**LETTER (formerly IX)**
**TO THE BISHOPS OF GERMANY AND GAUL**
Pelagius, bishop of the Roman Church and the apostolic see, to all bishops of the regions of Germany and Gaul.
When we had assembled a synod in the name of God at the Roman Church — comprising bishops and other fellow priests among God's faithful — and were carefully deliberating on ecclesiastical regulations as handed down by the apostles and holy Fathers, your letters arrived. And to add greater weight to their authority, your personal envoys preceded them, asking that we send you in writing the order of prefaces [the solemn prayers recited before the Eucharistic prayer during Mass] that the holy Roman Church has observed up to now.
We rejoiced greatly at your desire and such worthy devotion. Carefully reviewing the sacred Roman order and the sacred decrees of our predecessors, we found that only these nine prefaces are to be received into the sacred catalog — the ones which long-established tradition the Roman Church has preserved up to this day:
1. One for the Easter season [literally "in the white garments," referring to Easter week when the newly baptized wore white]
2. One for the Ascension of the Lord
3. A third for Pentecost
4. A fourth for the Nativity of the Lord
5. A fifth for the Epiphany [literally "the appearance of the Lord"]
6. A sixth for the Apostles
7. A seventh for the Holy Trinity
8. An eighth for the Cross
9. A ninth to be said only during fasting and Lent
These are the prefaces that the holy Roman Church holds and guards. We command that you observe them as well.
**LETTER (formerly IX)** **TO THE BISHOPS OF GERMANY AND GAUL**
Pelagius, bishop of the Roman Church and the apostolic see, to all bishops of the regions of Germany and Gaul.
When we had assembled a synod in the name of God at the Roman Church — comprising bishops and other fellow priests among God's faithful — and were carefully deliberating on ecclesiastical regulations as handed down by the apostles and holy Fathers, your letters arrived. And to add greater weight to their authority, your personal envoys preceded them, asking that we send you in writing the order of prefaces [the solemn prayers recited before the Eucharistic prayer during Mass] that the holy Roman Church has observed up to now.
We rejoiced greatly at your desire and such worthy devotion. Carefully reviewing the sacred Roman order and the sacred decrees of our predecessors, we found that only these nine prefaces are to be received into the sacred catalog — the ones which long-established tradition the Roman Church has preserved up to this day:
1. One for the Easter season [literally "in the white garments," referring to Easter week when the newly baptized wore white] 2. One for the Ascension of the Lord 3. A third for Pentecost 4. A fourth for the Nativity of the Lord 5. A fifth for the Epiphany [literally "the appearance of the Lord"] 6. A sixth for the Apostles 7. A seventh for the Holy Trinity 8. An eighth for the Cross 9. A ninth to be said only during fasting and Lent
These are the prefaces that the holy Roman Church holds and guards. We command that you observe them as well.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.