19
July 514 A.D. Symmachus—Rome’s 51st; Native
Sardinian; Opposed by Laurentius, Dubbed
“Anti-Pope” (There are about 50 of these);
Gothic King Theodoric Settles the Question in Symmachus’ Favor;
Quartodecimian Conflict Continues
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Pope St. Symmachus (498-514)
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Date of birth
unknown; d. 19, July, 514. According to the "Liber
pontificalis" (ed. Duchesne, I, 260)
he was a native of Sardinia and his father was named Fortunatus. Symmachus was baptized at Rome (Thiel, "Epist.
pont. rom.", I, 702), entered the ranks of the clergy of Rome, and was ordained deacon. Directly after the
death of Pope Anastasius II, Symmachus was elected his successor by a majority of the Roman clergy at the Lateran Basilica on 22 November, 498.
The election was approved by a part
of the Roman senate and he was at
once consecrated Bishop of Rome. Later on the same day
a minority of the clergy who were friendly to
the Byzantines and were supported by a
party in the Senate met in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore an delected the Roman archpresbyter Laurentius as antipope. According to Theodorus Lector (P.G., LXXXVI, 193),
the Laurentian party was aided with money supplied chiefly by the rich Senator Festus, who hoped that Laurentius would
be influenced by this to sign the "Henotikon", the edict of faith of the Emperor Zeno.
The other authorities do not speak of such
motives, which are very probable, and the testimony of Theodorus can very
readily be accepted. Both parties, however, agreed that the two candidates
should appear at Ravenna before the Gothic king Theodoric, the ruler of Italy, and abide by his
decision. Theodoric pronouncing in favour
of Symmachus on the ground that he
was elected first and by the
majority of the clergy, Laurentius submitted
to the decision. At a synod held at Rome on 1 March, 499, the Acts of which have been
preserved, Symmachus, who was now
universally acknowledged, bestowed on Laurentius the Diocese of Nocera in Campania. The synod ordained that any Roman cleric who sought to gain
votes for a successor to the papacy during the lifetime of
the pope, or who called
conferences and held consultations for that purpose, should be deposed.King Theodoric was given a vote of
thanks by acclamation for his unpartisan
decision. When the king came toRome in the following year
he had a brilliant reception both from the pope and the people.
However, theByzantine party, headed by the
two senators Festus and Probinus, did not abandon its hostility and hope of overthrowing the pope and gaining the papal see for Laurentius. The
opportunity occurred in the following year, 501. Pope Symmachus celebrated Easter on 25 March, following
the old Roman cycle, while the Byzantines and others observed the feast on 22 April, according
to a new reckoning. The Laurentian party appealed to King Theodoric against the pope, making other
accusations besides this digression in the celebration of Easter.Theodoric summoned the pope and Symmachus set out to meet him. At Rimini Symmachus learned the contents of
the indictment and, refusing to acknowledge the king as his judge, returned home.
The opposing party now accused him of squandering the property of the Church and other matters. It
gained in strength and occupied the Lateran palace, so that the pope was obliged to live near the Church of St. Peter outside
the city walls. His opponents requested the king to call a synod for the investigation
of the accusations and to appoint a visitor for Rome. Symmachus agreed to the calling
of a synod, but he and his
adherents protested against the sending of a visitor. Theodoric, however, sent as visitor Bishop Peter of Altinum in upper Italy, who was to administer
the Roman Church in the place of the
accused pope. Peter came to Rome and, contrary to the
commands of king, allowed himself to be won over by the adherents of
Laurentius, so that Theodoric at a later date
dismissed him. Not long after Easter, between May and July,
502, the synod met in the basilica of Julius(Santa Maria in Trastevere). The pope declared before the synod that it had been called
with his consent and that he was ready
to answer the accusations before it, if the visitor were removed and he
were re-established as the administrator of the Church. To this the majority
of the bishops agreed and sent an
embassy to the king to demand the execution of these conditions. Theodoric, however, refused, and
demanded, first of all, an investigation of the accusations against the pope. A second session of
the synod was held, therefore, on
1 September, 502, in the Sessorian basilica (Santa Croce in
Gerusalemme), and the minority had the indictment made by the Laurentian party
read aloud. Symmachus desired to go from St. Peter's to the synod in order to defend
himself, but on the way there he was attacked by his opponents and maltreated,
and, escaping only with great difficulty, returned to St. Peter's; several priests who were with him were killed or severely wounded.
The Goths sent by Theodoric promised him a reliable
escort but the pope now refused to appear
before the synod, although invited
three times. Consequently the assembled bishops declared at the third
session, held about the middle of September, they could not pass judgment upon the pope, because he had
appeared twice before his judges, and because
there was no precedent showing that an occupant of theRoman See had been subjected to
the judgment of other bishops. They called upon the
opposing clergy to submit to the pope, and requested the
king to permit the bishops to return to their dioceses. All these steps were
in vain; the majority of the clergy and people sided indeed
with Symmachus, but a
minority of the clergyand a majority of the
Senators were at that time partizans of Laurentius. A fourth
session, therefore, was held on 23 October, 502, called the "Synodus
Palmaris" (Palmary synod) either from the
place where it was held (ad Palmata, Palma), or because it was the most important session
(palmaris). At this session it
was decided that on account of the reasons given earlier the decision must be
left to the judgment of God; Symmachus was to be regarded as
free from all the crimes of which he was accused, and therefore entitled to the
full exercise of his episcopal office; the whole property of the church was to be transferred
to him; whoever returned to hisobedience should escape
punishment, but whoever undertook ecclesiastical functions at Rome without papal permission was to be regarded as a schismatic. The decision was
signed by seventy-five bishops, among them the bishops of Milan and Ravenna. Many bishops now returned to their dioceses. The majority, however, met
with the Roman priests in St. Peter's for a fifth session
under the presidency of Symmachus on 6 November, 502. The
edict issued by the prefect Basilius, in 483,
regulating the administration of the possessions of the Church was declared invalid
and Symmachus issued a new edict
respecting the administration of this property, and especially in
regard to its sale.
King Theodoric, not satisfied with
the decision of the synod, although the
great majority of the Italian episcopate was on the side of the
rightful pope, did nothing to carry
out the new ordinances. Consequently the opposition called its candidate
Laurentius again to Rome. He resided in the Lateran palace, which was in
the hands of his adherents, while Symmachus retained the house of
the bishop (episcopium) near St. Peter's. The
division continued for four years, during which both parties carried on a
furious quarrel at Rome. Laurentius had his
portrait added to the series of popes in the Church of Saint Paul
Without the Walls.
However, certainprominent persons exerted their influence
in favour of Symmachus, as Bishop Avitus of Vienne, who, at the
request of the Gallican bishops, addressed an urgent
letter to the Senate on behalf of the rightful pope and for the restoration
of unity. Symmachus gradually won over a
number of adherents of the opposition. The greatest factor in the healing of
the schism was the interposition
of Deacon Dioscurus of Alexandria, who had
come toRome. He was commissioned
by Symmachus to go to Theodoric, and won the king over
to the side of the rightful pope. Apparently political
motives were involved, as the king wished to take action against the Laurentian
party, which inclined to Constantinople. He
commanded Senator Festus, the head of the hostile party, to return all Roman churches to Symmachus. Laurentius
having lost many adherents among the senators the king's command was executed without difficulty. The antipope, obliged to leave Rome, retired to a farm
belonging to his protector Festus. Only a small party still held to Laurentius
and refused to recognizeSymmachus as Bishop of Rome; but it was
insignificant and was reconciled later to Hormisdas, the successorof Symmachus. During the schism a number of polemical
writings appeared, as from the party of Laurentius the treatise "Contra Synodum absolutionis incongruae", to
which Deacon Ennodius replied in
"Libellus adversus eos qui contra Synodum scribere
praseumpserunt" ("Mon. Germ. Hist.: Auct. ant.", VII,
48 sq.). While the author of the life of Symmachus in the completely
preserved text of the "Liber
pontificalis" is very favourable to
thepope, the writer of another
continuation of the papal biographies supports
the cause of Laurentius
("Fragment Laurentine", ed. Duchesne in "Liber
pontificalis",
I, 44-46). During the dispute the adherents of Symmachusdrew up four apocryphal writings called the
"Symmachian Forgeries"; these were: "Gesta synodi Sinuessanae de
Marcellino"; "Constitutum Silvestri", "Gesta Liberii";
"Gesta de purgatione Xysti et Polychronii accusatione". These four
works are to be found in Coustant, "Epist. rom.
pontif." (Paris, 1721), appendix, 29 sq.; cf. Duchesne, "Liber
pontificalis",
I, introduction, CXXXIII sq.: "Histoire littéraire des apocryphes symmachiens".
The object of these forgeries was to produce alleged
instances from earlier times to support the whole procedure of the adherents of Symmachus, and, in
particular, the position that the Roman bishop could not bejudged by any court composed
of other bishops. Still these forgeries are not the first
documents to maintain this latter tenet.
Symmachus zealously defended the supporters
of orthodoxy during the disorders of
the Acacian schism. He defends, although
without success, the opponents of the "Henotikon" in a letter to Emperor Anastasius I (491-518). At a later
date many of the persecuted oriental bishops addressed themselves to
the pope to whom they sent a confession of faith. Shortly after 506 the
emperor sent him a letter full of invectives, to which the popesent a firm answer,
maintaining forcibly the rights and liberty of the Church (Thiel, "Epist.
rom. pont.", I, 700 sq.). In a letter of 8 October, 512, addressed to the bishops of Illyria, the pope warned the clergy of thatprovince not to hold communion with heretics. Soon after the
beginning of his pontificate Symmachusinterposed in
the quarrel between the Archbishops of Arles and Vienne as to the boundaries of
their respective territories. He annulled the edict issued by Anastasius II in favour of the Archbishop of Vienne and later (6 November,
513) confirmed the metropolitan rights of archbishop Caesarius of Arles, as these had been
fixed byLeo I. Moreover, he granted Caesarius the privilege of wearing the pallium, the first-known
instance of such a grant by the Holy See to a bishop outside of Italy. In a letter of 11 June,
514, he appointed Caesarius to represent the
interests of the Church both in Gaul and Spain, to hold synods of the bishops in certain cases, to
give letters of recommendation to clergy who journeyed to Rome. More important
matters were to be laid before the Holy See. In the city of Rome, according to the "Liber
pontificalis",
the pope took severe measures
against the Manichæans, ordered the burning
of their books, and expelled them from the city. He erected or restored and
adorned various churches. Thus he built
a Church of St. Andrew near St. Peter's, a Basilica of St. Agnes on the Via Aurelia,
adorned the Church of St. Peter's,
completely rebuilt the Basilica of Sts. Sylvesterand Martinus,
and made improvements over the Catacomb of the Jordani on the Via Salaria. He
built episcopalhouses (episcopia) to the right and left
of the parvis of St. Peter's. These buildings were
evidently connected with the residence of the pope for several years near St. Peter's during the disorders of
the Laurentian schism. He also built asylums for the poor near the three churches of St. Peter, St. Paul,
and St. Laurence that were outside the city walls. The pope contributed large sums
for the support of the Catholic bishops of Africa who were persecuted by the rulers of the Arian Vandals. He also aided the
inhabitants of the provinces of upperItaly who suffered so sorely
from the invasion of the barbarians. After his death he was buried at St. Peter's.Symmachus is venerated in the Roman Church as a saint.
Sources
Liber
pontificalis, ed. DUCHESNE, I, 260-268; JAFFE, Regesta pont. rom. (2nd ed.), I,
96 sq.; THIEL, Epist. rom. pontif., 639 sq.; Acta synodorum Romae habit. a.
499, 501, 502 in Mon. Germ. Hist.: Auct. ant., XII, 393 sq.; GRISAR, Gesch.
Roms under der Papste, I, 460 sqq.; LANGEN, Gesch. der römischen Kirche, II,
219 sqq.; HEFELE, Hist. of the Councils of the Church, tr. CLARK, IV
(Edinburgh, 1895), 49 sqq., 58-75; STOBER, Quallenstudien zum laurentianischen
Schisma in Sitzungsber. der Wiener Akademie, CXII (1886), 269 sqq.; MAASSEN,
Gesch. der Quellen des Kirchenrechtes, I, 411 sqq.; PFEILSCHIFTER, Theoderich
der Grosse in Weltgeschichte in Karakterbildern (Mainz, 1910), 44 sqq.;
HARTMANN, Gesch. Italiens im Mittellter, I (Leipzig, 1897), 142 sqq.
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