name of Eustrates, should present himself in Constantinople, pretending that he had been sent to the Pope by Ignatius as the bearer of a letter, complaining of all he had suffered; but he said the Pope did not even deign to receive him, but on the contrary, sent a letter by him to Photius, assuring him of his friendship. Photius immediately brought these two letters to the Emperor and to Bardas; but when the whole matter was sifted, it was discovered that it was all a scheme got up by Photius, and Bardas felt so indignant at the imposition, that he commanded that the monk Eustrates should receive a severe flogging (15). 9. The Pope convoked a Council of several provinces, which was held in the beginning of the year 863, first in St. Peter's, and then in the Lateran Church, to try the Legates for betraying the Roman Church. One alone of them, the Bishop Zacchary, made his appearance (Rodoaldus being in France), and he being convicted, on his own confession, of having signed the deposition of Ignatius, contrary to the orders of the Pope, was excommunicated and deposed by the Council, and the following year the same was decreed in regard to Rodoaldus, in another Council held in the Lateran, and he was threatened with anathema, if he ever communicated with Photius, or opposed St. Ignatius. Besides, in this first Lateran Council, Photius was deprived of all sacerdotal offices and honours, on account of his many crimes, and especially for having got himself ordained, he being a layman, by Gregory, the schismatical Bishop of Syracuse, and for having usurped the See of Ignatius, and daring to depose and anathematize him in a Council; besides, for having bribed the Legates of the Holy See to contravene the orders of the Pope, for having banished the bishops who refused to communicate with him, and, finally, for having persecuted, and continuing to persecute, the Church. It was then decreed, that if Photius should continue to hold possession of the See of Constantinople, or prevent Ignatius from governing it, or should exercise any sacerdotal function, that he should be anathematized, and deprived of all hope of communion, unless at the hour of death alone. Gregory, Bishop of Syracuse, was condemned in the same manner, for having dared to exercise ecclesiastical functions after his deposition, and for consecrating Photius Bishop. It was finally decreed that Ignatius never was deposed, from his See, and that for the future every cleric should be deposed, and every layman anathematized, who would show him any opposition (16). 10. When the Emperor Michael heard of the decrees of the Roman Council, he wrote a most abusive letter to Pope Nicholas, threatening him with his displeasure if he did not revoke his judg ment (17). The Pope answered him (Epis. 70), that the Pagan (15) Fleury, loc. cit. n, 15, 18, 19, & Nat. Alex. t. 13, diss. 14, s. 6. Ann. 663, n. 3; Fleury, t, 7, l. 50, n. 19, 26. (17) Nichol. Epis. 8. (16) Baron. Emperors were princes and pontiffs, but that after the coming of Jesus Christ the two powers were divided, as temporal things were different from spiritual things, and Noel Alexander particularly calls attention to these expressions in the Pope's letter: "It is plain that as there is no higher authority than the Apostolic See, that no one can revoke its judgments; nor is it lawful for any one to pass judgment on its judgments, since, according to the canons, appeals come to it from all parts of the world; but from it no one is permitted to appeal." He then says, that the case of Ignatius and Photius can only be decided by appearing in person, or by deputy, in Rome, when both can state their causes of complaint, and defend themselves (18). Some time after the Emperor took the field to conquer Crete, and was accompanied by his uncle, Bardas, who was so strongly suspected of being a traitor, that he resolved to put him to death. He was in the Emperor's tent when he saw the soldiers come to take him, and he threw himself at his nephew's feet, imploring mercy, but his prayer was in vain; he was dragged out and cut to pieces, and a piece of his flesh was carried round the camp in mockery, fixed on a spear, and thus, in the year 886, the unfortunate Bardas closed his mortal career. The Emperor immediately returned to Constantinople, and ap pointed Basil, the Macedonian, who was one of the chief instigators of the death of Bardas, prime minister, and as he was aware of his incapacity in governing by himself, he soon after associated him in the Empire, and had him solemnly crowned (19). 11. Although Photius lost his protector, he did not lose heart; he continued to retain the Emperor's friendship, and ingratiated himself with Basil. He was abandoned by many of his adherents after he incurred the censure of the Pope, and he then bitterly persecuted them whenever he could; some he deprived of their dignities, some he imprisoned, and he banished the hermits from Mount Olympus, and burned their cells (20). On the 13th of October, 866, the Pope sent three Legates to Constantinople to appease the Emperor and put an end to the discord caused by Photius; but they were arrested in Bulgaria by an imperial officer, who treated them very disrespectfully, and told them that the Emperor would have nothing to say to them, so when they perceived the treatment they were likely to receive if they proceeded to Constantinople, they returned to Rome (21). It came to the knowledge of Photius at the same time that the Pope had sent other Legates to the Bul garians to protest against the new mode of unction introduced by him (Photius) among them, in the administration of the sacrament of Confirmation, and he felt so indignant at this interference, that he summoned a Council which he called an Ecumenical one, in (18) Fleury, loc. cit. n. 20) Fleury, loc. cit. n. 41. 41; Nat. Alex. cit. s. 6. which he got the two Emperors, Basil and Michael, to preside, and had it attended by the Legates of the other patriarchal Sees, and by many bishops of the patriarchate of Constantinople, to revenge himself on the Pope. Persons came forward there and made several charges against Pope Nicholas. Photius received the accusations, and tried the cause, and finally condemned the Pope for many supposed crimes, and deposed and excommunicated him and all who would hold communion with him. Twenty-one bishops were mad enough to approve of and subscribe this sacrilegious sentence, and Photius afterwards forged nearly a thousand other signatures to the same document (22). He had now lost all respect for the Pope, and his insolence arrived at such a pitch, that he sent a circular letter of his composition to the Patriarch of Alexandria, condemnatory of several practices and doctrines of the Roman Church, as the fast on Saturdays, the celibacy of the clergy, but, above all, the doctrine of the procession of the Holy Ghost not from the Father alone, but from the Father and Son (23). Baronius (24) even says, that he taught that every man had two souls. He obtained the Emperor's permission to summon a second Council in Constantinople, and having done so, he again excommunicated and deposed the Pope (25). 12. In the year 867, the Emperor Michael was killed, while drunk, by his own guards, at the instigation of Basil, whose life he sought on account of some disagreements they had. When Basil thus obtained the undivided sovereignty of the Empire, he banished Photius from the See of Constantinople, and exiled him to a distant monastery (26), and the next day he sent the imperial galley to the island where the Patriarch, St. Ignatius, was confined, to convey him back to Constantinople, and received him with the highest honours on his arrival, and solemnly put him in possession of his See once more (27). He sent orders then to Photius to restore all the documents with the Emperor's signature he had in his possession; but he sent back word, that as he left the palace by the Emperor's command in a hurry, he left all his papers behind him; but while he was making this excuse to the prefect sent to him by Basil, his officers perceived the servants of Photius busy in hiding several bags filled with documents, with leaden seals appended to them; these were immediately seized on and brought to the Emperor, and among other papers, two books beautifully written were found, one containing the Acts of the imaginary Council condemning Ignatius, and the other the Synodical letter against Pope Nicholas, filled with calumnies and abuse (28). Basil then wrote to Pope Nicholas, giving him an account of the expulsion of Photius and 56. (22) Baron. Ann. 663, n. 13; Nat. Alex. cit. s. 7. (23) Fleury, t. 7, l. 52, n. 55, (24) Baron. Ann. 869, n. 49. (25) Nat. Alex. loc. cit. & Grav. t. 3, s. 9, coll. 4. (26) Baron. Ann. 367, n. 92; Nicetas in Vita St. Ignatii, p. 1226. (27) Fleury, t. 7, Į. 51, n. 1, 2. (28) Nat. Alex. loc. cit. s. 9, & Fleury, loc. sit. the re-establishment of Ignatius; but this letter was delivered into the hands of Adrian II., in 868, the successor of Nicholas, who died in 867. Adrian answered the Emperor, and said that he would put into execution, in regard to Photius and Ignatius, whatever was decided by his predecessor (29), and the same year he condemned the Council of Photius in a Council held at Rome, and the book we mentioned was burned there, being first thrown on the ground with this anathema: "Cursed at Constantinople, be again cursed at Rome" (30). ARTICLE II. THE ERRORS OF THE GREEKS CONDEMNED IN THREE GENERAL COUNCILS. 13, 14, 15. The Eighth General Council against Photius, under Pope Adrian and the Emperor Basil. 16. Photius gains over Basil, and in the mean time St. Ignatius dies. 17. Photius again gets Possession of the See. 18. The Council held by Photius rejected by the Pope; unhappy Death of Photius. 19. The Patriarch, Cerularius, revives and adds to the Errors of Photius. 20. Unhappy Death of Cerularius. 21, 22. Gregory X. convokes the Council of Lyons at the instance of the Emperor Michael; it is assembled. 23. Profession of Faith written by Michael, and approved of by the Council. 24. The Greeks confess and swear to the Decisions of the Council. 25. They separate again. 26. Council of Florence under Eugenius IV.; the Errors are again discussed and rejected; Definition of the Procession of the Holy Ghost. 27. Of the Consecration in Leavened Bread. 28. Of the Pains of Purgatory. 29. Of the Glory of the Blessed. 30. Of the Primacy of the Pope. 31. Instructions given to the Armenians, Jacobites, and Ethiopians; the Greeks relapse into Schism. 13. POPE ADRIAN (1) made arrangements to celebrate a General Council in Constantinople, which was accomplished in the year 869, in the reign of the Emperor Basil; he sent three Legates to preside in his name: Donatus, Bishop of Ostia, Stephen of Nepi, and Marinus, one of the seven deacons of the Roman Church, who was afterwards Pope. The Legates proceeded to Constantinople, and were most honourably received by the Emperor; he sent all the officers of the palace to meet them at the gate of the city, and they were received there by the clergy in their robes likewise. They were then presented to the Emperor in his palace, and he received them with all honour and reverence, kissed the Pope's letters when presented to him, and told them that he, as well as all the bishops of the East, were for two years waiting for the decision of the Roman Church, their mother, and he therefore most earnestly besought them to make every endeavour to re-establish union and peace. The day for the opening of the Council was then appointed. (29) Fleury, loc. cit. n. 18. (30) Baron. Ann. 868, n. 38; Nat. Alex. loc. cit. s. 9, & Fleury, cit. n. 19. (1) Nat. Alex. s. 11, & Graveson, t. 3, coll. 3, p. 153. 66 14. The Legates presided in this Council in the name of the Pope; although in the eighth and tenth Act Basil and his two sons, Constantine and Leo, are called Presidents, still, as Noel Alexander (2) remarks, the Emperor is called the President, not because of any authority he held in the Synod, but because he was honoured as the protector of the Church, but not as the judge of ecclesiastical affairs. The first Session was held on the 5th of October, in the year 869, and eight others were held, the last in the February of 870. The bishops and priests who had joined the schism presented themselves in the fifth Session, and were mercifully received again. Photius also came forward, but when he was asked by the Legates whether he received the exposition of Pope Nicholas, and of his successor Pope Adrian, he refused to answer (3). He was pressed for a reply, but he only said: "God understands what I mean, though I do not speak." "But," said the Legates, your silence will not preserve you from condemnation." "Jesus Christ," said he," was silent, likewise, and was condemned." They told him that if he wished to be reconciled to the Church, he should confess his crimes, and all the wrongs he had inflicted on Ignatius, and promise to recognize him as his pastor for the future, still he continued silent; then the patrician Baanes addressed him, and said: "My Lord Photius, your mind is now confused, so the Council gives you time to think on your salvation; go, you shall be again recalled." He made his appearance again in the seventh Session, with the crozier in his hand, but it was taken from him, for the Council said he was a wolf, and not a shepherd; he was again asked if he was willing to retract his errors, but he answered, that he did not recognize the Legates as his judges. Several other questions were put to him, but he answered them in a haughty manner, so he was anathematized in these words: "Anathema to Photius the invader, the schismatical tyrant, the new Judas, the inventor of perverse dogmas." In these and such like terms was he condemned, and, together with him, Gregory of Syracuse, and all their followers, who persevered in their obstinacy (4). 15. Twenty-seven Canons were promulgated in this the Eighth General Council. Among the rest it was decreed, that all the orders conferred by Photius were invalid, and that the churches and altars he consecrated should be consecrated again. All bishops and clerks who continued to hold by his party were deposed, and all who held with him that man had two souls were anathematized. It was prohibited, under pain of deposition, to consecrate bishops, at the command of the Sovereign (5). All the works of Photius were burned in the midst of the Assembly; the definitions of the other seven General Councils were received, and the Council was (2) Nat. Alex. t. 13; Diss. 4, s. 12. (3) Baron. Ann. 869, n. 28. (4) Baron. (5) N. Alex. sec. 22, & Fleury, Ann. 869, n. 37, & Fleury, t. 7, l. 51, n. 29, & seq. |