Antipope Dioscorus

Dioscorus (died 14 October 530) was a deacon of the Alexandrian and the Roman church from 506. In a disputed election following the death of Pope Felix IV, the majority of electors picked him to be Pope, in spite of Pope Felix's wishes that Boniface succeed him. However, Dioscurus died less than a month after the election, allowing Boniface to be consecrated Pope and Dioscurus branded an Antipope.

Originally a deacon of the Church of Alexandria, Dioscurus was forced to flee as an opponent of Monophysitism, arriving in Rome around 506 during the Laurentian schism. There, he was adopted into the ranks of the Roman clergy, and soon acquired considerable influence in the Church of Rome. Jeffrey Richards credits him with persuading king Theodoric the Great to recognize Symmachus as the rightful Pope. Later, under Pope Hormisdas, he served as papal apocrisiarius, or legate, to the court of Justinian at Constantinople, ending the Acacian schism, and was instrumental in persuading Pope Hormisdas to reject Theopaschism. During the pontificate of Felix IV he became the recognized head of the pro-Byzantine party.

Pope Felix IV wished Boniface to succeed him, partially to avoid the riots that had occurred on his own accession. Further, Richards describes him as being part of the pro-Gothic party of clergy, bishops and aristocrats, and his "principal concern, however, was to ensure that the pro-Gothic party remained in control of the papacy." During the sixth century a tradition had evolved where Popes would informally nominate their successors, but Felix went even further and issued a praeceptum formally nominating Boniface, and on his sickbed gave his pallium to him, on the condition that should Felix recover Boniface would return it. However, the Senate was outraged that it had been pre-empted from the process, and issued an edict fobidding anyone from accepting the nomination or discussing it during Pope's Felix's life, on pain of exile and confiscation of property. Richards notes that the clergy did not voice a similar outrage, "perhaps because the majority of the clergy agreed on this occasion with the senate in censuring the action of Pope Felix".

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