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or those of the body, then making a distinction he said thus: "Some both exist and are spoken of for some reason, others neither exist nor are spoken of, others are spoken of but do not exist, and conversely, others exist but are not spoken of; among these must be ranked also the Italians, who are not spoken of, but are liable to the charge of heresy." This emboldened the patriarch the more, but to the emperor it seemed terrible and grievous. And he immediately dissolved the hasty council, being unable to endure the words; 483 for from this the prey was scared away from the emperor, and he did not know what to say, as the man seemed to be speaking the truth out of necessity. But those around the archdeacon and the protoapostolarios, attacking like roadside wasps, stubbornly held against Bekkos, as one judging badly, although he was a learned man and thought to be wiser than the many.
13. How John Choumnos accused the chartophylax Bekkos. That day passed, and the chartophylax was hated by the emperor, who was seeking pretexts to harm him. And out of excessive anger, having put forward John Choumnos as his representative, with that man prosecuting, he held a trial. Choumnos brought the accusation before the synod, and the accused made a demurrer to the case and evaded the accusation as being overdue, saying that this was an accusation of the emperor alone, and that it was not possible for him to be judged with his master. He said these things before the synod, having stood in the very place where he previously used to sit, with Choumnos standing in the middle and accusing, and with the senatorial archons, the great logothete Akropolites, the logothete of the oikeiakoi Iatropoulos and others sitting in council with the synod and wishing to judge, as having been sent on behalf of the emperor. Then, therefore, the bishops declined the judgment, saying that they could not judge a cleric of the patriarch, unless he himself should permit it; and the patriarch would not give permission at all, but having once found a co-worker, he wished to fight for him. From this, inaction followed for both the synod and the archons, so that the great logothete, then speaking against the synod, said: "The chartophylax leads the synod by the nose, and I do not know what must be done." Thus repulsed, they returned to the emperor and reported what had happened. However, concerning himself, the chartophylax, being reserved so that he might not seem to offend the emperor, went and implored him not to be angry with him without cause; for he himself was ready both to lay aside his office and to give up all 485 access to him, but to be in communion with the church, and whatever he might do, not to refuse the emperor's favor, and this so that he might not seem to be splitting the church; and if not, but even to be sent into exile, if it were pleasing to the ruler, he was also eager for this. The emperor, however, concealing the discredit of his anger with a pretended philanthropy toward him, sent him away to his home, saying nothing. And he was preparing himself for exile and, entrusting his possessions to the treasury of the church, he provided himself with poor garments and, bringing his own people, he entrusted himself to the great church. When, therefore, matters concerning him who had fled to the church seemed to the emperor not to be accomplishable, having sent a royal letter signed in red, he summoned him with all honor. And he obeyed and, having come out immediately, went straight to the one who called, and before he appeared he was seized and given over for guarding in the tower of Anemas to the Celtic bodyguards. He, then, was in this state.
14. Concerning the tome which the emperor sent to the church. But the emperor, using the learned men around him, of whom the first and best were the archdeacon and the protoapostolarios, composed a tome and from various histories and usages presented the matters concerning the Italians as blameless and, having sent to the patriarch Arsenios Akapniou, a man venerable and honorable, but limping on both knees in the affairs of that time, "Receive,
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ἢ τὰ τοῦ σώματος, τότε διαιρῶν ἔλεγεν ὡς· «Οἱ μὲν ἐπί τινι καὶ εἰσὶ καὶ λέγονται, οἱ δὲ οὔτ' εἰσὶν οὔτε λέγονται, οἱ δὲ λέγονται μέν, οὐκ εἰσὶ δέ, οἱ δ' ἀνάπαλιν εἰσὶ μὲν, οὐ λέγονται δέ· ἐν τούτοις τακτέον καὶ Ἰταλούς, μὴ λεγομένους μέν, ἀλλ' ὄντας ἐνόχους αἱρέσει.» Τοῦτο τὸν μὲν πατριάρχην ἐθάρρυνε πλέον, βασιλεῖ δὲ δεινὸν ἔδοξε καὶ βαρύ. Λῦσε δὲ λαιψηρὴν ἀγορὴν αὐτίκα, μὴ οἷός θ' ὑπενεγκεῖν τοὺς λόγους· 483 ἀνασεσόβηται γὰρ ἐντεῦθεν ἡ θήρα τῷ βασιλεῖ, καὶ οὐκ εἶχεν ὅ τι καὶ λέξοι, ὡς ὑπ' ἀνάγκης ἀληθεύειν δοκοῦντος. Ἀλλ' οἱ ἀμφὶ τὸν ἀρχιδιάκονόν τε καὶ τὸν πρωτοαποστολάριον, δίκην σφηκῶν ὁρμήσαντες ἐνοδίων, ἐπεῖχον στερρῶς τῷ Βέκκῳ, ὡς κακῶς κρίνοντι, λογίῳ καὶ ταῦτά γε ὄντι καὶ ὑπὲρ τοὺς πολλοὺς δοκοῦντι φρονεῖν.
ιγʹ. Ὅπως ὁ Χοῦμνος Ἰωάννης κατηγόρει τοῦ χαρτοφύλακος Βέκκου. Ἡμέρα παρῆλθεν ἐκείνη, καὶ ὁ χαρτοφύλαξ τῷ βασιλεῖ ἀπηχθάνετο, αἰτίας ἐργολαβοῦντι τοῦ βλάψαι. Καὶ δι' ὑπερβολὴν ὀργῆς, τὸν Χοῦμνον προστησάμενος Ἰωάννην, ὡς παραπρεσβευτήν, ἐκείνου διώκοντος, ἔκρινεν. Εἰσάγει τε τὴν κατηγορίαν ὁ Χοῦμνος ἐπὶ συνόδου, καὶ ὁ κατηγορούμενος τὴν ὑπόθεσιν παρεγράφετο καὶ τὴν κατηγορίαν ὡς ὑπερήμερον παρεκρούετο, κατηγορίαν λέγων εἶναι ταύτην καὶ μόνου τοῦ βασιλέως, αὐτὸν δ' οὐχ οἷόν τ' εἶναι μετὰ δεσπότου κρίνεσθαι. Ταῦτ' ἔλεγεν ἐπὶ συνόδου, σταθεὶς ἐπ' αὐτοῦ τοῦ τόπου οὗ τὸ πρότερον ἐκαθέζετο, τοῦ Χούμνου μέσον ἱσταμένου καὶ κατηγοροῦντος, τῶν δὲ συγκλητικῶν ἀρχόντων, τοῦ μεγάλου λογοθέτου τοῦ Ἀκροπολίτου, τοῦ λογοθέτου τῶν οἰκειακῶν τοῦ Ἰατροπούλου καὶ ἄλλων συνεδριαζόντων τῇ συνόδῳ καὶ θελόντων κρίνειν, ὡς ἐκ προσώπου τοῦ βασιλέως πεμφθέντων. Τότε τοίνυν οἱ μὲν ἀρχιερεῖς παρῃτοῦντο τὴν κρίσιν, μὴ ἔχειν κρίνειν λέγοντες κληρικὸν πατριάρχου, εἰ μὴ αὐτὸς ἐπιτρέ ψειεν· ὁ δὲ πατριάρχης οὐδ' ὅλως ἐδίδου, ἀλλ' ἅπαξ εὑρὼν συνεργόν, ὑπερμαχεῖν ἤθελεν. Ἀπραξία δ' ἐντεῦθεν κατηκολούθει καὶ συνόδῳ καὶ ἄρχουσιν, ὡς εἰπεῖν τὸν μέγαν λογοθέτην, τότε καταφερόμενον τῆς συνόδου, ὡς· «Ἀπὸ ῥινὸς ἕλκει ὁ χαρτοφύλαξ τὴν σύνοδον, καὶ τί ποιητέον οὐκ οἶδα.» Οὕτως ἀποκρουσθέντες, ὑπέστρεφόν τε πρὸς βασιλέα καὶ ἃ συμβεβήκει ἀπήγγελλον. Περὶ μέντοι τοῦ καθ' αὑτὸν ὁ χαρτοφύλαξ ὑποστελλόμενος, ὡς μὴ δοκοίη προσκρούειν τῷ βασιλεῖ, ἀπελθὼν ἠντιβόλει μή οἱ ἀκαταιτιάτῳ μηνίειν· αὐτὸς γὰρ ἕτοιμος εἶναι καὶ ὀφφίκιον ἀποθέσθαι καὶ πᾶσαν ἀφεῖναι 485 τὴν πρὸς αὐτὸν πρόσοδον, κοινωνικὸς δ' εἶναι τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ, κἂν ὅ τι πράξοι, μὴ παραιτεῖσθαι τὴν βασιλέως χάριν, καὶ τοῦτο ὡς μὴ σχίζειν τὴν ἐκκλησίαν δοκοίη· εἰ δ' οὖν, ἀλλὰ καὶ εἰς ἐξορίαν πέμπεσθαι, εἰ θελητὸν τῷ κρατοῦντι, καὶ τοῦτ' εἶναι πρόθυμος. Ὁ μέντοι γε βασιλεύς, τὴν τῆς ὀργῆς ἀδοξίαν τῷ δῆθεν πρὸς αὐτὸν φιλανθρώπῳ συγκρύπτων, ἀπέπεμπε πρὸς τὰ οἴκοι, μηδὲν εἰπών. Ὁ δὲ καὶ εἰς ἐξορίαν προητοιμάζετο καί, τὰ αὑτοῦ τῷ σκευοφυλακίῳ τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἀνατιθείς, ἱματίων πενιχρῶν ἑαυτῷ προὐνόει καί γε τοὺς ἰδίους φέρων καὶ ἑαυτὸν τῷ μεγάλῳ ναῷ κατεπίστευεν. Ὡς γοῦν οὐκ ἀνυστὰ ἐδόκει τὰ πρὸς ἐκεῖνον τῷ βασιλεῖ, τῷ ναῷ προσφυγόντα, πέμψας βασιλικὰς συλλαβὰς ἐνσεσημασμένας τῷ ἐρυθρῷ, μεθ' ἁπάσης ἐκεῖνον μετεκαλεῖτο τιμῆς. Καὶ ὃς καθυπήκουε καί, ἐξελθὼν αὐτίκα, εὐθὺ ἄπεισι τοῦ καλοῦντος καὶ πρὶν ἐμφανισθῆναι κατέχεται καὶ εἰς φυλακὴν τὴν τοῦ Ἀνεμᾶ πύργου τοῖς Κελτοῖς σωματοφύλαξι δίδοται. Ὁ μὲν οὖν ἐν τούτοις ἦν.
ιδʹ. Τὰ περὶ τοῦ τόμου ὃν ἀπέστειλε πρὸς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν ὁ βασιλεύς. Ὁ δὲ βασιλεύς, τοῖς περὶ αὐτὸν λογίοις χρησάμενος, ὧν πρῶτοι καὶ κρά τιστοι ὁ ἀρχιδιάκονος καὶ ὁ πρωτοαποστολάριος ἦσαν, συντίθησι τόμον καὶ ἀπὸ διαφόρων ἱστοριῶν τε καὶ χρήσεων ἀκαταιτίατα τὰ κατὰ τοὺς Ἰταλοὺς παριστᾷ καί, πέμψας πρὸς τὸν πατριάρχην τὸν Ἀκαπνίου Ἀρσένιον, ἄνδρα γεραρὸν μὲν καὶ τίμιον, τὰ δέ γε κατ' ἐκεῖνα τῶν πραγμάτων ἐπ' ἀμφοτέραις χωλεύοντα ταῖς ἰγνύαις, «∆έξασθε,