Antipope Eulalius
Oxford Dictionary of Popes:
Top
Eulalius
(antipope 27 Dec. 418 — 3 Apr. 419: d. 423)
Zosimus had hardly been buried when the deacons of the Roman church, with a handful of presbyters, barricaded themselves on 27 Dec. in the Lateran basilica and elected Eulalius, his archdeacon and probably, like him, a Greek, as his successor. On 28 Dec. the great majority of the presbyters elected their elderly colleague Boniface. On Sunday 29 Dec. both men were separately consecrated, Eulalius in the Lateran by the bishop of Ostia, who customarily ordained the bishop of Rome. The prefect of the city, the pagan Symmachus, immediately dispatched a report favourable to Eulalius to Emperor Honorius (393 — 423) at Ravenna, who accepted him as pope. Having soon received, however, from the Roman presbyters a different account of the election from Symmachus', Honorius summoned both contestants before a synod of bishops meeting at Ravenna. When this reached no conclusion, he deferred the case to a more representative council, including bishops from Gaul and Africa, which should meet at Spoleto on 13 June 419; in the meantime both bishops should withdraw from Rome and the bishop of Spoleto, Achilleus, should take charge of the Easter ceremonies there on 30 Mar. Boniface complied, but Eulalius, determined to establish his position by presiding at the Easter services, returned to Rome on 18 Mar. and occupied the Lateran basilica by force. This proved his undoing, for it sparked off civil disorders, and the prefect expelled him from the city. On 3 Apr. an imperial edict was published excluding him from the see and confirming the appointment of Boniface; the projected council of Spoleto was dropped. Eulalius accepted the decision, retiring at first to Antium (Anzio, 60 km from Rome), but he and his supporters seem to have retained hopes that he might stage a comeback; falling ill shortly afterwards, Boniface warned the emperor that the schism might break out afresh in the event of his death. In fact, when the pope died in Sept. 422, Eulalius made no attempt to recover the see although pressed to do so by his partisans. LP reports that he was assigned a provincial see, although its editions differ as to whether it was in Tuscany or in Campania. He died in 423.
Previous (chronologically): St Zosimus, St Innocent I, St Anastasius I
Next (chronologically): St Boniface I, St Celestine I, St Sixtus (Xystus) III
Zosimus had hardly been buried when the deacons of the Roman church, with a handful of presbyters, barricaded themselves on 27 Dec. in the Lateran basilica and elected Eulalius, his archdeacon and probably, like him, a Greek, as his successor. On 28 Dec. the great majority of the presbyters elected their elderly colleague Boniface. On Sunday 29 Dec. both men were separately consecrated, Eulalius in the Lateran by the bishop of Ostia, who customarily ordained the bishop of Rome. The prefect of the city, the pagan Symmachus, immediately dispatched a report favourable to Eulalius to Emperor Honorius (393 — 423) at Ravenna, who accepted him as pope. Having soon received, however, from the Roman presbyters a different account of the election from Symmachus', Honorius summoned both contestants before a synod of bishops meeting at Ravenna. When this reached no conclusion, he deferred the case to a more representative council, including bishops from Gaul and Africa, which should meet at Spoleto on 13 June 419; in the meantime both bishops should withdraw from Rome and the bishop of Spoleto, Achilleus, should take charge of the Easter ceremonies there on 30 Mar. Boniface complied, but Eulalius, determined to establish his position by presiding at the Easter services, returned to Rome on 18 Mar. and occupied the Lateran basilica by force. This proved his undoing, for it sparked off civil disorders, and the prefect expelled him from the city. On 3 Apr. an imperial edict was published excluding him from the see and confirming the appointment of Boniface; the projected council of Spoleto was dropped. Eulalius accepted the decision, retiring at first to Antium (Anzio, 60 km from Rome), but he and his supporters seem to have retained hopes that he might stage a comeback; falling ill shortly afterwards, Boniface warned the emperor that the schism might break out afresh in the event of his death. In fact, when the pope died in Sept. 422, Eulalius made no attempt to recover the see although pressed to do so by his partisans. LP reports that he was assigned a provincial see, although its editions differ as to whether it was in Tuscany or in Campania. He died in 423.
Previous (chronologically): St Zosimus, St Innocent I, St Anastasius I
Next (chronologically): St Boniface I, St Celestine I, St Sixtus (Xystus) III
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
Top
Antipope Eulalius
Antipope Eulalius (died 423) was an antipope who reigned from December 418 to April 419, although elected the day before Pope Boniface I.
At first the claims of Eulalius as the rightful Pope were recognized by the Emperor Honorius, who sent a letter dated 3 January 419 recognizing him and pardoning the partisans of Boniface provided they left Rome. On 6 January Eulalius celebrated Epiphany at St. Peter's, while Boniface and his supporters remained at St. Paul's-outside-the-Walls.[1]
But Boniface's supporters refused to concede defeat, and petitioned the Emperor, claiming irregularities in the election. In response, Honorius suspended his previous order on 15 January, and summoned both parties to appear before him, along with other Italian bishops, on 8 February. At that hearing, a final judgment was deferred to a second synod that would meet at Spoleto on 13 June. Meanwhile, all parties were ordered to stay out of Rome, and the bishop of Spoleto would celebrate mass on "the greatest of all Christian holy days."[2]
Despite this reversal Eulalius' position appeared to be the stronger, for he had the support of the Empress Galla Placidia and her husband Constantius, because he had been elected first. However, Stewart Oost believes this very strength led Eulalius to overconfidence.[3] He returned to Rome 18 March to celebrate Easter Sunday, but this flouting of the Emperor's orders lost him the support of these two powerful individuals; the inhabitants of Rome rioted, and the Urban prefect, Aurelius Anicius Symmachus, had his police occupy the Lateran, where Eulalius had made his base, and escort Eulalius out of the city to a house and kept under guard. On 3 April, the Emperor officially recognized Boniface as the rightful Pope.[4]
Eulalius is said to have subsequently become a bishop under Celestine I[citation needed] According to the Liber Pontificalis, Eulalius was deposed by a synod of 52 bishops and sent to Campania; then, when Boniface died in 422, the people and clergy of Rome petitioned him to be the new Pope, but Eulalius refused their offer. The same source states he died one year later.[5]
See also
References
- ^ Stewart Oost, Galla Placidia Augusta: A biographical essay (Chicago: University Press, 1968), p. 157
- ^ Oost, Galla Placidia Augusta, pp. 157f
- ^ Oost, Galla Placidia Augusta, pp. 167f
- ^ Oost, Galla Placidia Augusta, pp. 161f
- ^ Raymond Davis (translator), The Book of Pontiffs (Liber Pontificalis), first edition (Liverpool: University of Liverpool Press, 1989), pp. 33f
|
|||||
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
