Appendix to Letter V: Acts Pertaining to the Roman Synods II, III, and IV in the Cause of Symmachus
Editor’s note: This Appendix gathers four separate documents from the procedural sequence of the 501 Roman synods that produced the Synodus Palmaris (Letter V). Thiel collected them as supplementary acts because they illuminate the framework within which that synod’s absolution of Pope Symmachus took place. The most substantively important is the bishops’ Relatio (document III), […]
Letter VI, from Pope Anastasius II to the Bishops of Gaul
To the most beloved brothers, all the bishops established throughout Gaul, Anastasius pope. Chapter I: The Communion of Catholic Bishops; The Heresy Reported by Aeonius of Arles 1. Good and pleasant is the Davidic word: For brethren to dwell together in unity (Ps. 132:1). For although spaces of lands separate us in distance, yet by […]
Letter V, Libellus from the Alexandrian Apocrisiarii to the Roman Legation
To the most glorious and most excellent patrician Festus, and to the venerable bishops Cresconius and Germanus, sent from the city of Rome together with his power in legation to the most clement and Christ-loving Emperor Anastasius — Dioscorus presbyter of the venerable church of Alexandria, and Chaeremon lector, serving as the apocrisiarii of the […]
Letter CLXVII, from Pope Leo to Rusticus, Bishop of Narbonne
Leo, bishop, to Rusticus, bishop of Narbonne. Leo’s Preface: On Pastoral Perseverance, and the Method of Responding to the Inquiries I have gladly received the letters of your brotherhood, which your archdeacon Hermes delivered, and I have read them with careful attention. Having taken in the substance of your whole account and reviewed what took […]
Letter CLIX, from Pope Leo to Niceta, Bishop of Aquileia
Leo, bishop, to Niceta, bishop of Aquileia, greetings. My son Adeodatus, a deacon of our see, has returned to us and reports that you asked him to obtain from us the authority of the Apostolic See on certain matters which appear to present considerable difficulty of judgment. The care that must be taken in examining […]
Letter CXIX, from Pope Leo to Bishop Maximus of Antioch
Leo, bishop, to Maximus, Bishop of Antioch, through Marianus the presbyter and Olympius the deacon. Chapter I: The Catholic Faith Holds the Middle Path Between Nestorianism and Eutychianism Your letters — delivered by our sons Marianus the presbyter and Olympius the deacon — show how the sacred unity of the common faith and the tranquil […]
Letter CVIII, from Pope Leo to Bishop Theodore of Forum Julii
Leo, bishop, to Theodore, Bishop of Forum Julii. Chapter I: Bishops in Doubt Should First Consult Their Metropolitan Your solicitude should first have consulted your metropolitan on matters that required inquiry — and if he too were uncertain, then together you should have sought instruction. In causes that concern the general observance of all the […]
Letter LXXXVII, from Pope Leo to Bishop Anatolius of Constantinople
Leo, bishop, to Anatolius, bishop, the fellow bishop of Constantinople. Leo Commends Basilius and Joannes; They Carry Leo’s Testimony and Instructions for the Common Peace To decline the error’s stain — by which neither Nestorian impieties nor Eutychian blasphemy has befouled — the care of our son Basilius and Joannes the presbyters of your see’s […]
Letter LXXXV, from Pope Leo to Bishop Anatolius of Constantinople
Leo, bishop, to Anatolius, bishop. Chapter I: Legates Sent So That Nothing Is Done Sluggishly; Repentant Bishops to Receive Peace Through Satisfaction and Anathema Though I trust your charity is devoted to every good work, to make your diligence more effective I judged it necessary and fitting to send my brothers Lucentius, bishop, and Basilius, […]
Letter LXVI, from Pope Leo to the Bishops of the Province of Arles
Leo, pope, to his most beloved brothers: Constantinus, Armentarius, Audientius, Severianus, Valerianus, Ursus, Stephanus, Nectarius, Constantius, Maximus, Asclepius, Theodorus, Justus Ingenuus, Augustalis, Superventor, Ynantius, Fonteius, Palladius. Chapter I: Both Petitions Heard; Justice Must Preserve the Privileges of Both Churches From reading the letters of your beloved, delivered by our sons the presbyter Petronius and the […]
Letter LXV, from the Bishops of the Province of Arles to Pope Leo
To the most blessed lord, Pope Leo: the prayers sent by all the comprovincial bishops of the metropolis of Arles. Chapter I: The Bishops Report Ravennius’s Election and Request the Restoration of Arles’s Ancient Privileges Mindful of how much honor and reverence is always due to the most blessed Apostolic See, over which our Lord […]
Letter LVIII, from Empress Galla Placidia to Empress Pulcheria
Galla Placidia, most pious, ever Augusta — to Aelia Pulcheria, most pious, ever Augusta and daughter. The Faith Has Been Disturbed by One Man’s Will; Galla Placidia Urges Pulcheria to Move Theodosius to Command an Italian Council Knowing that to come to Rome frequently for the sight of this ancient city is for you as […]
Letter LII, from Bishop Theodoret of Cyrrhus to Pope Leo
Theodoret, Bishop of Cyrrhus, to Leo, Bishop of Rome. Chapter I: It Is Fitting That the Apostolic See Hold First Place in All Things; Peter and Paul’s Tombs Have Made It the Apex of All Good If Paul, the herald of the truth, the trumpet of the Holy Spirit, betook himself to the great Peter […]
Letter XLIV, from Pope Leo and the Roman Synod to Emperor Theodosius
Leo, bishop, and the holy synod convened in the city of Rome, to Emperor Theodosius. Chapter I: The Ephesine Pseudo-Synod Favored Private Enmities and Disrupted the Church; Apostolic Letters Were Rejected; Actions Were Coerced; Hilarius Barely Escaped; The Synod Is Never to Be Accepted by the Apostolic See From your clemency’s letters, sent to the […]
Letter XLIII, from Pope Leo to Emperor Theodosius
Leo, bishop, to the most glorious and clement Emperor Theodosius. Chapter I: Leo Complains of the Ephesine Robbery From the beginning, in councils held, we have received such confidence from the blessed Peter, Prince of the Apostles, that we have authority to defend the truth for our peace, so none may disturb it, fortified as […]
Letter XXXIII, from Pope Leo to the Second Synod of Ephesus
Leo, bishop, to the holy synod convened at Ephesus. Chapter I: The Emperor Brings to Bear the Authority of the Apostolic See; The Faith of the Incarnation Proven from Peter’s Confession The devout faith of the most clement emperor, knowing it to pertain principally to his glory that no seed of error should rise within […]
Letter XXIX, from Pope Leo to Emperor Theodosius
Leo, bishop of the Catholic Church of the city of Rome, to the most religious and pious emperor Theodosius. The solicitude of Your Clemency, moved by the inspiration of God’s Spirit, shows how divine providence deigns to govern human affairs — desiring that nothing unpeaceful or divergent exist in the Catholic Church, since faith, being […]
Letter XXVI, from Flavian to Pope Leo
Flavian, bishop of Constantinople, to the most holy and most blessed father and fellow minister, Leo, greetings in the Lord. Nothing is more precious to priests, as Your Holiness knows, than piety and the right distribution of the word of truth. All our hope, our salvation, and the reward of the promised goods depend on […]
Letter XXIV, from Pope Leo to Emperor Theodosius
Leo, bishop, to Theodosius Augustus. Chapter I: The Emperor’s Praise; Eutyches’s Complaint to the Apostolic See From the letters which your clemency has sent to Us, the Lord’s provision for His Church through your faith shines forth; and We rejoice that you possess not only royal but truly priestly zeal. Beyond the imperial and public […]
Letter XXIII, from Pope Leo to Flavian, Bishop of Constantinople
Leo, bishop, to the most beloved brother Flavian. Chapter I: Flavian’s Silence Is Reproved; Flavian Should Have Reported to Rome First The most Christian and clement emperor, zealous for the peace of the Catholic Church with holy and praiseworthy faith, sent us letters about the disturbances that have arisen among you. We marvel that your […]
