Letter XXII, from Ennodius of Pavia to Pope Symmachus
Ennodius to Pope Symmachus. Chapter I: While the Apostolic See Is Moderated by the Care of Symmachus’s Crown and the Summit of the Heavenly Empire Is Governed; Ennodius Recalls His Past Services While the Apostolic See is moderated by the care of Your Crown, and the summit of the heavenly empire is governed [by you], […]
Letter XIX, from Ennodius of Pavia to Pope Symmachus
Ennodius to the Lord Pope. The Ever-Watchful Care of the Apostolic See Attends to the Obedient as Though Face-to-Face; The Bishop’s Letters Will Reveal His Judgment on the Directed Legation The ever-watchful care of Your Beatitude attends to those who are obedient — as though they were placed face-to-face — wherever they are situated, and […]
Letter XVIII, from Ennodius of Pavia to Pope Symmachus
Ennodius to the Pope. Heavenly Providence Arranges the Usefulness of Those Who Follow; The Adversaries of the Apostolic See Have Learned by Whose Championing They Are Conquered The heavenly care arranges the usefulness of those who follow [it]: with good auspices, gifts are bestowed on those who deserve well of God. The supernal dispensation furnishes […]
Letter XVII, from King Sigismund of the Burgundians to Pope Symmachus
To Pope Symmachus. Chapter I: Sigismund Acknowledges the Sacred Relics Received Through the Deacon Julianus and Requests the Patronage of the Saints from the Apostolic Fountain While You enriched our Gaul with the spiritual reward of sacred pledges of relics through me, I do not presume to deny the petitioners; therefore it is necessary that […]
Letter IX, from Ennodius of Ticinum to Pope Symmachus
Ennodius, bishop of Ticinum, to Pope Symmachus. It is the nature of things that even a man capable in speech or thought may be blamed for presumption — because every aptness of words, when it has gone beyond the limits of humility, is trampled on; and just as the things demanded are held in value, […]
Appendix to Letter V: Acts Pertaining to the Roman Synods II, III, and IV in the Cause of Symmachus
Editor’s note: This Appendix gathers four separate documents from the procedural sequence of the 501 Roman synods that produced the Synodus Palmaris (Letter V). Thiel collected them as supplementary acts because they illuminate the framework within which that synod’s absolution of Pope Symmachus took place. The most substantively important is the bishops’ Relatio (document III), […]
Letter V, Fourth Roman Synod (Synodus Palmaris) of 23 October 501
Translator’s note: The Latin of this synodal document is, even by Thiel’s standards, unusually compressed and difficult — particularly in sections 7 through 9, where the original passes through long periodic constructions and dense ablative absolutes. Readers consulting the document for technical theological or canonical purposes should compare it against the Latin in Thiel’s edition […]
Letter V, Libellus from the Alexandrian Apocrisiarii to the Roman Legation
To the most glorious and most excellent patrician Festus, and to the venerable bishops Cresconius and Germanus, sent from the city of Rome together with his power in legation to the most clement and Christ-loving Emperor Anastasius — Dioscorus presbyter of the venerable church of Alexandria, and Chaeremon lector, serving as the apocrisiarii of the […]
Letter I, from Pope Anastasius II to the Emperor Anastasius I
Bishop Anastasius to the Most Glorious and Most Clement Son Anastasius Augustus. Exordium: The See of the Most Blessed Peter Holds in the Universal Church the Primacy Assigned to It by the Lord God At the beginning of my pontificate I bear, as my first announcement, the peace offered to the peoples. I therefore come […]
Letter CLXXIII, from Pope Leo to Certain Bishops of Egypt
Leo, bishop, to Theophilus, John, Athanasius, Abraham, Daniel, Paphnutius, Musaeus, Panulvius, and Peter, bishops of Egypt. Chapter I: Leo Rejoices With the Egyptian Bishops Over the Expulsion of Aelurus and the Election of a Worthy Successor From the letters of your brotherhood, which our sons Daniel the presbyter and Timotheus the deacon delivered, I rejoice […]
Letter CLXVII, from Pope Leo to Rusticus, Bishop of Narbonne
Leo, bishop, to Rusticus, bishop of Narbonne. Leo’s Preface: On Pastoral Perseverance, and the Method of Responding to the Inquiries I have gladly received the letters of your brotherhood, which your archdeacon Hermes delivered, and I have read them with careful attention. Having taken in the substance of your whole account and reviewed what took […]
Letter CLXV, from Pope Leo to Emperor Leo
Leo, bishop, to Leo, Augustus. Chapter I: Leo Fulfills His Promise of a Fuller Exposition of the Faith, That the Ember of Meditation May Flame Into Light I recall promising you, venerable emperor, in the matter of the faith about which I know your piety to be devoutly concerned, that a fuller account of my […]
Letter CLXII, from Pope Leo to Emperor Leo
Leo, bishop, to Leo, Augustus. Chapter I: Leo Rejoices in the Emperor’s Faith and Urges That the Chalcedonian Definition, Confirmed from the Rock on Which the City of God Is Built, Never Be Reopened My heart rejoices greatly in the Lord, and I have ample reason for gratitude, knowing that the most excellent faith of […]
Letter CLX, from Pope Leo to the Catholic Bishops and Clergy of Egypt Residing at Constantinople
Leo to his most dear brothers Nestorius, Athanasius, Paul, Peter, Theonas, Isaiah, Apollonius, Arpocras, Isidore, Isaac, Apollonius, Maximus, Marion, Poemenius, and Helpidius — bishops and Catholic clergy from Egypt residing at Constantinople. Chapter I: Leo Consoles the Exiled Clergy and Urges Patient Endurance, With Confidence in God’s Help and the Emperor’s Support The tribulation which […]
Letter CLIX, from Pope Leo to Niceta, Bishop of Aquileia
Leo, bishop, to Niceta, bishop of Aquileia, greetings. My son Adeodatus, a deacon of our see, has returned to us and reports that you asked him to obtain from us the authority of the Apostolic See on certain matters which appear to present considerable difficulty of judgment. The care that must be taken in examining […]
Letter CLVII, from Pope Leo to Anatolius, Bishop of Constantinople
Leo to Anatolius, bishop of Constantinople. Chapter I: Leo Urges Anatolius to Press the Emperor Without Ceasing for the Liberation of the Alexandrian Church Having again received the letters of your charity, I have learned with great sorrow all the things that have been done most insanely at Alexandria — though indeed no pages of […]
Letter CLVI, from Pope Leo to Emperor Leo
Leo, bishop, to Leo, Augustus. Chapter I: No Reopening of the Faith After Chalcedon — To Do So Would Be to Overthrow What the Universal Church Has Received I have received with reverence the letters of your clemency, full of the strength of faith and the light of truth — and I would wish, in […]
Letter CLI, from Pope Leo to Anatolius, Bishop of Constantinople
Leo, bishop, to Anatolius, bishop. Chapter I: Leo Acknowledges Anatolius’s Steadfastness and Commends His Diligence in Keeping Rome Informed We acknowledge with gratitude the faith and steadfastness of your charity, by which you have withstood the snares of the heretics; and therefore we exhort you with all the greater confidence to stand firm also in […]
Letter CXLVIII, from Pope Leo to Emperor Leo
Leo, bishop of Rome, to Leo, ever Augustus. Chapter I: Leo Gives Thanks for the Emperor’s Defense of Chalcedon, Learned Through the Report of Anatolius Although I have recently directed two letters to your clemency — one of which was to fulfill the duty of greeting, the other to make supplication on behalf of the […]
Letter CXLVII, from Pope Leo to Julian, Bishop of Cos, and Aetius the Presbyter
Leo to Julian, bishop, and Aetius, presbyter, equally. Chapter I: Leo Rebukes Their Silence and Reports His Petition to the Emperor Although I received a letter from your charity some time ago, I am nonetheless surprised that you allowed to pass in silence that opportunity for a reply which our brother Anatolius necessarily made use […]
