Two Letters of Innocent on Behalf of John

When Innocent, bishop of Rome, learned of the measures that had been taken against John, he was extremely indignant and condemned the whole proceedings. He then turned his attention to calling an ecumenical council, and he wrote both to John and to the clergy of Constantinople. Here are the two letters, exactly as I found them, translated from Latin into Greek. [a]

“Innocent, to his beloved brother John. “Although someone who is conscious of his own innocence ought to expect every blessing and ask for mercy from God, it still seems good to us to send you a fitting letter by Cyriacus the deacon, and to urge you to patience, so that the insults heaped on you may not have more power to break your courage than the witness of a good conscience has to encourage you to hope. There is no need to teach you, the teacher and shepherd of so great a people, that God always tests the best of men, to see whether they will hold to the height of patience and not give way under any toil of suffering. Nor need we teach you how true it is that conscience stands firm against everything that happens to us unjustly, and that unless a person is moved by patience in these misfortunes, he gives ground for evil suspicion. For the one who trusts first in God, and then in his own conscience, ought to endure everything. Above all, when an excellent and good man can train himself in endurance, he cannot be overcome; for the Holy Scriptures guard his thoughts, and the sacred readings that we explain to the people are full of examples. These Scriptures assure us that nearly all the saints have been afflicted in many ways and without letup, and tested by some trial, and so have come to the crown of patience. Let your conscience encourage your love, most honored brother; for in the midst of troubles that faculty holds out an encouragement to virtue. And since Christ, the Master, is watching, a purified conscience will bring you to rest in the harbor of peace.”

“Innocent the bishop, to the presbyters, the deacons, all the clergy, and the people of the church of Constantinople under John the bishop: greetings to you, beloved brothers and sisters. “From the letters of your love that you sent me by Germanus the presbyter and Cassian the deacon, I have learned with anxious concern of the evils you have set before our eyes. Reading your letter over again and again, I have seen with what calamities and toils the faith is being worn down. Only the comfort of patience can heal such a state of affairs. Our God will soon put an end to these troubles, and in the end they will work for your good. We noted with approval the point you placed at the beginning of your letter: that this very comfort is necessary, and that it contains many proofs of your patience. For you have anticipated in your letter the comfort we ought to have offered you. Our Lord is accustomed to give this patience to those who suffer, so that when the servants of Christ fall into troubles they may encourage themselves, reasoning within themselves that what they suffer has happened to the saints before them. And we ourselves draw comfort from your letters, for we are not strangers to your sufferings; we are being disciplined in you. Who, indeed, can bear to watch the errors brought in by those who were bound above all to be zealous for the quiet of peace and for its harmony? Far from keeping the peace, they drive guiltless priests out of the chief seats of their own churches. John, our brother and fellow minister and your bishop, has been the first to suffer this unjust treatment, without being given a hearing. No accusation was brought; none was heard. What proposal was it that was set aside, so that no show of a trial might arise or be sought? Others were seated in the places of living priests, as though anyone who began from such discord could hold anything or do anything rightly in anyone’s judgment. We have never known such bold acts to have been done by our fathers. Rather, they forbade such innovations, refusing to give anyone the power to be ordained in another’s place while the holder was still living; for a man who is unjustly put in another’s place cannot be a bishop. [b] “As for the keeping of canons, we declare that only those defined at Nicaea have a right to the obedience and recognition of the catholic church. If anyone should try to bring in other canons at odds with those of Nicaea, canons compiled by heretics, they ought to be rejected by the catholic church; for it is not lawful to add the inventions of heretics to the catholic canons. For they always want to belittle the decision of the fathers of Nicaea by means of opponents and lawless men. We say, then, that the canons we have censured are not only to be disregarded but to be condemned together with the doctrines of heretics and schismatics, just as they were condemned before at the Council of Sardica by the bishops who came before us. For it would be better, most honored brothers and sisters, that these proceedings be condemned than that anything be confirmed contrary to the canons. [c] “What measures ought we to take now, in the present circumstances, against such deeds? A synodal inquiry is needed, and we said long ago that a synod should be gathered. There is no other way to check the fury of the storm. To reach it, it will be helpful in the meantime to lift up the healing that comes by the will of the great God and of his Christ, our Lord. In this way we will see an end to all the woes stirred up by the envy of the devil, which have served as trials of our faith. If we stand firm in the faith, there is nothing we should not expect from the Lord. We are constantly watching for the opportunity to call an ecumenical council, so that, in accordance with the will of God, an end may be put to these distressing upheavals. Let us, then, endure in the meantime, and, fortified by the wall of patience, let us trust in the help of our God for the restoration of all things. “We had already been told all that you have reported about your trials by our fellow bishops Demetrius, Cyriacus, Eulysius and Palladius, who came to Rome at different times and are now with us. From them we had learned every detail through a full inquiry.” [d]