RELIGIOUS ENCYCLOPEDIA
Vigilantius Vigilius
Arles, that he could not send him the pallium without first informing the emperor; on May 22, 545, he conferred the pallium on Auxanius, and on Aug. 23, 546, on Auxanius’ successor, Aurelian.
By 546 Vigilius was no longer in Rome, for in the mean time the ‘‘ Three-chapters Controversy ” (q.v.) had broken out. His situation was grave from the
first, and became still more critical Three- when Justinian commanded him to
Chapters appear in person at Constantinople.
Controversy. In 544 or 545 Vigilius accordingly left
Rome, never to return; whether he was detained by force, as the Liber pontificalis states, is uncertain; and, after a sojourn of some length in Sicily, he reached Constantinople, by way of Illyria and Greece, late in 546 or early in 547, Pelagius (q.v.) remaining in Rome as his representative. In the mean time he had bitterly reproached Menas for subscribing to the edict and had approved the course of Stephanus in breaking off religious fellowship with him, an example followed by many of the clergy and laity, as well as by the African Church. Though he was officially received by Justinian with the highest respect, the gravity of the situation soon became evident. The first step made by the pope is problematical. Theophanes implies that soon after his arrival he condemned the three chapters, but this is highly improbable, since he renewed religious fellowship with Menas, the two being reconciled at the instance of Theodora on June 29. In the mean time, however, Justinian had even threatened to imprison the pope. To this period probably belong the two letters in which Vigilius promised the emperor and empress to condemn the three chapters, these letters to be kept secret for the time being, but later coming to light at a critical moment. The emphasis laid on the rights of the Curia in these documents was plainly intended to create the impression that the pope was the arbitrator in the matter, but as a matter of fact he had tied his own hands. Nevertheless, he convened seventy bishops, and in three sessions debated whether the edict concerning the three chapters was contradictory to the Council of Chalcedon. When, however, Facundus, the most eloquent and learned of the faction under condemnation, desired to speak, Vigilius adjourned the session and required each of those who took part to submit a written opinion. These opinions, under monophysite influence, were rendered in the desired terms, and Vigilius had them presented to the emperor immediately. The pope now took a decisive step, and on Easter Even, 548, sent Menas his J udicatum, in which he unreservedly condemned the three chapters and as unreservedly accepted the Chalcedonian creed. The publication of this . document by his nephew and deacon Rusticus roused a tumult of opposition throughout the West. This opposition seems to have produced an impression at court, for otherwise Justinian would scarcely have returned his Judicatwm to Vigilius or have thought of referring the entire matter to a great synod. On Aug. 15, 550, however, he exacted from the pope an oath to proceed in the condemnation of the three chapters, though in conference with the emperor Vigilius secured a promise that no
further action should be taken until the synod had been convened. In the summer of 551 Justinian unexpectedly anticipated the decision of the synod and in a new edict renewed the condemnation of the three chapters.
Vigilius now assumed the offensive instead of the defensive, probably under the influence of Pelagius, who about this time arrived from Rome. The pope
correctly saw his chief enemy in ‘Theo-
Vacillating dorus Ascidas, whom he excommuni- Course. cated in the middle of July. But Vigilius no longer felt safe, and fled from
the Domus Placidia, the residence of the apocrisiary, to the basilica of St. Peter at Hormisda, where, on Aug. 17, he pronounced Theodorus deposed and his adherents, including Menas, excommunicated, though these sentences were to remain secret until their effect upon Justinian and those condemned should be ascertained. The attempt to tear him from sanctuary failed, but on assurance of safety from Justinian the pope returned to the Domus Placidia, only to leave it again on the night of Dec. 23 and take refuge in the chapel of St. Euphemia at Chalcedon. Even there he was exposed to peril, probably in consequence of the publication of his ban on Theodorus and his open letter of Feb. 5, in which he complained of the treatment he had received in Constantinople. His excommunicated opponents, however, now laid before the pope a defense of their tenets with a corresponding creed; and after the death of Menas the new Patriarch Eutychius sent Vigilius a courteous notification of his accession (Jan. 6, 553). Hereupon the pope declared himself ready for a synod, though he desired that it be held in Italy or Sicily. The emperor finally informed the pope that he must either attend the synod or have it opened without his presence. Vigilius remained true to his refusal to appear, declaring that he would give his opinion in writing. On May 5, 553, the synod convened, and on May 14 Vigilius completed his Constitutwm de tribus capitulis, in which he rejected all community of spirit with the followers of Theodore of Mopsuestia and yet declined to condemn the three chapters. The document was to be presented to Justinian on May 25, but he refused to receive it, and his commissary laid before the synod the secret letters mentioned above, in which Vigilius had promised to condemn the three chapters. At the same time the command was given to strike the pope’s name from the diptychs, and the final decision of the synod in its eighth session (June 2) was in harmony with the imperial wish concerning the three chapters. Whether Vigilius was condemned to banishment is uncertain, but at all events he could scarceiy return to Italy, where Justinian’s power was at its zenith. Nevertheless, efforts seem to have been made at Rome to secure his return, and the result was the complete recantation of Vigilius. He announced his change of position in a letter to the Patriarch Eutychius on Dec. 8, 553, and explained it at length on Feb. 26, 554, in his Constitutum Vigilw pro damnatione trium capitulorum. By his recantation he gained return to Rome, formal sanction being given by Justinian on Aug. 13, 554; but he died at Syracuse, on his way home, June 7, 555,
Vigilius Vilatte