Letter 18: Severus requires Rhosus to present a three-name psephisma and accept Entrechius' final judgment.

The devout clergy of the holy church in Rhosus, together with the other inhabitants of the city, have presented a petition to us. They ask that a bishop be instituted for them by grace from above and through the ministry of Your Holiness, and they say that they will make the customary legal psephisma [formal election vote] in favor of the man they want. That is what their petition said, but their vote named only one person. We therefore instructed them to include three men known for virtue in the vote, to present that psephisma to you, and to treat your judgment in the matter as final. That course is pleasing to God in other respects as well, and it is the proper procedure. We argued this with them directly: Your Piety, whose aim in everything is to pursue blamelessness, would be ready to act only on those terms. For that reason I immediately decided to send you this reminder.

The devout clergymen of the holy church in the city of Rhosus and the other inhabitants of it have presented a petition to us in which they beg that that man may be instituted their bishop by grace from above and the ministration of your sanctity, in whose favour they shall themselves according to the legal custom make a psephisma. These were the contents of their petition: but their vote applied to one man: and they received from us a notice that they were to include three men well-known for virtue in the vote, and so present the psephisma to you, and hold your judgment in this matter final. This is in other ways pleasing to God, and is also the proper course. In fact we argued with them and said that on no other terms but these would your piety, whose endeavour it is in everything to follow after blamelessness as it is written, be ready to comply. Wherefore also we immediately determined to draw up this letter of reminder to you.