The Acacian schism, between the Eastern and

Western Christian Western Christianity is one of two sub-divisions of Christianity (Eastern Christianity being the other). Western Christianity is composed of the Latin Church and Western Protestantism, together with their offshoots such as the Old Catholic ...

Churches, lasted 35 years, from 484 to 519 AD. It resulted from a drift in the leaders of Eastern Christianity toward

Miaphysitism Miaphysitism is the Christological doctrine that holds Jesus, the " Incarnate Word, is fully divine and fully human, in one 'nature' ('' physis'')." It is a position held by the Oriental Orthodox Churches and differs from the Chalcedonian pos ...

and Emperor Zeno's unsuccessful attempt to reconcile the parties with the ''

Henotikon The ''Henotikon'' ( or in English; Greek ''henōtikón'' "act of union") was a christological document issued by Byzantine emperor Zeno in 482, in an unsuccessful attempt to reconcile the differences between the supporters of the Council of Chal ...

''. In the events leading up to the schism,

Pope Felix III Pope Felix III (died 1 March 492) was the bishop of Rome from 13 March 483 to his death. His repudiation of the '' Henotikon'' is considered the beginning of the Acacian schism. He is commemorated on March 1. Family Felix was born into a Roman ...

wrote two letters, one to Emperor Zeno and one to Patriarch Acacius of Constantinople, reminding them of the need to defend the faith without compromise, as they had done previously. When former patriarch John Talaia, exiled from Alexandria, arrived in Rome and reported on what was happening in the East, Felix wrote two more letters, summoning Acacius to Rome to explain his conduct. The legates who brought these letters to Constantinople were imprisoned as soon as they landed and forced to receive Communion from Acacius as part of a Liturgy in which they heard

Peter Mongus Pope Peter III of Alexandria also known as Peter Mongus (from the Greek μογγός ''mongos'', "stammerer") was the 27th Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark. Biography After the Council of Chalcedon, Peter Mongus was an a ...

and other Miaphysites named in the

diptych A diptych (; from the Greek δίπτυχον, ''di'' "two" + '' ptychē'' "fold") is any object with two flat plates which form a pair, often attached by hinge. For example, the standard notebook and school exercise book of the ancient world w ...

s. Felix, having heard of this from the Acoemetae monks in Constantinople, held a

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin word mean ...

in 484 in which he denounced his legates and deposed and

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

Acacius. Acacius replied to this act by striking Felix's name from his diptychs. Only the Acoemeti in Constantinople stayed loyal to Rome, and Acacius put their abbot, Cyril, in prison. Acacius himself died in 489, and his successor, Flavitas (or Fravitas, 489–90), tried to reconcile himself with

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, but refused to give up communion with Miaphysites and to omit Acacius's name in his diptychs. Felix's successor Gelasius also refused any compromise as a betrayal of the

Council of Chalcedon The Council of Chalcedon (; la, Concilium Chalcedonense), ''Synodos tēs Chalkēdonos'' was the fourth ecumenical council of the Christian Church. It was convoked by the Roman emperor Marcian. The council convened in the city of Chalcedon, B ...

. Zeno died in 491; his successor,

Anastasius I Dicorus Anastasius I Dicorus ( grc-gre, Ἀναστάσιος, Anastásios; – 9 July 518) was Eastern Roman emperor from 491 to 518. A career civil servant, he came to the throne at the age of 61 after being chosen by the wife of his predecessor, ...

(491–518), began by keeping the policy of the ''Henotikon'', though himself a convinced Miaphysite. After Anastasius's death his successor,

Justin I Justin I ( la, Iustinus; grc-gre, Ἰουστῖνος, ''Ioustînos''; 450 – 1 August 527) was the Eastern Roman emperor from 518 to 527. Born to a peasant family, he rose through the ranks of the army to become commander of the imperial ...

, immediately sought to end the schism with Rome, a goal shared by the new Patriarch of Constantinople, John of Cappadocia. A papal legation under Germanus of Capua was sent to Constantinople. The reunion was formalized on

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samue ...

, March 24, 519.

References

Bibliography

* * * * Cristini, Marco (2020). ''In ecclesiae redintegranda unitate: re Teoderico e la fine dello Scisma Acaciano'', in: ''Rivista di Storia della Chiesa in Italia'' 73 (2019), pp. 367–386.
Henoticon
Catholic Encyclopedia *

Dietmar W. Winkler Dietmar Werner Winkler (born April 15, 1963, in Wolfsberg in Carinthia) is an Austrian scholar of patristics and ecclesiastical history. He is a professor and the founding director of the Center for the Study of the Christian East at the Univers ...

: ''Acacius of Constantinople'', in: David G. Hunter, Paul J.J. van Geest, Bert Jan Lietaert Peerbolte (eds.): ''Brill Encyclopedia of Early Christianity Online''. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2589-7993_EECO_SIM_00000027

External links

Acacian Schism
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