Liberatus of Carthage: Breviarium

Written by Liberatus, a Carthaginian deacon, this Breviarium is a short Latin treatise in 24 chapters dealing with Christological controversies in the East, from the preaching of Nestorius to the promulgation of Justinian's first edict against the Three Chapters (428-544). Probably composed shortly before mid 566, this narrative forms an original compendium of ecclesiastical information of great importance.Liberatus’ work is particularly notable for its unusual wealth of information. It provides knowledge that was not widely shared by his contemporaries, especially clerics or laymen in Africa. His account is nonetheless an unusual historiographical object. For Liberatus does not always consider the conciseness of his subject matter to be a primary requirement. Better still, he draws inspiration from the model of ecclesiastical histories, even quoting major documents in full (such as Zeno's Henoticon, 482) to discreetly undermine the foundations of imperial policy that aimed to condemn Theodore of Mopsuestia and certain writings by Theodoret of Cyrus and Ibas of Edessa (the so-called Three Chapters). Above all, drawing on documentation of Alexandrian and Chalcedonian origin, he offers a specific interpretation of the Cyrillian heritage and suggests a geo-ecclesiastical configuration that cannot be reduced to the vision and interests of the protagonists, even if it is the seat of Rome.