The See of Peter

The Early Church and Peter's Primacy

Letter LXXXVII, from Pope Leo to Bishop Anatolius of Constantinople

Synopsis: Leo writes to Anatolius of Constantinople to commend to his brotherly affection Basilius and Joannes, presbyters of the Constantinopolitan church who came to Rome accusing certain persons of heresy — reporting that they have found in the Apostolic Seat the ratification of their faith’s soundness and are returning with the testimony of Leo’s judgment, and that they bear with them both what Leo wrote to Anatolius and what was decreed concerning the common peace, as well as other things committed to their report, through which Anatolius will be more fully instructed on how Leo’s solicitude operates in all things.

Leo, bishop, to Anatolius, bishop, the fellow bishop of Constantinople.

Leo Commends Basilius and Joannes; They Carry Leo’s Testimony and Instructions for the Common Peace

To decline the error’s stain — by which neither Nestorian impieties nor Eutychian blasphemy has befouled — the care of our son Basilius and Joannes the presbyters of your see’s sound estimation has been laudable: for in the effort of long pilgrimage, with hearts loyal to the Apostolic Seat, they found what they came to find — that in the Apostolic Seat they might receive the ratification of their faith’s soundness, since they both condemn each of the heresies of which we made mention above, and receive nothing in the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ other than what the Holy Spirit instructs us and the teaching of the holy Fathers declares.

For these therefore, brother most beloved, with our testimony revert to their own property, carrying what we wrote to your charity, and what was decreed concerning the common peace — and other things committed to their own report, through which your love may be more fully instructed on how our solicitude operates in all things.

Given on the thirteenth day before the Kalends of July, in the consulship of Adelfius, most illustrious man.

Source/Reference

Notes / Historical Commentary

Letter LXXXVII is addressed to Anatolius ten days after the June 9 packet — a brief note commending two Constantinopolitan presbyters, Basilius and Joannes, who had traveled to Rome to have their faith confirmed against heresy accusations and are now returning. The letter’s significance lies less in what it says than in what it shows: the Apostolic See as the standard of Catholic soundness, to which ordinary presbyters from Constantinople travel to receive ratification of their orthodoxy.

The detail that Basilius and Joannes came to Rome specifically “to receive the ratification of their faith’s soundness” in the Apostolic Seat is a small but telling piece of evidence. This is not a formal appellate case or a high-stakes doctrinal dispute; it is two presbyters from Constantinople seeking the Apostolic See’s confirmation that their faith is sound. The institutional dynamic is the same as in the larger cases — Anatolius seeking recognition, Theodoret awaiting Leo’s sentence — but operating at the level of ordinary pastoral life. The Apostolic See’s ratification is not reserved for extraordinary moments; it is the standard against which Catholic soundness is measured at every level of the Church’s life.