|
The emperor
Justinian and Pope Vigilius decided to summon this council after the
latter withdrew his "Judgment" condemning the "Three
Chapters" of Theodore of Mopsuestia, Theodoret and Ibas. This
"Judgment" had been issued on 11 April 548 but the bishops of the
west and especially of Africa unanimously opposed it. The council was summoned
by Justinian to Constantinople, although Vigilius would have preferred to
convene it in Sicily or Italy so that western bishops might be present. It
assembled on 5 May 553 in the great hall attached to Hagia Sophia cathedral.
Since the Roman pontiff
refused to take part in the council, because Justinian had summoned bishops in
equal numbers from each of the five patriarchal sees, so that there would be
many more eastern than western bishops present, Eutychius, patriarch of
Constantinople, presided. The decrees of the council were signed by 160
bishops, of whom 8 were Africans.
On 14 May 553 Pope Vigilius
issued his "Constitution", which was signed by 16 bishops (9 from Italy,
2 from Africa, 2 from Illyricum and 3 from Asia Minor). This rejected sixty
propositions of Theodore of Mopsuestia, but spared his personal memory and
refused to condemn either Theodoret or Ibas since, on the testimony of the
council of Chalcedon, all suspicion of heresy against them had been removed. Nevertheless,
the council in its 8th session on 2 June 553 again condemned the
"Three Chapters", for the same reasons as Justinian had done so, in
a judgment which concludes with 14 anathemas.
After carefully considering
the matter for six months, Vigilius ,weighing up the persecutions of
Justinian against his clergy and having sent a letter to Eutychius of
Constantinople, approved the council, thus changing his mind "after
the example of Augustine". Furthermore he anathematized Theodore
and condemned his writings and those of Theodoret and Ibas. On 23
February 554, in a second "Constitution", he tried to reconcile the
recent condemnation with what had been decreed at the council of Chalcedon.
The council did not debate
ecclesiastical discipline nor did it issue disciplinary canons. Our edition
does not include the text of the anathemas against Origen since recent studies
have shown that these anathemas cannot be attributed to this council.
For the 14 anathemas (pp.
114-122) the translation is from the Greek text, since this is the more
authoritative version.
|