Letter 83: Part of the papal correspondence surrounding the Acacian Schism (484-519), the major breach between Rome and...

Hormisdas to Epiphanius, Bishop of Constantinople. It would indeed have befitted your Fraternity, out of regard for the divine judgment and in consideration of our charity, to admit our brothers and fellow bishops Elias, Thomas, and Nicostratus without delay to the divine mysteries together with you, once we had received them into the fellowship of our communion, and, for the fullness of our peace, to recall them to their churches, from which the error of discord had shut them out, so that the unity which God, after the long circuits of many years, has restored to his churches throughout the whole world might be injured by no divergence of our wills. But because it has happened that a matter so welcome, and so consonant with the venerable statutes of the Fathers, has up to now been deferred through certain delays, concerning which we recall that we wrote also to the predecessor of your Fraternity, we exhort you that the gladness which we receive from the condemned past dissension may not in any respect again be saddened by the cause of disagreeing minds. For indeed it seems to no one that you communicate with us in the full affection of mind, if you separate from your fellowship those who communicate with us. Surely those seem to receive peace in vain who put off fulfilling the precepts of peace. For whatever you delay in undertaking the communion of those men, you in a certain manner detract from our reconciliation; and it must be provided for, dearest brother, that the concord at last granted from above to our churches should not take its beginning from these examples, and that the venerable rule of religion and the authority of the Apostolic See should seem to be diminished -- which God forbid -- throughout the East, rather than restored.

HOWnSDA EPIPHANIO EPI8C0P0 C0N8TANTIN0P0LITAN0. OpOl- tuerat quidem fraternitatem tuam diuini contemplatione iudicii atque caritatis nostrae respectu Heliam Thomam atque 5 Nicostratum fratres et coepiscopos nostros, postquam in consortium communionis nostrae recepimus, ad diuina tecum mjsteria incunctanter admittere atque ad ecclesias suas, a quibus eos discordiae error excluserat, pro pacis nostrae plenitudine reuocare, ut unitas, quam post annorum multa 10 cun*icula per totum orbem suis deus restaurauit ecclesiis, nulla uoluntatum nostrarum distantia laederetur. sed quia 2 rem tam gratam et patrum statutis uenerabilibus congruentem quibusdam tarditatibus contigit nunc usque differri, unde etiam ad decessorem fratemitatis tuaenos scripsissememinimus, 15 hoi-tamur ut laetitiam, quam de damnata praeterita dissen- sione percipimus, in nuUo iterum discrepantium animorum causa contristet. etenim nuUi uidetur uos nobiscum pleno communicare mentis affectu, si eos qui nobiscum communicant a uestro consortio segregetis. incassum certe uidentur pacem S » recipere, qui pacis differunt praecepta complere. quicquid enim in iilorum suscipienda communione moramini, de nostra quodammodo reconciliatione detrahitis et prouidendum est, frater karissime, ne si ecclesiarum nostrarum tandem desuper indulta concordia ab his exordium sumat exemplis, et religi- s5 onis ueneranda regula et apostolicae sedis auctoritas imminuta, quod absit, per Orientem potius quam restituta uideatur. 204. Bat a, 521 post diem 26 Mart Edd. Car. P 541; Bar. ad a. 520, 65; Collect Concil; BTA I 444; Thiel 982. 6 rcci- pimas F, corr. cod. Angelic. 15 damnata praeterita dissensione scripsi: damnato praeteritae dissensione F, damnato praeteritae dissentionis errore Car. 16 nulla F, corr. Bar. 17 uobiscum F, corr. 19 segre- getis ex segregatis corr. V: segregatis o 20 qui leui rasura ex quia eorr. V 664 HonniBda Epiphanio; Hormisda lustiniano