Pope Symmachus

Symmachus was born on Sardinia (then under Vandal rule), the son of Fortunatus; Jeffrey Richards notes that he was born a pagan, and "perhaps the rankest outsider" of all the Ostrogothic Popes, most of whom were members of aristocratic families.

Symmachus had been baptized in Rome, where he became archdeacon of the Church under Pope Anastasius II.

Pope Anastasius II dies on November 16, 498, after a two-year reign in which he has tried to conciliate followers of Acacius, the late patriarch of Constantinople, who had been excommunicated by Felix III.

He is succeeded on November 22 by Symmachus as the fifty-first pope, in the official papal selection in the Lateran Palace (Rome).

Meanwhile, Antipope Laurentius is elected "pope" in the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore on the same day by a dissenting minority faction with Eastern Empire sympathies, who are supported by Emperor Anastasius; this causes a schism over who has been legitimately elected pope by the citizens of Rome.

Both factions agree to allow King Theodoric to arbitrate.

He rules that the one who was elected first and whose supporters are the most numerous should be recognized as pope.

An investigation finds the facts favor Symmachus and his election is recognized as proper.

However, an early document known as the "Laurentian Fragment" claims that Symmachus obtained the decision by paying bribes, while deacon Magnus Felix Ennodius of Milan will later write that four hundred solidi were distributed among influential personages, whom it would be indiscreet to name.

Symmachus had proceeded to call a synod, to be held at Rome on March 1, 499, which is attended by seventy-two bishops and all of the Roman clergy.

Laurentius attends this synod.

Afterwards he is assigned the diocesis of Nuceria in Campania.

According to the account in the Liber Pontificalis, Symmachus bestowed the See on Laurentius "guided by sympathy", but the "Laurentian Fragment" states that Laurentius "was severely threatened and cajoled, and forcibly despatched" to Nuceria.

The synod also ordains that any cleric who seeks to gain votes for a successor to the papacy during the lifetime of the pope, or who calls conferences and holds consultations for that purpose, should be deposed.

The senator Rufius Postumius Festus, a supporter of Laurentius, accuses Symmachus of various crimes in 501.

The initial charge is that Symmachus celebrates Easter on the wrong date.

Theodoric summons him to Ariminum to respond to the charge.

The pope arrives only to discover a number of other charges, including unchastity and the misuse of church property, will also be brought against him.

Symmachus panics, fleeing from Ariminum in the middle of the night with only one companion.

His flight proves to be a miscalculation, as it is regarded as an admission of guilt.

Laurentius is brought back to Rome by his supporters, and a sizable group of the clergy, including most of the most senior clerics, withdraws from communion with him.

A visiting bishop, Peter of Altinum, is appointed by Theodoric to celebrate Easter 502 and assume the administration of the See, pending the decision of a synod to be convened following Easter.

Presided over by the other Italian metropolitans, Peter II of Ravenna, Laurentius of Milan, and Marcellianus of Aquileia, the synod opens in the Basilica of Santa Maria.

It proves tumultuous.

The session quickly deadlocks over the presence of a visiting bishop, for as Symmachus argues, the presence of a visiting bishop implies the See is vacant, and the See can only be vacant if he were guilty—which means the case had already been decided before the evidence could be heard.

Although the majority of the assembled bishops agree with this, the visitor cannot be withdrawn without Theodoric's consent; this is not forthcoming.

In response to this deadlock, rioting by the citizens of Rome increases, causing a number of bishops to flee Rome and the rest to petition Theodoric to move the synod to Ravenna.

Theodoric refuses their request, ordering them to reconvene the synod on September 1.

Upon reconvening, matters are no less acrimonious.

First, the accusers introduce a document that includes a clause stating that the king already knew Symmachus was guilty, and thus the synod should assume guilt, hear the evidence, then pass sentence.

More momentous is an attack by a mob on Pope Symmachus' party as he sets out to arrive at the synod: many of his supporters are injured and several—including the priests Gordianus and Dignissimus—killed.

Symmachus retreats to St. Peter's and refuses to come out, despite the urgings of deputations from the synod.

At this point, the synod petitions king Theodoric once again, asking permission to dissolve the meeting and return home.

Theodoric replies, in a letter dated October 1, that they must see the matter to a conclusion.

Therefore, the bishops assemble once again on October 23, 502, at a place known as Palma, and after reviewing the events of the previous two sessions decide that since the pope is the successor of Saint Peter, they cannot pass judgment on him, and leave the matter to God to decide.

All who had abandoned communion with him are urged to reconcile with him, and rule that any clergy who celebrates mass in Rome without his consent in the future should be punished as a schismatic.

The resolutions are signed by 76 bishops, led by Laurentius of Milan and Peter of Ravenna.

Despite the outcome of the synod, Laurentius returns to Rome, and for the next four years, according to the "Laurentian Fragment", will hold its churches and ruled as pope with the support of the senator Festus.

The struggle between the two papal factions has been carried out on two fronts.

One, vividly described in the Liber Pontificali, is through mob violence committed by supporters of each religious camp.

The other is through diplomacy, which produces a sheaf of forged documents, the so-called "Symmachean forgeries", of judgments in ecclesiastical law to support Symmachus' claim that as pope he could not be called to account.

A more productive achievement on the diplomatic front is to persuade King Theodoric to intervene, conducted chiefly by two non-Roman supporters, the Milanese deacon Ennodius and the exiled deacon Dioscorus.

At last, Theodoric withdraws his support of Laurentius in 506, instructing Festus to hand over the Roman churches to Symmachus.

Once news of Theodoric's decision reaches Rome, Laurentius retires from the city to one of Festus's estates, according to the "Laurentian Fragment", because "he did not want the city to be troubled by daily strife", where he fasts constantly until his death.

Caesarius, bishop of Arles, had visited Pope Symmachus in 513 while being detained in Italy.

This meeting led to Symmachus being decorated with a pallium.

Based on this introduction, Caesarius later writes to Symmachus for help with establishing his authority, which Symmachus eagerly gives, according to William Klingshirn, "to gather outside support for his primacy."

Symmachus has provided money and clothing to the Catholic bishops of Africa and Sardinia who had been exiled by the rulers of the Arian Vandals.

He has also ransomed prisoners from upper Italy, and given them gifts of aid.

He dies at Rome on July 19, 514, after a sixteen-year reign and is succeeded by Hormisdas as the fifty-second pope.

Hormisdas was born at Frosinone, Campagna di Roma, Italy.

Before becoming a Roman deacon, Hormisdas was married, and his son will become pope under the name of Silverius.

During the Laurentian schism, Hormisdas had been one of the most prominent clerical partisans of Pope Symmachus.

He was notary at the synod held at St. Peter's in 502.

Two letters of Magnus Felix Ennodius, bishop of Pavia, survive addressed to him, written when the latter tried to regain horses and money he had lent the pope.

Unlike his predecessor, the election of Hormisdas lacked any notable controversies.

Upon becoming Pope, one of Hormisdas' first actions is to remove the last vestiges of the schism in Rome, receiving back into the Church those adherents of the Laurentian party who had not already been reconciled.

The account of his tenure in the Liber Pontificalis, as well as the overwhelming bulk of his surviving correspondence, is dominated by efforts to restore communion between the Sees of Rome and Constantinople caused by the Acacian schism, the consequence of the "Henoticon" of the Emperor Zeno and supported by his successor Anastasius, who had increasingly inclined towards Monophysitism and persecuted those bishops who refused to repudiate the Council of Chalcedon.