Letter 170: Part of the papal correspondence surrounding the Acacian Schism (484-519), the major breach between Rome and...

Copy of the document [libellus] of John, bishop of Constantinople. He confirms that he professes the same faith which Hormisdas does; and he sends back the document, drawn up by himself, subscribed through the legates [sent to him]. To my lord, in all things most holy and most blessed brother and fellow-minister Hormisdas, John, bishop, greeting in the Lord. 1. On receiving the letters of your holiness, dearest brother in Christ, by the hand of Gratus the most illustrious count, and now by Germanus and John the most reverend bishops and Felix and Dioscorus the most holy deacons and Blandus the presbyter, I rejoiced over the spiritual love of your holiness, in that you seek the unity of the most holy churches of God according to the ancient tradition of the fathers, and that out of love you hasten to drive off those who tear apart the rational flock of Christ. Be assured therefore, you who are most holy in all things, that, according to what I have written to you, agreeing with you in one and the same truth, I too reject all the heretics repudiated by you, loving peace. For I accept that the most holy churches of God, that is, of your elder Rome and of this new one, are one; and I define that the see of the apostle Peter and that of this august city are one. With all things enacted by the four most holy synods, that is the Nicene, the Constantinopolitan, the Ephesine, and the Chalcedonian, concerning the confirmation of the faith and the state of the Church, I assent, and I suffer myself in no way to waver concerning what has been rightly judged: but I also know that those who attempt or strive to disturb even up to a single point of the things decreed have fallen away from the holy general and apostolic Church of God; and, evidently using your words rightly spoken, I say through the present writing: 2. That the first salvation is to keep the rule of the right faith, and in no way to deviate from the tradition of the fathers; because the saying of our Lord Jesus Christ cannot be passed over, who says: You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church. These things which have been said are proved by the effects of events: because in the apostolic see the catholic religion is always preserved inviolate. Desiring therefore not to fall away from this faith, but following in all things the things established by the fathers, we anathematize all heresies, but especially Nestorius the heretic, who was once bishop of the city of Constantinople, condemned in the council of Ephesus by the blessed Celestine, pope of the city of Rome, and by the venerable man Cyril, bishop of the city of Alexandria; and together with him we anathematize Eutyches and Dioscorus, bishop of the city of Alexandria, condemned in the holy synod of Chalcedon, which, revering it, we follow and embrace, which, following the holy synod of Nicaea, preached the apostolic faith; joining to these Timothy the parricide, surnamed Aelurus [the Cat], we anathematize him, and his disciple and follower in all things, Peter of Alexandria, condemning him likewise. We anathematize likewise Acacius, once bishop of the city of Constantinople, who became their accomplice and follower, and also those persevering in their communion and participation. For whoever embraces the communion of any persons, of these he obtains a like judgment in condemnation. In like manner, condemning also Peter of Antioch, we anathematize him with his followers and all the aforesaid. Whence we approve and embrace all the letters of blessed Leo, pope of the city of Rome, which he wrote concerning the right faith. Wherefore, as we have said before, following in all things the apostolic see, we also preach all the things which have been decreed by it; and therefore I hope that I shall be in one communion with you, which the apostolic see preaches, in which is the whole and perfect soundness of the Christian religion: promising that in time to come those separated from the communion of the catholic Church, that is, those not consenting in all things to the apostolic see, their names are not to be recited among the sacred mysteries. But if I shall attempt in anything to deviate from my profession, I profess that I am a partner, by my own condemnation, of those whom I have condemned. To this profession I have subscribed with my own hand, and I have directed it through written letters to you, Hormisdas, holy and most blessed brother and pope of great Rome, by the aforesaid Germanus and John venerable bishops and Felix and Dioscorus deacons and Blandus the presbyter. And in another hand: John, by the mercy of God bishop of new Rome of Constantinople, consenting by this my profession to all the aforesaid, have subscribed, sound in the Lord. Given in the month of March, on the 28th day, in the twelfth indiction, with the consent of the lord Justin, emperor Augustus, Eutharic, the most illustrious man, being consul.

seu 2ftM^H Exemplum libelli Johannis episoopi ConstantinopolitanL Eanulem se, quam Hormisday fidem profileri confirmatj ac lihelhtm per legatot p.n desiinatxm a se subscriptum remUtit. Domino meo per omnia sanctissimo et beatissimo fratri et comministro^) Hormisdae Johannes episcopus in Domino salutem. t'p. 47. 1. Redditis mihi litteris^) vestrae sanctitatis, in Christo frater cp. 52. carissime, per Gratum clarissimum comitem, et nunc per Germanmn et Johannem reverendissimos episcopos et Felicem et Dioscoram sanctissimos diaconos et Blandum presbyterum, laetatus sum de spirituali caritate vestrae sanctitatis, quod unitatem sanctissimanun Dei ecclesiarum secundum veterem patrum requiris traditionem, et dilaceratores rationabilis gregis Christi amore pulsare festinas. Cer- tus igitur scito, per onmia sanctissime, quia, secundum quod vobis scripsi, ima tecum cum*) veritate sentiens, onmes a te repudiatoe liaereticos renuo et ego, pacem dihgens. Sanctissimas enim Dei ecclesias, id est superioris^) vestrae et novellae istius Romae, unam esse accipio, illam sedem apostoli Petri et istius augustae civitatis imam esse definio. Omnibus actis a sanctissimis ^) quatuor synodis, (u^us laudes Marcellinus Comes ad annum 516 prosequitur, successisse Tidetur rheodoritus. Deo auctore ... sequantitr, vel Deus ... exsequatur, 61 ') G' comministratori (al. comministro) Johannes, non addita voce epiicopm. Kadeni omittitur iu relatione ojusdem Johannis scu in sup. ep. 43. -) Scil. quae supra Horm. epist. 47 et 62. Bup. op. 43 n. 1 in veritate. f') Ita JO i*. G' a' b ss. sanctis illis. — Ibidem verbis de confirmatione fidei^ quae Romani praesules, miixime ubi de Calchedonensi synodo sermo erat, ad- jiooro studebant, caute subjungit Johannes et statu Ecclesiae, qno quae ab ilK* Rvnodis in gratiain sedis suac definita crant propugnare posset. BPISTOLAE 60. 61. 853 i(I est Nicaena, Constantinopolitana, Ephesina et Calchedonensi, de a. 619. confirmatione fidei et statu Ecclesiae assentior, et nihil titubare de bene judicatis patior: sed et conantes aut enisos^) usque ad unum apicem placitorum perturbare, lapsos esse a sancta Dei generali et apostolica Ecclesia scio, et tuis verbis recte dictis evidenter utens, per praesentia scripta dico: • 2. Quia^) prima salus est, rectae fidei regulam custodire, et a patrum traditione nuUatenus deviare; quia non potest Domini nostri Jesu Christi praetermitti sententia, dicentis: Tu es Petrus,^^^- et super hanc petram aedificaho Ecclesiam meam. Haec quae dicta ' sunt rerum probantur efiectibus : quia in sede apostolica inviolabilis semper catholica custoditur religio. De hac igitur fide non cadere cupientes, sed patrum sequentes in omnibus constituta, anathemati- zamus omnes haereses, praecipue vero Nestorium haereticum, qui quondam Constantinopolitanae urbis fuit episcopus, damnatum in concilio Ephesino a beato Coelestino papa urbis Romae et a venerabili viro Cyrillo episcopo Alexandrinae civitatis; et una cum illo anathe- matizamusEutychetem etDioscorum Alexandrinae civitatis episcopum, damnatos in sancta synodo Calchedonensi , quam venerantes sequimur et amplectimur, quae sequens sanctam synodum Nicaenam, apostoli- cam fidem praedicavit; his conjungentes Timotheum parricidam, Aehi- rum cognominatum, anathematizamus, et hujus discipulum et sequa- cem in omnibus Petrum Alexandrinum similiter condemnaiites. Ana- thematizamus similiter Acacium quondam Constantinopolitanae urbis episcopum complicem eorum et secjuacem factum, nec noji et persevo- rantes-*)eorum communioui et participationi. Quorum enim quis com- munionem complectitur, eorum et similem adjudicationem in eondenma- tione consequitur. Simili modo et Petrimi Antioehenum condemnan- tes, anathematizamus cum sequacibus suis et omnibus*^*) suprascri- ptis. Unde probamus et amplectimur epistolas omnes beati Leonis papae urbis Romae, quas conscripsit de recta fide. Quapropter, ®) c' omit. particulam quia. Et auferenda quidem esset, nisi ex mss. con- atarot, eam al> interprete additam , et cum Buperiore verbo dico co})ulatam esso in hunc modum: dico, quia prima salus. Abhinc incipit libcllus, quem Ilor- misda subscribendum praescripait, ab authentico tantum verbis aut verljoruni ordine, quem interpres servare non valuit, discrepans. ') 0' c^ c' perseveraniem , quod ad unum Acacium attineret. At ex epistolis 7 et 26, in quibus is locus ita enuntiatur vel qui in eorum communionis societate permanserinty liquet, praeferendum' esse perseverantes^ eoque verbo imprimis no- tantur Acacii successores, qui ab ejus communione secedere detrectarunt. Restituimus cum mss. a^ et omnibus suprascriptis. Quamquam mallemus et omnium suprascriptorum subaudito sequacibus, ut epistolis 7 et 26 e castigatio- ribus mss. est emendatum. a. 619. sicut praediximus, sequentes iu omnibus sedem apostolicam, et prae- dicamus onmia quae ab ipsa decreta sunt; et propterea spero inuua communione vobiscura, quam apostolica sedes praedicat, me fotu- rum, in qua est integra Christianae religionis et perfecta soliditas: promittens in sequenti tempore sequestratos a conmiunione Eccleaiae catholicae, id est in onmibus non consentientes s^di apostolicae, eorum nomina iiiter sacra non recitanda esse mjsteria. Quodai in aliquo a professione mea deviare**) tentavero, his quos condemnayi, per condemnationem propriam consortem me esse profiteor. Hmc vero professioni subscripsi mea manu, et direxi per scripta tibi Hor- misdae, sancto et beatissimo fratri et papae magnae Romae, per supradictos Germanum et Johannem venerabiles episcopos et Felicem et Dioscorum diaconos et Blandum presbyterum. Et alia manu. Jo- hannes misericordia Dei episcopus Gonstantinopolitanae novellae Ro- mae, hac mea professione consentiens omnibus supradictis, sub- scripsi sanus in Domino^^). Data mense Martio die 28''), in- dictione duodecima, consensu'*) domini Justini imperatoris Augusti, Eutharico viro clarissimo consule.