The Dubious Letters of Pope Felix I

Felix, bishop, to all the bishops established throughout the provinces of Gaul, greeting in the Lord. It is not doubtful that God is the author of good works and spiritual endeavors, who stirs their minds and aids their actions. Wherefore your writings have caused me to rejoice, arising from the good zeal and integrity of faith of your devotion: but they have saddened me in great part on account of your affliction and distress. For sad myself, I read your sad letters, and ran through your sorrowful writings with fitting grief: because just as the peace of the Churches, and the harmony of her priests, and the tranquility of the people causes us to hear gladness, so does brotherly affliction afflict and cast us down.

Yet do not be overly saddened, because as the Truth itself says of itself: If you had been of this world, the world would love what is its own: but because you are not of this world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world, that is, the lovers of the world, hates you. Whatever they may say, or do against you, yet always keep your faith whole, and hold a pure conscience, so that the spirit and soul may be kept whole in the day of the Lord. We indeed, for your support, have summoned our brothers and fellow bishops, more than seventy, with whom we have decreed that these matters which are inserted below are to be treated in accordance with the canons.

For when your letters were read aloud in the hearing of all, which contained (as you know) many complaints and oppressions of yours, and the decrees which concern accusations of bishops, the holy synod declared: These are the things which henceforth, on account of the snares of evil men who rage indiscriminately against the Church and against ecclesiastical men, we wish to preserve most firmly for all time: If any bishop shall have been accused by those accusers who are to be received, after he himself has been charitably admonished by them that he ought to amend the matter itself and correct it, and he shall have been unwilling to correct it, not long after but then shall his cause be canonically brought before the highest primates, who in a fitting place, within that same province, at a fitting time, that is, in autumn or summer, shall be obliged to convoke a council in accordance with the canons, so that he may be heard there by all the bishops of that same province.

To which he also, having been canonically summoned, if neither illness nor some other grave necessity detains him, shall be obliged to be present: because beyond the boundaries of the province there is no prior permission to accuse, by which a hearing may be sought. For if he shall have been despoiled of his own goods or those of the Church committed to him, or (which God forbid, which ought to be foreign to all the faithful) ejected from his own see, or sequestered in some detention from his own flock: then canonically, before he is restored to his former state with all the privilege of his honor, and all his things which had been taken from him by the snares of his enemies are restored to him by law, he can neither be summoned nor judged, unless he himself shall have chosen to come of his own accord for his own necessity (yet by no means to be judged).

Let him therefore by no means be asked to answer by anyone, before all things which he had lost through the suggestions of his enemies are fully and completely restored to his authority by the honorable council in legal order; and let the bishop be restored to his former state with all honor, and when he has freely and securely arranged and set in order his own affairs for a long time, then let him, having been canonically summoned within four or five, or seven months, according to what shall be possible for him, and not before, come at the appointed time to the council in a legitimate and canonical manner, to the cause: and if it so seems just, let him respond to the propositions of the accusers. For this must above all be provided for, lest before these things are done he be compelled to respond, because contention must always be avoided.

For that an episcopate should be taken from a bishop before the outcome of his cause appears, can seem right to no Christian, because such presumption is sacrilege, and the author of such things is a sacrilegist. But if the bishop shall be ill, or some grave necessity detains him, let him send a legate to the synod in his place. Nor let him be suspended from communion against whom a charge is brought; unless, having been summoned by letters on the appointed day of the chosen judges to plead his cause, he shall have failed to appear: that is, unless some necessity shall have overtaken him within the space of the aforesaid months, and beyond, as the cause shall dictate.

But if both parties shall have come to plead the cause; because one ought not to be heard without the other, it must be inquired in judgment what is the manner of life and faith and the suspicion attaching to the accusers, or with what intention they do this: because they ought not to be admitted to this, unless they be men of good manner of life and right faith, namely those who are free from all suspicion, and distinguished by a good life, and are not infamous. But if the persons of the accusers shall appear culpable in the judgment of the bishops, they shall not be admitted to make accusations, unless they shall wish to assert their own causes (not however criminal ones) or ecclesiastical ones. For an infamous person can be neither a procurator nor a cognitor.

In the absence of the adversary, let not the accuser be heard: nor shall a sentence pronounced by a judge in the absence of the other party obtain any firmness: nor can an absent person be accused through another, or accuse, nor shall one related to them be admitted. Let no one therefore be brought from province to province, or to the court, except upon the report of the judge to whom appeal has been made, that is, so that the author of the matter always follows the forum of the thing. But if anyone shall have felt the judge to be adverse to him, let him raise the voice of appeal, which it is fitting to deny to no one. Foreign judgments moreover we prohibit by general sanction: because it is unworthy that one who ought to have fellow-provincials and judges chosen by himself should be judged by outsiders.

These things, brothers, have been unanimously decreed in the synod for your aid and defense and that of all fellow bishops, so that if perchance some of the foolish who have been deceived by the error of diabolical deception shall wish to accuse you, when they shall have read or heard these things, they may come to their senses and return to the harmony of unity: and what was previously unto punishment shall pass into glory. For without doubt there are many who (according to the voice of the apostle) having itching ears, turn away their hearing from the truth, but are turned unto fables and pass on to the harm of honorable men. But the same apostle says concerning the ignorance of the unfaithful: If they had known, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory. Likewise if these men had perfectly known and loved the Lord, they would never have disturbed his servants, nor persecuted them in words or deeds.

Since, while we are reconciled to God through the death of his Son, why do we pursue our brothers? Why do we disturb the state of the Church of God, and afflict those who ought to serve it? For the martyrs suffered, yet their souls were not slain in the suffering of the body, as the mouth of Truth attests: Fear not those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul. Wherein it must be recognized that if the souls of the martyrs, when the body has been destroyed, cannot be extinguished by torments, neither ought the souls of preachers and teachers to have been persecuted, or disturbed, and turned away from the service of God, because they do not fail together with the bodies. But such disturbers of the Church not only do the aforesaid evils, but also execrate the memorials of the martyrs.

Wherefore we have established in the aforesaid synod, and we command you and all the Churches to hold and to do, that Masses be celebrated over the memorials of the martyrs, lest their memorials be extinguished by such persons, or their veneration be able to be prohibited. But you, brothers, be not overly troubled, be not vexed, but be strengthened in the Lord, and in the power of his glory. Have these things meanwhile, decreed by apostolic authority, for your support: and know that we are always ready, even (if it shall be necessary) unto death, to accomplish whatever shall be necessary for you (with the Lord bringing aid). They however, with God as author, shall perish, and you shall stand, if nevertheless your labor shall not have been in vain, but full of faith and charity. Woe, says the prophet, to him who gives drink to his neighbor, putting his gall therein. And again the most wise Solomon says: He who speaks iniquitous things cannot be hidden, nor shall the chastening judgment pass him by.

In the thoughts of the impious therefore there shall be inquiry. And the hearing of his words shall reach the Lord, and unto the correction of his iniquities. Because the ear of jealousy hears all things, and the tumult of murmurings shall not be hidden. For if they had been willing to embrace these things with their own sound sense, they would by no means have fallen into a reprobate sense: but guarding the custody of their words through the fear of God, they would have preserved the pious definition of the holy fathers without any presumption of harm. Because the sacred word says: Good counsel shall preserve you, and a good mind shall keep you. For such accusations and detractings do not proceed spiritually from the fountains of salvation unto the acquisition of eternal life, and therefore the blessed apostle Paul, fortifying us fittingly, says: That we ought not to think more highly than it is fitting to think, but to think unto sobriety, persevering in the definition of piety.

For those who pass by these things are not only injured, falling from their own strength, but have left to their houses a memorial of their foolishness, so that in those things wherein they have sinned they could by no means be hidden. For glory and dishonor are in speech, and in the speech of the tongue of man is his downfall. And therefore it is fitting that this display of their reproofs be inserted into our acts, lest you suffer such things any longer, with them sowing tares and scandals, but may deserve to rejoice in your offices and teachings. Let them therefore blush, and hasten to withdraw such blasphemy and the like, if they shall not wish to be separated from our priestly college, and torn away from the fellowship of the whole Christian people.

For although we could have said and written more and more necessary things concerning these matters, which are found established in the decrees of the apostolic see and by the apostles and their successors, namely our predecessors, yet it has seemed better to us to close the letter with a prayer. May almighty God and his only-begotten Son, and our Savior Christ, grant you this encouragement, that you may succor with all your strength all our brothers and fellow bishops laboring under whatever tribulations, and suffering with them, may bear the cross of the same Lord Savior, so that you may appear before all as his true disciples, so that both you and those who are with you may possess here and in the future better things, which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man, which God has prepared for those who love him. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom and with whom be glory to almighty God for ever and ever. Amen.

I pray that you fare well, most dear brothers. Given on the fifth day before the ides of August, in the consulship of Claudius and Paternus, most distinguished men.

Receiving the letters of your fraternity, by which you consulted me concerning the documents of the faith, which were held by some otherwise than the sacraments of the right faith contain, we have not refused to respond, as the Lord granted, out of love of fraternity. For doubtful and greater matters have always been accustomed to receive their determination from this holy see, from the time of the apostles, who instructed it with their teachings. And therefore you acted rightly, in that you wished yourself and the others to be confirmed and instructed by the counsels of this holy see.

1. The Son's Vision of the Father and the Trinity's Testimony

For your letters and those of your brethren contained the report that certain persons say the Son cannot properly see the Father, because it is written: For no one has ever seen God. And others fabricate: The Son is therefore less than the Father, because the Father bears testimony to Him. But certain ones chatter that He is therefore less than the Father, because the Father Himself is said to be invisible, whereas the Son is shown to be visible. For these persons, ignorant of the laws of the divine Scriptures and of the apostles, fashion such things from their own or adulterated understanding, and seek to seduce the hearts of the faithful.

But let us return to the very origin of the source, from which we teach, by more evident testimonies of the letters of the Old and New Testament, that the Son has always been able or is able to see the Father, Solomon saying: Wisdom is with you, who knows your works, who was present with you when you made the world, and she herself knows what is pleasing before your eyes. And the Lord in the Gospel: No one knows the Son except the Father, nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and he to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. And again: No one has ever seen God, except the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. And again He said to the Jews: You do not know Him, but I know Him. For if I were to say that I do not know Him, I would be like you, a liar. Likewise there: He who is of God, this one knows Him.

And again: I know Him, because I am from Him. Behold, we have shown that the Son always sees the Father. How do they assert that He cannot see the Father, in whose bosom He is known to remain? If you review the divine Scriptures with a clear mind, you will find not only the Father bearing testimony to the Son, but the whole inseparable Trinity together, as the Lord Himself attests, who says: I am the one who bears testimony concerning myself, and He who sent me, the Father, bears testimony concerning me. And again: If I bear testimony concerning myself, my testimony is true, because I know whence I come and whither I go. And concerning the Holy Spirit: When the Paraclete, the Spirit of truth, shall come, He will bear testimony concerning me. Attend, I pray, attend, because in those in whom one power of testimony is shown, none is judged either greater or lesser than another.

2. Invisible Divine Nature and the Unbroken Apostolic Tradition

We have already said these things more than once: that according to the form of man the Son is said to be visible, but according to the substance of the divinity He is proclaimed invisible, the apostle Paul attesting: O the depth, he says, of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are His judgments, and how unsearchable His ways! And in Isaiah: To whom do you liken Him, since He Himself is invisible? And likewise the Apostle: But to me, the least of all the saints, this grace was given among the Gentiles, to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to enlighten all as to what is the dispensation of the mystery hidden from the ages, in whom He created all things. Likewise he himself: Who is, he says, the image of the invisible God.

And to the Colossians: I Paul am a minister, who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up what is lacking of the tribulations of Christ in my flesh for His body, which is the Church, of which I was made a minister according to the dispensation of God in the ministry of Christ, which was hidden from ages and from generations. Likewise there: That their hearts may be comforted in charity, unto all the riches of the fullness of understanding, unto the knowledge of the mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. And in: Your way is in the sea, and your paths in many waters, and your footsteps shall not be known. And in Solomon: The wisdom of God preceding all things, who shall search it out? Likewise there: The root of wisdom, to whom has it been revealed? And its subtleties, who has known them?

Likewise there: The discipline of wisdom, to whom has it been made manifest, and the multiplication of its entrance, who has understood it? Likewise there: Because the works of the Lord alone are wonderful, and glorious and hidden, and His works are unseen by men. Behold, just as the Father is invisible, so also the Son is found to be. How then is He judged inferior to the Father by those who say what you have reported, in that He deigned to show Himself to us in a bodily manner? Do not believe such persons yourselves, and teach others to turn away from their understanding. Serve therefore the Lord in fear, and rejoice before Him with trembling. Take hold of discipline, lest you perish from the just way. This indeed is the living tradition of the apostles, this is the true charity, which is to be preached, and truly to be loved and cherished, and to be held with confidence by all.

This holy and apostolic mother of all churches, the Church of Christ, which by the grace of God almighty is shown never to have erred from the path of apostolic tradition, nor has it succumbed to be corrupted by heretical novelties, but as it received the norm of the Christian faith at the beginning from its founders, the princes of the apostles of Christ, it remains unimpaired to the end, according to the divine promise of the Lord Savior Himself, who spoke to the prince of His disciples in His Gospels, saying: Peter, behold Satan has desired to sift you as one who sifts wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, once converted, confirm your brethren. Let your excellent prudence therefore consider how good it is to persist in the dispensation entrusted to you, and in the right faith, and to resist heretics and enemies of Christ, and never to turn aside from the path of truth.

For the Lord and Savior of all, whose faith it is, who did not hesitate to die for us, and redeemed us with His own blood, promised that the faith of blessed Peter would not fail, and admonished him to confirm his brethren: which the apostolic pontiffs, the predecessors of my unworthiness, have always been known by all to have done with confidence. And my own smallness also, though unequal and least, yet desires, by reason of the ministry accepted through divine condescension, to be their follower. For woe will be to us, who bear the burden of this ministry accepted, if we neglect to preach the truth of our Savior Jesus Christ, which the apostles preached. Woe will be to us, if we suppress by silence the truth which we are commanded to distribute to the money-changers, that is, to instruct and teach the Christian peoples. What shall we say at the future judgment of Christ Himself, if we are confounded to preach the truth of His words?

What will become of us, when the just judge Christ our God shall exact a strict account of the souls committed to us and of the office undertaken? Therefore, brethren, I exhort your charity, I adjure and admonish you, that with whatever diligence you can and ought, you be watchful in seeking out heretics and enemies of the holy Church of God, and extirpate them from sound minds, lest this pestilence spread more widely, with whatever severity you can, to the best of your strength. For as he will have from God the reward of worthy recompense who has more diligently carried out what profits the salvation of the people committed to him: so before the tribunal of the Lord he will not be able to excuse himself from the guilt of negligence, whoever has been unwilling to guard his people against the authors of sacrilegious persuasion. Given on the Nones of February, Claudius and Paternus, most distinguished men, being consuls.

Concerning the incarnation of the Word and the faith, we believe in our Lord Jesus Christ born of the Virgin Mary, that He is the eternal Son of God: For the Son of God did not assume a man so as to be another besides Himself: but existing as perfect God, He became at the same time also perfect man, incarnate of the Virgin.