Letter 184: Part of the papal correspondence surrounding the Acacian Schism (484-519), the major breach between Rome and...

Report of the bishops Germanus and John, of the deacons Felix and Dioscorus, and of the presbyter Blandus. 1. With what order and with what caution, by the mercy of God, we entered into communion in the church of Constantinople, your beatitude has already learned in other letters sent through your servant Pullio. And likewise in other letters, not once but a second time, we have taken care to make known what sort of things men hostile to religion attempt: so that there should be nothing either done or contemplated that might lie hidden from your beatitude. With the help of God, whatever has been ordained in the church of Constantinople stands firm with us. The spiritual joys which the Catholics have celebrated and are celebrating do not waver. 2. The matter of the ordination of the church of Antioch has caused us not labors alone but great tribulations: because men hastening to put an obstacle in the way of the general unity have, in various ways, raised various impediments. Our purpose concerning those who had withdrawn themselves from the anathema was to ordain a priest in the aforesaid church. They did not set the coming judgment before their eyes, saying openly: All who held communion with the apostolic see are Nestorians; and that one ought rather not to trust those who only now appear to be recalled to communion with the apostolic see. After many afflictions, and after the struggles had been drawn out over nearly three months on both sides, the most pious emperor by his own authority chose a presbyter named Paul, from the church of Constantinople, to be made bishop in the church of Antioch, declaring among other things this testimony also concerning him: that, having been stationed two years in Antioch, he had resisted the heretic Severus to no slight degree; and all the Catholics agreed in like terms. Yet the emperor promised that he would report all these matters concerning the aforesaid person to your beatitude. 3. Of these tribulations, however, the providers and partners and the impediments to the unity of the churches were the monks from Scythia, who afterward failed here; marked out by everyone as plotting nothing peaceful, they hurried off to your beatitude, hoping to creep in and to confirm their intentions through letters of your see. These men accuse bishops from their own province, among whom is Paternus, bishop of the city of Tomi. They presented petitions, and, compelled by the order of the most pious prince and of the lord Vitalian, master of the soldiers, we frequently assembled for the hearing of the case, not as though wishing to occupy ourselves in these affairs: because before our eyes are the instructions of your beatitude, by which you instructed us that, intent only on the case for which we had come, we should mix ourselves in no other affairs; but hoping that their intentions could be pacified, we descended to this. And because, while we labored long and they admitted no reason, nothing was accomplished in that toward which we were striving, the most clement emperor, in a public assembly at which we too were present, brought back the aforesaid bishop Paternus and the magnificent man Vitalian into favor: he also commanded the accusers of Paternus to make supplication to their own bishop. The monks, however, when they were likewise sought after for concord, slipped away in flight and preferred to depart from the city rather than to arrive at concord. 4. The aforesaid monks, coming to Italy in great earnest, have certain other chapters to propose, among which is contained also one concerning "one of the Trinity crucified": hoping thus to have it confirmed by the authority of your beatitude. As we have indicated in other letters, so now we do this: that no novelty be written from the apostolic see; because we too declared these things before the emperor and before the senate, saying: Outside the four synods, outside the letters of Pope Leo, we neither say nor admit anything that is not contained in the aforesaid synods; or that which has not been written by Pope Leo, we do not accept: because, if our lord should wish to write any novelty whatsoever, that beginning will be worse than the one which was brought about through Eutyches. It ought to suffice for the Church what it has endured from Eutyches up to now for sixty years. We have written what seemed good to us; it is in your power to deliberate what God shall command you: since they strive to assert these things, desiring in this way to satisfy themselves, namely that we should so profess and say that one of the Trinity was crucified, which neither the fathers nor the synods have said. 5. We have therefore set forth these matters one by one, lest their subtlety should boast over our simplicity on account of these new intentions of theirs. They crept in upon the magnificent man Vitalian, so that he might both vindicate such claims and bring against us, on behalf of such matters, whatever impediments he could; the whole Church laments with us his change. Wherefore we ask that, with the accustomed caution and with the vigilance our lord is wont to use, you consider both how those are to be suspended who have departed from us in such a manner and have been separated from our communion, and what is to be answered to them, or how their chapters are to be repelled; because the Catholic church of Constantinople shudders at all of them. Given on the third day before the Kalends of July [29 June], at Constantinople.

8CU Suggestio Germani et Johannis episcoponim, Feliois et Dioscori ^- ^^^ ^ diaconorum et Blandi presbyteri. Causam ordinalionis ecclesiae Antiochenae post mulios lahores finiiam esse; in Paterni Tomitani antistitis a Sci/t?iis monachis accusati causa quid actum sity significant (n. 1 — 3). Denique rogant, ut confirmet papa, quod ipsi monachis illis unum de Trinitate crucifixum dici volentibus opposuerunt (n. 4 c/ .5). 1. Cum Dei misericordia, quo ordine et qua eautela communi- cavimus in ecclesia Constantinopolitana; jam in aliis litteris perei). 64. servum vestrum Pullionem directis vestra beatitudo cognovit. Et similiter in aliis litteris non semel sed secundo, qualia aemuli liomi- ep. 75. nes religionis tentant, significare curavimus: ut nihil sit^) aut actum aut cogitandum fieri, quod lateat beatitudinem vcstram. Stat no- biscum cum Dei adjutorio, quidquid in Constantinopolitana ecclesia est ordinatum. Non titubant gaudia spiritualia, quae celebrarunt et celebrant catholici. 2. Causa Antiochenae ecclesiae ordinationis non nobis solos labores fecit sed grandes tribulationes : quia homines festinantes im- pedimentum facere generali unitati, diversis modis diversa impedi- menta fecerunt. Nostra erat propositio de his, qui se suspenderant de anathemate, in praedicta ecclesia ordinare sacerdotem. Non pro- posuerunt ante oculos suos futurum judicium, palam dicentes : Omnes, qui sedi apostolicae communicabant , Nestoriani sunt; et magis illis non debere credere^), qui raodo videntur ad communionem sedis ®) Forte qiiis inspectis tot epistolis sequentibus, quac eodem consule /// Calendas Julii notantur, et hanc pariter /// Cal. Julii consignandam suBpicetur, maxime quum facilis sit unius litterulae mutatio. Ad Iiaec Dioscorus in hac epistola Faulum Antiochenum antistitem electum nuntiat, quem in sequenti qaum ipse tum ceteri legati post protracta pene in ires menses certamina electum Bcribunt; quum ex epistola 64 certum sit, eos feria secunda majoris hebdomadju), hoc est Martii 15 die, Constantinopolim advenissc. Verum hoc movere non de- het, quum certamina iUa ant€ adventum suum coepisse in eadem epistola 64 n. 3 aperte significent. Sed quod in epistola sequenti n. 4 de monachorum, qid aHquanta capitula proponere habeni, in Italiam adventu Bese Hormisdam in aHis litteris jam admonuisse ajunt, hic /// Calendas Junias retinendum esse ommno persuadet. Nullas enim habemus alias, in quibus id antea denuntietur. 76 ') b cc sit actum aut cogUalum facicndum, Illud cogitandum fieri hoc sonat: aut quod cogitun debeat ut faciendum. a. 519. iipostolicae revocati. Post multas afflictiones et pene in tres menses apartibus^) protracta certamina, piissimus imperator sua auctoritate Paulum nomine presbyterum de ecclesia Constantinopolitana elegit episcopimi fieri in ecclesia Antiocbena, dicens inter alia et hoc testi- monium de ipso , quia duobus annis in Antiocbia positus non medio- criter resistebat Severo haeretico; similia et omnes catholici conso- nabant. Omnia tamen ista de persona praedicti imperator se pro- misit ad vestram beatitudinem relaturum. 3. Harmn tamen tribulationum provisore^ et socii et unitatis*) ecclesiarum impedimenta monacbi de Scythia fuerunt, qui postea hic defecerunt; assignati ab omnibus nihil pacificum cogitare, ad beatitudinem vestram cucurrermit, sperantes subrepere et per litte- ras vestrae sedis suas intentiones confirmare. Isti de sua provincia episcopos accusant, inter quos est Paternus Tomitanae civitatis an- tistes. Petitioues obtulerunt, et coacti piisimi principis et domini Vitaliani magistri militum jussione, frequenter ad audientiam causae convenimus, non quasi volentes nos in his negotiis occupare: quia nobis sunt ante oculos beatitudinis vestrae praecepta, quibus prae- cepistis, ut causae tantum cui veneramus intenti, nullis aliis negotiis miscercmur; sed sperantes posse intentiones eorum pacari, ad hoc descendimus. Et quia nobis diu laborantibus et illis nullam susci- pientibus rationem, iiihil proficiebat in**) quo tendebamus, clemen- tissimus imperator in conventu publico, ubi et nos interfuimus, Patemum praedictum episcopum et magnificum vinim Vitahanum reduxit^)" ad gratiam: accusatores quoque ejus suo praecepit episcopo supplicare. Monachi vero quum simiUter ad concordiam quaerereu- tur, fuga lapsi maluerunt de civitate discedere, quam ad concordiam pervenire. Piiuhis vero ordinatus est in locum Severi, quem quum imperator ob haeretica» illius praedicationes comprehendi jussisset, ab anno superiori mense Septembri ex Antiochena sede fugisse Evagrius IV, 4 tradit. EPISTOLAE 70. 77. 873 4. Magnopere') praedicti mouaclii ad Italiain veuientes, ali-a. 519. laiita capitula propouere habent, inter quae et unum de Trmtaieoit.iou.j 'ucifixum continetur: sperantes ita confimiari ex auctoritate beati- idinis vestrae. Sicut et in aliis litteris significavimus, et modo hoc icimus^ ut nuUa novitas a sede apostolica scribatur; quia et nos ate imperatorem et ante senatum haec indicavimus, dicentes: xtra synodos quatuor^), extra epistolas papae Leonis nec dicimus nec imittimus, quidquid non continetur in praedictis synodis; aut quod 7n est scriptum a papa Leone, non suscipimus: quia si voluerit domi- \is noster qualcmvis novitatem scribere, pejus erit istud initium^) quam ^ud, quod factum est per Eutychetem, Sufficere debet Ecclesiae, quod ?r sexaginta '") annos ab Eutychete usque modo sustinuit. Nobis quod isum est scripsimus; in vestra potestate est deliberare, quod vobis •eus imperaverit: quoiiiam haec illi nituntur asserere, eo modo sibi itisfacere cupientes , lit ita profiteamur et dicamus unum de Trinitate 7ssum esse, quod uec patres nec synodi dixerunt. 5. Ista ideo per singula exposuimus, ne illorum subtilitas glo- etur in nostra simplicitate propter istas novas suas intentiones. italiano magnifico viro subrepserunt, ut et talia vindicaret^*) et ro talibus rebus contra nos quaecunque potuit impedimenta afferret; ijus immutationem omnis nobiscum deflet Ecclesia. Quapropter ro- Mnus, ut consueta cautela et qua solet dominus noster vigilantia, )gitetis, et quomodo suspendendi sint, qui a nobis taliter recesse- int et a nostra communione fuerunt sejuncti, et quid eis respon- »atur, vel quomodo eorum capituhi repellantur; quia eos omnes onstantinopolitana catholica exhorret ecclesia. Data III Calendas ilias Constantinopoli.