Letters of Pope Julius I

Ursacius from Singidunum, Valens from Mursa, Narcissus from Neronopolis, Stephanus from Antioch, Acacius from Caesarea, Menophanes from Ephesus, Georgius from Laodicea.

Osius from Spain, of Corduba. Annianus from Spain, of Castolona. Florentius from Spain, of Emerita. Domnianus from Spain, of Asturica. Castus from Spain, of Caesar-Augusta. Praetextatus from Spain, of Barcilona. Maximus from Tuscany, of Luca. Bassus from Macedonia, of Diocletianopolis. Porphyrius from Macedonia, of Philippi. Marcellus from Macedonia, of Ancyra of Galatia. Euterius from Procia, of Caindus. Asclepius from Palestine, of Gaza. Moscus from Thessalonica, of Thebes. Vincentius from Campania, of Capua. Januarius from Campania, of Beneventum. Protogenes from Acacia, of Serdica. Dioscorus from Thrace. Hymomus from Thessaly, of Oparata. Lucius from Thrace, of Cainopolis. Lucius from Italy, of Verona. Evagrius from Macedonia, of Heracliadinum. Dionysius from Achaia, of Lignedon. Julius from Achaia, of Thebes of the seven gates. Athenodorus from Achaia, of Blatea. Diodorus from Asia, of Tenedos. Alexander from Thessaly, of Larissa. Aethius from Macedonia, of Thessalonica. Vitalis from Dacia Ripensis, of Aquae. Paragorius from Dardania, of Scupi. Trifon from Achaia, of Macroce. Athanasius from Alexandria. Gaudentius from Achaia, of Naissus. Jonas from Macedonia, of Particopolis. Alipius from Achaia, of Megara. Macedonius from Ardonia, of Ulpiana.

Calvus from Achaia Ripensis, of Castra Martis. Fortunatianus from Italy, of Aquileia. Plotarcus from Achaia, of Patrois. Eliodorus from Nicopolis. Eutarius from Pannonia. Arius from Palestine. Asturus from Arabia. Coeras from Achaia, of Asapofebia. Stercorius from Apulia, of Canusium. Calepodius from Campania. Lerenius from Achaia, of Secorus. Martirius from Achaia, of Neapolis. Dionysius from Arcadia, of Elis. Severus from Italy, of Ravenna. Ursacius from Italy, of Brixia. Partasius from Italy, of Mediolanum. Marcus from Asia, of Fissia. Verissimus from Gaul, of Lugdunum. Valens from Achaia Ripensis, of Scius. Palladius from Macedonia, of Dui. Geruntius from Macedonia, of Brevis. Alexander from Achaia, of Morena. Euthitius from Achaia. Titius from Asia, of Montons. All the bishops in number one and sixty.

I marvel when I hear that some confess the Lord as God indeed incarnate, yet fall into that division which the Paulianists perversely introduced. For those who are devoted to Paul of Samosata say that he who is from heaven is one, confessing him to be God himself, but affirming that he who is from earth is another man; and that the former is uncreated, the latter created; the former eternal, the latter of yesterday; the former Lord, the latter servant: acting impiously, whether they adore him whom they call servant and created, or do not adore him who redeemed us with his own blood. But those who confess that God who is from heaven took flesh from the Virgin, and is one with the flesh, stir up strife in vain, babbling things that savor of that impiety of theirs.

For they themselves also say, as I hear, two natures, even though John openly demonstrates one Lord, saying, The Word was made flesh, and Paul, when he says, One Lord Jesus Christ through whom are all things. If therefore he who was born of the holy Virgin is called one, and he himself is the same through whom all things were made; there is one nature: since having one person he is not divided into two, because the body is not a nature proper to itself, just as deity is a proper nature through the incarnation; but as man is one nature, so also Christ made in the likeness of men.

But if they do not at all acknowledge that which is one according to union, they can also divide him who is one into many, and speak of many natures; for the body is manifold, consisting as it does of bones, and sinews, and veins, and flesh, and skin, and nails, and hair, and blood, and spirit, all of which differ from one another, yet the nature of man is one. Wherefore also the truth of deity is one with the body, and is not divided into two natures. For it would not be right to call the whole him the son of man who descended from heaven, and the Son of God who was born of a woman, if he were to admit the division of two natures: for that which descended from heaven would be called the Son of God, and not the son of man; but that which was born of a woman would be called the son of man, not the Son of God. And this is in agreement with the division of Paul of Samosata.

But the divine Scriptures teach us, and when we hear both the descent from heaven and the birth from a woman on earth, we understand that both are to be referred to one Lord. Let those therefore who so understand, not go so far as to use the words of those who think otherwise, lest while holding right opinions in mind they speak perverse things with their mouth. For those who say two natures must necessarily adore one and not adore the other; and be baptized into the divine, and not be baptized into the human. But if we are baptized into the death of the Lord, we confess one nature of the impassible deity and the passible flesh, so that our baptism may thus be accomplished both into God and into the death of the Lord. For we do not fear the calumniators who divide the Lord into two persons, if, when we assert the evangelical and apostolic union, they revile us as though we were saying that the flesh is from heaven.

For neither, when we say that the Son of God was born of a woman, can we be blamed as though we were saying that the Word is from earth and not from heaven. But we say both: the whole from heaven on account of the deity, and the whole from a woman on account of the flesh, knowing no division of one person, neither severing the earthly from the heavenly, nor the heavenly from the earthly; for such severance would indeed be impious.

Let those therefore who say two natures give no cause and occasion to those who sever: for the body is not in itself a nature in the one Christ, because it is not life-giving of itself, nor can it be severed and separated from the life-giving Word; nor again is the Word divided in itself into its own nature, which it has according to that which is without flesh; since the Lord was in the flesh, and did not dwell in the world without flesh; nor does the created body separate from the uncreated deity, so that one might separate a created nature; for the uncreated Word did not sojourn among us without a body, so that one might divide the nature of the uncreated. But if both are one according to union, and conjunction, and composition endowed with human form, one name also befits the composite, which indeed from the deity has it that it is exempt from passion, but from the body that it is subject to passion.

And just as when we hear Paul, who calls Christ passible, we did not take it in a divided sense, nor did we consider the deity passible; so also "created" and "servant" is neither said in a divided sense, nor does it make the deity created or of a servile nature. And again "uncreated" neither makes the flesh uncreated, nor is it said separately of the deity alone.

Let those who think thus remain at peace, avoiding superfluous questions; lest we disagree in our opinions on account of words. By common consent therefore it is agreed and acknowledged that the body is from the Virgin, but the deity from heaven; the body formed in the womb, but the deity uncreated and eternal, so that the deity, united to the Word in the body, may remain undivided. But if it be customary for Scripture to call the whole God, and likewise to call the whole man, let us also follow the divine words, and not divide what is undivided; neither separating the deity from the body, as though we were speaking better when the body is said to be formed from the womb; nor dividing the body from the deity, as though acknowledging the presence, when the uncreated deity is glorified.

How then is it not a matter for grief, that those who thus rightly confess or think, even as they have received it handed down from their forebears, should disagree with one another on account of words? When some use the name of the body when they speak of the Word, as John saying that the Word was made flesh; while others take the name of deity when their discourse is of the whole servant, as Paul: But I say, the last Adam into a life-giving spirit. According to the flesh Christ confesses that he worships the Father, saying: We worship what we know, and the deity is not divided. He is worshipped according to the deity, and the body is not separated when we worship the deity. Nor do we separate the body from the deity (for it cannot be done), when we worship that which suffered death; nor is the deity separated, for it is united, since it was necessary that death be overcome by God, and it was overcome.

Admonish moreover those who disagree in vain on these questions, and let agreement be preserved in doctrine, lest we disagree on account of words. For to disagree in doctrine and to simulate agreement in words is impious; but for those who agree in doctrine to disagree on account of words is vain and foolish. Holding this therefore in common agreement, namely that Christ is God incarnate, both from heaven and from earth, the same one who is servant in form and God in power, let them remain in concord, and not disagree in vain, nor fall into the battle of words familiar to heretics, but rather emulate the simplicity of the Church. Farewell.

I marvel, hearing that some who confess our Lord in the flesh are nevertheless falling into the division wickedly introduced by the Paulianists. For those who follow Paul of Samosata understand one to be he who descended from heaven, confessing him to be God; but another they say to be an earthly man; and the former they call unfashioned, the latter a lord, another a servant: which is impious, whether they venerate him whom they call servant and fashioned, or do not worship him who redeemed us with his blood. But these, who confess that God descended from heaven, and that flesh was made from a virgin, and that he is one with the flesh, are troubled in vain, going beyond into the words of the impiety of those others.

For they themselves also say, as I hear, two natures. To which also John evidently proves (one) our Lord, when he says, The Word was made flesh, and the apostle Paul, when he says, One Lord Jesus Christ through whom are all things. For if he who was born of the holy Virgin is named Jesus, and he himself is the one through whom all things were made; one nature was clearly made, since also one person, not divided into two; since neither is the body a nature proper to itself, and the proper nature is deity according to the flesh. But as man is one nature, so also he who was made in the likeness of man is Christ.

But if they do not acknowledge that which is one through union, they can also divide the one into many, and speak of very many natures: since the body is manifold, consisting of bones, sinews and veins, flesh and skin, nails and hair, blood and spirit; all of which are indeed diverse from one another, yet the nature of man is one. Whence also the nature of deity is one with the body: and is not divided into two natures. For neither could the whole be called the son of man who had descended from the heavens, and again the Son of God who was born of a woman, if he were to admit the division of two natures; but that which had descended from the heavens would be called the Son of God, not the Son of man; and that which was born of a woman would be called the son of man, not the Son of God. And this belongs to the Paulian division.

But the divine Scriptures teach us to think of one Lord of ours, both when he descended from the heavens and when he was born on earth. Those therefore who think thus do not go beyond into the discordant views of those who think otherwise, so as to agree with divine precepts in mind but disagree in words. For it is necessary that those who understand two natures must worship one and not adore the other; and be baptized indeed into the divine, but not be baptized into the human. But if we are baptized into the death of the Lord, we profess one nature both of the impassible deity and of the passible flesh; so that thereby our baptism may be received both into God and into the death of the Lord.

For we do not fear the calumniators who divide the Lord into two persons. Nor, when we proclaim the evangelical and apostolic unity, let them tear at us as though we were saying the flesh is heavenly, when on the contrary we read the divine scriptures saying that the Son is not from heaven. For neither, when we say that the Son of God was created from a woman, can we be rebuked as though we were saying the Word is from earth and not from heaven. For we say both: the whole from heaven on account of the deity, and the whole from a woman on account of the flesh, knowing no division of one person. It is in the prophets and in the epistles: perfect God in the flesh, and perfect man in the spirit, not two sons; one indeed the true son, who received the man: but the other a mortal man assumed by God; but one only-begotten in heaven, only-begotten upon earth.

To my most beloved lord Prosdocius, Julius, greeting in the Lord.

Our opinion according to apostolic tradition is this: of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit there is one true divinity: one adoration and glorification of the Son to the Father in the adoration of the Holy Spirit. But whoever introduces another deity, let him be anathema. Likewise if anyone shall have added a confession and praise other than those words with which the Seraphim singing: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts, the whole earth is full of his glory, praise the divine Trinity, as John and Paul testify.

John indeed where he said that the glory and majesty of the Son, which was celebrated by the seraphic hymn, was seen by the Prophet: but Paul where he signifies that the same is the glory and majesty of the Holy Spirit, teaching that those words which were uttered by him who was seen and glorified are the true words of the Holy Spirit. Because the glory of the Spirit is the glory of the Son, and the glory of the Son is likewise the glory of the Father: therefore the one substance of the Trinity is proclaimed by councils throughout the whole earth. Whoever therefore separates the Son and the Spirit from the substance of the one God, as though they were from will as we also are, and not of the same substance, but in likeness of the same substance, let him be anathema.

Moreover it is proclaimed for the fullness of faith that the Son of God was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and dwelt among men, not working in a man; for this has its place in the prophets as well as in the apostles. Perfect God in the flesh and perfect man in the Spirit, not two sons, namely one proper son who assumed the man, and another a mortal man who was assumed by God: but one only-begotten in heaven, only-begotten on earth. God in truth, man by reason of the flesh, which he formed after the likeness of himself (of God), saving the world by the communication of his own Spirit, which is given through inspiration. Who as man in human form reigns over heavenly, earthly, and infernal beings, is glorified by all as one and sole Lord to the glory of the Father. Amen.

But if anyone says that the Son born of Mary is a man assumed by God, and that the unity of persons is twofold, let him know that he is estranged from divine hope. For it is God the Word through whom all things exist, as John and Paul taught, not saying that the Word assumed Jesus born of Mary, but that he himself came into the world, born of a woman. Nor did they say that he who is from heaven dwelt in an earthly man from the earth, but that he himself is the heavenly Adam: inasmuch as the heavenly Word who has flesh from Mary makes us—who are truly earthly—heavenly according to his likeness. For we have been called into the fellowship of the Son of God, who also made our death and the cross owed to man his own, though he was the Lord of glory; not held by death as any ordinary man, but himself destroying death, and bestowing upon us light and life and incorruption and his own victory.

Wherefore let him be anathema who does not confess God the Word incarnate, born of Mary, consubstantial with the Father, and existing from the beginning, unchangeable in the Incarnation, and impassible in the passions. Likewise let him also be anathema who says that the flesh of the Saviour is not from Mary but from heaven; or who asserts that he who is by nature uncreated is a created thing and from non-existence. But he who, on account of the union with the uncreated God, proclaims the body to be divine, and in accordance with the composition by which both together are one, adores him as one uncreated God, shall be blessed. Let not his flesh and passions be an offence to you, but adore him who is adored together with his own body in an incorporeal manner, as the one and only Son of God from age to age. Moreover, we have learned from the teaching of holy baptism to confess his coming. Amen.

For the fullness of faith, the Son of God incarnate of the virgin Mary is proclaimed, and as having dwelt among men, not as having worked in a single man; for this latter belongs to the Prophets and apostles. Perfect God in flesh and perfect man in spirit—not two sons: one properly the Son assuming a man, the other a mortal man assumed by God; but one only-begotten in heaven, the only-begotten God on earth.

For the consummation of faith, the Son of God incarnate from the virgin Mary is also proclaimed: who dwelt among men, not as having worked in a single man; for this belongs to the Prophets and Apostles. Perfect God in flesh and perfect man in spirit—not two sons: one the natural Son who assumed a man, the other a mortal man assumed by God; but one only-begotten in heaven, the only-begotten God on earth.

For the supplement of faith, the Son incarnate from the virgin Mary is also proclaimed, and as dwelling among men, not as having worked in a single man; for this had been the case with the Prophets and Apostles. Perfect God in flesh and perfect man in spirit—not two sons: one the proper Son assuming a man, the other a mortal received by God; but one only-begotten in heaven, the only-begotten God on earth.

Hence it is necessary to speak of him as wholly corporeal and wholly divine. And he who cannot, in things united yet distinct, recognise what is proper to each, will fall into discordant contradictions. But he who recognises what is proper to each, and preserves the union, will neither misrepresent the natures nor be ignorant of the union.

When he himself is called God, let no one deny his humanity, which is joined with his divinity: but when he is called by the name of his humanity on account of the body which he assumed, let no one call his dignity and lordship into doubt. After the union, let no one divide him as though he were the principle of two natures. For just as a man consisting of two perfect parts distinct in nature, namely soul and body, is nevertheless after the union of one nature and is designated by one name—when he is called corporeal, the soul is not excluded from him; so when he is called animate or spiritual, the body is not excluded from him.

No distinction is found in the sacred scriptures between the Word the Son and the body which Christ assumed: but he himself is one nature, one person, one supposit, wholly God and wholly man, and he himself is the one who acts. "Great labour and loss befalls the great and illustrious feasts, in that they are celebrated on one day. For the readings and order of office of both feasts remain incomplete, because the nativity and baptism of the Lord cannot be celebrated at the same time. Since therefore we cannot on one day go to Bethlehem and to the place of baptism—for Bethlehem is three miles to the south of Jerusalem, and the Jordan fifteen miles to the east—let your holiness command that all the Jewish records which the aforesaid Caesar Titus brought from Jerusalem to Rome be searched. Perhaps you will find with certainty the day of the nativity of Christ our God." I cannot on one day betake myself both to Bethlehem and to the Jordan.

For the Jordan is distant from the city of Jerusalem to the east by 25 miles, and holy Bethlehem to the south of the city by six miles; nor can I on one day perform both feasts. I therefore ask your holiness, father, that you search the records and, having made careful inquiry, make known to us by your writing, venerable one, on what day Christ the Lord was born and on what day he was baptised. For we know well that the records were brought from the beginning from Jerusalem to Rome by Titus and Vespasian.

Whoever at the time of harvest or vintage buys grain or wine not out of necessity but out of greed—for example, buying one modius for two coins and keeping it until it is sold for four or six denarii or more—this we call base gain.

If a priest shall have denied penance to the dying, he will be guilty of their souls, because the Lord says: On whatever day a sinner shall have turned to penance, he shall live and shall not die. For true confession can exist at the last moment, because the Lord is the inspector not only of time but also of the heart: just as the thief, by a penance of one moment, merited to be in paradise at the hour of his last confession.

If anyone shall have betrothed a wife, or given her an earnest, and whether by death intervening beforehand or by other causes arising, shall not at all have known her, neither his surviving brother nor anyone of his kindred shall take that same woman to wife at any time whatsoever.

We all have one Father in heaven, and each of us—rich, poor, slave, and free—shall equally render an account for himself and for their souls. Wherefore we do not doubt that all persons, of whatever condition they may be, have one law (insofar as it pertains to God). But if all have one law, then just as a free man cannot be dismissed, so neither shall a slave, once joined in matrimony, be able to be dismissed thereafter.

We permit no one of either sex, from the kinship of his own blood or of his wife up to the seventh degree of kindred, to take a wife or to be joined with the stain of incest. We have moreover added this as well: that just as it is not lawful for any Christian to marry from his own kindred, so also it is not lawful to take a spouse from the kindred of his wife, on account of the unity of flesh.

Concerning the fabric of any church, if it has been demolished and is to be restored, and whether the solemnity of consecration ought to be repeated in that place in which there have been no relics, we judge that it causes no harm if exorcised water has not been sprinkled through it, because in the consecration of any church in which the pledge of the Holy Spirit is not placed, we know there to be only the celebration of Masses. And therefore, if any basilica of the saints shall have been rebuilt from the foundations without the moving of the altar, without any doubt, when the solemnity of Masses shall have been celebrated in it, the consecration of full sanctification will be fulfilled. But if the relics which it had have been removed, let it receive the reverence of sanctification again by their deposition and the solemnity of Masses.

Since every crime and sin is blotted out by sacrifices offered to God, what shall henceforth be given to the Lord for the expiation of offences, when error is committed in the very offering of the sacrifice? For we have heard that some, held by schismatic ambition, contrary to divine ordinances and apostolic institutions, dedicate milk instead of wine in the divine sacrifices; that others also offer the people dipped eucharist as the complement of communion; that some offer expressed wine in the sacrament of the Lord's cup; that others reserve a linen cloth dipped in must throughout the whole year, and at the time of sacrifice wash part of it with water and so offer it—how contrary this is to evangelical and apostolic doctrine, and how adverse to ecclesiastical custom, is not difficult to prove from the very fountain of truth, from which the ordained mysteries of the sacraments have proceeded.

For when the teacher of truth was commending to his disciples the true sacrifice of our salvation, we know that he gave to none milk, but only bread and a cup under this sacrament. For it is read in evangelical truth: Jesus took bread and the cup, and blessing them gave them to his disciples. Let the offering of milk in sacrifice therefore cease, because the manifest and evident example of evangelical truth has shone forth, that nothing other than bread and wine may be offered. But as for that practice whereby they hand the dipped eucharist to the people as the complement of communion, they have not received this testimony brought forth from the Gospel, where he commended his body and blood to the apostles. For the commendation of the bread and of the cup separately is recorded. For we do not read that Christ offered dipped bread to others, except only to that disciple whom the dipped morsel of the master would show to be the betrayer—not one that signified the institution of this sacrament.

For what is communicated to the people from a pressed cluster, that is, from the grains of grapes, is altogether very confused; but if it be necessary, let the cluster be pressed into the cup and water mixed in: because the cup of the Lord, according to the precept of the canons, ought to be offered mixed with wine and water, because we see that the people are understood in the water, but in the wine the blood of Christ is shown. Therefore when water is mixed with wine in the cup, the people are united to Christ, and the multitude of believers is joined and united to him in whom they believe; and this joining and union of water and wine is so mixed in the cup of the Lord that that mixture cannot be separated. For if anyone offers wine alone, the blood of Christ begins to be without us; but if there be water alone, the people begin to be without Christ.

Therefore when the cluster alone is offered, in which only the efficacy of wine is designated, the sacrament of our salvation, which is signified by the water, is neglected. For the cup of the Lord can be neither water alone nor wine alone, unless both are mixed. And therefore, since from this matter a very great and manifold judgment of our forebears has already flowed, all such error and presumption must henceforth cease, lest the perverse and disordered arrangement weaken the state of truth. And therefore it shall henceforth be lawful for no one to offer anything else in the divine sacrifices, except, according to the judgment of the ancient councils, bread alone and the cup mixed with wine and water. Whoever henceforth acts otherwise than has been prescribed shall cease from offering sacrifice until, corrected by the lawful satisfaction of penance, he returns to the office of his grade which he has lost.

Church is a Greek name which in Latin is rendered convocation, because it calls all to itself. It is called Catholic (that is, universal) because it is established throughout the whole world. Or because it is catholic, that is, general, in the same doctrine for instruction.

If anyone burns a church, let him do penance for fifteen years, and diligently restore it, and distribute its value to the poor.

If anyone shall have granted his slave-woman her freedom and joined her to himself in matrimony, it was doubted by some whether a marriage of this kind appears to be lawful or not. We therefore, resolving this long-standing ambiguity, have judged such unions to be lawful. For if all marriages are made from affection, and nothing impious and contrary to the laws can be done in such a union, why should we consider the aforesaid marriages to be forbidden?

It was fitting for you, brethren, to instruct others in ecclesiastical disciplines, and not to assail them with such machinations, as John the Baptist says: Shake down no man, neither accuse any falsely, and so forth. Concerning which matter the apostle Paul also instructs us, saying: Brethren, even if a man be overtaken in any fault, ye who are spiritual restore such a one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted, and so forth. And elsewhere the apostle Peter says: Be ye all of one mind in prayer, having compassion one of another, lovers of the brotherhood, merciful, modest, humble, not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing, but contrariwise blessing, because thereunto ye are called, that ye should inherit a blessing. For he that will love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile.

Let him eschew evil and do good: let him seek peace and ensue it: because the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers, but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. What is worse, brethren, than that the priests of the Lord, who ought to be removed from every evil defilement and from harm to all Christians, and all the more from harm to brethren and fellow bishops, whom they ought to protect and relieve from snares, and whom it is most fitting to cherish and love, should persecute them and strive to deprive them of communion? And do you not recall Wisdom, which says: For perverse thoughts separate men from God? If perverse thoughts separate men from God, how much more do wicked deeds? For what is more wicked than that anyone should strive to turn aside, persecute, and destroy those of whom the Lord says, He that toucheth you toucheth the apple of mine eye?

But proven virtue bears up, protects, and consoles the oppressed, and teaches the unwise. For God is the witness of the heart of man, and the true searcher of individual consciences, and the hearer of individual tongues: because the spirit of the Lord hath filled the whole world, and that which containeth all things hath knowledge of the voice. And elsewhere the same one says: God is charity. In this appeared the charity of God towards us, because God sent his only-begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is charity, not that we loved God, but that he first loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Dearly beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time: if we love one another, God abideth in us, and his charity is perfected in us. In this we know that we abide in him, and he in us: because he hath given us of his Spirit.

And we have seen, and do testify, that the Father sent his Son to be the Saviour of the world. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God abideth in him, and he in God, and we have known and believed the charity which God hath to us. God is charity, and he that abideth in charity abideth in God, and God in him. Herein is the charity of God perfected with us, that we may have confidence in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we also in this world. Fear is not in charity; but perfect charity casteth out fear. Because fear hath punishment. But he that feareth is not perfect in charity. Let us therefore love God, because God first loved us. If any man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar. For he that loveth not his brother whom he seeth, how can he love God whom he seeth not?

And this commandment we have from God: that he who loveth God love also his brother. For wisdom itself also says: The tongue of the wise adorneth knowledge, the mouth of fools bubbleth out foolishness. In every place the eyes of the Lord behold the good and the evil. A peaceable tongue is a tree of life: but that which is immoderate shall crush the spirit. In the house of the just is much strength: and in the fruits of the wicked is trouble. The lips of the wise shall disseminate knowledge: the heart of fools shall be unlike. The sacrifices of the wicked are abominable to the Lord: the vows of the just are acceptable. He that followeth justice is beloved of the Lord. Likewise elsewhere: The lips of the just consider what is acceptable, and the mouth of the wicked uttereth perverse things.

The simplicity of the just shall direct them; and the supplanting of the perverse shall lay them waste, the justice of the upright shall deliver them, and the wicked shall be caught in their own snares. The just man shall be delivered out of distress, and the wicked shall be given up for him. A dissembler with his mouth deceiveth his friend, but the just shall be delivered by knowledge. In the prosperity of the just the city shall be exalted, and in the perdition of the wicked there shall be praise. By the blessing of the just the city shall be exalted. Nor do you consider, you who cease not to persecute brethren, what the most patient Job, among other things, beginning to speak, says: The ear that heard me blessed me, and the eye that saw me gave testimony to me, because I had delivered the poor man that cried out, and the fatherless that had no helper. The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me, and I comforted the heart of the widow.

I was clad with justice: and I clothed myself with my judgment as with a robe and a diadem. I was an eye to the blind, and a foot to the lame. I was the father of the poor: and the cause which I knew not I searched out most diligently. I broke the jaws of the wicked man, and out of his teeth I took away the prey. And a little after: If I have denied, he says, what the poor desired, and have caused the eyes of the widow to wait. If I have eaten my morsel alone, and the fatherless hath not eaten thereof: because from my infancy mercy grew up with me, and it came out with me from my mother's womb. For if anyone shall have considered all these things with a right eye, he will hasten not to harm brethren but to free them, because nothing is worse than for citizens to envy citizens, and for brethren to lay snares for brethren, or to bring false accusations.

For the holy fathers, wishing to resist such snares, assembled a general synod at Nicaea, desiring to correct the life of those dwelling in the Church. Although many institutions of the holy Fathers had already been written down, they set forth laws which we call sacred canons, by which many things most necessary for the state of the holy Church of God, and for the support of its pillars, that is, of the bishops who bear it upon their own shoulders, were decreed, and harms done to them were prohibited, so that those who should attempt to do such things, or should presume to harm them, if they were clerics, should fall from their own rank, but if they were monks or laymen, should be anathematized. Armed with these examples, we have judged it necessary, inspired by almighty God, that we ought by apostolic authority to extinguish this kindled flame of discord, and not permit it to devour human souls any further.

Wherefore together with all who are subject to the apostolic rule we decree that henceforth no Christian shall presume to perpetrate such things, or rashly to harm bishops, since the teacher of the Gentiles also forbids this very thing, saying: Rebuke not an elder, but entreat him as a father, and so forth. For it is good beyond doubt, and desirable to all who fear God, to restrain dissensions and contentions, and to come to the aid of brethren, and not to envy one another, but to help one another. Hear, I say, the synod now held in the city of Nicaea, to which I myself duly rendered the homage of my conscience, desiring nothing other than to forge concord for all, and above all to rebuke and remove this contentious scheming of those who lay snares: which snares and unlawful contentions the holy Fathers foreseeing, unanimously decreed in the aforesaid Nicene synod, that no bishop, unless in a legitimate synod convoked at its proper time by apostolic authority, should be heard upon certain accusations, that is, judged or condemned.

If anything be otherwise presumed by certain persons, let what they have done be brought to nothing, nor shall it in any way be reckoned among ecclesiastical acts.

To the Church of the first see itself, the rights of convoking general synods and the judgments of bishops have been granted by singular privilege through evangelical, apostolic, and canonical institutions, because the greater causes have always by many authorities been commanded to be referred to the apostolic see. Nor can the greater in any way be judged by the lesser. For that church itself is greater than and set before all churches, which has obtained singular primacy not only by the decrees of the canons and the holy Fathers, but by the voice of our Lord and Saviour. Thou art, he said, Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and so forth. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth and loose, shall be bound and loosed in heaven and on earth.

Moreover, it had long since been decreed by the holy apostles and their successors in the aforesaid ancient statutes, which the holy and universal apostolic church holds to this day, that councils ought not to be celebrated without the sentence of the Roman pontiff, nor a bishop condemned, since they willed that the holy Roman church should be the primate of all churches.

And just as the blessed apostle Peter was first among all the apostles, so also this church consecrated in his name, by the Lord's institution, becomes the first and head of the rest, and to it, as to a mother and summit, all the greater causes of the Church and the judgments of bishops shall have recourse, and shall receive their conclusion from its just sentence, nor ought anything of these matters to be decided outside the Roman pontiff, so that it shall not be lawful for any metropolitans, acting so presumptuously and according to anyone's pleasure and their own private judgment, as they were accustomed to do, without consulting the Roman pontiff, either to disturb the greater causes of the Church, or to condemn bishops, but by the common counsel of the bishop of the holy Roman see and by concordant action let them dispose unanimously whatever is to be done with zeal for Christ, and let them think rightly, and what they have thought, not disagreeing among themselves, but let them accomplish what is pleasing to God.

It has also been concordantly decreed in the aforesaid Nicene synod, that accusers and accusations which the laws of the world do not admit should be utterly turned away from harm to the priesthood. Behold, says the Prophet, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. But those who withdraw themselves from the consolation of brethren, or prepare snares for brethren, do not dwell in unity. Suffer not yourselves, brethren, to be burdened with another's sin, because what we are compelled to say we fear to say, that is, lest when anyone's religion is dissipated, indignation be provoked. Keep before your eyes, and behold with reverence with the full keenness of your mind the glory of blessed Peter, and together with him the common crowns of all the apostles, and the palms of all the martyrs, who suffered in Christ not for the destruction but for the confirmation and truth of the brethren.

We therefore, who wish both to be called and to be disciples of the Lord, ought to bear the cross of Christ and to suffer with our brethren, and not to persecute. Withdraw (we beseech you) your acts and thoughts from such injuries, if you do not wish to bring that very vengeance upon yourselves: for he who prepares a pit for his brother deserves retaliation. And know that we will henceforth no longer endure this arrogance, that we should suffer you, without consulting us and without peril to your own standing, to invade those matters which pertain especially to this holy see, such as the judgments of bishops and the greater causes of the Church, as was touched upon a little above.

But if anyone from this day forward shall presume to condemn a bishop or to drive him from his own see without the sentence of this holy see, let him know that he is irrecoverably condemned and perpetually deprived of his own honor; and know that those who have been ejected or condemned without the sentence of this see recover their former communion by the authority of this holy see and are restored to their own sees: for these things were granted to this holy see from the beginning, that is from the time of the apostles, and afterwards in the aforementioned Nicene synod, on account of the attacks of wicked men, the persecutions of heretics, and the machinations of brothers lying in wait, they were unanimously confirmed by all, so that individuals might take greater care not to dare to perpetrate such things, and might beware—if not for the sake of God and the love of brethren, yet at least for the shame of men, their own blushes, and canonical retribution—that these things, restrained at least by fear and reverence, might be suppressed in silence, with the excess of all usurpation cut away, since no one ought to presume to do what does not appear to have been granted to him.

Into this fault you could in no way have fallen, if from the source whence you receive the consecration of your honor you were also to take the law of all observance: and if the see of the blessed apostle Peter, which is the mother of your priestly dignity, were the teacher of ecclesiastical order. Wherefore, just as those things which have been done by you piously and rightly greatly rejoice us, so those things which have been done wrongly grieve us exceedingly, since after the experience of so many such causes it is necessary that these matters be looked to more carefully in the future and guarded against more diligently, so that those things which have been established by the apostles and their successors be neglected by no sloth, violated by no dissension, disturbed by no contention. For as in one body we have many members, yet all the members have not the same function: so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.

The joining together of the whole body produces one health, one beauty; and this joining together of the whole body requires unanimity, but demands above all the concord of priests, among whom, even if dignity is not equal, yet the general order is one, since even among the most blessed apostles, amid a likeness of honor, there was a certain distinction of power, and though the election of all was equal, yet it was given to one to be preeminent over the rest. From this pattern a certain distinction among bishops arose, and it was provided by great ordinance that not all should claim everything for themselves, but that in each province there should be individuals whose opinion among the brethren should be held first, and again that certain ones established in the greater cities should take upon themselves a wider solicitude, through whom the care of the universal Church might flow together to the one see of blessed Peter, and nothing anywhere might be at variance with its head.

He therefore who knows himself to be set over some should not take it ill that someone is set over him, but should himself also render the obedience which he exacts. Do not therefore err, my most beloved brethren. Be not carried away with divers and strange doctrines. Behold, you have the institutions of the apostles and of apostolic men and the canons; enjoy these, be surrounded by these, delight in these, be armed with these, so that, supported, surrounded, delighted, and armed by these, you may be able to stand firm against all the darts of the enemies. For it is altogether unworthy that any one of the pontiffs, or of the orders that follow, should refuse this rule, which he sees the see of blessed Peter both follow and teach. For it is very fitting that the whole body of the Church should agree with itself in this observance, which has its authority from the place where the Lord set the primacy of the whole Church, as Scripture says: Order charity in me.

And again: Let all things be done in order. And again as the Psalmist proclaims: Surround Sion and encompass her, tell it in her towers. Set your hearts upon her strength, that you may relate it to the next generation, for this is God, our Lord for ever, and he shall rule us for ever. For by the consideration of our office it is not for us to dissemble, it is not our liberty to be silent, upon whom a greater zeal for the Christian religion rests than upon all others, lest by our silence we seem either to favor or to consent to the injuries of our brethren. Given on the Kalends of October, in the consulship of the most distinguished men Felicianus and Maximianus (year 357).

Although we know that the Roman church is generous toward all, and has apostolic care, and is always the mother of piety, even though preachers of piety had come to her from the East, yet we would wish you to agree with us, and that those whom we suspend from communion should be suspended by you as well; and that those whom we confirm in the order of bishops should be confirmed by you: and that we should not be held in second place; since from these regions the apostles who proclaimed the faith came even to you. Nor did we resist your decisions, though we could have done so, when Novatian was expelled from the Roman church, since (to speak according to common usage) every one who wishes to withdraw from a friend seeks enmity.

Nor can he be free from blame who, without the permission of him by whom he was deprived of communion, receives into communion one who has been excommunicated by another, the canons of course commanding that one excommunicated by some should not be received by others, while those by whom he is known to have been deprived of communion are still living. And not only in these matters do you inflict insult upon us, but also in this, that you dissolve our councils and do not allow them to stand. For by us, and especially by the bishops of the whole East, there have been condemned: Athanasius of Alexandria, Paul of Constantinople, Marcellus of Ancyra, Asclepius of Gaza, and Lucianus of Hadrianopolis, for certain crimes, of which their adversaries have lodged written accusations against them before us, all of which we do not fail to make known to your holiness in a definite account through the bearers of this present letter.

When these things are known, if you choose to assent to our decisions rather than to their machinations, and to confirm the ordained bishops in the place of the condemned, we wish to have peace and communion with you: but if you act otherwise, and judge it right to assent to them rather than to us, we shall act in the contrary manner, and henceforth we neither wish to assemble with you, nor to obey you, nor to favor you and yours, but shall endeavor to act by ourselves in whatever we shall choose as better. For there is no one in this part of the world of mature age who is ignorant of the machinations of the aforesaid seducers, for on their account many evils have been done, many councils celebrated in diverse and harsh times, many seditions, many deceptions, many insults inflicted upon us, and many other things which it would take too long to enumerate.

For if you choose to consent to them, it is clear that you wish to destroy us, and not, as a father his sons, to cherish us. For both the citizens of these men and their priests say and affirm that you wish to protect men who are murderers, destroyers of sacred temples, violators of virgins, burners of sacred books, plunderers of sacred vessels and other sacred furnishings, neglecters of duties, unfaithful to emperors, betrayers of their nation and fatherland, and generating the greatest discord among priests, in that they had placed in the teaching of the faith the word consubstantiality, which is not found written. What need is there to enumerate more, when on their account, as we and all the inhabitants of this region know, so great a slaughter of men has been perpetrated that more than a thousand men have been struck down?

But to favor such men, what else is it than to consent to their crimes, since holy scripture forbids this, saying: Not only those who do these things are guilty, but also those who consent to those who do them. For such men must be resisted by you with all your strength, lest you be involved in their sins, and do not receive their excommunication. Cast such men far from you, lest on account of the animosity of such men, weak souls and ignorant peoples perish through sacrilegious dissension. Therefore it behooves you to resist the wicked properly. Wherefore if you neglect to overthrow the perverse, it is clear that you protect their error. Nor indeed is he free from the scruple of secret complicity who openly ceases to oppose crimes. For it befits you to sharpen your tongue to rebuke their insolence, and to repel them from you as venomous, lest you and yours be in any way wounded by their poison.

Therefore the complaints brought against them suffice us, since time will fail us, as the Apostle says, if we wish to produce all the complaints of all those who speak against them that have been brought forward: especially since those things which have been said above suffice us. Nor is it necessary for us again to publish their evils, since they come to light of themselves, and especially since all the Easterners stand as witnesses against their wickedness. For in the mouth (as it is written) of two or three witnesses shall every word stand: how much more in the multitude of so many priests and peoples, abbots and monks, whose voice acclaims against the wickedness of these men daily before us in writing and without writing? But we have long awaited them with much patience, that they might bring forth grapes, but they on the contrary brought forth wild grapes. You therefore ought no longer to neglect and defer such men, lest (which God forbid) you be subjected to their aforesaid crimes, irrationally appointing them bishops.

For they themselves, unless they are quickly corrected, according as the blessed apostle testifies, through their hardness and impenitent heart, treasure up for themselves wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to every man according to his works. They must be corrected, lest through temporal pleasure and through their lies and fictions, with you giving your assent to them, they lose the eternal rewards which they could have obtained through true penitence. Nor do we impute these things which have been said above only to Athanasius and his followers, but also that he acted against the rule which we had decreed, because he did not receive the priesthood by the decree of a common council of bishops, but by arrogating it to himself had entered the church and had sat in the see, when it had long since been decreed that no one should be restored by a smaller number than that by which he was known to have been deposed.

Then, because by his coming a tumult was generated, and very many died in the sedition, and not only these things were done by him and on his account, but also certain persons are said to have been handed over to judges by the said Athanasius himself already in exile. These and innumerable other things have been shamelessly perpetrated by him and his followers, whom, excommunicated as they are, you have (as we have heard) contrary to rule and in insult to all the Easterners associated in communion. Therefore, having paid the aforesaid duty of due greeting for the honor of blessed Peter, we request that henceforth you do not so readily admit to your ears those who come here from there, nor be willing any longer to receive those excommunicated by us, lest you be found transgressors of the canons, but rather, with fraternal charity preserved, suffer not this error to be committed in the future. And the subscription: May the Lord preserve your apostolate, which prays for us, for a longer age, most blessed father. Amen.

Concerning the calling of the Eastern bishops to Julius, and the restoration of the condemned bishops by them. That bishops who are accused should appeal to the apostolic see. Concerning the same matter. If anyone thinks himself aggrieved by his own metropolitan. Concerning accusers, or accusations, which the sacred laws do not admit. That no bishop should retain or ordain another's parish. If anyone has a case against a bishop or the authorities of the Church. Concerning bishops despoiled of their goods or driven from their see. Concerning accusers and witnesses. If a bishop who has been accused or condemned shall have appealed to the apostolic see, and concerning those who are armed against the Fathers or dwell with enemies. Concerning accusations of clerics. Which metropolitans are called primates. Who are infamous.

Concerning the causes of bishops. That those who err, or who withdraw from their purpose, or who are disobedient to the canons, shall not be admitted to accusation. Concerning foreign judgments. That no one shall be summoned to judgment outside his province, or if anyone shall have considered the judges suspect. That those who have confessed concerning themselves shall not be believed regarding another's crime. That judgment shall not be passed on uncertain matters. Concerning accusations against elders. That a provincial synod may be reviewed by the pope. If anyone shall have appealed to judges of greater authority. That the metropolitan shall do nothing without the counsel of the bishops, nor they without his; except in what pertains to their own parishes. That judges shall not pronounce sentence against one who is absent, and that a betrayer shall not be heard. Concerning accusations of clerics. Concerning accused bishops. Concerning the unjust condemnation of bishops.

That detractors and supporters of enemies are to be removed from accusation, and that a greater man ought not to be attacked by a lesser, nor certain judgment to be pronounced in a doubtful matter, and concerning disordered judgments. Whether a bishop can be restored by a smaller number of bishops than that by which he was condemned. Whether bishops ought to flee on account of persecution, and concerning the privileges of the apostolic see. With how great caution one ought to judge, and that no one is to be condemned before he has his accusers present and receives an opportunity to defend himself. That the license of accusing shall not extend beyond the boundaries of the province. Who ought not to be admitted to accusation. That no one is to be bound by the sentence of a judge other than his own, and what sort of persons they ought to be. Concerning bishops stripped of their goods or driven from their see.

That excommunicated persons cannot accuse bishops, nor those who do not receive them in their accusation, nor that a greater man can be condemned or judged by a lesser.

Julius, bishop of the holy Roman and apostolic church, to Eusebius, Theognius, Theodore, Berinthus, and the other eastern bishops. It was fitting for you to speak against the holy Roman and apostolic church in a polished manner, and not ironically, since our Lord Jesus Christ himself, addressing her fittingly, said: Thou art, he said, Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it, and to thee I will give the keys of the kingdom of heaven. For she holds the power, granted to her by singular privilege, to open and close the doors of the heavenly kingdom to whomsoever she wills. For if you did not shrink from detracting from her (who has been consecrated by the mouth of the Lord and exalted from above), it is no wonder if you do not cease to inflict injuries upon your brethren. Hence the things which were decreed turbulently and with tumult in your council are no longer governed by silence.

For it is apparent that truth has been suppressed by a certain tumultuous lack of discipline: since you, giving no thought to what is pleasing to God, on account of the quarrels which you have against your neighbors, contend that our wishes are unconquerable. But it will be the work of divine providence that, being openly detected in the contrary, they may be made void, and whatever you did when assembling there, without any favor, out of hatred or cause of enmity, may be utterly repelled. Wherefore I wish you all to hasten with all speed to the reverence of this holy see, so that you may be able to show through yourselves the integrity of the proceedings among you.

For I do not think you doubt that Athanasius, a teacher of the sacred law, has been proven to be a cultivator of the true faith not only by us but also by the Nicene synod, who, upon the death of Alexander the admirable elder who had prostrated the blasphemies of Arius, five months after the Nicene council received the episcopate of the church of the Alexandrians: against him and his followers, weaving many lies and composing utterly bare calumnies as though they were true accusations, you have represented to us that he is the cause and head of many evils, and you have signified in your writings that he is a disturber not only in Egypt but also in Palestine and Phoenicia and the neighboring peoples.

On this account, following the ecclesiastical rule, we summoned both you and them to Rome regularly for judgment on a fixed day, not within a brief space of time (so that excuse might find no place), by letters and envoys: and they, having received the summons, came on the appointed day, but you, lest you be caught in your lies and your calumny be laid bare, delayed coming. Nor were you content with these machinations alone, but also, seeing the sheep desolated of their shepherds, you placed wolves over them in place of shepherds. It was therefore fitting that you should come to the regular convocation, so that you might render a true account of these and your other presumptions, since truth would prevail if falsehood were displeasing, and no one doubts that a guilty man avoids judgment in the same way as an innocent man seeks it in order to be acquitted. Nor is he free from suspicion who disparages another with false calumnies, when he himself, summoned to judgment to prove what he has alleged, has delayed coming.

For I would have wished you rather to come to the said canonical convocation, so that before the universal council you might render an account of why you held a synod at Antioch for the subversion of the state of the churches and of the brethren and for the destruction of the great Nicene council, or why you convened bishops to it without consulting us, to which neither Maximus of Jerusalem came nor was our legation present, since the canons of the Nicene synod command that councils shall in no way be celebrated nor bishops condemned without the sentence of the Roman pontiff: or why you placed others, adulterers, in the place of the aforesaid brethren, before their cause had been canonically examined before us or our envoys and had received a right conclusion. For those who came regularly to the said convocation, seeing you withdraw from the aforesaid calumnies, report many things against you that are lamentable and full of sorrows, accusing you and saying that they have suffered many unbearable things from you.

Since you therefore refused to come, and they persisted in true reason and protested against their calumnies, concerning which also the bishops of the Egyptians protest in their own letters sent to us that the things machinated against Athanasius and his followers are false, and that all the machinations of the Arians are full of blasphemies and such fabrications, it is clear that they are blameless and you are blameworthy: because if you trusted in true innocence, you would in no way have withdrawn yourselves from the said canonical summons, which was announced not suddenly but with ample time: but, with every excuse removed, you would have hastened to come without delay and to render your reasons.

These things having been thus conducted, I wrote to you and to all who had been assembled at Antioch against the apostolic and canonical rule without consulting us, rebuking you first for the injuries of your letters, then why you had summoned Athanasius and his followers to your council, since the canons prescribe that nothing is to be decreed apart from the Roman pontiff, to whom these and greater matters of the churches have been entrusted, both by the Lord himself and by all the brethren of all councils, by special privilege (as has already been said).

Since you refused, and, summoned so many times to the council, were unwilling to attend, while they persisted in their protest and just reasoning, and we recognized your crimes and examined their just reasoning, and found all of them obedient to the Nicene council and to our apostolic commands, it seemed good to us and to the whole council that we, instructed by divine precepts and apostolic admonitions, who ought to watch over the state of all churches with unwearied affection, should with swift solicitude recall from the ignorance of inexperience or from the usurpation of presumption whatever is found anywhere liable to reproach.

These matters having been thus considered and weighed, as bearing care for all on account of the dignity of our own see, we received them into communion and, by the authority of this holy see, restored to each of them together with their own people their proper churches, since to this holy see, on account of the snares of wicked men, by the institution of the Lord himself and by the holy apostles and their successors confirming it through individual councils, this has always been lawful and will be lawful, with the Lord's help, forever. Wherefore, let him who knows himself to be set over others not take it ill that someone is set over him: but let him freely render the obedience which he requires from others.

For this reason I write to you in rebuke, because you did not rightly treat men who were blameless and had not been examined by us, driving them from their churches deprived of communion, and inflicting injury upon ecclesiastical discipline and not fearing to act so undisciplinedly in disregard of the decree of the Nicene council. Therefore, since you long ago refused to come when summoned, we now again regularly summon you by letters and envoys to a fixed day, that is, the fifteenth day before the Kalends of November, so that before you we may show that we have pronounced a just sentence upon them, and that henceforth such things are not to be endured. For it is decreed in the ancient statutes of the Church that whoever invades another's property shall not go unpunished, but shall restore it with multiplication. Whence also it is written in the Gospel: But if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore fourfold. In the law also it is provided: Cursed be everyone who removes his neighbor's landmark.

And all the people shall say: Amen. Wherefore I marvel that you are so bold and have acted so shamelessly, and have invaded the boundaries and rights of the blessed Peter, prince of the apostles. For it was his right (as has been demonstrated a little above) that without the authority of that holy see, no one ought either to celebrate councils or to summon bishops to a synod, or to condemn them, or to drive them from their own sees, or to ordain others in their place, all of which you did not fear to violate. What else therefore is such presumption, but that you did not fear to transgress the decrees of the apostles and their successors, and to incur the curse set forth above, namely that provided in the law, which all the people confirmed with one voice and harmonious response through Amen, that is, so be it? For (as I think) bound by such cords of transgression, you avoided our examination lest your misdeeds be exposed, and delayed coming to the aforesaid summons.

Indeed it is manifest that they confess their own crime who, summoned so many times, have delayed coming without unavoidable cause and do not avail themselves of the will to clear themselves. For if you trusted in your own words, you would not have delayed proving them even to our face. The holy Fathers assembled at Nicaea, foreseeing such plotters by the spirit, established laws which we call canons, lest upright men be easily condemned by the wicked, from which we have judged that certain sentences should be inserted here, so that our letter might be strengthened by the authority of such great Fathers, and that all the eastern bishops, or those of the remaining parts, hearing these things, might not fall into so great a pit, lest they incur the condemnation decreed by the Fathers. For the following chapters from the aforesaid Nicene council follow, that is, 18, 19, 21, 23, 26, 27, 28, 33, 41, 45 and 47 and 49 and 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 63, 66.

That all bishops who are pressed or accused in certain graver causes, as often as shall be necessary, may freely appeal to the apostolic see and flee to it as to a mother, so that they may be piously supported, defended, and freed by it (as has always been the case). To whose disposition the ancient authority of the apostles and their successors and of the canons has reserved all the greater ecclesiastical causes and the judgments of bishops. Since bishops are blamed who have acted toward their brethren otherwise than the pope of that same see has approved.

It has been decided that a bishop accused or judged by his co-provincials in any cause may freely appeal and approach the pontiff of the apostolic see, who shall either by himself or through his vicars arrange for his case to be retried. And while the pontiff hears his cause in a second judgment, no other shall be placed or ordained bishop in his place, since although it is permitted to examine the cause of one accused by co-provincial bishops, it is not however permitted to define it without consulting the Roman pontiff, since it was said to the blessed Peter the apostle, and by no other than the Lord himself: Whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth shall be loosed also in heaven.

If anyone shall think himself aggrieved by his own metropolitan, let him be judged before the primate of the diocese, or before the pope of the universal apostolic church.

Accusers and accusations which the laws of the world do not admit, we likewise unanimously remove. Nor shall impiety occur in strict proof, since the sentence in the choice of judgment is right.

No bishop shall presume to retain, or to ordain without the will of that bishop, or to judge a parishioner of another, with apostolic authority nevertheless preserved in all things: because just as his ordination will be void, so also will his judgment: since we hold that no one is to be bound by the sentence of a judge other than his own. For he who could not ordain him will in no way be able to judge him.

If anyone shall believe himself to have a personal matter against a bishop or the agents of the church, let him not first approach judges, but let him have recourse to them with a spirit of charity, so that, admonished by familiar conversation, they ought to heal those things which are brought into complaint. But if he acts otherwise, let him be deprived of communion.

Henceforth no pontiff shall presume to excommunicate or judge any bishop who has been stripped of his goods or driven from his see; because there is no privilege by which one who is already naked can be despoiled.

We likewise decree that an accuser who presents a case in the absence of the opposing party, before the examination of both sides, shall not be believed. Nor shall accusers or witnesses be received who are not competent.

It was decided that if an accused or condemned bishop shall have appealed to the Roman pontiff, that which he himself shall have justly determined is to be established. And all who take up arms against the fathers we judge to be infamous; nor are those who dwell with enemies to be received as accusers or as witnesses.

It was decided that in every accusation of clerics, the person, faith, life, and conduct of those making the charges shall first be examined. For faith ought to precede all the acts of a man, because one who is doubtful in faith is an unbeliever. Nor are they to be believed at all, because they are ignorant of the truth of faith and do not lead a life of upright conduct; since such persons both easily and indiscriminately tear apart and bring charges against those who live rightly and piously. Therefore their suspicion must first be examined and corrected, nor are suspicious accusers who come forth from the house of enemies to be believed.

That no metropolitan churches or primates shall exist other than those which were primates before, and which after the coming of Christ merited to hold the primacy by apostolic and synodal authority. The rest, however, shall be called not primates but metropolitans, and their bishops shall enjoy not the title of primates but either that of metropolitans or of archbishops.

We judge all to be infamous who transgress their own Christian law or set aside canonical authority.

With the privilege of the Roman Church preserved in all things, no metropolitan shall hear the causes of any of his fellow-provincial bishops without the insistence of all the other co-provincial bishops, because such proceedings shall be void; indeed he shall also give account for the matter in a synod.

One who is associated with the errors of others, or who departs from the path of his own calling, or who is disobedient to the sacred canons, we cannot receive; nor do we permit the attacking of those who believe rightly or who comply with the sanctions of the holy Fathers.

We prohibit by general decree judgments from foreign jurisdictions, because it is unworthy that those who ought to have co-provincial judges chosen by themselves should be judged by outsiders.

With the authority of the Apostolic Church preserved, no bishop shall be summoned to judgment outside his own province; but when canonically summoned, he shall be heard in a place convenient to all, at the time of a synod, by all the co-provincial bishops, who must render a concordant and canonical sentence concerning him; since if this has been granted to lesser persons, both clerics and laymen, how much more ought it to be observed in the case of bishops? For if he shall have regarded the metropolitan or the judges as suspect, or shall have perceived them as hostile, let him be judged before the primates of the diocese or before the pontiffs of the Roman See.

No one who has confessed concerning himself can be believed regarding another's crime, since his profession in that matter and in every affair is dangerous and ought not to be admitted against anyone.

Let no pontiff ever presume to judge on the basis of uncertainty, because although things may be true, they are nevertheless not to be believed unless they are proven by manifest evidence, unless they are established by manifest judgment, unless they are made public by judicial process.

Accusations against elders shall not be made through others but only through those who bring the charges, provided that they themselves shall have appeared worthy and irreproachable, and shall have shown by public records that they are entirely free from suspicion and enmity, and that they lead an irreproachable faith and manner of life.

And a provincial synod shall be reviewed by vicars of the bishop of the city of Rome, if he himself shall have so decreed.

It was decided that when appeal has been made from any ecclesiastical judges to other ecclesiastical judges where greater authority resides, a hearing shall not be denied.

If any metropolitan bishop shall have attempted to do anything—except what pertains to his own proper parish alone—without the counsel and will of all the co-provincial bishops, he shall be subject to the peril of losing his rank, and what he has done shall be held void and empty. But whatever must be done or arranged concerning the causes of co-provincial bishops, and the needs of their churches and clerics and laypeople, this shall be done with the full consent of the co-provincial pontiffs, not with any arrogance of domination, but with the most humble and harmonious administration, as the Lord says: I came not to be served, but to serve. And elsewhere: Whoever is greater among you shall be your servant, and the rest. Likewise the co-provincial bishops themselves shall act with his counsel (except in what pertains to their own proper parishes), according to the constitutions of the holy Fathers, so that with one mouth and one mind the holy Trinity may be glorified in harmony for ever.

Let the judges of the Church take care not to pronounce sentence in the absence of the one whose cause is being tried, because it shall be void; indeed they shall also render account for their action in a synod, and, as with the calumny of a traitor, their voice shall thereafter not be heard. For no one can know a debtor better than the one who bears his injury and his wickedness.

If anyone shall have believed that a cleric must be prosecuted on any charges whatsoever, let him pursue his actions in the province in which the one being prosecuted resides. Nor let his accuser suppose that he is to be dragged elsewhere or to a more distant place for judgment. But to the one who has been prosecuted, if he shall have regarded the judges as suspect, it shall be permitted to appeal.

Primates examining an accused bishop shall not pronounce a sentence of condemnation before, relying on apostolic authority, either he himself confesses himself guilty, or he is regularly convicted through innocent and canonically examined witnesses.

We decree that an unjust condemnation of bishops is void (we judge), and therefore it is to be reviewed by a synod, so that aid may be given to all who are oppressed in all their causes.

Detractors, who are to be rooted out by divine authority, and the supporters of enemies, we remove from episcopal accusation. Likewise, let no one of the greater be attacked or destroyed by the accusations of the lesser; nor let sentence be given in a doubtful matter, nor let any judgment be held binding unless it has been conducted in due order.

We do not insert more on these matters here, lest we should seem to be making the aforesaid synod void, or lest a lengthy letter should cause weariness to readers and hearers. But if anyone shall have wished to know more and fuller things about these matters, he will be able to find them in the sacred archive of our church's see, along with what we have said above. That I have spoken truly, the Divinity is witness. Concerning the restoration of the see, and of the priesthood, and of the honor, which you say Athanasius received without a decree of a council, we do not find it as you have falsely charged: but by the counsel and decree of certain bishops he received back his priesthood which he had unjustly lost, and was restored to his see.

As for what you wrote, that he cannot be restored by a smaller number of bishops than those by whom he was deposed, this is not so; nor is this a rule of the orthodox bishops of the holy Church; but it is an invention of the Arians, that is, of your associates, devised for the destruction of orthodox bishops. For, as has been reported to us by truthful witnesses, when you were gathered at Antioch for the pronouncement of condemnation of the faith concerning consubstantiality, out of hatred for the aforesaid Athanasius you put forward this rule, which has no force and shall never have any; since this council was not conducted by orthodox bishops, nor was there a legation of the Roman Church present, the canons prescribing that councils ought not to be held without its authority. Nor is any council ratified, nor shall it ever be, which has not been supported by its authority.

Therefore concerning the flight for which you reproach Athanasius, you do not act rightly, since the Lord himself gave us this commandment: When they shall persecute you in one city, flee to another. And the Lord himself, showing us an example through himself, when the Pharisees held a council against him to kill him: But Jesus knowing this, departed from there. And elsewhere: The Jews took up stones to cast at him. But Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple. And passing through the midst of them, he went away, and so departed. For also the disciples withdrew out of fear of the Jews, hiding themselves. And Paul in Damascus, sought by the ruler of the people, was let down from the wall in a basket, and escaped the hands of those seeking him. And very many others and innumerable saints, both in the Old Testament and in the New, are read to have fled.

If therefore you reproach those who flee with their flight, be ashamed rather to persecute, and cease to lay snares, and those who flee will straightway cease. For whether you kill them, death always cries out against you; or if again you add exiles, you are known to be sending everywhere a memorial of evil against yourselves, and they by enduring profit themselves. Whence also the Lord says: Fear not those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

For we have known many unjustly deposed by the worst machinations; therefore it must be provided with the utmost care by me, to whom in the place of the prince of the apostles the care of the universal Church has been committed, with the help of that same supreme apostle, that such things shall not henceforth occur; since for this reason the aforesaid privileges have been specially granted to this holy see, both concerning the convening of councils and judgments and restorations of bishops, and also concerning the highest affairs of the churches, so that from it all who are oppressed may receive aid, and those unjustly condemned may receive restoration, and that such things may not be presumed by the wicked without punishment, nor be carried out without condemnation. You did not therefore act rightly in falsely accusing the aforesaid brethren, the Lord saying: You shall not do calumny to your neighbor, nor oppress him by force.

Nor did you act rightly in celebrating a council without consulting us, and in summoning them to a council, and in presuming to condemn them, the canons (as has been said above) commanding that none of these things ought to be done without the authority of this holy see. You did not act rightly in that, when canonically summoned by us to a council, you delayed to come. You did not act rightly in that you did not come to render account against them, so that your sentence concerning them might be proved right or disproved, nor did you send a rational cause for why you refused these things. With all these things therefore weighed, it is manifest that you are guilty and that they remain innocent; and that you are rightly excommunicated, and that they are justly freed.

The Lord therefore was unwilling that his ministers should be treated so lightly as you do, or condemned by you, but (as has been mentioned) either by this holy see to which they have been committed, or reserved for his own judgment. For he says: Whoever shall grieve you, shall grieve me. Whoever shall do injury to you, shall receive what he has wickedly done. And how great a punishment awaits those who scandalize the Lord's disciples, the Gospel sufficiently explains where it speaks of those who scandalize the disciples. For that they are not to be condemned by you, but either by this holy see (as has been said above) or reserved for himself, he himself clearly gives the example, when priests who sinned—whose place bishops now hold in the holy Church—he cast out of the temple not through another but through himself, those buying and selling, and overturned the tables of the money-changers with his own scourge, and cast them out of the temple.

And he himself says elsewhere: God stood in the assembly of gods, and in the midst he judges the gods, and the rest such and similar things. And elsewhere the same one says: Judge not, that you be not judged; condemn not, that you be not condemned. For with what judgment you shall have judged, you shall be judged.

Wherefore let no one presume so rashly (as you do) to vomit forth his iniquity, but one who judges all things must examine carefully, and discuss the order of affairs with full inquiry, and in no way presume to render judgment concerning those things which are not granted to him, patience for questioning and proposing and adding being afforded by him, so that the action of the parties may there be fully bounded. Nor should he wish his sentence to confront the litigants before they, when all has been completed, shall have nothing further to propose in question. Nor is it fitting for anyone to be judged or condemned before he has his accusers present and receives ample space for defending himself to wash away the charges.

Likewise it was established in the aforesaid synod that the license of accusing shall not extend beyond the boundaries of the province, unless appeal has been made to this apostolic see, to which all who wish ought to come freely and without any hindrance from certain parties acting against them.

Likewise it was decreed in the aforesaid synod that those who are suspect, or infamous, or criminal, or partial, or calumniators, or related by kinship, or prone to litigation, shall not be received as accusers, but only such as are free from all suspicion, because the Lord willed that his pillars should stand firm and not be shaken by just anyone.

Likewise the aforesaid synod established that no sentence shall bind anyone unless it has been pronounced by his own judge. But the judges ought to be no others than those whom the one who is prosecuted shall have chosen, or whom this holy see with his consent, or its primates by the authority of this holy see, shall have delegated. From these and other things established both in this holy see and by the apostles and their successors, you granted nothing to the aforesaid bishops, but inflicting violence upon them, and unjustly condemning them (as has been mentioned above), you expelled some who were absent, which is hostile to all Christian religion.

In these matters it is apparent that you preserved neither the Lord's own rights, nor those of this holy mother and apostolic Church, which (as has been written above) willed that they be reserved for its own judgment or for this see, lest they should be condemned or expelled by men so wicked as you are; in all these things that you are foolish and transgressors of the Gospels and canons is hidden from none of sound wisdom.

Nor content with these things, you persist in your transgression, but also, because you first expelled them and stripped them of their possessions, you summoned and condemned them as it were, when no one can regularly be either summoned or judged before he has been regularly restored, and all his possessions have been fully returned to him by law.

For it has been decreed unanimously by all in the oft-mentioned holy synod and confirmed by apostolic authority, that if any bishop has been stripped of his possessions and pressed with an accusation, it is proper and fitting by the ordinance of pontiffs that the holy purpose yield at the outset, so that all things which he had lost through the suggestions of his enemies may first be legally restored to his power by the honorable council, and the bishop may first be regularly returned to his former standing, and he himself, having arranged and set his affairs in order, may then come at the appointed time to the cause, and if it so seems just, may respond to the propositions of his accusers. Why therefore have you transgressed the boundaries of the Fathers, judging and condemning those whom you ought not to have judged? Why did you judge those whom you had not regularly approved?

You did not observe what is written in the book of Kings: Not as man sees, does God see: for man sees the face, but God sees the heart. And in Paralipomenon: God searches all hearts and knows every thought. And elsewhere it is written: He whom God has reserved for His own judgment cannot be condemned by human examination. All these things must be most carefully guarded against, nor is an accusation against bishops to be readily received, the Lord saying: You shall not receive the voice of a lie. And the Apostle says: An accusation against a presbyter is not to be received, except on the testimony of two or three competent witnesses. If these things are to be guarded against in the case of presbyters or other faithful, how much more in the case of bishops? From all this it is manifest that you wish rather to dominate than to counsel your brethren or to support them, because honor puffs up to pride: and what was provided for concord tends to harm.

For it would have been fitting for you, according to the aforesaid rules, if they had done anything against their order, to send word to us and to await what we would write back in response to your consultations, to such a degree that, even if they had committed something grave and intolerable, our judgment should be awaited. And you should have decreed nothing prior to or other than what you had come to know would please us, so that you would depart from the established rules by neither negligence nor presumption. Let such presumption cease, suppressed by our authority; let such injuries be avoided; for we can in no way bear such machinations with patience, since it befits us to be diligent guardians of the sanctions of the Fathers. For the cause rightly concerns us, if we should favor error by silence.

Furthermore it is established in the aforesaid holy Nicene synod, that no one under anathema is to be received in accusation against us: nor those who are unwilling to receive us in their complaint or accusation, since we know that we have been set over them by the Lord, not they over us. And just as a greater cannot be judged by a lesser, so neither can he be bound: for everything that is great is rare. We bear the burdens of all who are burdened; indeed the blessed apostle Peter, in whose stead we discharge a legation and by whose rule we are formed, bears these in us, so that, supported by his aid, we may now and forever be protected from all adversities. Given on the Kalends of November, in the consulship of Felicianus and Maximianus, most distinguished men.