Editing Pope Liberius (section)

==Pontificate==
The first recorded act of Liberius was, after a synod had been held at [[Rome]], to write to [[Roman emperor|Emperor]] [[Constantius II]], then in quarters at [[Arles]] (353–354), asking that a council might be called at [[Aquileia]] with reference to the affairs of [[Athanasius of Alexandria]], but his messenger Vincentius of Capua was compelled by the emperor at a [[conciliabulum]] held in Arles to subscribe against his will to a condemnation of the orthodox patriarch of [[Alexandria]].<ref name="ce"/>

Constantius was sympathetic to the [[Arians]], and when he could not persuade Liberius to his point of view sent the pope to a prison in Beroea.<ref name=oca>{{cite web|title=St. Liberius the Pope of Rome|url=http://oca.org/saints/lives/2015/08/27/102408-st-liberius-the-pope-of-rome|website=oca.org|publisher=Orthodox Church in America|access-date=14 April 2015}}</ref> At the end of an exile of more than two years in [[Thrace]], after which it seems he may have temporarily relented, or been set up to appear to have relented&nbsp;– partially evidenced by three letters, quite possibly forgeries, ascribed to Liberius,<ref>[http://www.christianhistoryproject.org/the-fall-of-the-western-roman-empire/athanasius/ Byfiend, Ted, ed. Darkness Descends, pg. 35]</ref> the emperor recalled him under extreme pressure from the Roman population who refused to recognize his puppet, [[Felix II]].  As the Roman See was "officially" occupied by Felix, a year passed before Liberius was sent to Rome. It was the emperor's intention that Liberius should govern the Church jointly with Felix, but on the arrival of Liberius, Felix was expelled by the Roman people. Neither Liberius nor Felix took part in the [[Council of Rimini]] (359).<ref name="ce"/>

The return of the Pope from exile was met with joy from the Roman people but it was also met with criticism. The writer Philostorgius says that the Pope Liberius was restored to papacy only after he signed the Second Creed of Sirmium, and although Sozomen claimed that this story was a lie, [[Hilary of Poitiers]] reacted by writing concerning the pope: "I know not whether it was with greater impiety that you exiled him than that you restored him" (Contra Const., II).<ref name=newadvent>{{Cite web |title=CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Pope Liberius |url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09217a.htm |access-date=16 April 2023 |website=www.newadvent.org}}</ref> Some of those writers who accept the forged letters and testimonies of Arians, Semi-arians and Luciferians, concede Pope Liberius repented later for having signed the Arian Creed at Sirmium, but that he ever signed is highly doubtful on the basis of a critical examination of the original sources.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Pope Liberius |url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09217a.htm |access-date=22 April 2024 |website=www.newadvent.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Saint Liberius, Pope of Rome |url=https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2019/08/27/102408-saint-liberius-pope-of-rome |access-date=20 April 2023 |website=www.oca.org}}</ref>

After the death of the Emperor Constantius in 361, Liberius annulled the decrees of that assembly but, with the concurrence of bishops Athanasius and [[Hilary of Poitiers]], retained the bishops who had signed and then withdrew their adherence. In 366, Liberius gave a favourable reception to a deputation of the Eastern episcopate, and admitted into his communion the more moderate of the old Arian party. He died on 24 September 366.<ref name="ce"/>

Some historians have postulated that Liberius [[papal resignation|resigned the papacy]] in 365, in order to make sense of the pontificate of Felix II, who has since been regarded as an [[antipope]].<ref name=CEAbdication>{{Cite CE1913|wstitle=Abdication}}</ref>