rowing two bishops of his capital--Euphemius and Macedonius--neither
of whom lived or died in communion with Rome, because, though virtuous and
orthodox in the main, they would not surrender the memory of Acacius. They
had, moreover, one grievous blot on their conduct as bishops. They
submitted themselves to subscribe an imperial statement of doctrine and to
permit its imposition on others. This was a use of despotism in the eastern
Church introduced by the insurgent Basiliscus, carried out first by Zeno
and then by Anastasius, tending to the ruin both of doctrine and
discipline. During the whole reign of Anastasius the patriarchal sees of
Alexandria and Antioch, which had built up the eastern Church in the first
three centuries, which Rome acknowledged as truly patriarchal under Pope
Gelasius in 496, and the new sees which claimed to be patriarchal,
Constantinople and Jerusalem, were in a state of the greatest confusion, a
prey to heresy, party spirit, violence of every kind. Anastasius was able
to disturb Pope Symmachus during the first half of his pontificate by
fostering a schism among his clergy, with the result that he brought out
the recognition of the Pope's privilege not to be judged by his inferiors.
But he was enabled to depose two bishops of the imperial see, his own
patriarchs, blameless in their personal life, orthodox in their doctrine,
longing for reunion with Rome, yet stained by their fatal surrender of
their spiritual independence, subscription to the emperor's imposition of
doctrine. They were not acknowledged by St. Peter's See, and they fell
before the emperor.

In the last years of this emperor, the churches of the eastern empire were
involved in the greatest disorders and sufferings. He had thrown aside
altogether the mask of Catholic: he filled the patriarchal sees with the
fiercest heretics. Flavian was driven from Antioch, Elias from Jerusalem.
Timotheus, a man of bad character, had been put by him into the see of
Constantinople. In this extremity of misery and confusion, the eastern
Church addressed Pope Symmachus in 512.[93]

"We venture to address you, not for the loss of one sheep or one drachma,
but for the salvation of three parts of the world, redeemed not by
corruptible silver or gold, but by the precious blood of the Lamb of God,
as the blessed prince of the glorious Apostles taught, whose chair the Good
Shepherd, Christ, has entrusted to your beatitude. Therefore, as an
affectionate