Letter 7: Leo to all the bishops set over the provinces of Italy greeting. I. Many Manichæans have been discovered in Rome.

Leo to all the bishops set over the provinces of Italy: greetings. We summon you to share in our concern, so that with the diligence of shepherds you may guard your flocks more carefully and permit no devilish scheme to succeed. The plague that, by the Lord's revealing mercy, we are driving from our own flock through vigilant effort must not spread to your churches while you remain unwarned and unaware. Our investigation has uncovered in the City a great many followers and teachers of the Manichaean impiety. Our vigilance has exposed them, and our authority has checked them. Those we could reform we have corrected, compelling them to condemn Manichaeus and his teachings by public confession in church and by their own signed declaration. In this way we have lifted those who acknowledged their guilt out of the pit of their wickedness by granting them room for repentance. A good many, however, were so deeply entangled that no remedy could help them. These have been subjected to the laws in accordance with the decrees of our Christian emperors and, lest they contaminate the holy flock, have been banished into permanent exile by the civil authorities. All the profane and disgraceful things found in their writings and secret traditions we have exposed and clearly demonstrated before the Christian people, so that everyone may know what to reject and avoid. The man they called their bishop was himself tried by us and revealed the criminal beliefs he held within his secret religion, as the record of our proceedings will show you. Since we know that a good many of those too deeply implicated to clear themselves have fled the City, we have sent this letter by our acolyte so that you may be informed and act with diligence and caution. The followers of this Manichaean error must not be given any opportunity to corrupt your people or spread their impious teachings. We cannot properly govern those entrusted to us unless we pursue with the zeal of faith those who are both destroyers and themselves destroyed, cutting them off from contact with sound minds with all the severity we can bring to bear, lest this pestilence spread further. I urge you, beloved -- I implore and warn you -- to employ every watchful effort in tracking them down, so they find no opportunity to hide. For as the man who safeguards the health of his people will receive his due reward from God, so before the Lord's judgment seat no one will be able to plead ignorance if he was unwilling to protect his people from the propagators of an impious delusion. Dated January 30, in the consulship of the illustrious Theodosius Augustus (18th time) and Albinus (444).

Leo to all the bishops set over the provinces of Italy greeting. I. Many Manichæans have been discovered in Rome. We call you to a share in our anxiety, that with the diligence of shepherds you may take more careful heed to your flocks entrusted to you that no craft of the devil's be permitted: lest that plague, which by the revealing mercy of the Lord is driven off from our flocks through our care, should spread among your churches before you are forewarned, and are still ignorant of what is happening, and should find means of stealthily burrowing into your midst, and thus what we are checking in the City should take hidden root among you and grow up. Our search has discovered in the City a great many followers and teachers of the Manichæan impiety, our watchfulness has proclaimed them, and our authority and censure has checked them: those whom we could reform we have corrected and driven to condemn Manichæus with his preachings and teachings by public confession in church, and by the subscription of their own hand, and thus we have lifted those who have acknowledged their fault from the pit of their iniquity by granting them room for repentance. A good many, however, who had so deeply involved themselves that no remedy could assist them, have been subjected to the laws in accordance with the constitutions of our Christian princes, and lest they should pollute the holy flock by their contagion, have been banished into perpetual exile by public judges. And all the profane and disgraceful things which are found as well in their writings as in their secret traditions, we have disclosed and clearly proved to the eyes of the Christian laity that the people might know what to shrink from or avoid: so that he that was called their bishop was himself tried by us, and betrayed the criminal views which he held in his mystic religion, as the record of our proceedings can show you. For this, too, we have sent you for instruction: and after reading them you will be in a position to understand all the discoveries we have made. II. The bishops of Italy must not allow those Manichæans who have quitted the city to escape or lie concealed. And because we know that a good many of those who are involved here in too close an accusation for them to clear themselves have escaped, we have sent this letter to you, beloved, by our acolyth: that your holiness, dear brothers, may be informed of this, and see fit to act with diligence and caution, lest the men of the Manichæan error be able to find opportunity of hurting your people and of teaching their impious doctrines. For we cannot otherwise rule those entrusted to us unless we pursue with the zeal of faith in the Lord those who are destroyers and destroyed: and with what severity we can bring to bear, cut them off from intercourse with sound minds, lest this pestilence spread much wider. Wherefore I exhort you, beloved, I beseech and warn you to use such watchful diligence as you ought and can employ in tracking them out, lest they find opportunity of concealment anywhere. For as he will have a due recompense of reward from God, who carries out what conduces to the health of the people committed to him; so before the Lord's judgment-seat no one will be able to excuse himself from a charge of carelessness who has not been willing to guard his people against the propagators of an impious misbelief. Dated 30 January, in the consulship of the illustrious Theodosius Augustus (18th time) and Albinus (444). About this page Source. Translated by Charles Lett Feltoe. From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 12. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1895.) Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. <https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3604007.htm>. Contact information. The editor of New Advent is Kevin Knight. My email address is feedback732 at newadvent.org. (To help fight spam, this address might change occasionally.) Regrettably, I can't reply to every letter, but I greatly appreciate your feedback — especially notifications about typographical errors and inappropriate ads.