The Three Chapter Controversy: a North African religious controversy

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Around 10 years after the Byzantine reconquest of North Africa, the Christian Church underwent a strong controversy, after the Byzantine Emperor Justinian decided to condemn three religious writings. The North African church leaders played an important role in this controversy, defending the condemned writings and rejecting Imperial interference in church affairs.

Context

These times were characterized by tensions between the official Church and the Miaphysite doctrine, which had been condemned as heretical by the Council of Chalcedon in 451, but was still the majority view in the Eastern parts of the Empire, especially Egypt and Syria. Emperor Justinian supported the official doctrine, while his Empress Theodora supported the Miaphysites; it is possible that their opposition was only staged to push both factions to compromise.

In 544, Emperor Justinian, in an effort to reconcile Chalcedonians and non-Chalcedonians, decided to condemn three writings by the Syriac Christian theologians Theodore of Mopsuestia, Theodoret of Cyrus and Ibas of Edessa. His motivations were more political than theological: the three authors were hostile to Miaphysitism, and the Emperor was hoping that by condemning them, he could convince the Miaphysites to return to the official church.

The controversy

The bishops who depended the most on Imperial power, especially the Patriarch Mennas of Constantinople, accepted the Emperors’s position. The Latin bishops stood strong in their refusal to let the Emperor dictate their theology. The resistance was led by the bishop Dacius of Milan, who was in Constantinople when the controversy broke out.

North African bishops and other church leaders got involved in the controversy, resolutely defending the condemned writings. Bishop Facundus of Hermiane (Bled Hammiane), who was also in Constantinople at the start of the controversy, wrote a long argumentation, in which he admits that the condemned writings do contain errors, but argues that this is not enough to condemn them. He reminds his readers that Cyprian of Carthage defended the re-baptism of heretics, a position now condemned by the Church, yet nobody would condemn Cyprian!

Facundus was not the only African who took a stand against the Imperial decision. Ferrandus of Carthage, a Carthaginian deacon, considered as one of the most influential theologians of his time, also opposed the condemnation of the Three Chapters, arguing that as the condemned writings had been accepted by the Council of Chalcedon, condemning them meant condemning the council! Another African bishop, Pontianus, wrote a letter to the Emperor, asking him to revoke his decision. Bishop Liberatus of Carthage, while too old to play an active role in the debates himself, wrote a history of the Monophysite and Nestorian controversy, through which he seeks to demonstrate that the condemnation of the Three Chapters was illegitimate.

In 548, Pope Vigilius was forced to leave Rome and come to Constantinople, where he gave in to the pressure to accept the Emperor’s position. In 550, the Arshbishop Reparatus of Carthage summoned a Council of North African bishops, which condemned Vigilius’ position and broke communion with the Church of Rome. The following year, Reparatus of Carthage was convened to Constantinople, together with the bishops Primasius of Hadrumetum (Sousse), Firmus of Tipasa and Verecundus of Junga (Younga, Sfax province). Together, they supported Pope Vigilius when he recognized his mistake. However, Primasius of Hadrametum ended up accepting the Emperor’s position, out of personal ambition: he wanted to become Metropolitan of Byzacene (at the head of all the bishops in the region).

Unlike the Italian bishops, who were not subjects of the Byzantine Emperor, the African bishops were under the direct authority of the Emperor, which made it risky for them to oppose him. After his defense of the Three Chapters was published, Facundus of Hermiane was forced to flee Constantinople and go into hiding. Another African bishop, Victor of Tunnuna, was imprisoned for refusing to submit to the Imperial edict. While in prison, he wrote a sequel to the Chronicle by Julius Africanus. He died in prison, and is considered as a martyr.