From: Justinian, comes [the future Emperor Justinian I]
To: Hormisdas, Pope of Rome
Date: 519 AD (April 22)
Context: Justinian writes again to Hormisdas, this time celebrating the accomplished reunion and asking for the pope's continued prayers — his tone is one of triumphant devotion.
Copy of the letter of Justinian.
To my lord, the most holy Hormisdas, first among archbishops and Pope of the city of Rome — from Justinian, count.
The preaching of your venerable holiness's rules — which constantly supplicates Christ our God for the peace of the churches and the concord of the people — has borne its fruit. Whatever Your Holiness's most blessed priests undertook to accomplish has, by divine favor, been joined to its fulfillment, with no opposition prevailing.
Therefore, fortified by your sacred prayers and instructions and by the faith of the orthodox, we humbly ask: pray for our most holy Augustus, the champion of the whole faith, for his state, and for us too, the guardians of your commands. Deign to offer your unfailing prayers to the eternal King, and continue to visit us — your faithful suppliants — with your life-giving letters.
EXEMPLUM EPISTOL.VE lUSTINIANI. BOMINO MEO SANCTISSIMO HORMISDAE PRIMAE ARCHIPONTIFICI ET
PAPAE uRBis ROMAE lusTiNTANus coMES. Uenerandae sancti- tatis uestrae praedicatio regularum, quae Christo deo pro & ecclesiarum pace et pro plebis concordia iugiter supplicat, quicquid nunc per beatissimos suos sacerdotes annuit pera- gendum, propitia diuinitate cuncta effectui sociata sunt nuUa 2 prorsus quorundam ualente discordia. igitur uestris sacris orationibus ac praeceptionibus orthodoxorum fide muniti lo supplices petimus, uti pro sanctissimo Augusto nostro, totius fidei fautore, proque eius re publica, pro nobis quoque man- datorum uestrorum custodibus aeterno regi consueti impetra- biles preces offerre dignemini nosque uobis fideliter supplices uestris salutiferis rescriptionibus uisitare.
(163-)
EXEMPLUM EPISTOLAE POMPEI. DOMINO MEO BEATTSSIMO BT APOSTOLICO PATRI HORMISDAE ARCHIEPISCOPO UNIUERSALI ECCLESIAE POMPEIUS. SaUCtis bcati-
tudinis uestrae precibus omnipotentis dei pietas exorata tantae »o nobis fidei principem condonare dignata est, ut religiosissimis clementiae eius meritis redintegratio pacis ecclesiasticae, quae uotis omnium fidelium poscebatur, iure uideatur esse coUata. in cuius rei prouentu solidissima principatus sui fundamenta
162. Bat. ut ep. 160. Edd. Car. D 497; Bar. ad o. 519, 65; CoUect. Concil.; Thiel 864. 3 prime V: primo Car. archiponti- fici o: arclipontifico V, archipontifico a 4 comes <8alatem> a uene- randa V, corr. cod, Angeltc. 9 ualentes F, corr, 10 bortho-
doxorum V 11 uti Thiel: ut hi V, ut Bar. 13 imperabiles F, corr. Bar. 15 uisitari F, corr.
Epist. CLXII 1 - CLXim 2.
615
sancti spiritus operatione constituit, quae tantum robur obtinent stabilitatis inuictae, quantum actionis eicellentia unica et admirabilis aestimatur. et ideo reuerendam uestri 2 pontificatus beatitudinem cultu reciprocantis alloquii salutantes quaesumus, ut magis magisque pro clementissimi atque inuictissimi domni nostri principis prosperitate orare dignemini, quatenus ineffabilis omnipotentis dei pietas sua dona, in quibus etiam fructus uestrae agricolationis exuberat, iustis gratiae opitulatione custodiat, nobis quoque filiis uestris spiritali uobis conglutinatis affectu, quos huius operis maxime semper sollicitudo constrinxit, suffragatrix intercessio sancti- monii pontificalis adsistat.
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From:Justinian, comes [the future Emperor Justinian I]
To:Hormisdas, Pope of Rome
Date:519 AD (April 22)
Context:Justinian writes again to Hormisdas, this time celebrating the accomplished reunion and asking for the pope's continued prayers — his tone is one of triumphant devotion.
Copy of the letter of Justinian.
To my lord, the most holy Hormisdas, first among archbishops and Pope of the city of Rome — from Justinian, count.
The preaching of your venerable holiness's rules — which constantly supplicates Christ our God for the peace of the churches and the concord of the people — has borne its fruit. Whatever Your Holiness's most blessed priests undertook to accomplish has, by divine favor, been joined to its fulfillment, with no opposition prevailing.
Therefore, fortified by your sacred prayers and instructions and by the faith of the orthodox, we humbly ask: pray for our most holy Augustus, the champion of the whole faith, for his state, and for us too, the guardians of your commands. Deign to offer your unfailing prayers to the eternal King, and continue to visit us — your faithful suppliants — with your life-giving letters.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.