THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG
Docetism. The first result was the settlement of the Alexandrian difficulties, as far as could be expected in the heated state of the popular mind. Petrus's position was not an easy one, and he got through only by some very adroit juggling with terms. Even then an irreconcilable party remained, led by a certain Nephelius, who did all possible to keep up the disturbance; but the majority were content, and, what was of greatest importance, Constantinople and Alexandria were once more on good terms. In Antioch also the situation seemed to improve. Peter the Fuller had been deposed after the downfall of Basiliscus; and when the next incumbent but one, Stephen, had been assassinated, Acacius availed himself of the opportunity to appoint of his own motion a certain Calandion as patriarch (probably at the end of 481). Calandion soon entered into an alliance with the Chalcedonian opponents of the Henoticon and with Rome. He was in consequence deposed in 485, and Petrus returned for the third time, it is said amid great enthusiasm, accepting the Henoticon, as did also Martyrius of Jerusalem — so that the leading rulers of the Eastern Church seemed now to be at one.
But they were reckoning without Rome. The pope was offended not only by the disregard of his wishes in Alexandria but by the arbitrary action of Acacius in the appointment of Calandion. In the latter case, he was appeased by the 7. The assurance that it had been done merely Breach out of necessity, by the subsequent with Rome, calling of a synod, and by the formal notification of the choice on the part of Calandion and his suffragans. It is uncertain whether Simplicius had heard of the Henoticon; his last extant letter complains merely of Acacius' silence in regard to what was happening in Alexandria. He died Mar. 10, 483, and was succeeded by the more determined and successful Felix III., who at once sent two long epistles to Constantinople. He warned Zeno not to lay rash hands on the faith of Peter and to bear in mind the fate of Basiliscus; he admonished Acacius in the tone of a superior not to remain recalcitrant but to atone for past misdeeds by redoubled zeal. The letters, however, had scarcely been despatched when he learned through John Talaja, who on his expulsion had finally come to seek support in Rome, more of the Eastern situation. In great displeasure he sent off fresh letters citing Acacius to appear in Rome and informing the emperor of this proceeding. But Acacius got hold of the papal envoys and either overawed or cajoled them. Felix made haste to call a synod in which he deposed his untrustworthy legates, excommunicated Acacius, and notified the people of Constantinople on July 28, 484, as well as the emperor on Aug. 1. Acacius took no notice of the sentence except to retaliate by striking out the name of Felix from the diptychs, and the breach was complete between Rome and so much of the Eastern Church as remained in communion with him. It is usual to represent this breach and the thirty-five-year schism which followed as the result of the Henoticon, and this document as a thoroughly harmful measure. Superficially, of course,
this view is correct; if the decrees of Chalcedon had been adhered to and submission had been rendered to the directions of Rome, there would have been no schism. But it is by no means certain that such an unconditional surrender to the will of Rome would have been either possible or desirable. It is evident from Felix's letters that he held a startling conviction of the supremacy of the pope which was in irreconcilable conflict with the solution of the Eastern precedence question set forth in canon xxviii. of Chalcedon and Zeno's edict of 476, in which he had strongly confirmed the prerogatives of the patriarch of Constantinople. The development of this prelate's power had been accepted with complacency in the East, and a patriarch who attached so much importance to it as did Acacius was likely to regard it as more vital than the maintenance of a good understanding with Rome. He was in a position to carry his point as long as the government of Constantinople was absorbed in securing its position in the East; it was only when, a generation later, the imperial ambition attempted to embrace the whole known world that the question of reunion with Rome became pressing — for whoever wished to rule in the West was obliged to take the pope into account. In the mean time, however, the main thing was to establish ecclesiastical and dogmatic unity between the great sees of the East. This could be done neither by a formula which should center around the definition of Chalcedon, nor by an absolute rejection of the definition and the council. The method adopted in the Henoticon was thus the only practicable one, although not without its difficulties ; it was no use trying to reconcile the fanatical extreme Monophysites, and on the other wing the orthodox opposition in Constantinople was kept in line by the monasteries, accessible to Roman influence and supplying the pope constantly with information on current events; while the successors of Acacius were not equal to their task, and threw many obstacles in the way of the imperial union policy.
Acacius died probably at the end of 489. His successor Fra vitas (probably a Goth) notified Petrus Mongus of his election in a letter which definitely
adheres to the status quo, and wrote to
8. Eastern Felix in the usual way, although, it
Support appears from Felix's answer, without
of the making any distinct pledges as to his
Henoticon. future conduct. His incumbency of
the patriarchal see, however, lasted but four months. His successor was Euphemius, who took his stand outspokenly among those who wished to place as orthodox a construction as possible upon the Henoticon, if not to drop it altogether. This brought him into conflict with Petrus Mongus, whom he was apparently preparing to depose in a synod when Petrus died, being succeeded by Athanasius II. Euphemius announced his elevation to the pope, who refused recognition on the ground that he had not struck the names of Acacius and Fravitas out of the diptychs. About a year later (Apr. 9, 491) the Emperor Zeno died, and the throne was occupied by the former silentiarius Anastasius, who set out to follow in Zeno's