Presbyters Uniwersytet Warszawski
ID
ER 1721
Letter from Pope Hormisdas to Justinian, the future emperor, extolling his virtues. In response to the petition of the legates from Constantinople, among them the Presbyter Heraclianus, the Pope allows Epiphanius of Constantinople to reconcile those who have lost the communion with Rome during the Acacian Schism through ignorance, AD 521. Letter 141 in the collection of the letters of Hormisdas "Scio quidem" (= letter 238 in the Collectio Avellana compiled in the second half of the 6th c.).
238. [in Coll. Avell.]
 
Hormisdas first praises Justinian for his diligence in the issues of faith and for his role in the reconciliation of Rome and Constantinople. He refuses, however, to mitigate his requirements in regard to those who want to reconcile - all of them have to profess the faith according to the papal libellus (accept fully the Council of Chalcedon, the Tome of Leo, and condemn several personnages from Eutyches and Nestorius to Acacius and other bishops involved in the schism on his side).
 
15. Sed quamquam his urguemur angustiis, tamen et propter mansuetudinis tuae considerationem et quia uenerabilium legatorum Iohannis episcopi, Heracliani presbyteri atque Constantini diaconi allegatio nos non inhumana permouit, qui innocentibus aut ignaris causae remedia crediderunt esse poscenda, 16. ad fratrem et coepiscopum nostrum Epiphanium scripta transmisimus, ut memor fidei, memor religionis, quos dignos susceptione esse crediderit aut communione, quam respuimus, sicut asseritur innocentes, eos ad societatem sacrae communionis admittat, libelli tamen, qui a nobis interpositus est, tenore seruato. Melius est enim et magis deo placitum, si salua fide ecclesiastico corpori iungantur abscisi quam ad abscisos transeant, qui in beati Petri inmaculata communione manserunt. Data VII. Kal. Apr. Ualerio cons.
 
(ed. Guenther 1895: 735-738; summary by M. Szada)
238. [in Coll. Avell.]
 
Hormisdas first praises Justinian for his diligence in the issues of faith and for his role in the reconciliation of Rome and Constantinople. He refuses, however, to mitigate his requirements in regard to those who want to reconcile - all of them have to profess the faith according to the papal libellus (accept fully the Council of Chalcedon, the Tome of Leo, and condemn several personnages from Eutyches and Nestorius to Acacius and other bishops involved in the schism on his side).
 
15. But though we are oppressed by such difficulties, taking into consideration your clemency and because a humane petition of the embassy of the venerable Bishop John, the Presbyter Heraclianus and the Deacon Constantinus, who believe that remedies should be postulated for those who are innocent or unaware, has moved us, 16. we have sent a letter to our fellow-bishop Epiphanius so that he, remembering about the faith and religion, admits to the union of the holy communion those whom he believes to be worthy of being received and of communion which we refused although they were innocent. But the tenor of our libellus has to be observed. It is better and more pleasing to God if those who have been cut off join the body of the Church without harm to the faith than if those who were in the immaculate communion of saint Peter join the schismatics. Given on the 7th day before the Kalends of April in the consulship of Valerius [= 26 III 521].
 
(summary and trans. M. Szada)

Discussion:

For the embassy of John, Heraclianus and Constantinus see [1697].

Place of event:

Region
  • East
  • Rome
City
  • Constantinople
  • Rome

About the source:

Author: Hormisdas
Title: Collectio Avellana, Epistulae, Letters
Origin: Rome (Rome)
Denomination: Catholic/Nicene/Chalcedonian
Hormisdas was a bishop of Rome from 514 until his death in 523. During his pontificate he managed to resolve the Acacian Schism (see the discussion in [1581]) in 519.
 
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 sixth 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 (Günther 1896: 3-96; Steinacker 1902: 14-15; Blaudeau 2013: 4):
1) Nos. 1–40 are an independent collection making use of the records of the prefecture of the city of Rome concerning two episcopal elections;
2) Nos. 41–50 are derived from the records of the bishopric in Carthage, and consist of the letters of Innocentius I and Zosimus;
3) Nos. 51–55 are the late letters of Leo I not known from any other source, regarding the exile of Bishop Timothy II of Alexandria;
4) Nos. 56–104 are the group of letters from the pontificates of Simplicius, Gelasius, Symmachus, John, Agapet, and Vigilius;
5) Nos. 105–243 are the letters from the records of Hormisdas.
 
The modern name of the collection is derived 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:
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
A. Thiel ed., Epistolae Romanorum Pontificum genuinae et quae ad eos scriptae sunt a s. Hilaro usque ad Pelagium II, vol. 1, Brunsberga 1868
Bibliography:
P. Blaudeau, "Un point de contact entre collectio Avellana et collectio Thessalonicensis?”, Millennium Yearbook / Millenium Jahrbuch 10 (2013), 1–12.
A. Grillmeier and T. Hainthaler, Christ in Christian tradition, London 1995.
O. Guenther, Avellana-Studien, Wien 1896.
O. Guenther, "Zu den Gesta de nomine Acacii”, Byzantinische Zeitschrift 3 (1894), 146–149.
D. Moreau, "Les actes pontificaux comme sources des historiens et des chroniqueurs de l'Antiquité tardive", in: L'historiographie tardo-antique et la transmission des savoirs, ed. P. van Nuffelen, P. Blaudeau,  Millenium-Studien 55, Berlin, Boston 2015, 23-54.
H. Steinacker, "Ueber das älteste päpstliche Registerwesen”, Mitteilungen des Instituts für Österreichische Geschichtsforschung 23 (1902), 1–49.
A.A. Vasiliev, Justin the First. An Introduction to the Epoch of Justinian the Great, Cambridge, Mass. 1950.

Categories:

Travel and change of residence
Described by a title - Presbyter/πρεσβύτερος
Ecclesiastical administration - Ecclesiastical envoy
Relation with - Bishop/Monastic superior
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL: M. Szada, Presbyters in the Late Antique West, ER1721, http://www.presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=1721