Hormisdas to Bishop Possessor,

Just as it is reasonable for those who are uncertain to seek counsel, it is also appropriate to respond to those who consult, for the one who does not instruct the ignorant leads them into error. Nothing is more fitting for a person devoted to religion than to seek the truth, for it is easier to avoid going astray if one asks for the right path. However, before I take on the responsibility of responding to what your affection has inquired about, I must gladly acknowledge that I have found in your letter the fervor of your faith, which, fired by its warmth, laments the resurgence of the old perversity of unbelievers in those regions.

This is a most worthy sorrow that grieves hearts devoted to God. For there is no fall more lamentable among those in whom the spark of charity is alive, because the common hope of all spiritual beings is the unshaken salvation of everyone. But the Church of God is neither unaware of, nor unaccustomed to, such tempests, and although it remains unmoved under the guidance of its Shepherd, it still struggles amid the various storms raised by the waves of those who attack it. This is why the voice of the psalmist, assuming the persona of the Church, declares: “Often have they attacked me from my youth, yet they have not prevailed against me” (Psalm 129:2). They strive, but to no avail. We are still in the threshing floor; the wheat is mixed with the chaff; the good groan at the company of the wicked, but the fire awaits the superfluous, and the barns are already prepared for those who have been proven.

Where on earth is this mixture not found? We must stand firm in our ways; we will advance in our own goodness among adversaries if we do not entangle ourselves in their errors. He who remains unshaken when struck shows the strong force of his virtue. Where are there no varied stings of temptation? Such as have been displayed this entire year by certain Scythians, who appeared outwardly as monks, but were so only in semblance, not in truth; professing it, but not practicing it. With cunning trickery concealed under the guise of religion, they presented the poison of their hatred. We tried to heal them with the medicine of patient moderation from an internal wound, not ignoring the counsel of the blessed Paul: “Avoid wrangling about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of those who listen” (2 Timothy 2:14).

But when is the poison that has penetrated deep into the entrails ever extracted? When do hearts, poorly trusting themselves, obey the teachings of truth? When does pride, entrenched in its own opinions, put on the humility of obedience? When do those accustomed to disputes about contentions submit to peace, loving only to seek strife over religion while neglecting its commands? Charity, newly commended by the divine precept, has never been found among them; peace, left by the Lord’s departure, has never existed among them; there is but one obstinate aim of their purpose: to command reason, not to believe; contemptuous of the authority of the ancients, eager for new questions. They think that the only right way of knowledge is to embrace whatever they have conceived easily and are so swollen with arrogance that they believe that their judgment should sway the decision of both worlds. Not counting among the faithful those who adhere to the tradition of the Fathers, they despise those who do not yield to their opinion; skilled in sowing slander, crafting the poison of detraction, hating the entire body of the Church, instigating sedition, provoking envy, and preferring the stubbornness of obstinate pride over the obedience that rules in monasteries with regular discipline.

We were unable to restrain them by admonitions, gentleness, or authority. They went so far as to hold a public assembly, shouting around even the statues of kings, disrupting peace. And if not for the steadfastness of the faithful people, they would have stirred up dissension and discord among them with the vile seeds of diabolical tares. Thanks to God’s help, their religious discord was driven out. About them, we have proved late with the prophetic words of the Apostle saying that in the last days perilous times will come, and men will be lovers of themselves, having a form of godliness but denying its power; thus, they are to be avoided.

We believed it necessary to inform your affection of these matters in case they might be brought there by chance so that you would not be deceived by some pretended words, knowing how they have behaved in the city of Rome.

As for those you mentioned who consulted about the writings of Faustus, a certain Gallic bishop, let them receive this answer: that neither he is accepted nor anyone whom the examination of the Catholic faith does not accept among the authority of the Fathers, nor can he cause ambiguity in ecclesiastical discipline or bring prejudice to the religious. The Fathers have established the doctrines that the faithful ought to follow: whether it be an interpretation, a preaching, or a word composed for the edification of the people, if it agrees with the right faith and sound doctrine, it is admitted; if it disagrees, it is abolished.

There is one foundation, and if any building arises outside of it, it is weak. Whoever builds on it, whether with vile or precious materials, let him consider. He who deviates from the path shown by the choice of the Fathers errs from the way, yet diligence is not condemned when it is engaged in many things, but rather a mind that departs from the truth. Often instruction is necessary about these matters, through which the adversaries themselves are convinced. It cannot be blamed to know what you should avoid; therefore, those who read incongruent things are not at fault, but those who follow them are. If this were not so, that great teacher of the nations would never have advised the faithful: “Test everything; hold fast to what is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

Regarding free will and the grace of God, what the Roman (that is, the Catholic) Church follows and affirms can be known from various books of the blessed Augustine, especially those to Hilary and Prosper. Nevertheless, certain chapters are clearly stated in the ecclesiastical archives, which, if you lack and consider necessary, we shall send. Although anyone who carefully considers the words of the Apostle will clearly know what he ought to follow. Given on the Ides of August.