Difference between revisions of "Pope Zosimus" - New World Encyclopedia

Zosimus
Zosimus
Birth name	Zosimus
Papacy began	March 18, 417
Papacy ended	December 26 418
Predecessor	Innocent I
Successor	Boniface I
Born	???; ???
Died	December 26 418; ???

Revision as of 19:09, 3 July 2008

Styles of Pope Zosimus

Reference style	His Holiness
Spoken style	Your Holiness
Religious style	Holy Father
Posthumous style	Saint

For the historian, see Zosimus.

Pope Saint Zosimus was pope from March 18, 417 to December 26, 418.

He succeeded Innocent I, and was followed by Boniface I. Zosimus took a decided part in the protracted dispute in Gaul as to the jurisdiction of the see of Arles over that of Vienne, giving energetic decisions in favour of the former, but without settling the controversy. His fractious temper coloured all the controversies in which he took part, in Gaul, Africa and Italy, including Rome, where at his death the clergy were very much divided.

According to the Liber Pontificalis, Zosimus was a Greek and his father's name was Abram. Some scholars deduce from this that the family was of Jewish origin, but this cannot be certain.

Nothing is known of the life of Zosimus before his elevation to the papal see. His consecration as Bishop of Rome took place on March 18, 417. The festival was attended by Patroclus, Bishop of Arles, who had been raised to that see in place of Bishop Hero, who had been forcibly and unjustly removed by the imperial general Constantine. Patroclus gained the confidence of the new pope at once; as early as 22 March he received a papal letter which conferred upon him the rights of a metropolitan over all the bishops of the Gallic provinces of Viennensis and Narbonensis I and II. In addition he was made a kind of papal vicar for the whole of Gaul; no Gallic ecclesiastic being permitted to journey to Rome without bringing with him a certificate of identity from Patroclus.

In the year 400, Arles had been substituted for Trier as the residence of the chief government official of the civil Diocese of Gaul, the "Prefectus Praetorio Galliarum." Patroclus, who enjoyed the support of the commander Constantine, used this opportunity to procure for himself the position of supremacy above mentioned, by winning over Zosimus to his ideas. The bishops of Vienne, Narbonne and Marseille regarded this elevation of the See of Arles as an infringement of their rights, and raised objections which occasioned several letters from Zosimus. The dispute, however, was not settled until the pontificate of Pope Leo I.

Confrontation with Pelagianism

Not long after the election of Zosimus the proponent of Pelagianism, Caelestius, who had been condemned by the preceding pope, Innocent I, came to Rome to justify himself before the new pope, having been expelled from Constantinople. In the summer of 417, Zosimus held a meeting of the Roman clergy in the Basilica of St. Clement before which Caelestius appeared. The propositions drawn up by the deacon Paulinus of Milan, on account of which Caelestius had been condemned at Carthage in 411, were laid before him. Caelestius refused to condemn these propositions, at the same time declaring in general that he accepted the doctrine expounded in the letters of Pope Innocent and making a confession of faith which was approved. The pope was won over by the shrewdly calculated conduct of Caelestius, and said that it was not certain whether the heretic had really maintained the false doctrine rejected by Innocent, and that therefore he considered the action of the African bishops against Caelestius too hasty. He wrote at once in this sense to the bishops of the African province, and called upon those who had anything to bring against Caelestius to appear at Rome within two months. Soon after this Zosimus received from Pelagius also an artfully expressed confession of faith, together with a new treatise by the heretic on free will. The pope held a new synod of the Roman clergy, before which both these writings were read. The skillfully chosen expressions of Pelagius concealed the heretical contents; the assembly held the statements to be orthodox, and Zosimus again wrote to the African bishops defending Pelagius and reproving his accusers, among whom were the Gallic bishops Hero and Lazarus. Archbishop Aurelius of Carthage quickly called a synod, which sent a letter to Zosimus in which it was proved that the pope had been deceived by the heretics. In his answer Zosimus declared that he had settled nothing definitely, and wished to settle nothing without consulting the African bishops. After the new synodal letter of the African council of May 1, 418 to the pope, and after the steps taken by the emperor Honorius against the Pelagians, Zosimus recognized the true character of the heretics. He now issued his Tractoria, in which Pelagianism and its authors were finally condemned.

Shortly after this Zosimus became involved in a dispute with the African bishops in regard to the right of appeal to the Roman See clerics who had been condemned by their bishops. When the priest Apiarius of Sicca had been excommunicated by his bishop on account of his crimes, he appealed directly to the pope, without regard to the regular course of appeal in Africa which was exactly prescribed. The pope at once accepted the appeal, and sent legates with letters to Africa to investigate the matter. A wiser course would have been to have first referred Apiarius to the ordinary course of appeal in Africa itself. Zosimus next made the further mistake of basing his action on a reputed canon of the First Council of Nicaea, which was in reality a canon of the Council of Sardica. In the Roman manuscripts the canons of Sardica followed those of Nicaea immediately, without an independent title, while the African manuscripts contained only the genuine canons of Nicaea, so that the canon appealed to by Zosimus was not contained in the African copies of the Nicene canons. Thus a serious disagreement arose over this appeal, which continued after the death of Zosimus.

Besides the writings of the pope already mentioned, there are extant other letters to the bishops of the Byzantine province in Africa, in regard to a deposed bishop, and to the bishops of Gaul and Spain in respect to Priscillianism and ordination to the different grades of the clergy. The Liber Pontificalis attributes to Zosimus a decree on the wearing of the maniple by deacons and on the dedication of Easter candles in the country parishes; also a decree forbidding clerics to visit taverns. Zosimus was buried in the sepulchral Church of St. Laurence in Agro Verano.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

De Rossi, Bulletino di arch. christ., 1881, 91 sqq
Duchesne, Histoire ancienne de l'église, 111, 228, note
Harnack Sitzungsberichte der Berliner Akademie, 1904, 1050

External links

Opera Omnia by Migne Patrologia Latina

Roman Catholic Popes
Preceded by: Innocent I	Bishop of Rome 417–418	Succeeded by: Boniface I

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-: {{For|other ancients with this name|Zosimos}}
+{{Infobox Pope|
+English name=Zosimus|
+image=[[Image:Emblem of the Papacy.svg|150px]]|
+birth_name=Zosimus|
+term_start=March 18, 417|
+term_end=December 26 418|
+predecessor=[[Pope Innocent I|Innocent I]]|
+successor=[[Pope Boniface I|Boniface I]]|
+birth_date=???|
+birthplace=???|
+dead=dead|death_date={{death date|418|12|26|mf=y}}|
+deathplace=???|}}
+{{infobox popestyles|
+papal name=Pope Zosimus|
+dipstyle=His Holiness|
+offstyle=Your Holiness|
+relstyle=Holy Father|
+deathstyle=[[Saint]]|}}
+:''For the historian, see [[Zosimus]].''
+'''Pope Saint Zosimus''' was [[pope]] from March 18, 417 to December 26, 418.
-'''Zosimus''' ([[floruit|''fl.'']] 490s-510s) was a [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] historian, who lived in [[Constantinople]] during the reign of the [[Byzantine Emperor]] [[Anastasius I (emperor)|Anastasius I]] (491-518). According to [[Photius]], he was a ''[[comes]]'', and held the office of "advocate" of the imperial treasury.
+He succeeded [[Pope Innocent I|Innocent I]], and was followed by [[Pope Boniface I|Boniface I]]. Zosimus took a decided part in the protracted dispute in [[Gaul]] as to the jurisdiction of the [[see of Arles]] over that of [[Vienne]], giving energetic decisions in favour of the former, but without settling the controversy. His fractious temper coloured all the controversies in which he took part, in Gaul, [[Africa]] and [[Italy]], including [[Rome]], where at his death the clergy were very much divided.
-== Historia Nova ==
+According to the ''[[Liber Pontificalis]]'', Zosimus was a [[Greece|Greek]] and his father's name was Abram. Some scholars deduce from this that the family was of Jewish origin, but this cannot be certain.
-Zosimus' work is the ''[[Historia Nova]]'', "New History," is in six books, the earlier books being mainly a compilation from previous authors ([[Dexippus]], [[Eunapius]], [[Olympiodorus of Thebes|Olympiodorus]]): the first book sketches briefly the history of the early [[Roman emperors]] from [[Augustus]] to [[Diocletian]] (305); the second, third and fourth deal more fully with the period from the accession of [[Constantius Chlorus]] and [[Galerius]] to the death of [[Theodosius I]]; the fifth and sixth, the most useful for historians, cover the period between 395 and 410, when [[Priscus Attalus]] was deposed. For this period, he is the most important surviving non-ecclesiastical source. The work, which is apparently unfinished, is believed to have been written in 498-518.
-The style is characterized by [[Photius]] as concise, clear and pure; other historians have judged his accounts confused or muddled, and valuable only because he preserves information from lost histories. The historian's object was to account for the [[decline of the Roman Empire]] from the Pagan point of view. Zosimus is the only non-Christian source for much of what he reports.
+Nothing is known of the life of Zosimus before his elevation to the papal see. His consecration as [[Bishop]] of [[Rome]] took place on March 18, 417. The festival was attended by [[Patroclus]], [[Bishop of Arles]], who had been raised to that see in place of Bishop [[Hero]], who had been forcibly and unjustly removed by the imperial general Constantine. Patroclus gained the confidence of the new pope at once; as early as 22 March he received a papal letter which conferred upon him the rights of a [[metropolitan bishop|metropolitan]] over all the bishops of the Gallic provinces of [[Viennensis]] and [[Narbonensis]] I and II. In addition he was made a kind of papal [[vicar]] for the whole of Gaul; no Gallic ecclesiastic being permitted to journey to Rome without bringing with him a certificate of identity from Patroclus.
-As [[Polybius]] had narrated the events by which the Roman empire had reached its greatness, so Zosimus undertook the task of developing the events and causes which led to its decline (i. 57). Though the decline of the Roman empire was the main subject which Zosimus selected, it was perhaps his ambition to imitate Polybius, which led him to introduce various matters connected with Persian, Grecian, and Macedonian history, which are not very intimately connected with his main design. It is clear that Photius and [[Evagrius]] had not more of the work than we have. Yet it seems likely on some accounts, either that a part of the work has been lost or, what is more likely, that Zosimus did not live to finish it; for as we now have it, it does not embrace all that Zosimus himself tells us he intended to take up (iv. 59. § 4, 5, i. 58. § 9, iv. 28. § 3). There does not seem much probability in the conjecture that the monks and other ecclesiastics succeeded in suppressing that portion of the work in which the evil influences of their body were to be more especially touched upon (v. 23. § 8 ; Harles. ad Fabr. vol. viii. p. 65 ; comp. Voss. de Hist. Gr. p. 312). If the work was thus left incomplete, that circumstance would account for some carelessness of style which is here and there apparent. There may appear some difficulty at first sight, however, in the statement of Photius, that the work, in the form in which he saw it, appeared to him to be a second edition. But it would seem that Photius was under some misapprehension. It is called in the manuscripts ''Historia Nova'' (in what sense is not quite clear). This may perhaps have misled Photius. He himself remarks that he had not seen the first edition.
+In the year 400, Arles had been substituted for [[Trier]] as the residence of the chief government official of the [[Roman diocese|civil]] [[Diocese of Gaul]], the "Prefectus Praetorio Galliarum." Patroclus, who enjoyed the support of the commander Constantine, used this opportunity to procure for himself the position of supremacy above mentioned, by winning over Zosimus to his ideas. The bishops of [[Vienne]], [[Narbonne]] and [[Marseille]] regarded this elevation of the See of Arles as an infringement of their rights, and raised objections which occasioned several letters from Zosimus. The dispute, however, was not settled until the pontificate of [[Pope Leo I]].
-The work of Zosimus is mainly (though not altogether) an abridgment or compilation of the works of previous historians. As far as the 41st chapter of the first book he follows Herennius Dexippus. From that point to the llth chapter of the fifth book Eunapius is his guide, though he nowhere makes mention of him. Photius remarks in general terms of the work that it was not so much a history as a compilation from Eunapius. After Eunapius he follows Olympiodorus, sometimes copying from him whole chapters. Zosimus' chief fault as an historical writer is that he neglects to notice the chronology.
+==Confrontation with Pelagianism==
+Not long after the election of Zosimus the proponent of [[Pelagianism]], [[Caelestius]], who had been condemned by the preceding pope, [[Innocent I]], came to Rome to justify himself before the new pope, having been expelled from [[Constantinople]]. In the summer of 417, Zosimus held a meeting of the Roman clergy in the [[Basilica of St. Clement]] before which Caelestius appeared. The propositions drawn up by the deacon [[Paulinus of Milan]], on account of which Caelestius had been condemned at [[Carthage]] in 411, were laid before him. Caelestius refused to condemn these propositions, at the same time declaring in general that he accepted the doctrine expounded in the letters of Pope Innocent and making a confession of faith which was approved. The pope was won over by the shrewdly calculated conduct of Caelestius, and said that it was not certain whether the heretic had really maintained the false doctrine rejected by Innocent, and that therefore he considered the action of the African bishops against Caelestius too hasty. He wrote at once in this sense to the bishops of the African province, and called upon those who had anything to bring against Caelestius to appear at Rome within two months. Soon after this Zosimus received from [[Pelagius]] also an artfully expressed confession of faith, together with a new treatise by the heretic on [[free will]]. The pope held a new synod of the Roman clergy, before which both these writings were read. The skillfully chosen expressions of Pelagius concealed the heretical contents; the assembly held the statements to be orthodox, and Zosimus again wrote to the African bishops defending Pelagius and reproving his accusers, among whom were the Gallic bishops Hero and Lazarus. Archbishop [[Aurelius of Carthage]] quickly called a synod, which sent a letter to Zosimus in which it was proved that the pope had been deceived by the heretics. In his answer Zosimus declared that he had settled nothing definitely, and wished to settle nothing without consulting the African bishops. After the new synodal letter of the African council of May 1, 418 to the pope, and after the steps taken by the emperor [[Flavius Augustus Honorius|Honorius]] against the Pelagians, Zosimus recognized the true character of the heretics. He now issued his ''Tractoria'', in which Pelagianism and its authors were finally condemned.
-Zosimus was a Pagan, and is by no means sparing of the faults and crimes of the Christian emperors. In consequence of this his credibility has been fiercely assailed by several Christian writers, and has been sometimes defended merely because his history tended to the discredit of many leading persons in the Christian party. Evagrius (iii. 40, 41) and Nicephorus (xvi. 41, &c.) speak in the most unfavourable terms. The question does not, as has sometimes been supposed, turn upon the credibility of the historians whom Zosimus followed, for he did not adhere in all cases to their judgment with respect to events and characters. For instance he entirely differed from Eunapius in his account of [[Stilicho]] and [[Serena (Roman)|Serena]]. Of modern writers, Baronius, Laelius Bisciola, C. v. Barth, J. D. Ritter, R. Bentley, and St. Croix, have taken the derogatory side. Bentley in particular (Remarks upon a late Discourse of Freethinking, Part. ii. p. 21) speaks of Zosimus with great contempt. On the other hand, his historical authority has been maintained by Leunclavius, G. B. von Schirach, J. Matth. Schrockh, and Reite-raeier. There are no doubt numerous errors of judgment to be found in the work, and sometimes (especially in the case of Constantine) an intemperate expression of opinion, which somewhat exaggerates, if it does not distort the truth. But he does not seem fairly chargeable with deliberate invention, or wilful misrepresentation. It is not to be wondered at that one who held to the old faith should attribute the downfall of the empire in great part to the religious innovations attendant upon the spread of Christianity.
+Shortly after this Zosimus became involved in a dispute with the African bishops in regard to the right of appeal to the Roman See clerics who had been condemned by their bishops. When the priest [[Apiarius of Sicca]] had been excommunicated by his bishop on account of his crimes, he appealed directly to the pope, without regard to the regular course of appeal in Africa which was exactly prescribed. The pope at once accepted the appeal, and sent legates with letters to Africa to investigate the matter. A wiser course would have been to have first referred Apiarius to the ordinary course of appeal in Africa itself. Zosimus next made the further mistake of basing his action on a reputed canon of the [[First Council of Nicaea]], which was in reality a canon of the [[Council of Sardica]]. In the Roman manuscripts the canons of Sardica followed those of Nicaea immediately, without an independent title, while the African manuscripts contained only the genuine canons of Nicaea, so that the canon appealed to by Zosimus was not contained in the African copies of the [[Nicene]] canons. Thus a serious disagreement arose over this appeal, which continued after the death of Zosimus.
-=== Editions ===
+Besides the writings of the pope already mentioned, there are extant other letters to the bishops of the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] province in Africa, in regard to a deposed bishop, and to the bishops of Gaul and Spain in respect to [[Priscillian]]ism and ordination to the different grades of the clergy. The ''Liber Pontificalis'' attributes to Zosimus a decree on the wearing of the [[Maniple (vestment)|maniple]] by deacons and on the dedication of [[Easter]] candles in the country parishes; also a decree forbidding clerics to visit [[tavern]]s. Zosimus was buried in the sepulchral [[Church of St. Laurence in Agro Verano]].
-The history of Zosimus was first printed in the Latin translation of Leunclavius, accompanied by a defence of the historian (Basel, 1576, fol.). The first two books, in Greek, with the translation of Leunclavius, were printed by H. Stephamis, in his edition of Herodian (Paris, 1581). The first complete edition of the Greek text of Zosimus was that by F. Sylburg (Scriptores Hist. Rom. Min. vol. iii.). Later editions are those published at Oxford (1679), at Zeitz and Jena, edited by Cellarius, with annotations of his own and others (1679, 1713, 1729). The next edition is that by Reitemeier, who, though he consulted no fresh manuscripts, made good use of the critical remarks of Heyne and other scholars (Leipzig, 1784). The last and best edition is by Bekker, Bonn, 1837. There is a German translation by Seybold and Heyler, and also an English and a French translation. (Schöll, Gesch. d. Griech. Lit. vol. iii, p. 232 ; Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. viii. p. 62.)
-The single good manuscript, in the Vatican Library (MS Vat. Gr. 156 ), was held unavailable to scholars until the mid-19th century. Ludwig Mendelssohn (Leipzig 1887) edited the first dependable text. The modern standard edition is F. Paschoud ''Zosime: Histoire Nouvelle'' (Paris 1971) which has a French translation, introduction and commentary.
+==References==
+*De Rossi, ''Bulletino di arch. christ.'', 1881, 91 sqq
+*Duchesne, ''Histoire ancienne de l'église'', 111, 228, note
+*Harnack ''Sitzungsberichte der Berliner Akademie'', 1904, 1050
+==See also==
+{{portalpar|Saints|Gloriole.svg}}
 ==External links==
-{{Wikisource1913CatholicEnc|Zosimus}}
+*[http://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/01_01_0417-0418-_Zosimus,_Sanctus.html Opera Omnia by Migne Patrologia Latina]
-*[http://www.tertullian.org/rpearse/manuscripts/zosimus_new_history.htm The manuscripts of the ''Historia Nova'']
-*[http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/zosimus01_book1.htm Translation of the ''Historia Nova'' (published in 1814), book 1], [http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/zosimus02_book2.htm book 2], [http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/zosimus03_book3.htm book 3], [http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/zosimus04_book4.htm book 4], [http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/zosimus05_book5.htm book 5], [http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/zosimus06_book6.htm book 6] <!— linked in this odd fashion because tertullian.org neglected navigation links —>
-*[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15765a.htm ''Catholic Encyclopedia''] "Zosimus"
-{{Lifetime|5th century|6th century}}
+{{Wikisource1913CatholicEnc|Pope Saint Zosimus}}
-[[Category:religion]]
-[[Category:biography]]
+{{Pope|
-{{Credit|202990579}}
+Predecessor=[[Pope Innocent I|Innocent I]]|
+Successor=[[Pope Boniface I|Boniface I]]|Dates=417&ndash;418}}
+{{Popes}}
+{{1911}}
+{{catholic}}
+{{DEFAULTSORT:Zosimus}}
+[[Category:Popes]]
+[[Category:Christian]]
+{{Credit|220793823}}

Difference between revisions of "Pope Zosimus" - New World Encyclopedia

Revision as of 19:09, 3 July 2008

Confrontation with Pelagianism

ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees

See also

External links

Credits

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees