3
March 468. Simplicius becomes Bishop of Rome and faces-off with
Monophysiticism.
“When Simplicius became bishop of Rome on this day,
March 3, 468, it must have seemed to him that his troubles would come from the
western half of the disintegrating Roman Empire. There Vandals, Visigoths, and
Franks had replaced Roman power with their own. For thirteen years the western
empire had been ruled by puppet emperors, controlled by these barbarians.
Furthermore, Odovakar, a Herulian (one of the Teutonic tribes) seized power in
Rome. Despite these omens, it was the East that gave Simplicius his greatest
headaches.
“In the West, the Arian Odovakar treated the
Catholic church with respect. In the East, however, events were not so
fortunate. A usurper drove Emperor Zeno from the throne. Needing Monophysite
support, this usurper placed many heretics in key positions.
“Monophysitism began as the orthodox response to
Nestorianism. Nestorius refused to call Mary the "Mother of God,"
for, said he, the child in her womb was thoroughly human. Opposed to this, the
Monophysites taught that Christ's human nature was dissolved in his divine
nature as a drop of honey dissolves in the ocean. Each faction was attempting
to preserve a part of the truth about Christ's person. Eventually the church
balanced the two ideas at the Council of Chalcedon, declaring Christ both truly
God and truly man.
“Instead of resolving the issue, the council's
ruling became a ground for further fighting. The Monophysites refused to accept
defeat. The usurper ordered the acts of Chalcedon burnt; 500 bishops agreed.
Simplicius found himself defending Bishop Acacius of Constantinople who
sturdily resisted the Monophysite error.
“In Alexandria, Egypt, the controversy was fierce.
Rivals tortured and killed each other. A Monophysite monk, operating under the
name Timothy the Cat, had the patriarch of Alexandria butchered three days
before Easter and triumphantly seized his place, consigning his corpse to
flames.
“Emperor Zeno regained his throne and ousted the
Monophysite bishops. But having learned the power of the Monophysites, he
determined to arrange a compromise; this Henoticon was worded vaguely enough to
escape the charge of heresy while leaving the Monophysites sufficient latitude
to retain their views.
“But compromise was not possible. Unless Christ is
God, he cannot redeem us. Unless he is truly man, he cannot stand in our place.
Simplicius' defense of this principle laid down at the Council of Chalcedon
ensured that the orthodox view of Christ was retained in the West. As a
historical sidelight, Simplicius is said to be the first to convert Rome's
public buildings into churches.
“Doctrinal disputes of the early church may seem
remote from us, but their effects live on. The Church of Ethiopia remains
Monophysite to this day.”
Bibliography:
1. Brusher, Joseph. Popes Through
the Ages. Princeton, N.J.: Van Nostrand, 1959.
2. Kelly, J.N.D. "Simplicius,
St." in Oxford Dictionary of the Popes. Oxford; New York: Oxford
University Press, 1986.
3. Kirsch, J. P. "Pope St.
Simplicius." The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton, 1914.
4. Montor, Chevalier Artaud de. Lives
and Times of the Popes. New York: Catholic Publication Society of America,
1909.
5. "Simplicius, St." The
Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Edited by F. L. Cross and E. A.
Livingstone. Oxford, 1997.
No comments:
Post a Comment