Medieval History

Before he became Patriarch, Acacius held the position of orphanotrophos, the dignitary entrusted with the care of the orphans in the Church of Constantinople. He executed his duties with great success. Acacius succeeded Gennadius as Patriarch without incident in 471, and spent several years administering the see in peace. Then he became involved in controversies in the Church.

At first, Acacius came down on the side of Orthodoxy, opposing the usurping emperor Basiliscus and the Monophysite patriarch of Alexandria, Timothy Aelerus, who had placed himself under Basiliscus' protection. So notable was his zeal for sound doctrine that Acacius was commended by Pope Simplicius. When Zeno reclaimed his throne from Basiliscus, there was for a little while agreement among the emperor, the pope and the patriarch over matters of doctrine.

But when troubles broke out again among the Monophysites in Alexandria, Zeno sought, with the support of Acacius, a reconciliation between the heretics and the orthodox church. In 482, Acacius drew up a letter that would come to be known as the Henoticon (Henotikon, or "union"). The Henoticon endorsed most of the decisions of previous Church councils, but it made a significant concession to Monophysite belief simply by omitting any reference to the distinction of Christ's human and divine essences, as enunciated by the Council of Chalcedon.

The attempt at union may have seemed like a good political move for the emperor; it proved acceptable to the Monophysite bishop of Alexandria, Peter Mongus, and to several other Monophysite leaders. But the extreme Monophysites rejected it, and the Henoticon was completely unacceptable to the papacy. In 484, Pope Felix III held a synod at which he deposed and excommunicated Acacius. The patriarch responded by striking Felix' name from his diptychs, and the Acacian Schism thus began.

Acacius continued as Patriarch until his death in 489, and the Eastern churches remained united with Constantinople against the West for 30 more years