To his most beloved brothers, all the Catholic bishops established throughout Gaul and Spain, Leo, bishop of Rome.
The Apostolic See’s Solicitude Provides the Uniform Paschal Date; Leo Directs Its Observance Throughout Gaul and Spain
Since in carrying out all the rules of God’s precepts sacerdotal observance must be concordant, it is above all things for Us and principally to provide that in the day of the Paschal feast no sin of diversity arise through either ignorance or presumption. And since the most sacred solemnity has its appointed limits so disposed that the saving mystery must be celebrated now earlier, now later, the solicitude of the Apostolic See does not cease to watch lest ecclesiastical devotion be thrown into confusion by any uncertainty.
When in certain annotations of the Fathers the coming Pascha of the Lord was found by some assigned to the fifteenth day before the Kalends of May, and by others to the eighth day before the same Kalends, this diversity moved me so greatly that I opened the concern of my mind to the most clement prince Marcian — so that, at his command, those who have expertise in this computation might inquire more diligently and determine on which day the venerable solemnity could more rightly be celebrated. And when he replied, the eighth day before the Kalends of May was established as the day.
Since therefore, from zeal for unity and peace, I preferred to acquiesce in the Eastern determination rather than to dissent in the observance of so great a feast, let your brotherhood know that the Resurrection of the Lord is to be celebrated by all on the eighth day before the Kalends of May — and that this same determination is to be made known through you to the other brothers: so that as we are joined by one faith in the fellowship of divine peace, we may keep festival with one solemnity.
May God keep you safe, most beloved brothers. Dated after the consulship of Opilio, the fifth day before the Kalends of August.
In the consulship of Valentinianus VIII and Anthemius: Pascha on the eighth day before the Kalends of May.
Footnotes
- ↩ The phrase maxime nobis et principaliter providendum est — “above all things it is for Us and principally to provide” — is one of the most concentrated expressions of the Roman bishop’s universal responsibility in the entire corpus. Leo uses principaliter — the same adverb that appears in Letter X to describe how the Lord “principally placed” the mystery of the universal mission in Peter — here applied to his own office’s duty of universal provision. The papal “Us” (*nobis*) names the subject: it is principally Leo’s responsibility to ensure that no diversity of ignorance or presumption contaminates the observance of the Paschal feast. The sentence is the theological premise of the entire letter: the Apostolic See issues the general Paschal directive because it is principally the Apostolic See’s duty to do so.
- ↩ The phrase non desinit apostolicae sedis sollicitudo prospicere — “the solicitude of the Apostolic See does not cease to watch/provide” — applies the defining sollicitudo formula to the Paschal computation. The Apostolic See’s universal solicitude extends to the calendar: it watches without ceasing to ensure that ecclesiastical devotion is not disturbed by any uncertainty. The verb prospicere — “to watch ahead, to provide, to look out for” — names the active, ongoing, preventive character of this solicitude. It is not reactive; it does not wait for diversity to appear and then correct it; it watches in advance to prevent uncertainty from arising.
- ↩ Leo is here issuing a general Paschal directive to all the Catholic bishops of Gaul and Spain, directing them both to observe the date and to transmit it to the Spanish churches. The chain is: Marcian presses the Alexandrian inquiry → the Egyptian calculators determine the date → Leo receives it, gives his consent, and issues the general determination → the Gallic bishops transmit it to Spain. The Apostolic See stands between Alexandria’s calculation and the Western church’s observance, exactly as Leo had described in Letter CXXI. The Gallic bishops receive the directive from Rome and become its instruments of transmission — not independent agents determining the feast for their own provinces.
- ↩ July 28, 454. The year is established by “post consulatum Opionis” — after the consulship of Opilio (453). The letter is thus written fourteen months before the Easter 455 it announces, giving the Western churches sufficient time to prepare. The Easter date itself is confirmed at the end of the letter: Valentiniano VIII et Anthemio coss. — the consulship of Valentinian VIII and Anthemius, which is 455 — Pascha viii kal. Maias = April 24, 455.
Historical Commentary