{"slug":"stoa0201d.stoa002.opp-lat1","id":"latin:ogl-pl:stoa0201d.stoa002.opp-lat1","title":"Exemplum epistolae","title_source":"Exemplum epistolae","author":"SS Miltiades [Melchiades]","genre":"letter","date":"","tradition":"latin","coverage":"not-located","coverage_claim":{"status":"not-located","text":"No English translation could be identified: a language model asked twice could not name one, though it could not rule one out either. That is not proof that none exists — translations in dissertations, recent books and other modern languages are easily missed."},"publication":{"status":"machine-draft","reviewed_by":null,"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor","provider":"Relace","generated":"2026-11-15T05:58:48Z","cost_usd":0.001291},"source":{"registry_id":"latin:ogl-pl:stoa0201d.stoa002.opp-lat1","work_id":"stoa0201d.stoa002.opp-lat1","edition":"ogl-pl","language":"","license":"Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License","url":"https://github.com/OpenGreekAndLatin/patrologia_latina-dev/blob/master/data/stoa0201d/stoa002/stoa0201d.stoa002.opp-lat1.xml"},"stats":{"passages":2,"english_words":333,"coptic_letters":0,"source_letters":1372,"commentary_units":10,"commentary_kinds":6,"derived_notes":0,"ambiguities":3,"work_notes":5,"external_links":0,"timeline":6},"summary":{"work":"stoa0201d.stoa002.opp-lat1","abstract":"The Exemplum epistolae attributed to Pope Miltiades (Melchiades), bishop of Rome from 311 to 314, is a Latin letter preserved as a model in early medieval canon law collections. Its authenticity is uncertain; it may be a later composition retrojected to Miltiades' pontificate. The letter addresses ecclesiastical discipline concerning lapsed Christians after the Diocletianic persecution and was cited in medieval canonical debates. The text survives only in Latin manuscript tradition, likely transmitted through collections such as the Collectio Dionysiana or Pseudo-Isidorian decretals. This edition is based on a single source (ogl-pl) and does not collate all known witnesses.","historical_context":"The letter is set in the early 4th century, shortly after the Diocletianic persecution (303–311) and during the pontificate of Miltiades (311–314). The community is the Roman church under imperial toleration following Galerius' edict of 311 and Constantine's Edict of Milan (313). The genre is a letter, preserved as an exemplum in Latin, likely transmitted through early medieval canon law collections like the Collectio Dionysiana (5th–6th c.) or the Pseudo-Isidorian decretals (9th c.). Its relation to other Christian literature includes parallels with contemporary conciliar canons on the lapsed and later medieval citations in debates on ecclesiastical authority. The evidence for its authenticity is thin; no external contemporary witness confirms its origin, and it may be a later retrojection.","significance":"The letter matters as a witness to early 4th-century ecclesiastical discipline regarding the lapsed, a key issue after the Diocletianic persecution. It also illustrates the use of papal letters in medieval canon law collections, shaping later debates on church authority and the treatment of repentant heretics or schismatics.","timeline":[{"date":"303–311","event":"Diocletianic persecution of Christians"},{"date":"311","event":"Galerius' edict of toleration"},{"date":"311–314","event":"Pontificate of Pope Miltiades"},{"date":"313","event":"Edict of Milan; Council of Rome"},{"date":"5th–6th c.","event":"Possible inclusion in Collectio Dionysiana"},{"date":"9th c.","event":"Possible inclusion in Pseudo-Isidorian decretals"}],"relations":[{"work":"Collectio Dionysiana","relation":"possible transmission context","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Pseudo-Isidorian decretals","relation":"possible transmission context","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Canons on the lapsed (early 4th c.)","relation":"thematic parallel","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Letters of Constantine","relation":"contemporary imperial correspondence","key":"","label":null,"url":null}],"external_links":[],"cautions":["The letter's authenticity is uncertain; it may be a later composition retrojected to Miltiades' pontificate.","No external contemporary witness confirms its origin.","The date of composition is unknown; the letter is preserved only in later manuscript traditions.","This edition is based on a single source (ogl-pl) and does not collate all known manuscript witnesses."],"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor","provider":"Relace","cost_usd":0.000414,"generated":"2026-11-15T05:58:48Z"},"links":[{"kind":"source","label":"Open Greek and Latin Patrologia Latina","url":"https://github.com/OpenGreekAndLatin/patrologia_latina-dev/blob/master/data/stoa0201d/stoa002/stoa0201d.stoa002.opp-lat1.xml"}],"checks":{"work":"stoa0201d.stoa002.opp-lat1","status":"pass","blocking":[],"warnings":[],"stats":{"passages":2,"translated":2,"commentary_passages":2,"commentary_units":10,"english_words":333,"source_letters":1364,"commentary_kinds":6},"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor"},"work_notes":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The letter is attributed to Pope Miltiades (Melchiades), bishop of Rome 311–314. The exemplum form suggests it was preserved as a model letter in canonical or epistolary collections.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"transmission","kind":"transmission","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The text survives only in Latin manuscript tradition, likely transmitted through early medieval canon law collections such as the Collectio Dionysiana or the Pseudo-Isidorian decretals.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"dating","kind":"chronology","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"caution","text":"The letter’s authenticity is uncertain; it may be a later composition retrojected to Miltiades’ pontificate. No external contemporary witness confirms its origin.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The letter was cited in medieval canonical debates on ecclesiastical discipline, particularly regarding the treatment of lapsed Christians after the Diocletianic persecution.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"caution","text":"This edition does not collate all known manuscript witnesses; the text is based on a single source edition (ogl-pl) and may not represent the full stemmatic tradition.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"derived_work_notes":[{"kind":"coverage","severity":"info","text":"No English translation could be identified: a language model asked twice could not name one, though it could not rule one out either. That is not proof that none exists — translations in dissertations, recent books and other modern languages are easily missed."},{"kind":"limit","severity":"caution","text":"The English is a machine draft produced passage by passage from the transcribed Coptic; no human has verified it. The commentary is model-written and cites only keys the pipeline could resolve."},{"kind":"register","severity":"info","text":"Register: letter in Latin; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them."},{"kind":"structure","severity":"info","text":"Passages: 2 narrative."},{"kind":"source","severity":"info","text":"Source edition: ogl-pl — Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License"}],"derived_structure":{"narrative":2},"term_index":[],"citations":{},"segments":[{"i":1,"ref":"p1","source":"EPISTOLA CONSTANTINI AD MELCHIADEM\n\nEXEMPLUM EPISTOLÆ.\n\nCONSTANTINI IMPERATORIS, QUA EPISCOPORUM CONCILIUM ROMÆ FIERI JUBET PRO UNITATE ET CONCORDIA ECCLESIARUM.\n\nConstantinus Augustus Miltiadi episcopo urbis Romæ et Marco.\n\nQuoniam hujusmodi plures libelli a viro clarislimo Anulino, Africae proconsule, ad me sunt missi, in quibus continetur Caecilianum, Carthaginensis ur. bis episcopum, a quibusdam collegis suis per Africam constitutis, multis de rebus insimulari; ac mihi permolestum videtur, in iis provinciis, quas divina providentia meae devotioni mera liberalitate tradidit, et in quibus maxima est populi multitudo, plebem quasi in duas partes divisam ad deteriora deflectere, et episcopos inter se dissentire: Placuit mihi, ut ipse Caecilianus cum decem episcopis qui accusare illum videntur, ac decem aliis, quos ipse ad causam suam necessarios esse judicaverit, Romam naviget; ut ibi coram vobis, necnon Reticio, Materno et Marino collegis vestris, quos hujus rei causa Romam properare præcepi, possit audiri, quemadmodum sanctissimae legi convenire optime nostis. Porro ut de omnibus his plenissimam valeatis habere notitiam, exempla libellorum ad me ab Anulino missorum litteris meis subjecta, ad supradictos collegas vestros transmisi. Quibus lectis perpendet gravitas vestra, quonam modo prædicta controversia accuratissime dijudicanda sit, et ex præscripto justitiæ terminanda.","english":"Letter of Constantine to Miltiades\n\nExample of a Letter.\n\nOf the Emperor Constantine, by which a Council of Bishops is Ordered to Be Held at Rome for the Unity and Concord of the Churches.\n\nConstantine Augustus to Miltiades, bishop of the city of Rome, and to Marcus.\n\nSince many pamphlets of this kind have been sent to me by the most illustrious man Anulinus, proconsul of Africa, in which it is contained that Caecilianus, bishop of the city of Carthage, is accused by certain of his colleagues established throughout Africa of many matters; and since it seems to me very troublesome that in those provinces, which divine providence has entrusted to my devotion with pure liberality, and in which there is a very great multitude of people, the populace, as if divided into two parts, should turn toward worse things, and that bishops should disagree among themselves: it has pleased me that Caecilianus himself, together with ten bishops who appear to accuse him, and ten others whom he himself has judged necessary for his own case, should sail to Rome; so that there, before you, and also before Reticius, Maternus, and Marinus, your colleagues, whom I have ordered to hasten to Rome for the sake of this matter, he may be heard, as you know very well befits the most holy law. Moreover, so that you may be able to have the fullest knowledge of all these things, I have sent copies of the pamphlets sent to me by Anulinus, appended to my letter, to your aforementioned colleagues. After reading these, your gravity will consider in what manner the aforementioned controversy is to be most accurately adjudged and terminated according to the prescription of justice.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The Donatist schism in North Africa prompted Constantine to intervene. Anulinus, proconsul of Africa, forwarded complaints against Caecilianus, leading to the Council of Rome (313).","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"Miltiadi","severity":"info","text":"Miltiades (also Melchiades) was bishop of Rome (311–314). The Latin text uses the Greek form Miltiadi, reflecting the original Greek of Constantine's letter.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The letter follows a standard imperial chancery form: address (superscriptio), narratio (quoniam…), dispositio (placuit mihi…), and closing instructions (porro…).","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"external","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"This letter is preserved in collections of conciliar documents, notably in the Pseudo-Isidorian Decretals, which shaped medieval canon law.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"clarislimo","severity":"caution","text":"The Latin has 'clarislimo' for 'clarissimo', a scribal error or variant spelling. The English draft corrects to 'most illustrious'.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The identity of Marcus (addressee alongside Miltiades) is uncertain; possibly a bishop or imperial official.","The phrase 'exemplum epistolae' may indicate this is a copy or model letter, not the original."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":2,"ref":"p2","source":"Siquidem nec vestram sedulitatem latet tantam a me reverentiam sanctissimae Ecclesiae catholicæ exhiberi, ut nullum omnino schisma vel discidiutn ullo in loco a vobis relinqui velim. Divinitas summi Dei multis annis vos servet, cbarissime.","english":"Since it is not hidden from your diligence how great a reverence I show to the most holy Catholic Church, I wish that no schism or division whatsoever be left by you in any place. May the Divinity of the supreme God preserve you for many years, dearest.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"Siquidem nec vestram sedulitatem latet","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'since it is not hidden from your diligence' is a polite rhetorical formula, emphasizing the addressee's awareness of the emperor's known reverence for the Church.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"schisma vel discidium","severity":"info","text":"'Schisma' (schism) and 'discidium' (division) are paired terms common in early fourth-century ecclesiastical Latin to denote breaches of unity, reflecting Constantine's concern for Church concord.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"background","lemma":"Divinitas summi Dei","severity":"info","text":"Constantine's reference to 'the Divinity of the supreme God' reflects his syncretic monotheism before his later Christianization, typical of his early letters to Church figures.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Siquidem ... Divinitas summi Dei multis annis vos servet","severity":"info","text":"This passage forms the concluding exhortation and valediction of Constantine's letter, moving from a statement of policy to a pious wish for the addressee's preservation.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"background","lemma":"Miltiades","severity":"info","text":"Miltiades (also Melchiades) was bishop of Rome from 311 to 314. This letter, preserved in canonical collections, was cited in later Donatist controversies as evidence of imperial intervention in Church affairs.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The Latin 'discidiutn' is a scribal error for 'discidium' (division), corrected in the English draft."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]}]}