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 […]
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 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 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 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 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 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 CIII, from Pope Leo to the Bishops of Gaul
Leo, to his most beloved brothers Rusticus, Ravennium, Venerius, Constantianus, Maximus, Armentarius, and the other bishops throughout Gaul. Leo Announces the Return of His Legates and Transmits the Exemplar of the Sentence Against Dioscorus With our common vows fulfilled through God’s mercy, it is fitting that your brotherhood share in the joys of these holy […]
Letter CII, from Pope Leo to the Bishops of Gaul
Leo, bishop of the city of Rome, to Ravennium, Rusticus, Venerius, Constantianus, Maximus, Armentarius, Florus, Sabinus, Valerianus, Constantius, Maximus, Asclepius, Nectarius, Maximus, Ursus, Ingenuus, Justus, Valerius, Superventor, Chrysaphius, Fonteius, Petronius, Idatius, Ætherius, Eulalius, Eustathius, Fraternus, Victurus, Eugenius, Hilarus, Verus, Amandus, Gerontius, Proculeianus, Julianus, Helladius, Armentarius, Honoratus, Eparchius, Anemius, Dynamius, Maximinus, Ynantius, and Palladius, bishops throughout […]
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 XCIX, from Bishop Ravennium and Other Gallic Bishops to Pope Leo
To the truly holy lord, and venerable pope Leo with apostolic honor most blessed in Christ: from Ravennium, Rusticus, Venerius, Constantianus, Maximus, Armentarius, Florus, Sabinus, Valerianus, Constantius, Nectarius, Maximus, Asclepius, Maximus, Ursus, Ingenuus, Justus, Valerius, Superventor, Chrysaphius, Fonteius, Petronius, Idatius, Ætherius, Eulalius, Eustathius, Fraternus, Victurus, Eugenius, Hilarus, Verus, Amandus, Gerontius, Proculeianus, Julianus, Helladius, Armentarius, Honoratus, […]
