A Source Book for Ancient Church History - Mirrors

733of fact and may be treated apart from the Vatican dogma.It should be borne in mind, further, that the Sixth GeneralCouncil was approved by Pope Leo II, A. D. 682 (cf. Mirbt,n. 189), who included Honorius by name among those whosecondemnation was approved. That he did so approve it isalso stated in the Liber Pontificalis (cf. Mirbt, n. 190), andaccording to the Liber Diurnus, the official book of formulæused in the papal business, the Pope took an oath recognizingamong others the Sixth General Council, and condemningHonorius among other heretics (cf. Mirbt, n. 191). ThatHonorius was actually a heretic is still another matter; for itseems not at all unlikely that he misunderstood the point atissue and his language is quite unscientific. The text of theletters of Honorius may be found in Kirch, nn. 949-965, andin Hefele in a translation, §§ 296, 298. On the condemnationof Honorius, see Hefele, § 324.The holy council said: After we had reconsidered, according toour promise made to your highness, 305 the doctrinal letter writtenby Sergius, at one time patriarch of this royal God-preservedcity, to Cyrus, who was then bishop of Phasis, and to Honorius,sometime Pope of Old Rome, as well as the letter of the latterto the same Sergius, and finding that the documents are quiteforeign to the apostolic dogmas, to the definitions of the holycouncils, and to all the approved Fathers, and that they followthe false teachings of the heretics, we entirely reject them, andexecrate them as hurtful to the soul. [672]But the names of those men whom we execrate must alsobe thrust forth from the holy Church of God, namely, that ofSergius, sometime bishop of this God-preserved royal city, whowas the first to write on this impious doctrine; also that of Cyrusof Alexandria, of Pyrrhus, Paul, and Peter, who died bishops ofthis God-preserved city, and were like-minded with them; andthat of Theodore, sometime bishop of Pharan, all of whom the305 The Emperor to whom the report is made.