Pope Simplicius

Saint Simplicius
Birth name	Simplicius
Papacy began	468
Papacy ended	March 10, 483
Predecessor	Hilarius
Successor	Felix III
Born	??? Tivoli, Italy
Died	March 10 483 ???

Pope Saint Simplicius was pope from 468 to March 10, 483.

He was born in Tivoli, Italy, the son of a citizen named Castinus. Most of what is known of him is derived from the Liber Pontificalis.

St. Simplicius defended the action of the Council of Chalcedon against the Eutychian heresy (and its confirmation of the equality to the Bishop of Rome of the eastern patriarchs), labored to help the people of Italy against the marauding raids of barbarian invaders, and saw the Heruli mercenaries revolt and proclaim Odoacer king of Italy in 476, having deposed Romulus Augustulus, the last Western Roman Emperor. Odoacer made few changes in the administration in Rome, firmly in the hands of it's Bishop, St. Simplicius. He worked to maintain the authority of Rome in the West.

St. Simplicius is credited for the construction of a church named in memory of the virgin and martyr St. Bibiana.

St. Simplicius feast day is celebrated on March 2.

Biography

Simplicius was the son of a Roman citizen of Tivoli named Castinus. Little is known of his upbringing or his career before becoming pope. After the death of Pope Hilarius in 468, he was elected without any controversy being noted in the historical record.

Relations with King Odoacer

During his pontificate the Western Roman Empire came to an end under the "barbarian" advance. Since the murder of Emperor Valentinian III (455) there had been a rapid succession of minor emperors in the western empire, who were constantly threatened by war and revolution. Following other German tribes, the Heruli entered Italy, and their ruler Odoacer put an end to the Western Empire by deposing Emperor Romulus Augustulus. Odoacer assumed the title of king of Italy.

Like several other barbarian leaders Odoacer was an Arian Christian and thus a "heretic." However, he treated the Catholic Church with respect, recognizing its importance as an administrative and moral asset in his reign. He also retained, to a large extent, the former secular administrative organization of Rome, so that the the overthrow of the previous regime produced no great upheaval at Rome.

Relations with the East

During the Monophysite controversy that continued to rage in the eastern empire, Simplicius vigorously defended the orthodox view and promoted the independence of the Church against the Byzantine rulers who were inclined to either tolerate or favor Monophysitism. He also became involved in a more direct controversy over the question of Rome's primacy.

As Constantinople evolved greater and greater authority as the center of eastern Christendom in the later Roman Empire, it acquired, or sought to acquire, the status of "New Rome." Prior to Simplicius' papacy, the twenty-eighth canon of the Council of Chalcedon (451) granted the See of Constantinople the same privileges that were enjoyed by the bishop of Old Rome, although the patriarch of Rome still held the highest rank of honor. The papal legates to this important ecumenical council protested the elevation of the Byzantine patriarch to this degree, and Pope Leo I had confirmed only the theological decrees—as opposed to the ecclesiological rules—passed by the council. Byzantine Emperor Leo II now sought Simplicius' confirmation of Constaninople's status. Simplicius, however, rejected the emperor's request.

Later, in 476 Flavius Basiliscus drove the new emperor, Zeno, into exile and seized the Byzantine throne. Basiliscus looked for support from the Monophysites, and he granted permission to the deposed Monophysite patriarchs, Timotheus Ailurus of Alexandria and Peter Fullo of Antioch, to return to their sees. At the same time he issued a religious edict which commanded that only the first three ecumenical councils were to be accepted and rejected the Council of Chalcedon. All eastern bishops were commanded to sign the edict. The patriarch of Constantinople, Acacius, wavered but a popular outcry led rigidly orthodox monks, moved the bishop to resist the emperor and to reject any overtures to the Monophysites.

Many of the abbots and priests of Constantinople rallied to the authority of Pope Simplicius, who made every effort to maintain the Catholic dogma and the theology the Council of Chalcedon. The pope sent letters of exhortation to Patriarch Acacius, to the priests and abbots of the east, as well as to the Emperor Basiliscus himself. In a letter to Basiliscus dated January 10, 476, Simplicius wrote: "This same norm of Apostolic doctrine is firmly maintained by his (Peter's) successors, of him to whom the Lord entrusted the care of the entire flock of sheep, to whom He promised not to leave him until the end of time." Simplicius also sought to influence the emperor on the cause of the orthodox former patriarch of Alexandria, Timotheus Salophakiolus, who had been superseded by Ailurus. Ultimately when the former emperor, Zeno, regained power from Basiliscus in 477, he sent the pope a completely orthodox confession of faith, whereupon Simplicius congratulated him on his restoration to power.

Zeno promptly voided the edicts of Basiliscus, banished Peter Fullo from Antioch, and reinstated Timotheus Salophakiolus at Alexandria. However, he also allowed the Monophysite Patriarch Ailurus to retain his office in the same city, reportedly on account of the latter's great age, although possibly on account of the strength of the Monophysite cause there. In any case, Ailurus soon died. The Monophysites of Alexandria now put forward Peter Mongus, the former archdeacon of Ailurus, as his successor. Urged by the pope and the orthodox parties of the ast, Zeno commanded that Peter Mongus be banished. Peter, however, was able to hide in Alexandria, and fear of the Monophysites prevented the use of force.

Meanwhile the orthodox Patriarch Salophakiolus himself risked the ire of the anti-Monophysites by placing of the name of the Monophysite patriarch Dioscurus in the list of honored leaders to be read at the church services. Simplicius wrote to Acacius of Constantinople ob March 13, 478 urging that Salophakiolus should be commanded to reverse himself on this matter. Salophakiolus sent legates and letters to Rome to assure the pope that Dioscorus' name would be removed from the lists.

Patriarch Acacius continued his campaign against the Monophysisted, and at his request Pope Simplicius condemned by name the previously named "heretics" Mongus and Fullo, as well as Paul of Epheseus, and John of Apamea. The pope also named Acacius as representative in the matter. When the Monophysites at Antioch raised a revolt in 497 against anti-Monophysite Patriarch Stephen II and killed him, Acacius consecrated Patriarch Stephen III, and later Patriarch Kalendion as Stephen's successors. Simplicius strongly demanded that the emperor punish the murderers of the patriarch. At the same time, ever vigilant to keep Constantinople in its place, he reproved Acacius for exceeding his competence in performing the consecration of Stephen III.

After the death of Salophakiolus, the Monophysites of Alexandria again elected Peter Mongus patriarch, while the orthodox chose Johannes Talaia. Despite Acacius' earlier opinion that Mongus was a heretic, both Acacius and the emperor were opposed to Talaia and sided with Mongus. When Mongus came to Constantinople to advance his cause, Acacius and he agreed upon a formula of union between the Catholics and the Monophysites—the Henotikon—that was approved by the Emperor Zeno in 482.

Talaia, meanwhile, had sent ambassadors to Pope Simplicius to notify the pope of his election. However, at the same time, the pope received a letter from the emperor in which Talaia was accused of perjury and bribery. The pope insisted that under the cirucmstances, the pope should recognize Mongus. Simplicius, thus hesitated to recognize Talaia, but he also protested against the elevation of Mongus to the patriarchate of Alexandria. Acacius, nevertheless, maintained his alliance with Mongus and sought to prevail upon the Eastern bishops to enter into communion with him. Acacius now broke off communication with Simiplicius, and the pope later wrote to him, blaming Acacius severely for his lapse. Talaia himself came to Rome in 483, but Simplicius was already dead.

As pastor of the West

Simplicius was actively involved in the pastoral care of western Europe as well, despite the trying circumstances of the church during the disruption of the barbarian migrations. He issued decisions in numerous ecclesiastical questions and appointed Bishop Zeno of Seville as papal vicar in Spain, enabling Rome to exercise its authority more directly in that country. Simplicius vigorously opposed the decision of Bishop John of Ravenna in 482 to place the city of Mutina under his and to consecrate Bishop George for this diocese.

Simplicius also established four new churches in Rome itself. A large hall built in the form of a rotunda on the Cælian Hill was turned into a church and dedicated to Saint Stephen. The main part of this building still exists as the Church of San Stefano Rotondo. When a fine hall near the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore was given to the Roman Church, Simplicius turned it into a church dedicated to Saint Andrew, although this building no longer exists. Simplicius built another church dedicated to Saint Stephen behind the memorial church of San Lorenzo in Agro Verano. This church is no longer standing. He had a fourth church built in the city in honor of Saint Balbina, this church still remains near the site of her grave.

Simplicius was buried in Saint Peter's on Vatican Hill. The "Liber Pontificalis" gives March 2 as the day of burial but Catholic scholars now below that March 10 is a better date.

Legaacy

Simplicius left an important legacy in his strong stand for orthodoxy during the Monophysite controversy, affirming Rome's unbending leadership as opposed to the compromising attitude of eastern emperors and patriarchs. At the same time, he showed that an orthodox pope could get along even with a heretical king such as Odoacer, as long as the king did not seek to impose his theological view son the church. In Rome itself, he took steps to make sure of the regular holding of church services, the administration of baptism and penance in the great churches of the catacombs outside the city walls: namely the churches of Saint Peter (in the Vatican), Saint Paul on the Via Ostiensis, and of Saint Lawrence on the Via Tiburtina. Simplicius ordained that the clergy of three designated sections of the city take charge religious functions at these churches of the catacombs in an established order.

After his death, the prefect of the city, Basilius, asserted that Simplicius had stipulated that no one should be consecrated Roman bishop without his or King Odoacer's consent. The Roman clergy, however, opposed this edict on the grounds that limited their right of election. They also appealed to the earlier edict issued by the Emperor Honorius during the reign of Pope Boniface I, which gave authority for the election of the Roman bishop to its clergy alone.

Simplicius is venerated as a saint, and his feast is on 2 or 3 March.

External Links

• Opera Omnia by Migne Patrologia Latina with analytical indexes This links also holds the Vita Operaque section by Libro Pontificali

Roman Catholic Popes
Preceded by: Hilarius	Bishop of Rome 468–483	Succeeded by: Felix III

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