Editing Three-Chapter Controversy (section)

==The subscription==

The leading Eastern bishops were coerced, after a short resistance, into subscribing{{clarify|date=May 2022}}. [[Mennas of Constantinople|Mennas]], [[Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople|Patriarch of Constantinople]], first protested that to sign was to condemn the Council of Chalcedon, and then yielded, as he told Stephen the Roman apocrisarius (ecclesiastical diplomat) at Constantinople, that his subscription should be returned to him if the Pope disapproved of it.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}} Stephen and [[Dacius of Milan|Dacius]], [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milan|Bishop of Milan]], who was then at Constantinople, broke off communion with him. [[Zoilus of Alexandria|Zoilus]] the [[Patriarch of Alexandria]], [[Ephraim of Antioch|Ephraim]] the [[Patriarch of Antioch]], and [[Peter of Jerusalem|Peter]] the [[Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem|Patriarch of Jerusalem]], all yielded after a brief resistance. Of the other bishops those who subscribed were rewarded, those who refused were deposed or had to "conceal themselves".<ref>Liberatus, ''Brev.'', 24; Facundus, ''Def.'', II, 3 and ''Cont. Moc.''</ref>

While the resistance of the Greek-speaking bishops collapsed, those from the Latin-speaking world, such as Dacius of Milan and Facundus, who were then at Constantinople, stood firm. Their general attitude is represented in two letters still extant. The first is from an African bishop named [[Pontianus Africae|Pontianus]], in which he entreats the emperor to withdraw the Three Chapters on the ground that their condemnation struck at the [[Council of Chalcedon]]. The other is that of the Carthaginian deacon, Ferrandus; his opinion as a most learned canonist was asked by the Roman [[deacon]]s [[Pope Pelagius II|Pelagius]] (afterwards pope, at this time a strong defender of the Three Chapters) and Anatolius. He fastened on the epistle of Ibas – if this was received at Chalcedon, to anathematize it now was to condemn the council. An even stronger use of the benevolence of the council towards this epistle was made by Facundus at one of the conferences held by [[Pope Vigilius]] before he issued his ''Iudicatum''. He wished it to protect the memory of Theodore of Mopsuestia because Ibas had spoken of him in terms of commendation (''Cont. Moc.''). When Vigilius arrived at Constantinople in January 547, Italy, Africa, [[Sardinia]], [[Sicily]], and the parts of [[Illyria|Illyricum]] and Greece through which he journeyed were fiercely against the condemnation of the Three Chapters.

The matter was further complicated by the fact that the Latin-speaking bishops, Vigilius among them, were for the most part ignorant of Greek and therefore unable to judge the incriminated writings for themselves. [[Pope Pelagius II|Pelagius II]] in his third epistle to Elias, probably drawn up by the future [[Pope Gregory I|Gregory I]], ascribes all the trouble to this ignorance. This handicap should be remembered in judging the conduct of Vigilius. He came to Constantinople very resolute in his opinions, and his first step was to excommunicate Mennas, who removed Vigilius from the diptychs in turn.<ref>{{CathEncy|wstitle=Mennas}}</ref> But he must have felt the ground was being cut from under his feet when he was supplied with translations of some of the most questionable passages from the writings of Theodore. In 548 he issued his ''Iudicatum'' in which the Three Chapters were condemned, then temporarily withdrew it when the storm it raised showed how ill-prepared the Latins were for it. He and Justinian agreed to convening a general council, in which Vigilius pledged himself to bring about the condemnation of the Three Chapters, but the emperor broke his pledge by issuing another edict condemning the Chapters. Vigilius had twice to take sanctuary, first in the Basilica of St. Peter, and then in the Church of St. Euphemia at Chalcedon, from which he issued an Encyclical letter describing the treatment he had received. An agreement was patched up and Vigilius agreed to a general council but soon withdrew his assent. Nevertheless, [[Second Council of Constantinople|the council]] was held, and after refusing to accept the ''Constitutum'' of Vigilius, it then condemned the Three Chapters. Finally Vigilius succumbed, subscribed to the council, and was set free. But he died before reaching Italy, leaving his successor Pelagius the task of dealing with the [[schism (religion)|schisms]] in the West.