The Holy See and the Wandering of the Nations, from St. Leo I to St. Gregory IAllies, T. W. (Thomas William)
History
The Holy See and the Wandering of the Nations, from St. Leo I to St. Gregory I
Allies, T. W. (Thomas William)
Church history -- Primitive and early church, ca. 30-600
The count Justinian also wrote to Pope Hormisdas that "the divine mercy,
regarding the sorrows of the human race, had at length brought about this
time of desire. Thus I am free to write to your apostolate, our Lord, the
emperor, desiring to restore the churches to unity. A great part has been
already done. It only requires to obtain the consent of your Beatitude
respecting the name of Acacius. For this reason his majesty has sent to you
my most particular friend Gratus, a man of the highest rank, that you might
condescend to come to Constantinople for the restoration of concord, or at
least hasten to send bishops hither, for the whole world in our parts is
impatient for the restoration of unity."[102]
The result was that Pope Hormisdas held a council at Rome in 518, at which
all that had been done by his predecessors, the Popes Simplicius, Felix,
Gelasius, and Symmachus, was carefully reviewed, and all present decreed
that the eastern Church should be received into communion with the
Apostolic See, if they condemned the schismatic Acacius, entirely effacing
his name, and also expunged from the diptychs Euphemius and Macedonius, as
involved in the same guilt of schism. And a pontifical legation was then
named to carry out the desire of the council, and they bore with them an
instruction, from which they might not depart by a hair's-breadth.[103]
The Pope wrote letters to the emperor, to the empress, to the count
Justinian, especially to the bishop of Constantinople, recommending his
legates, and exhorting the bishop to complete the work which was begun by
condemning Acacius and his followers; also to the archdeacon Theodosius and
the clergy of Constantinople.[104] He points out especially that he wants
nothing new, or unusual, or improper, for Christian antiquity had ever
avoided those who had associated with persons condemned; whoever teaches
what Rome teaches, must also condemn what Rome condemns; whoever honours
what the Pope honours, must likewise detest what he detests. A perfect
peace admits of no division. The worship of one and the same God can only
hold its truth in the unity of confession which embodies the belief.
The papal legates were received honourably on their journey, and found the
bishops in general disposed to sign the formulary issued by the Pope. In
March, 519, they came to Constantinople, where they found the greatest
readiness. The patriarch John took the formulary, and gave it the form of
a letter, which seemed to him more honourable than a formulary such as
those who had fallen would sign. He prefixed to the document which the Pope
required to be subscribed the following preface:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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