Letter 9

From: Pope Felix III, bishop of Rome To: The bishops of the East Date: ~487 AD Context: Felix writes to the Eastern bishops on the importance of maintaining Chalcedonian orthodoxy in the face of imperial pressure to accept compromise formulas. Felix, bishop of Rome, to our beloved brothers the bishops of the East, greetings in Christ. The pressure on all of you to accept the Henotikon and to restore communion with Acacius is, we understand, very great. The Emperor wants peace; the patriarch wants restoration; influential persons in each of your cities want the conflict to end. The path of least resistance is to accept the compromise and declare the problem solved. We write to urge you not to take that path. The faith is not our possession to compromise. It was given to the church by Christ, defined by the councils held in the Holy Spirit's guidance, transmitted through the succession of bishops from the apostles. We are stewards of it, not owners. We cannot offer it as the price of peace without betraying the trust that has been placed in us. Each of you must decide what you can sustain in your own circumstance. We do not write to condemn those who find themselves unable to resist the pressure openly. We write to encourage those who can resist to do so, and to assure all of you that the apostolic see of Rome holds the Chalcedonian faith and will not abandon it regardless of political pressure. The schism will end when the Eastern church returns to Chalcedon. Until then, we hold the line. Felix, bishop of Rome