Between the king and the emperor: the epistles of the popes to the bishops of Arles during the Three Chapters Controversy

Abstract

The discussion surrounding the posthumous condemnation of Theodore of Mopsuestia, Theodoret of Cyrus and Iva of Edessa occupies an important place in the church history of the VI century. The attempt at reconciliation with the Monophysites, undertaken by Justinian, not only failed to achieve its original goal, but also led to a new schism. To support his initiative, the emperor turned to the Roman bishops, which put them in a difficult situation: on the one hand, Justinian demanded from the popes support for the condemnation of the Three Chapters, on the other – the churches of the western provinces reacted to this initiative with condemnation and distrust, seeing in it the undermining of the authority of the Roman Church and the entire institution of ecumenical councils. One of the episcopal sees closely associated with Rome was Arles (Arelate), an important ecclesiastical center of Gaul. An analysis of the papal epistles to the bishops of Arles, as well as to the Frankish kings, allows us to conclude that the Gallic clergy were rather poorly aware of the essence of the contradictions that developed around the condemnation of the Three Chapters: the popes repeatedly sent messages confirming their adherence to the canons, but without touching on the very essence of the differences. Such a streamlined position also testifies to the difficult position of the Roman see, which was forced to take into account the position of both Justinian and the Western churches. To convey their point of view to the Gallic clergy, the popes used the bishops of Arles, who had serious regional influence, which Vigilius and Pelagius further strengthened by granting them the status of papal vicars. The appointment and activities of the vicar were actively discussed with the secular authorities – the Byzantine ruling couple, as well as the Frankish kings – which also indicates the weakness of the papal positions during this period