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 triumphs. I report that my brothers, who presided at the Eastern synod in My stead, have returned — confirming the Catholic faith and glorifying the triumph of apostolic preaching — even those who had been led astray or compelled to deviate now rejoice at receiving the light of truth. For all the Lord’s priests, taught by the Holy Spirit, have agreed in one judgment; and concerning the mystery of the Lord’s Incarnation, in which the understanding of many had grown dark, the darkness of error has been so dispelled that in our one Lord, true Son of God and Son of man, there is no longer any doubt either about the human nature or about the divine essence. What sentence has been pronounced against the impious authors of detestable error — who judged themselves unworthy of God’s grace and refused to use the remedies of correction — the exemplars which We have sent will make known, so that your charity may recognize, most beloved brothers, that divine judgment was not absent from this holy scrutiny: rendering punishment to the obdurate and peace to those corrected. May the Lord keep you safe, most beloved brothers.
Exemplar of the Sentence
Paschasinus, bishop of Lilybaeum, Lucentius, bishop of Asculum, and Bonifacius, presbyter of the Church of the great city of Rome — vicars of the most holy and most blessed Pope Leo, bishop of the Apostolic See — declared: It is evident what Dioscorus, bishop of Alexandria, has committed against canonical discipline and ecclesiastical rules through illicit presumption, as both past proceedings and present testimony have made clear. Passing over much else, he is known to have received into the grace of communion Eutyches — partner in his own perfidy, justly condemned by his own bishop of holy memory Flavian — before sitting with the bishops assembled in the city of Ephesus. To those others, however, the Apostolic See granted pardon — since their actions, though contrary to their intent, stand approved — provided they now adhere to the most blessed Pope and to the holy and universal council, for which reason they have received the medicine of holy communion. But Dioscorus, who takes pride in persisting in evil — though he ought to bow with humble groans to the ground, as is fitting — refused to allow the letter of the most blessed Pope to Flavian, bishop of Christ of venerable memory, to be read; and, though asked by its bearers to permit it to be read, he scorned to fulfill the satisfaction he had promised, compounding the impiety of his perverse doctrine and becoming the cause of injury and scandal to all the Churches.
We wished nonetheless to show indulgence for these crimes and graciously to extend to him the pardon granted to the other bishops — since they are not found to have had a similar boldness in judgment. But the petition of the accusers was added, filled with various charges; and, summoned three times by our most reverend brothers and fellow bishops with canonical admonition, he refused to appear, detained by the secret witness of his own conscience. By receiving under an unjust usurpation the bishops condemned by their provincial synod — to which they were subject — he provoked against himself the sentence of condemnation, and repeatedly trampled the statutes of the ancient Fathers.
Therefore, the holy and most blessed Pope Leo, head of the universal Church — endowed with the dignity of the Apostle Peter, who is called the foundation and rock of faith of the Church and keeper of the gate of the heavenly kingdom — through us his vicars, with the holy synod consenting, has stripped him of episcopal dignity and made him a stranger to every priestly function. It remains for the venerable synod assembled to pronounce a canonical sentence against the said Dioscorus, as justice demands.
Footnotes
- ↩ The phrase vice mea Orientali synodo praesederunt — “who presided at the Eastern synod in My stead” — carries the same presidency language Leo directed to the council in Letter XCIII and to the legates in Letters XCII and XCIV. The legates were not delegates who represented Leo’s interests; they were the vehicles of his personal presidency. This phrase, reported as accomplished fact to the Gallic bishops, confirms that the presidency claim was not merely aspirational but was exercised and received as such.
- ↩ This sentence — the formal pronouncement of condemnation against Dioscorus, read at Chalcedon by Leo’s legates and transmitted here to the Western churches — is the most concentrated expression of Petrine succession in the entire Leo corpus, and the terms it uses deserve careful attention. Leo is identified as (1) papa caput universalis Ecclesiae — “Pope, head of the universal Church”; (2) Petri apostoli praeditus dignitate — “endowed with the dignity of the Apostle Peter”; (3) the one who holds the office of him qui Ecclesiae fundamen et petra fidei, caelestis regni janitor nuncupatur — “who is called the foundation and rock of faith of the Church, and keeper of the gate of the heavenly kingdom.” The biblical references are unmistakable: the rock of Matthew 16:18, the keys of Matthew 16:19. But the sentence does not present these as Leo’s personal claims; it presents them as the recognized identity of the office Leo holds. The legates act per nos vicarios suos — “through us his vicars” — and the holy synod’s role is consentiente — “consenting.” The synod consents to what Leo’s vicars pronounce; the act originates in Leo’s office and is confirmed by the council’s assent, not co-originated by the council. The sentence is a judicial act, not a conciliar deliberation.
Historical Commentary