celebrated Acclamations of Constantinople, and the...
accepted the formula of Hormisdas. On 28 March, 519, in the cathedral of Constantinople in presence of a great throng of people, the end of the schism was concluded in a solemn ceremony.