Letter XVII, from Pope Leo to the Bishops Throughout Sicily
Leo, bishop, to all the bishops established throughout Sicily. A Perpetual Decree Forbidding Bishops to Alienate Church Property; Violators to Lose Rank and Communion Specific complaints provoke Our general and provident care, moving Us to forbid by a perpetual decree what was done unjustly and wrongfully in two churches of your province. The clergy of […]
Letter XIV, from Pope Leo to Anastasius, Bishop of Thessalonica
Leo, bishop of the city of Rome, to Anastasius, bishop of Thessalonica. How great the things entrusted to your brotherhood by the authority of the most blessed Apostle Peter, and how many also committed to you by Our own favor — if you were truly to weigh these with right reason and just judgment, we […]
Letter XII, from Pope Leo to the Bishops of Mauretania Caesariensis
Leo, bishop of Rome, to all the bishops constituted throughout Mauretania Caesariensis, greetings in the Lord. Chapter I: Illicit Ordinations Through Tumult; Leo’s Solicitude Owed by Divine Institution Repeated reports brought to Us by travelers, attesting that illicit ordinations have been usurped among you, have compelled Our duty of piety to investigate the truth — […]
Letter XI, from Emperors Theodosius and Valentinian III to Aetius
Emperors Theodosius and Valentinian, Augusti, to Aetius, illustrious man, count, master of both armies, and patrician. The Primacy of the Apostolic See Is Confirmed; The Sentence Against Hilary Was Valid Without Imperial Backing It is certain that the sole defense of Our empire and Our rule lies in the favor of the supernal Divinity, to […]
Letter X, from Pope Leo to the Bishops of the Province of Vienne
Leo, bishop of Rome, to the most beloved brothers, all the bishops established throughout the province of Vienne. Chapter I: The Church Is Built on Peter’s Rock; Whoever Attempts to Infringe Its Power Acts with Impious Presumption Our Lord Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, so established the observance of the divine religion that […]
Letter VII, from Pope Leo to the Bishops Throughout Italy
Leo, to all bishops established throughout the provinces of Italy, greeting in the Lord. I. Leo Discovers and Suppresses a Manichaean Community in Rome, and Reports His Actions to the Italian Episcopate We call you into the fellowship of Our solicitude, urging you to exercise vigilant pastoral care over the flocks entrusted to you, so […]
Letter IV, from Pope Leo to the Bishops of Campania, Picenum, Etruria, and All Provinces
Leo, bishop of the city of Rome, to all bishops established throughout Campania, Picenum, Etruria, and all the provinces, greeting in the Lord. While the peaceable order of the Churches fills us with joy, we are deeply grieved whenever we learn of anything presumed or committed against the ordinances of the canons and the discipline […]
Letter VI, Fifth Roman Synod of 6 November 502 (Constitutum on the Preservation of Church Property)
Acta of the Roman Synod held in the basilica of the blessed Apostle Peter on 6 November 502, presided by Pope Symmachus. With the venerable Pope Symmachus presiding, more than seventy Italian bishops were in attendance — among them Laurentius of Milan, Petrus of Ravenna, and Eulalius of Syracuse, whose names are preserved with the […]
Letter X, from Pope Symmachus to the Emperor Anastasius
The Apologetic of Symmachus, Bishop of Rome, against Anastasius the Emperor. Chapter I: The Precedent of Ambrose’s Response to Gratian; The Christian Prince Must Patiently Hear the Apostolic Prelate’s Voice To a letter of the emperor Gratian of august memory, blessed Ambrose responded in eight books, since on behalf of the Catholic faith it did […]
Decrees of Pope Hilarius
Decrees of Pope Hilarius. Decree of Pope Hilarius According to Gratian, Which Is Not Placed Among the Earlier [Decretals]: Each Receives the Whole Body of Christ in Similar Portions Each person receives the whole body of Christ in similar portions. Where a part of the body is, there also is the whole. The same principle […]
Letter XI, from Pope Hilarius to the Bishops Judging Mamertus’s Case
Hilarus, bishop, to his most beloved brothers — Victurus, Ingenuus, Ydatius, Eustasius, Fonteius, Viventius, Eulalius, Veranus, Faustus, Auxanius, Proculus, Ausonius, Paulus, Memorialis, Coelestius, Projectus, Eutropius, Avitianus, Ursus, and Leontius. With Us most solicitous, and suspended in much expectation by those things which the recent and certain report had brought to Us, the letters of your […]
Letter VIII, from Pope Hilarius to the Bishops of Various Provinces of Gaul
Hilarus, bishop, to his most beloved brothers, the bishops of the provinces of Vienne, Lyons, Narbonensis Prima and Secunda, and the Pennine Alps. Although the extent and character of the wrongs long committed in the churches of Narbonne and Béziers are not hidden from your charity, and the improbity of presumption which has come all […]
Letter VII, from Pope Hilarius to Leontius
Hilarus, pope, to his most beloved brother Leontius. We are astonished that your brotherhood is so forgetful of the Catholic law that, as to iniquitous things done contrary to the statutes of our Fathers in the province which belongs to your metropolitan authority, — if you yourself either will not or cannot act — you […]
Letter III, from Pope Hilarius to Ascanius, Bishop of Tarraconensis
Hilarus, bishop, to his most beloved brother Ascanius. We must be mindful of the divine grace which, through the mercy of its favor, raised Us to the summit of the priestly office for this purpose: that, adhering to its commands and established as watchmen of its priesthood, We may prohibit what is illicit and teach […]
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 I, from Pope Hilarius to the Bishops of Tarraconensis – Synodal Decree
Hilarius, pope, to the bishops of Tarraconensis. Concerning the synodal decree. In the consulship of Flavius Basiliscus and Hermericus, most illustrious men. Chapter I: The Decrees of the Apostolic See, Like the Divine Constitutions, May Not Be Violated; The Fault for Transgressions Falls on the Chief Priest Since the devout assembly, gathered by the Holy […]
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 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 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 […]
