First Letter

ANOTHER NOTICE

Although the name of this pontiff is missing from the Bucherian catalogue, nevertheless the time during which the writer of this catalogue thought him to have presided over the Church is indicated under the name of Victor, namely from the consulship of Saturninus and Gallus up to Præsens and Extricatus, that is, from the year of Christ 198 to 217. The *Liber Pontificalis* designates the beginning and end of the pontificate of Zephyrinus using the same consular note, though it is expressed erroneously. In the ancient catalogue of the Corbie manuscript, it is noted that he sat for 18 years, 7 months, and 10 days. Eusebius, however, in *History* book V, chapter 28, writes that he was ordained in about the ninth year of the Emperor Severus, that is, about the year of Christ 202; then in book VI, chapter 21, he records that the same man, having held the priesthood for eighteen years, departed this life in the first year of the Emperor Antoninus Heliogabalus. Whence it follows that his death occurred in the year of Christ 219 or 220, at which time the same Eusebius notes in the *Chronicle* that Callistus succeeded him, which is to be linked to the reality of the matter. But in this very *Chronicle*, the first year of the Emperor Heliogabalus is referred to the year of Christ 218. And it is known from other sources that he was proclaimed emperor on the 7th of June of the aforesaid year 218. Finally, the death of Zephyrinus is commemorated in the *Martyrologies* of Jerome and other older ones on December 20, and in others on August 26, on which day his feast is now celebrated. If, therefore, we place his death ^A in the first year of the Emperor Antoninus Heliogabalus with Eusebius, and, with the older Martyrologies, on the 20th of December, his death must be recorded towards the end of the year 218. As for his epistles, there is nothing in them to suggest they should be separated from the rest of the Isidorean wares.

EPISTLES OF POPE ST. ZEPHYRINUS

EPISTLE I. TO ALL THE BISHOPS OF SICILY.

Zephyrinus, Archbishop of the City of Rome, to all the bishops established throughout Sicily, greeting in the Lord.

We ought to be mindful of the divine grace toward us, which, through the mercy of its own dignity, has raised us to the priestly height for this reason, that adhering to its commands, and being established in a certain oversight of its priests, we might prohibit illicit things and teach what is to be followed. Just as night does not extinguish the stars of heaven, so worldly iniquity does not obscure the minds of the faithful, clinging to the firmament of holy Scripture. Therefore, it behooves you to meditate and to attend diligently both to the Scriptures and to the divine precepts which are contained in the Scriptures, so that you may appear not as transgressors of the law of God, but as ^C fulfillers thereof.

Patriarchs or primates, however, when examining an accused bishop, shall not deliver a definitive sentence before, relying on apostolic authority, either the accused himself confesses, or he is convicted by innocent and properly examined witnesses; and these shall not be fewer in number than those disciples whom the Lord commanded to be chosen for the assistance of the apostles, that is, seventy-two. We also remove from episcopal accusation or testimony those who are detractors, who are to be eradicated by divine authority, and the instigators of hostilities; nor should anyone of higher rank be attacked or ruined by the accusations of lesser persons. Nor in a doubtful matter should a certain sentence be passed; nor should any judgment be held unless it is conducted in an orderly fashion. Furthermore, let no one be judged in his absence, because both divine and human laws forbid this. Moreover, let their accusers be free from all suspicion, because the Lord calls them His own columns.

to stand firmly, and not to be shaken by just anyone. ^A It is a virtue of the mind that it does not violate the purpose of religion. For no one’s judgment, if it was not decreed by his own judge, should bind him, because the laws of the world also command that the same thing be done. For any bishop who is accused may, if need be, choose twelve judges, by whom his case may be justly judged. ^B And let him not be heard, or excommunicated, or judged, before they themselves are chosen by him, and once he has been regularly summoned to the first assembly of his fellow bishops, let the case be justly heard and reasonably discerned by them. But let the end of his case be referred to the apostolic see, so that it may be terminated there. And let it not be finished before that, just as it was once decreed by the apostles or their successors, until it is supported by its authority. Appeal is to be made to it also by all, but especially by the oppressed, and one is to flock to it as to a mother, so that they may be nourished by her breasts, defended by her authority, and relieved of their oppressions, because a mother cannot nor ought to forget her son. For the judgments of bishops, and the greater causes of the Church, are to be terminated by the apostolic see, and not by another, just as the apostles and their holy successors decreed, along with other bishops: because although they are transferred to other bishops, it was nevertheless said to the blessed apostle Peter: "Whatsoever you shall bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven; and whatsoever you shall loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven." And the remaining privileges, which have been granted to this holy see alone, and are contained in the constitutions of the apostles and their successors, and in many others harmonizing with them, are inserted. For the seventy apostles prefixed sentences, along with a great many other bishops, and decided they should be observed. For it is a sin to judge rashly concerning the hidden things of another’s heart; and it is wicked to reproach one whose works appear to be nothing but good, on the basis of suspicion, since God alone is the judge of those things which are unknown to men. For He alone knows the hidden things of the heart, and no one else. For unjust judgments are to be avoided by all; but especially by the servants of God. For a servant of God ought not to quarrel, nor to condemn anyone. For bishops are to be endured by the peoples and the clergy, and masters by their servants, so that, under the exercise of patience, temporal things may be endured, and eternal things hoped for. For it desires to stand firmly, and not to be shaken by just anyone.

LETTER II.

TO THE BISHOPS OF THE EGYPTIAN PROVINCE.

ZEPHYRINUS, archbishop of the Roman city, to the beloved brethren militating for the Lord throughout Egypt.

We have received such confidence from the Lord, the founder of this holy and apostolic Church, and from the blessed Peter, prince of the apostles, ^C that we should labor with indefatigable affection for the Church ransomed by the universal blood of Christ, and that we should assist all who serve the Lord, and bring aid with apostolic authority to all who live piously. It is necessary that all who desire to live piously in Christ suffer reproaches from the impious and those unlike them, and be despised as fools and madmen, so that those who lose temporal goods may be rendered better and more pure, so that they may perceive eternal ones. But their contempt and mockery will be retorted upon those who afflict them and treat them with insults, when their abundance has passed into poverty, and their pride into confusion. ^D

EPISTLES OF POPE ZEPHYRINUS

^A Regarding bishops who have been despoiled of their goods or cast out of their sees.

It has been reported to the apostolic see by your apocrisaries that certain of our brethren—bishops, that is—are being cast out of their own churches and sees, and that their household goods are being taken from them, and that they are being summoned to judgment naked and despoiled; a situation which lacks all reason, since the decrees of the apostles and their successors, and the precepts of emperors and the constitutions of laws, prohibit this very thing, and the authority of the apostolic see forbids such things from happening. It is, therefore, commanded in the ancient statutes that bishops cast out and despoiled of their possessions should receive back their own churches, and that first of all everything of theirs should be restored to them: and only then, if anyone wishes justly to accuse them, should he do so at legal risk, determining that judges should be bishops who are wise in righteousness and who are gathered together in the church, where witnesses would be present for each person who seemed to be oppressed: and that they ought not to be forced to answer before everything of theirs and of their churches is most fully restored to them by legal process. ^B Nor is it surprising, brethren, if they persecute you, since they persecuted your head, Christ our Lord, even unto death. Yet such persecutions must be borne patiently, so that you may be known as his disciples, for whom you also suffer. Whence he himself says: "Blessed are those who suffer persecution for righteousness' sake." Supported by these testimonies, we ought not to fear the reproach of men very much, nor to be overcome by their insults, since the Lord commands us this through Isaiah the prophet, saying: "Hearken to me, you who know judgment, my people, in whose hearts is my law. Do not fear the reproach of men, and do not be afraid of their blasphemies," considering what is written in the Psalm: "Shall not God require these things? For he knows the hidden secrets of the heart," and the thoughts of such men, for they are vain. They have spoken vain things, every one to his neighbor, with deceitful lips in their heart, and with their heart they have spoken evil. But the Lord shall destroy all deceitful lips and a boastful tongue. They who have said: "Our lips are our own; who is our Lord?" For if they kept these things in memory, they would by no means fall into such great iniquity. For they do not do this from justifiable and paternal doctrine, but to exercise their own vengeance unto the servants of God. For it is written: "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes," and: "There are ways which to a man seem just, but the latest [endings] of them lead to death."

^A We, for our part, who suffer these things, ought to reserve them for the judgment of God, who will render to each according to his works. Who also thundered through his ministers, saying: "Vengeance is mine; I will repay." Do you, therefore, in upright faith, and in work, and in good will, assist one another in turn, and let no one withdraw his hand from the support of a brother, since in this, says the Lord, shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another. Whence he himself speaks through the Prophet, saying: "Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell in one!" In such a dwelling and concord as this, which is in God, and in the unity of faith, this delectable dwelling—which in truth was adorned more in Aaron, and in priests ^B invested with dignity—is like the ointment upon the head, irrigating the primary intellect and leading even to the furthest knowledge. For in this dwelling the Lord has promised blessing and life forever. Embracing, therefore, the merit of this prophetic prediction, we have set forth this present brotherly letter, seeking nothing for ourselves, nor intending to do so, because of charity. For it is not good for those who disparage to disparage, nor (according to the common proverb) to cast out a beam with a beam. God forbid! These things are not ours. May the Divinity avert these things. By the just judgment of God, power is often given to sinners ^C whereby they may persecute his saints, so that those who are helped and led by the Spirit of God may become clearer through the exercise of their labors. Yet to those who persecute them, and insult them, and disparage them, there will undoubtedly be woe. Woe, woe to those who disparage the servants of God, because their disparagement pertains to him whose ministry they perform and in whose stead they act. We pray, however, that the door of circumspection be placed upon their mouths—for we wish no one to perish or to be polluted by their own lips—and that they conceive or utter no hurtful word. Whence also the Lord speaks through the Prophet, saying: "I have said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue." May the omnipotent Lord, and his only-begotten Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, grant you this encouragement, that you may assist with all the strength you can all the brethren who are laboring under any distresses of tribulation, ^D and that you may count their injuries as your own (as is fitting); that you may provide the greatest support to them in words and deeds, so that you may be found true disciples of him who commanded that brethren should love all others as themselves.