There had subsisted a Misunderstanding between Theophilus and Flavianus ever since the Year 391. when the Council of Capua was held. Flavianus had refused to submit his Cause to the Judgment of Theophilus, pursuant to the Resolution of that Council; which he had highly resented; and, in the Height of his Resentment, as he was a Man of a fiery and choleric Temper, he had written to Flavianus in a very haughty and imperious Style. To these Letters Nestorius, no doubt, alludes, where he tells us, that Egypt could not, by her menacing Letters, though written in the Style, and with all the Haughtiness, of an imperious Tyrant, move or terrify the blessed Flavianus[[1323]]. It was necessary, in the first place, to remove the Misunderstanding which had so long subsisted between these Two Prelates; and in this Chrysostom met with no Difficulty or Obstruction, Theophilus readily agreeing to the Terms he proposed in the Name of Flavianus, and Flavianus ratifying them, upon the first Notice, without the least Exception or Limitation. |Chrysostom attempts
a Reconciliation
between Flavianus
and Syricius.| What these Terms were, we are no-where told; but it is certain, that, all Disputes being thereby composed, the Bishops of Alexandria and Antioch were intirely reconciled, and the Communion between them renewed, to the great Satisfaction of both[[1324]]. The next Thing to be attempted, and, as was apprehended, the most difficult to be accomplished, was the reconciling of Syricius with the Bishop of Antioch, who had now held that See Seventeen Years, but had not been able, notwithstanding the great Character he bore, to obtain the Communion of Syricius, or any of his Predecessors, on account of their strong Prejudice against him, as well as his Predecessor Meletius, and their obstinate Attachment to the contrary Party, in Opposition to the far greater Part of the Eastern Bishops. |His prudent Conduct.| But the Zeal of Chrysostom was Proof against all Difficulties. Not despairing therefore of Success, he took the most effectual Means a consummate Prudence could dictate, to obtain it, advising the Bishops of Antioch and Alexandria to acquaint the Bishop of Rome, by a solemn Embassy, with their Reconciliation, and at the same time to beg, in the Name of Flavianus, the Communion of that See. This he knew would flatter the Vanity of Syricius, and be of more Weight than any Remonstrances they could make. They readily fell in with the Proposal, and Deputies were immediately chosen to put it in Execution. These were Acacius Bishop of Berœa, Demetrius of Pessinus, and several other Bishops, with Isidorus Presbyter and Hospitaler of the Church of Alexandria, and a great Number of Presbyters and Deacons of the Church of Antioch. Acacius, who was at the Head of this Deputation, was charged by Chrysostom to present to Syricius the Decree of his Election to the See of Constantinople[[1325]]. That so great an Honour might not be conferred in vain on the See of Rome, it was thought adviseable to acquaint Syricius with their Design, before they set out, and to be well assured of a kind Reception on their Arrival in the West. |Syricius and Flav-
ianus reconciled.| They gave him accordingly early Notice of their Intention, and he, taken with the Bait, readily promised to settle every thing to their Satisfaction[[1326]]; which he did accordingly, receiving them, on their Arrival at Rome, with the greatest Marks of Respect and Esteem, and admitting Flavianus to his Communion. From Rome the Deputies repaired into Egypt, where all the Bishops, following the Example of Theophilus and Syricius, acknowleged Flavianus for lawful Bishop of Antioch, and, assembling in Council, with great Solemnity, embraced his Communion. |The Misunderstand-
ing between the East
and the West intirely
removed.| From Egypt the Deputies set out for Antioch, and there, by delivering to Flavianus Letters of Communion from the Western and Egyptian Bishops, completed the great Work, and with it their Deputation[[1327]]. Thus was an End put, at last, to the Schism of Antioch; and, after so many Years of Strife and Contention, a perfect Harmony and good Understanding were settled anew between the East and the West[[N38]].

[N38]. If Syricius is to blame (and who, but Baronius, can excuse him?) for not acknowleging Flavianus, at least after the Death of Paulinus, the Election of his Successor Evagrius being unquestionably uncanonical and illegal; how much more is he to blame for not acknowleging him even after the Death of Evagrius, when he had no Pretence whatsoever for denying him his Communion, and by granting it he might have put an End to the Schism? Baronius, to conceal the Truth, and mislead his Readers, takes a great deal of Pains, in his Account of this Schism, to place in a false Light all the Transactions relating to it. But, in spite of all the Art he has been able to use, to varnish over the Conduct of Syricius, and impose on the Public, it must appear undeniable to every impartial, I may say, to every rational, Man, that the Schism, and the many Evils attending it, which are pathetically described by Chrysostom, who was then at Antioch[[1]], were intirely owing to the Pride and Obstinacy of the Bishop of Rome, at least during the last Six Years, that is, from the Year 382. when Evagrius died, to 388. when he yielded, at last, upon his being courted to it by a solemn Embassy. He had nothing then to object against the Election, and much less against the Conduct of Flavianus; and, if he had nothing then, he could have nothing before; so that it was merely from a haughty and obstinate Spirit that he refused to communicate with him, and, by such a Refusal, kept up and fomented a Division so pernicious to the Church. Baronius represents him as labouring with indefatigable Pains to restore the Tranquillity of the Church, and leaving nothing unattempted that could any-ways contribute to the promoting of so pious an Undertaking, an Undertaking which he had so much at Heart. But that he had nothing at Heart besides the Glory of his See, is but too manifest from his Conduct; for the Minute that was saved, as it was by the above-mentioned Deputation, all the Difficulties vanished at once, which till then had obstructed the Work. As for the Conduct of Flavianus, in refusing to submit his Cause to the Judgment of the Council of Capua, or of the Egyptian Bishops, appointed to judge it by that Council, it must appear, if impartially considered, more worthy of Commendation than Blame, tho’ condemned, in very unbecoming Terms, by the Sticklers for the See of Rome. He had been chosen in the Oecumenical Council of Constantinople, in the Year 381. by the unanimous Voice of all the Bishops of the Diocese of the East, or the Patriarchate of Antioch, and soon after ordained in their Presence, at Antioch, with the Approbation of Nestorius, then Bishop of Constantinople, and the loud Acclamations of the far greater Part of the People of Antioch, promising themselves, in him, a second Meletius, in whose room he was chosen[[2]]. Being thus chosen and ordained, he was acknowleged by all the Bishops of the East, except those of Egypt, of the Island of Cyprus, and Arabia. Could he therefore, without shamefully betraying the undoubted Right, which the Bishops of each Diocese had of chusing their Metropolitan, suffer his Election to be questioned and canvassed by the Western Bishops, who had no Concern in it; and, besides, had openly espoused the Cause of his Competitor Paulinus, and supported him, so long as he lived, with the most open and avowed Partiality? Could he, without foregoing, in a manner still more shameful, both his own Right, and that of his Electors, out of Compliance to the Bishops assembled at Capua, put himself upon the Level with Evagrius, whose Election and Ordination were undoubtedly illegal? Besides, Flavianus was sensible, that the Eastern Bishops would have paid no manner of Regard to the Sentence of the Council; that, had the Council adjudged the See of Antioch to Evagrius, such a Judgment, instead of closing, would have widened the Breach between the East and the West; and consequently, that his complying with their Summons, far from answering the End they proposed to themselves, would more probably have had a quite contrary Effect, since he had but too much room to suppose, that the strong Prejudice, which they had on all Occasions betrayed against him, would incline them to favour his Competitor, notwithstanding the known Illegality both of his Election and Ordination. It was therefore, upon the Whole, very prudent in him to decline putting the Affair upon that Issue.

[1]. Chrys. in Eph. hom. 11.

[2]. Socr. l. 5 c. 5. Soz. l. 7. c. 3. Theod. l. 5. c. 9. Cod. Theod. ap. p. 104.

Flavianus endeavours in vain to gain over the Eustathians.

Flavianus, being thus at last, in the Seventeenth Year of his Episcopacy, acknowleged by, and united in Communion[Communion] with, all the Bishops of the Catholic Church, spared no Pains to gain over the Eustathians, that, by reuniting them to the rest of his Flock, he might have the Merit and Glory of establishing an intire and lasting Tranquillity in the Church committed to his Care. But his Zeal was not therein attended with the wished for Success. The Glory of completing so great and desirable a Work was, by Providence, reserved for Alexander, one of his Successors, who had the Satisfaction of seeing all Party-Names laid aside, and the whole People of Antioch united in one Flock, under one and the same Shepherd. This Union was made with great Solemnity, in the Year 415. Eleven Years after the Death of Flavianus, and Eighty-five after the Beginning of the Schism. Thus Theodoret, in his Ecclesiastical History[[1328]]. But Theodorus the Lector assures us, that there still remained some Seeds of that unhappy Division till the Year 482. when the Body of Eustathius being brought back to Antioch, the few Eustathians, who still continued to assemble apart, joined the rest of the Catholics, and the Name of Eustathian was never more heard of[[1329]]. |Flavianus honoured by the Church of Rome as a Saint, tho’ ill used in his Life-time by the Popes.| Flavianus died in the Year 404. the Ninety-fifth of his Age, and Twenty-third of his Episcopacy, and is now honoured as a Saint; a Distinction which none of his Competitors have deserved, though as much caressed and favoured by the Two Bishops of Rome, Damasus and Syricius, as he was opposed and ill used. How fallible have the Bishops of that See shewed themselves, from the earliest Times, in their Judgment of things! How rash in taking Parties, and fomenting Discords! How obstinate and inflexible in maintaining the Cause, which they had once undertaken, let it be ever so bad! The only thing that can be alleged against the Character of Flavianus, is his having accepted the Bishoprick of Antioch, contrary to the Oath he had taken, on Occasion of the Agreement between Meletius and Paulinus, as I have related above[[1330]]. That he took such an Oath, is vouched both by Socrates and Sozomen[[1331]]. But as he was looked upon by all the East, and extolled by Chrysostom, even in his Life-time, as a Prelate of an unblemished Character, and never reproached, even by his greater Enemies, with such an Oath, in the many Disputes that arose about his Election, I had rather charge those Two Writers with one Mistake more (for they are guilty of many others), than a Man of Flavianus’s Probity with such a scandalous Prevarication.

Syricius dies.

Syricius did not long enjoy the Satisfaction he had, to see the Schism of Antioch ended in his Days, and a good Understanding settled anew between the East and the West. He died the same Year 398. and, according to the most probable Opinion, on the 26th of November[[1332]]. He is said, in his Epitaph, quoted by Baronius[[1333]], to have been a Man of a tender, compassionate, and generous Temper; to have studied the Happiness of the People committed to his Care; to have spared no Pains in procuring them the Blessings that flow from Peace and Tranquillity; and to have screened several Persons from the Wrath of the Emperor, to maintain the Rights of the Church[[1334]]. |Was once honoured as
a Saint.| He is commended by Ambrose, and the whole Council of Milan, as a vigilant Pastor[[1335]], by Isidore of Seville as an illustrious Pontiff[[1336]]; and he has even a Place among the other Saints, in most of the antient Martyrologies[[1337]]. However Baronius has not thought him worthy of a Place in the Roman Martyrology. It is well known, that the Charge of revising and correcting the Roman Martyrology was committed, by Pope Gregory XIII. to Baronius, with full Power to reject such as he should judge unworthy, and admit others in their room, whom he should declare worthy of the public Worship, and a Place there[[N39]]. |Why expunged by
Baronius out of the
Calendar of Saints.| The Keys of Heaven, says a modern Writer, speaking of that Charge, were taken from Peter, and given to Baronius; for it was not by Peter, but by Baronius, that some were excluded from, and others admitted into, Heaven[[1338]]. He then shews, that by this Second Minos, as he styles him, several were driven from the Seats they had long held in Heaven, and to which they had a just Claim, to make room for others, who had no Claim. Among the former he names Syricius, whom he thinks Baronius ought to have treated in a more friendly manner, upon the Recommendation of Ambrose, of the Council of Milan, and of Isidore. What thus prejudiced Baronius against him, and outweighed, in his Scales, all the Recommendations that could be produced in his Favour, was his Indifference for Jerom and Paulinus, and the Kindness he shewed to Ruffinus, Jerom’s Antagonist. Syricius, instead of protecting Jerom, as his Predecessor Damasus had done, against the Roman Clergy, whom he had provoked with his Writings, gave him, in a manner, up to their Resentment; which obliged him to abandon Rome, and return into the East, as I have related above. The Name of Paulinus, afterwards Bishop of Nola, is famous in the History of the Church, and celebrated by Jerom, Ambrose, Austin, and all the Writers of those Times. He had abandoned the World, and the immense Wealth he possessed, to lead a retired Life; and, in the Year 395. he passed through Rome, in his Way to Nola, which he had chosen for the Place of his Retirement. The Treatment he met with at Rome, from that Clergy, and Syricius himself, must have been very unworthy of a Man of his Character, since it obliged him, as he himself writes[[1339]], to quit the City in great Haste, and pursue his Journey to Nola. Two Years afterwards Ruffinus came to Rome, and there met with a very different Reception. For Syricius received him, tho’ violently suspected of Origenism, with the greatest Marks of Esteem and Affection; and, after having entertained him a whole Year, gave him Letters of Communion at his Departure. Of this Jerom complains, as if Advantage had been taken of the Bishop of Rome’s Simplicity, to impose upon him[[1340]]. I will not pretend, as some have done, to justify Ruffinus; but cannot help observing, that such a Charge ought not to be admitted against him, upon the bare Authority of Jerom, or of those, who have only copied what he writ.