Letter 6
Felix, bishop of Rome, to Vitalis, bishop, and Misenus, bishop, our legates to Constantinople, greetings.
You are sent on a mission of the greatest importance, and we want to ensure that you understand fully what we are asking and what we are not asking.
Your mandate: to present to Patriarch Acacius the Roman synod's requirement that he abandon his support for the Henotikon and break communion with those who reject Chalcedon. You are to receive his response and communicate it faithfully to us. You are not to accept any compromise on the Chalcedonian definition, however such compromise may be framed or however much pressure is applied.
On the pressure that will be applied: it will be considerable. The Emperor wants this problem to go away. Acacius is a skilled politician who has navigated the theological controversies of his time with considerable dexterity. The temptation to accept an ambiguous formula that allows everyone to go home satisfied will be powerful.
Do not succumb to it. An ambiguous formula that papers over the real disagreement is worse than open conflict, because it creates the illusion of resolution while the actual problem continues to fester. We need a real answer, not a diplomatic formula.
Come back to us with the truth of what was said, not the truth of what you wished had been said.
Felix, bishop of Rome
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.
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