Letter XV, from Pope Leo to Turribius, Bishop of Astorga
Leo, bishop, to Turribius, bishop, greetings. How laudably you are moved for the truth of the Catholic faith, and how carefully you expend your pastoral office’s devotion to the Lord’s flock — your brotherhood’s writings, delivered to us by your deacon, have fully shown Us, revealing to Our notice what you have taken care to […]
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 XIII, from Pope Leo to the Metropolitan Bishops of Illyricum
Leo, to the most beloved brothers Senecio, Carosus, Theodulus, Lucus, Antiochus, and Vigilantius, metropolitans established throughout the provinces of Illyricum. Chapter I: Leo’s Solicitude for the Churches; The Illyrian Churches Belong to the Care of Anastasius We receive with a grateful heart the testimony of your letters that Our writings — sent out of solicitude […]
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 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 VI, from Pope Leo to Anastasius, Bishop of Thessalonica
Leo to our most beloved brother Anastasius. I. Leo Explains the Purpose of Fraternal Correspondence and the Duty of Pastoral Vigilance The charity of our fraternal fellowship makes us receive all priests’ letters with a grateful heart, embracing through the grace of the Spirit those with whom we are united by mutual correspondence. Yet our […]
Letter V, from Pope Leo to the Metropolitan Bishops of Illyricum
Leo to the most beloved brother bishops established as metropolitans throughout Illyricum. I. Illicit Attempts Against the Canons Must Be Prudently Forestalled Before They Are Made Every salutary admonition that we believe comes with the Lord’s inspiration benefits both the one who gives it and the one who receives it — and so we undertake […]
Letter XVI, from Pope Symmachus to Caesarius, Bishop of Arles
Symmachus to the most beloved brother Caesarius. Chapter I: Symmachus Confirms the Privileges of the Church of Arles and Grants Caesarius Vicariate Authority over the Gallican and Hispanic Regions, Reserving Matters of Higher Difficulty to the Apostolic See He who guards the venerable statutes of the fathers shows himself a friend of religion in its […]
Letter XIV, from Pope Symmachus to the Bishops of Gaul
Symmachus to the most beloved brothers, all the bishops established throughout Gaul. Chapter I: The Apostolic See’s Established Institutions Urge Roman Solicitude for the Universal Church; Caesarius Has Appeared at the Threshold of the Church of the Blessed Apostle Peter Seeking Renewal of Privileges The established institutions of the Apostolic See urge Us to proclaim […]
Letter XIII, from Pope Symmachus to the Bishops of Illyricum, Dardania, and the Two Dacias
Symmachus to the most beloved brothers, all the bishops, presbyters, deacons, archimandrites, and the whole order and people throughout Illyricum, Dardania, and the two Dacias. Chapter I: The Time for Speech, Not Silence; The Bishops Are Reminded of What They Themselves Teach We desire that this be done in full, if what We write is […]
Letter XII, from the Eastern Bishops to Pope Symmachus
The Eastern Church to Symmachus, Bishop of Rome. Chapter I: Christ the Good Shepherd Seeks the Lost Sheep; The Chair of the Prince of the Apostles Christ Entrusted to Your Beatitude That good Lord and lover of mankind, our Lord Jesus Christ, who out of His kindness toward us bowed the heavens and descended to […]
Letter XV, from Pope Symmachus to Caesarius, Bishop of Arles
Symmachus to the most beloved brother Caesarius. Chapter Headings (As Preserved in the Hispanic Collection) Introduction: Caesarius’s Petition Asks That Established Canons Be Reaffirmed by the Apostolic See The fairness of your petition urges Us to consent gladly to the desire of Your Brotherhood, because in each particular you petition that this be granted by […]
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 VI, from Pope Hilarius to Leontius
Hilarus, pope, to his most beloved brother Leontius. To Our affection — which abounds toward the Gallican Churches and all the Lord’s priests in them, even those placed in the lower ranks — much increase has been added by the fact that the content of your address was delivered to Us through the illustrious man […]
Letter V, from Pope Hilarius to Leontius, Bishop of Arles
Hilarus, bishop, to his most beloved brother Leontius. How much reverence — in the Spirit of God, who indwells the priests subject to Him — is owed to the blessed Apostle Peter and to his See, I judge to be known to all who hold the incorrupt guardianship of paternal traditions. Since therefore We wish […]
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, […]
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 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 […]
