Letter 21

From: Pope Felix III, bishop of Rome To: The clergy and people of Constantinople Date: ~484 AD Context: Felix III, letter 10; Felix writes to the Christian people of Constantinople in the wake of the excommunication of their patriarch, urging them not to be confused but to maintain the orthodox faith. Felix, bishop of Rome, to the beloved clergy and people of the most holy church of Constantinople. Do not be troubled by what has happened. I know that the condemnation of your bishop is a disorienting event, and that those who have supported his course of action will attempt to convince you that what the apostolic see has done is an act of aggression against your church rather than a defense of the faith. It is not. The separation that has been made is between Acacius and the apostolic see, a separation that Acacius created by his own actions long before we gave it formal expression. Those who remained faithful to the Chalcedonian definition despite the pressure applied by their patriarch acted rightly, and they continue to be in full communion with the apostolic see and with the Catholic church throughout the world. What I ask of you: do not compound one error with another. The response to a patriarch who betrayed the faith is not the abandonment of the faith or the abandonment of legitimate church structure, but rather the patient maintenance of orthodox Christianity under difficult circumstances, and the hope that better times will come. Pray for your church. Pray for its restoration to full Catholic communion. Felix, bishop of Rome, who prays for you

Felieis papae ad elerum et plebem Gonstantinopolitanum. -^^'^^ 12. 3'« tyrbentur ob praevaricationem legaiorwn Vitalia ei Miseni (n. 1), atque ui Acacii a sede aposioUca damnaii communionem devitent {u. 2). Clericos ab hoc ^ dejecios in loco manere pronuntient («. 3). Felix clero et pl^bi orthodoxis Constantinopoli constitutis dilectissimis filiis salutem. 1. Probatam cunctis vestrae fidei firmitatem Vitalis atque Mi- seni non irrati(mabiliter opinamur praevaricatione turbatam: qui muYersa^ quae illis mandata sunt, non tantum negligendo verum etiam impugnando fecerunt, ut ecclesia Romana consentire damnatis haereticis crederetur^); quando contra vetitum his, qui a Petro illo I, haeretico^ parricidarum^) socio olim justeque dejecto et toties ana- thematizato, directi^) atque ab Acacio suscepti sunt, nostrorum im- memores mandatorum, coramunicare convicti simt, nulla eontesta- tione praemissa, quam tamen, sicut his praeceptimi fuerat, religio restrae sanctitatiB audiret; actumque est, ut, sicuti praediximus, ex- cessus illorum noster crederetur assensus. Quos et ordinibus suis et Teneranda divini mysterii perceptione privavimus. NuUus ergo Testrum per tale commissum sit immemor sui, nec nos aestimet in apostolicae traditionis defensione deficere, quos videt fidei contume- liam in proditores et perditos vindicasse. 2. Scire vos quoque decuit Acacii quondam episcopi varietatem inconstantiamque detectam. Qui quum de Petro isto, sicut probatiu- adnexiB; non ferenda retulerit, atque olim dixerit'*) fuisse damnatum, per legatos nostros raoltis laudibus prosecutus, contra conseientiam fecit; ntrum ei quidquam credendum sit, omnes qui timorem Dei ante oculos constitmmt, judicabunt. Alienarum quoque provinciarum sibi jnra defendens^), sanctorum trecentorum decem et octo patrum Terjtiis £va(prii h. e. 111, 21 utar, ita multos ex sinipUcioribus in fraudeni inductos esme ab haereiicis, quum dicerent^ Peirum a Honiana etiam sede susceptum essc in «) b. e. Timothei Aeluri. Jubemus. iJjuB etiam opera haud dubie eodem anno lata a Zenone fuit lex (1. 16 Cod. Jufft. ly 2), qua idem jus ipsi confirmavit. Exiude Calendionem episcopmu a. 484. cauones illicitarum sibi ordinationum praesumptor est conatos tcre. Quorum etiam ob Iioc subjacet ultioni; nec Romanae, id apostolicae sedis, qua se ipse privavit, communione jam gaudle^ quando Petri Eutychianistae socius et susceptor apparens^ damzuK' tionis ejus se participem indicavit. Quem nostra quoque sententii niinisterii episcopalis officio et sancta communione vestroque umnero, id est Ohristiano, judicavit alienum, sicut reperitur in «dnexis. 3. Filio autem nostro Salomoni presbytero, quem Acacius^ uk placeret haereticis, suo privare putavit gradu, gradum proprium sea- tentia vestra conservet*% vel onmes, qui forte a memorato propalfli| in locis suis et in uostra communione manere pronuntiet. QuamTtt autem zelum vestrae fidei noverimus, monemus tamen, ut omneB, qui catholicae fidei volunt esse participes, ab illius se communione abstineant, ne, quod absit, simili subjaceant ultioni.