Schism of the Three Chapters
Encyclopedia
The Schism of the Three Chapters was a schism that affected the Roman Catholic Church
in North Italy
lasting from 553 to 698 AD, although the area out of communion with Rome contracted throughout that time. It was part of a larger Three-Chapter Controversy
that affected the whole of Orthodox Christianity.
Christians of the Middle East with Eastern Orthodoxy. A major part of the attempted compromise was a condemnation of certain works of Eastern Christian writers which soon became known as the Three Chapters. These were seen to be particularly objectionable by the opponents of the Council of Chalcedon
and in an attempt to win them to the Council the condemnation was seen as a way of reassuring them.
The condemnation took place as an Imperial Edict around 543, this was accompanied by a Tome from Pope Leo I
. There was some resistance in the Greek speaking, eastern part of the Church, although in the end the leading Eastern bishops did agree to condemn it. Those who would not condemn these works were accused of being sympathetic to the heresy of Nestorianism
.
There were many problems with the Latin speaking bishops, which was not helped by their sketchy knowledge of Greek.
In 553 by council, the bishops of Aquileia
, Liguria
, Aemilia
, Milan
and of the Istrian peninsula all refused to condemn the Three Chapters, arguing that to do so would be to betray Chalcedon. They broke off communion with Rome, under the leadership of Macedonius of Aquileia (535-556).
They in turn were anathematized by other churchmen.
The schism provided the opportunity for the bishop of Aquileia to assume the title Patriarch
. Macedonius' successor Paulinus I (557-569) began using the title around 560.
had overrun all of northern Italy.
In 568, the patriarch of Aquileia, Paulinus
, was obliged to flee, with the treasures of his church, to the little island of Grado
, near Trieste
, a last remnant of the Eastern Roman Empire in northern Italy and eight miles to the south of Aquileia. This political change did not affect the relations of the patriarchate with the Apostolic See; its bishops, whether in Lombard or imperial territory, stubbornly refused all invitations to a reconciliation. The Synod of Grado
in 579 confirmed this position.
With the exception of the patriarch of Aquileia, these bishops and most of their suffragans were now subjects of the Lombards
and beyond the reach of the Byzantine Exarch at Ravenna. As a result, they were able to maintain their dissent in support of the schism.
was Dacius of Milan
, who was at Constantinople at the time and strongly opposed the Three chapters, going so far as to break off communion with Greek bishops who did sign. He died in Constantinople in 552 and took no direct part in the schism.
Bishop Honoratus of Milan fled the city when it was besieged by the Lombard Alboin
in 568. He sought refuge in Byzantine controlled Genoa, with a great number of his clergy. At his death there was a split with the Milanese clergy at Genoa electing Laurentius II, with the Milanese in Milan electing Fronto. Laurence subscribed to the condemnation and Fronto kept the schism with Rome.
Communion with Rome was restored around 581.
stayed in Byzantine controlled Grado
. The Byzantines allowed these freedom and archbishop Elias, already called patriarch by his suffragans, built a cathedral under the patronage of St. Euphemia as an unabashed statement of his adherence to the schism since it was the church of St. Euphemia in which the sessions of the Council of Chalcedon were approved. Gregory the Great's attempts at conciliation near the end of his pontificate, and especially through the Lombard queen, Theodelinda
, began to have some effect.
Thus, in 606
, Elias's successor Severus died and there were many clerics favorable to reconciliation. The Byzantines encouraged these to elect Candidianus who once elected prompty restored communion. Those of his suffragans whose sees lay within the empire joined him in submission to the Apostolic See.
control. These dissidents fled to mainland Aquileia and under Lombard protection elected a John as a rival patriarch who maintained the schism. There were now two patriarchates in northern Italy, Aquileia in Grado and Old-Aquileia.
missionary Columbanus
, who was ministering to the Lombards in Bobbio
m was involved in the first attempt to resolve this division through mediation between 612 and 615. Agilulf
, King of the Lombards
, persuaded him to address a letter on the schism to Boniface IV. "You have already erred, O Rome! — fatally, foully erred. No longer do you shine as a star in the apostolic firmament," Columban wrote. He also charged the pope with heresy for accepting the Fifth Ecumenical Council (the Second Council of Constantinople
in 553), and exhorted him to summon a council and prove his orthodoxy.
Historian, Edward Gibbon
theorized that Pope Honorius I
reconciled the Patriarch to Rome in 638, although this did not last.
As the schism lost its vigour, the Lombards started to renounce Arianism
and join western orthodoxy. The bishop of Old-Aquileia formally ended the schism at the Synod of Aquileia in 698. After Old-Aquileia reconciled with Rome, Pope Gregory II granted the pallium
to Patriarch Serenus (715-730) of Aquileia in 723. The division of the Patriarchate of Aquileia into the rival Patriarchies of Aquileia and Grado contributed to the evolution of the Patriarch of Grado
into the present Patriarch of Venice
.
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
in North Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
lasting from 553 to 698 AD, although the area out of communion with Rome contracted throughout that time. It was part of a larger Three-Chapter Controversy
Three-Chapter Controversy
The Three-Chapter Controversy, a phase in the Chalcedonian controversy, was an attempt to reconcile the Non-Chalcedonian Christians of Syria and Egypt with Chalcedonian Eastern Orthodoxy, following the failure of the Henotikon...
that affected the whole of Orthodox Christianity.
Background to the Three-Chapter Controversy
The Three-Chapter Controversy came out of an attempt to reconcile the Non-ChalcedonianNon-Chalcedonian
Non-Chalcedonianism is the view of those churches that accepted the First Council of Ephesus of 431, but, for varying reasons, did not accept allegiance to the Council of Chalcedon following it in 451. The most substantial Non-Chalcedonian tradition is known as Oriental Orthodoxy...
Christians of the Middle East with Eastern Orthodoxy. A major part of the attempted compromise was a condemnation of certain works of Eastern Christian writers which soon became known as the Three Chapters. These were seen to be particularly objectionable by the opponents of the Council of Chalcedon
Council of Chalcedon
The Council of Chalcedon was a church council held from 8 October to 1 November, 451 AD, at Chalcedon , on the Asian side of the Bosporus. The council marked a significant turning point in the Christological debates that led to the separation of the church of the Eastern Roman Empire in the 5th...
and in an attempt to win them to the Council the condemnation was seen as a way of reassuring them.
The condemnation took place as an Imperial Edict around 543, this was accompanied by a Tome from Pope Leo I
Pope Leo I
Pope Leo I was pope from September 29, 440 to his death.He was an Italian aristocrat, and is the first pope of the Catholic Church to have been called "the Great". He is perhaps best known for having met Attila the Hun in 452, persuading him to turn back from his invasion of Italy...
. There was some resistance in the Greek speaking, eastern part of the Church, although in the end the leading Eastern bishops did agree to condemn it. Those who would not condemn these works were accused of being sympathetic to the heresy of Nestorianism
Nestorianism
Nestorianism is a Christological doctrine advanced by Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople from 428–431. The doctrine, which was informed by Nestorius's studies under Theodore of Mopsuestia at the School of Antioch, emphasizes the disunion between the human and divine natures of Jesus...
.
There were many problems with the Latin speaking bishops, which was not helped by their sketchy knowledge of Greek.
The original Break
Aquileia
Aquileia is an ancient Roman city in what is now Italy, at the head of the Adriatic at the edge of the lagoons, about 10 km from the sea, on the river Natiso , the course of which has changed somewhat since Roman times...
, Liguria
Liguria
Liguria is a coastal region of north-western Italy, the third smallest of the Italian regions. Its capital is Genoa. It is a popular region with tourists for its beautiful beaches, picturesque little towns, and good food.-Geography:...
, Aemilia
Aemilia
Aemilia can indicate several people and places in Classical history:* Aemilia , a patrician family of Ancient Rome, and the female members of this gens* Tertia Aemilia Paulla, third daughter of Lucius Aemilius Paullus, and wife of Scipio Africanus...
, Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
and of the Istrian peninsula all refused to condemn the Three Chapters, arguing that to do so would be to betray Chalcedon. They broke off communion with Rome, under the leadership of Macedonius of Aquileia (535-556).
They in turn were anathematized by other churchmen.
The schism provided the opportunity for the bishop of Aquileia to assume the title Patriarch
Patriarch
Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family. The system of such rule of families by senior males is called patriarchy. This is a Greek word, a compound of πατριά , "lineage, descent", esp...
. Macedonius' successor Paulinus I (557-569) began using the title around 560.
The Lombard Invasion
By the end of the next decade, the LombardsLombards
The Lombards , also referred to as Longobards, were a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy...
had overrun all of northern Italy.
In 568, the patriarch of Aquileia, Paulinus
Paulinus I of Aquileia
Paulinus I was the first Patriarch of Aquileia from 557 to 571.When he took over the see was in schism with Rome. When the Lombards invaded northern Italy in 569, Paulinus fled Aquileia with his treasures, as had the other Archibishop in schism with Rome, Honoratus of Milan...
, was obliged to flee, with the treasures of his church, to the little island of Grado
Grado, Italy
Grado is a town and comune in the north-eastern Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located on a peninsula of the Adriatic Sea between Venice and Trieste....
, near Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
, a last remnant of the Eastern Roman Empire in northern Italy and eight miles to the south of Aquileia. This political change did not affect the relations of the patriarchate with the Apostolic See; its bishops, whether in Lombard or imperial territory, stubbornly refused all invitations to a reconciliation. The Synod of Grado
Synod of Grado
The Synod of Grado was a Synod held in 579 by bishops loyal to the Patriarch of Aquileia. It was held in Grado as the Patriarch had fled there after the Lombard invasion of Northern Italy. The Synod helped to prolong the schism of the Three Chapters....
in 579 confirmed this position.
With the exception of the patriarch of Aquileia, these bishops and most of their suffragans were now subjects of the Lombards
Lombards
The Lombards , also referred to as Longobards, were a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy...
and beyond the reach of the Byzantine Exarch at Ravenna. As a result, they were able to maintain their dissent in support of the schism.
The Schism in Milan
Milan's BishopRoman Catholic Archdiocese of Milan
The Archdiocese of Milan is a metropolitan see of the Catholic Church in Italy. It has long maintained its own rite: the Ambrosian rite. It is led by the Archbishop of Milan who serves as metropolitan to the dioceses of Bergamo, Brescia, Como, Crema, Cremona, Lodi, Mantova, Pavia, and Vigevano.The...
was Dacius of Milan
Dacius of Milan
Dacius or Datius was Archbishop of Milan from c. 530 to 552. He is honoured as a saint in the Catholic Church.An active ecclesiastical politician, he was an ally of Pope Vigilius in the latter's struggles against Justinian, involved in the Three-Chapter Controversy...
, who was at Constantinople at the time and strongly opposed the Three chapters, going so far as to break off communion with Greek bishops who did sign. He died in Constantinople in 552 and took no direct part in the schism.
Bishop Honoratus of Milan fled the city when it was besieged by the Lombard Alboin
Alboin
Alboin was king of the Lombards from about 560 until 572. During his reign the Lombards ended their migrations by settling in Italy, the northern part of which Alboin conquered between 569 and 572...
in 568. He sought refuge in Byzantine controlled Genoa, with a great number of his clergy. At his death there was a split with the Milanese clergy at Genoa electing Laurentius II, with the Milanese in Milan electing Fronto. Laurence subscribed to the condemnation and Fronto kept the schism with Rome.
Communion with Rome was restored around 581.
The Schism in Grado
The seat of the Patriarch of AquileiaPatriarch of Aquileia
The Patriarch of Aquileia was an office in the Roman Catholic Church. During the Middle Ages the Patriarchate of Aquileia was a temporal state in Northern Italy. The Patriarchate of Aquileia as a church office was suppressed in 1752....
stayed in Byzantine controlled Grado
Grado, Italy
Grado is a town and comune in the north-eastern Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located on a peninsula of the Adriatic Sea between Venice and Trieste....
. The Byzantines allowed these freedom and archbishop Elias, already called patriarch by his suffragans, built a cathedral under the patronage of St. Euphemia as an unabashed statement of his adherence to the schism since it was the church of St. Euphemia in which the sessions of the Council of Chalcedon were approved. Gregory the Great's attempts at conciliation near the end of his pontificate, and especially through the Lombard queen, Theodelinda
Theodelinda
Theodelinda, queen of the Lombards, was the daughter of duke Garibald I of Bavaria.She was married first in 588 to Authari, king of the Lombards, son of king Cleph. Authari died in 590. Theodelinda was allowed to pick Agilulf as her next husband and Authari's successor in 591...
, began to have some effect.
Thus, in 606
606
Year 606 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 606 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Asia :* Shashanka is the first recorded independent...
, Elias's successor Severus died and there were many clerics favorable to reconciliation. The Byzantines encouraged these to elect Candidianus who once elected prompty restored communion. Those of his suffragans whose sees lay within the empire joined him in submission to the Apostolic See.
The Split of the Patriarchate of Aquileia
Many mainland bishops, whose dioceses were under Lombard were unhappy with the reconciliation. Many of them were Bishops of dioceses that were under LombardLombards
The Lombards , also referred to as Longobards, were a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy...
control. These dissidents fled to mainland Aquileia and under Lombard protection elected a John as a rival patriarch who maintained the schism. There were now two patriarchates in northern Italy, Aquileia in Grado and Old-Aquileia.
Reconciliation with Rome
The schism had deepened along political, Lombard-Roman lines. The IrishIreland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
missionary Columbanus
Columbanus
Columbanus was an Irish missionary notable for founding a number of monasteries on the European continent from around 590 in the Frankish and Lombard kingdoms, most notably Luxeuil and Bobbio , and stands as an exemplar of Irish missionary activity in early medieval Europe.He spread among the...
, who was ministering to the Lombards in Bobbio
Bobbio
Bobbio is a small town and commune in the province of Piacenza in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. It is located in the Trebbia River valley southwest of the town Piacenza. There is also an abbey and a diocese of the same name...
m was involved in the first attempt to resolve this division through mediation between 612 and 615. Agilulf
Agilulf
Agilulf called the Thuringian, was a duke of Turin and king of the Lombards from 591 until his death.-Biography:A relative of his predecessor Authari, he was selected king on the advice of the Christian queen and widow of Authari, Theodelinda, whom he then married...
, King of the Lombards
Lombards
The Lombards , also referred to as Longobards, were a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy...
, persuaded him to address a letter on the schism to Boniface IV. "You have already erred, O Rome! — fatally, foully erred. No longer do you shine as a star in the apostolic firmament," Columban wrote. He also charged the pope with heresy for accepting the Fifth Ecumenical Council (the Second Council of Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
in 553), and exhorted him to summon a council and prove his orthodoxy.
Historian, Edward Gibbon
Edward Gibbon
Edward Gibbon was an English historian and Member of Parliament...
theorized that Pope Honorius I
Pope Honorius I
Pope Honorius I was pope from 625 to 638.Honorius, according to the Liber Pontificalis, came from Campania and was the son of the consul Petronius. He became pope on October 27, 625, two days after the death of his predecessor, Boniface V...
reconciled the Patriarch to Rome in 638, although this did not last.
As the schism lost its vigour, the Lombards started to renounce Arianism
Arianism
Arianism is the theological teaching attributed to Arius , a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt, concerning the relationship of the entities of the Trinity and the precise nature of the Son of God as being a subordinate entity to God the Father...
and join western orthodoxy. The bishop of Old-Aquileia formally ended the schism at the Synod of Aquileia in 698. After Old-Aquileia reconciled with Rome, Pope Gregory II granted the pallium
Pallium
The pallium is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Roman Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the Pope, but for many centuries bestowed by him on metropolitans and primates as a symbol of the jurisdiction delegated to them by the Holy See. In that context it has always remained unambiguously...
to Patriarch Serenus (715-730) of Aquileia in 723. The division of the Patriarchate of Aquileia into the rival Patriarchies of Aquileia and Grado contributed to the evolution of the Patriarch of Grado
Patriarch of Grado
This is a list of the Patriarchs of Grado . The patriarchate came into being when the schismatic Patriarch of Aquileia, Paulinus , moved to Grado in the mid 6th century. But in their reunion with Rome in 606, a rival office was set up in Old-Aquileia. Aquileia later entered communion with Rome but...
into the present Patriarch of Venice
Patriarch of Venice
The Patriarch of Venice is the ordinary bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Venice. The bishop is one of the few Patriarchs in the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church...
.