Anastasius

ANASTASIUS: Of the many bearers of this name in the Eastern Church the following three are specially deserving of notice:

1. Anastasius I: Patriarch of Antioch, 559-599. He was a friend of Gregory I., and strongly opposed Justinian’s later church policy, which favored the Aphthartodocetæ (see Julian of Halicarnassus; Justinian; Monophysites). He was banished in 570 by Justin II., was recalled in 593 by Maurice, and died in 599. His day is Apr. 21. Of his writings there have been printed: (1) Five addresses on true dogmas; (2) four sermons (of doubtful genuineness); (3) “A Brief Exposition of the Orthodox Faith” (in Greek); (4) fragments; (5) an oration delivered Mar. 25, 593, when he resumed the patriarchal chair.

2. Anastasius II: Patriarch of Antioch, 599-609, in which year he was murdered by Antiochian Jews. His day is Dec. 21. He translated the Cura pastoralis of Gregory I.

3. Anastasius Sinaita: Priest, monk, and abbot of Mount Sinai; b. before 640; d. after 700. He defended ecclesiastical theology against heretics and Jews, and composed various works which have not been fully collected and examined. They include: (1) A “Guide” in defense of the faith of the Church against the many forms of Monophysitism; (2) “Questions and Answers by Different Persons on Different Topics"; (3) “A Discourse on the Holy 165 Communion"; (4) anagogic observations on the six days of creation; (5) a discourse and homilies on the sixth Psalm; (6) two discourses on the creation of man in the image of God; (7) a fragment against Arianism; (8) a list of heresies; (9) “A Short and Clear Exposition of our Faith"; (10) a treatise on the celebration of Wednesday and Friday; (11) a fragment on blasphemy. The “Argument against the Jews” (MPG, lxxxix.1208-82) is not earlier than the ninth century; the Antiquorum patrum doctrina de verbi incarnatione (ed. Mai, Nova collectio, vii. 1, 6-73), however, appears to be genuine.

G. Krüger.

Bibliography: For the various Eastern writers named Anastasius, consult Fabricius-Harles, Bibliotheca Græca, x. 571-613, Hamburg, 1807. Their writings are in MPG, lxxxix. and in J. B. Pitra, Juris ecclesiastici Græcorum historia et monumenta, ii. 238-295, Rome, 1868. Also K. Krumbacher, Geschichte der byzantinischen Litteratur, Munich, 1897. For Anastasius Sinaita: J. B. Kumpfmüller, De Anastasio Sinaita, Würzburg, 1865; O. Bardenhewer, Des heiligen Hippolytus von Rom Commentar zum Buche Daniel, pp. 13-14, 106-107, Freiburg, 1877; A. C. McGiffert, Dialogue between a Christian and a Jew, 17, 35-37, New York, 1889; A. Papadopoulos-Kerameus, ΄Αυάλεκτα κτλ, i., pp. 400-404, St. Petersburg, 1891; D. Serruys, Anastasiana, in Mélanges d’archéologis et d’histoire, xxii. 157-207, Rome, 1902.

Anastasius

ANASTASIUS, an´´ɑs-tê´shi-us or zhus: The name of four popes and one antipope.

Anastasius I.: Pope 398-401. According to the Liber pontificalis (ed. Duchesne, i. 218-219), he was a Roman by birth, was elected near the end of November or early in December, 398, and was pontiff three years and ten days. He is principally known for the part he took in the controversy over the teaching of Origen. He showed himself also a rigid upholder of the orthodox position against the Donatists. At the synod held in Carthage Sept. 13, 401, a letter was read from him exhorting the African bishops to expose the misrepresentations of the Donatists against the Church, and practically to hand them over to the secular arm. His letters and decrees are in MPL, xx. 51-80. See Origenistic Controversies.

(A. Hauck).

Bibliography: Liber pontificalis, ed. Duchesne, i. 218 sqq., Paris, 1886; Bower, Popes, i. 126-131; B. Jungmann, Dissertationes selectæ, ii. 205-206, Regensburg, 1881; J. Langen, Geschichte der römischen Kirche bis Leo I., pp. 653 sqq., Bonn, 1881.

Anastasius II.: Pope 496-498. According to the Liber pontificalis (ed. Duchesne, i. 258-259), be was a Roman by birth. He was consecrated apparently on Nov. 24, 496. His pontificate fell within the period of the schism between the East and West, which lasted from 484 to 519, as a consequence of the sentence of excommunication pronounced by Pope Felix II. against Acacias, patriarch of Constantinople. Anastasius endeavored to restore communion with Constantinople, sending two bishops immediately after his consecration with a letter to the Eastern emperor offering to recognize the orders conferred by Acacias (who was now dead), at the same time asserting the justice of his condemnation. The Liber pontificalis (l.c.) relates that upon the arrival in Rome of the deacon Photinus of Thessalonica, Anastasius communicated with him, though he maintained the orthodoxy of Acacias and was thus, according to the Roman view, a heretic. This seems to have aroused opposition among the Roman clergy, and a suspicion arose that the pope intended to reverse the decision against Acacias. In the Decretum of Gratian he is said to have been “repudiated by the Roman Church” (MPL, clxxxvii. 111), and hence ecclesiastical writers as late as the sixteenth century usually regard him as a heretic. The baptism of Clovis, king of the Franks, fell at the beginning of his pontificate, but the letter of congratulation which the pope is supposed to have written to him is a forgery. He died in November, 498.

(A. Hauck).

Bibliography: Liber pontificalis, ed. Duchesne, i. 258 sqq., Paris, 1886; Bower, Popes, i. 291-296; R. Baxmann, Die Politik der Päpste von Gregor I. bis auf Gregor VII., i. 20 sqq., Elberfeld, 1868; J. Havet, Questions Mérovingiennes, Paris, 1885; J. Langen, Geschichte der römischen Kirche bis Nicholas I., pp. 214 sqq., Bonn, 1885.

Anastasius III.: Pope 911-913. He was a Roman by birth. His pontificate fell in the period during which Rome and its Church were under the domination of the noble factions, and consequently little is known of his acts. Nicholas, patriarch of Constantinople, protested to him against the toleration by the legates of his predecessor, Sergius III., of the fourth marriage of the Eastern emperor, Leo VI. Before Anastasius could answer this letter, he died, probably in August, 913. Two privileges ascribed to him, one genuine, one spurious, are in MPL, cxxxi.

(A. Hauck).

Bibliography: Liber pontificalis, ed. Duchesne, ii. 239. Paris, 1892; Bower, Popes, ii. 307-308; R. Baxmann, Die Politik der Päpste, ii. 82, Elberfeld, 1868.

Anastasius IV. (Conrad of Suburra): Pope 1153-54. He had been a canon regular and abbot of St. Rufus in the diocese of Orléans, and was made cardinal-bishop of Sabina by Honorius II. After the contested election of 1130, he had taken his stand as one of the most determined opponents of Anacletus II. He remained in Rome as the vicar of Innocent II. when the latter fled to France, and on the death of Eugenius III. (July 5, 1153), was elected to succeed him. In his short reign he ended the controversy with Frederick Barbarossa over the title to the archiepiscopal see of Magdeburg, recognizing Wichmann of Naumburg, which Eugenius III. had refused to do. The decision was looked upon in Germany as a victory for the emperor. Another long-standing dispute in England was terminated by Anastasius’s final recognition of Archbishop William of York, who had been rejected by Innocent II. and Celestine II., had been confirmed by Lucius II., and had again been deposed by Eugenius III. He died Dec. 3, 1154, and was succeeded on the following day by the English cardinal Nicholas Breakspear as Adrian IV. His letters and privileges are in MPL, clxxxviii.

(A. Hauck).

Bibliography: Liber pontificalis, ed. Duchesne, ii. 281, 388, 449, Paris, 1892; Bower, Popes, ii. 485-487; A. von Reumont, Geschichte der Stadt Rom, ii. 442, 3 vols., Berlin, 1867-70; Hefele, Conciliengeschichte, v. 537; J. Langen, Geschichte der römischen Kirche von Gregor VII. bis Innocent III., p. 414, Bonn, 1893.

Anastasius: Antipope 855. As cardinal-priest of St. Marcellus, in Rome, he had been in decided opposition to Pope Leo IV., and from 848 to 850 had been obliged to absent himself from that city. After twice inviting him to appear before a synod, Leo finally excommunicated him (Dec. 16, 850), and pronounced a still more solemn anathema against him at Ravenna (May 29, 853), repeating it in a council at Rome (June 19), and deposing him from his priestly functions (Dec. 8). Anastasius, however, relied on his wealth and his connections in Rome, and aspired to be elected pope on the death of Leo. Leo died on July 17, 855, and the Roman clergy at once chose Benedict III. to succeed him. Anastasius set himself up as a rival candidate. Accompanied by some friendly bishops and influential Romans, he intercepted the imperial ambassadors on their way to Rome, and won them over to his side. On Sept. 21 he forced his way into the Lateran, dragged Benedict from his throne, stripped him of his pontifical robes, and finally threw him into prison. These proceedings, however, caused great indignation in Rome. Not only almost all the clergy, but also the populace sided with Benedict, who was liberated and consecrated (Sept. 29) in St. Peter’s. Hergenröther identifies Anastasius with the librarian of the Roman Church of the same name (see Anastasius Bibliothecarius), but this seems doubtful. The antipope relied on secular assistance, while the author was a convinced adherent of the strict ecclesiastical party.

(A. Hauck).

Bibliography: Liber pontificalis, ed. Duchesne, ii. 106 sqq., Paris, 1892; MPL, cxxviii., pp. 1331, 1345; Bower, Popes, ii. (1845) 227-228; J. Langen, Geschichte der römischen Kirche bis Nicholas I., pp. 837, 844, Bonn, 1885; Hefele, Conciliengeschichte, iv. 178 sqq.