Letter X, from Pope Simplicius to Emperor Zeno
Simplicius, bishop, to Zeno Augustus. Simplicius Gives Thanks for the Restoration of the Alexandrian Church and Claims Special Joy as the One Who Bears the Care of All the Churches Through Peter, the distinguished count of the most noble lady Pacidia, the glory of your triumphant reign in the Lord is magnified, long since, with […]
Letter VII, from Pope St. Simplicius to the Presbyters and Archimandrites of Constantinople
Simplicius, bishop, to the presbyters and archimandrites established at Constantinople. Simplicius Commends the Constantinople Clergy and Monks for Their Faithful Refusal, and Confirms That the Apostolic See, the Councils, and the Teaching of Leo Have Settled the Matter Having received the letters of Your Charity through Our son, the praiseworthy man Epiphanius, later than you […]
Epistle or Treatise of Pope Felix III — Refuting the Arguments Made for Acacius
Epistle or Treatise of Pope Felix III, which refutes what was brought forward for Acacius, and shows him to have been justly and rightly condemned, and only to be restorable by canonical means. Chapter I: The Historical Precedents — Athanasius, Flavian, and John Chrysostom Show That the Apostolic See’s Sole Judgment Suffices to Bind and […]
Letter I, from Pope Simplicius to Zeno, Bishop of Hispalis [Seville]
To the most beloved brother Zeno, Simplicius. Simplicius Delegates to Zeno of Hispalis the Vicarious Authority of the Apostolic See for the Churches of Spain We have learned through the report of many that Your Charity, by the fervor of the Holy Spirit, so stands as governor of the Church that, with God as author, […]
Letter Fragment, from Pope Felix III to Andreas, Bishop of Thessalonica
Felix to Andreas, bishop of Thessalonica. Felix Embraces the Desire for Communion but Requires Firmness on Every Side Since We desire that full reintegration with the Catholic faith be confirmed, We gladly embrace the solicitude of your love, by which you desire to come to the communion of the See of blessed Peter; but We […]
Letter XV, from Pope Felix III to Vetranio, Bishop
Felix to Vetranio, bishop. Chapter I: Vetranio’s Reputation and Access to the Emperor Since We desire the unity of the Church to be strengthened by full reintegration, We have learned through the report of many that your love abounds in excellent character by divine grace, and is sustained by the familiarity of Our son the […]
Letter XIV: from Pope Felix III to Thalassius, Archimandrite of Constantinople
Felix to Thalasius. Chapter I: Even If the Names Are Removed, Communion Is Not to Be Restored Without Rome’s Authorization After the letters made, which We sent to your love to be delivered through Our sons, men of religious purpose, lest a more diligent care should provide less than enough for the keeping of the […]
Letter X, from Pope Felix III to the Clergy and People of Constantinople
Felix, to the orthodox clergy and people established at Constantinople, most beloved sons, greeting. Chapter I: The Faithful Constantinopolitans Troubled by the Legates’ Prevarication We not unreasonably suppose that the firmness of your faith, proven to all, has been disturbed by the prevarication of Vitalis and Misenus — who, by not only neglecting but even […]
Acts of the Second Roman Council under Pope Gelasius I (13 May 495), at which Misenus of Cumae was Absolved
The Second Roman Council, in which Misenus is absolved by Gelasius and fifty-five bishops, in the year of the Lord 495, on the third day before the Ides of May. Convocation With Pope Gelasius, a man worthy of veneration, presiding in the synod, together with Bonifacius, Maximinus, Epiphanius, Basilius, Vitalis, Clarus, Irenæus, Decius, Asellus, Euplus, […]
The Decretum Gelasianum: The Council of Rome (494) on the Books to Be Received and Not Received by the Catholic Church
Some Concerning the Councils Celebrated under Gelasius — The First Roman Council, in which by seventy bishops the sacred and authentic books were distinguished from the apocrypha, under Gelasius, in the year of the Lord 494, in the consulship of Asterius and Praesidius. Editorial Preface — On the Council’s Purpose (Severinus Binius) The note that […]
The Constituta of Pope Gelasius I, Which the Bishops Receive at Their Ordination
The Constituta of Pope Gelasius, which the bishops receive at their ordination; in which, among other matters, the ordinations of Africans are prohibited — taken from the Diurnum Pontificum and from other manuscript codices worthy of trust. Pope [name], to the clergy, order, and people residing in [name of city], dearly beloved sons, greetings in […]
Two Decrees of Pope Gelasius from the Letter to the Bishops of Dardania
Two decrees, taken from the letter to the bishops of Dardania. Decree the First: Things Possessed Quietly for Thirty Years Cannot Be Reclaimed After five hundred years, I hear that certain persons wish to overturn the institutions of Christ — when the human law of thirty years cannot be broken. Decree the Second: We Ought […]
The Tome of Pope Gelasius On the Bond of Anathema
The Tome of Pope Gelasius On the Bond of Anathema. That the Acts of the Council of Chalcedon are valid only to the extent that the Apostolic See has approved them; that the things established against Acacius are just; and that Peter of Alexandria could only have been absolved by the Apostolic See. Chapter I: […]
Letter XV, from Pope Gelasius to the Eastern Bishops
To His Most Beloved Brothers, All the Eastern Bishops, Gelasius. Chapter I: The Eastern Bishops Should Have Recognized Petrus the Antiochene as Heretic and Refused His Communion What then about these wise men, with their sharp minds searching out the inner workings of all religion, established in the parts of the East — if they […]
Letter XIV (Tractatus IV), of Pope Gelasius — Setting Forth What Should Be Answered Against the Greeks
Letter XIV, or Tractatus, of Pope Gelasius. In Which He Sets Forth Examples From the Letters of Pope Simplicius and Pope Felix [Showing] That They Had Long Since Recognized — or Had Been Seen to Judge — the Impiety of Timothy Aelurus and Peter of Alexandria. Afterward He Continues in His Own Words, Instructing What […]
Letter IV, from Pope Felix III to Peter the Fuller
To the Same. Peter the Fuller Is Deposed and Anathematized. Chapter I: The Indictment — Peter’s Novelty in Ignatius’s See; His Refusal of the Fathers and of Rome’s Letters Because you have chattered impiously with unbearable words, and have not judged it fitting to yield to the aforesaid holy Fathers who adorned the see of […]
Letter XIII (Forma Brevior), from Pope Gelasius to the Bishops of Dardania
To His Most Beloved Brothers, the Bishops Established Throughout Dardania, Gelasius. This Letter Exists in Two Recensions The text printed below is the forma brevior — the shorter recension — of Letter XIII to the bishops of Dardania. Apart from those points where the shorter form preserves a sharper formulation than the long, the substance […]
Letter XIII, from Pope Gelasius to the Bishops of Dardania
Gelasius, bishop of the city of Rome, to the [bishops of] Dardania. Chapter I: The Astonishment at the Question; The Eutychian Communicators Have Nothing to Say We are greatly astonished that your dilection desires to know — as though it were a new and, as it were, a difficult question, and still as though it […]
Letter IX, from Pope Gelasius to the Bishops of Lucania, Bruttium, and Sicily
To his most beloved brothers, all the bishops appointed throughout Lucania, Bruttium, and Sicily: Gelasius. Chapter I: The Necessity of the Times Requires the Apostolic See to Moderate the Ancient Canons, Yet Without Altogether Departing from Them By necessary disposition of affairs We are bound, and by the moderating authority of the Apostolic See We […]
Letter VIII To the Emperor Anastasius
Gelasius, bishop, to Anastasius Augustus. Gelasius Explains Why He Had Not Written, and Declares Himself Bound by the Duty of Preaching as Vicar of the Apostolic See Your Piety’s servants, my sons — Faustus the master, and Irenaeus, illustrious men, together with their companions fulfilling their public legation — upon returning to the City, said […]
