Letter 50001: It is well known to Your Magnanimity that a bishop is compelled by the very nature of his office to intercede on...
Pope Gelasius to King Theodoric.
It is well known to Your Magnanimity that a bishop is compelled by the very nature of his office to intercede on behalf of anyone who asks. Trusting in the Christian piety of your mind, I have thought it right to commend to you by this letter the distinguished Constantius — since it is the duty of a priest to petition on behalf of any person whatsoever.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.
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