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ER 1722
Letter from Pope Hormisdas to Bishop Epiphanius of Constantinople in which he expresses his joy at the ordination of Epiphanius. He refers to the Constantinopolitan legates, Bishop John of Claudiopolis, the Presbyter Heraclianus, and the Deacon Constantinus. He also thanks for the gifts for the basilica of St Peter, AD 521. Letter 138 in the collection of the letters of Hormisdas "Benedicimus dominum" (= letter 239 in the Collectio Avellana compiled in the second half of the 6th c.).
239. [in Coll. Avell.]
 
Hormisdas says that he received with joy the synodical letter informing him about the ordination of Epiphanius (see [1697]). He mentions the embassy of Bishop John of Claudiopolis, the Presbyter Heraclianus, and the Deacon Constantinus whom he welcomed with delight in Rome. He gives thanks for the sacred vessels offered for the basilica of St Peter. The letter is dated to the 7th day before the Kalends of April in the consulship of Valerianus [=26 March 521].
 
(ed. Guenther 1895: 737-738; summary by M. Szada)

Discussion:

For the embassy of John, Heraclianus and Constantinus see [1697].

Place of event:

Region
  • East
  • Rome
City
  • Constantinople
  • Rome

About the source:

Author: Hormisdas
Title: Collectio Avellana, Epistulae, Letters
Origin: Rome (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 sixth 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 (Günther 1896: 3-96; Steinacker 1902: 14-15; Blaudeau 2013: 4) :
1) Nos. 1–40 are an independent collection making use of the records of the prefecture of the city of Rome concerning two episcopal elections;
2) Nos. 41–50 are derived from the records of the bishopric in Carthage, and consist of the letters of Innocentius I and Zosimus;
3) Nos. 51–55 are the late letters of Leo I not known from any other source, regarding the exile of Bishop Timothy II of Alexandria;
4) Nos. 56–104 are the group of letters from the pontificates of Simplicius, Gelasius, Symmachus, John, Agapet, and Vigilius;
5) Nos. 105–243 are the letters from the records of Hormisdas.
 
The modern name of the collection is derived 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.
A. Grillmeier and T. Hainthaler, Christ in Christian tradition, London 1995.
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.
A.A. Vasiliev, Justin the First. An Introduction to the Epoch of Justinian the Great, Cambridge, Mass. 1950.

Categories:

Travel and change of residence
Described by a title - Presbyter/πρεσβύτερος
Ecclesiastical administration - Ecclesiastical envoy
Relation with - Bishop/Monastic superior
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL: M. Szada, Presbyters in the Late Antique West, ER1722, http://presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=1722
Record by: Marta Szada
last edited: 2020-03-25 17:24:27
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