February
518-520 A.D. John II
the Cappadocian—Constantinople’s 52nd; Installed Under Emperor Anastasius 1; Reunion
of West & East After 34-Yr .Schism; Reaffirms Chalcedonian Creed, 451; “Let up praise the Holy and Consubstantial
Trinity;” 5 Predecessors Removed from
Diptychs.
John of Cappadocia
From Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia
John II, surnamed Cappadox or the
Cappadocian, 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 patriarchate is
memorable for the celebrated Acclamations of Constantinople, and the reunion of
East and West after a schism of 34 years. At the death of Timothy I, John of Cappadocia, whom he
had designated his successor, was presbyter and chancellor of the Church of
Constantinople.[1]
Biography
On July 9, 518, the long reign
of Anastasius came to a close, the orthodox Justin succeeding. On Sunday July 15, the new emperor entered the cathedral, and
the patriarch, accompanied by twelve prelates, was making his way through the
throngs that crowded every corner. As he came near the raised dais where the
pulpit stood shouts arose, "Long live the patriarch! Long live the
emperor! Why do we remain excommunicated? Why have we not communicated these
many years? You are Catholic, what do you fear; worthy servant of the Trinity?
Cast out Severus the Manichee! O Justin, our emperor, you win! This instant
proclaim the synod of Chalcedon, because Justin reigns".[1] These and other cries continued. The procession
passed into the inclosure, but the excited congregation went on shouting
outside the gates of the choir in similar strains: "You shall not come out
unless you anathematize Severus",[1] referring to the heretical patriarch of Antioch.
The patriarch John, having meanwhile gained time for thought and consultation,
came out and mounted the pulpit, saying, "There is no need of disturbance
or tumult; nothing has been done against the faith; we recognize for orthodox all
the councils which have confirmed the decrees of Nicaea, and principally these
three - Constantinople, Ephesus, and the great council of
Chalcedon".[1]
The people were determined to
have a more formal decision, and continued shouting for several hours, mingling
with their former cries such as these: "Fix a day for a festival in honour
of Chalcedon!" "Commemorate the holy synod this very morrow!".[1] The people being thus firm, the deacon Samuel was
instructed to announce the desired festival. Still the people continued to
shout with all their might, "Severus is now to be anathematized;
anathematize him this instant, or there's nothing done!".[1] The patriarch, seeing that something must be
settled, took counsel with the twelve attendant prelates, who agreed to the
curse on Severus. This extemporaneous and intimidated council then carried a
decree by acclamation: "It is plain to all that Severus in separating
himself from this church condemned himself. Following, therefore, the canons
and the Fathers, we hold him alien and condemned by reason of his blasphemies,
and we anathematize him".[1] The domes of St. Sophia rang with shouts of triumph
and the crowd dispersed. It was a day long remembered in Constantinople.[1]
The next day the promised
commemoration of Chalcedon took place. Again as the patriarch made his
processional entrance and approached the pulpit clamours arose: "Restore
the relics of Macedonius to the church! Restore those exiled for the faith!
Let the bones of the Nestorians be dug up! Let the bones of the Eutychians be dug up! Cast out the Manichees! Place the four
councils in the diptychs! Place Leo, bishop of Rome, in the diptychs! Bring the diptychs to the pulpit!".[1] This kind of cry continuing, the patriarch replied,
"Yesterday we did what was enough to satisfy my dear people, and we shall
do the same to-day. We must take the faith as our inviolable foundation; it
will aid us to reunite the churches. Let us then glorify with one mouth the
holy and consubstantial Trinity".[1] But the people went on crying madly, "This
instant, let none go out! I abjure you, shut the doors! You no longer fear
Amantius the Manichee! Justin reigns, why fear Amantius?".[1] So they continued. The patriarch tried in vain to
bring them to reason. It was the outburst of enthusiasm and excitement long
pent up under heterodox repression. It bore all before it. The patriarch was at
last obliged to have inserted in the diptychs the four councils of Nicaea, Constantinople, Ephesus, and
Chalcedon, and the names of Euphemius and Macedonius, patriarchs of
Constantinople, and Leo, bp. of Rome. Then the multitude chanted for more than
an hour, "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He hath visited and
redeemed His people!".[1] The choir assembled on the raised platform, and,
turning eastwards, sang the Trisagion, the whole people listening in silence.
When the moment arrived for the recitation of the names of the defunct bishops
from the diptychs, the multitude closed in silence about the holy table; and
when the deacon had read the new insertions, a mighty shout arose, "Glory
be to Thee, O Lord!".[1]
To authenticate what had been
done, John assembled on July 20 a council of 40 bishops, who happened to be at
the capital. The four general councils and the name of Pope Leo were inscribed
in the diptychs. Severus of
Antioch was anathematized after an examination of his works in which a distinct
condemnation of Chalcedon was discovered. John wrote to John III of Jerusalem
and to Epiphanius of Tyre, telling them the good news of the acclamations and
the synod. His letters were accompanied by orders from Justin to restore all
who had been banished by Anastasius, and to inscribe the council of Chalcedon
in the diptychs. At Jerusalem and at Tyre there was great joy. Many other
churches declared for Chalcedon, and during the reign of Justin 2,500 bishops
gave their adhesion and approval. Now came the reconciliation with Rome. The
emperor Justin wrote to the pope a fortnight after the scene of the
acclamations, begging him to further the desires of the patriarch John for the
reunion of the churches. John wrote saying that he received the four general
councils, and that the names of Leo and of Hormisdas himself had been put in
the diptychs. A deputation was sent to Constantinople with instructions that
Acacius was to be anathematized by name, but that Euphemius and Macedonius
might be passed over in silence.[1]
The deputies arrived at
Constantinople on Mar. 25, 519. Justin received the pope's letters with great
respect, and told the ambassadors to come to an explanation with the patriarch,
who at first wished to express his adherence in the form of a letter, but
agreed to write a little preface and place after it the words of Hormisdas,
which he copied out in his own handwriting. Two copies were sent by the legates
to Rome, one in Greek, the other in Latin. Emperor, senate, and all present
were overjoyed at this ratification of peace.[1]
The sting of the transaction
still remained; they had now to efface from the diptychs the names of five
patriarchs - Acacius, Fravitta, Euphemius, Macedonius, and Timothy - and two emperors - Zeno and Anastasius I. All the
bishops at Constantinople gave their consent in writing; so did all the abbots,
after some discussion. On Easter Day the pacification was promulgated. The
court and people, equally enthusiastic, surged into St. Sophia. The vaults
resounded with acclamations in praise of God, the emperor, St. Peter, and the
Pope of Rome. Opponents, who had prophesied sedition and tumult, were signally
disappointed. Never within memory had so vast a number communicated. The
emperor sent an account of the proceedings throughout the provinces and the
ambassadors forwarded their report to Rome, saying that there only remained the
negotiations with the Patriarch of
Antioch. John wrote to Hormisdas to congratulate him on the great work, and to offer
him the credit of its success. Soon after, January 19, 520, John died.[1]
References
Attribution
|
Preceded by
Timothy I |
Patriarch of Constantinople
518–520 |
Succeeded by
Epiphanius |
No comments:
Post a Comment