Pope St. Leo the Great

“For since the most blessed Peter received the headship of the Apostles from the Lord, and the church of Rome still abides by His institutions, it is wicked to believe that His holy disciple Mark, who was the first to govern the church of Alexandria, formed his decrees on a different line of tradition: seeing that without doubt both disciple and master drew but one Spirit from the same fount of grace, and the ordained could not hand on aught else than what he had received from his ordainer.” (Letter 9)


“Through the Apostles’ trumpet blast go out for the salvation of all men, as it is written: “Their sound has gone out into every land, and their words into the ends of the world.” But this mysterious function the LORD wished to be indeed the concern of all the apostles, but in such a way that He has placed the principal charge on the blessed Peter, chief of all the Apostles and from him as from the head wishes his gifts to flow to all the body, so that anyone who dares to secede from Peter’s solid rock may understand that he has no part or lot in the divine mystery. He wished him who had been received into partnership in his undivided unity to be named what he himself was, when he said: ‘You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church’ [Matt. 16:18], that the building of the eternal temple might rest on Peter’s solid rock, strengthening his Church so surely that neither could human rashness assail it nor the gates of hell prevail against it” (Letters 10:1 [A.D. 445).


“what I will call the frenzy not the judgment of one man, protesting that those things which 55 were being carried through by violence and fear could not reverse the mysteries of the Church and the Creed itself composed by the Apostles, and that no injuries could sever them from that Faith which they had brought fully set forth and expounded from the See of the blessed Apostle Peter to the holy synod.” (Letter 45)


“As for the resolution of the bishops which is contrary to the Nicene decree, in union with your faithful piety, I declare it to be invalid and annul it by the authority of the holy apostle Peter” (Letters 110 [A.D. 445]).


“Whereupon the blessed Peter, as inspired by God, and about to benefit all nations by his confession, said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ Not undeservedly, therefore, was he pronounced blessed by the Lord, and derived from the original Rock that solidity which belonged both to his virtue and to his name [Peter]” (The Tome of Leo [A.D. 449]).


“Our Lord Jesus Christ . . . established the worship belonging to the divine [Christian] religion. . . . But the Lord desired that the sacrament of this gift should pertain to all the apostles in such a way that it might be found principally in the most blessed Peter, the highest of all the apostles. And he wanted his gifts to flow into the entire body from Peter himself, as if from the head, in such a way that anyone who had dared to separate himself from the solidarity of Peter would realize that he was himself no longer a sharer in the divine mystery” (ibid., 10:2–3).


“Although bishops have a common dignity, they are not all of the same rank. Even among the most blessed apostles, though they were alike in honor, there was a certain distinction of power. All were equal in being chosen, but it was given to one to be preeminent over the others. . . . [So today through the bishops] the care of the universal Church would converge in the one See of Peter, and nothing should ever be at odds with this head” (ibid., 14:11).


“For the solidity of that faith which was praised in the chief of the Apostles is perpetual: and as that remains which Peter believed in Christ, so that remains which Christ instituted in Peter. For when, as has been read in the Gospel lesson, the LORD had asked the disciples whom they believed Him to be amid the various opinions that were held, and the blessed Peter bad replied, saying, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living GOD,” the LORD says, “Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona, because flesh and flood hath not revealed it to thee, but My Father, which is in heaven. And I say to thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock will I build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shall bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shall loose on earth, shall be loosed also in heaven.” St. Peter’s work is still carried out by his successors. The dispensation of Truth therefore abides, and the blessed Peter persevering in the strength of the Rock, which he has received, has not abandoned the helm of the Church, which he undertook. For he was ordained before the rest in such a way that from his being called the Rock, from his being pronounced the Foundation, from his being constituted the Doorkeeper of the kingdom of heaven, from his being set as the Umpire to bind and to loose, whose judgments shall retain their validity in heaven, from all these mystical titles we might know the nature of his association with Christ. And still to-day he more fully and effectually performs what is entrusted to him, and carries out every part of his duty and charge in Him and with Him, through Whom he has been glorified.” (Sermon 3).


“On the dispersing of the Twelve, St. Peter was sent to Rome. For when the twelve Apostles, after receiving through the Holy Ghost the power of speaking with all tongues, had distributed the world into parts among themselves, and undertaken to instruct it in the Gospel, the most blessed Peter, chief of the Apostolic band, was appointed to the citadel of the Roman empire, that the light of Truth which was being displayed for the salvation of all the nations, might spread itself more effectively throughout the body of the world from the head itself.” (Sermons, par 82).


“Through the most blessed Peter, chief of the Apostles, the holy Roman church holds the principiate over all the churches of the whole world.” (Letter 65).


“But the bishops' assents [in proposing Canon 28 of Chalcedon], which are opposed to the regulations of the holy canons composed at Nicæa in conjunction with your faithful Grace, we do not recognize, and by the blessed Apostle Peter's authority we absolutely dis-annul in comprehensive terms…” (Pope St. Leo the Great, Letter 105).


*Canon 28 of Chalcedon: “Following in all things the decisions of the holy Fathers, and acknowledging the canon, which has been just read, of the One Hundred and Fifty Bishops beloved-of-God (who assembled in the imperial city of Constantinople, which is New Rome, in the time of the Emperor Theodosius of happy memory), we also do enact and decree the same things concerning the privileges of the most holy Church of Constantinople, which is New Rome. For the Fathers rightly granted privileges to the throne of old Rome, because it was the royal city. And the One Hundred and Fifty most religious Bishops, actuated by the same consideration, gave equal privileges to the most holy throne of New Rome, justly judging that the city which is honoured with the Sovereignty and the Senate, and enjoys equal privileges with the old imperial Rome, should in ecclesiastical matters also be magnified as she is, and rank next after her; so that, in the Pontic, the Asian, and the Thracian dioceses, the metropolitans only and such bishops also of the Dioceses aforesaid as are among the barbarians, should be ordained by the aforesaid most holy throne of the most holy Church of Constantinople; every metropolitan of the aforesaid dioceses, together with the bishops of his province, ordaining his own provincial bishops, as has been declared by the divine canons; but that, as has been above said, the metropolitans of the aforesaid Dioceses should be ordained by the archbishop of Constantinople, after the proper elections have been held according to custom and have been reported to him.”


“By God’s precepts and the Apostle’s admonitions we are incited to keep a careful watch over the state of all the churches: and, if anywhere ought is found that needs rebuke, to recall men with speedy care either from the stupidity of ignorance or from forwardness and presumption. For inasmuch as we are warned by the Lord’s own command whereby the blessed Apostle Peter had the thrice repeated mystical injunction pressed upon him, that he who loves Christ should feed Christ’s sheep, we are compelled by reverence for that see which, by the abundance of the Divine Grace, we hold, to shun the danger of sloth as much as possible: lest the confession of the chief Apostle whereby he testified that he loved God be not found in us: because if he (through us) carelessly feed the flock so often commended to him he is proved not to love the chief Shepherd.” (To Sicilian Bishops).


“…For although the pastors, each one singly, preside over their flocks with a special care and know that they have to render an account for the sheep entrusted to them, we have a duty which is shared with all; in fact the function of each one is part of our work: so that when men resort to the see of the blessed Apostle Peter from the whole world, and seek from our stewardship that love of the whole Church entrusted to him by the Lord, the greater our duty to the whole, the heavier we feel the burden to rest on us. There is further reason for our celebration: not only the Apostolic but also the episcopal dignity of the most blessed Peter, who does not cease to preside over his see, and obtains an abiding partnership with the eternal priest. For the stability which the rock himself was given by that Rock [Christ] ,he conveyed also to his successors, and wheresoever any steadfastness is apparent, there without doubt is to be seen the strength of the Shepherd.” (Leo’s Sermons #5 – PL 54 153).


“But in this present letter the affection displayed seems to us greater than usual: for it informs us of the state of the churches, and urges us to a vigilant exercise of care, by a consideration of our office, so that being placed, as it were, on a watch-tower, according to the will of the Lord, we should both lend our approval to things when they run in accordance with our wishes, and correct, by applying the remedies of compulsion, what we observe gone wrong through any aggression: hoping that abundant fruit will be the result of our sowing the seed, if we do now allow those things to increase which have begun to spring up to the spoiling of the harvest” (Epistle [6] to Anastasius, Bishop of Thessaloniki).


“Seeing that, as my predecessors acted toward yours, so too I, following their example have delegated my authority to you, beloved: so that you, imitating our gentleness, might assist us in the care which we owe primarily to all the churches by Divine institution and might to a certain extent make up for our personal presence in visiting those provinces which are far off from us….” (Epistle [14] to Anastasius, Bishop of Thessaloniki).


“By God’s precepts and the Apostle’s admonitions we are incited to keep a careful watch over the state of all the churches: and, if anywhere ought is found that needs rebuke, to recall men with speedy care either from stupidity of ignorance or from forwardness and presumption. For inasmuch as we are warned by the Lord’s own command whereby the blessed Apostle Peter had the thrice repeated mystical injunction pressed upon him, that he who loves Christ should feed Christ’s sheep, we are compelled by reverence for that See which, by the abundance of the Divine grace, we hold, to shun the danger of sloth as much as possible: lest the confession of the chief Apostle whereby he testified that he loved God be not found in us: because if he [Peter], through us, carelessly feed the flock so often commended to him he is proved not to love the Chief Shepherd” (Epistle [16] to the Bishops of Sicily).


“…But blessed be our God, whose invincible Truth has shown you free from all taint of heresy in the judgement of the Apostolic See. To whom you will repay due thanks for all these labours, if you keep yourself such a defender of the universal Church as we have proved and do still prove you. For that God has dispelled all calumnious fallacies, we attribute to the blessed Peter’s wondrous care of us all, for after sanctioning the judgement of his See in defining the faith, he allowed no sinister imputation to rest on any of you, who have laboured with us for the catholic faith….” (Epistle 70 to Theodoret, Bishop of Cyrus).


“Our Lord Jesus Christ…has placed the principal charge on the blessed Peter, chief of all the apostles, and from him as from the head wishes his gifts to flow to all the body, so that anyone who dares to secede from Peter’s solid rock may understand that he has no part or lot in the divine mystery. He wished him who had been received into partership in his undivided unity to be named what he himself was, when he said: ‘You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, that the building of the eternal temple might rest on Peter’s solid rock, strengthening his Church so surely that neither could human rashness assail it nor the gates of hell prevail against it.” (Letters 10:1).


“[The Emperor]…has desired your holy brotherhood to assemble for the purpose of destroying the snares of the devil and restoring the peace of the Church, so far respecting the rights and dignity of the most blessed Apostle Peter as to invite us too by letter to vouchsafe our presence at your venerable Synod….” (Epistle 93, letter to the Council of Chalcedon).


“Upon this firmness, He says, I shall raise My Temple, and it will rise upon the steadfastness of this Faith, and the loftiness of My Church shall mingle with the heavens. The gates of Hades shall not master this profession (of faith); nor shall the bonds of death bind it. For these words are the words of life, and as they raise those who confess them up to heaven, so they plunge those that deny them down to hell.” (Sermon 83).


‘I will give to thee the keys… loosed in heaven.’ The right of this power did indeed pass on to the other apostles, and the order of this decree passed on to all the chiefs of the Church; but not in vain was that which was imparted to all entrusted to one. Therefore this is commended to Peter separately, because all the rulers of the Church are invested with the fiture of Peter. The privilege therefore of Peter remains, wherever judgement is passed from his equity… So then in Peter the strength of all is fortified, and the help of divine grace is so ordered that the stability which through Christ is given to peter, through Peter is conveyed to the apostles…


“And yet, out of the whole world, one, Peter, is chosen, who presides both at the call of the Gentiles, and over all the apostles and collected fathers of the Church; so that though there be , among God’s people, many priests and many shepherds, yet Peter especially rules all whom Christ also rules originally. Beloved, it is a great and wonderful sharing of his own power which the divine honor bestowed on this man, and if he wished that other rulers should be in common with him, yet he did never give except through him what he denied to others....’I will give unto thee the keys’….the right of this power did indeed pass on to the other apostles, and the order of this decree passed on to all chiefs of the Church; but not in vain was that which was imparted to all was entrusted to one”.…So then in Peter the strength of all is fortified, and the help of divine grace is so ordered that the stability which through Christ is given to Peter, through Peter is conveyed to the other Apostles.” (Sermon 4).


“Commenting on these words, "Whatsoever you shall bind on earth, it shall have been bound in heaven, and whatsoever you shall loose, shall have been loosed in heaven," he says: "This power is confided to him in a special manner, because the type ("forma") of Peter is proposed to all the pastors of the Church. Therefore the privilege of Peter dwells wherever judgement is given with his equity.” (Sermon 3).


“If in your view, in regard to a matter to be handled and decided jointly with your brothers, their decision was other than you wanted, then let the entire matter, with a record of the proceedings, be referred to us. . . . Although bishops have a common dignity, they are not all of the same rank. Even among the most blessed Apostles, though there were alike in honor, there was a certain distinction of power. All where equal in being chosen, but it was given to one to be preeminent over the others. From this formality there arose also a distinction among bishops, and by a great arrangement it was provided that no one should arrogate everything to himself, but in individual provinces there should be individual bishops whose opinion among their brothers should be first; and again, certain others, established in larger cities, were to accept a greater responsibility. Through them the care of the universal Church would converge in the one See of Peter, and nothing should ever be at odds with this head.” (Letter to Anastasius, Bishop of Thessalonica [c. A.D. 446]).


“From the whole world only one, Peter, is chosen to preside over the calling of all nations, and over all the other Apostles, and over the Fathers of the Church. Thus, although among the people of God there are many priests and many pastors, it is really Peter who rules them all, of whom, too, it is Christ who is their chief ruler. Divine condescension, dearly beloved, has granted to this man in a wonderful and marvellous manner the aggregate of its power; and if there was something that it wanted to be his in common with other leaders, it never gave whatever it did not deny to others except through him.” (Sermon 4).


“Our Lord Jesus Christ . . . established the worship belonging to the divine religion. . . . But the Lord desired that the sacrament of this gift should pertain to all the apostles in such a way that it might be found principally in the most blessed Peter, the highest of all the apostles. And he wanted his gifts to flow into the entire body from Peter himself, as if from the head, in such a way that anyone who had dared to separate himself from the solidarity of Peter would realize that he was himself no longer a sharer in the divine mystery. . . . [You, my brothers], must realize with us, of course, that the Apostolic See—out of reverence for it, I mean—has on countless occasions been reported to in consultation by bishops even of your own province [Vienne]. And through the appeal of various cases to this see, decisions already made have been either revoked or confirmed, as dictated by long-standing custom” (Letters 10:2–3 [A.D. 445]).


“As for the resolution of the bishops which is contrary to the Nicene decree, in union with your faithful piety, I declare it to be invalid and annul it by the authority of the holy apostle Peter” (ibid., 110).


“Although bishops have a common dignity, they are not all of the same rank. Even among the most blessed apostles, though they were alike in honor, there was a certain distinction of power. All were equal in being chosen [to be apostles], but it was given to one to be preeminent over the others. . . . [So today through the bishops] the care of the universal Church would converge in the one see of Peter, and nothing should ever be at odds with this head” (ibid., 14:11).


“Upon this firmness, He says, I shall raise My Temple, and it will rise upon the steadfastness of this Faith, and the loftiness of My Church shall mingle with the heavens. The gates of Hades shall not master this profession (of faith); nor shall the bonds of death bind it. For these words are the words of life, and as they raise those who confess them up to heaven, so they plunge those that deny them down to hell.” (Sermon 83).


“because this special statement of your teaching is so highly regarded wherever the Churches meet together, that the unanimous opinion is expressed that the primacy of the Apostolic See is rightfully there assigned, from whence the oracles of the Apostolic Spirit still receive their interpretations.” (Letter 68).


“But this mysterious function the Lord wished to be indeed the concern of all the apostles, but in such a way that He has placed the principal charge on the blessed Peter, chief of all the Apostles: and from him as from the Head wishes His gifts to flow to all the body: so that any one who dares to secede from Peter's solid rock may understand that he has no part or lot in the divine mystery. For He wished him who had been received into partnership in His undivided unity to be named what He Himself was, when He said: "Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church :" that the building of the eternal temple by the wondrous gift of God’s grace might rest on Peter's solid rock: strengthening His Church so surely that neither could human rashness assail it nor the gates of hell prevail against it. But this most holy firmness of the rock, reared, as we have said, by the building hand of God, a man must wish to destroy in over-weaning wickedness when he tries to break down its power, by favouring his own desires, and not following what he received from men of old…


“If in your view, [Anastasius of Thessalonica], in regard to a matter to be handled and decided jointly with your brothers, their decision was other than what you wanted, then let the entire matter, with a record of the proceedings, be referred to us. . . . Although bishops have a common dignity, they are not all of the same rank. Even among the most blessed apostles, though they were alike in honor, there was a certain distinction of power. All were equal in being chosen [to be apostles], but it was given to one to be preeminent over the others. . . . [So today through the bishops] the care of the universal Church would converge in the one see of Peter, and nothing should ever be at odds with this head"” (Letter 10).


“Since, therefore, the universal Church has become a rock (petra) through the building up of that original Rock, and the first of the Apostles, the most blessed Peter, heard the voice of the LORD saying, “Thou art Peter, and upon this rock (petra) I will build My Church,” who is there who dare assail such impregnable strength, unless he be either antichrist or the devil.” ( Letter 156)


“The special care of Peter is received from the Lord; he prayed for the faith of Peter in particular in as much as the state of the others would be more certain if the mind of the Prince were not conquered. Therefore, in Peter the strength of all is fortified and the help of divine grace is so ordered that the strength which was given to Peter through Christ would be conferred through Peter to the remaining Apostles.”


“If our Lord willed that there should be something common to Peter and the rest of the princes of His Church, it was only on this condition, that whatsoever He gave to the rest, He gave it to them through Peter.”


“[The Pope is] the primate of all bishops.”


“the care of the universal Church converges in the one See of Peter”


“Whereas not a few who glory in the name catholic linger in the condemned opinions of heretics, whether by wickedness or by inexperience, and presume to dispute with pious chamI pions, and, while they do not hesitate to anathematize Pelagius and Celestius, yet speak against our teachers as those who go beyond the right measure, and whereas they profess to follow and approve only what the most sacred see of the most blessed apostle Peter, through the ministry of its presidents, has ratified and taught against the enemies of God's grace, it has become necessary diligently to inquire what the directors of the Roman church have judged concerning the heresy which arose in their times, and what they considered should be held about God's' grace, against the most noxious defenders of free will.


“At the same time we shall add some decisions of African councils, which without doubt the apostolic prelates made their own when they approued them. Therefore, in order that those who I doubt about any point may be instructed, we make the constitutions of the holy fathers plain in a comprehensive syllabus, by which if anyone is not too contentious, he may recognize that the whole dispute is summed up in the short quotations which follow, and that no reason for contradiction remains to him, if he believes and speaks with catholics. [Here follow extracts from Epistles 29 and 30 of Pope Innocent, from the Trattoria of Pope Zosimus, and from the reply of the African bishops.]


“For since the most blessed Peter received the headship of the Apostles from the Lord, and the church of Rome still abides by His institutions, it is wicked to believe that His holy disciple Mark, who was the first to govern the church of Alexandria, formed his decrees on a different line of tradition: seeing that without doubt both disciple and master drew but one Spirit from the same fount of grace, and the ordained could not hand on aught else than what he had received from his ordainer.” (Letter 9)


“For God so works in the hearts of men, and in free will itself, that holy thought, pious counsel, and every motion of good will is from God : whereas through him we can do anything good, without him we can do nothing. Indeed the same doctor, Zosimus, established this declaration when he spoke in support of divine grace to the bishops of the whole world.


“[Here follows another extract from the Tractoria] Furthermore that which is laid down among the decrees of the Carthaginian synod, as it were embracing the possession of the apostolic see :


“[Here follow Canons 3, 4, and 5 of the council of Carthage]. Besides the inviolable sanctions of the most blessed and apostolic see, by which the most devout fathers, trouncing I enthusiasm for pernicious novelties, have taught us to ascribe to the grace of Christ both the beginning of good will, and any progress in laudable endeavours, and perseverance therein to the very end, let us also be mindful of the sacraments of priestly intercession, which, having been handed down by the apostles, are celebrated in the same way throughout the world and in the whole Catholic Church, that the law of prayer may determine the law of belief explains that the uniform ritual and universal practice of infant baptism imply the need of casting out evil spirits.] Therefore by these ecclesiastical rules, and by documents selected from divine authority, the Lord helping us we are so strengthened . . . -


“And so, for the establishment of the grace of God (whose works and honour may by no means be deprecated), we believe to be quite enough whateuer the writings sf the apostolic see have taught us, according to the aforesaid rules ; so that we absolutely regard as not catholic anything that is seen to be contrary to the decisions we have just quoted.” (The Syllabus on Grace, Quia Nonulli; modern historians attribute this document to Pope Leo. Discovered in the sixth century, it was mistaking attached to the 21st epistle of Pope Celestine. It was also once attributed it to Prosper of Aquitaine [A.D. 435]).


“It is by far more profitable, and more worthy, to raise the mind's eye to the contemplation of the glory of the most blessed apostle Peter, and to celebrate this day chiefly in honour of him who was watered with so copious streams from the very fountain of all graces that, while nothing has passed to others without his participation, yet he received many special privileges of his own. . . . And yet, out of the whole world, one, Peter, is chosen, who presides both at the call of the Gentiles, and over all the apostles and collected fathers of the Church; so that though there be, among God's people, many priests and many shepherds, yet Peter especially rules all whom Christ also rules originally. Beloved, it is a great and wonderful sharing of his own power which the divine honour bestowed on this man, and if he wished that other rulers should be in common with him, yet did he neuer giue except through him what he denied not to others. And then the Lord asks all the apostles what men think of him; and they answer in common-so long as they set forth the doubtfulness of human ignorance. . . . "And upon this rock I will build my Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." On this strength, he says, I will build an eternal temple, and the loftiness of my Church, reaching to heaven, shall rise upon the firmness of this faith


"I will give to thee the keys . . . loosed in heaven." The right of this power did indeed pass on to the other apostles, and the order of this decree passed on to all the chiefs of the Church; but not in vain was that which was imparted to all entrusted to one. Therefore this is commended to Peter separately, because all the rulers of the Church are invested with the figure of Peter. The privilege therefore of Peter remains, wherever judgement is passed from his equity. Nor is there too much severity or indulgence, where nothing is bound, nothing loosed, except what blessed Peter either looses or binds. Again as his passion pressed on, which was to shake the firmness of the disciples, the Lord says, "Simon, behold Satan has desired to have you that he may sift you as wheat, but I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not, and when thou art converted, confirm thy brethren, that ye enter not into temptationyy. The danger from the temptation of fear was common to all apostles, and they equally needed the help of divine protection, since the devil desired to harass and shatter all ; and yet special care is taken of Peter by the Lord, and he asks specially for the faith of Peter, as if the state of the others would be more certain if the mind of the chief were not overcome. So then in Peter the strength of all is fortified, and the help of divine grace is so ordered that the stability which through Christ is given to Peter, through Peter is conveyed to the apostles.


“Since then, beloved, we see such a protection divinely granted to us, reasonably and justly do we rejoice in the merits and dignity of our leader, rendering thanks to the eternal King, our Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, for having given so great a power to him whom he made chief of the whole Church, that if anything, even in our time, by us be rightly done and rightly ordered, it is to be ascribed to his working, to his guidance, unto whom it was said, "And thou, when thou art converted, confirm thy brethren" ; and to whom the Lord after his resurrection, in answer to the triple profession of eternal love, thrice said, with mystical intent, "Feed my sheep ". And this, beyond a doubt, the pious shepherd does even now, and fulfils the charge of his Lord, confirming us with his exhortations, I and not ceasing to pray for us, that we may be overcome by . no temptation. But if, as we must believe, he extends this care of his piety to all God's people everywhere, how much more will he condescend to grant his help unto us his children, among whom, on the sacred couch of his blessed repose, he rests in the same flesh in which he ruled! To him, therefore, I let us ascribe this anniversary day of us his servant, and this festival, by whose patronage we have been thought worthy to share his seat itself, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ helping us in all things, who liveth and reigneth with God the Father and the Holy Ghost for ever and ever. Amen.” (Sermon 4).


. . . For although the pastors, each one singly, preside over their own flocks with a special care and know that they will have to render an account for the sheep entrusted to them, we have a duty which is shared with all; in fact the function of each one is a part of our work : so that when men resort to the see of the blessed apostle Peter from the whole world, and seek from our stewardship that love of the whole Church entrusted to him by the Lord, the greater our duty to the whole, the heavier we feel the burden to rest on us. There is a further reason for our celebration: not only the apostolic but also the episcopal dignity of the most blessed Peter, who does not cease to preside over his see and obtains an abiding partnership with the eternal Priest. For the stability which the rock himself was given by that Rock, Christ, he conveyed also to his successors, and wheresoever any steadfastness is apparent, there without doubt is to be seen the strength of the shepherd. For if to almost all martyrs everywhere, in recognition of their endurance of the martyrdoms which they underwent, this has been granted in order to make their merits manifest, namely that they are able to bring help to those in danger, to banish diseases, to drive out unclean spirits, and to cure countless bodily weaknesses, who so ignorantly or grudgingly estimates the honour of blessed Peter as not to believe that all parts of the Church are ruled by his care and enriched by his help? There flourishes and survives still in the chief of the apostles that love of God and men which neither the bars of the prison, nor chains, nor the onslaughts of the mob, nor the threats of a king could terrify, and an unconquerable faith, which waged unceasing warfare, and did not wax cold in defeat.” (Sermon 5).


“ . . . Besides that reverence which to-day's festival has gained from all the world, it is to be honoured with special and peculiar exultation in our city, that there may be a predomi nance of gladness on the day of their martyrdom in the place where the chiefs of the apostles met their glorious end. For these are the men through whom the light of Christ's gospel shone on thee,Rome, and through whom thou, who was the teacher of error, wast made the disciple of truth. These are thy fathers and true shepherds, who gave thee claims to be numbered among the heaverily kingdoms, and built thee under much better and happier auspices than they by whose zeal the first foundations of thy walls were laid, and of whom the one that gave thee thy name defiled thee with his brother's blood. These are they who have promoted thee to this glory, that being made a holy nation, a chosen people, a priestly and royal state, and the head of the world through the blessed Peter's holy see, thou didst attain a wider sway by divine religion, than by earthly domination. For although thou wert increased by many victories, and didst extend thy rule on land and sea, yet what thy toils in war subdued is less than what the peace of Christ has conquered.


“In order that the result of this unspeakable grace [the incarnation] might be spread abroad throughout the world, God's providence made ready the Roman empire, whose growth has reached such limits that the whole multitude of nations are brought into close connexion. For the divinelyplanned work particularly required that many kingdoms should be leagued together under one empire, so that the preaching of the word might quickly reach to all people, when they were held beneath the rule of one state.
“When the twelve apostles . . . had distributed the world into parts among themselves . . . the most blessed Peter, chief of the apostolic band, was appointed to the citadel of the Roman empire, that the light of truth which was being displayed for the salvation of all the nations might spread itself more effectively throughout the body of the world from the head itself.


“Of the excellence of these two fathers [Peter and Paul] we must rightly boast in louder joy, for God's grace has raised them to so high a place among the members of the Church, that he has set them like the twin lights of the eyes in the body whose head is Christ” (Sermon 82).


“Our Lord Jesus Christ, Saviour of the human race, instituted the worship of the divine religion, which hz wished by God's grace to flash upon all nations. The mystery of his gift the Lord willed to belong to the office of all the apostles, in such a way that he has placed the principal charge on blessed Peter, chief of all the apostles, and from him, as from ' the head, wishes his gifts to flow to all the body: so that anyone who dares to secede from the firmness of Peter may under- / stand that he has no share in the divine mystery. For he wished him who had been received into partnership in his undivided : unity to be named what he himself was, when he said: "Thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church"; that the building of the eternal temple by the I wondrous gift of God's grace might stand on Peter's solidity, strengthening his Church so surely that neither could human rashness assail it nor could the gates of hell prevail against it.


“But Hilary has quitted this path so well maintained by our fathers, and has disturbed the position and harmony of the priests by a new presumption.


“We, however, have done what, God judging, we believe you will approve. After holding council with all the brethren, we have decreed that the wrongfully ordained man should be deposed, and the bishop Projectus abide in his I priesthood. 6. A gang of soldiers, as we have learnt, follows the priest through the provinces, and wherever the churches have lost their rightful priests, he makes a disorderly invasion, protected in his presumption by an armed guard. Before this court are dragged for ordination men unknown to the cities over which they are to be set.


“Tell him [Hilary] that he is not only deposed from another's rights, but also deprived of his power over the province of Vienne which he had assumed wrongfully. . . . he may now be kept by our command, in accordance with the clemency of the apostolic see, to the priesthood of his own city alone. “


Leo the bishop and the holy synod assembled in Rome, to Theodosius Augustu;. I. From your clemency's letter which, in your love of the catholic faith, you sent some time ago to the see of the blessed apostle Peter, we drew such confidence in your defence of truth and peace, that we thought nothing harmful could happen in so plain and well ordered a matter; especially when those who were sent to the episcopal council which you instructed to be held at Ephesus were so fully taught, that if the Alexandrian pontiff had allowed the writings which they brought, either to the holy synod or to Bishop Flavian, to be read in the ears of the bishops, by the declaration of the most pure faith, which, since it is divinely inspired, we have received and hold, all noise of disputings would have been hushed, so that neither ignorance could act foolishly any longer, nor jealousy find occasion to do harm. But since private interests are considered under the cover of religion, the disloyalty of a few has brought about what must wound the Church universal. For from no unreliable messenger, but from , a most faithful reporter of the facts, namely our deacon Hilary (who, lest he should be forced to subscribe, with difficulty escaped), we have learnt [that the proceedings viere irregular and the voting not free]. . . . This our delegates from the apostolic see saw to be so blasphemous and opposed to the catholic faith, that no pressure could force them to assent; for in the same synod they stoutly protested, as they ought, that the apostolic see would never receive what was being passed, since the whole mystery of the faith will in fact be torn out (which in your piety's time should not be), unless this foul evil, which exceeds all former sacrilege, is abolished.


“Because this mystery is being impiously opposed by a few ignorant people, and since our delegates faithfully protested, and Bishop Flavian gave them an appeal in writing, therefore all the churches of our parts, and all the priests, entreat your clemency, with groans and tears, to order a general synod to I be held in Italy. This synod will either dismiss or appease all disputes in such a way that there be nobody any longer either doubtful in faith or divided in love. To this synod of course the bishops of the eastern provinces must come, so that if any of them were overcome by threats and injury, and deviated from I the path of truth, they may be fully restored by sound means ; likewise that they themselves whose case is harder, if they 1 acquiesce in wiser councils, may not fall from the unity of the Church. And how necessary this request is, after the lodging of an appeal, is witnessed by the canonical decrees passed at Nicaea by the priests of the whole world, which are added below.” (Epistle 44, to Theodosius II, Ptteris clementiae, on The Robber Synod, or the second council held at Ephesus. [A.D. 449]).


“And so, dearest brothers, let all attempts to call in question the divinely inspired faith be entirely put down, and the vain unbelief of heretics be laid to rest, and do not let that be defended which may not be believed, since in accordance with the evangelical decrees, the voices of the prophets, and the teaching of the apostles, with the greatest fullness and clearness in the letter which we sent to the late Bishop Flavian, it has been made clear what is the devout and genuine confession upon the mystery of the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Epistle 93, to the Council of Chalcedon).


“On the return of our brothers and fellow priests whom the see of blessed Peter sent to the holy council, we ascertained, beloved, the victory you and we together had won, by help from above, over the blasphemy of Nestorius and the madness of Eutyches. Wherefore we glory in the Lord, chanting with the prophet: "Our help is in the name of the Lord, who hath made heaven and earth" : who has allowed us to sustain no harm in our brethren, but has corroborated, by the irrevocable assent of the whole brotherhood, what he had before dejined by our ministry, to show that what had before been enacted by the first see of all, and received by the judgement of the whole Christian world, had truly proceeded from himself, that in this too the members may agree with the head. And herein our cause for rejoicing grows when we see that the more fiercely the foe assailed Christ's servants, the more did he afflict himself. For lest the assent of the other sees, to that which the Lord of all has appointed to precede the rest, might seem mere complaisance, or lest any other evil suspicion might creep in, some were found to dispute our decisions. And while some, instigated by the author of dissension, rush forward into a war of contradiction, a greater good results from his evil, under the dispensation of the author of all goodness. For the gifts of divine grace are sweeter to us when they are not gained without great toils, and continued peace through idleness is liable to seem a lesser good than one which is restored by labours. Besides, the truth itself shines more brightly, and is more bravely upheld, when what the faith had already taught is afterwards confirmed by further inquiry. And finally the merit of the priestly office gains much in lustre, where the authority of the higher is preserved, so that the liberty of the inferiors is thought to be in no way diminished. And the result of a discussion contributes to God's greater glory when the debaters exert themselves with confidence in overcoming the gainsayers, that what of itself is proved wrong may not seem to be passed over in prejudicial silence.” (Epistle 120, to Theodoret of Cyrus).


Now that these things about which so great a number of' priests assembled have been brought to a good and desirable end, I am surprised and grieved that the peace of the universal Church, which had been divinely restored, is again being disturbed by a spirit of ambition. For although my brother Anatolius seems of necessity to have consulted himself in forsaking the error of those who ordained him, accepting the catholic faith by a healthy correction, yet he should have taken care not to mar, by any depravity of desire, that which he is known to have obtained by your kindness. For we, having regard to your faith and intervention, wish to be kind rather than just towards him, though his beginnings were suspicious on account of those who consecrated him. . . . Anatolius the bishop detracts greatly from his proper merits by desiring undue aggrandizement.


“Let the city of Constantinople have, as we desire, its glory, and, under the protection of God's right hand, long enjoy the rule of your clemency. Yet things secular stand on a different basis from things divine, and there can be no sure building save on that rock which the Lord has laid for a foundation. He that covets what is not his due loses what is his own. Let it be enough for him that by the aid of your piety, and by my gracious favour, he has obtained the bishopric of so great a city. Let him not disdain a royal city, though he cannot make it an apostolic see; and let him on no account hope that he can rise by doing injury to others. For the privileges of the churches determined by the canons of the holy fathers, and fixed by the decrees of the Nicene synod, cannot be overthrown by any unscrupulous act, nor can they be disturbed by any innovation. And in the faithful execution of this task by the aid of Christ, I am bound to display an unflinching devotion; for it is a charge entrusted to me, and it tends to my condemnation if the rules sanctioned by the fathers and drawn up under the guidance of God's Spirit at the synod of Nicaea for the government of the whole Church are violated with my connivance, which God forbid, and if the wishes of a single brother have more weight with me than the common good of the Lord's whole house.


“With earnest entreaty, I pray and beseech your piety to refuse assent to this monstrous attack against Christian unity and peace, and to curb effectively the obnoxious greediness of my brother Anatolius.” (Epistle 104, to Emperor Marcian).


“My brother and fellow bishop Anatolius, not sufficiently considering your grace's kindness and the favour of my assent, whereby he gained the priesthood of the church of Constantinople, instead of rejoicing at what he had gained, has been inflamed with undue desires beyond the measure of his rank, believing that his intemperate ambition could be advanced by the assertion that certain persons had signified their assent thereto by an extorted signature; in spite of the fact that my brethren and fellow bishops who represented me, faithfully and laudably expressed their dissent from these attempts, which are doomed to speedy failure.


“For it is alleged that connivance at this sort of thing has been going on for about sixty years, a fact which the aforesaid bishop supposes will help his cause. . . .


“Indeed resolutions of bishops which are repugnant to the rules of the holy canons composed at Nicaea, in conjunction with the loyalty of your faith, we dismiss as invalid, and by the authority of Peter, the blessed apostle, we absolutely disannul by a general decree in all ecclesiastical cases, obeying those laws which the Holy Ghost defined by the 318 bishops for the pacific observance of all priests, in such sort that even if a much greater number were to pass a different decree from theirs, whatever was opposed to their constitution would have to be held in no respect.” (Epistle 105, to the Empress Pulcheria).


“It seems that this time is opportune for the see of Alexandria to lose the privilege of the second place, and for the church of Antioch to be deprived of its right to the third rank,l with the result that when these places are subjected to your law, all metropolitan bishops are stripped of their rightful office. . . . The Nicene council has been divinely endowed with so great a privilege that if ecclesiastical decisions are approved, whether by few or many, whatever is inconsistent with its decrees is altogether devoid of authority.


“Your purpose is in no way supported by the writing of certain bishops given, as you allege, sixty years ago, and neuer brought to the knowledge of the apostolic see by your predecessors. And this transaction, which from its outset was doomed to fall through, and has long since done so, you now wish to bolster up by useless means which are too late, namely by extracting from the brethren an appearance of consent, which their tired modesty presented to you to their own injury. . . . The rights of provincial primates may not be overthrown, nor may metropolitan bishops be defrauded of privileges based on antiquity. The see of Alexandria may not lose any of that dignity which it merited through S. Mark the evangelist, and disciple of blessed Peter, nor may the splendour of so great a church be obscured by another's clouds, Dioscorus having fallen through his persistence in impiety. The church of Antioch too, in which first, at the preaching of the blessed apostle Peter, the Christian name arose, must continue in the position assigned it by the fathers, and, being set in the third place, must never be lowered therefrom. For the see is on a different footing from the holders of it; and each individual's chief honour is his own integrity. And since that does not lose its proper worth in any place, how much more glorious must it be when placed in the magnificence of the city of Constantinople, where many priests may find, through your observance, both a defence of the canons of the fathers, and an example of uprightness!” (Epistle 106, to Anatolius [A.D. 452).