To the most blessed and ineffably admirable lord, and in the grace of Christ, Pope Hormisdas, whom we hold in highest regard, Possessor, Bishop, sends eternal greetings in the Lord.

It is right and necessary to seek a remedy from the head whenever the health of the members is in question. For who holds greater concern for his subjects, or from whom is the stability of wavering faith more expected than from the head of that See, whose first ruler heard from Christ: “You are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my Church” (Matthew 16)? I believe that it is not unknown to your blessedness how much the Church in the city of Constantinople is laboring under deceit and how, like an old wound, the sore that is believed to be healed is again seeking to break out into infection.

Wherefore, when the minds of some of the brethren were troubled by a book by one Faustus, a bishop of Gallic origin from the city of Reji, who seemed to have spoken clearly on various matters, and more often on the grace of God, while others (as human opinions go) were inclined to the contrary, they thought that I should be consulted on this matter of ambiguity. I stated that those things discussed by various writers, according to the capacity of their own intellect, should not be received as canonical or held as having the force of synodal decrees, but that we should hold fast to the certainties written in the old and new laws and established by the general judgments of the Fathers as the foundation of faith and the firm integrity of religion. However, those writings composed by different bishops should be considered according to their own merit, without prejudice to the faith.

But since this explanation seemed more like an excuse to them (as far as I perceived from their frequent insistence), either for their petition or as an occasion to show obedience to your pontificate, I presumed to present the humble lines of my request through my deacon Justin. Principally seeking the protection of your prayers, I ask that, by the authority of your apostolic response, they may learn what is considered regarding the statements of the aforementioned author. Especially since your sons, the masters of the soldiers, Vitalianus and Justinian, likewise desire to be informed about this matter through a letter from your blessedness. I also remember sending a book previously containing explanations of the letters of the blessed Apostle Paul, for which I have not yet been granted a response. Therefore, with a similar petition, I beg that I may deserve to obtain the favor of your blessing with an appropriate response. Received on the fifteenth day before the Kalends of August, in the consulship of the illustrious Rusticus.