They advised him to give the commander a written pledge that he would comply; then, when the commander arrived, he was to reaffirm the curse the monks had already pronounced. He did so, and the monks—ten thousand in number—gathered along with Badres, Saba (1), and the heads of the monasteries. They anathematized Eutyches, Sorus, Nestorius, and anyone who refused to accept the Council of Chalcedon. The king’s envoy was alarmed by the monks, and when word reached the emperor he resolved to banish John.

The monks and bishops therefore assembled and wrote to Emperor Anastasius, declaring that they would not (2) accept the doctrine of Sorus or of any other dissenter, even if their blood were shed, and they asked him to withhold his harm from them.

The Patriarch of Rome likewise wrote to the emperor, condemning his deed and cursing him. That council, too, dispersed, and these factions hurled anathemas at one another just as we have related!

Sorus had a disciple named Jacob who adopted his teaching. He was called Jacob al-Baradaʿi, and the Jacobites are named after him; he corrupted the Christians’ creed.

Anastasius then died, and Constantine succeeded him. The new emperor restored everyone whom Anastasius had exiled to his former post. The monks gathered, produced the imperial decree, and—so they claimed—celebrated a grand festival (3), affirming the Council of Chalcedon with its six hundred and thirty bishops.

Afterwards another emperor (4) came to power. By that time the Jacobites had taken control of Alexandria and had slain their patriarch, a Melkite named Paul. When the emperor learned of this, he dispatched a commander with a great army to Alexandria. The commander entered the church wearing the patriarch’s vestments (5)