From: Pope Hilary, bishop of Rome
To: The bishops of various provinces of Gaul
Date: ~464 AD
Context: Pope Hilary's letter 11; a general letter to the Gallic bishops on two subjects: the prohibition on bishops exceeding their territorial boundaries and the requirement for annual provincial councils.
Hilary, bishop of Rome, to our beloved brothers the bishops of the various provinces of Gaul, greetings.
Two matters require our attention and your response.
First: the canons prohibit bishops from exercising authority outside their own territorial limits. This prohibition has a clear purpose — it prevents the strong from expanding at the expense of the weak, and it protects the ecclesiastical order against the ambitions of individuals who may have more drive than principle. We ask all of you to observe this prohibition strictly and to refer to us any situations where the boundaries are uncertain.
Second: the canons require annual provincial councils, convened under the presidency of the metropolitan, for the purpose of addressing the ongoing business of the church in each province. We ask that these councils be held regularly and that their decisions be communicated to us.
The annual council requirement has been observed inconsistently in some provinces, and the consequences — questions allowed to accumulate, problems not addressed until they become crises — are visible in several of the cases that reach us from Gaul. Regular councils prevent these consequences.
Hilary, bishop of Rome
UiUri papae ad episeopos diversaruni proTinciaruiii Oalliae. (a.464.)
p. 3. .Ve qidg suos terminos transcendat , et ut concilia quotannis sub Leontii Arela-
tensis praesidio celebrentur.
Dilectissimis fratribus episcopis provinciae Vien-
nensis, Lugdunensis, Narbonensis primae et
secundae, Alpinae Hilarus episcopus.
1. Etsi meminerimus fratemitatem vestram ea quae sunt a
vobis *) statuta retinere, nec aliquid ex his dissimulare quae scripsi-
mus : ut scilicet pro disciplina ecclesiastica et pro causis, quas inter
Domini sacerdotes oboriri plerumque non dubium est, synodalia
quotannis conciHa, quorum maxime in fratre et coepiscopo nostro
Leontio Arelatensis ecclesiae sacerdote siunmam^) placuit esse, cele-
brentur, nec aliud fieri posse credamus, quam quod pro commiuiis
Domini domo nostra ordiiiatio vobis placitura constituit; tamen re-
petitis litteris eadem nimc quoque observanda decernimus, praecipue
quum gravissima Viennensis civitatis episcopus involvatur offensa,
in injuriam fratris et coepiscopi nostri Leontii Deensibus antistitem
cousecrando. De cujus facto vindictae congruae sententiam diffe-
renteSy relationi fratrum quae interim fuerant visa respondimus.
Sed quoniam tanti excessus majorem nobis soUicitudinis materiam
detulerunt, haec ad universam caritatem etiam per fratrem et co-
episeopum nostrum Antonium scripta direximus, quibus admonita
communis onmium sollicitudo procuret, ne quisquam fratrum in al-
< *) Contra fas ordinatum non penitus a sacerdotio aiuovct, tuiu ut i^atcrnac
modeTaiionis exemplum praebeat, tum quia ilie ipsomct Hilaro nou diiBtcute
(cL n. 2) hunc gradum promeritus fucrat.
a. 464. terius prorupturus injuriam transceudat terminos a venerandis pa-
tribus constitutos.
2. Unde omnia quae a vobis suilt per fratres et coepiscopos
nostros Faustum et Auxanium definita roborantes, congregationes
annuas ordinante fratre et coepiscopo nostro Leontio, admonitis me-
tropolitanis, quod saepe dicendum est, iis locis celebrare digneinini|
ad quae oonveniendi nulla sit cuiquam'^) commeantimn difficultas.
Cui diligentiae etiam provisio adhibenda est, utopportunitas quem-
admodum locorum ita constituatur et temporum: ut inexcusabilior,
quisquis tam necessarium et salubre constitutum nostrum negligen-
dum putaret, appareat, fratres carissimi. Illius autem coufirmatio-
nem, quem Viennensis episcopus alieniun^) et ad se mininie perti-
nentem graviter • ordinare praesumpsit, fratris et coepiscopi nostri
Leontii iieliquimus voluntati, quem confidilnus non praeter humaui-
tatem ^) pensare quae justa sunt. Deus vos incolumes custodiat^ ftra-
tres carissimi!
◆
From:Pope Hilary, bishop of Rome
To:The bishops of various provinces of Gaul
Date:~464 AD
Context:Pope Hilary's letter 11; a general letter to the Gallic bishops on two subjects: the prohibition on bishops exceeding their territorial boundaries and the requirement for annual provincial councils.
Hilary, bishop of Rome, to our beloved brothers the bishops of the various provinces of Gaul, greetings.
Two matters require our attention and your response.
First: the canons prohibit bishops from exercising authority outside their own territorial limits. This prohibition has a clear purpose — it prevents the strong from expanding at the expense of the weak, and it protects the ecclesiastical order against the ambitions of individuals who may have more drive than principle. We ask all of you to observe this prohibition strictly and to refer to us any situations where the boundaries are uncertain.
Second: the canons require annual provincial councils, convened under the presidency of the metropolitan, for the purpose of addressing the ongoing business of the church in each province. We ask that these councils be held regularly and that their decisions be communicated to us.
The annual council requirement has been observed inconsistently in some provinces, and the consequences — questions allowed to accumulate, problems not addressed until they become crises — are visible in several of the cases that reach us from Gaul. Regular councils prevent these consequences.
Hilary, bishop of Rome
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.