Letter 177: Part of the papal correspondence surrounding the Acacian Schism (484-519), the major breach between Rome and...

To my lord, the most blessed and apostolic father Hormisdas, archbishop [of Rome] of the universal Church, from Pompeius. Entreated by the holy prayers of your beatitude, the loving-kindness of almighty God has deigned to bestow upon us a prince of such great faith, that by the most religious merits of his clemency the restoration of ecclesiastical peace, which was being demanded by the prayers of all the faithful, may rightly be seen to have been granted; and in the coming-forth of this king he has established the most solid foundations of his rule by the working of the Holy Spirit, foundations which obtain just as much strength of unconquerable stability as the excellence of his action is judged to be singular and admirable. And therefore, greeting the reverend beatitude of your pontificate with the homage of reciprocal address, we beseech you that you would deign to pray more and more for the prosperity of our most clement and most invincible lord the prince, so that the ineffable loving-kindness of almighty God may, by the help of his grace, guard his gifts for the just-in which gifts the fruit of your husbandry also abounds-and that the interceding favor of your pontifical holiness may stand by us also, your sons, joined to you by a spiritual affection, whom the care of this work has always especially bound fast.

eeu (a. 519 d Exemplum epistolae Pompeji ad Hormisdam. ti2 Apnl.) Impcraiorem ac sc ipsum itiius precibus commendai. Doniino meo beatissimo et apostolico patri Hor- '■') EJ. ouiitt. ei cfmssimt'. 08 ') K(l. 1'cncrnndftr ... ui Jn pro souciiaaimo. EPISTOLAE 67 — 70. 8G5 misdae archiepiscopo^) universali Ecclesiae (a. 519.) Pompejus^). Sanctis beatitudinis testrae precibus omnipotcmtis Dei pietas exorata tantae nobis fidei principem condonare dignata est, ut reli- giosissimis clementiae ejus meritis redintegratio pacis ecclesiasticae, quae votis onmium fidelium poscebatur, jure videatur esse collata; • in cujus regis proventu solidissima principatus sui fundamenta sancti Spiritus operatione constituit, quae tantum robur obtinent stabili- tatis invictae, quantum actionis excellentia unica et admirabilis aestimatur. Et ideo reverendam vestri pontificatus beatitudinem cultu reciprocantis alloquii salutantes quaesumus, ut magis magisque pro clementissimi atque invictissimi domini nostri principis prosperi- tate orare dignemini, quatenus ineflFabilis omnipotentis Dei pietas sua dona, iu quibus etiam fructus vestrae agricolationis exuberat, justis gratiae opitulatione custodiat: nobis quoque filiis vestris spiri- tuali vobis conglutinatis affectu, quos hujus operis maxime semper sollicitudo constrinxit, suffiragatrix intercessio sanctimoniae ponti- ficalis assistat.