The See of Peter

The Early Church and Peter's Primacy

Letter VI, from Pope Gelasius to Honorius, Bishop of Dalmatia

Synopsis: Gelasius writes again to Honorius of Dalmatia, expressing surprise that Honorius was surprised by the Apostolic See’s concern for his region, declaring that the care of the Apostolic See is owed according to the custom of the forebears to all the Churches throughout the world, and urging him to join his own diligence to Rome’s vigilance against the Pelagian heresy rather than resent the inquiry.

Gelasius to his most beloved brother Honorius.

The Care of the Apostolic See Is Owed to All the Churches Throughout the World

We marvel that your charity was surprised that the care of the Apostolic See — which according to the custom of our forebears is owed to all the Churches throughout the world — was also solicitous for the faith of your region as well. And when it had been reported to Us that certain persons throughout Dalmatia were seeking to corrupt Catholic integrity and to reintroduce the poison of the Pelagian pestilence, long since condemned by divine and human laws, We did not think We should delay in any way — so that, by inquiring more diligently, either those who had crept in might be healed at once, or our anxiety might be relieved if the reports proved false. We judged it better to appear overly eager in investigating such matters than to allow them to grow by dissembling.

For we ought neither to suppress such a matter by silence nor to foster it by delay. Since the teacher of the Gentiles says, not slothful in solicitude (Rom. 12:11); and again, he who presides, let him do so in solicitude — we would undoubtedly be held guilty unless we immediately investigated what had been reported, even if the reports had been spread without substance.

Nor does it matter through whom the reports reached Our ears, since — however the matter was reported — once it penetrated Our conscience, We ought not to have been negligent in Our pastoral watch over truthful investigation of these things: so that either the gaping wolves might be confronted at once, or, if no beasts were found, the guardianship of the sheep might continue in security. The Apostle testifies that it was from those of Chloe’s household that he learned of the dissensions of the Corinthians (1 Cor. 1:11), and he did not delay in writing at once — so that either the pious healer might meet the quarrels at their birth, or he might rejoice at their confirmed wellbeing. We too recall that We indicated the same thing in the letters written on this matter: namely, that We might either resist the creeping madness or, if none of these things had occurred at all, rejoice in the integrity of Catholic truth.

Join Your Diligence to Ours; Whoever Refuses Is Not in Doubt That He Exiles Himself from Apostolic Teaching

Therefore your charity ought not only not to be disturbed by Our vigilance, but rather, having received the greeting of this present communication, to join the industry of your own diligence to Ours — so that either, if such things have been attempted, they may be immediately corrected, or, by more attentive precaution, they may be prevented from creeping in by any means of deception. As for those whom your charity has sent, if they wish to be more fully instructed, the following headings with their responses will inform them. And since they have professed that they acquiesce in these things to the extent of affirming that they had held the same from the beginning, but wished certain matters more clearly set forth before anyone called them into question, We have endeavored — as much as could be done amid occupations that scarcely allow Us to breathe — by the Lord’s bounty, following the footsteps of the Fathers, not to be silent about such matters.

Whoever follows this rule of sober belief with a faithful heart is rightly to be regarded as orthodox. Whoever thinks these things should be rejected should not doubt that he exiles himself from apostolic teaching. Certainly, if there is anything that may trouble the mind, let your brotherhood not hesitate to consult Us with confidence, so that by the Lord’s grace providing, a fraternal exchange may clear up every shadow of obscurity.

Source/Reference

PL 59:32

Notes / Historical Commentary

Letter VI is a follow-up to Letter V, addressing the same Pelagian situation in Dalmatia. Its occasion is Honorius’s surprise — perhaps even irritation — that the Apostolic See had concerned itself with his region. Gelasius’s response transforms this diplomatic awkwardness into one of the clearest statements of the universal sollicitudo in his corpus.

The opening sentence deserves careful attention. Gelasius says he “marvels” (miramur) that Honorius was surprised. The care of the Apostolic See, he explains, is owed (debetur) to all the Churches throughout the world (cunctis per mundum Ecclesiis) according to the custom of the forebears (more majorum). The verb debetur is the key: the Apostolic See’s care is not a favor it extends at its discretion but a debt it owes by the nature of its office. This is structurally identical to Letter III bis, where the vicars of Peter’s see are called debitores — debtors — to all churches. Honorius should not be surprised that Rome is solicitous for Dalmatia; he should be surprised if Rome were not.

The double citation from Romans 12 — sollicitudine non pigri (“not slothful in solicitude”) and qui praeest in sollicitudine (“he who presides, in solicitude”) — reinforces the point. Gelasius applies Paul’s general admonition specifically to the Apostolic See: the one who presides over all must exercise solicitude for all, and failure to investigate reports of heresy would itself make Rome guilty. The investigation is not an overreach; it is the minimum the office demands.

The Pauline precedent Gelasius cites is characteristically apt. Paul learned of the Corinthian dissensions from Chloe’s household and wrote immediately. It did not matter who reported the problem; what mattered was that Paul, once informed, acted. So too with the Apostolic See: it does not matter through whom the reports of Pelagian resurgence reached Rome. Once they penetrated the pope’s conscience, he was obligated to act. The precedent places the Apostolic See’s intervention in Dalmatia within the pattern of apostolic pastoral governance established by Paul himself.

The closing admonition is quietly forceful: whoever follows this rule of sober belief is rightly regarded as orthodox; whoever thinks it should be rejected exiles himself from apostolic teaching. The verb is exsulare — to go into exile, to banish oneself. Gelasius does not say the dissenter will be excommunicated; he says the dissenter excommunicates himself. The Apostolic See sets the rule; those who refuse it are, by that refusal, already outside.