The Early Church and Peter's Primacy

Letter II, from Pope Hilarius to Ascanius and the Bishops of Tarraconensis

Hilarus, bishop, to Ascanius and all the bishops of the province of Tarraconensis. After We received the letters of your charity, in which you sought to curb the presumptions of Bishop Silvanus of the Church of Calaguris, and again asked that the wholly illicit desires of the people of Barcinona be confirmed: letters were also […]

Letter XV, from Pope Gelasius to Rusticus, Bishop of Lyon

Pope Gelasius narrates what assistance he has received from Rusticus, bishop of Lyon, and how great the persecutions are which he sustains from Acacius. From the papers of the Reverend Father Hieronymus Vignerius. To his most beloved brother Rusticus, Gelasius. Amid the whirlwinds of impending evils and the afflictions of various trials by which we […]

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 Tractate of Pope Gelasius Against the Pelagian Heresy

Pope Gelasius I, Against the Pelagian Heresy. He demonstrates that man does not live without sin, and [explains] the apostle’s saying that “the unbelieving husband is sanctified through the believing wife” (1 Cor. 7), etc., and declares the mystery of the resurrection. Chapter I: That the Pelagian Heresy Has Been Justly Condemned by Our Forebears […]

The Tractate of Pope Gelasius Against Andromachus

Pope Gelasius I, Against Andromachus the Senator and the Other Romans Who Resolved to Practice the Lupercalia According to the Old Custom. He condemns the superstitious celebration of the Lupercalia, and proves that the misfortunes of Rome have come about not from the discontinuance of the Lupercalia, but from her own crimes. Chapter I: That […]

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