The Acacian schism, between the Eastern and Western Christian 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 positio ...

and Emperor Zeno's unsuccessful attempt to reconcile the parties with the '' Henotikon''. 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 and other Miaphysites named in the diptychs. Felix, having heard of this from the Acoemetae monks in Constantinople, held a synod 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 Acoemetae (also spelled Acoemeti or Akoimetoi gr, ἀκοίμητος, lit=sleepless ones) was an order of Eastern Christian (Greek or Basilian) monks who celebrated the divine service without intermission day or night. This was done by dividing ...

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, Bi ...

. Zeno died in 491; his successor, Anastasius I Dicorus (491–518), began by keeping the policy of the ''Henotikon'', though himself a convinced Miaphysite. After Anastasius's death his successor, Justin I, 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 Samuel ...

, 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 Univer ...

: ''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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