Verecundus ( fl. 552) was a 6th-century writer and the

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

of Iunca (or Junca) in

Roman North Africa Africa Proconsularis was a Roman province on the northern African coast that was established in 146 BC following the defeat of Carthage in the Third Punic War. It roughly comprised the territory of present-day Tunisia, the northeast of Algeria, ...

(the modern Tunisia). He was an ardent champion of the

Three Chapters The Three-Chapter Controversy, a phase in the Chalcedonian controversy, was an attempt to reconcile the non-Chalcedonians of Syriac Orthodox Church, Syria and Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, Egypt with Chalcedonian Christianity, following t ...

Life

Verecundus attended the

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

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

of 551 called by

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 ...

where he sided with

Pope Vigilius Pope Vigilius (died 7 June 555) was the bishop of Rome from 29 March 537 to his death. He is considered the first pope of the Byzantine papacy. Born into Roman aristocracy, Vigilius served as a deacon and papal ''apocrisiarius'' in Constantino ...

in the

Three-Chapter Controversy The Three-Chapter Controversy, a phase in the Chalcedonian controversy, was an attempt to reconcile the non-Chalcedonians of Syria and Egypt with Chalcedonian Christianity, following the failure of the Henotikon. The ''Three Chapters'' (, ''trí ...

and went into self-imposed exile with him at the end of the synod for refusing to sign the condemnation of

Theodore of Mopsuestia Theodore of Mopsuestia (c. 350 – 428) was a Christian theologian, and Bishop of Mopsuestia (as Theodore II) from 392 to 428 AD. He is also known as Theodore of Antioch, from the place of his birth and presbyterate. He is the best known ...

Theodoret of Cyrrhus Theodoret of Cyrus or Cyrrhus ( grc-gre, Θεοδώρητος Κύρρου; AD 393 – 458/466) was an influential theologian of the School of Antioch, biblical commentator, and Christian bishop of Cyrrhus (423–457). He played a pivo ...

and

Ibas of Edessa Ibas ( syc, ܗܝܒܐ ܐܘܪܗܝܐ, ''Ihiba'' or ''Hiba''; October 28, 457) was bishop of Edessa (–457) and was born in Syria. His name is the Syriac equivalent of "Donatus". He is frequently associated with the growth of Nestorianism, although ...

. When the question of the Three Chapters was raised at 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, Bith ...

, in the beginning of 552.

's ''Judicatum'' having excited almost universal discontent, both the pope and the

Emperor 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 ...

agreed the question should be settled in a general council to be held at

. Verecundus, with Primasius of Hadrumeta, went to represent the Province of Byzacena, and arrived at Constantinople towards the middle of 551. At once the Greek bishops set out to induce them by promises and threats to anathematize the Three Chapters. Both resisted strenuously at first, and, in the grave difficulties then besetting Pope Vigilius, stood by his side; and when the latter had taken refuge in the

Basilica of St. Peter's The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal e ...

, both, in union with him, issued a sentence of excommunication against Theodore Askidas and of deposition against Mennas, the patriarch of Constantinople (17 August, 551). Soon, however, the conditions became so unbearable that on 23 December Pope Vigilius, although his residence was carefully watched, managed to escape across the

Bosphorus The Bosporus Strait (; grc, Βόσπορος ; tr, İstanbul Boğazı 'Istanbul strait', colloquially ''Boğaz'') or Bosphorus Strait is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul in northwestern Tu ...

and to reach the Church of St. Euphemia at

Chalcedon Chalcedon ( or ; , sometimes transliterated as ''Chalkedon'') was an ancient maritime town of Bithynia, in Asia Minor. It was located almost directly opposite Byzantium, south of Scutari (modern Üsküdar) and it is now a district of the cit ...

. Primasius and Verecundus followed him a few days later. Verecundus died shortly afterwards. After Verecundus's death, Primasius was moved by ambition to relent from his unyielding attitude.

Ecclesiastical writer

As an ecclesiastical author, Verecundus is little known. His works, edited by

J. B. Pitra ''J. The Jewish News of Northern California'', formerly known as ''Jweekly'', is a weekly print newspaper in Northern California, with its online edition updated daily. It is owned and operated by San Francisco Jewish Community Publications In ...

(''Spicilegium Solesmense'', IV, Paris, 1858), comprise a collection of historical documents on the Council of Chalcedon, "Excerptiones de gestis Chalcedonensis Concilii", of which we possess two recensions; an exegetical commentary in nine books upon the Canticles of the Old Testament, the poem ''Carmen de satisfactione'' ( "De satisfactione poenitentiae") in 212

hexameter Hexameter is a metrical line of verses consisting of six feet (a "foot" here is the pulse, or major accent, of words in an English line of poetry; in Greek and Latin a "foot" is not an accent, but describes various combinations of syllables). It w ...

s ( in which exquisite thoughts are presented in a very incorrect form), and possibly another, the ''Carmen ad Flavium Felicem de resurrectione mortuorum et de iudicio domini''.Isidore of Seville De viris illustribus 7 Verecundus also wrote excerpts of the proceedings of the

Isidore of Seville Isidore of Seville ( la, Isidorus Hispalensis; c. 560 – 4 April 636) was a Spanish scholar, theologian, and archbishop of Seville. He is widely regarded, in the words of 19th-century historian Montalembert, as "the last scholar of ...

(De vir. ill., vii) attributes to Verecundus another poem on resurrection and judgment, which is possibly none other than the "De iudicio Domini" or "De resurrectione mortuorum", found among the works of

Tertullian Tertullian (; la, Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus; 155 AD – 220 AD) was a prolific early Christian author from Carthage in the Roman province of Africa. He was the first Christian author to produce an extensive corpus of L ...

and St. Cyprian.

References

Bibliography

* Bardenhewer, ''Patrology'', tr. Shahan (St. Louis, 1908); * Hefele, ''Conciliengeschichte''; Fr. tr. Leclercq, III (Paris, 1909), ii, 41 sq.

External links

''Catholic Encyclopedia'' article
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Verecundus of Junca 6th-century bishops in North Africa Church Fathers 6th-century Latin writers 6th-century poets Medieval Latin poets 6th-century Byzantine writers