Cambridge Ancient Hi.. - Index of

90 4. the successors of justinian
Monophysite bishops found that an otherwise acceptable agreement was
not accompanied by an explicit condemnation of Chalcedon. Justin’s doctrinal
edict, probably to be dated to 571, proclaimed his compromise
formula, with Chalcedon neither mentioned nor condemned and a provision
that disputes over the persons of the Trinity and over terminology
should be avoided. Monophysite sources record that, after six years of toleration,
Justin then resorted to pressure and persecution in an attempt to
coerce them into agreement, with the Constantinopolitan patriarch, John
Scholasticus, being a prime mover. Justin and Sophia apparently visited
monasteries in their attempts to win over Monophysites, and John of
Ephesus, our main source, records the harsh treatment which he suffered. 10
Perhaps Justin’s patience had snapped, but it is unsafe to talk of forced conversions
and mass persecutions, since John’s testimony lacks precision and
corroboration: John had compromised himself by twice accepting communion
with Chalcedonian ‘heretics’ during negotiations, and so may have
exaggerated the pressures applied to himself and other Monophysites at
Constantinople.
Pressing secular concerns supervened, and doctrinal unity was relegated.
This, however, did not amount to religious neglect. Justin was an active
patron in the religious field, and was alert to the benefits to be derived from
official involvement in the cult of the Virgin at Constantinople and the
acquisition of famous relics: the Chalkoprateia church which housed the
Virgin’s girdle was repaired after earthquake damage, while the Camuliana
icon, one of the images of Christ ‘not made by human hand’ (acheiropoietos),
was conveyed to the capital in 574. Justin communicated with Symeon
Stylites the Younger outside Antioch, and the saint, who had prophesied
Justin’s accession through the intermediary of John Scholasticus, cured
Justin’s daughter of demoniac possession by a letter; he might have saved
Justin himself from madness if Sophia had not already consulted a sorcerer
before approaching Symeon. 11
3. External affairs
Justin is traditionally judged, and condemned, as a ruler mainly because of
his handling of the empire’s external problems. In the Balkans he achieved
initial success. After the diplomatic rebuff at Justin’s accession, the Avars
concentrated on westward expansion at the expense of the Franks, while
the two dominant tribal groups occupying Pannonia, the Gepids and the
Lombards, struggled for supremacy. Gepid victories persuaded the
Lombards to summon the Avars as allies on very favourable terms, and
10 Evagr. HE v.4; John Eph. HE i.23–30; ii.9, 25.
11 Patria iii.32; Cedrenus i.685; Life of Symeon 208; Cameron (1976) 65–7 and (1980) 77–9.
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