The Early Church and Peter's Primacy

Letter CXXXVI, from Pope Leo to Emperor Marcian

Leo, bishop, to Marcian Augustus. Chapter I: Leo Thanks Marcian; Reports That He Has Responded to Anatolius; Notes That Anatolius Attributes the Fault to Others The manifold grace of your clemency’s letters has been received by me with due reverence, and I gladly acknowledge how pious a care for the Christian religion — as is […]

Letter CXXXV, from Pope Leo to Bishop Anatolius

Leo, bishop, to Anatolius, Bishop of Constantinople. Chapter I: Anatolius’s Own Silence Separated Him From Leo’s Fellowship; Marcian Pressed the Matter to Its Fulfillment Had your charity held firm and unwavering in the care of our common grace, nothing would have arisen to cause you any anxiety. Reason did not permit me to spurn the […]

Letter CXXXII, from Bishop Anatolius of Constantinople to Pope Leo

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 […]

Letter CXXIX, from Pope Leo to Bishop Proterius of Alexandria

Leo, bishop, to Proterius, Bishop of Alexandria. Chapter I: Alexandria’s Obligation to Send Letters to the Apostolic See Grounded in the Petrine-Markan Derivation of Its Faith Your letters — delivered by our brother and fellow bishop Nestorius with devoted care — have brought me great joy. It is fitting that the leader of the Church […]

Letter CXXVIII, from Pope Leo to Emperor Marcian

Leo, bishop, to Marcian Augustus. Leo Explains His Suspended Correspondence With Anatolius and Sets the Conditions for His Full Restoration to Communion If the bishop of Constantinople were as devoted to upholding ecclesiastical rules as your clemency is vigilant in safeguarding the integrity of the evangelical faith, everything would have returned to its proper state […]

Letter CXXVII, from Pope Leo to Bishop Julian of Cos

Leo, bishop of Rome, to Julian, Bishop of Cos. Chapter I: Leo Congratulates Julian on the Palestinian Restoration and Acknowledges Proterius of Alexandria We have often confirmed the faith of the most Christian prince with evident proofs — giving thanks to our God who deigned to grant such a ruler for human affairs, one who […]

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 CXVII, from Pope Leo to Bishop Julian of Cos

Leo, bishop, to Julian, Bishop of Cos. Chapter I: Leo Confirms Sending the Formal Consent to All Chalcedonian Bishops, and Directs Julian to Press the Emperor for Broader Circulation Your letters’ text shows how vigilantly and devotedly your brotherhood strives for the Catholic faith — greatly relieving my solicitude with their instruction. The most religious […]

Letter CXV, from Pope Leo to Emperor Marcian

Leo, bishop, to Marcian Augustus. Chapter I: Leo Thanks Marcian, Explains Why a New Letter Was Necessary, and Names Anatolius’s Deliberate Concealment Your clemency’s letters give me much cause for joy — as I experience, through the great mercy of divine providence, that you deign to aid ecclesiastical peace with most pious zeal, glorious Augustus: […]

Letter CXIV, from Pope Leo to the Bishops at the Chalcedon Synod

Leo, bishop, to the bishops gathered at the holy Synod of Chalcedon. Chapter I: Leo Formally Confirms His Agreement With Chalcedon’s Faith Definition, and Explains Why He Is Writing Directly to the Bishops I have no doubt that your entire brotherhood knows that I embraced with my whole heart the definition of the holy synod […]

Letter CX, from Emperor Marcian to Pope Leo

Victors Valentinianus and Marcianus, glorious triumphators, ever Augusti, to the most holy and truly venerable Leo, Archbishop. Marcian Reports Doubt About Leo’s Confirmation of Chalcedon and Requests a Definitive Public Statement We earnestly pray with the serenity of our words that Your Beatitude prospers, requesting that you impart the favor of your prayers’ intercession for […]

Letter CVII, from Pope Leo to Bishop Julian of Cos

Leo, pope, to Julian, Bishop of Cos. Chapter I: Leo Marvels That Julian Has Interceded for Anatolius’s Illicit Claims Your charity has often demonstrated, through steadfast and resolute commitment, how faithfully you guard the sacred canons of the Nicene Fathers — judging all ecclesiastical discipline dissolved if anything should violate their holy decrees. I marvel, […]

Letter CVI, from Pope Leo to Bishop Anatolius of Constantinople

Leo, bishop, to Anatolius, bishop. Chapter I: Leo Praises Anatolius’s Recovery From Disorderly Beginnings but Reproves His Ambition With the light of evangelical truth disclosed, as We had hoped, through God’s grace, and the universal Church freed from the night of most pernicious error, We rejoice beyond all telling in the Lord that the labor […]

Letter CV, from Pope Leo to Empress Pulcheria

Leo, bishop, to Pulcheria Augusta. Chapter I: Leo Rejoices That Both Those Who Stood Firm and Those Who Were Led Astray Have Overcome the Enemy We rejoice beyond all telling in the holy and God-pleasing efforts of your clemency — defending the Catholic faith against heretics and restoring peace to the universal Church. We give […]

Letter CIV, from Pope Leo to Emperor Marcian

Leo, bishop, to Marcian Augustus. Chapter I: Leo Rejoices in the Victory of the Faith and the Utility of Error in the Church The joys of the entire Catholic Church multiplied beyond telling through God’s great mercy — its most pernicious error extinguished through the holy and glorious zeal of your clemency. With your principate’s […]

Letter CI, from Bishop Anatolius of Constantinople to Pope Leo

To the most holy and most blessed father and fellow minister, archbishop of ancient Rome, Leo: Anatolius, in the Lord, greetings. Chapter I: Anatolius Reports That the Proceedings Have Been Sent to Rome and Praises Leo’s Solicitude for the Faith The zeal of your holiness for piety, and your solicitude for the right faith — […]

Letter C, from Emperor Marcian to Pope Leo

Victors Valentinianus and Marcianus, renowned triumphators, ever Augusti, to the holy father and deservedly venerable Bishop Leo. Chapter I: Marcian Celebrates the Victory of the Faith at Chalcedon Divine and human writings agree that the Divinity must above all be venerated, and that Almighty God is propitious where religion is rightly honored. We found therefore […]

Letter XCVIII, from the Chalcedon Synod to Pope Leo

The holy, great, and universal Synod, gathered by the grace of God and the sanction of our most pious and Christ-loving emperors in Chalcedon, metropolis of the province of Bithynia, to the most holy and most blessed Leo, Archbishop of the Romans. Chapter I: The Synod Declares Leo Established as the Interpreter of the Voice […]

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: […]

The Early Church and Peter's Primacy