Anatolius, bishop of Constantinople, to the most holy and blessed fellow bishop, Pope Leo, greetings in the Lord.
Chapter I: Anatolius Reports Immediate Compliance With Leo’s Letters, and Expresses His Desire to Obey Leo’s Commands in All Things
I had hoped that all the comfort and support required by a life filled with labors and cares would come from your holiness — believing this would lighten my entire burden of anxieties. But a deeper anxiety presses upon me now, arising from the prolonged interruption of letters from your holiness — a break so unlike you. This is especially painful since letters you wrote to others have been shown to me, only increasing my sorrow. I yearn to receive your words more frequently, so that by obeying them, I may fulfill whatever seems pleasing to your most perfect judgment in every respect.
Far be it from me to oppose any commands you might send in your letters. Indeed, our most pious and Christian prince — who governs all human affairs with wise providence — when he read your blessedness’s letters, I immediately carried out what they contained, knowing it was your will, urged on by both the benefit of common peace and what was fitting.
Chapter II: Aetius Is Restored and Andrew Deposed; Compliance Confirmed
The most reverend presbyter of our holy Church, Aetius, has been restored to his former position and ecclesiastical honor — modestly fulfilling in response all that pertains to our bishops. Andrew, however — who was not advanced by us but honored with the dignity of archdeacon — has been separated from the Church, along with those who opposed our father and bishop of holy memory, Flavian. They had previously belonged to the most perfidious faction of Eutyches. Although they seemed to have already made satisfaction through numerous excuses and their own subscriptions appended to your holiness’s letter, this stands until whatever you deem appropriate concerning them is ordained.
Chapter III: Anatolius Awaits Leo’s Letters of Communion
Therefore, may your blessedness consider how pleasing the union of our charity will be to the Lord Christ Himself — who is our peace — and how greatly the soul of the most faithful prince will rejoice. Likewise, the entire people of God and the churches of Christ will remain free from all discord. Deign to gladden us with your letters, through which we may be perfected in that affection we already know flourishes abundantly in your most wise heart. Receiving your holiness’s letters with eagerness, we will give thanks to our Lord God Christ, who has shattered the chains of all difficulty, and offer solemn vows for your blessedness.
Chapter IV: Anatolius Denies Personal Responsibility for Canon 28, and Declares That the Confirmation of Chalcedon’s Acts Was Reserved to Leo’s Authority
Regarding what was sanctioned by the grace of the Constantinopolitan see at the recent universal synod of Chalcedon — let your blessedness know for certain that there is no fault in me — a man who has always loved leisure and quiet, keeping myself in humility from my youth. Rather, it was the most reverend clergy of the Constantinopolitan Church who pursued this matter, along with the most religious priests of these regions who were in agreement. And the full force of the acts and their confirmation was reserved entirely for the authority of your blessedness.
Let your holiness recognize this as firmly established: nothing in this affair was done by me — who have always believed I must avoid all boasting’s levity and the desire to seek what belongs to others. Both I and my people most warmly greet the entire brotherhood in Christ that is with your holiness.
And the subscription in Greek letters.
Footnotes
- ↩ The formal address — sanctissimo ac beatissimo coepiscopo papae Leoni — “to the most holy and most blessed fellow bishop, Pope Leo” — uses the title papa as the distinctive honorific of the Roman bishop. The PL apparatus notes the Greek original’s address as even more elevated. The letter was originally composed in Greek and translated into Latin, with Anatolius signing the autograph in Greek letters — indicating he was unfamiliar with the Latin script. The PL editor places the letter in approximately April 454, between Leo’s March 9 letter (CXXVIII) setting the conditions and Leo’s May 29 letter (CXXXVI) acknowledging receipt.
- ↩ The phrase ut eis obediendo impleam quaecumque placita videbantur perfectissimis sensibus vestris — “so that by obeying them, I may fulfill whatever seems pleasing to your most perfect judgment in every respect” — is Anatolius’s statement of his relationship to Leo’s commands. He does not seek Leo’s counsel to weigh it against his own judgment; he seeks Leo’s letters so that he may obey them. The language is that of a subordinate to a superior — not a collegial communication between equals.
- ↩ Nam penitus absit ut eis ego quaecumque mihi fuissent mandata adversarer — “For far be it from me to oppose in any way whatever commands might be sent to me.” The verb construction fuissent mandata is passive — the commands proceeding from Leo’s authority. Anatolius’s response is framed as an unconditional submission: “far be it from me” — the same formula of personal moral commitment Leo had used in Letter CVI (“far be it from my conscience”) when declaring his own refusal of Canon 28. Here the same formula appears in Anatolius’s mouth as the expression of unconditional obedience to Leo’s commands. The patriarch of Constantinople — bishop of the imperial capital, the see whose bishop had just spent over a year pressing claims that Leo had formally nullified — states that opposing Leo’s commands is something he would regard as morally inconceivable.
- ↩ This sentence is the formal report of compliance with Letters CXI and CXII — the directives Leo had issued to Marcian and Pulcheria in March 453, specifying the internal personnel arrangements of the Church of Constantinople. Anatolius reports that upon the emperor’s transmission of Leo’s letters, he “immediately carried out what they contained, knowing it was your will.” The motivation is explicit: not canonical obligation, not conciliar precedent, not pastoral judgment — but “your will.” The patriarch of Constantinople carried out the administrative reorganization of his own church because it was the will of the bishop of Rome.
- ↩ This is the direct confirmation of the compliance Leo had demanded in Letters CXI and CXII and set as a condition for restored communion in Letter CXXVIII. The three conditions Leo had named in CXXVIII — satisfy the canons, write a commitment to preserve all bishops’ rights with peaceful humility, signify the rejection of culpable ambition — are being addressed: Aetius is restored (satisfying the canonical injustice), Andrew is deposed (reversing the Eutychian appointment). The administrative arc that began with Leo’s directives in March 453 is confirmed complete by Anatolius’s own report in approximately April 454 — thirteen months later.
- ↩ The clause eo usque quamdiu quod vobis placitum super istis fuerit ordinatum — “until whatever pleases you regarding them shall be ordained” — places the final disposition of Andrew and his associates entirely in Leo’s hands. Anatolius has carried out the immediate directives (Aetius restored, Andrew deposed) but explicitly reserves the ultimate judgment on the deposed parties to Leo’s authority. This is a further and specific submission: not only has Anatolius complied with Leo’s administrative directives, he has reserved the judicial outcome to Leo’s further decision.
- ↩ The phrase gratia sedis Constantinopolitanae — “by the grace” or “by the favor of the Constantinopolitan see” — is Anatolius’s deliberately soft formulation for Canon 28. He does not say “what was decreed” (decretum) or “what was enacted” (constitutum); he says “what was sanctioned by the grace of the see” — a phrasing that frames Canon 28 as something obtained through favor rather than established as law, and that therefore carries the implication that it could be as easily withdrawn as granted. Whether intentional or not, this choice of words quietly concedes the point: Canon 28 was not a canonical enactment on a par with the Nicene canons but something obtained at the council by the favor of the see’s influence.
- ↩ Anatolius’s denial of personal responsibility for Canon 28 — attributing it to the clergy of Constantinople and the assembled Eastern bishops — is diplomatic in tone but significant in structure. He is not defending Canon 28 as legitimate; he is distancing himself from it as an act not of his own initiative. Whether this account is accurate is less important for the project’s purposes than what the denial itself reveals: Anatolius does not defend Canon 28 before Leo; he explains why it is not his fault. A bishop operating among peers defends his position; a bishop before a superior explains and apologizes.
- ↩ This is the most extraordinary sentence in the entire letter and one of the most significant in the Leo corpus. Anatolius — patriarch of Constantinople, bishop of the imperial capital, the see whose bishop had spent over a year pressing the very canonical claims being discussed — states explicitly that the confirmation of those acts was reserved entirely for Leo’s authority. He does not say “we awaited Rome’s agreement as a collegial courtesy.” He says the confirmation was reserved to Leo’s authority — reservata, a legal term denoting that this capacity belongs properly to another and was held in trust for that other’s exercise. This is not Leo claiming the confirmatory authority; it is Anatolius acknowledging it, in writing, in a letter addressed to Leo, after the sequence of events that produced both Chalcedon’s definition and Canon 28’s nullification. The reader should hold this sentence alongside Letter CX (Marcian withholding imperial enforcement pending Leo’s confirmation) and Letter XCVIII (Chalcedon asking Leo to “honor their judgment with his decrees”): three independent witnesses — a patriarch, an emperor, and a council — converge on the same acknowledgment.
- ↩ The PL editor’s note explains that Anatolius composed this letter in Greek and had it translated into Latin by others before sending it to Leo — signing his autograph in Greek letters since he was unfamiliar with Latin script. The Latin text is therefore the translation sent to Leo, with Anatolius’s Greek subscription appended. The editor places the letter approximately in April 454, between Leo’s March 9 letter (CXXVIII) setting the conditions and Leo’s May 29 letter (CXXXVI, to which Letter CXXXV is a companion) acknowledging receipt.
Historical Commentary