THE LIVES AND TIMES OF THE POPES OF THE SIXTH CENTURY

 

SAINT SYMMACHUS A.D. 498-415

 

SAINT SYMMACHUS, son of Fortunatus, was born in the village of Simagia, in the diocese of Cristagno, in Sardinia, and created cardinal-deacon by Saint Felix III. He was elected pontiff on the 22d. of November, 498. On the same day, Festus, a Roman senator, corrupted by money, caused the election of the antipope Laurentius, archdeacon of Saint Praxedes. The intruder promised Festus that he would support the Henotic of the Emperor Zeno. This double election gave rise to violent quarrels; assaults and murders were deplorably numerous; blood flowed, the clergy and senate of Rome took part with one or other of the rivals, and at length the question was referred to the arbitration of Theodoric, King of Italy, who resided at Ravenna. He, although an Arian, decided in favor of Symmachus, on the double ground that he was first elected, and chosen by the greatest number. Symmachus, having obtained quiet possession of his authority, endeavored to render his reign illustrious by the holy laws which he promulgated in six councils, all assembled at Rome. He ordered that on every Sunday and holy day the Gloria in Excelsis should be said in the Mass, which Saint Telesphorus, the eighth pope, had only ordered to be done on Christmas day. Perhaps under the latter pope only the angelic words were said; and then Symmachus may have ordered the rest of the hymn to be chanted. He was not the author of it, as some writers have pretended, for, before him, Saint Athanasius had made mention of it, in prescribing that prayer to a virgin.

The decree of Symmachus extended to all priests; Saint Gregory the Great limited it to the bishops alone, permitting the priests to say it only at Easter. Symmachus forbade laymen, even kings, to take any part in the election of pontiffs.

The Emperor Anastasius continued to favor the Arians. Symmachus debarred them from the communion, and redoubled his efforts for the expulsion of some Manichaeans, who, in secret, still practised their false doctrines. The alms of the Catholics being at this time very abundant, Symmachus showed himself a vigilant administrator, and distributed his aid to the basilicas and the churches. It is known that he thus dispensed fourteen hundred and sixty-nine pounds of silver, besides precious stones, gold, and rare marbles.

In the year 500 the schism of Laurentius acquired new strength. The true pope assembled a council to consult means for restoring peace to the Church. In that assembly it was thought fitting, in order to satisfy the antipope, to name him Bishop of Nocera, on condition that he would submit to his legitimate chief. After some hypocrisy, Laurentius again revolted, and endeavored to usurp the pontifical authority, in spite of the decree of the synod, and the repeated orders of Theodoric, who showed himself favorable to Symmachus. The schismatics ere long resorted to means unworthy any virtuous man. They accused Symmachus of the gravest crimes. They suborned false witnesses; Festus and another evil man supported those accusations. Theodoric, astonished at seeing so much perfidy employed for the purpose of ruining a man of austere morality and eminent virtue, sent to Rome Peter, Bishop of Altino, in the Venetian state, to deal with such great scandals. Peter joined with the schismatics, troubling more than ever the affairs of the Church, and endeavoring to prejudice the king against Symmachus. Then, with the consent of this pope, a council was convoked. It was attended by one hundred and twenty-five bishops. There the innocence of the pontiff was loudly recognized. He had voluntarily promised to submit to the judgment of that council, though the Fathers had declared that the bishop of the Holy See should not be subject to examination before inferior bishops. Subsequently the antipope Laurentius was exiled as a calumniator and heretic. The decree of the council having become known in Gaul, the bishops of France deputed Saint Avitus, Bishop of Vienne, to write to Rome, in the name of all of them, to complain of the bishops having presumed to sit in judgment on the pope. "It is hard to understand", wrote Avitus, "how a superior, and, above all, the head of the Church, can be judged by his inferiors". Nevertheless, he praised the Fathers for having borne testimony to the innocence of the pope. Saint Avitus was right; as the Fathers had pronounced judgment and declared him innocent, it might happen that they would believe themselves authorized to pronounce a condemnation.

Towards the end of the reign of Symmachus his authority ceased to be attacked. Even in the East, the Emperor Anastasius, by the reception which he gave to Saint Sebasius, exarch or superior-general of all the monasteries of anchorites near Jerusalem, showed a desire to protect the Catholics; but some courtiers endeavored to elude the benevolent orders of the emperor, and Saint Sebasius, the light of Palestine, was pursued and violently threatened. Other griefs afflicted the Church of the East, and in a long letter she implored the aid of Pope Symmachus. Some bishops had been repulsed from the Roman communion. Here Fleury gives us some important details:

"The Orientals asked to be reestablished in communion with the pope, without being punished for the fault of Acacius, because they had no part in it, and had received the letter of Leo and the Council of Chalcedon. Do not reject us, they say, on account of our communicating with your adversaries; for those of us who do so, do it not in mere attachment to their life, but from fear of leaving their flocks a prey to the heretics; and all, both those who apparently communicate with them, and those who abstain from doing so, hope, under God, for your succor, and that you will restore to the East that light which you originally received from it. The evil is so great that we can not even go in search of the remedy ; it is necessary that you come to us".

Finally, to show that they are Catholics, they end by giving an exposition of their doctrine, in which they plainly condemn Nestorius and Eutychius, and recognize in Jesus Christ two natures, the divine nature and the human nature in one person

We have a letter from Pope Symmachus to the Eastern Catholics, which seems to be in reply to the above, although the latter is not actually mentioned. The pope consoles them, and exhorts them to remain firm in what has once been decided against Eutychius, and to suffer, if need be, exile and all sorts of persecutions.

In four ordinations, in the months of December and February, this pope created one hundred and seventeen bishops, ninety-two priests, and sixteen deacons. He governed the Church fifteen years and nearly eight months. His charity was equal to the firmness of his soul. He one day redeemed all the slaves that were in Liguria, Milan, and in other provinces. He magnificently assisted the African bishops who were sent into Sardinia by Trasamond, king of the Vandals, and who were in that island in great numbers. By most touching letters he consoled them in their affliction. We shall hereafter see this beautiful example followed by Pius VI, that noble and charitable benefactor of the French clergy.

Symmachus died on the 19th of July, 514, and was interred in the porch of Saint Peter's.

The Holy See remained vacant six days.