The Acacian schism, between the

Eastern Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

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 Zeno (; grc-gre, Ζήνων, Zénōn; c. 425 – 9 April 491) was Eastern Roman emperor from 474 to 475 and again from 476 to 491. Domestic revolts and religious dissension plagued his reign, which nevertheless succeeded to some extent in forei ...

'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 s ...

wrote two letters, one to

and one to Patriarch

Acacius of Constantinople Acacius (Greek language, Greek: Ακάκιος, ?26 November 489) was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 472 to 489. Acacius was practically the first prelate throughout Eastern Orthodoxy and renowned for ambitious participation in ...

, reminding them of the need to defend the faith without compromise, as they had done previously. When former patriarch

John Talaia John Talaia was patriarch of Alexandria from 481 until 482. He was consecrated in 481, succeeding Timothy III Salophakiolos. He was a convinced adherent of the Council of Chalcedon and refused to sign Emperor Zeno's Henoticon (which glossed o ...

, 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 ar ...

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 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 ...

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 in Constantinople stayed loyal to Rome, and Acacius put their abbot, Cyril, in prison. Acacius himself died in 489, and his successor,

Flavitas Fravitta (, ''Fravitas''; 490),Fravitas
Ecumenical Patriarchate also known as Fravitas,

(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 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 John II, surnamed Cappadox or the Cappadocian (? – 19 January 520) was Patriarch of Constantinople in 518–520, during the reign of Byzantine emperor Anastasius I after an enforced condemnation of the Council of Chalcedon. His short patriar ...

. A papal legation under

Germanus of Capua Germanus (died 541) was the bishop of Capua from 519 or shortly before until his death. He played a major role in bringing to an end the Acacian schism, the first major schism that divided the Christian church between east and west. After his dea ...

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: ''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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