7 III: Philippe Blaudeau (Université d’Angers): Seeking to re-establish contact in the midst of the Acacian schism. Study of an attempt to renew contact between the sees of Alexandria and Rome under imperial auspices in 497

The collectio Avellana is an exceptional collection of documents, consisting of 244, or rather 243, papal and imperial documents, mostly letters, dating from the schism of Ursinus, under the pontificate of Damasus (366), to the constitutum of Vigilus (553). It has the remarkable feature of providing us with 200 otherwise unknown texts. Among them is a libellus of particular interest (n°102). Little studied for its own sake, no doubt because it was hardly ever acted upon, it nevertheless bears witness to a precise and well-argued geo-ecclesiological awareness. Composed by the Apocrisaries of the See of Alexandria (Dioscorus and Chaeremon) and probably dated 497, this text expresses a desire to renew ties with Rome during the Acacian schism, which began in 484. It is part of a large-scale undertaking, supported by the emperor, in which the Church of Thessalonica is also involved, while the patriarch of Constantinople is prevented from intervening. Thus, through a complex interplay of influences, this libellus, soon translated into Latin by Dionysius Exiguus, provides a remarkable illustration of the modes of dialogue between the East and the West, at a time when their ecclesiastical and political histories diverge considerably.