Dioscorus (died 14 October 530) was a
deacon
A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...
of the
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
n and the
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
church from 506. In a disputed election following the death of
Pope Felix IV, the majority of electors picked him to be
pope
The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
, in spite of Pope Felix's wishes that
Boniface II
Pope Boniface II ( la, Bonifatius II; died 17 October 532) was the first Germanic bishop of Rome. He ruled the Holy See from 22 September 530 until his death on 17 October 532.
Boniface's father's name was Sigibuld. He was probably born in Ro ...
should succeed him. However, Dioscorus died less than a month after the election, allowing Boniface to be consecrated pope and Dioscorus to be branded an
antipope
An antipope ( la, antipapa) is a person who makes a significant and substantial attempt to occupy the position of Bishop of Rome and leader of the Catholic Church in opposition to the legitimately elected pope. At times between the 3rd and mid- ...
.
Career
Originally a deacon of the
Church of Alexandria
The Church of Alexandria in Egypt is the Christian Church headed by the Patriarch of Alexandria. It is one of the original Apostolic Sees of Christianity, alongside Rome, Antioch, Constantinople and Jerusalem.
Tradition holds that the Church of ...
, Dioscorus was forced to flee as an opponent of
Monophysitism
Monophysitism ( or ) or monophysism () is a Christological term derived from the Greek (, "alone, solitary") and (, a word that has many meanings but in this context means "nature"). It is defined as "a doctrine that in the person of the incarn ...
, arriving in Rome around 506 during the
Laurentian schism
Laurentius (possibly Caelius) was the Archpriest of Santa Prassede and later antipope of the See of Rome. Elected in 498 at the Basilica Saint Mariae (presumably Saint Maria Maggiore) with the support of a dissenting faction with Byzantine sympat ...
. There, he was adopted into the ranks of the Roman clergy, and soon acquired considerable influence in the Church of Rome. Jeffrey Richards credits him with persuading king
Theodoric the Great
Theodoric (or Theoderic) the Great (454 – 30 August 526), also called Theodoric the Amal ( got, , *Þiudareiks; Greek: , romanized: ; Latin: ), was king of the Ostrogoths (471–526), and ruler of the independent Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy b ...
to recognize
Symmachus as the rightful pope. Later, under
Pope Hormisdas
Pope Hormisdas (450 – 6 August 523) was the bishop of Rome from 20 July 514 to his death. 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 ...
, he served as papal ''
apocrisiarius
An ''apocrisiarius'', the Latinized form of ''apokrisiarios'' ( el, ), sometimes Anglicized as apocrisiary, was a high diplomatic representative during Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages. The corresponding (purist) Latin term was ''respons ...
'', or legate, to the court of
Justinian
Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565.
His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovat ...
at Constantinople, ending the
Acacian schism
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 and Emperor Zeno's unsuccessful attempt to reconcile th ...
, and was instrumental in persuading Pope Hormisdas to reject
Theopaschism
Theopaschism is the belief that a god can suffer. Owing to controversies about the passion of Jesus and his divinity, this doctrine was a subject of ecumenical councils which affirmed the theopaschite formula.
Christology
In Christian theol ...
. During the pontificate of Felix IV he became the recognized head of the pro-Byzantine party.
Pope Felix IV wished Boniface to succeed him, partially to avoid the riots that had occurred on his own accession. Further, Richards describes him as being part of the pro-Gothic party of clergy, bishops and aristocrats, and his "principal concern, however, was to ensure that the pro-Gothic party remained in control of the papacy." During the sixth century a tradition had evolved where popes would informally nominate their successors, but Felix went even further and issued a ''
praeceptum'' formally nominating Boniface, and on his sickbed gave his ''
pallium
The pallium (derived from the Roman ''pallium'' or ''palla'', a woolen cloak; : ''pallia'') is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the pope, but for many centuries bestowed by the Holy See upon metropolit ...
'' to him, on the condition that should Felix recover Boniface would return it. However, the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
was outraged that it had been preempted from the process, and issued an edict forbidding anyone from accepting the nomination or discussing it during Pope Felix's life, on pain of exile and confiscation of property. Richards notes that the clergy did not voice a similar outrage, "perhaps because the majority of the clergy agreed on this occasion with the senate in censuring the action of Pope Felix".
When the election was held in the
Lateran palace
The Lateran Palace ( la, Palatium Lateranense), formally the Apostolic Palace of the Lateran ( la, Palatium Apostolicum Lateranense), is an ancient palace of the Roman Empire and later the main papal residence in southeast Rome.
Located on St. ...
on 22 September 530 following the death of Felix, a majority of the electors voted for Dioscorus; Richards concludes at least 60 of the Roman priests supported Dioscorus, based on their subsequent act of submission.Boniface's supporters retreated to the
Basilica Julia
The Basilica Julia ( it, Basilica Giulia) was a structure that once stood in the Roman Forum. It was a large, ornate, public building used for meetings and other official business during the Roman Empire. Its ruins have been excavated. What is lef ...
, where they elected Boniface. Dioscorus was later recognized as pope by the East. Although his prospects for his consecration looked dark, the dispute was resolved when Dioscorus died three weeks later on 14 October. The pro-Byzantine faction was left leaderless; Felix's wishes were acceded to with his chosen candidate becoming Boniface II.
According to the ''
Liber Pontificalis
The ''Liber Pontificalis'' (Latin for 'pontifical book' or ''Book of the Popes'') 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 (867 ...
'', Boniface forced the clergy who had nominated Dioscorus to sign a retraction and condemn his memory. This document was later destroyed, although the ''Liber Pontificalis'' contains contradictory accounts: in one passage, Pope
Agapetus I burned the document in front of an audience at the beginning of his tenure, while in another, it was Boniface himself who burned the document.
See also
*
Papal selection before 1059
The selection of the pope, the bishop of Rome and supreme pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, prior to the promulgation of '' In nomine Domini'' in 1059 varied throughout history. Popes were often appointed by their predecessors or by political ...
References
Sources
*
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*
Further reading
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dioscorus, Antipope
530 deaths
6th-century antipopes
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