1. John of Ephesus, Lives, 48, PO 18:685; pseudo-Zachariah Rhetor, HE 8.5. It is probably to the Egyptian desert as a gathering place that this famous passage of pseudo-Zachariah refers.

2. Egypt's reputation for ascetic excellence was a serious factor for the Monophysite monks who came from elsewhere in the East, including Mesopotamia. For the nature of Egypt's spiritual authority in this realm, see Rousseau, "Spiritual Authority"; idem, "Blood-relationships."

3. John of Ephesus, Lives, 27, PO 18:554. For an impression, from the Egyp-

tian viewpoint, of how Egypt itself was affected by the persecutions, see esp. Hardy, Christian Egypt ; see also Evelyn-White, Monasteries of the Wâdi 'N Natrûn, 219-40.

4. John of Ephesus, Lives , 27, PO 18:541-58. Arzanene was visited by Simeon the Persian Debater while on his missionary travels, Lives, 10, PO 17:145; and its clergy were ordained during the persecutions by John of Tella, Lives, 24, PO 18:519.

5. In the "Life of Susan," ibid., PO 18:547-48, John says the spot was about two miles from Mendis; and elsewhere, about twelve miles distant from the monastery of Mar Menas, PO 17:209. Mendis itself, he claims, was twenty-four miles above Alexandria, Lives, 13, PO 17:190 (see also Brooks' footnote). Mar Menas was a celebrated monastery and its reputation was no doubt attractive to the newcomers; proximity may have seemed desirable. Cf. Hardy, Christian Egypt, 125-26 ("The shrine of St. Menas had become the Lourdes of the ancient world"); and see "Karm Abu Mena," RBK, 1116-58 (M. Krause).

4. John of Ephesus, Lives , 27, PO 18:541-58. Arzanene was visited by Simeon the Persian Debater while on his missionary travels, Lives, 10, PO 17:145; and its clergy were ordained during the persecutions by John of Tella, Lives, 24, PO 18:519.

5. In the "Life of Susan," ibid., PO 18:547-48, John says the spot was about two miles from Mendis; and elsewhere, about twelve miles distant from the monastery of Mar Menas, PO 17:209. Mendis itself, he claims, was twenty-four miles above Alexandria, Lives, 13, PO 17:190 (see also Brooks' footnote). Mar Menas was a celebrated monastery and its reputation was no doubt attractive to the newcomers; proximity may have seemed desirable. Cf. Hardy, Christian Egypt, 125-26 ("The shrine of St. Menas had become the Lourdes of the ancient world"); and see "Karm Abu Mena," RBK, 1116-58 (M. Krause).

6. John of Ephesus, Lives, 27, PO 18:548.

7. Ibid., 550 (my trans.).

8. Ibid., 554-56. Susan's activities and John's reactions to them are discussed in chap. 6.

6. John of Ephesus, Lives, 27, PO 18:548.

7. Ibid., 550 (my trans.).

8. Ibid., 554-56. Susan's activities and John's reactions to them are discussed in chap. 6.

6. John of Ephesus, Lives, 27, PO 18:548.

7. Ibid., 550 (my trans.).

8. Ibid., 554-56. Susan's activities and John's reactions to them are discussed in chap. 6.

9. Cf. Severus of Antioch, "Sévère d'Antioche en Égypte," ed. and trans. W. E. Crum.

10. Lives, 48, PO 18:684-90.

11. Ibid., 685. Here John carelessly gives the impression that Severus was received by the patriarch Theodosius, who was not consecrated to the see until 535 (and then somewhat violently: see pseudo-Zachariah Rhetor, HE 9.14; Michael the Syrian, Chronique 9.12). Theodosius was banished in 536 to Thrace and then to Constantinople, where he remained, guiding the Monophysites until his death in 566.

10. Lives, 48, PO 18:684-90.

11. Ibid., 685. Here John carelessly gives the impression that Severus was received by the patriarch Theodosius, who was not consecrated to the see until 535 (and then somewhat violently: see pseudo-Zachariah Rhetor, HE 9.14; Michael the Syrian, Chronique 9.12). Theodosius was banished in 536 to Thrace and then to Constantinople, where he remained, guiding the Monophysites until his death in 566.

12. John of Ephesus, Lives, 48, PO 18:685.

13. See esp. Vita Severi (John of Beith-Aphthonia); and for the sense of how this aura grew with Severus' legend, see Vita Severi (Athanasius Scriptor), Conflict of Severus, ed. and trans. E. J. Goodspeed and W. E. Crum.

14. John is referring here ( Lives, 48, PO 18:685) in particular to the doctrinal dispute between Severus and Julian of Halicarnassus. See esp. pseudo-Zachariah Rhetor, HE 9.9-13; and Michael the Syrian, Chronique 9.27, 30. The argument centered on Julian's belief that the body of Christ was incorruptible; an excellent summary is in Casey, "Julian of Halicarnassus." Cf. Hardy, Christian Egypt, 128-32.

15. For example, Severus of Antioch, Sixth Book of Select Letters 1.49, 2.3.

16. Pseudo-Zachariah Rhetor, HE 9.13. In the letters pseudo-Zachariah Rhetor cites here, Severus describes himself contending against the Chalcedonians from Egypt, "I [am] a man who changes about from one place to another and have no convenient time for other things that are required" ( HE 9.11 [ Syriac Chronicle, ed. and trans. F. J. Hamilton and E. W. Brooks, 235]). See also Severus of Antioch, Sixth Book of Select Letters 1.53.

17. Lives, 21, PO 17:283-98. See also 54, PO 19:186; 55, PO 19:192; 56, PO 19:197-99.

18. John of Ephesus, HE, Fragmenta 3.7-8.

19. Lives, 13, PO 17:187-213.

20. On Amida's bishops at this time, see Honigmann, Évêques et évêchés monophysites, 100-101; also, ''Joshua the Stylite," Chronicle LXXXIII; and pseudo-Zachariah Rhetor, HE 8.5. For Abraham bar Kaili, apparently consecrated by Paul "the Jew" of Antioch, see chap. 3.

21. John of Ephesus, Lives, 13, PO 17:188.

22. Ibid., 188-89.

23. Ibid., 189-90. Cf. the description of Mare's adventures in pseudo-Zachariah Rhetor, HE 8.5.

21. John of Ephesus, Lives, 13, PO 17:188.

22. Ibid., 188-89.

23. Ibid., 189-90. Cf. the description of Mare's adventures in pseudo-Zachariah Rhetor, HE 8.5.

21. John of Ephesus, Lives, 13, PO 17:188.

22. Ibid., 188-89.

23. Ibid., 189-90. Cf. the description of Mare's adventures in pseudo-Zachariah Rhetor, HE 8.5.

24. John of Ephesus, Lives, 13, PO 17:190.

25. John's account of the lives of Mary and Euphemia reflects the same intent, Lives, 12, PO 17:166-86. See the discussion of their story in chap. 6.

26. Lives, 13, PO 17:192.

27. John of Ephesus, ibid., 25, PO 18:528, says of this campaign: "severe fighting and much slaughter took place in Alexandria, as is common in that great city." See also, for example, ibid., 37, PO 18:629-30; Procopius, Anecdota 26.35-44; John of Nikiu, Chronicle 90.81-89, 92.5-7; Michael the Syrian, Chronique 9.21, 25.

26. Lives, 13, PO 17:192.

27. John of Ephesus, ibid., 25, PO 18:528, says of this campaign: "severe fighting and much slaughter took place in Alexandria, as is common in that great city." See also, for example, ibid., 37, PO 18:629-30; Procopius, Anecdota 26.35-44; John of Nikiu, Chronicle 90.81-89, 92.5-7; Michael the Syrian, Chronique 9.21, 25.

28. See the Life of John the Almsgiver, in Three Byzantine Saints, trans. E. A. Dawes and N. Baynes, 195-270; Monks, "Church of Alexandria"; Hardy, Christian Egypt, 139-41, 154-61.

29. Michael the Syrian, Chronique 9.25. Cf. John of Ephesus' more general description of the persecutions throughout the East, in very similar language; Lives, 24, PO 18:524-25.

30. Lives, 48, PO 18:687. See also, for example, Michael the Syrian, Chronique 9.27. Cf. Severus of Antioch, "Sévère d'Antioche en Égypte," ed. and trans. W. E. Crum.

31. See Evagrius, HE 4.9, for the pro-Chalcedonian view of Alexandria and Constantinople as the two main centers of religious dissent.

32. A point that particularly rankled Procopius: see the Anecdota . On Theodora, see Browning, Justinian and Theodora ; Bury, History of the Later Roman Empire 2:27-35; and Diehl, Théodora .

33. Procopius, Anecdota 10. 14-15.

34. Ibid. ( Opera, ed. and trans. H. B. Dewing, 7:125).

33. Procopius, Anecdota 10. 14-15.

34. Ibid. ( Opera, ed. and trans. H. B. Dewing, 7:125).

35. Evagrius, HE 4.10. Cf. Allen, Evagrius Scholasticus, chap. 8, on Evagrius' treatment of Justin I and Justinian. Allen here points out that Evagrius adds credibility to Procopius' Anecdota, which thus cannot be dismissed as personal ranting.

36. Evagrius, HE, 4. 10.

37. On Theodora's good deeds toward the Monophysites, see, for example, Severus of Antioch, Sixth Book of Select Letters 1.63; John of Ephesus, Lives ; idem, HE, Fragmenta 3.2-5; pseudo-Zachariah Rhetor, HE 9.14; John of Nikiu, Chron-

icle 90.87-88; Jacob of Edessa, Chronicon, 321; Chronicon anonymum 819, 10; Chronicon anonymum 1234, LIV-LV; Michael the Syrian, Chronique 9.15, 20, 21.

38. Chronicon anonymum 1234 , LV; Michael the Syrian, Chronique 9.20. This tradition still appeals to the Syrian Orthodox; it is retold in the play "Theodora," written in Arabic (1956) by Mor Faulos Behram, Metropolitan of Baghdad, and translated into Syriac (1977) by Mor Iuhannon Philoxenos Dolobani, the late Metropolitan of Mardin.

39. Browning, Justinian and Theodora , 40.

40. For example, Procopius, Anecdota 17.27; Evagrius, HE 4.10-11. It is notable, for example, that the pro-Chalcedonian Melkite Chronicle of the seventh century—in its reports on ecclesiastical and theological events involving imperial circles—does not once mention the energetic empress. See "Chronique melkite," ed. and trans. A. de Halleux, 13-18. This may be a simple case of male chauvinism, of course; pseudo-Zachariah Rhetor often omits mention of Theodora in places where her activity was decisive, for example, HE 8.5, 9.15 (cf. 9.19).

41. Pseudo-Zachariah Rhetor, HE 8.5, 9.1; John of Nikiu, Chronicle 90.49-59; Michael the Syrian, Chronique 9.34. It is interesting that John of Nikiu seems to transfer the respective characteristics of the imperial couple from one to the other. At Chronicle 93.1-3, he lists those figures who had most greatly adorned Rome: Romulus, Numa, Caesar, Augustus, "and subsequently came the empress Theodora, the consort of the emperor Justinian"!

42. The same respect is shown in his Ecclesiastical History for the emperor Justin II. See Cameron, "Early Byzantine Kaiserkritik ."

43. For Theodora's correspondence with the Persian queen, Lives, 10, PO 17:157 (cf. Procopius, Anecdota 2.32-37); the hospitals she founded, Lives, 51, PO 19:161-62; and her prostitution, Lives, 13, PO 17:189. John's statement that Theodora "came from the brothel" ( porne is his word) substantiates the leering charges of Procopius with none of the latter's scorn; see Procopius, Anecdota 9.1-30.

44. For example, Lives, 57, PO 19:200-206.

45. Lives, 37, PO 18:680. See also John's HE, Fragmenta 3.6, where John says the emperor was anxious to fulfill the will of his wife even after her death. Michael the Syrian, Chronique 9.29, speaks of Justinian's grief at Theodora's death, with the implication that this led him to treat the patriarchs Anthimus and Theodosius with leniency.

46. Lives, 47, PO 18:681; pseudo-Dionysius, Incerti auctoris chronicon 77-78, 125 (John of Ephesus); and Michael the Syrian, Chronique 9.25, 33. John also converted the Manicheans in Constantinople at Justinian's request; pseudo-Dionysius, Incerti auctoris chronicon, 75-76 (John of Ephesus); and Michael the Syrian, Chronique 9.25.

47. Michael the Syrian, Chronique 9.25. It may be that the new converts could not appreciate the theological arguments waged over the Council of Chalcedon; but the missions to Nubia (not led by John of Ephesus) produced a selfconsciously Monophysite following. See Frend, Rise of the Monophysite Movement, 297-303; Hardy, Christian Egypt, 141-43.

48. A good example is in John's HE, Fragmenta 3.4, where John went so far as to offend the emperor but does not appear to have suffered for his frankness (here he seems to have acted, at least in part, through intermediaries).

49. Cf. Cameron, "Early Religious Policies."

50. Gray, Defense of Chalcedon, esp. 154-64; Wigram, Separation of the Monophysites, chap. 8. Justinian seems to have shown high respect for certain of his theological opponents; for example, John of Ephesus, HE, Fragmenta 3.8. His aphthartodocetic views were similar to those of Julian of Halicarnassus; see n. 14 above.

51. Pseudo-Zachariah Rhetor, HE 8.5. For Severus' cynicism, John of Ephesus, HE, Fragmenta 3.3. Darling, "Patriarchate of Severus," sees this attitude of Severus increasing over time, beginning as early as his years in Antioch.

52. See the documents in Brock, "Orthodox-Oriental Orthodox Conversations"; and "Conversations with the Syrian Orthodox," ed. and trans. S. P. Brock. Cf. pseudo-Zachariah Rhetor, HE 9.15; and Michael the Syrian, Chronique 9.22.

53. Brock, "Orthodox-Oriental Orthodox Conversations," 226.

54. Ibid., 225; pseudo-Zachariah Rhetor, HE 9.15.

53. Brock, "Orthodox-Oriental Orthodox Conversations," 226.

54. Ibid., 225; pseudo-Zachariah Rhetor, HE 9.15.

55. Pseudo-Zachariah Rhetor, HE 9.16; see also Evagrius, HE 4.11.

56. John of Ephesus, HE, Fragmenta 3.3; idem, Lives, 48, PO 18:687; and Severus of Antioch, Sixth Book of Select Letters 4:7.

57. John of Ephesus, HE, Fragmenta 3.3, 8; pseudo-Zachariah Rhetor, HE 9.19; Evagrius, HE 4.11; "Chronique melkite," 17-18; Chronicon anonymum 846, 223; Michael the Syrian, Chronique 9.22.

58. John of Ephesus, HE, Fragmenta 3.4; Michael the Syrian, Chronique 9.30.

59. For example, John of Ephesus, HE, Fragmenta 3.1; pseudo-Zachariah Rhetor, HE 12.6; Evagrius, HE 4.36; "Chronique melkite," 19-23; Michael the Syrian, Chronique 9.30. But the complexity of the picture is best gained in the overviews given by Frend, Rise of the Monophysite Movement; and Wigram, Separation of the Monophysites .

60. Best encapsulated in his HE, Fragmenta 3.2-8. The gradual wear does not seem to have crushed John's own spirit until matters internal to the Monophysites broke down under Justin II and Tiberius; see his HE, pt. III.

61. The significance of Constantine's example did not escape his contemporaries as can be seen in the works of Eusebius of Caesarea and, more generally, Lietzmann, History of the Early Church, vols. 3 and 4.

62. Here, too, the populace was highly influenced by ascetics, in this case by the "Sleepless" monks. The Trishagion riots were a case in point. Evagrius, HE 3.44; pseudo-Dionysius, Incerti auctoris chronicon, 6-7 (John of Ephesus); John of Nikiu, Chronicle 9.9.

63. For a general sense of how Constantinople "worked," see Jones, Later Roman Empire 2: 687-709; for its changing circumstances in the sixth century, see Cameron, "Corippus' Poem"; and idem, "Theotokos."

64. John of Ephesus, Lives, 2, PO 17:18-35. See chap. 2, for a description of Z'ura's career in Mesopotamia.

65. Frend, Rise of the Monophysite Movement, 270, 272. John gives no indication of the date.

66. For mention of Z'ura, see Severus of Antioch, Sixth Book of Select Letters 3.2; "Chronique melkite," 18; Michael the Syrian, Chronique 9.23; Bar Hebraeus, Chronicon ecclesiasticum 1: 206-12. Further references are noted by Frend, Rise of the Monophysite Movement, 272; the stylite apparently baptized Theodora, a considerable honor for both parties. Michael's account, as usual, primarily follows John's; so, too, does that of Bar Hebraeus.

67. Lives, 2, PO 17:22.

68. Cf. Severus of Antioch, Sixth Book of Select Letters 11.1, where the patriarch begs a would-be solitary not to follow his own selfish desire for withdrawal but instead to face the religious crisis with action because the urgency of the times is so great.

69. Vita Danielis Stylitae, chaps. 72-85.

70. Lives, 2, PO 17:24-25.

71. Inaccuracy of this kind is characteristic of John's historical method; he tended to make his points by whatever means of emphasis seemed necessary. Procopius mentions two, or possibly three, severe illnesses contracted by Justinian: Buildings 1.6.5-8, 1.7.6-16; idem, Wars 2.23.20, which records the emperor's bout of bubonic plague. The first of these ( Buildings 1.6.5-8) in particular bears a resemblance to John's account involving Z'ura, since Procopius claims that Justinian was healed by the intervention of Saints Cosmas and Damian after doctors proved unable to treat his near-fatal illness, and that this became the occasion for a shrine dedicated to the saints by the emperor.

This passage and its circumstances, rather than the vague story of an "eastern monk" and a gruesome apparition in Procopius, Anecdota 12.23-26, as Brooks suggests ( PO 17:24 n.), seem an appropriate basis for John's story of Z'ura—unless the passage refers to the emperor's case of plague, which would have it happen at too late a date (Z'ura was banished from Constantinople in 536, and the plague did not arrive until 542). But this seems unlikely since Procopius would surely have mentioned it if the illness had been plague. If Z'ura had been involved, the emperor clearly could not have paid him tribute; the choice of Saints Cosmas and Damian would have been particularly appropriate, since their very popular cult had reached the Greco-Roman world through the Syrian Orient (in fact, the saints may originally have been Arab tribesmen). See Peeters, Orient et Byzance, 65-68. The church dedicated to Saints Cosmas and Damian may be the building now known as the Atik Mustafa Pasa Camii; see B. Aran, "The Nunnery of the Anagyres and the Mustafa Pasha Mosque: Notes," JÖB 26 (1977): 247-53; and Mathews, Byzantine Churches of Istanbul, 16. For an alternative, cf. Janin, Constantinople byzantine, 123.

72. Lives, 2, PO 17:25-26.

73. Ibid., 26-31; also Michael the Syrian, Chronique 9.23; and Bar Hebraeus, Chronicon ecclesiasticum 1:206-12, where the two later chroniclers are primarily

dependent on John's account. See pseudo-Zachariah Rhetor, HE 9.15, 19, for another version of Agapetus' visit and death in Constantinople that, while not mentioning Z'ura by name, substantiates John's story with regard to the pope's death. Agapetus in fact did die of fever, as pseudo-Zachariah Rhetor indicates.

72. Lives, 2, PO 17:25-26.

73. Ibid., 26-31; also Michael the Syrian, Chronique 9.23; and Bar Hebraeus, Chronicon ecclesiasticum 1:206-12, where the two later chroniclers are primarily

dependent on John's account. See pseudo-Zachariah Rhetor, HE 9.15, 19, for another version of Agapetus' visit and death in Constantinople that, while not mentioning Z'ura by name, substantiates John's story with regard to the pope's death. Agapetus in fact did die of fever, as pseudo-Zachariah Rhetor indicates.

74. Lives , 2, PO 17:34-35.

75. Ibid. Theodosius was exiled from Alexandria in 536, in accordance with the general banishment order decreed at that time against Severus and the other Monophysite leaders. The ''Chronique melkite," chap. 18, includes Z'ura's name in the list of those who were banned.

74. Lives , 2, PO 17:34-35.

75. Ibid. Theodosius was exiled from Alexandria in 536, in accordance with the general banishment order decreed at that time against Severus and the other Monophysite leaders. The ''Chronique melkite," chap. 18, includes Z'ura's name in the list of those who were banned.

76. Lives, 37, PO 18:624-41.

77. Ibid., 631. John might not have felt so embarrassed if Mare had directed his anger in this fashion toward anyone else; but his own position of favor in the imperial court made his reaction to the encounter necessarily awkward. It was not the passion but the disrespect that alarmed him. On this very incident Nöldeke remarked, "All this was in execrable taste; yet it is a real pleasure to see that there still were some people capable of confronting the servile 'Byzantinism' of the day in a way that was manly and independent" (Nöldeke, Sketches from Eastern History, 230-31).

76. Lives, 37, PO 18:624-41.

77. Ibid., 631. John might not have felt so embarrassed if Mare had directed his anger in this fashion toward anyone else; but his own position of favor in the imperial court made his reaction to the encounter necessarily awkward. It was not the passion but the disrespect that alarmed him. On this very incident Nöldeke remarked, "All this was in execrable taste; yet it is a real pleasure to see that there still were some people capable of confronting the servile 'Byzantinism' of the day in a way that was manly and independent" (Nöldeke, Sketches from Eastern History, 230-31).

78. Lives, 37, PO 18:632-33.

79. Ibid., 639.

80. Ibid., 640.

81. Ibid., 9, PO 17:136-37.

78. Lives, 37, PO 18:632-33.

79. Ibid., 639.

80. Ibid., 640.

81. Ibid., 9, PO 17:136-37.

78. Lives, 37, PO 18:632-33.

79. Ibid., 639.

80. Ibid., 640.

81. Ibid., 9, PO 17:136-37.

78. Lives, 37, PO 18:632-33.

79. Ibid., 639.

80. Ibid., 640.

81. Ibid., 9, PO 17:136-37.

82. A summarizing chronological account of Theodora's patronage and its recipients is in Duchesne, "Protégés de Théodora."

83. Lives, 13, PO 17:187-213.

84. Ibid., 207.

85. Ibid., 212.

86. Ibid., 47, PO 18:677.

83. Lives, 13, PO 17:187-213.

84. Ibid., 207.

85. Ibid., 212.

86. Ibid., 47, PO 18:677.

83. Lives, 13, PO 17:187-213.

84. Ibid., 207.

85. Ibid., 212.

86. Ibid., 47, PO 18:677.

83. Lives, 13, PO 17:187-213.

84. Ibid., 207.

85. Ibid., 212.

86. Ibid., 47, PO 18:677.

87. In this chapter of the Lives (47, PO 18:676-84), John gives a tantalizingly confused picture of the Monophysite residences in Constantinople, mentioning in particular the palace of Hormisdas and a martyrion dedicated to Saint Sergius. The picture is hampered by both insufficient corroborative documentation and incomplete archaeological remains; John himself describes severe damage by fire to the Monophysite quarters. An effort to clarify John's presentation in this instance is made by Mango, "Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus"; and idem, "Church of Sts. Sergius and Bacchus Once Again." On the Palace of Hormisdas, see Guilland, É tudes de topographie 1:294-305. On the Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus, see Van Millengen, Byzantine Churches, 62-83. Neither Van Millengen nor Guilland uses John of Ephesus, despite his detailed (if confused) descriptions. Cf. Janin, Constantinople byzantine, 358-59.

88. John of Ephesus, Lives, 47, PO 18:677.

89. Ibid., 679.

90. Ibid., 680.

91. Ibid., 48, PO 18:684-90. The patriarchs John includes are Severus of Antioch, Theodosius of Alexandria, Anthimus of Constantinople, Sergius of Antioch, and Paul ("the Black") of Antioch.

88. John of Ephesus, Lives, 47, PO 18:677.

89. Ibid., 679.

90. Ibid., 680.

91. Ibid., 48, PO 18:684-90. The patriarchs John includes are Severus of Antioch, Theodosius of Alexandria, Anthimus of Constantinople, Sergius of Antioch, and Paul ("the Black") of Antioch.

88. John of Ephesus, Lives, 47, PO 18:677.

89. Ibid., 679.

90. Ibid., 680.

91. Ibid., 48, PO 18:684-90. The patriarchs John includes are Severus of Antioch, Theodosius of Alexandria, Anthimus of Constantinople, Sergius of Antioch, and Paul ("the Black") of Antioch.

88. John of Ephesus, Lives, 47, PO 18:677.

89. Ibid., 679.

90. Ibid., 680.

91. Ibid., 48, PO 18:684-90. The patriarchs John includes are Severus of Antioch, Theodosius of Alexandria, Anthimus of Constantinople, Sergius of Antioch, and Paul ("the Black") of Antioch.

92. See the accounts of these events in Frend, Rise of the Monophysite Movement, 270-73; idem, Rise of Christianity, 842-43.

93. Their leadership was of paramount import to the movement, and the act of their communion (which must have been around 535 /6) with one another remained a critical landmark in Monophysite tradition. Following their ritual of communion, they maintained contact, sending numerous encyclicals to one another while in exile, and these were circulated with considerable impact within the church body. See, for example, pseudo-Zachariah Rhetor, HE 9.14-26; John of Ephesus, HE, Fragmenta 3.5-6; Evagrius, HE 4.11; "Chronique melkite," 17; Jacob of Edessa, Chronicon, 319-21; Chronicon anonymum 846, 223, 228; and Michael the Syrian, Chronique 9.21. Severus was patriarch in Antioch from 512-518, when he was deposed; he died in Egypt in 538. Theodosius held the seat in Alexandria from 535-537 and remained in exile in Constantinople until his death in 566. Anthimus served as patriarch only from 535-536, when he resigned under imperial pressure; he survived in exile, hidden by Theodora, perhaps another seven or eight years.

94. See Frend, Rise of the Monophysite Movement; Wigram, Separation of the Monophysites; and Hardy, Christian Egypt .

95. For Severus' problems, while exiled, in maintaining the internal discipline of the Monophysites, see, for example, Severus of Antioch, Sixth Book of Select Letters 1.49, 53, 57, 2.3.

96. Lives, 44, PO 18:661-68.

97. Ibid., 664.

98. Ibid., 664-65.

99. Ibid., 661.

100. Ibid., 33-34, PO 18:592-606; 38-41, PO 18:641-58; 46, PO 18:671-76.

101. Ibid., 57, PO 19:200-206.

102. Ibid., 200. This was the chamberlain Mishael, who served in the court of Anastasius; see Severus of Antioch, Sixth Book of Select Letters 1.19 and 9.1, and further references in Brooks' footnote, Lives, 57, PO 19:200, n. 1. In Sixth Book of Select Letters, 9.1, Severus, who was patriarch in Antioch at the time, urged Mishael not to abandon his career in the court to become a solitary because the urgency of the Monophysite cause made a presence, such as his, in the palace all the more necessary. He offers high praise for the asceticism Mishael practiced while following a lay career, and he urges the chamberlain to accept his situation as one that bestows the crown of martyrdom.

96. Lives, 44, PO 18:661-68.

97. Ibid., 664.

98. Ibid., 664-65.

99. Ibid., 661.

100. Ibid., 33-34, PO 18:592-606; 38-41, PO 18:641-58; 46, PO 18:671-76.

101. Ibid., 57, PO 19:200-206.

102. Ibid., 200. This was the chamberlain Mishael, who served in the court of Anastasius; see Severus of Antioch, Sixth Book of Select Letters 1.19 and 9.1, and further references in Brooks' footnote, Lives, 57, PO 19:200, n. 1. In Sixth Book of Select Letters, 9.1, Severus, who was patriarch in Antioch at the time, urged Mishael not to abandon his career in the court to become a solitary because the urgency of the Monophysite cause made a presence, such as his, in the palace all the more necessary. He offers high praise for the asceticism Mishael practiced while following a lay career, and he urges the chamberlain to accept his situation as one that bestows the crown of martyrdom.

96. Lives, 44, PO 18:661-68.

97. Ibid., 664.

98. Ibid., 664-65.

99. Ibid., 661.

100. Ibid., 33-34, PO 18:592-606; 38-41, PO 18:641-58; 46, PO 18:671-76.

101. Ibid., 57, PO 19:200-206.

102. Ibid., 200. This was the chamberlain Mishael, who served in the court of Anastasius; see Severus of Antioch, Sixth Book of Select Letters 1.19 and 9.1, and further references in Brooks' footnote, Lives, 57, PO 19:200, n. 1. In Sixth Book of Select Letters, 9.1, Severus, who was patriarch in Antioch at the time, urged Mishael not to abandon his career in the court to become a solitary because the urgency of the Monophysite cause made a presence, such as his, in the palace all the more necessary. He offers high praise for the asceticism Mishael practiced while following a lay career, and he urges the chamberlain to accept his situation as one that bestows the crown of martyrdom.

96. Lives, 44, PO 18:661-68.

97. Ibid., 664.

98. Ibid., 664-65.

99. Ibid., 661.

100. Ibid., 33-34, PO 18:592-606; 38-41, PO 18:641-58; 46, PO 18:671-76.

101. Ibid., 57, PO 19:200-206.

102. Ibid., 200. This was the chamberlain Mishael, who served in the court of Anastasius; see Severus of Antioch, Sixth Book of Select Letters 1.19 and 9.1, and further references in Brooks' footnote, Lives, 57, PO 19:200, n. 1. In Sixth Book of Select Letters, 9.1, Severus, who was patriarch in Antioch at the time, urged Mishael not to abandon his career in the court to become a solitary because the urgency of the Monophysite cause made a presence, such as his, in the palace all the more necessary. He offers high praise for the asceticism Mishael practiced while following a lay career, and he urges the chamberlain to accept his situation as one that bestows the crown of martyrdom.

96. Lives, 44, PO 18:661-68.

97. Ibid., 664.

98. Ibid., 664-65.

99. Ibid., 661.

100. Ibid., 33-34, PO 18:592-606; 38-41, PO 18:641-58; 46, PO 18:671-76.

101. Ibid., 57, PO 19:200-206.

102. Ibid., 200. This was the chamberlain Mishael, who served in the court of Anastasius; see Severus of Antioch, Sixth Book of Select Letters 1.19 and 9.1, and further references in Brooks' footnote, Lives, 57, PO 19:200, n. 1. In Sixth Book of Select Letters, 9.1, Severus, who was patriarch in Antioch at the time, urged Mishael not to abandon his career in the court to become a solitary because the urgency of the Monophysite cause made a presence, such as his, in the palace all the more necessary. He offers high praise for the asceticism Mishael practiced while following a lay career, and he urges the chamberlain to accept his situation as one that bestows the crown of martyrdom.

96. Lives, 44, PO 18:661-68.

97. Ibid., 664.

98. Ibid., 664-65.

99. Ibid., 661.

100. Ibid., 33-34, PO 18:592-606; 38-41, PO 18:641-58; 46, PO 18:671-76.

101. Ibid., 57, PO 19:200-206.

102. Ibid., 200. This was the chamberlain Mishael, who served in the court of Anastasius; see Severus of Antioch, Sixth Book of Select Letters 1.19 and 9.1, and further references in Brooks' footnote, Lives, 57, PO 19:200, n. 1. In Sixth Book of Select Letters, 9.1, Severus, who was patriarch in Antioch at the time, urged Mishael not to abandon his career in the court to become a solitary because the urgency of the Monophysite cause made a presence, such as his, in the palace all the more necessary. He offers high praise for the asceticism Mishael practiced while following a lay career, and he urges the chamberlain to accept his situation as one that bestows the crown of martyrdom.

96. Lives, 44, PO 18:661-68.

97. Ibid., 664.

98. Ibid., 664-65.

99. Ibid., 661.

100. Ibid., 33-34, PO 18:592-606; 38-41, PO 18:641-58; 46, PO 18:671-76.

101. Ibid., 57, PO 19:200-206.

102. Ibid., 200. This was the chamberlain Mishael, who served in the court of Anastasius; see Severus of Antioch, Sixth Book of Select Letters 1.19 and 9.1, and further references in Brooks' footnote, Lives, 57, PO 19:200, n. 1. In Sixth Book of Select Letters, 9.1, Severus, who was patriarch in Antioch at the time, urged Mishael not to abandon his career in the court to become a solitary because the urgency of the Monophysite cause made a presence, such as his, in the palace all the more necessary. He offers high praise for the asceticism Mishael practiced while following a lay career, and he urges the chamberlain to accept his situation as one that bestows the crown of martyrdom.

103. Lives, 57, PO 19:201.

104. Ibid., 205.

103. Lives, 57, PO 19:201.

104. Ibid., 205.

105. For example, John of Ephesus, HE, Fragmenta 3.5-6; and Michael the Syrian, Chronique 9.23.

106. For example, pseudo-Dionysius, Incerti auctoris chronicon, 75-76, 125

(John of Ephesus); Procopius, Anecdota 11.14-31, 28.16-18; and Michael the Syrian, Chronique 9.25, 32.

107. Lives, 33, PO 18:592-601.

108. Ibid., 600-601.

107. Lives, 33, PO 18:592-601.

108. Ibid., 600-601.

109. Frend, Rise of the Monophysite Movement , 322-23; and especially Wigram, Separation of the Monophysites, chap. 12. The conduct of the Monophysite community in Constantinople was not, of course, the direct cause of the renewed persecutions in the 570s. But their activity may have been seen to contribute to Justin II's failure to secure a religious solution by theological dialogue; certainly, the nature of their presence in the capital must have been exasperating for those who sought a pro-Chalcedonian answer.

110. On holy fools, see Rydén, "Holy Fool"; and I. Spidlik and F. Vandenbroucke, "Fous pour le Christ," Dictionnaire de Spiritualité 5, cols. 752-70. The practice of holy foolery came to prominence in the Byzantine realm with the career of the Syrian ascetic Simeon Salos in the sixth century; but its inspiration derived from the Pauline teachings, 1 Cor. 4:10-13, once again a liberalizing of symbols. The earliest appearance of a holy fool in Greek literature is in Palladius, Historia Lausiaca 39, where a nun feigning madness is revealed by divine vision as the holiest of ascetics. An elaborate Syriac version of the same story is in the "Life of Onesima," in John the Stylite, Select Narrations of Holy Women , ed. and trans. A. Smith Lewis. For an excellent analysis of the meaning of this form of ascesis, see Syrkin, ''On the Behavior.''

111. Lives, 52, PO 19:164-79. For another couple leading similar lives, see the Life of John the Almsgiver by Leontius of Neapolis, chap. 24 in Three Byzantine Saints, trans. E. A. Dawes and N. Baynes, 232-34. De Gaiffier, "Intactam sponsam relinquens," catalogs the variations on this theme; John's couple are treated at pp. 171-72. I am grateful to Professor Lennart Rydén for these references and others, and for discussing this chapter of John's Lives with me.

112. Lives, 52, PO 19:178.

113. Professor Lennart Rydén believes that this chapter is a novelette and is highly unlikely to have any basis in fact; de Gaiffier, "Intactam sponsam relinquens," takes this position and views John's account as a literary device. The general scepticism found in editor Brooks' own notes to the text indicates a similar perspective. Brooks is bothered in particular by the erratic chronology of the story. This I do not find to be a serious concern because it is a chronic problem in John's writings. Against Professor Rydén's view (and others), I must emphasize the chapter's uniqueness in the Lives if it is fictional and further point to the fool in Lives, 53, which undoubtedly reflects a genuine encounter and admittedly lacks the romantic tone of Lives, 52. Nöldeke, Sketches from Eastern History, 234-35, believes that the basic story of the Amidan couple was true, but that it simply underwent elaboration in being told twice over. I do not believe that John, for all his carelessness, would insert a full-blown fictional account into his collection. Thus, if this story should turn out to be a pious fiction, then probably it was a later interpolation.

114. Lives, 52, PO 19:172.

115. Ibid., 169.

114. Lives, 52, PO 19:172.

115. Ibid., 169.

116. See chap. 3.

117. Lives, 53, PO 19:179-85.

118. Ibid., 183.

117. Lives, 53, PO 19:179-85.

118. Ibid., 183.