Pope St. Agapetus I and The True Role of the Papacy
Matthew J Bellisario O.P.
Introduction
With the election of Pope John XXIII the papacy has certainly taken on a different character than that of his predecessor Pius XII. In fact, every pope since Second Vatican Council has governed with an attitude of laxity and permissiveness seldom seen in the previous 150 years of papal governance. It is well known that Pope John XXIII wanted the "modern" theologians to have a voice in the Church, many of whom Pius XII shut down. Pope Paul VI also catered to many modernist theologians and although Pope John Paul II often personally upheld orthodox moral theology he did little to stop heretical theologians from teaching and spent more time traveling than governing the Church.
We have witnessed that Pope Francis wants to “reform” the papacy where more power is given to bishop's conferences to make their own decisions on how they will govern the Church and what theological and liturgical direction they want to follow. The big story that is being ignored is the German bishops' conference which has now proclaimed that homosexuality is a normal form of sexual expression. We must assume that Pope Francis is fine with their proclamation, or at least he does not have any intention of correcting them, for we have heard nothing in response.
So we must ask the question, is the papacy in need of reform? I would immediately answer in the affirmative, but I must qualify what type of reform would be the most prudential. My reform would not have anything to do with minimizing the role of the Holy Father when it comes to jurisdiction or being the unifying chair of the Church as The First Vatican Council infallibly defined. Nor would it be handing over the majority of Church affairs to the local bishops' conferences and synods as Pope Francis has been doing over the past seven years, although those who hold power in these groups have bee personally chosen by Francis himself. Some would indeed like to see the role of the pope minimized to appeal to heretics and schismatics outside of the Church. Modernists see the traditional role of the pope as being outdated for the modern man and prefer collective governance of the Church. What is really needed however is a stronger presence of the papacy in the Church with a harkening back prior papal pontificates before Pope John XXIII.
Though modernist scholars would like you to believe that the papacy had no real influence in the early Church and that the Eastern Church supposedly led an autonomous existence uninfluenced by Rome, there is nothing further from the truth. Many Catholics today think the papacy held no real power in the Church until Pope Leo III's crowning of Charlemagne in 800. They also claim the papal power and authority became corrupted with the pontificate of Pope Gregory VII. (1073-1085) Modern historians claim that the Eastern Church did not call upon the pope for matters of jurisdictional or doctrinal controversy. It is with this mentality that many people in the Church today think that we can simply roll back the clock on the papacy, ignore the defined dogmas of Vatican I and the Orthodox would just run back to us with open arms. But for those who have actually studied the history of the papacy, this nothing but a pipe dream.
Pope St. Agapetus I
I would like to refer to an example of the role of the papacy back in the golden age of Constantinople where the East supposedly reigned unhindered by the papacy. We will get in our imaginary time machines and go back to the year 535 where the wealthy and powerful Justinian and Theodora ruled the Roman Empire from Constantinople. Justinian would indeed be the last great unifying emperor of the Roman Empire making every effort to clean up the mess in the West by reconquering large parts of the Italian peninsula from foreign invaders. What is more interesting are the workings a wonderful Pope, which most Catholics probably have never heard of, Pope Saint Agapetus I. His pontificate only lasted from May 4th 535 to April 17th 536, and certainly, this time period is only a blip on the papal radar screen. But his important pontificate offers a snapshot of the pope’s role and method of solving problems in the Church at the time, especially in relation to the Eastern Church. And although this history lesson pertains directly to the pope's relation to the East it also has a lesson for us today.
First, when emperor Justinian learned of the election of Pope Agapetus, he immediately sent a written profession of faith to the Pope. This is an interesting fact, being that most of the Orthodox today would say the pope only held the primacy of honor and did not possess any real authority in the Church. Yet, not only did Justinian send a profession of faith to the newly elected pope, but he also sent a request to the pope asking how the repentant Arian heretics in the East could be reinstated into the Church. This is, of course, a clear matter of jurisdiction. Justinian did not know how to deal with the influx of ecclesiastical Arian heretics who wanted to return to the Church in the hierarchy, nor did he have the authority to make a decision regarding the matter. It is also clear that the bishop of Constantinople did not possess that power otherwise there would have been no appeal to Rome for an answer. Justinian and the eastern bishops wanted to allow certain reconciled heretics to return to their ecclesial offices in the Church in the East, so they petitioned the pope to solve this issue.
Agapetus sent a letter back to Justinian accepting his profession of faith while preferring to send legates to address the Arian question since canon law at the time generally forbid former heretics to enter into ecclesiastical orders. There was also a general council being held in Carthage at the time dealing with this same question, and the pope was also asked to address that council. The council asked the pontiff if it were allowed to confer orders on those who had been baptized by Arians. Pope Agapetus responded and denied the reinstatement of the Arian bishops. He also said that Arian converts were not to be admitted to Holy Orders lest they corrupt the entire priesthood. This is how serious previous popes took the Catholic faith. Pope Agapetus, unlike the lax attitude of the popes of our day, left nothing to chance when it came to the teaching of the faith. Unlike our time where ignorant converts can come into the Church and immediately start teaching the Catholic faith without any litmus test, past popes would have had none of this. It is beyond belief that in today's Church heretics are allowed to openly teach in Catholic universities and schools. How imprudent it is that a convert can come into the Church and within a few months be leading Bible studies! I digress!
This particular controversy, however, is not the end of this great pope's dealings with the Eastern Church. During his short reign, he would decide to pack his bags and borrow money to travel east to meet Justinian personally to settle another dispute concerning the stamping out of the Gothic domination in Italy. The East's most glorious general, Belisarius had taken the imperial fleet and anchored it off the coast of Sicily with intention of taking parts of the Italian peninsula back from the Goths. This, however, meant certain death for those in power and their families at the time. So they petitioned the pope and Constantinople for a sum of money and to be allowed a peaceful exit. Pope Agapetus, a very humble and poor servant of God wanted to travel to settle the dispute but had no means of wealth to make such a journey. He had to borrow money in order to make the trip east, even putting some of the treasures of St. Peter's up for collateral. Such was his desire to solve these issues.
Arrival in Constantinople
St Agapetus arrived in the gem of the East, Constantinople on Feb 2nd of 536. Upon arrival he found there was further trouble, being that a heretical Eutychian bishop named Anthimus had been allowed to serve as bishop of Trezbizond. Pope Agapetus would have nothing to do with him despite the empress Theodora’s and Justian's insistence to the contrary. Anthimus was given an opportunity to sign the confession of faith, which he denied, and the Pope himself deposed him. St Agapetus withstood Justinian to his face, and Justinian once again gave St Agapetus his confession of faith. At the same time, the Church in Alexandria petitioned the pope to further stem the Eutychian heresy. As a result, St. Agapetus planned to call a council to solve the problem. In the meantime, he tried to negotiate with Justinian as to how General Belisarius should deal with the problem in Italy. Sadly, before he could resolve these two issues, just before the council could be held to deal with the Alexandrian controversy, Pope Agapetus died unexpectedly on April 17th 536.
The reaction of the people of Constantinople may be surprising to many today. With so much looming with his decisions on these matters, there was great anguish among the faithful in Constantinople. Contrary to what modern Orthodox clergy today would have us think, the faithful in Constantinople were not upset at the presence of St. Agapetus, in fact, it was quite the contrary. An eyewitness in Constantinople offers a striking account of their love for the pope, “It was a festive day for him… but a season of deep mourning for us. Never were such obsequies celebrated for pope or emperor. Not all the public squares, nor the porticoes, nor the housetops could contain the vast crowds that thronged around the funeral car. Constantinople now saw all her subjects within her city walls.” The honored body of Pope Saint Agapetus was transported back to Rome where he was laid in Saint Peter's.
Summary of Papal Governance
This little history lesson offers an important perspective on what a true reform of the papacy should mean for us. The laxity in which the modern popes operate by today is certainly in need of reform. The pope is indeed the supreme pontiff of the Church both East and West, and he should prudently act as such. As we can see with Saint Agapetus, there was no laxity in his resolve that the faith is taught without error and that no compromise should be given to those outside the Church concerning doctrine, faith, and morals. What we are seeing now in the daily operation of the papacy is, in my opinion, a failure to teach the Catholic faith clearly and with firm confidence as to its perennial authenticity. When was the last time you heard a pope demand a bishop or theologian to sign a declaration of faith or be deposed? If we look at the pontificate of Pope St. Pius X we indeed see much of the same character of a Pope St. Agapetus. All clergy under Pope Pius X were required to sign the Oath Against Modernism. Likewise, Pope Pius XII removed several theologians from their posts due to heretical doctrine. The Oath Against Modernism, of course, was done away with by Pope Paul VI, much to the detriment of the faith.
Do we find ourselves in need of a papal reform? Yes, but reform of a different sort than the one being called for by Francis and many in the Church today. We cannot continue in this lackadaisical approach, which Pope John XIII began with his pontificate. Unity is not won by the compromise of the Catholic faith. As for the Eastern Orthodox, they must come back to the same mentality they had back during the time of Pope St. Agapetus. They must recognize the authority of the Pope and sign a Catholic confession of faith. Only then will unity be restored. Unfortunately with the disastrous pontificate of Pope Francis, barring a miracle we are going to have much of the same for the foreseeable future. Pray for the restoration and reform of the papacy!
Historical Source: A General History of the Catholic Church Vol II- M. Labbe J. E. Darras
Matthew J Bellisario O.P.
Introduction
With the election of Pope John XXIII the papacy has certainly taken on a different character than that of his predecessor Pius XII. In fact, every pope since Second Vatican Council has governed with an attitude of laxity and permissiveness seldom seen in the previous 150 years of papal governance. It is well known that Pope John XXIII wanted the "modern" theologians to have a voice in the Church, many of whom Pius XII shut down. Pope Paul VI also catered to many modernist theologians and although Pope John Paul II often personally upheld orthodox moral theology he did little to stop heretical theologians from teaching and spent more time traveling than governing the Church.
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| St. Peter's Original |
We have witnessed that Pope Francis wants to “reform” the papacy where more power is given to bishop's conferences to make their own decisions on how they will govern the Church and what theological and liturgical direction they want to follow. The big story that is being ignored is the German bishops' conference which has now proclaimed that homosexuality is a normal form of sexual expression. We must assume that Pope Francis is fine with their proclamation, or at least he does not have any intention of correcting them, for we have heard nothing in response.
So we must ask the question, is the papacy in need of reform? I would immediately answer in the affirmative, but I must qualify what type of reform would be the most prudential. My reform would not have anything to do with minimizing the role of the Holy Father when it comes to jurisdiction or being the unifying chair of the Church as The First Vatican Council infallibly defined. Nor would it be handing over the majority of Church affairs to the local bishops' conferences and synods as Pope Francis has been doing over the past seven years, although those who hold power in these groups have bee personally chosen by Francis himself. Some would indeed like to see the role of the pope minimized to appeal to heretics and schismatics outside of the Church. Modernists see the traditional role of the pope as being outdated for the modern man and prefer collective governance of the Church. What is really needed however is a stronger presence of the papacy in the Church with a harkening back prior papal pontificates before Pope John XXIII.
Though modernist scholars would like you to believe that the papacy had no real influence in the early Church and that the Eastern Church supposedly led an autonomous existence uninfluenced by Rome, there is nothing further from the truth. Many Catholics today think the papacy held no real power in the Church until Pope Leo III's crowning of Charlemagne in 800. They also claim the papal power and authority became corrupted with the pontificate of Pope Gregory VII. (1073-1085) Modern historians claim that the Eastern Church did not call upon the pope for matters of jurisdictional or doctrinal controversy. It is with this mentality that many people in the Church today think that we can simply roll back the clock on the papacy, ignore the defined dogmas of Vatican I and the Orthodox would just run back to us with open arms. But for those who have actually studied the history of the papacy, this nothing but a pipe dream.
Pope St. Agapetus I
I would like to refer to an example of the role of the papacy back in the golden age of Constantinople where the East supposedly reigned unhindered by the papacy. We will get in our imaginary time machines and go back to the year 535 where the wealthy and powerful Justinian and Theodora ruled the Roman Empire from Constantinople. Justinian would indeed be the last great unifying emperor of the Roman Empire making every effort to clean up the mess in the West by reconquering large parts of the Italian peninsula from foreign invaders. What is more interesting are the workings a wonderful Pope, which most Catholics probably have never heard of, Pope Saint Agapetus I. His pontificate only lasted from May 4th 535 to April 17th 536, and certainly, this time period is only a blip on the papal radar screen. But his important pontificate offers a snapshot of the pope’s role and method of solving problems in the Church at the time, especially in relation to the Eastern Church. And although this history lesson pertains directly to the pope's relation to the East it also has a lesson for us today.
First, when emperor Justinian learned of the election of Pope Agapetus, he immediately sent a written profession of faith to the Pope. This is an interesting fact, being that most of the Orthodox today would say the pope only held the primacy of honor and did not possess any real authority in the Church. Yet, not only did Justinian send a profession of faith to the newly elected pope, but he also sent a request to the pope asking how the repentant Arian heretics in the East could be reinstated into the Church. This is, of course, a clear matter of jurisdiction. Justinian did not know how to deal with the influx of ecclesiastical Arian heretics who wanted to return to the Church in the hierarchy, nor did he have the authority to make a decision regarding the matter. It is also clear that the bishop of Constantinople did not possess that power otherwise there would have been no appeal to Rome for an answer. Justinian and the eastern bishops wanted to allow certain reconciled heretics to return to their ecclesial offices in the Church in the East, so they petitioned the pope to solve this issue.
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| Justinian by Antoine Helbert |
Agapetus sent a letter back to Justinian accepting his profession of faith while preferring to send legates to address the Arian question since canon law at the time generally forbid former heretics to enter into ecclesiastical orders. There was also a general council being held in Carthage at the time dealing with this same question, and the pope was also asked to address that council. The council asked the pontiff if it were allowed to confer orders on those who had been baptized by Arians. Pope Agapetus responded and denied the reinstatement of the Arian bishops. He also said that Arian converts were not to be admitted to Holy Orders lest they corrupt the entire priesthood. This is how serious previous popes took the Catholic faith. Pope Agapetus, unlike the lax attitude of the popes of our day, left nothing to chance when it came to the teaching of the faith. Unlike our time where ignorant converts can come into the Church and immediately start teaching the Catholic faith without any litmus test, past popes would have had none of this. It is beyond belief that in today's Church heretics are allowed to openly teach in Catholic universities and schools. How imprudent it is that a convert can come into the Church and within a few months be leading Bible studies! I digress!
This particular controversy, however, is not the end of this great pope's dealings with the Eastern Church. During his short reign, he would decide to pack his bags and borrow money to travel east to meet Justinian personally to settle another dispute concerning the stamping out of the Gothic domination in Italy. The East's most glorious general, Belisarius had taken the imperial fleet and anchored it off the coast of Sicily with intention of taking parts of the Italian peninsula back from the Goths. This, however, meant certain death for those in power and their families at the time. So they petitioned the pope and Constantinople for a sum of money and to be allowed a peaceful exit. Pope Agapetus, a very humble and poor servant of God wanted to travel to settle the dispute but had no means of wealth to make such a journey. He had to borrow money in order to make the trip east, even putting some of the treasures of St. Peter's up for collateral. Such was his desire to solve these issues.
Arrival in Constantinople
St Agapetus arrived in the gem of the East, Constantinople on Feb 2nd of 536. Upon arrival he found there was further trouble, being that a heretical Eutychian bishop named Anthimus had been allowed to serve as bishop of Trezbizond. Pope Agapetus would have nothing to do with him despite the empress Theodora’s and Justian's insistence to the contrary. Anthimus was given an opportunity to sign the confession of faith, which he denied, and the Pope himself deposed him. St Agapetus withstood Justinian to his face, and Justinian once again gave St Agapetus his confession of faith. At the same time, the Church in Alexandria petitioned the pope to further stem the Eutychian heresy. As a result, St. Agapetus planned to call a council to solve the problem. In the meantime, he tried to negotiate with Justinian as to how General Belisarius should deal with the problem in Italy. Sadly, before he could resolve these two issues, just before the council could be held to deal with the Alexandrian controversy, Pope Agapetus died unexpectedly on April 17th 536.
The reaction of the people of Constantinople may be surprising to many today. With so much looming with his decisions on these matters, there was great anguish among the faithful in Constantinople. Contrary to what modern Orthodox clergy today would have us think, the faithful in Constantinople were not upset at the presence of St. Agapetus, in fact, it was quite the contrary. An eyewitness in Constantinople offers a striking account of their love for the pope, “It was a festive day for him… but a season of deep mourning for us. Never were such obsequies celebrated for pope or emperor. Not all the public squares, nor the porticoes, nor the housetops could contain the vast crowds that thronged around the funeral car. Constantinople now saw all her subjects within her city walls.” The honored body of Pope Saint Agapetus was transported back to Rome where he was laid in Saint Peter's.
Summary of Papal Governance
This little history lesson offers an important perspective on what a true reform of the papacy should mean for us. The laxity in which the modern popes operate by today is certainly in need of reform. The pope is indeed the supreme pontiff of the Church both East and West, and he should prudently act as such. As we can see with Saint Agapetus, there was no laxity in his resolve that the faith is taught without error and that no compromise should be given to those outside the Church concerning doctrine, faith, and morals. What we are seeing now in the daily operation of the papacy is, in my opinion, a failure to teach the Catholic faith clearly and with firm confidence as to its perennial authenticity. When was the last time you heard a pope demand a bishop or theologian to sign a declaration of faith or be deposed? If we look at the pontificate of Pope St. Pius X we indeed see much of the same character of a Pope St. Agapetus. All clergy under Pope Pius X were required to sign the Oath Against Modernism. Likewise, Pope Pius XII removed several theologians from their posts due to heretical doctrine. The Oath Against Modernism, of course, was done away with by Pope Paul VI, much to the detriment of the faith.
Do we find ourselves in need of a papal reform? Yes, but reform of a different sort than the one being called for by Francis and many in the Church today. We cannot continue in this lackadaisical approach, which Pope John XIII began with his pontificate. Unity is not won by the compromise of the Catholic faith. As for the Eastern Orthodox, they must come back to the same mentality they had back during the time of Pope St. Agapetus. They must recognize the authority of the Pope and sign a Catholic confession of faith. Only then will unity be restored. Unfortunately with the disastrous pontificate of Pope Francis, barring a miracle we are going to have much of the same for the foreseeable future. Pray for the restoration and reform of the papacy!
Historical Source: A General History of the Catholic Church Vol II- M. Labbe J. E. Darras
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| St Peter Icon From St. Catherine's Monastery |
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