To Proterius of Alexandria, on Holding Fast to the Fathers

Leo to Proterius, bishop of Alexandria.

Your letter, beloved, which our brother and fellow bishop Nestorius duly brought us, has given me great joy. For it was fitting that the head of the church of Alexandria should send the Apostolic See a letter such as this, showing that the Egyptians had learned from the first, from the teaching of the most blessed apostle Peter through his blessed disciple Mark, what the Romans are agreed to have believed: that besides the Lord Jesus Christ “there is no other name given to men under heaven, in which they must be saved.” But because “not all have faith,” and the crafty tempter never delights so much in wounding human hearts as when he can poison unwary minds with errors opposed to the truth of the gospel, we must strive, by the mighty teaching of the Holy Spirit, to keep Christian knowledge from being twisted by the devil’s falsehoods. Against this danger it is the special duty of those who govern the churches to stand guard, and to keep from the minds of simple people lies that are colored with a certain show of truth. “For narrow and steep is the way that leads to life.” These people try to trap others not so much by watching what they do as by fine distinctions of meaning. They corrupt the force of a sentence by some very slight addition or alteration, so that sometimes a statement that made for salvation is turned, by a subtle change, to destruction. But since the apostle says, “There must be heresies, so that those who are approved may be made known among you,” it serves the progress of the whole church that, whenever wickedness shows itself by setting out wrong opinions, what is harmful should not be hidden, and that what will certainly end in ruin may not injure the innocence of others. That is why those who, in rash obstinacy, would rather glory in their shame than accept the remedy offered them must blame their blind wanderings and their falls on themselves. You do right, brother, to be displeased at their stubbornness, and we commend you for holding fast the teaching that has come down to us from the blessed apostles and the holy fathers. [a]

For there is no new preaching in the letter I wrote in reply to Flavian of holy memory, when he consulted me about the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. In nothing did I depart from the rule of faith that your forefathers and ours openly maintained. And if Dioscorus had been willing to follow and imitate them, he would have remained in the body of Christ. He had the materials for instruction in the works of Athanasius of blessed memory, and in the discourses of Theophilus and Cyril of holy remembrance the means of opposing the already condemned teaching in a praiseworthy way, rather than choosing to keep company with Eutyches in his blasphemy. So this, beloved brother, is my advice, in my anxiety for our common faith. Because the enemies of Christ’s cross lie in wait for every word and syllable of ours, we must not give them the slightest occasion to claim falsely that we agree with the teaching of Nestorius. You must urge the lay people and the clergy and all the brotherhood to advance in the faith with such care as to show that you teach nothing new, but plant in everyone’s heart the things the fathers of revered memory taught with one voice, and with which our letter agrees in everything. And this must be shown not only by your own words but also by actually reading aloud what was said before, so that God’s people may know that what the fathers received from their predecessors and handed on to those after them is still being planted in them today. To this end, let the statements of those priests be read first, and then, last of all, let my writings be read out as well, so that the ears of the faithful may bear witness that we preach nothing other than what we received from our forefathers. And because their minds have had little practice in telling these things apart, let them at least learn from the letters of the fathers how old this evil is which we now condemn in Nestorius as well as in Eutyches. Both of them were ashamed to preach the good news of Christ as the Lord himself taught it. [e]

So, both in the rule of faith and in the keeping of discipline, let the standard of antiquity be kept in everything. And you, beloved, show the firmness of a wise ruler, so that the church of Alexandria may gain the benefit of my earnest resistance to the unprincipled ambition of certain people, in keeping its ancient privileges, and of my determination that all metropolitans should keep their dignity undiminished. You will see this from the substance of the letters I have addressed to the holy synod, to the most Christian emperor, and to the bishop of Constantinople. For you will see that I have made it my special care to allow no departure from the rule of faith in the Lord’s churches, and no lessening of their privileges through any one man’s lack of scruple. And since this is so, brother, hold fast to the custom of your predecessors, and keep proper authority over the bishops of your province, who by ancient rule are subject to the see of Alexandria. So they will not resist the church’s usage, nor refuse to meet together under your presidency, either at the fixed times or whenever any reasonable cause requires it; and if anything that will benefit the church has to be discussed in a general meeting, the brothers, once gathered, may come to a unanimous decision about it. For there is nothing that ought to call them away from this obedience, since we know you so well, brother, both for your faith and your conduct, that we will not allow you to lose any of your predecessor’s authority, or to be slighted without consequence. Dated the 10th of March, in the consulship of the illustrious Aetius and Studius (in the year 454). [g]