A Miaphysite Network in Constantinople? The Case of Zʿura in the 530s

At the synodos endemousa of 536, alongside the deposed bishops of Constantinople (Anthimos), Antioch (Severos), and Apamea (Petros), a Syrian monk named Zʿura (Gr. Zooras) was also condemned. The Chalcedonian monks, led by Marianos, archimandrite of the Dalmatou Monastery, emphasised in their petitions the close association of Zʿura with Severos and Petros, portraying them as a triad to be anathematised. Curiously, however, in John of Ephesus’s hagiographical account, any explicit connection between Zʿura and these prominent Miaphysite leaders is difficult to discern. Was there in fact a functioning Miaphysite network between these figures in Constantinople during the 530s that the Chalcedonian monks sought to dismantle? Or should we instead ask why they deemed it expedient and necessary to group the three— or, with Anthimos, the four—together for condemnation? While several scholars have provided persuasive explanations for Zʿura’s personal downfall, particularly concerning his interactions with laypeople in the capital, the question of his alleged affiliations with other Miaphysite ecclesiastical figures remains open to further inquiry. This paper explores the issue by examining the activities of Miaphysite monks and clerics in Constantinople, the internal dynamics of the Chalcedonian camp during the same period, and the rhetorical strategies employed by Chalcedonian actors in constructing the narrative of a unified Miaphysite threat at the synodos endemousa of 536. In doing so, the paper aims to shed new light on the politics of ecclesiastical labelling and the strategic use of condemnation in shaping ecclesiastico-political landscape.