Die Nordafrikanische Kirche hat sich sowohl während der Herrschaft der Vandalen als auch nach der Rückeroberung durch Ostrom als bemerkenswert widerstandsfähig erwiesen. So erfolgreich Iustinians ...Rückeroberung Nordafrikas daher auch gewesen sein mag, sein Versuch des Ausgleiches zwischen den tief gespaltenen Kirchen des miaphysitischen Ostens und des chalcedonensischen Westens, muss als gescheitert betrachtet werden. Als ein Beleg dafür lässt sich das ausgeprägte (theologische) Autonomiestreben der Kirche Nordafrikas heranziehen; weder vandalische Repressionen noch kaiserliches Engagement vermochten dieses „traditionelle Selbstvertrauen“ zu brechen.
This article presents a new interpretation of the historiographical production of Jordanes by situating it in the political and social environment of Constantinople of the years 550–552. It argues ...that these years were a period of crisis in Justinian's reign and that this is reflected in the pessimistic view of Roman power and the critique of Justinian's military and religious policy we can see in Jordanes’ Romana. If this prevents us from understanding Jordanes as a mouthpiece of the court, he cannot be reduced to a mere reproducer of Cassiodorus either: while there is more evidence for a close interaction between Jordanes and Cassiodorus (in particular the use of the Historia Tripartita in the Romana) than usually adduced, this is balanced by Jordanes’ explicit attempts to keep his distance from the senator. If the latter can be explained by Jordanes’ much lower social and literary status and his Moesian rather than Italian origin, which made him only a marginal member of Cassiodorus’ circle in Constantinople, the agreement between both men is the result of a confluence of views caused by the turn of the Italian war in 540–550. Jordanes, then, appears as a unique voice in what must have been a polyphony of opinions in mid-sixth-century Constantinople.
The discussion surrounding the posthumous condemnation of Theodore of Mopsuestia, Theodoret of Cyrus and Iva of Edessa occupies an important place in the church history of the VI century. The attempt ...at reconciliation with the Monophysites, undertaken by Justinian, not only failed to achieve its original goal, but also led to a new schism. To support his initiative, the emperor turned to the Roman bishops, which put them in a difficult situation: on the one hand, Justinian demanded from the popes support for the condemnation of the Three Chapters, on the other – the churches of the western provinces reacted to this initiative with condemnation and distrust, seeing in it the undermining of the authority of the Roman Church and the entire institution of ecumenical councils. One of the episcopal sees closely associated with Rome was Arles (Arelate), an important ecclesiastical center of Gaul. An analysis of the papal epistles to the bishops of Arles, as well as to the Frankish kings, allows us to conclude that the Gallic clergy were rather poorly aware of the essence of the contradictions that developed around the condemnation of the Three Chapters: the popes repeatedly sent messages confirming their adherence to the canons, but without touching on the very essence of the differences. Such a streamlined position also testifies to the difficult position of the Roman see, which was forced to take into account the position of both Justinian and the Western churches. To convey their point of view to the Gallic clergy, the popes used the bishops of Arles, who had serious regional influence, which Vigilius and Pelagius further strengthened by granting them the status of papal vicars. The appointment and activities of the vicar were actively discussed with the secular authorities – the Byzantine ruling couple, as well as the Frankish kings – which also indicates the weakness of the papal positions during this period
