19 April 526 A.D. John 1, Bishop of Rome, a Pawn of Powers
19 April 526 A.D. John 1, Bishop of Rome, a Pawn of Powers Graves, Dan. “Pope John 1 a Pawn of Powers.” Christianity.com. Apr 2007. http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/301-600/pope-john-i-a-pawn-of-powers-11629707.html . Accessed 17 Apr 2015. John, Bishop (pope) of Rome, did not want to travel to Constantinople. But Theodoric, the Gothic ruler of Italy, insisted he must. An Arian, Theodoric had become suspicious of the recent thaw between the eastern and western branches of the church. Not long before, bishops in the two halves of the empire had been at odds over the Monophysite heresy. Most eastern bishops had accepted the Henoticon, a statement of faith carefully crafted by bishop Acacius and promulgated by emperor Zeno to allow the Monophysite heresy to persist without seeming to violate any orthodox tenets. Western bishops, led by Rome, repudiated the Henoticon because it ignored statements made by the Council of Chalcedon regarding the relationshi...