Vigilius dormitans Romes seer overseene· Or A treatise of the Fift General Councell held at Constantinople, anno 553. under Iustinian the Emperour, in the time of Pope Vigilius: the occasion being those tria capitula, which for many yeares troubled the whole Church. Wherein is proved that the Popes apostolicall constitution and definitive sentence in matter of faith, was condemned as hereticall by the Synod. And the exceeding frauds of Cardinall Baronius and Binius are clearely discovered. By Rich: Crakanthorp Dr. in Divinitie, and chapleine in ordinary to his late Majestie King Iames. Opus posthumum. Published and set forth by his brother Geo: Crakanthorp, according to a perfect copy found written under the authors owne hand.

CAP. II. That the Fift Generall Councill, when Pope Vigilius refused to come unto it, was held without the Popes presence therein, either by himselfe or by his Legates.

1. THat this Council was celebrated when Pope Vigilius was at Constantinople; that he was once, againe, often and earnestly, invited to the Synod, but wilfully refused to be pre∣sent either personally or by his deputies, the Acts of the Councill doe abundantly wit∣nesse. The holy Synod said a thus, Saepius petivimus. We have of∣ten entreated the most holy Pope Vigilius; to come together with us and make a determination of these matters. Againe, the holy Synod said, b The most glorious Iudges and certaine of us (saepius adhortati sunt Vigilium) have often exhorted Vigilius, to come and debate and make an end of this cause touching the Three Chapters. Neither did they onely invite, exhort, and entreat him; but in the Emperors name they commanded him to come to the Synod: We being

present (said c the Bishops, who were sent unto him) Liberius, Peter, and Patricius, proposuerunt Iussionem pijssimi Imperatoris sanctissimo Papae, proposed to the most holy Pope Vigilius the command of the most holy Emperor. If all this seeme not enough, the Emperor him∣selfe testifieth d the same, Mandavimus illi, we have commanded Vigilius, both by our Iudges, and by certaine of your selves (he writ this to the Synod) ut una cum omnibus conveniret, that he should come together with all the rest, in common to debate and deter∣mine this cause touching the Three Chapters.

2. What Pope Vigilius did, after so many invitations, en∣treaties, and commands, Card. Bellarmine doth declare, The Pope, saith he, e nes{que} per se, ne{que} per legatos interfuit, was not pre∣sent in the Council either by himselfe, or by his legats. And more clearly in another place, The Pope, saith he, f was then at Constan∣tinople, sed noluit interesse, but he would not be present in the Councill. Binius testifieth g the same. At the fifth Councill Vigilius was not present either by himselfe or by his deputies. And Baronius, The Pope (saith he) h noluit interesse, would not be present either by himselfe, or by any to supply his place. And this Cardinall adds i not with∣out some choler, The members assembled without the head, nulla Vigilij aegrotantis adhuc habita ratione, having no regard at all to Pope Vigilius then sick.

3. What? doth the Card. complaine that they had no re∣gard of him, when himselfe a little before professeth, noluit in∣teresse, he himselfe was not willing to be present? Or had they no re∣gard of him when before ever they assembled or sate in the Sy∣nod, they writ an Epistle k unto him entreating his presence, and with their own request, signified l the Emperors command, wil, and pleasure to him, that he shold come together with the rest? when after they were assembled in the Synod, they so often, so earnestly invited, and even entreated him to come together with them? when they whom they sent to invite him were no meane, no ordinary messengers neither for their number nor dignitie▪ but twenty reverend Bishops, all of them Metropoli∣tanes, as the Cardinal m both knew, and acknowledged, & the Sy∣nodall acts n doe witnesse, and of those twenty, three were Pa∣triarks, Eutychius, of Constantinople, Apollinarius, of Alexandria, and Domninus, of Antioch? Was this a signe that they had no regard of Vigilius? when besides all this, in token of their most earnest desire of his presence, among divers other they propo∣sed two most effectuall reasons to induce him to come. The one, the promise of Presidencie among them, which so far as in them lay, they offred unto him, saying, o Petimus praesidente nobis vestra beatitudine, we entreat that your holinesse being present in this Synod, the question may be debated and have an end: The other (which should not onely in equitie, but even in common honesty have prevailed with a Pope) for that himselfe had promised and that under his owne hand-writing, that he would come to the Synod: we told him (said p the Bishop) your holinesse knoweth,

quod in his quae inter nos in scriptis facta sunt, promisistis; that in those things which were done in writing betwixt us, you have promised to come together with the rest and discusse these three Chapters. And a∣gaine, we entreated his reverence (say the whole Synod) qscrip∣tas suas promissiones adimplere; to performe that which in his writing he had promised.

4. Had they no regard of sick Vigilius, whose infirmity being signified to the Synod at their first session, they forthwith con∣cluded that Session, saying, r Oportet, we must defer the examina∣tion of the cause to another day? And whereas the Pope promised to give them an answer the next day, then because his qualme was overpast, he found new excuses for his absence: one because t there was but a few westerne Bishops then present with them; another because v he would himself alone declare his judgement in writing, and offer it to the Emperor, for which cause he had entreated respite for certaine dayes of his highnesse. Both which were in truth nothing else but meerepretēces, as the Bishops thē sent, manifestly declared unto him. For both the Emperor, said they, vult te in cōmuni convenire; will have you to come together with the rest, & therefore he ought not to have given his sentēce alone but in common and in the Synod: and for his other excuse, Baro∣nius x himselfe doubteth not to call that a pretence: for so it was indeed, seeing as the Bishops truly told y him, in none of the for∣mer Councils there was any multitude of Westerne Bishops, but onely two or three, and some Clerkes, whereas at that time, there were present with the Pope at Constantinople z many Italian Bishops, others out of Africk, others out of Illirium, for their number more then had beene in al the foure former Coun∣cills; whereupon they plainly and truly told a the Pope to his face, Nihil est quod prohibet vos convenire una nobiscum; there is no sufficient or allowable cause to stay you from comming to the Synod to∣gether with us: not sicknesse, not want of Western Bishops, Nihil est, there is nothing else at all but an unwilling mind. So extraor∣dinary respect had they of the Pope at this time, and so earnest were they to have him present in the Synod, of whom Baronius without any regard of truth shamed not to say, that they assem∣bled having no respect at all unto sick Vigilius.

5. The true reason which made the Pope so unwilling to be present in the Synod, and why Noluit interesse, was indeed his hereticall affection and adversnes from the truth in this cause of the Three Chapters. He saw the Catholike Bishops, then as∣sembled, to be bent and forward (as their dutie was) for condem∣ning those Chapters, which himselfe embraced and defended: he therefore thought it fit to separate himselfe from them in place, from whom in judgement and in the doctrine of faith he was so farre disjoyned and severed. This to have beene the onely true cause of his wilfull absence and of his Noluit interesse the sequell of this Treatise will make most evident. For this time it is sufficient, by all those honorable invitations, earnest perswasi∣ons,

and Imperiall commands, to have declared that as the holy Synod for their part was most desirous of his presence, so he not onely was absent, but in meere stomacke, wilfulnesse and per∣versnesse, absented himselfe from the Holy Councill at this time.

Notes

• a

  Coll. 2. pa. 524. a.
• b

  Col. 1. pa. 521. b. & Coll. 8. pa. 584. b.
• c

  Coll. 2. pa. 524. a.
• d

  Epist. Iustin. ad Conc. Coll. 1. pa. 520. a.
• e

  Lib 1. de Conc. ca. 5. § Coacta.
• f

  Lib. cod. 19. § Aude.
• g

  Notis in Conc. gen. 5. § Praesedit.
• h

  Anno 553. nu. 29
• i

  Ibid. nu. 31.
• k

  Epist. Euty, hij ad Vigilium lecta Coll. 1. ideo{que} missa ante incho••tum Synodū.
• l

  Et primo die in∣stantis Maij perve∣nimus ad Vigilium:—Diximus, Pijs∣simus Dominus vult te unà cum alijs cō∣ven••e: proposuc∣runt jussionem pijs∣simi Imperatoris. Coll. 2. p••. 523. b. 524. a. Concilium vero caepit 4. die May. Coll. 1.
• m

  Missi sunt qui cum vocarent Epi∣scopi numero vigin∣ti, ijdem{que} Metropo∣litani. Bar. an. 553. nu. 35.
• n

  Coll. 1. & 2. nam in utra{que} missi sunt.
• o

  Coll. 1. pa. 521. a.
• p

  Coll. 2. pa. 523. b.
• q

  Coll. 8. pa. 584. a
• r

  Coll. 1 in fine.
• Postero die polli∣citus est manifesta∣re, quod ei de tali conventu placuerit. Coll. 1.
• t

  Ille respondit non posse nobiscum con∣venire, eo quod plu∣rimi quidē hîc sunt Orientales Episcopi, pauci vero cum eo. Coll. 2. pa. 523. a.
• v

  Dicebat facere se per semetipsum in scriptis, & offerre Imperatori, ideo e∣nim & inducias se postulasse ab ejus se∣renitate. Ibid.
• x

  Eam suae absentiae causam praetexuisse. an. 553. nu. 36.
• y

  Nec in sanctis 4. Synodis multitudo Occidentalium Epi∣scoporum inventa est unquam, sed duo vel tres Episco••i. Col. 2. pa. 523. b.
• z

  Nunc vtro 〈◊〉〈◊〉 multi ex 〈◊〉〈◊〉 E∣piscopi, sunt etiam ex Africa, & ex Il∣lyrico, Ibid.
• a

  Ibid. Col. 2.