The Formation of Christendom, Volume VI

The Holy See and the Wandering of the Nations.

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Introduction. Connection with Volume V. St. Leo's action, 1

Denial of the Primacy as acknowledged at Chalcedon suicidal on the part of those who believe in the Church, 3

Subject of this volume as compared with the fifth, 5

The second wonder in human history, 6

The acknowledgment of the Primacy and the political powerlessness of the city of Rome coeval, 6

The three hundred years from Genseric to Astolphus, 9

St. Leo in Rome after Genseric, 10

Political condition of Rome. Avitus emperor, 455-6, 13

Majorian emperor, 457-461, 14

Death of Pope Leo; changes seen by him in his life, 15

Hilarus Pope and Libius Severus emperor, 461-465, 16

The over-lordship of Byzantium admitted in the choice of the Greek Anthemius as emperor, 467, 18

Sidonius Apollinaris an eye-witness of Rome's splendour, subjection to Byzantium, and unchanged habits in 467, 19

Anthemius murdered and Rome plundered by Ricimer, 472, 20

Olybrius emperor, 472; Ricimer and Olybrius die of the plague, 20

Glycerius emperor, 473; Nepos, 474; Romulus Augustulus, 475, 21

The senate declares to the eastern emperor that an emperor of the West is needless, 22

The twenty-one years' death-agony of imperial Rome, 23

State of the western provinces since the death of Theodosius I., 24

The first and the second victory of the Church, 25

The effect produced by the wandering of the nations, 26

The Visigoth and Ostrogoth migrations, 27

Gaul overrun by Teuton invaders, 28

Arianism propagated by the Goths among the other tribes, 29

Burgundian kingdom of Lyons. Spain overrun, 30

The Vandals in North Africa and their persecution of Catholics, 31

The Hunnish inroads, 33

All the western provinces under Teuton governments, 35

Odoacer and Theodorick, 36

Odoacer succeeded by Theodorick after the capture of Ravenna, 38

The character of Theodorick's reign, 39

His fairness towards the Roman Church and Pontiff, 40

The contrast between Theodorick and Clovis, 42

The dictum of Ataulph on the Roman empire, 43

Ataulph and Theodorick represent the better judgments of the invaders, 44

The outlook of Pope Simplicius at Rome over the western provinces, 45

And over the eastern empire, 46

Basiliscus and Zeno the first theologising emperors, 47

How the races descending on the empire had become Arian, 49

The point of time when the Church was in danger of losing all which she had gained, 50

How the division of the empire called out the Primacy, 51

How the extinction of the western empire does so yet more, 53

How the Pope was the sole fixed point in a transitional world, 54

Guizot's testimony, 55

What St. Jerome, St. Augustine, and St. Leo did not foresee, which we behold, 57

C?sar fell down.

Great changes in the Roman State following the time of St. Leo, 59

Nature of the succession in the C?sarean throne, and then in the Byzantine, 61

Personal changes in the Popes and eastern emperors, 62

Gennadius succeeds Anatolius, and Acacius succeeds Gennadius in the see of Constantinople, 64

Acacius resists the Encyclikon of Basiliscus, 65

Letter of Pope Simplicius to the emperor Zeno, 66

Advancement of Acacius by Zeno, 69

Acacius induces Zeno to publish a formulary of doctrine, 70

John Talaia, elected patriarch of Alexandria, appeals for support to Pope Simplicius, 70

Pope Felix sends an embassy to the emperor, 71

His letter to Zeno, 72

His letter to Acacius, 73

His legates arrested, imprisoned, robbed, and seduced, 74

Pope Felix synodically deposes Acacius, 75

Enumerates his misdeeds in the sentence, 76

Synodal decrees in Italy signed by the Pope alone, 78

Letter of Pope Felix to Zeno setting forth the condemnation of Acacius, 79

The condition of the Pope when he thus wrote, 81

How Acacius received the Pope's condemnation, 83

The position which Acacius thereupon took up, 84

The greatness of the bishop of Constantinople identified with the greatness of his city, 84

The humiliations of Rome witnessed by Acacius, 86

How the Pope, under these humiliations, spoke to Acacius and to the emperor, 88

The Pope on the one side, Acacius on the other, represent an absolute contradiction, 89

Eudoxius and Valens matched by Acacius and Zeno, 92

Death of Acacius, and estimate of him by three contemporaries, 93

Fravita, succeeding Acacius, seeks the Pope's recognition, 93

Letters of the emperor and Fravita to the Pope, and his answers, 94

The position taken by Acacius not maintained by Zeno and Fravita, 96

Nor by Euphemius, who succeeds Fravita, 96

Euphemius suspects and resists the new emperor Anastasius, 97

Condition of the Empire and the Church at the accession of Pope Gelasius in 492, 98

The "libellus synodicus" on the emperor Anastasius, 100

With whom the four Popes-Gelasius, Anastasius, Symmachus, and Hormisdas-have to deal, 101

Euphemius, writing to the Pope, acknowledges him to be successor of St. Peter, 103

Gelasius replies to Euphemius, insisting on the repudiation of Acacius, 104

Absolute obedience of the Illyrian bishops professed to the Apostolic See, 105

Gelasius shows that the canons make the First See supreme judge of all, 106

Says that the bishop of Constantinople holds no rank among bishops, 107

Praises bishops who have resisted the wrongdoings of temporal rulers, 108

The Holy See, in virtue of its Principate, confirms every Council, 109

Gelasius in 494 defines to the emperor the domain of the Two Powers, 110

And the subordination of the temporal ruler in spiritual things, 111

The words of Gelasius have become the law of the Church, 113

The emperor Anastasius deposes Euphemius by the Resident Council, 114

Pope Gelasius, in a council of seventy bishops at Rome, sets forth the divine institution of the Primacy, 115

And the order of the three Patriarchal Sees, 115

And three General Councils-the Nicene, Ephesine, and Chalcedonic, 115

Denies to the see of Constantinople any rank beyond that of an ordinary bishop, and omits the Council of 381, 116

Death of Pope Gelasius and character of his pontificate, 118

His own description of the time in which he lived, 118

Peter stood up.

Pope Anastasius: his letter to the emperor Anastasius, 120

He makes the Pope's position in the Church parallel with that of the emperor in the world, 121

He writes to Clovis on his conversion, 122

St. Gregory of Tours notes the prosperity of Catholic kingdoms and the decline of Arian in the West, 123

Letter of St. Avitus, bishop of Vienne, to Clovis on his baptism, 124

He recognises the vast importance of the professing the Catholic faith by Clovis, 125

And the duty of Clovis to propagate the faith in peoples around, 126

How the words of St. Avitus to Clovis were fulfilled in history, 127

The election of Pope Symmachus traversed by the emperor's agent, 128

His letter termed "Apologetica" to the eastern emperor, 129

The imperial and papal power compared, 131

The papal and the sovereign power the double permanent head of human society, 133

Emperors wont to acknowledge Popes on their accession, 134

Inferences to be deduced from this letter, 135

The answer of the emperor Anastasius is to stir up a fresh schism at Rome, 136

The Synodus Palmaris, without judging the Pope, declares him free from all charge, 137

Letter of the bishop of Vienne to the Roman senate upon this Council, 139

The cause of the Bishop of Rome is not that of one bishop, but of the Episcopate itself, 140

Words of Ennodius, bishop of Pavia, embodied in the act of the Roman Council of 503, 142

Result of the attack of the emperor on the Pope is the recording in black and white that the First See is judged by no man, 143

The eastern Church under the emperor Anastasius, 143

He deposes Macedonius as well as Euphemius, 144

Both these bishops of Byzantium failed to resist his despotism, 147

Eastern bishops address Pope Symmachus to succour them, 148

Pope Hormisdas succeeds Symmachus in 514, 149

His instruction to the legates sent to Constantinople, 150

The bishop of Constantinople presents all bishops to the emperor, 157

The conditions for reunion made by Pope Hormisdas, 158

The treacherous conduct of the emperor, 159

Hormisdas describes Greek diplomacy, 160

The Syrian Archimandrites supplicate the Pope for help, 161

Sudden death of the emperor Anastasius, 162

The emperor Justin's election and antecedents, 162

He notifies his accession to the Pope, 163

The Pope holds a council and sends an embassy to Constantinople, 164

The bishop, clergy, and emperor accept the terms of the Pope, 165

The formulary of union signed by them, 167

The report of the legates to the Pope, 169

The emperor Justin's letter to the Pope, 170

Character of the period 455-519, 171

Political state of the East and West most perilous to the Church, 172

The Popes under Odoacer and Theodorick, 173

How Acacius took advantage of the political situation, 174

The meaning and range of his attempt, 175

The Pope from 476 onwards rests solely upon his Apostolate, 176

The seven Popes who succeed St. Leo, 179

The seven bishops who succeed Anatolius at Constantinople, 180

The eastern emperors in this time, 182

The state of the eastern patriarchates, Alexandria and Antioch, 184

The waning of secular Rome reveals the power of the Pontificate, 185

The Popes alone preserved the East from the Eutychean heresy, 185

The position of St. Leo maintained by the seven following Popes, 186

The submission to Hormisdas an act of the "undivided" Church, 187

The adverse circumstances which developed the Pope's Principate, 188