of three years did not suffice, in the eyes of the other legates, to prevail over the ancient possession, and they declared that the Bulgarian church should be under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Ignatius was of the same opinion ; but the Roman legates said that the holy see of Rome had not chosen them for judges. "He only," they added, "has the right to judge the whole Church. He despises your opinion as readily as you give it lightly." As long as the condemnation of Photius was the question, that opinion had been of far greater value in their eyes. They annulled the judgment that had been rendered, and begged Ignatius not to despise the rights of the holy see, which had restored him to his. The Emperor was angry at the pretensions of the legates. They soon left, and were robbed on the way by the Sclavonians, who took from them the authentic acts of the council.
In consequence of the decision of the Eastern legates, the Bulgarians dismissed the bishop and priests who had been sent by Rome to them, and received a Greek bishop and priests. Adrian learning this, wrote to the Emperor of the East, threatening Ignatius and the bishops he had sent to Bulgaria with excommunication.
There is extant only a fragment of a letter from Adrian II. to Ignatius. He speaks to him as a superior to an inferior; accuses him of violating the canons as they obtained at Rome; and tells him, in threatening language, that a similar course had occasioned the fall of Photius.
Such letters make it very evident that Rome had pursued the reïnstalment of Ignatius, not for the sake of justice, but to find occasion to do an act of sovereignty in the East. A careful reading of these documents leaves no doubt in this respect. Ignatius, in the eyes of the Pope, was as guilty as Photius, the moment be refused to submit to this sovereignty.
