St. Innocent I
St. Innocent I [1]
a native of Albano, near Rome, became pope April 27, 402, as successor of Anastasius I, St. Chrysostom had just been driven from Constantinople and exiled to Bithynia in consequence of his zeal against the Arians, and of his attacks against the empress Eudoxia. Innocent I at once actively took his part, and sought to have the affair referred to a council of the joint bishops of the Eastern and Western churches. Failing in this, he next attempted an arrangement with the emperor, but his envoys were ill-treated, and accomplished nothing. ‘ St. Chrysostom died in the meantime, but Innocent resolved to cease all intercourse with Constantinople until justice was done to his memory. The Western Church was itself in a state of great disturbance; in Africa the Donatists (q.v.) were giving much trouble, and Innocent ‘ finally caused them to be condemned by the Council of Carthage (405); in Rome Vigilantius opposed the abuses introduced into the Church, such as the celibacy of the priests, the worship of images, and monastic life. At the same time Alaric was marching with the Goths against Rome: the Christians fled to their churches, and Innocent permitted the heathen to offer up sacrifices to their gods; but prayers and sacrifices proved in vain, and the pope was obliged to pay to Alaric the ransom of the city, which was nevertheless taken by the barbarians Aug. 24, 410, and sacked. It was retaken, but plundered the following year by Astolf, Alaric's brother-in- law. After the Gothshad left the neighborhood of Rome, Innocent I, who had sought refuge with the emperor at Ravenna, returned to the city, and by his efforts to restore its prosperity gained a great many heathens to the Church. He commanded that Sundays should be considered fast days as well as Fridays, enjoined celibacy on the priests, and took repressive measures against the Macedonians. His course against the Pelagians seems to have been variable. Schaff says that he commended the Africans, who had condemned Pelagianism in two synods (Carthage and Mileve, now Melas), for having addressed themselves to the Church of St. Peter to obtain an approval for their acts, but that he refrained from giving judgment. He died March 12. 417, was canonized, and ranks among the highest saints of the Roman Catholic Church. He is commemorated on July 28. His decretals are to be found in the collection of Dionysius Exiguus, and the most complete collection of his letters in Schonemann's Pontificum Romans epistole genuince. Labbe, Concil. 2, 1245-1308, gives thirty of his letters. Gennadio, in De Scriptoribus Ecclesiasticis, ch. 3, ascribes to him the Decretum occidentalium et orientalium ecclesiis adversus Pelagianos datum, published during the reign of his successor, Zozimus I. See Bruys, Hist. des Papes (1735, 5 vols. 4to), 1, 160; Labbe and Cossart, Sacrosancta Concilia (1671, 15 vols. fol.), 2, 1241-1553; Baronius, Annales, 6, 401-632; Fleury, Hist. Ecclesiastique, 5, ch. 21; Vossius, Histor. Pelag.; H. de Noris (Norisius), Histoire du Pelagianisme; Alletz, Hist. des Papes, 1, 95; Anastasius, Vitae Roman. Pontificum, 1, 275; Ciaconius, Vite et res geste Pontificum Romanorum, 1, 63; Herzog, Real- Encyklop. 6, 662; Mosheim, Ch. Hist. cent. 5, pt. 2, ch. 2; Hoefer, Nouv. Biog. G É neral É , 25, 886; Neander, History of the Christian Religion and Church, 2, 170,299,585:587; Schaff, Church History, 3:797 sq.
