A new history of ecclesiastical writers containing an account of the authors of the several books of the Old and New Testament, of the lives and writings of the primitive fathers, an abridgement and catalogue of their works ... also a compendious history of the councils, with chronological tables of the whole / written in French by Lewis Ellies du Pin.

HORMISDAS. * 1.1

POpe Symmachus dying in the Month of July, in the Year 514, some days after Hormisdas was chosen in his Room. His Pontificat, which lasted nine years and some days, was famous for the great Negotiations which he manag'd for the Re•…•…n of the Eastern and Western Churches, which had all the success that could be expected, for the Holy See obtain'd at last of the Greeks the Condemnation of A•…•…, which they had refus'd to grant for so many years before. The Abridg∣ment of his Letters will shew us the series and particulars of that History.

The first is address'd to St. Remegius Archbishop of Rhemes, who had written to him upon his Pro∣motion to the Popedom. He thanks him, and appoints him his Vicar in the Kingdom of Clouis; he empowers him to take care that the Canons be put in execution, and to call Synods of all the Bishops in the Kingdom, as oft as any business should require them to meet. 'Tis plain that this Letter was written by Hormisdas within a little while after his Promotion. Dr. Cave says that this Letter is manifestly supposititious because in it Hormisdas congratulates Clouis, whom he calls Ludovi∣cus, as being lately baptiz'd by Remigius: But Clouis was baptiz'd in the Year 496, and died in the Year 509, at least in 511, before Horsmisdas was made Pope. Hist. Lit. p. 392, 393.

In the same year Vitalianus, General of the Cavalry to the Emperor Anastasius, rose up in Arms against him, and came with his Army towards Constantinople: He made Religion the pretence of his Revolt, and declar'd that he had taken Arms for no other reason but to protect the Catholicks, and to restore Macedonius to the See of Constantinople. The Emperor was forc'd to make Peace with him, upon condition that a Council should be call'd to regulate the Affairs of the Church by the Advice of the Bishop of Rome. This oblig'd the Emperor to write to Pope Hormisdas; to pray him that he would be Mediator for pacifying these Commotions, and that he would labour to restore the Unity of the Church. He observes in this Letter that the harshness of former Popes, his Prede∣cessors, had hindred him from writing to them, but his Reputation for goodness had invited him to have recourse to the See of St. Peter. But the true reason of his doing so, was his own Interest. This Letter was sent Jan. 12. and receiv'd April the 1st, in the Year 515.

In answer to this Letter, the Pope tells him, That he thanks God, who had mov'd the Emperor to write to him, after he had kept silence so long, and that he rejoyc'd in the hope he had to see the Church of Jesus Christ in Peace and Union. He shows how advantageous it will be to the Church, and wishes it may quickly be finish'd. He desires to know for what reason he would have a Council call'd. This Letter, which is the second to Anastasius, is dated April 4th, in the Year 515.

Dorotheus Bishop of Thessalonica, wrote also to the Pope, exhorting him to labour for the Peace of the Church, and declares to him that he wishes the Hereticks were condemn'd, and that all due Re∣spect and Honour were paid to the Holy See. The Pope in his Answer commends his Zeal, and exhorts him to contribute his endeavours towards the Re union of the Churches. Dorotheus's Letter is plac'd before the third Letter of Hormisdas, which is an Answer to it.

The Emperor design'd precisely the time and place where he would have the Council held, in a particular Letter which he wrote to the Pope, wherein he tells him, That the Council should be held at Heraclea, about some Differences concerning the Faith which were risen in Scythia. He prays him to come there with some Bishops of the Churches committed to his care. This Pope judg'd it not conve∣nient to go to the Council nor to send thither; but he sent as Deputies into the East Ennodius and Fortunatus Bishops, with Venantius a Priest, Vitalis a Deacon, and a Secretary. He gave them a Memorial of Instructions as to what they should do, which contains, That when they came to Greece, if the Bishops came, to meet them, they should receive them; That if they invited them to a Feast they should not go, but answer them, That they must first c•…•…icate at the Holy Table, before they commu∣nicated with them at the ordinary Meals. That they should receive nothing from the Bishops; That when they arriv'd at Constantinople, they should retire whether the Emperor should order them. That they should not suffer themselves to be seen by any body but those that came in his Name. Nevertheless, That after they had Audience of the Emp•…•…, they might receive the Orthodox of their Communion who should come to visit them; That when they presented his Let•…•… to the Emperor, they should tell him, That the Pope his Father saluted him, that be prayed to God every day for him, and recommended his Empire to the Intercessions of St. Pete•• and St. Paul; That they should speak of nothing till the Pope's Letter was read: That after this they should acquaint the Emperor, that they had a Letter to Vitalianus, who had sent two Deputies to the Pope by the permission of the Emperor; That they should not deliver it into the hands of the Emperor, but if he should desire it of them, they should tell him that they had orders to deli∣ver it to none but Vitalianus, and assure him that it contain'd nothing but what concerns the Peace of the Church: That if any one should speak to them of a Council, they should say, that they must hold to the Letter of St. Leo, and the Council of Chalcedon: That in case it were answer'd, that the Eastern Bishops had acknowledg'd them, they should say, Why then do they differ from them? That if they were press'd to communicate with the Emperor, since he had acknowledg'd the Doctrine establish'd in the Council of Chalcedon, they should remonstrate, that they did not decline the Emperor, but pray'd him to procure

the Peace of the Church, by declaring his Sentiments in a Publick Act, and then they should be ready to receive all the Orthodox; That when once this matter was so order'd, the Pope himself would not refuse to be present at a Council, if it were necessary: That if they should be press'd to bear company with the Bishop of Constantinople in his time of waiting, they should answer that they were come for the Peace of the Church; That this was a private business, which should be order'd when the Re-union of the Bi∣shops was finish'd: That they had heard it said, that there were two pretended who pretended to be Bishops of Constantinople: That if the Emperor should tell them, Must I then at the time of waiting be with∣out a Bishop? they should answer, that he might choose one who acknowledg'd the Orthodox Faith, and the Constitutions of the Holy See, so long as this Cause was undecided: That if any Libels of Accusation were given in against some Bishops, these must be reserv'd to the Judgment of the Holy See: That if the Emperor should grant a Declaration acknowledging the Council of Chalcedon, that one of the Deputies should carry it to be sign'd by the Provinces: That they should not suffer themselves to be presented to the Emperor by Timotheus, who held then the See of Constantinople; That if he were present at their Au∣diences they should desire to be heard alone by themselves. After this Memorial follows the Form, in which he would have the Declaration of the Emperor and the Bishops drawn up, the Substance whereof is this, That they receive the Council of Chalcedon, and the Letter of St. Leo, and that they Anathematize Nestorius, Eutyches, Dioscorus and their followers, as Timotheus Aelurus, Peter Mon∣gus and others, together with Acacius and Peter of Antioch. He gives his Legates also charge to bring to Rome the banish'd Bishops who were accus'd of Heresie, and to desire that those may be restor'd who hold communion with the Holy See, and that the judging of those who had persecuted the Ca∣tholick Bishops might be referred to the Holy See.

The Pope, who had written in the fourth Letter to the Emperor, that he would send Deputies to him, gave them with this Memorial a Letter for the Emperor, wherein he declares to him, That however it were a new thing that the Bishop of Rome should be summon'd to a Council out of his own City, yet he would gladly be present at it, provided that before it were held, the Synod of Chalcedon, and the Letter of St. Leo were approv'd, and the Hereticks anathematiz'd. This Letter is the fifth, Dated Aug. 11. 515.

The Emperor receiv'd the Pope's Deputies graciously, and inform'd him by Letter, That they were witnesses of the Orthodoxy of his Faith, assuring him that he received the Council of Chalcedon, and the Letter of St. Leo, and did in every thing agree with him, except what concern'd the Anathema pro∣nounc'd against Acacius, which must be suppress'd if he minded to restore Peace and Union between the Eastern and Western Churches. And he did not only write this Letter to the Pope, but he sent him also two Deputies to assure him of the sincerity of his Faith, and the desire he had to procure the Peace of the Church. He wrote also by these Deputies to the Senate, that they would dispose the mind of the King and the Pope to this Re-union.

The Pope wrote back to the Emperor, That he was very much inclin'd to Peace, and exhorted him to conclude it, by causing the Hereticks and Heresie to be condemn'd, without speaking to him of Acacius in particular. But the Senate observ'd to him, that the Condemnation of this Bishop was the only obstacle to Peace. And so it was indeed; for the Orientalists would never pass the Sentence of Condemnation against him, and so the Deputies of the Pope withdrew, without doing any thing. Nevertheless many Bishops of Thrace, Dardania and Pannonia joyn'd with the Pope, but above all John Bishop of Nicopolis, Metropolitan of Epirus, and his Suffragans, who wrote to Hormisdas, and sent a Deputy to him, who should entirely be at his Devotion. He sent back to them a Confessi∣on of Faith which they approv'd. You have here the Letter of this John to the Pope, the Answer of the Pope, which is his fifth Letter, the Synodical Letter of the Council of Epirus, and the An∣swer of the Pope, which is his eighth Letter; another Letter to John of Nicopolis in particular, which is the ninth, with the Confession of Faith, and a Memorial of Instructions given to the Deacon who carried it. Avitus Bishop of Vienna desir'd of the Pope to know the News of the success of this Deputation. The Pope acquaints him with it in his tenth Letter. All this was translated in the Year 516.

Altho the first Deputation of Pope Hormisdas had not the success that was hop'd for, yet he sent a second time to the Emperor the same Ennodius, with Peregrinus Bishop of Misena in Campania. He gave them a Letter wherein he earnestly press'd the Emperor to condemn Acacius, and plainly told him that there was no Peace to be hop'd for without this. His chief reason is, because it is not sufficient to reject the Error, and condemn those that are the Authors of it, but they must also con∣demn their Followers and Abettors. This Letter, which is the eleventh, is dated the third day of April, in the Year 517.

At the same time, and by the same Deputies, he address'd the twelfth Letter to Timotheus, who was possess'd of the See of Constantinople, and the thirteenth to all the Oriental Bishops that were divided from his Communion, exhorting them to do what he desir'd. He wrote also the fourteenth to the Bishops of his Communion, and gives them to understand, that he had sent a second Embassy to labour for a Peace. There is another particular Letter to Possessor a Bishop of Afric, who had been forc'd to retire to Constantinople, which is the fifteenth, wherein Hormisdas praises the constancy of this Bishop. And in the sixteenth Letter, sent at the same time, he exhorts the People, Monks, and the Clergy of Constantinople, to separate from the Hereticks. These Letters are all of one and the same Date.

After the departure of E•…•…odius and Peregrinus, there came a Deacon from the Church of Nico∣polis, to acquaint the Pope. That the Bishop of Thessalonica was very angry with the Bishop of Nico∣polis, for writing to the Pope and persecuted him cruelly, because he had not written to him upon his Ordination; who pray'd the Pope to settle this Affair, or else he would be forc'd to write to him. The Pope wrote to his Deputies that they should assist this Bishop, and sent them also a Me∣morial of the Method they should use for that end, when they arriv'd at Thessalonica. He wrote also to the Emperor, recommending to him John of Nicopolis, and exhorted this Bishop to suffer with constancy, and reprov'd sharply Dorotheus of Thessalonica for using him after this manner. These Letters are the 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, and 22th, all dated April 12. in the Year 517.

At the same time the Emperor wrote a note to the Pope, wherein he complain'd of his being too inflexible. On the other side the Monks of the second Province of Syria complain'd to the Pope that the Emperor suffer'd the Eutychians to abuse them and begg'd his assistance in a Petition sign'd by them all. The Pope in his Answer comforts them, and exhorts them to persevere in suffering for the Faith. This is the three and twentieth Letter which is in Greek and Latin in the Council of Constantinople held under Mennas.

The 24th and 25th Letters concern another Affair. John Bishop of Terragona had come into Ita∣ly, and desir'd of the Pope some Orders for the Churches of Spain. The Pope sent him a Circular Letter, and appointed him his Vicar in Spain, to see the Canons put in Execution there, and to give an account to the Holy See of the Ecclesiastical Affairs of that Kingdom, but without encroach∣ing upon the Rights of Metropolitans. The Orders contain'd in the Letter to the Bishops of Spain are, 1. That none of the Laity should be ordain'd Bishops unless they continued the due time among the Clergy. 2. That Ordinations should be neither bought nor sold. 3. That Provincial Councils should be held twice in a year, or at least once. These two Letters are rather of the year 517. than the year 521.

In the 26th Letter Hormisdas appoints Salustius, Bishop of Sevil, his Vicar in the Province of Reti∣ca and in Portugal, and gives him power to call together the Bishops of these Provinces, to determine their Differences, and to see the Canons observ'd, upon condition that he should give notice to the Holy See of every thing that he should order.

The Emperor Justinius, who succeeded Anastasius in the year 518, immediately acquainted the Pope with the News of his Exaltation, and the Pope return'd him a very civil Answer, signifying to him, That he doubted not but the Peace of the Church would be restor'd under his Reign. And indeed the Emperor set about it presently, and wrote to the Pope, That the Bishop of Constantinople, and the other Eastern Bishops, had held a Synod at Constantinople, and declar'd unto him, that they earnest∣ly desir'd to be remitted to the Western Church, and that he thought it would be convenient for the Pope to send Legats into the East for concluding a Peace.

The Pope commends the Zeal of this Prince for Peace, but withal tells him that it could not be concluded, unless the Name of Acacius were expung'd out of the List of Catholick Bishops.

John Bishop of Constantinople had already sent a Confession of Faith, wherein he acknowledg'd the Decision of the Council of Chalcedon; but the Pope was not satisfy'd with it, and refused to re∣ceive him into his Communion, until he should rase the Name of Acacius out of the Dyptichs.

In the Year 519, the Pope sent a third time his Legats into the East, but with a strict Charge that they should conclude no Treaty of Peace, unless the Memory of Acacius were condemn'd. There were five Legats, two Bishops, Germanus Bishop of Capua and John, one Priest call'd Blan∣dus, and two Deacons, Felix and Dioscorus. He sent by them many Letters address'd to the Em∣peror, to Justinian, to John Bishop of Constantinople, to the Clergy, and to the People of that City, to the Empress, and to the Principal Officers of the Emperor. These are the Letters from the 30th to the 41th. These Legates were well receiv'd in the East, and John of Constantinople did all that they desir'd, in condemning Acacius by a Writing. The Bishop of Thessalonica and the Bishops of his Patriarchate follow'd his Example. The Pope understanding this, received them into his Communion, and testify'd his Joy upon this occasion, and exhorted him to cause the Bishops of A∣lexandria and Antioch to do as much, and desir'd the Restauration of three Bishops, who had been depos'd and turn'd out of the Churches, because they were the first who return'd to the Communion of the Roman Church. In the mean time the Bishop of Thessalonica altered his Resolution, and would not afterwards sign the Confession of Faith that was brought from the West, nor the Con∣demnation of Acacius. But on the contrary publish'd his Resentment against John of * 1.2 Constanti∣nople so far, that he stirr'd up the People to fall upon him, who wounded him so grievously, that he died of his wounds. There were also some Commotions at Ephesus, but the Emperor pacify'd them. And in order to the Re-union of the Church of Antioch, he caus'd a Priest, call'd Paul, to be chosen Bishop of that See, who had been ordain'd at Constantinople: But the Monks of Scythia, who would have it affirm'd, That one of the Persons of the Trinity was crucify'd, went to Rome, to maintain their Proposition there, which they could not make the Pope's Legates relish well. Hor∣misdas detain'd the Monks for some time, but afterwards he drove them out of Rome. Dorotheus Bishop of Thessalonica, who had caus'd John of Nicopolis to be kill'd, was seiz'd; and the Pope's Legates desir'd that he might be sent to Rome to be judg'd there, but he was carried to Heraclea, from whence he was suffer'd to go away. He wrote afterwards to the Pope in his own Vindicati∣on; but the Pope order'd him to come to Rome that his Cause might be examin'd there. As to the

three other Bishops for whom the Pope had written, Justinian answer'd, That as to Elias, he could not be restor'd, as long as he was living who had been Ordain'd in his room; but as to Thomas and Nico∣stratus, * 1.3 they should be restor'd whenever the Peace was fully concluded. John of Constantinople being dead, one nam'd Epiphanius was chosen in his room in the Year 520, who was Ordain'd according to Custom by the neighbouring Bishops. They gave notice to the Pope of it, who approv'd his Ordination, but complain'd that they had neither written, nor sent Deputies to him; as also that they had not restor'd the three Bishops for whom he had interceded. Epiphanius presently satisfy'd the Pope, by writing to him an Account of his Faith, and assuring him that he agreed in all things with the Roman Church. He wrote also another Letter to him, and sent him a Chalice of Gold a∣dorn'd with precious Stones, a Patten, and another Chalice of Silver and two Veils. There re∣main'd only two things which hindred a perfect Peace; The first was the question, Whether it might be said, that One Person of the Trinity was crucify'd; and the second was the Opposition which the Clergy of the East made to the Condemnation of some of their Bishops. The Emperor Justinus wrote about it to the Pope, and sent him the Petition that had been presented to him by the Clergy of Jerusalem and Antioch. He declar'd also to the Pope, that he wish'd he would not condemn this Proposition, One Person of the Trinity was crucified, and that he would be satisfy'd with expung∣ing the Name of Acacius out of the Dyptichs, and not desire that it should also be ras'd out from among the Bishops who had communicated with him. The Pope did not clearly explain his mind, neither about the one nor the other of these Propositions, being afraid of proceeding too far. In the mean time Paul of Antioch, who was an Enemy to this Proposition, One Person of the Trinity was crucified, having displeas'd the People of his Church, and being accus'd of many Crimes, was forc'd to abdicate his Bishoprick; and the Emperor and Patriarch of Constantinople inform'd the Pope of it. This is an Abridgment of the subject matter of the Letters of Hormisdas, and the other Pieces which are joyn'd with them. There are reckon'd in all eighty Letters of this Pope. There is some∣thing remarkable in the 70th Letter written to Possessor a Bishop of Africk, which I could not ob∣serve before, because it has no Relation to the Affairs of the East. It concerns the Writings of Fau∣stus of Ries, about which he had been consulted by the Bishop to whom he writes. He answers him, That those Writings are not receiv'd no more than the Writings of other Authors who are not rank'd among the Fathers. That the Catholick Doctrines, and the number of Books authoriz'd, was de∣scribed by the Holy Fathers, to prevent any one from giving his Opinion according to his Fancy. That it was needless to handle such Questions as were not of the number of those which the Church had decided, and that our Faith ought to be bounded by the Dogmes contain'd in the Canonical Books, in the Synodi∣cal Decisions, and in the Doctrine taught by the Fathers. These are the Principles truly Theological which are well noted by this Pope. After this Remark, there is a kind of an Addition and Ex∣ception, Nevertheless, says he, if you would know what the Church of Rome, i. e. the Catholick Church, teaches and believes concerning Grace and Free-will, altho it may be learn'd from divers Writings of St. Austin, and chiefly from his Letter to Hilary and Prosper: Nevertheless, there are some formal Heads about it in the Archives of our Church, which I will send you if you have them not, and which you should believe as necessary, altho it is easie to learn what one ought to believe about it, by reflecting upon the words of the Apostle St. Paul.

Hormisdas had a great deal of prudence, boldness, and policy; His Letters are well enough writ∣ten, altho they smell of the Barbarisms of his Age. His Epistles are printed Concil. 12. Tom. 4. p. 1291. Cave Hist. Lit. p. 379.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Hormisdas
• * 1.2

  Baronius calls him Joan. Ca∣tholicus.
• * 1.3

  S Fulgen∣tius.