Papal apocrisiarius

The ''apocrisiarius'' or apocrisiary was the legate from the pope to the patriarch of Constantinople, circa 452–743, equivalent to the modern nunciature.

Nomenclature

The term '' apocrisiarius'' comes from the Greek word ''apokrisis'', "response". The Latin language name for the office would have been ''responsalis'', from the word ''responsum''. The term was also used by other ecclesiastical envoys, either between bishops or between a bishop and a royal court, although this specific office was one of the first and most notable examples.

History and functions

In part, the role of the ''apocrisiarius'' was to represent the interests of the Roman church at the imperial court in Constantinople.Ekonomou, 2007, p. 8. Relations between the pope and the Byzantine Empire were also managed at the court of the Exarchate of Ravenna—where the pope had another permanent ''apocrisiarius''—and between the archbishop of Ravenna'' at the papal court during the papacy of Gregory I. According to the ''Catholic Encyclopedia'', "in view of the great importance attaching to the relations between the popes and the imperial court of Constantinople, especially after the fall of the Western Empire (476), and during the great dogmatic controversies in the Greek Church, these papal representatives at Constantinople took on gradually the character of permanent legates and were accounted the most important and responsible among the papal envoys."

Most were deacons, as they were the most educated and potentially skilled in diplomatic negotiations. The ''apocrisiarius'' held "considerable influence as a conduit for both public and covert communications" between pope and Byzantine emperor. During the Byzantine Papacy, seven ''apocrisiarii'' went on to be selected as pope. According to one commentator, "to be sent as ''apocrisiarius'' to Constantinople was to graduate for the papacy."Howorth, 1913, p. xxvi. When in Constantinople, the ''apocrisiarius'' resided in the Placidia Palace, as early as the end of the Acacian schism in 519.Herrin, 1989, p. 152.Ekonomou, 2007, p. 9.

End of the office

The popes continued to have a permanent apocrisiary in Constantinople until the time of the Byzantine Iconoclasm edict of 726.Silas McBee,
Normal Relations
" p. 651-53 (PDF). Thereafter, popes Gregory II, Gregory III, Zacharias, and Stephen II are known to have sent non-permanent apocrisiaries to Constantinople.

The office ceased having any religious role in the 8th century, although it continued to be regularly occupied well into the 10th century. Circa 900, the office began being referred to as '' syncellus''. A permanent envoy may have been re-established after the reconciliation of 886. A ''syncellus'', unlike an ''apocrisiarius'', was a representative to the emperor, not the patriarch. These ambassadors continued into the 11th century, even after the East–West Schism.

Later use of the title

According to the ''Catholic Encyclopedia'', "from the reign of Charlemagne (d. 814) we find ''apocrisiarii'' at the court of the Frankish kings, but they are only royal arch-chaplains decorated with the title of the ancient papal envoys."

List of ''apocrisiarii''

Notes

References

*Ekonomou, Andrew J. 2007. ''Byzantine Rome and the Greek Popes: Eastern influences on Rome and the papacy from Gregory the Great to Zacharias, A.D. 590-752''. Lexington: Lexington Books.
*Henry Hoyle Howorth. 1913. ''Saint Augustine of Canterbury''. Google Books.

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Byzantine Empire–Holy See relations
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