Epistolae Dubiae

Doubtful Letters of Pope Sixtus II, First Letter. To a Certain Bishop Named Gratus. That accused or condemned bishops are permitted to appeal or to approach the apostolic see, without whose authority their cases ought not to be concluded. Bishop Sixtus to his fellow bishop Gratus, greetings. Your letters have caused me to rejoice and be glad (Leo, epistle 31) greatly in Christ Jesus our Lord, by which it is clearly shown how much you love the catholic faith and how much you detest the error of depraved men. For every heresy is too impious and hostile to evangelical truth, which attempts not to harm some portion, but to tear out the very foundations of the Christian religion. For I am mindful that I preside under the name of that church whose confession was glorified by our Lord Jesus Christ, and (St. Leo, epistle 31) whose faith never deceives anyone, but indeed destroys all heresies. I understand, however, that it is not otherwise permitted to me than to devote all my efforts to that cause in which the salvation of the universal church is assailed. Acknowledge, dearest son (Ithacius, Against Varimadus, ch. 12), that the Son of God was not born in time, nor after times, but before all times was ineffably generated from the paternal womb, with God the Father himself saying through the prophet: In the splendors of the saints from the womb before Lucifer I begot you (Psalm 109).

This sentence the prophet Isaiah clearly expressed to the doubtful and unbelieving, when he showed that the Son was born from the Father ineffably from no other source: "In humility," he says, "his judgment was taken away. Who will recount his nativity?" (Isaiah 63). And in the book of Job: "The wisdom of God," he says, "where will you find it? For it is hidden from the eyes of men, and concealed from the birds of the air" (Job 28). Rouse yourself a little, and if you have some light of knowledge within yourself, you will find that one whose nativity could not be recounted by the prophet in time, or as you yourself try to assert, could not be generated. "In the beginning," says John the Evangelist, "was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God; this was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him nothing was made" (John 1). And again: "There was the true light, which illuminates every man coming into this world" (John 1). In this, therefore, which is said, "Was," if you wish to seek time, you will not find it: because from the time the Father exists, from that time also the Son exists; and what the Father is, that also the Son is, as Solomon says: "I came forth from the mouth of the Most High, firstborn before every creature. I caused the unfailing light to rise in heaven, and like a cloud I covered the whole earth. I dwell in the highest places, and my throne is in a pillar of cloud. I alone have traversed the circle of the sky and penetrated the depth of the abyss. I have stood upon every land, and I have held primacy among the people" (Ecclesiasticus 24).

Likewise there: When he was preparing the heaven, I was present with him, and when he was separating his seat. When he was making clouds on the strong winds at the summit, and when he was placing certain springs beneath the sky, when he was making the strong foundations of the earth, I was with him, arranging, and I was the one to whom he added, when we rejoiced at the completed world (Proverbs 8). And in Psalm 101: You, Lord, in the beginning founded the earth, and the heavens are the works of your hands. They will perish, but you remain, and like a covering you will change them, and they will be changed: but you are the same, and your years will not fail. For there was no age or any time before the Son was born from the Father; since he who established all times by his own power could not be born from time or after times. With these few sentences, I have briefly replied to your inquiries, dearest brother. For the rest, I advise your love that you strive to convert all whom you know to be erring to the Catholic faith and to the unity of right believers, and that you never depart from the apostolic path. But if they do not listen to you and persist in error (which God forbid), do not delay to reveal them to us as soon as you can, so that by apostolic authority they may either be quickly converted to the Church or be separated from the Church. We have also heard that certain erroneous persons, and those consenting with them, harass you and the remaining co-bishops, and draw some provincial bishops along with them to your defamation and condemnation.

For this reason, in this holy see it was long ago established by many bishops, and now has been reinforced anew with your help and that of the other brethren, that all bishops who are accused or charged in certain more serious cases may, whenever necessary, freely appeal to the apostolic see and flee to it as to a mother, so that by it (as has always been the case) they may be piously supported, defended, and set free. To whose disposition the ancient authority of the apostles, their successors, and the canons has reserved all major ecclesiastical causes and judgments of bishops, since when bishops are blamed who have acted otherwise toward their brethren than it has pleased the pope of that same see to be done. Hence it was pleasing that a bishop accused or judged by his fellow provincials in some cause may freely appeal and have recourse to the pontiff of the apostolic see (Council of Sardica, canons 4, 5). Who either by himself or through his vicars shall see to it that the same case is retried. And while the pontiff is conducting his cause in a renewed judgment, no other is to be placed or ordained bishop in his place: because although it is permitted for fellow provincial bishops to examine the cause of an accused pontiff, it is not, however, permitted to define it without consulting the Roman pontiff, since it was said to the blessed apostle Peter by none other than the Lord himself: "Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound also in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed also in heaven" (Matthew 16 and 18).

If anyone thinks himself burdened by his own metropolitan, let him be judged by the primate of the diocese, or before the pope of the universal apostolic church. For the apostle James says: Judgment without mercy will be inflicted on him who did not show mercy. But James exalts mercy above judgment. In all things, therefore, my dearest son, guard your heart, as it is written: Guard your heart with all vigilance, because from it life proceeds. I have written these things briefly for remembrance; but I ask that you should pray for me, so that almighty God may deign to protect me from evil spirits and from perverse men; because in this glass of my pilgrimage, evils both many and great surround me, so that with the Psalmist I may cry out: The wrath of your light has passed over me, and your terrors have troubled me. They have surrounded me like water all day long, they have surrounded me together. May heavenly grace protect us in the cities, and you everywhere, because the ancient enemy is not excluded from temptation by places on earth; for if he laid low man in paradise, what place outside paradise can there be into which he cannot penetrate the minds of men?

For the ancient enemy, whose envy brought death into the world (Wisdom 2), always has watchful eyes to ensnare the souls of men, and he desires to drag many with him into perdition through his own wickedness, he who by his own malice fell from glory into misery. Therefore, we must trust only in the protection of our Creator, to whom we cry out from the depths of our heart: "Be for me a protecting God and a fortified place, that you may save me" (Psalm 30 and 70). Given on the kalends of September in the consulship of Valerianus and Decius, most illustrious men. LETTER II. ARGUMENT. — I. If anyone has a case against a bishop or ecclesiastical stewards, how he should conduct himself. II. Concerning bishops despoiled of their property or driven from their see. III. That no bishop may retain, ordain, or judge another's parishioner. IV. Concerning bishops unjustly condemned and restored by apostolic authority. V. That excommunicated persons cannot accuse bishops, nor can those who do not receive them in their accusation, nor can a lesser person be judged or condemned by a greater.

To the most beloved brothers established throughout the provinces of the Spains, Bishop Sixtus sends greetings in the Lord. By the great gift of the mercy of God, the joys of the whole Catholic Church are multiplied, when the state of the churches flourishes in that order which the apostles and their successors established. And when we learn that this order is disturbed by the cunning of the ancient enemy, we are saddened with no small grief. For this reason, brothers, we exhort you, we admonish you, and we implore you, that you never depart from the path of apostolic institution, nor be divided from the head, but that you hold without hesitation the faith and order which the apostles and apostolic men established. For if the columns of some great house collapse, that house itself will not stand afterwards. So also you, who are the columns of the Church, if you begin to be shaken, the holy Church, which is governed through you, will waste away and totter. These two things, brothers, are greatly to be feared, to be weighed with the utmost moderation, and to be guarded against lest they happen. For Truth itself said through herself: You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its savor, with what shall it be salted? (Matthew 5; Romans 1). Therefore, I admonish you, dearest ones, because I am your debtor and I love you very much. And when I hear good things about you, I greatly rejoice; and on the contrary, when I hear adverse things, I am exceedingly troubled. I, however, although I am separated from you by long intervals of lands, am nevertheless entirely joined to you in heart (St. Gregory, Epistle 36, Book IV).

Therefore I trust completely in your blessedness toward me in every way, because when you love me in return, you are not far from me. Hence we give greater thanks to that grain of mustard seed (Matt. 13; Mark 4; Luke 13), which from the appearance of a small and contemptible seed has spread so widely, with branches rising from the same root and extending themselves, that all the birds of the air nest in them (Matt. 13); and thanks to that leaven, which with three measures of flour (Luke 13) has leavened the whole mass of the human race into unity; and to the small stone, which, cut from the mountain without hands, has occupied the entire face of the earth (Dan. 2). He, assuming the nature of our flesh and the form of a servile condition, humbly extended himself everywhere, so that with the whole human race brought into unity, he might perfect the united body of the whole Church; and thus this partial distinction of members would pertain to the advantage of that structure. Hence we also are not far from you, because in Him, who is everywhere, we are one. Let us therefore give thanks to Him who, having dissolved enmities in His own flesh, has made it so that in the whole world there is one flock and one fold under one shepherd; always mindful of what the preacher of truth admonishes you, saying: "Be diligent to preserve the unity of spirit in the bond of peace" (Eph. 4). For no one preserves the bond of peace while he harasses another with words or persecutes him with deeds.

Therefore, brothers, we have set these matters forth because we have heard that accusations are being made among you, and that bishops are being driven from their sees or, stripped of their possessions, are being judged. I.—Wherefore it has been decreed that if anyone believes he has a personal case against a bishop or the stewards of the Church, he should not approach the judges before he has recourse to them in a spirit of charity, so that through familiar conversation they may be admonished to heal those things which are brought into complaint. But if he acts otherwise, he shall be deprived of communion. II.—Let no pontiff henceforth presume to excommunicate or judge any bishop who has been stripped of his possessions or driven from his see, because a privilege by which one already despoiled can be despoiled does not exist. III.—Let no bishop presume to retain, ordain, or judge a parishioner of another bishop without that bishop’s consent; for just as his ordination will be invalid, so too will his judgment, since we hold that no one is bound by the sentence of a judge other than his own. For he who could not ordain him will in no way be able to judge him. We command that these things be henceforth observed by you, and that you mutually aid your brothers.

IV. - As for the brothers whom you unjustly condemned out of earthly fear, know that they have been justly restored by us. We command, by the authority of Saint Peter and the apostolic see, that everything taken from them be returned in full, unless you and your leaders wish to be cut off from our college and from the members of the Church. For by the just judgment of God, power is often given to sinners, by which they persecute the saints (Prosper, Sent. 25, and St. Augustine on Psalm 158); so that those who are aided and guided by the Spirit of God may become more illustrious through the trials of their labors. Yet those who do this will by no means escape punishment: because, as the Lord says: Woe to the one through whom scandal comes (Matthew 18). And although, according to the Savior’s saying, scandals must come, yet woe to the one through whom they come. For to judge rashly the hidden things of another’s heart (Prosper, Sent. 21, and St. Augustine on the same Psalm) is a sin: and it is unjust to reproach someone whose works appear only good, based on suspicion, since of those things unknown to man, God alone is the just judge, who is the true inspector. Whence it is written: Let us not judge uncertain things, until the Lord comes, who will illuminate the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of hearts (1 Corinthians 4) (In the Decretum of Ivo, Book IV). And although they may be true (St. Isidore, Synonyma II, ch.

church had been restored to them. However, such things are not to be believed unless they are confirmed by certain evidence, unless they are convicted by manifest judgment, unless they are made public through judicial order. Therefore, no one can be condemned by human examination whom God has reserved for his own judgment (Hadr. coll. cap. et 67; and Constantine the Great to the Nicene Fathers). All these things are to be guarded against most carefully, lest we appear to be presumptuous. And an accusation against bishops is not to be readily accepted, as the Lord says: "Do not heed the voice of falsehood" (Exod. 23). And the Apostle (1 Tim. 5) says that an inscription against a presbyter is not to be received without two or three suitable witnesses (See the second letter of Pope Julius, stained by the same blemish). If these things are to be guarded against concerning presbyters or other faithful, how much more concerning bishops? Having learned these things, it is evident that you wish to dominate rather than to counsel the brothers, or to sustain them, because honor inflates pride; and what was provided for concord tends toward harm. For it would have been fitting, according to the aforementioned rules, that if they had done anything against their order, you should have sent word to us and awaited what we would write back in response to your consultations, to such an extent that even if they committed something grave and intolerable, our censure would have been awaited, so that you would decree nothing earlier or anything else than what you knew pleased us, and you would not depart from the established rules through any negligence or presumption.

Let such things cease, nor should those who are unwilling to receive us in their complaint or accusation cause harm, for we can in no way patiently endure such machinations, since it is fitting for us to be diligent guardians of the paternal sanctions. For the case rightly concerns us if we favor error by silence. V. — Moreover, it has already been established many times by our holy predecessors that no one under anathema is to be received in accusation against us; under our authority, let such presumption be cited, since we know ourselves to be placed over them by the Lord, not them over us. And just as a greater cannot be judged by a lesser, so neither can he be bound; for everything that is great is rare. Let us bear the burdens of all who are oppressed; indeed, the blessed apostle Peter bears these in us, in whose embassy we act, and by whose rule we are formed, so that, supported by his aid, we may be protected from all adversities now and in perpetuity. Given the seventeenth day before the Kalends of August, under Valerianus and Decius, most illustrious men, consuls.

DECREES OF SIXTUS II From Gratian (2 q. et q. 6). If anyone thinks himself burdened by his own metropolitan, let him be judged before the primate of the diocese, or before the pope of the universal apostolic Church. FROM THE SAME AS ABOVE. Concerning an appeal, it is not fitting for judges of another province to hear it. If any cleric has been accused of any crimes whatsoever, let him conduct his actions in the province in which the one who is accused resides; nor should his accuser think to drag him elsewhere or to a more distant place for judgment.