Letter 92: Part of the papal correspondence surrounding the Acacian Schism (484-519), the major breach between Rome and...

Your son, the magnificent man Justinian, doing things befitting his faith, has established a basilica of the holy apostles, in which he desires that there be also relics of the blessed martyr Laurence: he hopes, through our littleness, that you will swiftly grant the relics of the aforesaid saints. The petition of the aforesaid man was indeed according to the custom of the Greeks, and we, on the contrary, set forth the custom of the apostolic see. He accepted the reasoning. And because such is the fervor of his faith, that he deserves whatever he shall have requested from the apostolic see, and such is the thing he hopes for, whence [every...]. [The following is a second, distinct letter: the Suggestio (Report) of Germanus and the others to Hormisdas.] After those assigned here failed, the men who think nothing peaceable hastened from all sides to your Beatitude, hoping to obtain things by stealth and to confirm their intentions through letters of your see. These men accuse the bishops of their own province, among whom is Paternus, prelate 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 convened to hear the case, not as though we wished to occupy ourselves in these affairs, since the instructions of your Beatitude are before our eyes, by which you instructed that, intent only upon the case for which we had come, we should not mingle ourselves in any other affairs, but hoping that their intentions could be pacified, we came down to this. And because, with us laboring long and them accepting no reasoning, nothing was advancing in that toward which we were striving, the most clement emperor, in a public assembly where he ordered us also to be present, brought back the aforesaid bishop Paternus and the magnificent man Vitalian into favor; he also commanded the accusers of the latter to make supplication to their own bishop. But the monks, when they were likewise sought for concord, slipping away in flight, preferred to depart from the city rather than to come to concord. The aforesaid monks, coming in great numbers to Italy, have certain chapters to propose, among which is also contained 'one of the Trinity crucified,' hoping that it be thus confirmed by the authority of your Beatitude. As we have signified also in other letters, so now too we say this, that no novelty be written from the apostolic see, because we too declared this before the emperor and before the senate, saying: 'beyond the four synods, beyond the letters of pope Leo we neither speak nor admit anything; whatever is not contained in the aforesaid synods, or what is not 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 that was made through Eutyches. It ought to suffice the church, that for sixty years from Eutyches until now it has endured this.' What seemed right to us, we have written; it is in your power to deliberate what God shall have commanded you, since they strive to assert this, desiring in this manner to satisfy themselves, that we should so profess and say that one of the Trinity suffered, which neither the fathers nor the synods have said. We have therefore set these things forth one by one, lest their subtlety should glory over our simplicity: on account of these new intentions of theirs they have prevailed by stealth upon the magnificent man Vitalian, and to claim such things and, for the sake of such matters, to bring against us whatever hindrances he could, whose change of heart the whole church bewails together with us. Wherefore we ask that you take thought with the accustomed caution and the vigilance with which our lord is wont, both how those are to be received who have withdrawn from us in such a manner and have been separated from our communion, and what should be answered to them, or how their chapters should be repelled, since the catholic church of Constantinople shudders at them all. Given on the third day before the Kalends of July, at Constantinople.

Filius uester magnificus uir lustinianus res conuenientes fidei suae faciens basilicam sanctorum apostolorum, in qua desiderat et beati Laurentii martyris reliquias esse, constituit: sperat per paruitatem nostram, ut praedictorum sanctorum reliquias celeriter concedatis. habuit quidem petitio praedicti 2 uiri secundum morem Graecorum et nos e contra consue- tudinem sedis apostolicae exposuimus. accepit rationem. et quia talis feruor est fidei eius, qui mereatur quicquid de apostolica sede depoposcerit, et tale est, quod sperat, unde omnis 18 Constantinopolim V 218. Bat. ut ep. 216. Edd. Car. I* 524; Bar. ad a. 519, 93; Collect, Concil; Thiel 873. 28 meretur F, correxi 29 ade ex tlrc corr, V 678 Suggestio Germani etc. ad Honnisdani • po8tea<quam> hic defecerunt adsignati ab omnibus nihil pacificum cogitare, ad beatitudinem uestram cucurrerunt sperantes subripere et per litteras uestrae sedis suas intentiones 6 confirmare. isti de sua prouincia episcopos accusant, inter quos est Faternus Tomitanae ciuitatis antistes. petitiones obtulerunt et coacti piissimi principis et domni Uitaliani magistri militum iussione frequenter ad audientiam causae conuenimus, non quasi uolentes in his negotiis nos occupare, quia nobis sunt ante oculos beatitudinis uestrae praecepta, quibus praecepistis, ut causae tantum, ubi ueneramus, intenti nuUis aliis negotiis misceremur, sed sperantes posse intenti- 7 ones eorum pacari ad hoc descendimus. et quia nobis diu laborantibus et illis nuUam suscipientibus rationem nihil proficiebat, in quo tendebamus, clementissimus imperator in conuentu publico, ubi et nos interesse iussit, Paternum praedictum episcopum et magnificum uirum Uitalianum reduxit ad gratiam; accusatores quoque eius suo praecepit episcopo supplicare. monachi uero cum similiter ad concordiam quaere- rentur, fuga lapsi maluerunt de ciuitate disceCde>re quam ad 8 concordiam peruenire. magnopere praedicti monachi ad Italiam uenientes aliquanta capitula proponere habent, inter quae et *unum de trinitate crucifixum' continetur, sperantes ita confirmari ex auctoritate beatitudinis uestrae. sicut et in aliis litteris significauimus, et modo hoc dicimus, ut nuUa nouitas a sede apostolica scribatur, quia et nos ante impera- 9 torem et ante senatum hoc indicauimus dicentes: *extra synodos quattuor, extra epistolas papae Leonis nec dicimus nec admittimus ; quicquid non continetur in praedictis synodis aut quod non est scriptum a papa Leone, non suscipimus, quia si uoluerit domnus noster qualemuis nouitatem scribere, peius erit istud initium quam illud, quod factum est per 1 quam addidi liiDC disce.sserunt Bar. 3 subrepere p 5 tho- mitane V 10 ubi V: cui Bar. 12 paccari V 15 interesse iuseit scnpsi: interiuseit esse V, interfuimus Car. 19 discere F, carr. o or Epiflt. ccxvii 6 — ccxvm 2. 679 Eutychetem. suf&cere debet ecclesiae, quod per LX annos ab Eutjcbete usque modo sustinuit". nobis quod uisum est, 10 scripsimus; in uestra potestate est deliberare, quod uobis deus imperauerit, quoniam hoc illi nituntur asserere eo modo sibi satisfacere cupientes, ut ita profiteamur et dicamus unum de trinitate passum esse, quod nec patres nec synodi dixernnt. ista ideo per singula exposuimus, ne illorumll subtilitas glorietur in nostra simplicitate : propter istas nouas suas intentiones Uitaliano magnifico uiro subripuerunt et talia uindicare et pro talibus rebus contra nos, quaecumque potuit, impedimenta afferre, cuius immutationem omnis nobiscum deflet ecclesia. quapropter rogamus, ut consueta cautela etl2 qua solet domnus noster uigilantia cogitetis, et quomodo suscipiendi sint, qui a nobis taliter recesserunt et a nostra ftienint communione seiuncti, et quid eis respondeatur uel quomodo eorum capitula repellantur, quia eos omnes Gonstan- tinopolitana catholica exhorret ecclesia. Data III, Kal. lulias Constantinopoli.