was first
subscribed by Acacius, as patriarch of Constantinople, then by Peter the
Stammerer, acknowledged for this purpose as patriarch of Alexandria; then
by Peter the Fuller, as patriarch of Antioch; by Martyrius of Jerusalem,
and by other bishops, but by no means all. Zeno used the imperial power to
expel those who would not sign it.

As Peter the Stammerer had gone to the emperor to get his election approved
and supported by Zeno and Acacius, so John Talaia had solicited Pope
Simplicius to confirm his election. This the Pope had been on the point of
confirming, when he received a letter from the emperor accusing John
Talaia, and urging the appointment of Peter the Stammerer. Acacius had not
hesitated to absolve him, and admit him to his communion, and strove by
every effort of deceit and force to induce the eastern bishops to accept
him. The last letter we have of the Pope, dated November 6, 482, strongly
censures Acacius for communicating nothing to him concerning the Church of
Alexandria, and for not instructing the emperor in such a way that peace
might be restored by him.

On March 2, 483, Pope Simplicius died, and was succeeded by Pope Felix.
John Talaia had come in person to Rome to lay his accusation against
Acacius. Also the orthodox monks at Constantinople, and eastern bishops
expelled for not signing the Henotikon, begged for the Pope's assistance,
and denounced Acacius as the author of all the trouble. Amongst these
expelled bishops who appealed to Rome were bishops of Chalcedon, Samosata,
Mopsuestia, Constantina, Hemeria, Theodosiopolis.

The Pope called a council, in which he considered the complaint now brought
before him by John Talaia, as a hundred and forty years before St.
Athanasius had carried his complaint to Pope Julius. It was resolved to
support the ejected bishops, to maintain the Council of Chalcedon, and to
request from the emperor the expulsion of Peter the Stammerer, who was
usurping the see of Alexandria. For this purpose the Pope commissioned two
bishops, Vitalis and Misenus, to go as his legates to the emperor. They
were to invite Acacius to attend a council at Rome, and to answer therein
the complaint brought against him by the elected patriarch of Alexandria.

The legates carried a letter[33] from Pope Felix to the emperor, in which,
according to custom, the Pope informed him of his election. He observed
that, for a long time, the see of the blessed Apostle had been expecting
an