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ER 1788
Bishop Eusebius of Milan (Italy) informs Pope Leo the Great that his legates sent to Constantinople, among them the Presbyter Senator from Milan, have safely returned home. He informs also that a synod has gathered in Milan and accepted the Tome. The signatures of the bishops and presbyters present at the council are appended. Letter 97 in the collection of letters of Pope Leo the Great, written in Milan, AD 451.
Letter 97 [inc. "Reversis Domino annuente"]
 
Domino sancto et beatissimo Patri Leoni Eusebius Mediolanensis episcopus.
 
1. Reversis, Domino annuente, fratribus nostris, quos ad Orientem fidei causa sollicite provida beatitudo vestra direxerat, decursisque litteris quas per eos tua sanctitas destinavit, omni exsultatione in Christo relevatus sum, quod effectum commissae sibi legationis eosdem reportasse vestra pagina designavit. Nec mirum quod Dominus noster Iesus Christus catholicae fidei, quam tenemus, maiestatis sua gratiam custodiamque praestiterit: quando vos idoneos cultus sui assertores in apostoli sui sede praesulem collocavit, qui et recta sentire de incarnationis Dominicae sacramento, et eadem potestis rectius custodire.
2. Admonitis ergo fratribus et coepiscopis meis, habitoque conventu, vestrarum formam tenuimus litterarum. Nam recensita epistola beatitudinis vestrae in sacerdotum Domini concilio, quam sanctus frater et coepiscopus noster Abundantius, et compresbyter meus Senator detulerant, agnitaque eorum narratione, sicut scripta vestra signaverant, (0946B) rerum gestarum ordine continuo requisita est recitataque epistola, quam fidei assertione plene digestam, ad Orientem dudum sanctitas vestra transmiserat, quae ad nos ex vestra admonitione, sancto fratre et coepiscopo nostro Ceretio mutuante pervenit. Claruit eam plena fidei simplicitate fulgere, prophetarum etiam assertionibus, evangelicis auctoritatibus, et apostolicae doctrinae testimoniis, nitore quodam lucis ac veritatis splendore radiare, omnibusque sensibus convenire, quos beatus Ambrosius. de incarnationis Dominicae mysterio suis libris Spiritu sancto excitatus inseruit.
 
In the following chapter Eusebius avers that the letter was accepted by the council and it is confirmed by the present letter with the appended signatures. The letter will be brought to the Pope by Bishop Cyriacus of Lodi.
The signatures are as follows: Bishops Eusebius of Milan, Faventius of Reggio, Majorian of Piacenza, Cyprian of Brescello, Quintus of Tortona, Crispinus of Pavia. After that there follows a signature:
 
Ego FLOREIUS presbyter, iussus a praesente sancto EULOGIO episcopo meo Ecclesiae Iporiensis, quia ipse propter infirmitatem subscribere non potest, subscripsi ad omnia supra scripta, eo consentiente, et Anathema dicente his qui de incarnationis Dominicae sacramento impia senserunt.
 
Then follows the signature of Bishop Maximus of Turin, and then:
 
Ego GRATUS presbyter, directus ab episcopo meo Euthasio Ecclesiae Augustanae, vice ipsius in omnia supra scripta consensi et subscripsi: Anathema dicens his qui de incarnationis Dominicae sacramento impia senserunt.
 
Then follow the signatures of Cyriacus of Lodi, Abundantius of Como who signs also in the name of absent Asinio, bishop of Chur, Paschasinus of Genoa, Pastor of Asti, Simplicianus of Novara, John of Cremona, Optatianus of Brescia, Justianus of Vercelli, Quintius of Albenga, Praestantius of Bergamo.
  
(Patrologia Latina 54, 945-950 = Ballerini 1753: 1080-1084)
Letter 97 [inc. "Reversis Domino annuente"]
 
To the holy lord and the most blessed father Leo, Bishop Eusebius of Milan.
 
1. When, thanks to God, our brothers, whom your Beatitude, concerned about faith, had sent to the East, returned and when the letters which your Sanctity had sent through them, have been delivered, I was relieved with great joy in Christ because your letter gave account of the effect of the embassy entrusted to them. It is not surprising that Our Lord Jesus Christ takes care and preserves the grace of the majesty of the Catholic faith which we profess, by appointing you as a proper defender of His cult to be a prelate of the Apostolic See who not only professes rightfully the mystery of the Incarnation of the Lord but also has power to properly defend it.
2. Having then instructed my brothers and fellow-bishops, I convened a gathering and we accepted the tenor of your letter. The letter of Your Beatitude, which had been brought by holy brother and our fellow-bishop Abundantius and my fellow-presbyter Senator, was read at the council of the priests of God. Having learnt what it was about, according to the instruction in your letter, we requested that the letter explaining fully the faith, which Your Sanctity had sent previously to the East, was read. This letter came to us on your demand through the holy brother and our fellow-bishop Ceretius. He showed that this letter shined with the full simplicity of faith asserted by the prophets, authorized by the Gospels and by the testimonies of the apostolic doctrine, that it radiated with the brightness of light and splendor of the truth and that it agreed with those teachings which the blessed Ambrose inspired by the Holy Spirit included in his books on the mystery of the Incarnation of the Lord.
 
In the following chapter Eusebius avers that the letter was accepted by the council and it is confirmed by the present letter with the appended signatures. The letter will be brought to the Pope by Bishop Cyriacus of Lodi.
The signatures are as follows: Bishops Eusebius of Milan, Faventius of Reggio, Majorian of Piacenza, Cyprian of Brescello, Quintus of Tortona, Crispinus of Pavia. After that there follows a signature:
 
I, Floreius presbyter, on the order of my bishop, holy Eulogius of the Church of Ivrea, who cannot sign himself because of infirmity, subscribe to everything what is written above agreeing with that and saying anathema to those who held impious views on the mystery of the Incarnation of the Lord.
 
Then follows the signature of Bishop Maximus of Turin, and then:
 
I, Gratus presbyter, sent by my Bishop Euthasius of the Church of Aosta, subscribe and give consent in his name to everything what is written saying anathema to those who held impious views on the mystery of the Incarnation of the Lord.
 
Then follow the signatures of Cyriacus of Lodi, Abundantius of Como who signs also in the name of absent Asinio, bishop of Chur, Paschasinus of Genoa, Pastor of Asti, Simplicianus of Novara, John of Cremona, Optatianus of Brescia, Justianus of Vercelli, Quintius of Albenga, Praestantius of Bergamo.
 
(trans. and summary M. Szada)

Place of event:

Region
  • Rome
  • East
City
  • Rome
  • Constantinople
  • Cos

About the source:

Author: Eusebius of Milan
Title: Letters, Epistulae
Origin: Rome (Rome)
Denomination: Catholic/Nicene/Chalcedonian
Leo the Great was the bishop of Rome from AD 440 to his death in AD 461. We have the collection of 173 letters of Leo. The letter is not dated but as we know that Bishop Abundius and the Presbyter Senator returned to Italy in June 451, the present letter must be few months later (Ballerini supposed that it was sent in August or in September; see note f in the edition). On the letter see also Wessel 2008: 134.
 
Edition:
P. and G. Ballerini eds., Sancti Leoni Magni Romani pontificis opera, vol. 1, Venice 1753
Patrologia Latina, vol. 54
Bibliography:
S. Wessel, Leo the Great and the spiritual rebuilding of a universal Rome, Leiden ; Boston 2008.

Categories:

Described by a title - Presbyter/πρεσβύτερος
Ecclesiastical administration - Participation in councils and ecclesiastical courts
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, ER1788, https://presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=1788
Record by: Marta Szada
last edited: 2020-04-24 17:42:52
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