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ER 1658

Letter of John II the Cappadocian, bishop of Constantinople, to Pope Hormisdas carried by Bishops Germanus of Capua and John (of unknown Italian see), the Presbyter Blandus, the Deacons Felix and Dioscorus, AD 519. Letter 52 in the collection of the letters of Hormisdas "Reddidimus quidem" (= letter 150 included in the Collectio Avellana compiled in the second half of the 6th c.).

159. [in Coll. Avell.]

1. Redditis mihi litteris uestrae sanctitatis, in Christo frater karissime, per Gratum clarissimum comitem et nunc per Germanum et Iohannem reuerentissimos episcopos, Felicem et Dioscorum sanctissimos diaconos et Blandum presbyterum laetatus sum de spiritali caritate uestrae sanctitatis, quod unitatem sanctissimarum dei ecclesiarum secundum ueterem patrum requiris traditionem et laceratores rationabilis gregis Christi animo repulsare festinas.

In what follows, John professes that his faith is the same as the faith of Hormisdas. He repudiates the same heretics as he, and accepts the canons of the four ecumenical councils - Nicea, Constantinople, Ephesus, and Chalcedon. He confirms that the see of Peter, Rome, always guarded the orthodox faith. He condemns Nestorius, Eutyches, Dioscorus of Alexandria, Timothy Aelurus, Peter Mongus of Alexandria, Acacius of Constantinople, Peter of Antioch. He accepts the Tome of Leo. He expresses hope of restoration of communion between Rome and Constantinople.

7. huic uero professioni subscripsi mea manu et direxi per rescripta tibi Hormisdae sancto et beatissimo fratri et papae magnae Romae per supra scriptos Germanum et Iohannem uenerabiles episcopos et Felicem et Dioscorum diaconos et Blandum presbyterum.

The letter is signed by John himself. It is dated to the 28 March, 12th indiction, the year of the consulship of the Emperor Justin and Eutharic.

(ed. Guenther 1895: 607-610; summary by M. Szada)

159. [in Coll. Avell.]

1. Having received the letters of Your Sanctity, o my dearest brother in Christ, through the most famous Comes Gratus, and now through the most reverent Bishops Germanus and John, the most holy deacons Felix and Dioscorus and the Presbyter Blandus, I rejoiced in the spiritual love of Your Sanctity because you seek the unity of the most holy Churches of God according to the old traditions of the Fathers and you are in hurry to rebuke with your mind the manglers of the spiritual flock of Christ.

7. This profession I signed with my own hand and sent in rescripts to you Hormisdas, the holy and most blessed brother and pope of the great Rome through the above-mentioned venerables Bishops Germanus and John, the Deacons Felix and Dioscorus, and the Presbyter Blandus.

The letter is signed by John himself. It is dated to the 28 March, 12th indiction, the year of the consulship of the Emperor Justin and Eutharic (i.e. 519).

(summary and translation by M. Szada)

Place of event:

Region

East
Rome

City

Constantinople

About the source:

Author: Hormisdas
Title: Collectio Avellana, Epistulae, Letters
Origin: Rome
Denomination: Catholic/Nicene/Chalcedonian

Hormisdas was a bishop of Rome from 514 until his death in 523. During his pontificate he managed to resolve the Acacian Schism (see the discussion in [1581]) in 519.

Collectio Avellana is a collection containing 244 letters issued by emperors, imperial magistrates and popes. The earliest item is dated to AD 367, the latest to AD 553. Hence, the compilator worked most probably in the second half of the 6th century. Two hundred documents of the Collectio are not known from any other collection. The editor of the Collectio, Günther noticed that it can be divided into five thematic parts (Gunther 1896: 3-96; Steinacker 1902: 14-15; Blaudeau 2013: 4):

1) no. 1-40 is an independent collection making use of the records of the prefecture of the city of Rome concerning two episcopal elections;

2) no. 41-50 that are derived from the records of the bishopric in Carthage, and consist of the letters of Innocentius I and Zosimus;

3) no. 51-55, the late letters of Leo I not known from any other source, regarding the exile of Bishop Timothy II of Alexandria;

4) no. 56-104 the group of letters from the pontificates of Simplicius, Gelasius, Symmachus, John, Agapet, and Vigilius;

5) no. 105-243 the letters from the records of Hormisdas.

The modern name of the collection derives from the codex Vaticanus Latinus 4961 copied in the monastery Sancti Crucis in fonte Avellana that was considered the oldest by the brothers Ballerini who edited the Collectio in 1787.

Edition:

O. Guenther ed., Epistolae Imperatorum Pontificum Aliorum Inde ab a. CCCLXVII usque DLIII datae Avellana Quae Dicitur Collectio, Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum 35/1, 35/2, Prague, Vienna, and Leipzig 1895

A. Thiel ed., Epistolae Romanorum Pontificum genuinae et quae ad eos scriptae sunt a s. Hilaro usque ad Pelagium II, vol. 1, Brunsberga 1868

Bibliography:

P. Blaudeau, "Un point de contact entre collectio Avellana et collectio Thessalonicensis?”, Millennium Yearbook / Millenium Jahrbuch 10 (2013), 1–12.

O. Guenther, Avellana-Studien, Wien 1896.

O. Guenther, "Zu den Gesta de nomine Acacii”, Byzantinische Zeitschrift 3 (1894), 146–149.

D. Moreau, "Les actes pontificaux comme sources des historiens et des chroniqueurs de l'Antiquité tardive", in: L'historiographie tardo-antique et la transmission des savoirs, ed. P. van Nuffelen, P. Blaudeau, Millenium-Studien 55, Berlin, Boston 2015, 23-54.

H. Steinacker, "Ueber das älteste päpstliche Registerwesen”, Mitteilungen des Instituts für Österreichische Geschichtsforschung 23 (1902), 1–49.

Categories:

Travel and change of residence

PR247.

Described by a title - Presbyter/πρεσβύτερος

PR247.

Ecclesiastical administration - Ecclesiastical envoy

PR247.

Relation with - Bishop/Monastic superior

PR247.

Relation with - Deacon

PR247.

Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL: M. Szada, Presbyters in the Late Antique West, ER1658, http://presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=1658