From the Synod of Chalcedon to Leo

The great, holy and universal synod, which by the grace of God and the sanction of our most pious and Christ-loving emperors has been gathered together in the metropolis of Chalcedon, in the province of Bithynia, to the most holy and blessed archbishop of Rome, Leo. [a]

“Our mouth was filled with joy, and our tongue with exultation.” Grace has fittingly applied this prophecy to us, for whom the security of religion has been made sure. For what greater cause for cheerfulness is there than the faith? What better reason for exultation than the divine knowledge which the Savior himself gave us from above for salvation, when he said, “Go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you”? This golden chain, leading down from the one who gave the command to us, you yourself have steadfastly preserved. For you have been set as the mouthpiece of blessed Peter to all, and you impart the blessedness of his faith to all. So we too, wisely taking you as our guide in all that is good, have shown the sons of the church their inheritance of truth. We did not give our instruction each one singly and in secret, but made known our confession of the faith in concert, with one consent and agreement. And we were all delighted, feasting as at an imperial banquet on the spiritual food that Christ supplied to us through your letter, and we seemed to see the heavenly Bridegroom actually present with us. For if he has said that “where two or three are gathered together in his name, there he is in the midst of them,” must he not have been much more especially present with five hundred and twenty priests, who put the spread of the knowledge of him before their own country and their ease? You were chief among them, as the head is over the members, showing your goodwill in the persons of those who represented you. And our religious emperors presided to keep due order, inviting us to restore the fabric of the church’s doctrine, just as Zerubbabel invited Joshua to rebuild Jerusalem. [b]

The adversary would have been like a wild beast outside the fold, roaring to himself and unable to seize anyone, had not the late bishop of Alexandria thrown himself to him as prey. He had done many terrible things before, but he outdid the earlier deeds with the later ones. Against all the commands of the canons, he deposed Flavian, that blessed shepherd of the saints at Constantinople, who showed such apostolic faith, and the most pious bishop Eusebius. By votes won through terror he acquitted Eutyches, who had been condemned for heresy, and restored to him the dignity that your holiness had taken away from him as unworthy of it. Like the strangest of wild beasts, he fell on the vine that he found in the finest condition and uprooted it, and he brought in what had been thrown out as unfruitful. Those who acted as true shepherds he cut off, and over the flocks he set those who had shown themselves to be wolves. Besides all this, he stretched out his fury even against the one charged by the Savior with keeping the vine, we mean, of course, your holiness, and he planned excommunication against one who had the unity of the church at heart. And instead of showing repentance for this, instead of begging for mercy with tears, he exulted as if over good deeds, rejecting your holiness’s letter and resisting all the doctrines of the truth. [f]

We ought to have left him in the position where he had put himself. But since we profess the teaching of the Savior, “who wishes all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth,” we took pains to carry out this merciful course toward him. We called him to judgment in brotherly fashion, not as though trying to cut him off, but giving him room for defense and healing. And we prayed that he might come off victorious against the many charges they had brought against him, so that we might close our meeting in peace and happiness, and Satan might gain no advantage over us. But he, convicted outright by his own conscience, avoided the trial and so lent support to the accusations, and he rejected the three lawful summonses he received. So, with such moderation as we could, we confirmed the sentence that he had passed on himself by his blunders, stripping the wolf of the shepherd’s skin that he had long been shown to be wearing as a disguise. At that our troubles ended, and at once a time of welcome happiness began. Having pulled up one weed, we filled the whole world, to our delight, with pure grain. And having received, as it were, full power to root up and to plant, we limited the uprooting to one, and we are carefully planting a crop of good fruit. For it was God who worked, and the triumphant Euphemia who crowned the meeting as for a wedding. She took our definition of the faith as her own confession and presented it to her Bridegroom through our most religious emperor and Christ-loving empress. She calmed all the uproar of the opponents and established our confession of the truth as acceptable to him, and with hand and tongue she set her seal on the votes of us all in proclaiming it. These are the things we have done, with you present in spirit, known to approve of us as brothers, and all but visible to us through the wisdom of your representatives. [g]

We further inform you that we have decided other things as well, for the good management and stability of church affairs, being persuaded that your holiness will accept and confirm them when you are told of them. The holy church of God at Constantinople has long had the custom of ordaining metropolitans for the provinces of Asia, Pontus and Thrace. We have now confirmed this by the votes of the synod, not so much to confer a privilege on the see of Constantinople as to provide for the good government of those cities. For disorders often arise there on the death of their bishops, when clergy and laity alike are left without a leader and disturb the order of the church. This has not escaped your holiness, especially in the case of Ephesus, which has often caused you trouble. We have also confirmed the canon of the hundred and fifty holy fathers who met at Constantinople in the time of the great Theodosius of holy memory, which ordains that after your most holy and Apostolic See, the see of Constantinople shall take precedence, being placed second. For we are persuaded that, with your usual care for others, you have often extended the apostolic prestige that belongs to you to the church in Constantinople as well, since you so generously share all your own good things with your spiritual kin. So, most holy and blessed father, be pleased to accept as your own wish, and as serving good government, the things we have resolved on to remove all confusion and to confirm the order of the church. For your holiness’s delegates, the most pious bishops Paschasinus and Lucentius, and with them the most godly presbyter Boniface, tried vehemently to resist these decisions. They did so out of a strong desire that this good work too should start from your foresight, so that the establishment of good order, as well as of the faith, might be put to your account. For we gave due regard to our most devout and Christ-loving emperors, who are delighted by it, and to the illustrious senate and, so to speak, the whole imperial city. We thought it fitting to use the meeting of this ecumenical synod to confirm your honor, and we confidently strengthened this decision as though you had begun it with your usual fostering zeal, knowing that every success of the children adds to the parent’s glory. So we entreat you: honor our decision with your assent. As we have yielded to the head our agreement in things honorable, so may the head also fulfill for the children what is fitting. In this way our pious emperors, who have given your holiness’s judgment the force of law, will be treated with due regard. And the see of Constantinople will receive its reward for having always shown such loyalty toward you in matters of religion, and for having joined itself so zealously to you in full agreement. But so that you may know that we have done nothing out of favor or hatred, but as guided by the divine will, we have made known to you the whole scope of our proceedings, to strengthen our position and to confirm and establish what we have done. [k]