Justin the Augustus to Pope Hormisdas

With the same zeal with which we have always sought to bring about agreement among those who honor the Catholic faith, so that all may worship the indivisible Trinity with one heart, we have made it clear that we now send our envoy, Gratus, a distinguished master of the sacred palace, to your blessedness for this very purpose — so that a solution may finally be found for the discord among those of various opinions. We have now also received with eager and willing affection the most religious men whom your Apostolic See has considered worthy to send as intercessors for unity. Indeed, we have welcomed them with joyful eyes as if they were the embodiment of peace itself and embraced them with open arms.

Furthermore, we have taken every measure to ensure that the venerable Church of Constantinople, as well as many others, accepts your desires, not only in other matters but also in removing from the sacred diptychs those names that you have especially demanded be removed. However, some cities and Churches, both in Pontus and Asia, particularly in the East, have resisted all threats and persuasions and refuse to remove or repudiate the names of bishops whose reputations have flourished among them. They consider life worse than death if they are to condemn the dead whose lives they celebrated while they were still among them.

What then are we to do with this kind of obstinacy, which does not listen to reason and despises torments so greatly that it considers it an honor and a pleasure to die before abandoning its religious principles? To us, it seems necessary to act more gently and mercifully, for if such gentleness cannot be found in your holiness, it will certainly not be found elsewhere. We have neither taken up this issue with a thirst for blood or punishment (even to say such a thing is grievous), nor have we left the long-sought desire for concord incomplete by any perverse distinctions, but rather we strive to extend the union of the Church’s members as far as we can. So, which will be better? To have the multitude of these people added to us by offering some concessions, or to correct major issues by conceding smaller ones, so that what could not be achieved in every respect may at least be attained in the most necessary parts?

Thus, we ask for leniency concerning the names, not those of Acacius, the two Peters, Dioscorus, or Timothy, whose names were included in the letter you sent to us, but those whose memory is revered in the episcopal cities. This exception does not apply to cities where your blessedness’s letter has already been fully accepted unless your kindness should decide that this part also requires a milder approach. However, it does not lack the judgment of the Apostolic See that it should be considered an act of clemency rather than an already settled and carefully examined decision.

Anastasius, of blessed memory, openly and clearly established your preeminence in the Church when he wrote on the same matter to our predecessor, stating that it would be sufficient for those seeking peace if only Acacius’s name were omitted. Thus, he follows the earlier decrees of your See, which do not judge all memories of the dead to be contemptible, so it would be considered unworthy and inappropriate if your gentleness towards not only the deceased but also the living were not known throughout the ends of the earth. We have no doubt that this will be so pleasing to you that the world will be gladdened at once by a peaceful response.

Your holiness recalls what we wrote earlier, that we received petitions from the East, which contain their intentions and decisions, in which they firmly state that they will remain steadfast in their stance and believe they should not abandon it under any circumstances. Therefore, we believed it right to send this petition through John, a most reverend bishop, as we promised, so that the contents of this document, if admitted by your See, may help bring together the venerable Churches everywhere, especially the Church of Jerusalem, which all hold in favor as the mother of the Christian name, so that no one dares to separate themselves from it. Therefore, it is fitting that your holiness declares a favorable consent by a letter as well so that, when it is known and made clear to all that the contents of this petition have also been praised and firmly maintained by you, the world will be happier.

Given on the Ides of September in Chalcedon, in the consulship of the illustrious Rusticus. Received on the day before the Kalends of December, in the same consulship (in the year of our Lord 520).