Epistola 05 ad Athanasium et Episcopos Aegyptios Responsoria

LETTER OF POPE LIBERIUS TO ATHANASIUS AND THE BISHOPS OF EGYPT, A RESPONSE. (Conc. t. ii, col. 765.) Against the disturbers of the peace and quiet of the churches, and how such men are to be punished. To his most beloved son Athanasius, and to all the Egyptian bishops gathered together and rightly believing concerning the faith of the Trinity, Pope Liberius. From the beginning and from the first we have received from the blessed Peter, the prince of the apostles, such confidence that we hold authority for the universal Church to defend the right faith, so that no one may be permitted to disturb the statute of the holy Church to the injury of the right-believing, without peril to his own honor. For we have caused your letter, which was directed to us, to be read aloud before us, and we have understood the tribulations and persecutions which you suffer for the right faith. Concerning these things, we also grieve together with you, and we are prepared to labor for you, as a father for his sons. We have found the faith of the Nicene Council in that same letter to be right, for which we have rendered most abundant thanks to God, and for which we are prepared not only to endure persecutions and passions, but also, if necessary, to die for the name of Christ, in so far as our frailty permits, we do not refuse. Therefore, the aforesaid holy council, as we read, defined the Nicene (Maximus of Aquileia, Council IV, Lateran Council).

year of the council), it is not permitted to anyone to bring forth, write, or compose another faith, nor to think or teach otherwise, nor to hold or express anything in faith that might contradict these rules of the Fathers. But if anyone presumes to compose another faith or to bring forth, teach, or hand down a different creed to those desiring to be converted to the way of truth from any heresy, or from among the Jews or pagans wishing to become Christians—if such persons are bishops or clerics, they are to be removed, bishops from their episcopate, clerics from the clergy; if they are monks or laity, they are to be struck with anathema. For the blessed Apostle testifies (Saint Martin, Council V, of the same council), saying: "If anyone contends, he is not crowned unless he has contended lawfully." And again the Lord says: "But he who perseveres to the end, this one will be saved" (1 Tim. 6; Matt. 10). Clearly, with sacred contests set before us for the defense of the Catholic Church, and with great salvation hoped for from this by God, the giver of all good things, let our hands not fail, most beloved brothers, on the occasion of any slack or dissolute idleness; but let us be made strong through the grace of the Lord and the power of his might, since he has perfected our feet like those of stags (Ps. 7), and has set more firmly upon the heights the understanding of his supreme humanity for the sake of our salvation, especially as we have so great a cloud of holy witnesses placed upon us.

Therefore, setting aside every burden and the surrounding novelty of the adversaries, let us run with patience, looking to the author and finisher of the faith, Jesus (Heb. 12), who, in the business set before us on his account, may grant us the spirit of his truth, speaking in us and imbuing us with the great things of the faith through the teaching of the holy Fathers, whom the adversaries daily calumniate. For in the prophets (the same holy Martyr, Cons. iii) it is written: "For Sion I will not be silent, and for Jerusalem I will not rest, until his just splendor and his savior go forth as a lamp is kindled" (Is. 62). Indeed, the Catholic Church, which is the true Sion and the city of Christ, the king of the heavens, has been assailed for so many years by those who oppose the true faith, who fear neither God nor reverence man, but who in vain lead away the pious and canonical doctrines concerning this word, while, having been invited by so many and such diverse testimonies, both written and unwritten, to correct their own heresy and drive it from themselves, as has been more clearly demonstrated in the earlier knowledge, both through the libelli and through the suggestions of the most reverend priests and venerable abbots, the apostle protests to us that we ought to avoid a heretical man after the first and second correction, knowing that such a one is perverted and offends, condemned by his own judgment (Tit.

iii), in no way ought we henceforth to be silent or at rest, lest we be judged in any manner unjust, embracing a peace hateful to God; since it is written: I have been zealous against sinners, seeing the peace of sinners; and let it also be said of us: My priests have despised my law and polluted my sanctuaries; they made no distinction between the sacred and the profane, they understood not between the polluted and the pure (Ps. lxxii; Zeph. iii; Ezek. xxii): but let us rise up with God and stand ready, donning the arms of the spirit against those who malign his faith, that we may wisely test their spirit, that is, their words, whether they are from God. For it is written in Jeremiah: I have given you as a strong tester among my people, and you shall know and test their way (Jer. vi). For great vigilance is necessary for us, and such deep scrutiny of divine wisdom, which reveals the hidden things of darkness, for the investigation and examination of this matter, since malice, being deceitful, lies hidden and concealed in a certain way, and is grasped with difficulty, because it craftily flatters piety, so that it may escape the mind of those who examine it. Knowing this, the blessed Apostle says: For false apostles and deceitful workers of this kind transform themselves into apostles of Christ (II Cor. xi). But this is not surprising, since Satan himself transforms himself as an angel of light. And therefore it is not surprising if his ministers are transformed as ministers of righteousness, whose end is according to their works.

But the Lord also, forewarning us in this matter, says: "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits" (Matt. 7). Therefore, turning our whole heart to this very matter, we first of all offer a prayer concerning such a question, and say with David: "Open my eyes, and I will consider the wonders of your law; for your word is a lamp to my feet, O Lord, and a light to my paths." For it is His, as the blessed prophet Daniel says, wisdom and strength. He gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to those who understand discipline. He Himself reveals deep and hidden things, and knows what is established in darkness, and light is with Him. "You," he says, "have given me wisdom and strength, and have shown me what I asked of you" (Ps. 118; Dan. 2). With divine aid, we shall more diligently examine the written accounts of each person who has been accused of a novel fabrication, as they are presented to us from our venerable archive, with those who support us and reasonably offer them; so that those who have presumed to transgress these things will, first of all, be subject to the terrible judgment of almighty God, and then to whatever (Typus Constantis Aug, cons. iv, conc.

Later, under Saint Martin, they shall fear the royal indignation, through which, if they are bishops or clerics, they shall fall from their priesthood or from their clerical order in every way; if, however, they are monks, they shall be separated and be banished from their places. But if they hold a dignity, or a military belt, or a military office, these shall be stripped from them. If, however, they are private citizens, if they are nobles, they shall suffer the proscription of their properties. But if they are of low birth, they shall not only be beaten on the body but also punished with perpetual exile: so that all, restrained by the fear of God and revering the worthy punishments threatened to them, may keep the immovable and untroubled peace of the holy churches of God. Given at Rome on the eighth day before the Kalends of June, in the consulship of Asclepius and Deodatus, most illustrious men (fictitious consuls at will). Glory to Christ Jesus our Lord; peace to you. Amen. DECREES OF POPE LIBERIUS, Taken from an ancient codex of books, book 13, chapter 9.

That in the days of fasting there ought to be no quarrels. In these days of fasts there ought to be no lawsuits, no contentions, but one must persist in the praises of God and in necessary work. For it rebukes those who make contentions and lawsuits during the time of Lent, and who demand debts from their debtors. The Lord says through the prophet: Behold, in the days of your fast your will is found out, and you demand back all your debtors. Behold, you fast for lawsuits and contentions, and you strike impiously with the fist. The same, chapter ten. That on the sacred days of fasts married persons should abstain from their spouses. One must abstain in these most sacred forty days from spouses, and live chastely and piously, so that with heart and body sanctified these days may be passed through, until the holy day of Easter is reached: because a fast is almost worthless which is polluted by conjugal intercourse, and which prayers, vigils, and alms do not commend.

Of the Same, Chapter Twelve. If Famine or Unseasonable Weather Should Occur, What Is to Be Done. If famine, unseasonable weather, pestilence, or any such tribulation whatsoever should occur, the mercy of the Lord is to be immediately implored with fasts, alms, and supplications.