St. Hormisdas
Hormisdas · 514 – 523
Ended the thirty-five-year Acacian Schism by getting Constantinople to sign a formula affirming Roman primacy.
Hormisdas became pope in 514 and inherited the Acacian Schism, which had severed communion between Rome and Constantinople since 484. Through patient diplomacy and a favorable political shift in Constantinople, he achieved what three predecessors could not: reunion. In 519, the Eastern bishops signed the Formula of Hormisdas, which acknowledged that the Catholic faith has always been kept whole in Rome and that the pope's authority in doctrinal matters is final. Over two thousand Eastern bishops eventually signed. Hormisdas was also the father of the future Pope Silverius, making them the only confirmed father-son pair to both hold the papacy. He died in 523.
Healing a Thirty-Five-Year Break
The Acacian Schism had lasted a generation. People had grown up knowing nothing but a divided Church. Hormisdas ended it by insisting on clear terms rather than vague compromises. The formula the East signed was a strong statement of Roman primacy, and Hormisdas got over two thousand bishops to put their names to it.