Letter 30
Hormisdas→Bishops Ennodius and Peregrinus, papal legates|hormisdas
From: Hormisdas, Pope of Rome
To: Bishops Ennodius and Peregrinus, papal legates
Date: ~517 AD
Context: Detailed procedural instructions for handling the Nicopolis dispute when the legates reach Thessalonica — a revealing window into how papal diplomacy worked in practice.
Hormisdas to the bishops Ennodius and Peregrinus.
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, with the intercession and assistance of the saints, this is how the case of the church of Nicopolis is to be handled:
First, when you arrive in Thessalonica, God willing, deliver our letters to the bishop of Thessalonica. In greeting him, observe the protocol I have already instructed you to follow with those who are not in communion with the apostolic see — that is, the catholic Church.
Once the letters are delivered, press him firmly to cease his harassment of that church. Explain the reasoning: the bishop of Nicopolis has returned to communion with us and to the body of the Church. He cannot reasonably be expected to maintain the old forms of submission to those who have not yet returned.
If he cooperates, well and good. If not, make clear that the apostolic see will not abandon those who have placed themselves under its protection. Record everything and report back to me.
HORMISDA ENNODIO ET PEREGRINO EPISCOPIS. Id nomine
patris et iilii et spiritus sancti intercedentibus et adiuuantibus sanctis agendum sic de causa Nicopolitanae ecclesiae. pri- 2
5 mum ubi Thessalonicam deo iuuante ueneritis, epistolas nostras, quas in hac causa misimus, episcopo Thessalonicensi tradite, illam ordinem in eius salutatione seruantes, quem scitis a nobis esse mandatum circa eos, qui cum sede apostolica, hoc est ecclesia catholica, non communicant. traditis autem 3
10 epistolis instanter agere debetis, ut se ab eius ecclesiae con- cussione suspendat, rationem reddentes, quia non potuitreuersus ad communionem et ad corpus ecclesiae cum illis, qui necdum reuersi sunt, quicquam habere coniunctum: nos non soluere a decessoribus nostris concessa priuilegia, si ipse ecclesiastica
15 instituta non de< se >rat. certe redeat ad unitatem, et nos cum 60 insistimus, ut omnia priuilegia, quaecumque consecuta est a sede apostolica ecclesia eius, inuiolata seruentur. di- 4 citis etiam aperte illum ostendere inimicum esse iidei, si insequitur eos, quos uidet ad catholicam communionem reuerti.
80 quod si potueritis causam ibi deo propitio componere, scribitis 5 ad episcopum Nicopolitanum, quid <opera> uestra promouerit. si uero obstinatus fuerit nec ab insecutione eius cessare noluerit, secundum litteras, quas ad clementissimum impera- torem misimus, apud principem causam ecclesiae Nicopolitanae
25 sic agitis, ut dicatis: 'Alcison episcopus Constantinopoli satis- 6 fecit ecclesiae catholicae, susceptus est et ad communionem reductus. huius successor lohannes episcopus et deum ante
185. Data (simul cum epp. 127, 133, 134) a. 517 die 12 Apr, Edd. Car. P 468; Bar. ad a. 517, 43; ColUct. Concil; BTA I 403; Thiel 808. 4 sic Thiel: sit V (<quid> agendum sit 5 thessalo-
nica F, corr. 10 epistolis o: apostolis V 15 deserat o^: derat V 16 insistemus Bar. 18 <8e> esse o* 19 uiderit Bar. reuerti cod. Vatic. 4903: reuertenti V, reuertentes 20 scribitis §cripsi: scriptis
F, guo seruaio 21 promouerit <opera nuntiate> Car. opera om. V
25 dicat is F, contraxit a constantinopolim F, corr. o: nicopoli- tanns 26 suseptus F, corr. a
558
Auitus TJiennensis episcopus Horroisdae
oculos habens et de salute sua cogitans et decessoris sui bonum exemplum sequens condemnatis haereticis uel trans- gressoribus ad sedem beati apostoli Fetri misit et susceptus est. huic nunc Thessalonicensis episcopus insidiatur et eum
7 concutit contraria his, quae fecit, ab eo exigere uolens. hinc pater uester et omnes orthodoxi rogant, ut iussionibus uestris remoueatur ab eo ista molestia, ne uideatur hominibus propter hoc illum persecutionem pati, quia ad communionem sedis apostolicae rediit, et qui expectant per uos unitatem fieri, aliud incipiant credere, si pietatem uestram uiderint hoc
8 dissimulare, hoc neglegenter accipere'. uisum nobis est expedire, ut litteras, quas ad Thessalonicensem in causa Nicopolitani direximus, quolibet ordine prudentia uestra diuersis faciat publicari, magno<pere> tamen in ciuitate Thessalonicen- sium, quia hoc facto et a persecutione nostrorum potest cessari <et> ad ipsius, si correxerit, credimus pertinere salutem.
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From: Hormisdas, Pope of Rome
To: Bishops Ennodius and Peregrinus, papal legates
Date: ~517 AD
Context: Detailed procedural instructions for handling the Nicopolis dispute when the legates reach Thessalonica — a revealing window into how papal diplomacy worked in practice.
Hormisdas to the bishops Ennodius and Peregrinus.
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, with the intercession and assistance of the saints, this is how the case of the church of Nicopolis is to be handled:
First, when you arrive in Thessalonica, God willing, deliver our letters to the bishop of Thessalonica. In greeting him, observe the protocol I have already instructed you to follow with those who are not in communion with the apostolic see — that is, the catholic Church.
Once the letters are delivered, press him firmly to cease his harassment of that church. Explain the reasoning: the bishop of Nicopolis has returned to communion with us and to the body of the Church. He cannot reasonably be expected to maintain the old forms of submission to those who have not yet returned.
If he cooperates, well and good. If not, make clear that the apostolic see will not abandon those who have placed themselves under its protection. Record everything and report back to me.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.