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ER 1496

Pope Zosimus informs Aurelius, bishop of Carthage, and other African bishops that after judginig in Rome the case of the presbyter Caelestius accused of Pelagianism, he received letters of Bishop Praylus of Jerusalem and Pelgius. He discusses untrustworthiness of bishops Heros and Lazarus, the accusers of Pelagius and Caelestius, AD 417. Letter "Posteaquam a nobis" or Letter 3 of Zosimus (46 in the Collectio Avellana, compiled in the second half of the 6th c.).

Letter 46

ZOSIMUS EPISCOPUS AURELIO ET UNIUERSIS EPISCOPIS PER AFRICAM CONSTITUTIS DILECTISSIMIS FRATRIBUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM.

1. Posteaquam a nobis Caelestius presbyter auditus est et, quid de fide sentiret, euidenter expressit eademque quae in libello contulerat, repetitis crebro professionibus roborauit (de cuius nomine plenius ad dilectionem uestram scripta direximus): 2. ecce epistolam Hierosolymitani episcopi Prayli, qui in locum quondam sancti Iohannis episcopus est ordinatus, accepimus, qui causae Pelagi enixius adstipulator interuenit. Litteras quoque suas idem Pelagius purgationem tenentes abundantissimas misit, quibus et professionis suae fidem, quid sequeretur quidue damnaret, sine aliquo fuco, ut cessarent totius interpretationis insidiae, cumulauit.

3. Harum recitatio publica fuit: omnia quidem paria et eodem sensu sententiisque formata, quae Caelestius ante protulerat, continebant. Utinam ullus uestrum, dilectissimi fratres, recitationi litterarum interesse potuisset!

Zosimus notices that Pelagius was defamed by bishops Heros and Lazarus who had earlier accused Caelestius [1467]. He writes in length about their unreliability, and compares their actions with the legitimate appeal to the Apostolic See made both by Pelagius and Caelestius. He calls the African episcopate not to believe Heros and Lazarus, and attaches the letter of Pelagius. The letter of Zosimus is dated to the 11th day before the Kalends of October (that is, the 21st of September).

(ed. Guenther 1895: 103-108)

Letter 46

Zosimus, the bishop, to Aurelius and all the bishops being in Africa, the most beloved brothers in the Lord, greetings.

1. Presbyter Caelestius was heard by us in the matter of his faith. He expressed the same things that he wrote in the booklet (libellus), and confirmed them frequently repeating the professions. We wrote to Your Love in a more detailed way in the previous letter. 2. Afterwards we received a letter of Bishop Praylus of Jerusalem who had been ordained in place of the late Bishop John. Praylus intervened in the case of Pelagius as his earnest supporter. Pelagius as well sent a very detailed letter in which he made an apology. In this letter he also included the profession of his faith, in what he believed and what he condemned, whithout any obscurity, in order to silence all the malicious interpretations. 3. The letter was read publicly. All the things it contained were similar and expressed in the sentences of the same meaning than in what was earlier presented by Caelestius. If only one of you could have been present to this reading of the letter! [...]

(trans. and summary M. Szada)

Discussion:

Caelestius was a disciple of Pelagius, involved in the discussions over the free will, original sin and grace at the beginning of the 5th c. in Rome, North Africa and Palestine. He is ordained presbyter between 411 and 416 during his travel to the East (see [497] and [503] and [953]). Caelestius went back to Rome in 417 after the election of Zosimus as the bishop of Rome. There he appealed to Zosimus asking him to judge his writings and opinions against those who were accusing him of heresy. For a previous letter of Zosimus regarding directly the case of Caelestius see [1467].

Place of event:

Region

Rome
Latin North Africa

City

Carthage

About the source:

Author: Zosimus
Title: Collectio Avellana, Exemplum epistolae I. Zosimi papae in defensionem Caelestii contra Africanos episcopos
Origin: Rome
Denomination: Catholic/Nicene/Chalcedonian

Collectio Avellana is a collection containing 244 letters issued by emperors, imperial magistrates and popes. The earliest item is dated to AD 367, the latest to AD 553. Hence, the compilator worked most probably in the second half of the 6th century. Two hundred documents of the Collectio are not known from any other collection. The editor of the Collectio, Günther noticed that it can be divided into five thematic parts (Gunther 1896: 3-96; Steinacker 1902: 14-15; Blaudeau 2013: 4) :

1) no. 1-40 is an independent collection making use of the records of the prefecture of the city of Rome concerning two episcopal elections;

2) no. 41-50 that are derived from the records of the bishopric in Carthage, and consist of the letters of Innocentius I and Zosimus;

3) no. 51-55, the late letters of Leo I not known from any other source, regarding the exile of Bishop Timothy II of Alexandria;

4) no. 56-104 the group of letters from the pontificates of Simplicius, Gelasius, Symmachus, John, Agapet, and Vigilius;

5) no. 105-243 the letters from the records of Hormisdas.

The modern name of the collection derives from the codex Vaticanus Latinus 4961 copied in the monastery Sancti Crucis in fonte Avellana that was considered the oldest by the brothers Ballerini who edited the Collectio in 1787.

Edition:

P. Coustant ed., Epistolae Romanorum pontificum et quae ad eos scriptae sunt, vol. 1, Paris 1721, col. 943-955.

Edition of the letter in the Collectio Avellana:

O. Guenther ed., Epistolae Imperatorum Pontificum Aliorum Inde ab a. CCCLXVII usque DLIII datae Avellana Quae Dicitur Collectio, Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum 35/1, 35/2, Prague, Vienna, and Leipzig 1895

Edition and French translation:

L. Dalmon, "Trois pièces de la Collectio Avellana: édition critique, traiduction et commentaire”, Recherches augustiniennes et patristiques 36 (2011), 195–246.

Categories:

Writing activity - Correspondence

PR205.

Religious grouping (other than Catholic/Nicene/Chalcedonian) - Pelagian

PR205.

Described by a title - Presbyter/πρεσβύτερος

PR205.

Public law - Ecclesiastical

PR205.

Relation with - Bishop/Monastic superior

PR205.

Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL: M. Szada, Presbyters in the Late Antique West, ER1496, http://www.presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=1496