Damasus Made Bishop of Rome, and the Rivalry of Ursinus

While the emperor Valentinian governed in peace and interfered with no sect, Damasus took up the administration of the bishopric at Rome after Liberius. This caused a great disturbance, for the following reason. A certain Ursinus, a deacon of that church, had been put forward along with others when the election of a bishop took place. When Damasus was preferred, this Ursinus, unable to bear the disappointment of his hopes, held schismatic assemblies apart from the church, and even persuaded certain bishops of little standing to ordain him in secret. This ordination was performed not in a church but in an out-of-the-way place called the Palace of Sicine. At this, dissension broke out among the people. Their quarrel was not about any article of faith or any heresy, but simply about who should be bishop. As a result there were frequent clashes, so that many lives were lost in this struggle, and many of the clergy as well as of the laity were punished for it by Maximin, the prefect of the city. So Ursinus was forced to give up his claims for the time, and those who were inclined to follow him were brought back to order. [a]