Leo, bishop, to the most beloved brothers Constantinus, Audentius, Rusticus, Auspicius, Nicetas, Nectarius, Florus, Asclepius, Justus, Augustalis, Ynantius, and Chrysaphius.
Leo Confirms the Election of Ravennius with His Judgment
We have just and reasonable cause for rejoicing when we learn of deeds by the Lord’s priests that accord with the rules of the Fathers’ canons and apostolic institutions. The Church’s body grows with wholesome increase when its leading members excel both in the vigor of authority and the tranquility of governance.
In the city of Arles, therefore, following the death of Hilary of holy memory, you have unanimously consecrated our proven brother Ravennius according to the desires of the clergy, honorable men, and people. We confirm this good work of your brotherhood with our judgment — since a peaceable and harmonious election, lacking neither moral merit nor the support of the citizens, we believe stems not from human petition alone but from divine inspiration.
Let the aforesaid bishop use God’s gift, and understanding through the consonant wishes of all ranks what devotion is expected of him, may he, as a diligent and temperate executor of the stewardship entrusted to him, not fall short of your testimony and be ever more worthy of our favor.
May God keep you safe, dearest brothers.
Given on the eleventh day before the Kalends of September, in the consulship of Asturius and Protogenes, most illustrious men.
Footnotes
- ↩ Arles (Latin: Arelate) stands in what is now the Bouches-du-Rhône department of southeastern France, on the lower Rhône about seventy kilometers northwest of Marseille. In the later Roman Empire it was one of the most important cities in the West — serving at intervals as an imperial residence, a major administrative center, and the hub of commerce between the Mediterranean and the interior of Gaul. Ecclesiastically, the see of Arles was the most prominent in the Gallic church, and its bishops had long claimed a metropolitan authority over the surrounding province and, at times, over Gaul more broadly. This claim was the source of the conflict Leo addressed in Letter X, where Hilary of Arles was stripped of his metropolitan authority for overstepping the boundaries of his own province. The present letter — confirming Hilary’s successor Ravennius — represents the normalization of the Arles see under the terms Leo had established: a legitimate metropolitan of its own province, confirmed by Rome, rather than a self-appointed primate of all Gaul.
- ↩ The Latin is bonum fraternitatis vestrae opus nostro judicio roboramus — “we strengthen/confirm the good work of your brotherhood with our judgment.” Roboramus (from roboro) means to make strong, to confirm, to ratify with authority. This is Leo exercising his confirmatory jurisdiction over an episcopal election in a major Gallic see — the same pattern visible in Letter X with the Gallic churches, now applied specifically to the succession at Arles. The election is valid; Leo’s judgment gives it its standing before the universal Church.
- ↩ Nostro per omnia favore sit dignior — “be ever more worthy of our favor in all things.” Leo positions his favor as the standard toward which Ravennius is to aspire: not merely the regard of his provincial colleagues but Rome’s approbation. This phrasing is characteristic of Leo’s letters to newly appointed bishops — worthy of the favor of the Apostolic See is the governing criterion of episcopal achievement.
- ↩ August 22, 449 — “the eleventh day before the Kalends of September.” This is the same day Letter XLI was dispatched to Ravennius directly. By this date, Ephesus II has ended (the council sat August 1–22). Leo is writing routine letters to Gaul on the day the Latrocinium concludes, not yet knowing the full scope of the disaster. The consulship of Asturius and Protogenes confirms 449.
Historical Commentary