Your Day in the Ancient Greek World

September 7

September 7 in ancient Greece is represented in our source-audited archive by one verified record dated AD 518. The entry below connects this calendar date with its surviving historical evidence and context.

Across the centuries

On This Day

  1. AD 518

    Event That Shaped History

    Constantinople Diplomacy High

    Constantinople Moves to End the Acacian Schism

    On September 7, AD 518, Emperor Justin I, his influential nephew Justinian and Patriarch John II of Constantinople each sent communications to Pope Hormisdas in Rome as part of a renewed effort to restore church unity. The letters belong to the negotiations over the Acacian Schism, which had divided Rome and Constantinople since 484. The schism did not end on this day. Formal reunion followed in 519. September 7 marks a documented diplomatic step in the process and offers an unusually precise glimpse of Constantinople’s religious diplomacy.

    Sources

    Primary evidence

    • Collectio Avellana correspondence of Justin I, Justinian and John II to Pope Hormisdas, dated September 7, 518

    Modern scholarship

    • Bronwen Neil and Pauline Allen, Conflict and Negotiation in the Early Church, 2020
    • Brian Croke, Roman Emperors in Context: Theodosius to Justinian, 2021

    Public links