Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume X.djvu/406

400 LIBERIUS LIBERTY bishop of Rome in May, 352. He received soon after his election a deputation of Arian bishops, who demanded in the name of the emperor Oonstantius the condemnation of St. Athanasius. Liberius called an assembly of bishops in Rome to hear both parties, in which it was decided to hold a plenary council of the eastern and western churches at Aquileia in northern Italy ; but this design could not be carried out till the death in 353 of the usurper Magnentius, who held the passes of the Alps. The emperor Oonstantius having spent the winter at Aries, it was resolved to hold a coun- cil there in October, 353. At this no doctrinal discussion was allowed, but all the prelates present were required, under pain of deposi- tion, banishment, and confiscation, to subscribe an imperial edict condemning Athanasius. This being deemed an implicit denial of the or- thodox faith, of which Athanasius was consid- ered to be the champion, the western bishops at first refused their assent, but finally yield- ed, it is thought partly from fear, and partly from the representations of the court party of Arian prelates that the matter was one of discipline. The papal legate, Vincentias, bish- op of Oapua, was subjected to special violence, and subscribed the edict. Paulinus of Treves and two other bishops were banished. This drew from Liberius a letter of indignant re- proof to the emperor, and another full of grief to Hosius of Cordova. He demanded of the emperor that another council should be called at Milan in 355, at which the pope was rep- resented by Eusebius, bishop of Vercelli, and the Roman deacon Hilarius. The assembly was held in the imperial palace, Oonstantius appearing to demand the condemnation of Athanasius as that of his personal enemy, and threatening with instant death all who would not comply with his will. Many yielded, Eu- sebius of Vercelli and others were exiled, and the deacon Hilarius was publicly scourged. Liberius immediately protested, and wrote an encyclical letter to the exiles. The eunuch Eusebius, the imperial chamberlain, was sent to Rome for the purpose of gaining Liberius by threats and rich presents. The latter he re- fused, and replied to the threats that he could not condemn an absent man, one especially who had been exculpated by two plenary councils. He was arrested, carried away by night, and taken to Milan. The interview be- tween him and Oonstantius is minutely rela- ted by the historian Theodoret. Liberius was given three days to deliberate ; but remaining firm, he was exiled to Beroaa in Thrace. Ho- sius of Cordova, too, was exiled to Sirmium in Lower Pannonia. The deacon Felix, by or- der of Oonstantius, was consecrated bishop of Rome, but refused to subscribe any heterodox formulary. Constantius, bent solely on making his theological creed prevail, entered Rome in April, 357. He was immediately called on by a deputation of Roman ladies, who de- manded the recall of Liberius. To this the emperor assented, adding that Felix and Li- berius should govern the Roman church to- gether. In 358 Liberius was restored to his see. In 359 he condemned the acts of the council of Rimini, and excommunicated all those who had subscribed the Arian profession of faith drawn up there. For this he was once more persecuted by Constantius, and obliged to hide himself in the catacombs. He built the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, which is called after him Liberiana. His feast is cele- brated by the Latin church on Sept. 23. Libe- rius is chiefly known in church history from the accusation brought against him by Blondel and most Protestant historians, as well as by many Roman Catholic writers of high author- ity, of having obtained his recall from exile by condemning St. Athanasius, and subscribing one of the three doctrinal formularies drawn up at Sirmium by the Arians. This contro- versy has been revived of late years in connec- tion with the council of the Vatican and the doctrine of papal infallibility. Those among Roman Catholic theologians who maintain the innocence of Liberius, endeavor to show that the two letters said to have been addressed by him to Ursacius and Valens and the eastern bishops, in condemnation of Athanasius, bear intrinsic evidence of another authorship ; that the passages of Athanasius in which mention is made of the fall of Liberius are manifestly interpolated; and that the "fragments" at- tributed to St. Hilary of Poitiers condemning this pontiff are not genuine. Moreover, they labor to prove that it is improbable or impossi- ble that Liberius should have subscribed any of the three formularies mentioned. Such is the view taken by the Bollandist Stilting, in the Acta Sanctorum for Sept. 23, and by Edouard Dumont, in the Revue des questions historiques, for July to September, 1866. See also Neander's " Church History," and Her- zog's Real-Encylclopadie. LIBERTY. I. A S. E. county of Georgia, bordering on the Atlantic, and partly bounded on the S. W. by the Altamaha river ; area, 660 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 7,688, of whom 5,260 were colored. The surface is level, and the soil fertile. The Atlantic and Gulf railroad passes through it. The chief productions in 1870 were 131,845 bushels of Indian corn, 58,096 of oats, 23,012 of peas and beans, 95,- 325 of sweet potatoes, 2,090 bales of cotton, and 1,219,430 Ibs. of rice. There were 1,078 horses, 5,026 milch cows, 10,307 other cattle, 3,073 sheep, and 14,808 swine. Capital, Hines- ville. II. A N". W. county of Florida, lying between the Ockloconee river on the E. and the Appalachicola on the W. ; area, 900 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 1,050, of whom 323 were colored. The surface is level, and the soil sandy. The chief productions in 1870 were 10.865 bushels of Indian corn, 11,675 of sweet potatoes, 120 bales of cotton, 11 hogsheads of sugar, 5,418 gallons of molasses, and 13,660 Ibs. of rice. There were 70 horses, 670 milch cows, 2,333