Letter 1: Agapetus, bishop, to the most victorious and pious Emperor Justinian.

Bishop Agapetus to Justinian Augustus. We rejoice, venerable emperor, that you are kindled with so great an ardor for the catholic faith that, throughout all the seasons of your most pious life, you graciously apply a devout solicitude to the preserving and the increasing of the concord of the churches, and that you desire one faith, of like firmness in all things, to be proclaimed to all Christian peoples. Nor is it to be wondered at that your clemency should persist in such a purpose, pleasing to God, since no advancement of your empire is more blessed than the increase of religion. Wherefore I will gladly sing this very thing with the prophet's voice as well: "Our mouth is filled with joy and our tongue with exultation" [Psalm 125:2], because we behold your most flourishing principate daily adorned with divine benefits. For you desire, venerable emperor, that the letter of your piety concerning the exposition of your faith, lately sent to our predecessor of blessed memory John, prelate of the Roman see, by way of the bishops Hypatius and Demetrius, and confirmed by the aforesaid prelate, we too should ratify by our authority: we praise it, we embrace it; not because we admit to laymen the authority of preaching, but because we confirm and strengthen the zeal of your faith as agreeing with the rules of our fathers, through which the unity of the Church has already come about, and we trust that the remaining members of the catholic Church will return, by the constancy of your Christianity, to the joining of its body. Appending below the tenor of this profession, that is, of your letter, we confirm by our authority the zeal which you wholly maintain toward God, proclaiming that a faith of this sort accords with all the rules of our fathers and is concordant with the dogmas of the apostolic see, and ordaining that, if anyone shall attempt to oppose our catholic faith, which, for the removing of any suspicion of heretics, we confirm by the present definition as consonant with the paternal rules, he shall be made a stranger to holy communion. Whence also Cyrus and his followers, already before this suspended for this madness from the communion of the catholic Church and remaining hitherto in their own perfidy, unless under canonical satisfaction they shall have followed the apostolic teaching [...]. [...] Demetrius, most blessed bishops, so that it may not lie hidden from your holiness what things have been denied, wrongly and after the manner of the Jews, by certain few monks according to the perfidy of Nestorius. We ask therefore your paternal affection, that by your letters sent to us and to the most holy bishop of this kindly city and your patriarch, your brother [...]. For which reason we ask your holiness, that you confirm the aforementioned letter by your authority and that you hold Cyrus and others like him to be alienated from communion, until they obey the decrees of your holiness. COPY OF THE SUBSCRIPTION: May the Divinity preserve you through many years, holy and most religious father. Given on the day before the Ides of March [March 14] at Constantinople, after the consulship of Belisarius, most distinguished man. Whoever, therefore, as has been said before, shall presume to contradict this confession and this faith, let him know that he is alienated from catholic communion. Given on the fifteenth day before the Kalends of April [March 18] at Constantinople, after the consulship of Belisarius, most distinguished man.

AGAPITUS EPISCOPUS IUSTINIANO AUGUSTO. (Gratulamur, uene- rabilis imperator, quod tanto catholicae fidei ardore succen- deris, ut omnibus piissimae uitae uestrae temporibus piam solicitudinem circa seruandam augendamque ecclesiarum concordiam clementer adhibeas et unam fidem suaque per 2 amplectendes V 11 et omnibus ez ep. 89 ὃ 5 add. Pitra. 14 pres- byter exenodocus V, corr. o (et Xenodochus Vat. 4903) 16 papa V, corr. o. 18 «et» indiuise Bar. 91. Jat. die 18 Mart. a. 536. Hae Agapiti litterae sine duabus, quae hic snsertae sunt Iustiniani epistulis, fere totae extant et$am n. 83; ubi quae rectius quam hic leguntur, hic subnotaui adscripta littera; V*. Edd. Car. I^ 592 et Collect. Concil. 28 uenerabilis V*: uenerabili- bus ἢ 24 succenderis V*: succendens V 1$ Epist. ΧΟ 5 — ΧΟῚ 5. 343 omnia firmitate consimilem omnibus populis Christianis cupias praedicari. nee mirum in eiusmodi clementiam uestram placita deo cogitatione persistere, eum non alius imperii uestri beatior sit proueetus quam religionis augmentum. quapropter libenti 5 hoc et prophetica uoce cantabo: repletum est gaudio os nostrum et lingua nostra exultatione, quod florentis- simum principatum uestrum diuinis cotidie conspicimus beneficiis adornari. cupis etenim, uenerabilis imperator, ut tuae pietatis epistolam de fidei uestrae expositione nuper ad beatae 10 memoriae decessorem nostrum Iohannem Romanae sedis antistitem per Hypatium atque Demetrium episcopos destinatam et a praefato praesule roboratam nostra quoque auctoritate firmemus: laudamus, amplectimur; non quia laicis auctoritatem praedicationis admittimus sed quia studium fidei uestrae patrum 15 nostrorum regulis congruens confirmamus atque roboramus, per quod iam et unitas prouenit eeclesiae et reliqua catholicae membra ecelesiae ad eius eonpagem «uestrae? ehristianitatis constantia reditura confidimus. cuius professionis uel epistolae uestrae tenorem inferius adneetentes studium, quod circa s) deum integre geritis, nostra auctoritate firmamus, praedicantes huiusmodi fidem omuibus patrum nostrorum regulis conuenire et apostolicae sedis comtordare dogmatibus, constituentes ut, 8i quis nostrae catholieae fidei contraire temptauerit, quam pro submouenda fhaeretieorum $uspicione paternis regulis 86 Consonantem praesenti definitione firmamus, «a» saneta com- munione effieiatur extraneus. unde et Cyrum eiusque sequaces iam ante pro hac insania ab ecclesiae catholicae communione suspensos et im sua hactenus perfidia permanentes, nisi sub satisfactione canonica doctrinam apostolicam fuerint consecuti, Demetrium beatissimos episcopos, ut nec uestram sanctitatem lateat, quae a quibusdam paucis monachis male et Iudaice secundum Nestorii perfidiam denegata sunt. petimus ergo uestrum paternum 20 affectum, ut uestris ad nos destinatis litteris et ad sanctissimum 5 episcopum huius almae urbis et patriarcham uestrum fratrem, Quam ob rem petimus sanctitatem uestram, ut23 memoratam epistolam uestra auctoritate firmetis et Cyrum yel similes eius a communione habeatis alienos, donée statutis sanctitatis uestrae obtem- perent. EXEMPLAR SUBSCRIPTIONIS: Diuinitas te 85 seruet per multos annos, sancte ac religiosissime pater, JDat.pridieId,. Martiarum Constantinopoli post consulatum Belisari u. c. Huic igitur, ut praedictum est, confessioni et huic fidei2 quisquis contradicere praesumpserit, a eatholica se communione 80 nouerit alienum. — Dat. XV. Kal. April. Constantinopoli post eonsulatum Belisari ἃ. c. 4 et pro ut V 7 apostolica V — 8 praedictam V — 12 serbabitur V 18 dieerint V 16 diuinitate seruez V 17 vin ] vx V 18 Con- stantinopoli dno nro iustiniano pp. aug. nr. consul V 21 uestfam V, corr. Mansi 26 constantinopoli post consulatu bilisari u. c. V — 30 no- berit V constantinopoli post csul bilisari u. c. V | 948 Uigilius papa Iustiniano Aug.