Ten men reigned as pope during the tumultuous period at the
turn of the fifth century. The first, Pope
Liberius, began his papacy in 352 CE. Pope
Liberius refused to condemn Athanasius of Alexandria, the chief defender of
Trinitarianism against Arianism. Instead
he wrote to Emperor Constantius II asking for council to be called to denounce
Arianism as a heresy. However, Constantius
II, sympathized with the Arians, and forced the pope’s messenger to sign a writ
of condemnation. Unable to persuade Pope
Liberius to condemn Athanasius, the Emperor imprisoned him and appointed Felix II
as a “puppet” pope in 355 CE.
After three years in exile Liberius returned to Rome. The emperor proposed that Liberius govern the church jointly with Felix II, but the Roman
population refused to recognize Felix II and expelled him from the city. Neither Liberius nor Felix took part in the
Council of Rimini in 359 CE, and after the
death of the Emperor Constantius II in 361 CE, Liberius annulled the decrees of
that assembly.
Living in exile from Rome, Felix remained pope until his
death in 365 CE. Some historians claim that
Pope Liberius eventually relented in his opposition to Arianism and resigned
the papacy validating the reign of Felix II.
Most assert on the contrary that Pope Liberius adhered staunchly to the orthodoxy
of the Trinitarian belief through the end of his pontificate and death in 366
CE. The Eastern Orthodox Church reveres
him as a saint, while the Roman Catholic Church does not.
