Constantinople: 533 AD | The emperor of the Byzantine Empire (and who has been the emperor since 527 [The BC/AD year count was selected at 525 by a monk who mistakenly set the birth of Jesus a couple of years after the year of his actual birth. In modern days, the terms BCE/CE are often used to evade applying to Jesus as "Christ" (Before Christ) and "Lord" (Anno Domini: In the Year of our Lord). BCE/CE is supposed to mean Before the Common Era and The Common Era.]), is making a commission.
This will change things for the Roman bishop, it seems.
It looks like no big deal for Justinian I—his full name is Flavius Petrus Sabbatius Justinianus—to make this command about the bishop of Rome. Two last emperors of Rome, the Empire that had declined the last century, had blazoned that the bishop of Rome is "Head of the whole Church". Justinian is going to make a similar proclamation.
Before this century is over, the bishop of Rome will proceed with the name: Pappas. This is Greek for Father. Yes, even though the Founder of Christianity, Jesus of Nazareth, had said that "ye may not call [any] your father on the earth, for one is your Father, who is in the heavens".[Matthew 23:9 (see also Malachi 1:6). All quotations from the Bible are from Young's Literal Translation. The words in italics are for emphasis.]
But, the name will stick. Pappas. Pope. This name had been referred to all bishops before, but soon it will be restricted to Rome's bishop.
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The history of the Papacy has been confusing this far. There were disputes between the Bishop of Rome and the other bishops of other cities like Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Constantinople. Especially he had trouble with the bishop of Constantinople. The Roman bishop claims his office originated from the apostle Peter. But Roman bishop Clement I (91-100) wrote to the Corinthian church in the name of the Roman Church, not his own name. He did not claim romish authority as the current Pappas, John II, does.
Constantinople's bishop has a mind of his own. He doesn't believe in the superiority of the Pappas. Why, in the Ecumenical Nicea council, which ended with the condemning of Arianism (plus an odd moment when a bishop from Myra[It is under dispute whether this bishop, Nicolas, actually acted thus, or even if he attended the council. Apparently, he did. Legends about (Saint) Nicolas evolved to the point that he became a patron of children and gifts—and is now referred to as Father Christmas or Grandfather Frost or Santa Claus, etc.] was striking Arius for his heresy of saying Jesus was not eternal), it was not sustained by the Roman bishop but by the Roman emperor—Constantine I, a convert. No hint at all that the other bishops were subject to the Roman one (who didn't even attend but had delegates)!
It seems that the bishop of Rome had made mistakes early on—to assume too much for himself! There were debates over the date for the observance of Páscha. Should it follow with the 14th of Nisan—the date for the Jews to keep Páscha? Pope Anicetus (154-168) tried to get Smyrna's bishop to change the date for Páscha. He wants to associate Páscha with Day-Of-The-Sun.
Who was Smyrna's bishop? Polycarp, a disciple of the great apostle John. He refused to change the date for the Roman bishop. Neither changed their minds about the matter. Eventually, the Roman Empire flared Polycarp on a stake—and for being a Christian leader, not for crossing the Roman bishop.
The African Victor I (190-202) was upset because the Eastern churches celebrated Páscha on the 14th of Nisan! Wanting to part all Christianity from the Jews and their way of life won't work if these Eastern churches insist on serving the Jews' calendar. So he, Roman bishop, threatened to anathematize the bishops of such churches.
But he was opposed! Ephesus' bishop, Polycrates, wrote a defense of the Eastern date for Páscha, and made it clear he feared not the threats of Victor! He asserted his independent right. Even Iranaeus, an Occidental bishop who agrees with the Roman bishop about the date of Páscha, truly reproved Victor for trying to direct the Eastern churches. He too died a martyr for Christ—and it had nothing to do with opposing Rome's bishop!
Then the Roman bishop Calixtus I (218-223) claimed to be above the other bishops, asserting a passage from Matthew in which Jesus said to Peter,[Matthew 16:18, a verse of controversy. Petros refers to small stones, like sling-stones. Petra refers to mountains, like Olympus or Caucasus. Nothing more needs to be said. Petra was supposed to refer to Christ, as understood from his own words later in Matthew (21:42) and in Peter's own testimony (see 1 Peter 2:4-10).] "[T]hou art a rock [Petros], and upon this rock [Petra] I will build my assembly"—assembly later rendered church. Tertullian, a defender of Christianity and a Shabbat-keeper,[Tertullian (Against Marcion, book 4, chapter 12) attacked Marcion for wanting to keep another day other than the Sabbath, which "from the beginning had been consecrated by the benediction of the Father", then stating: "For [God] furnished to this day divine safeguards—a course which his adversary [Satan] would have pursued for some other days, to avoid honoring the Creator's Shabbat." He was the first Latin writer to use the term trinitas.] called Calixtus a "Usurper". There can be no such thing as a Bishop of bishops! (Tertullian would die on 220.)
While Stephen I (253-257) was the bishop of Rome, the Carthage bishop announced that every bishop was supreme in his own see. He did not bow to Rome. Nor did diverse bishops.
Then Constantine came around, and at the Nicea council of 325, there were talks about the proper date for Páscha—this term actually was in Greek; now the Latin word, Paschae, is applied. And it connects to the Day-Of-The-Sun when Jesus was resurrected.
Easter Sunday.
Finally, the Nicene Creed was established, asserting belief in a heavenly Trio:
"We believe in one God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.
"And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, Very God of Very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father by whom all things were made; who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man, and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried, and the third day rose again according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father. And he will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead, whose kingdom shall be endless.
"And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father, who with the Father and Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets. And we believe in one holy universal and apostle-based Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins. And we look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen."
The Nicene council did not establish the Roman Pappas as supreme. But when Pope Julius I (337-352) requested a council to deal more with the Arian heresy, the council happened. It wasn't an Ecumenical council, but it was the first council to acknowledge the jurisdiction of the bishop of Rome.
Later, Roman emperor Theodosius (from 378-398) made Christianity the state religion of Rome. But he went a step too far even for Constantine: he made forced conversions! So now, the Church at large is no longer the humble community of believers. No, now it has become a fierce and self-righteous rabble. The pious, however, stay pious. But their numbers grow fewer.
The bishop of Rome Siricius (reigned from 385 to 398) claimed to have universal—another word for universal is catholic—authority over all the churches. This claim met oblivion when the Roman Empire split in half, and that was in the year 395. The Eastern bishops won't recognize that the Roman bishop is better than them. They united in trusting the bishop of Constantinople. So the competition is now between Rome's bishop and Constantinople's.
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Rome | The pope won't have that power promised by Justinian until it has gotten rid of that pest of a kingdom—the Ostrogoths. As of now, in the year 533, they and the Vandals are two of the original three non-Catholic kingdoms that came about after the fall of the Roman Empire—and that was in 476. The great Empire split into pieces—10 pieces, to be exact. And three of these tribes refused to submit to Rome.
The Heruli were invaded by the Ostrogoths at 493. These Ostrogoths were actually encouraged to do this by the emperor Zeno.
Since then, the papacy was in the hands of the Ostrogoths. This is why this is called the Ostrogothic Papacy period. As of this date, 533, the Papacy is still in the hands of the Ostrogoths. The current pope (originally named Mercurius but changed the name to make it less pagan, John) has been in this position since the second of January 533, not long ago.
John II no doubt wants to make it official that he is head of all the Body of Christ, as the Church can also be referred to, based on some passages in the NovumTestamentum.[See, for example, Paul's 1 Corinthians 12:12-30 and Ephesians 4:4-16.] A past pope, Leo I (440-461), certainly did and received Imperial Recognition for the claim of being head of all the churches, from Emperor Valentinian III at the date of 445. He also asserts Peter to have been the first bishop of Rome, despite nowhere in the NovumTestamentum even implying such a thing. He asserts that everything about Jesus must be divine—hence, his mother Mary was the mother of God.
But then he maintained that to resist his authority is to be doomed to Hell. He also advocated the death penalty for heresy.
This apparently did not sit well with others. So at the Ecumenical Chalcedon council at 451, convoked by the next Roman Emperor, it is affirmed Constantinople's bishop has equal privileges with Rome's bishop.
So now, Pope John II wants an official recognition of his authority as Bishop of Rome, one that would be taken seriously, one that would be obeyed through and through. This means the death penalty for heresy would be enforced.
So far, there had been four Ecumenical gatherings: Nicea, Constantinople, Ephesus, and of course Chalcedon. None of them accepted the Pope's superiority.
One day, John II hopes that will change.
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Constantinople: 534 AD | Rome is still in the hands of the Ostrogoths. The Vandals are no longer a problem. They had been vanquished by Justinian's general Belisarius this spring.
Only time will tell when Justinian will start against the Ostrogoths. He has the ambition to restore the Western Roman Empire to his control. When will it excite into a war with the Ostrogoths? Not long, John II hopes.
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Rome: 538 | Sure enough, the war existed at 535—the Gothic War. The attack came eastward. Justinian gained more and more territory by the end of 535. The Ostrogoths held back at the start of 536; but later that summer, Justinian's army advanced further and further on, getting closer to Italy.
Then in August, the Byzantine assault came from the south. The Ostrogoths were losing land in southern Italy.
Finally, they got to Rome.
The Goths resisted, leading in the First Siege of Rome, from March 2, 537 to March 12, 538. Within is the Ostrogoth king Vitiges. Within is the Bishop of Rome.
Finally, the Goths went for diplomacy. Three emissaries went to Belisarius, Justinian's general, who said, "We [the Romans] are not empowered to administer the Emperor's affairs in a way which is not in accord with his wish." The diplomacy went nowhere.
Eventually, Vitiges and the Goths fled from Rome on March 12, 538. Only half escaped from Belisarius' army and wrath. Vitiges escaped, only to reign the remaining land of the Ostrogoths until 540, when he and his wife will be captives in Constantinople until the day of his death.
So Rome is now in the hands of the Byzantine Empire.
The Pope is not John II—he had died in May of 535. After him, came Agapetus I, who only lasted until his death on April 22th, 536. Next ruled Silverius over the Papal throne, having been elected on June 8th. He was deposed in March 537 under the charge of trying to betray Rome to the Goths. He was exiled to Greece and had died before the end of the year.
So the current Pope is Pope Vigilius, who was Pope since March 29th, 537. So he is the first Pope in the Justinian era. He actually became Pope because he "allied" with Justinian's wife Theodora.
Pope Vigilius (and almost all other Popes in this new era) will never question the authority of the Byzantine sovereign to confirm the election of the bishop of Rome before consecration occurs.
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Justinian I now upholds the superiority of the Papacy. His Code of Justinian, effective since 529 within his borders, will now be enforced in Rome. This Code contains Constantine's old Day-Of-The-Sun Law, which the late emperor enforced on March 7, 321: "Let all judges, the people of cities, and those employed in all trades, remain quiet on the Holy Day of Sunday."
Justinian is a big supporter of Sunday worship. He looks with disdain at the Shabbat—despite having "Sabbatius" in his name. Perhaps it is because of the absurd rules the Jews had made about the Shabbat.
The Third Council of Orléans, which started May 7 of this year, establishes that Sunday is the Lord's Day and that fieldwork is forbidden on Sunday. Usury cannot be practiced by clerics on Sunday. This decision ignores that the Early Christians rested on and kept the Shabbat. Christianity was originally, after all, a branch of Judaism. Constantine was the guy who popularized[The Apostolic Constitutions stated: "But keep the Sabbath and the Lord's day festival". Since these were written around 250 to 350 A.D., this must mean that after the time of the apostles, some who don't want to be classified as Jewish inserted Sunday worship.] worship of Christ on the "Venerable Day of the Sun". It was not initial for there to be worship on Sunday. Eusebius, a Church Father in the days of Constantine, had written, "All things whatsoever that it was duty to do on the Shabbat, these we have transferred to the Lord's day"; Eusebius is the first Christian writer to ever suggest such a change, he never even cited the Bible when saying that.
According to Socrates (who lived from 380-439), a Greek Christian historian from Constantinople, "the Shabbat of the Páscha" was celebrated. "The Egyptians in the neighborhood of Alexandria, and the inhabitants of Thebais, hold their religious assemblies on the Shabbat."[Socrates' Church History. Book 5. Chapters 21 and 22.]
According to Sozomen (who lived about 400-450), a Roman Christian historian, "The people of Constantinople—and almost everywhere—assemble together on the Shabbat, as well as on the first day of the week, which custom is never observed at Rome or at Alexandria."[Sozomen's Ecclesiastical History. Book 7. Chapter 19.]
So, both the Shabbat and Sunday were observed—yet the Laodicean council, established around 363-364 in the year of the Lord, had the following for Canon 29:
"Christians must not Judaize by resting on the SHABBAT, but must work on that day, rather honoring the Lord's Day; and, if they can, resting then as Christians. But if any shall be found to be Judaizers, let them be anathema from Christ."
So there is confusion as to where the Shabbat stands in Christianity, even as there come fake converts mixing up among genuine believers.
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With the Goths decreasing in power, now Roman Christianity prevails. So here the authority of the Papacy begins. Justinian had it ordered that the Pope is "the head of all the churches" in 533, but it's now official in 538.
Here begins the Middle Ages.
And Pope Vigilius is the first Pope into the Middle Ages.