Basiliscus Declares: Emperor Backs Monophysite Faith

Emperor Basiliscus issued the Enkyklikon on April 9, 475 AD, a circular letter to the bishops of the Byzantine Empire demanding their acceptance of the Monophysite position that Christ had only one nature. The theological dispute may sound arcane to modern ears, but it was the defining political crisis of the fifth-century Eastern Roman Empire, one that pitted emperors against patriarchs, cities against cities, and the state's need for religious unity against the impossibility of commanding belief. Basiliscus had seized the throne from Emperor Zeno in a palace coup in January 475, backed by a coalition that included his wife Aelia Zenonis and powerful Monophysite bishops who saw an opportunity to reverse the Council of Chalcedon's 451 declaration that Christ possessed two natures, divine and human. The Enkyklikon rejected Chalcedon explicitly and demanded that bishops sign the document or face removal from their sees. The response was explosive. Patriarch Acacius of Constantinople refused to sign and organized public demonstrations against the emperor. Daniel the Stylite, a monk who had lived atop a pillar for decades and commanded enormous public reverence, descended from his column and led a procession through Constantinople's streets condemning the decree. Two patriarchs were deposed, monks rioted, and the ecclesiastical establishment of the capital turned against the emperor. Basiliscus was forced to issue a retraction, the Anti-Enkyklikon, within months. His political base never recovered. Zeno returned from exile in August 476 and retook the throne. Basiliscus and his family were captured and exiled to Cappadocia, where they were reportedly sealed in a cistern and left to die of exposure and starvation. The entire episode demonstrated that religious policy in the Byzantine Empire was not merely spiritual. It was the most volatile tool of state power.