Free English Translation
Letters and Decretals
Epistolae S. Bonifacio I Attributae
2 chapters · ~1 min read · by Pseudo-Boniface I
About Letters and Decretals
This short collection preserves two letters printed under the name of Pope Boniface I but wrongly attributed to him. The first is addressed to Justus, bishop of Dorobernia (Canterbury), accompanying the gift of the pallium and authorizing him to ordain bishops as needed so the Gospel might be preached to nations not yet converted. The second is addressed to Bishop Faustinus and the presbyters Philip and Asellus, legates sent by Pope Zosimus to the African synod, rejoicing at news of their safety and of a reconciliation among the brethren, and promising fuller details through the messengers Dulcitius and Felix. It is dated to the 6th of the Kalends of May in the consulship of Monaxius.
By Pseudo-Boniface I. Collected in Patrologia Latina, Volume 20.
In this work
Letter I. To Justus, Bishop of Dorobernia
To his most beloved brother JUSTUS, BONIFACIUS. We have sent the pallium to your fraternity by the bearer of these presents, invited by your zeal for kindness, granting to you also to celebrate the ordinations of bishops, as occasion may require, with the Lord's mercy going before, so that the Gospel of Christ may be spread abroad by the preaching of very many among all the nations which have not yet been converted.
Letter II. To the Bishop and Presbyter Vicars Directed by Pope Zosimus to the African Synod
Bishop BONIFACIUS to Bishop FAUSTINUS and to the presbyters PHILIP and ASELLUS. As the page of your affection bears witness, it is being reviewed together with the presbytery; you will also know from the report of the bearers how greatly the whole choir of the brotherhood rejoiced, and how the throng of the saints exulted in the Lord, after it received into its ears the news, long suspended, concerning the safety of your charity. With one accordant voice, too, the solicitude of the members for their head, made known through your letters, was praised. To you, therefore, and to your desires Christ has smiled, who has deigned both to call back into one the divided, and to mend what was rent asunder—matters which it is necessary should be more fully made known to you by the brethren and fellow-presbyters Dulcitius and Felix, who are soon to come. Given the 6th of the Kalends of May, in the consulship of Monaxius, Vir Clarissimus.
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