Cyril of Scythopolis, Life of Sabas 56.149.27-56.151.7
https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/498
Context
Cyril from Scythopolis (ca. 525-559 C.E.) was a monk who wrote
detailed hagiographies of seven roughly contemporary monks. His works are essential
historical sources for Palestinian monasticism, theology, and political relationships
during roughly the first half of the 6th century. He wrote one of his two major works
about the Cappadocian Saint Sabas, at whose lavra he served from 555 C.E. until his
death. In this important passage, Cyril recounts the mass gathering of monks in 516 C.E.
at Jerusalem amid grave tension between the emperor Anastasius I and supporters of
Alexandrian miaphysitism, including the newly installed Patriarch of Antioch, Severus, a
Eutychian, and staunch defenders of Chalcedonian dyophysitism, including St. Sabas and
Elias I, archbishop and patriarch of Jerusalem. Imperial forces led by the duces Olympus
and later Anastasius went from Caesarea to Jerusalem to exile Elias and replace him with
John III, who unexpectedly worked in support of Chalcedon. Here Caesarea as the
provincial capital and premier port is again depicted as a base of Imperial authority
and thus implicated in the delicate negotiation between Church and State as regards
policy and belief.
Text
τὸν τοιοῦτον τοίνυν ψυχοφθόρον καὶ λυμεῶνα ὁ βασιλεὺς Ἀναστάσιος
ἠνάγκαζεν τὸν ἀρχιεπίσκοπον Ἡλίαν κοινωνικὸν εἰσδέξασθαι· τοῦ δὲ μὴ θέλοντος μηδὲ ὅλως
τοῦτο πρᾶξαι ὑπερζέσας τῶι θυμῶι ὁ βασιλεὺς ἀπέστειλεν Ὄλυμπόν τινα
Καισαρέα τὸ δουκάτον ἔχοντα Παλαιστίνης συναποστείλας αὐτῶι
τὴν ἀπὸ Σιδόνος γραφεῖσαν οἰκονομικὴν ἐπιστολὴν καθομολογοῦσαν μὴ προσίεσθαι τὴν ἐν
Χαλκηδόνι σύνοδον πρὸς τὸ πᾶσιν τρόποις τὸν Ἡλίαν τῆς ἐπισκοπῆς ἐξεῶσαι. ὅστις Ὄλυμπος
μετὰ δυνάμεως βασιλικῆς παραγενόμενος καὶ πολλοῖς τρόποις καὶ μηχανήμασιν χρησάμενος καὶ
τὴν εἰρημένην ἐπιστολὴν ἐμφανίσας Ἡλίαν μὲν τῆς ἐπισκοπῆς ἐξέωσεν καὶ εἰς τὸν Ἀιλᾶν
περιώρισεν, Ἰωάννην δὲ τὸν Μαρκιανοῦ υἱὸν συνθέμενον τόν τε Σευῆρον κοινωνικὸν
εἰσδέξασθαι καὶ τὴν σύνοδον Χαλκηδόνος ἀναθεματίσαι ἐπίσκοπον Ἱεροσολύμων πεποίηκεν τῆι
πρώτηι τοῦ Σεπτεμβρίου μηνὸς ἀρχῆι τῆς δεκάτης ἰνδικτιόνος. γνοὺς δὲ ὁ ἡγιασμένος Σάβας
καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ τῆς ἐρήμου πατέρες ταῦτα συνθέμενον τὸν Ἰωάννην συναχθέντες διεμαρτύραντο
αὐτὸν Σευῆρον εἰς κοινωνίαν μὴ δέξασθαι, ἀλλ’ ὑπὲρ τῆς ἐν Χαλκηδόνι συνόδου
προκινδυνεύειν ἔχοντα πάντας συμμαχοῦντας. καὶ οὕτως ὁ Ἰωάννης ὅσα ὑπέσχετο τῶι δουκὶ
ποιεῖν, παρέβη τοὺς πατέρας ὑφορώμενος· Ἀναστάσιος δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς γνοὺς τὸν Ἰωάννην τὰς
συνθήκας ἠθετηκότα καὶ ἀπομανεὶς τοῦ Ὀλύμπου ἐκποδὼν γεγονότος ἀποστέλλει Ἀναστάσιον τὸν
Παμφίλου τὸ δουκάτον ἔχοντα Παλαιστίνης ἐπὶ τὸ παρασκευάσαι τὸν Ἰωάννην Σευῆρον εἰς
κοινωνίαν δέξασθαι καὶ τὴν σύνοδον Χαλκηδόνος ἀναθεματίσαι ἢ τῆς ἐπισκοπῆς αὐτὸν
ἐξεῶσαι· ὅστις ἐλθὼν εἰς Ἱεροσόλυμα αἰφνιδιάζει τὸν ἀρχιεπίσκοπον καὶ βάλλει αὐτὸν εἰς
τὴν δημοσίαν φυλακήν. πάντες δὲ οἱ τῆς ἁγίας πόλεως οἰκήτορες ἐπεχάρησαν διὰ τὸ γενέσθαι
αὐτὸν ἐπίβουλον καὶ προδότην τοῦ ἀρχιεπισκόπου Ἡλία. Ζαχαρίας δέ τις τὴν
Καισαρέων ἀρχὴν διέπων λαθραίως εἰς τὴν φρουρὰν εἰσελθὼν
συμβουλεύει τῶι Ἰωάννηι λέγων· εἰ θέλεις καλῶς πρᾶξαι καὶ τῆς ἐπισκοπῆς μὴ στερηθῆναι,
μηδείς σε πείσηι Σευῆρον εἰς κοινωνίαν δέξασθαι, ἀλλὰ δόξον συντίθεσθαι τῶι δουκὶ καὶ
λέγειν ὡς ὅτι καὶ ἐνταῦθα μὲν τὰ προτεινόμενα ποιεῖν οὐκ ἀναβάλλομαι, ἀλλ’ ἵνα μὴ
λέγωσίν τινες κατὰ ἀνάγκην καὶ βίαν πεπραχέναι με, ἀπολυθῶ ἐντεῦθεν καὶ μετὰ δύο ἡμέρας
κυριακῆς οὔσης πράξω προθύμως τὰ παρ’ ὑμῶν κελευόμενα. καὶ τοῖς τοιούτοις λόγοις
πιστωθεὶς ὁ δοὺξ ἀποκαθίστησιν αὐτὸν τῆι ἐκκλησίαι.1
Textual Note
Ed. Schwatrz 1939Translation
Accordingly the emperor Anastasius was pressing the archbishop Elias
[I of Jerusalem] to receive this ruiner of souls and corrupter [Severus of Antioch] into
communion. When he will unwilling to do this in any way at all, the emperor boiled over
with rage and sent one Olympus of Caesarea,
dux of Palestine, with the diplomatic letter written from Sidon
which professed disapproval of the Council of Chalcedon, in order by any and every means
to oust Elias from his see. Olympus arrived with an Imperial force and, by utilizing
many methods and strategems and displaying the aforementioned letter, ousted Elias from
the episcopal see and banished him to Aila. And (in his place Olympus) made John the son
of Marcianus, who had agreed to accept Severus into communion and to anathematize the
Council of Chalcedon, the bishop of Jerusalem on September 1 at the start of the tenth
indiction [=516 C.E.] The sanctified Sabas and the other Desert Fathers, when they
learned that John had made this agreement, gathered together and adjured him not to
receive Severus into communion but to bear the brunt of the battle on behalf of the
Council of Chalcedon, with all of them as allies. And so John went against all the
things he had promised the duces out of respect for the Fathers. The
emperor Anastasius, furious at learning that John had cancelled his compact, sent
Anastasius the son of Pamphilus and dux of Palestine—Olympus was now
out of the way—to make John receive Severus into communion and anathematize the Council
of Chalcedon, or to oust him from the episcopal see. Upon arriving in Jerusalem,
Anastasius descended suddenly on the archbishop and threw him into the public jail. All
the residents of the Holy City rejoiced because [John] had plotted against Elias and
betrayed him. But a certain Zacharias, the governor from
Caesarea, secretly entered the Fortress and gave advice to John,
“If you want to act well and not be deprived of your see, let noone persuade you to
receive Severus in communion, but pretend to make a compact with the
dux in these words: ‘I shall not now postpone fulfilling my offer
but, lest some claim that I acted under forceful constraint, please release me from
here, and in two days’ time, on Sunday, I shall readily carry out your orders.’”
Convinced by these words, the dux (Anastasius) restored (John) to his
church.2
Translation Note
Revised from Price and Binns 1990Works Cited
- 1 Cyril of Scythopolis, Kyrillos von Skythopolis, ed. Eduard Schwartz, Texte und Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der altchristlichen Literatur, 49.2 (Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs, 1939), ch: 56, p: 149.27-151.7.
- 2 Cyril of Scythopolis, Life of Our Father Saint Euthymius, in Cyril of Scythopolis: The Lives of the Monks of Palestine, trans. R. M. Price, Cistercian Studies 114 (Kalamazoo: Cistercian Publications, 1990), lii + 306 pp, p: 159-160.
How to Cite This Entry
Joseph L. Rife, “Cyril of Scythopolis, Life of Sabas 56.149.27-56.151.7,” in Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, entry published June 30, 2023, https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/498.
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Bibliography:
Joseph L. Rife, “Cyril of Scythopolis, Life of Sabas 56.149.27-56.151.7.” In Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, edited by Joseph L. Rife., edited by Joseph L. Rife. Caesarea City and Port Exploration Project, 2023. Entry published June 30, 2023. https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/498.About this Entry
Entry Title: Cyril of Scythopolis, Life of Sabas 56.149.27-56.151.7
Authorial and Editorial Responsibility:
- Joseph L. Rife, general editor, Vanderbilt University
- Joseph L. Rife, editor, Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia
- David A. Michelson, Daniel L. Schwartz, and William L. Potter, technical editor, “Cyril of Scythopolis, Life of Sabas 56.149.27-56.151.7”
- Joseph L. Rife, entry contributor, “Cyril of Scythopolis, Life of Sabas 56.149.27-56.151.7”
Additional Credit:
- Testimonium edited by Joseph L. Rife
- TEI record created by Joseph L. Rife
- Testimonium translated by Joseph L. Rife
- Testimonium transcribed by Joseph L. Rife
- Testimonium identified by Joseph L. Rife
- Editorial review by Joseph L. Rife
- Testimonium edited by Joseph L. Rife
- TEI record created by Joseph L. Rife
- Testimonium translated by Joseph L. Rife
- Testimonium transcribed by Joseph L. Rife
- Testimonium identified by Joseph L. Rife
- Editorial review by Joseph L. Rife