THE EPISTLES OF POPE ALEXANDER I
A That a church must not be dedicated without a Mass.
All basilicas must always be consecrated with a Mass; furthermore, it has been decided that altars are to be hallowed not only by the anointing of chrism, but also by priestly blessing. But if the altars are not made of stone, they shall not be consecrated for the celebration of divine offices. Where there is also a church whose consecration is in doubt, let it be faithfully inquired of by the neighboring presbyters and parishioners. These, therefore, together with all others, are to be called to account in a synodal council by the bishop regarding their priesthood, to see if they know, in their own times or those of their predecessors, whether the dedication of that church was ever celebrated, by day or by office. But if they agree in this by affirming it, let no injury be done to a legitimate church or its defender; but if not, it shall be in the decision of the bishop whether to close or open it.
From the decrees of Evaristus, chap. 5.
That presbyters, by the bishop's command, should reconcile penitents for hidden sins, and, as we have written above, absolve and communicate the infirm.
ALEXANDER I, POPE
NOTICE
(From the *Liber Pontificalis* of Pope Damasus, in Mansi, *Concil.*, I, 633. For various readings and notes on this passage of the *Liber Pontificalis*, see *Patrologia Latina*, vol. CXXVII, col. 1145.)
Alexander, by nationality a Roman, son of Alexander, from the region of Caput Tauri, held the see for 10 years, 7 months, and 2 days. He was in the time of Trajan, down to the consuls Aelianus and Vetere. He added [the mention of] the Lord's Passion to the prayer of the priests when Masses are celebrated. He was crowned with martyrdom, and with him were Eventius the presbyter and Theodulus the deacon. He ordained that water of sprinkling with salt should be blessed in the dwellings of men. He performed three ordinations in the month of December: six presbyters, two deacons, and five bishops for various places. He was buried on the Via Numentana, where he was beheaded, not far from the city of Rome, at the seventh milestone, on the third of the Nones of May. And the episcopate was vacant for 25 days.
THE EPISTLES OF POPE ALEXANDER I
(MANSI, *Concil. collect.*, vol. I, col. 633.)FIRST EPISTLE
TO ALL THE ORTHODOX. Concerning not harassing priests, etc.Alexander, bishop, to all the orthodox serving Christ the Lord throughout the various provinces.
To those of us who reflect, dearest brothers, upon the fear of divine judgment, and upon the fact that everyone, after this life, shall receive according to what he has done, it was not permitted to remain silent regarding what might become a cause of complaint; rather, necessity compelled us to speak to you, as the prophet says: "Exalt your voice like a trumpet." And to whom we shall render an account for all the churches committed to us.
A I have a duty, should I feign silence, to listen to the Lord saying: "You have rejected the commandment of God, that you may establish your own traditions." For what else is it to reject the commandment of God, than to be more freely delighted in establishing new things by private counsel and human judgment? Wherefore it is also written elsewhere: "Do not transgress the ancient boundaries which your fathers have set." Without a doubt, he transgresses the boundaries who sets aside and confuses the statutes of the fathers. For it has reached the awareness of the apostolic see that there are some so foolish, that they do not observe the Lord's precepts, and the statutes of the apostles and their successors, and that they do not hesitate in the least not only to touch them—of whom the Lord says: "He who touches you, touches the apple of my eye"—but even do not fear to persecute them. And although they may persecute us, because neither can we be persecuted without them, nor they without us, since we are disciples of Him who commanded that souls should be laid down for the brethren; yet we have not dared to conceal from them their dangers and their destructions, lest we be condemned by the prophetic sentence (which may it not happen), which says: "If you announce to the wicked his iniquity, you have delivered your soul: but if you do not announce it to him, I shall require his blood from your hand." This also has been reported to this holy see (what is shameful to say, and is hostile not only to the priestly but even to every Christian name), that is, that they compel some bishops or priests by fear, or extort from them by force, or deceive them by fraud, to make written professions to the other side than they ought, or, for the sake of not seeking their own affairs, or, what is worse, for the sect of another's error, and to confirm them with their own hands, and to recite and confess them before the people. They say that some are shut up in prisons and dungeons, that, at least terrified by these snares, the priests of the Lord may deviate and favor their own wills. It was reported, moreover, to the head of this holy and apostolic see, to which the dispositions of the highest causes and the business of all the churches were handed down by the Lord Himself, as if to the head, He Himself saying to the prince of the apostles, Peter: "You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church," that certain rivals of Christ and plotters against His holy Church presume to accuse the priests of God before public judges, when the Apostle commands rather that the causes of Christians B be brought to the churches, and be terminated there. Being such prevaricators, they have prevaricated against their God, and do not obey His precepts. Of whom the Lord speaks through the prophet Hosea, saying: "As wanton heifers they have declined, and they have wanted to bring ignominy upon their protectors." And the same: "Woe to them, because they have receded from me. They shall be devastated, because they have prevaricated against me; and I have redeemed them, and they have spoken of me falsely. And they did not cry to me in their heart, but they howled in their beds. They ruminated over wheat and wine, and they have receded from me. And I have educated them, and I have strengthened their arms, and they have thought malice against me. They have returned, so as to be without a yoke; they have become like a deceitful bow. The Lord will cast them off, says the same prophet, because they have not heard Him, and they shall be wanderers among the nations."
I. Concerning those who accuse or persecute priests.
For concerning these, both clerics and laymen, who accuse bishops or the rest of the priests, whether to their primates or to other judges, before they pour into the ears of those by whom they consider themselves to have been injured, so that they may receive from them either their justice or a just apology, the Lord says through the same prophet: "Hear, O house of Israel, and house of the king, listen, and attend, O priests, because judgment is for you, since you have become a snare for the watch, and a net spread over Tabor, and you have declined the victims into the deep; and I am the instructor of you all." And elsewhere: "You are all heated like an oven, because you have devoured your judges; they themselves decline the victims of the Lord into the deep," who devour or unjustly lacerate those who are called the eyes of the Lord. For if anyone today were to lacerate or remove the eyes of a secular prince, would he not be guilty of the crime of majesty? Assuredly he would either be handed over to death, or be branded with perpetual infamy. If such things are done by men for the powers of the world, what do you think is done for those of whom the Lord says: "He who touches you, touches the apple of my eye"? C Without a doubt, those who persecute them and attempt to remove them unjustly against apostolic authority, even if they are prohibited from death by the Lord saying: "I desire not the death of the sinner, but that he be converted and live," yet they are branded with perpetual infamy, and are judged worthy of neighboring exile. Of whom, from the times of the apostles and thereafter, we hold these things, and have decrees by which we obstruct the voice of those who accuse bishops or testify against them, whom we know to be dead not by human, but by divine acts. Of whom the Lord speaks through the same prophet: "Ephraim suffering calumny, is broken in judgment, because he began to go after filth. And I am like a moth to Ephraim, and like rottenness to the house of Judah. And Ephraim saw his languor, and Judah his bond. And Ephraim went to Assur, and sent to the king the avenger; and he shall not be able to heal you, nor shall he be able to loose from you the bond." For those who persecute with sacrilegious persuasion and attempt to lacerate bishops, or those who D
A perform the office in their stead, are without doubt persecuting and lacerating Him. Whence the Lord says through the prophet Joel: "Have you rendered a recompense to me? And if you avenge yourselves against me, I will swiftly and speedily return the recompense upon your head." And through the prophet Hosea the Lord says: "Who is wise, and shall understand these things? Understanding, and he shall know them? Because the ways of the Lord are right, and the just shall walk in them; but the transgressors shall fall in them." And Truth Itself says: "He who hears you, hears me; and he who despises you, despises me." Supported by these and many other Lordly precepts, avoiding the destruction of souls, along with all the members of this holy see, which the Lord established as the head of the whole Church, we forbid such things from happening, lest the people of the Lord be confounded forever. For we read that it was inhibited by our predecessors that no one should sadden teachers, nor receive an accusation against them. For the prince of the apostles himself, instructing the people at the ordination of the blessed Clement, says: "Whoever has saddened the teacher of truth sins against Christ, and provokes God, the Father of all, because of which he shall also lack life." And the Doctor of the Gentiles says: "If a man be overtaken in any fault, you who are spiritual, sustain him in the spirit of meekness, considering yourself, lest you also be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so you shall fulfill the law of Christ." Considering these mercies and avoiding the dangers to souls, along with all the priests of the Lord who have gathered with us into this sacred city, and with all the members of this head, as we have received from the blessed apostles, and from the remaining holy Fathers, and from their successors, we decree and ordain that all who persecute the holy Fathers, or who manifestly attempt to remove or lacerate them, be infamous and alien to the thresholds of the Church until satisfaction is made, because God so hates those who are armed B against the Fathers, as invaders or destroyers of the Fathers. Wherefore they are rendered infamous, because they persecute the Fathers. And if it is not even permitted to speak to them, against whom the supreme teachers, whom we call Bishops, stand because of their crimes; how much more to those who infest them should no consent be given, nor should one speak to them, lest they be found participants in their crimes, because not only those who do them, but also those who consent to them that do them, are guilty? Whence also the blessed prince of the apostles Peter, who in the ordination of our holy predecessor Clement, instructing the clergy and people, says: "If Clement is an enemy to someone because of his actions, you do not need to wait for him to say to you: do not be friends with him; but you ought prudently to observe, and without admonition to comply with his will, and turn yourselves from him, C to whom you perceive him to be adverse; but neither to speak to those to whom he himself does not speak, so that everyone who is in fault, while he desires to bear the friendships of all of you, may hasten more quickly to be reconciled to him who presides over all, that by this he may return to salvation, when he begins to obey the warnings of the president. But if someone is a friend to those to whom he himself is not a friend, and has spoken to those to whom he does not speak, he is himself also one of those who wish to exterminate the Church of God; and while he appears to be with you in body, in mind and spirit he is against you. And this enemy is much worse than those who are outside, and are evidently enemies. For this one, through the appearance of friendships, carries on what is hostile, and disperses and lays waste the Church.
II. Concerning a writing or confession extorted by force.
22. Similarly, if any writings have been extorted from such persons in any way through fear, or fraud, or by force, or that they might be able to free themselves, in whichever way they were written or corroborated by their ingenuity, we judge that no prejudice or harm can come to them, nor do we ever permit them to endure any infamy or calumny, or the sequestration of their goods, God being the author, and the holy apostles and their successors. Repentance, however, in such cases must not be compelled, but spontaneous, as He himself testifies who says: "For from the heart proceed murders, adulteries, fornications, blasphemies," and other things that pertain to these. Nor should one attend so much to what is done, as to the intention with which it is done, of which, if we were to begin to write all the examples, the days would fail before the examples. Whence also it is that the Lord looked upon the gifts of Abel, and not upon Cain’s; D because He pays more attention to the mind of the offerer than to those things which are offered. Hence also the Lord says through the Prophet: "The Lord knows the thoughts of men." And through Hosea he says: "Let there be a trumpet in your throat, like an eagle over the house of the Lord," and the rest. And the Lord says in the Gospel: "But you, when you pray, enter into your chamber, and having shut the door, pray to your Father." For all confession that is made out of necessity is not faith. And the Apostle says: "For with the heart one believes unto justice, but with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." Furthermore, God looks more to the thoughts and spontaneous wills than to acts, which are done out of simplicity or out of necessity. Therefore, confession in such cases ought not to be extorted, but rather spontaneously professed. For it is most base to judge anyone upon suspicion or extorted confession, since the Lord is the inspector of the heart more than of the work; and the Lord requires pure thoughts and good wills more than lying lips. Whence also the Lord through the prophet
says: "This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me." I do not consider any evil to be greater than for Christians to envy their own priests. For the Lord knows those who are his. Moreover, one cannot be condemned by human examination whom God has reserved for His own judgment. For if everything were avenged in this world, divine judgments would have no place. [III.] *If anyone has a complaint against a bishop or the agents of the Church.*
That they ought not to be accused before other judges before priests or the auditors of the Church, we find to have been observed and established from the time of the apostles and thereafter. If, therefore, anyone believes that he has any just complaint or action against a bishop or the agents of the Church, let him—not unmindful of the ways of his own Redeemer (whose institution is our action), but as an excellent follower of Him who, when He was reviled, did not revile, but as a sheep before its shearer was dumb, and hanging on the cross, interceded for His persecutors—not approach primates or other judges before he approaches those by whom he believes himself to be injured, and speaks with them familiarly, not once but very often, so that he may receive from them either his justice or a just excuse. For it is the mark of a good and truly Christian man to attempt the matter first by all laws of friendship and peace, rather than to persist in seeking his own right in a court of judgment (where very often the most bitter rancor of soul is born). For if anyone desires to dwell with God, who is the author of peace, it is necessary for him to seek peace. If he acts otherwise, let him be deprived of communion both by them and by others, as if he were a despiser of the apostles and of other A Fathers. Of whom the prophet says: "They shall be as though they were not, and the men who contend with you shall perish."
[IV.] *That the passion of Christ should be commemorated in the oblation of the sacraments, and that only bread and wine mixed with water should be offered.*
B In the oblations of the sacraments also, which are offered to the Lord during the solemnities of the Mass, the passion of the Lord must be mingled in, so that the passion of Him whose body and blood is being fashioned may be celebrated; in such a way that, with the opinions of superstitions repelled, only bread and wine mixed with water are offered in the sacrifice. For it ought not (as we have received from the Fathers, and as reason itself teaches) for wine alone or water alone to be offered in the Lord's chalice, but both mixed together, because it is read that both flowed from His side in His passion. And Truth itself instructs us to offer the chalice and bread in the sacrament, when it says: "Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and gave it to His disciples, saying: Take and eat, for this is my body, which shall be given for you. Likewise, after He had supped, He took the chalice, and gave it to His disciples, saying: Take and drink C all of you, for this is the chalice of my blood, which shall be shed for you for the remission of sins." For crimes and sins are blotted out when these sacrifices are offered to the Lord. Therefore, His passion, by which we have been redeemed, is to be commemorated in these and frequently recited, and these are to be offered to the Lord. The Lord will be delighted and appeased by such sacrifices, and He will remit grave sins. For nothing can be greater in sacrifices than the body and blood of Christ. And no oblation is better than this.
A but these all exceed it. Which ought to be offered to the Lord with a pure conscience and received with a pure mind, and be venerated by all. And as it is more potent than the others, it ought to be so much the more cherished and venerated.
V. Concerning the blessing of salt and water, or of other elements.
46 For we bless water sprinkled with salt for the people, that all being sprinkled by it may be sanctified and purified; which we command to be done by all priests. For if the ash of the heifer sprinkled with blood sanctified and cleansed the people, how much more does water sprinkled with salt, and hallowed by divine prayers, sanctify and cleanse the people. B And if by salt sprinkled through the prophet Elisha, the sterility of the water was healed; how much more, consecrated by divine prayers, does it take away the sterility of human affairs, and sanctify and cleanse the defiled, and purge, and multiply other goods, and avert the snares of the devil, and defend men from the wiles of phantasms? For if we do not doubt that the sick were saved by the touch of the hem of the Savior’s garment, how much more are the elements hallowed by divine power through the virtue of His sacred words, by which human frailty receives health of body and soul? Instructed, therefore, by these and other documents, O priests of the Lord, regard the vows of each one, and strive to accomplish them by the virtue of the Holy Spirit through divine prayers, C and through the ministry divinely bestowed upon you. Hallow also the elements, as well as those things we have already mentioned, as other things suitable for divine uses, and necessary for human infirmities; cure the sick, and diligently perform the other things which pertain to you. For the Savior Himself, in giving us an example, says to His disciples: "In my name cast out demons, cure the infirm, heal the sick, cleanse the lepers," etc. "Lay also your hands upon the infirm, and they shall be well."
VI. Concerning the Trinity and the unity of the deity.
52 The faith also of the holy Trinity we have received from the fathers, and we destine it to be handed down to you. For the prophet Isaiah says: D "I saw the Lord Sabaoth sitting upon a throne high and lifted up, and the seraphim were standing round about him; six wings to one, and six wings to another. With two they covered his face, and with two they covered his feet, and with two they did fly, and they cried to one another, saying: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Sabaoth." If the Trinity is not, why did they say "holy" three times? Or if the unity is not, why did they intimate one God and Lord under a triple repetition? If the Trinity is not, why is it said in the book of Genesis: "God said, God made, and God blessed"? If the unity is not, why did He say "God" three times, and did not commend gods in the plural number? If the Trinity is not, why is it said in the third place in Exodus: "Lord, Lord, Lord, merciful and compassionate"? If the unity is not, why, when He said "Lord" three times, did He afterwards say "merciful" in the singular, and did not intimate "merciful ones," as if to show many? If the Trinity is not, why did Abraham, sitting at the oak of Mamre and meeting three, say "Lord" to One, and did not, as he had seen, render the service of salutation to the three? If the unity is not, why, when he taught "God of Abraham, and God of Isaac, and God of Jacob" three times to Moses, showing the unity, did He say: "This is my name," and A did not designate: These are our names? If the Trinity is not, why did David say three times: "May God bless us, our God, may God bless us"? If the unity is not, why, when he had named God three times, did he add "may he bless," and not "may they bless"? If the Trinity is not, why did Isaiah again say: "Lord God Sabaoth, God of Israel who sittest above the cherubim"? If the unity is not, why did He say "who sittest," and not "who sit," as he established? If the Trinity is not, why is it said in the book of Kings: "Lord, God omnipotent, God of Israel, thy words are faithful"? If the unity is not, why is "thy" said, and not "your," is it intimated? If the Trinity is not, why in the fifty-eighth psalm is it sung...
"Lord God of hosts, God of Israel, attend to visiting all nations"? If the unity is not, why did He put "attend" [in the singular], and not "attend" [in the plural], as has been preached? If the Trinity is not, why in the third chapter of the Apocalypse did He say: "Holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty, who is, and who was," etc.? If the unity is not, why is "who is" designated, and not "who are" in the plural? If the Trinity is not, why in Deuteronomy is it said: "The Lord thy God is merciful, and will hear thy voice"? If the unity is not, why did He put "will hear" [singular], and not "will hear" [plural], is it intimated? If the Trinity is not, why in the book of Joshua is it said: "The Lord God of gods is"? If the unity is not, why did He say "is," and not "are," in the manner of a locution? If the Trinity is not, why did Elias, speaking in prayer: "O Lord, the Lord God of Israel, show that thou art my God," say? If the unity is not, why did He put "show" [singular], and not "show" [plural]? If the Trinity is not, why did Mordecai in prayer say: "O Lord, Lord God Almighty, all things are in thy power"? If the unity is not, why did He put "in thy," and not "in your," sign? If the Trinity is not, why did Judith also in prayer say: "O Lord, Lord God of all power, look upon my prayer"? If the unity is not, why did He designate "look upon" [singular], and not "look upon" [plural]? If the Trinity is not, why is it said in Jeremiah: "The Lord thy God is true"? If the unity is not, why did He say "is true," and not "are true," is it intimated? If the Trinity is not, why is it written in the Apocalypse: "The Lord God and the spirit of the prophets sent his angel to show to his servants what must needs be done quickly"? If the unity is not, why, when He had named the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, did He say "sent," and not "sent" [plural], introducing it under the aforementioned number of three persons and names? If the Trinity is not, why in Deuteronomy did He say: "The Lord thy God he is God"? If the unity is not, why did He say "he is," and not "they are," in the plural number? If the Trinity is not, why is it said in the same book: "The Lord thy God is God great and powerful"? If the unity is not, why is "great and powerful" not named in the plural? If the Trinity is not, why is it taught that Tobias, when he was sending his son to the city of Rages with the archangel Raphael, blessing them, said: "The Lord of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, may he himself fulfill his blessing in you"? If the unity is not, why did He say "may he himself fulfill," and not "may they themselves fulfill," is it intimated? Finally, if the Trinity is not, why did the Lord send his disciples to baptize all nations "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit"? If the unity is not, why did He say "in the name," and not "in the names," teaching by commandment? If the Trinity is not, why does the apostle Paul say: "From him, and through him, and in him are all things"? If the unity is not, why did he put "from him," and not "from them," and maintain it? For if you truly wish to acknowledge with the greatest certainty the unity of the Trinity, you can learn all things from the aforementioned Doctor of the Gentiles, the Apostle, and follow the catholic faith, and reject the perversity of these men. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, he says, and the charity of God, and the communication of the Holy Spirit, is the selfsame grace of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; and thus, the Lord assisting, you can fully both understand and teach the faith of the holy Trinity. B Therefore, beloved, we have set down the rules of faith at the end of this epistle, that we may faithfully persevere in its confession, and, with the Lord's help, deserve to hold the good faith. Whoever shall wish to be a friend of this world is constituted an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain: "The spirit which dwelleth in you coveteth unto envy, but he giveth greater grace"? For which reason it is said: "God resisteth the proud, but to the humble he giveth grace." Be subject therefore to God, but resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners, and purify your hearts, ye double-minded. Be miserable, and mourn, and weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy into sorrow. Be humbled in the sight of the Lord, and he will exalt you. Speak not evil, one of another, C brethren; for he that speaketh evil of his brother, or that judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law. But if thou judgest the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge; for there is one lawgiver and judge, who is able to destroy and to deliver. But who art thou that judgest thy neighbor? Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl in your miseries, which shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver is cankered: and the rust of them shall be for a testimony against you, and shall eat your flesh as fire. You have stored up to yourselves wrath in the last days. Behold the hire of the laborers, who have reaped down your fields, which by fraud has been kept back by you, crieth: and the cry of them hath entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. You have feasted upon earth, and in riotousness you have nourished your hearts, in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and put to death the Just One, and he resisted you not. Woe, brethren, to those who trouble you. But you, however much you are troubled, by so much the more purified and blessed will you be made, if only that very tribulation
be patiently endured. Hence Truth itself says of it: “Blessed are they who suffer persecution for justice’ sake”; and elsewhere: “Blessed shall you be when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you, and reproach you, and cast out your name as evil. Rejoice in that day, and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.”
Given on the 9th of the Kalends of August, in the consulship of Trajan and Aelianus, most illustrious men.
EPISTLE II. On the causes and grievances of priests.
To my most beloved brethren, all bishops established throughout the various regions, Alexander, Bishop.
A There is no doubt, brethren, that the good always suffer persecution and tribulation from the bad. For which reason let us humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may deliver us in the time of tribulation. For just as a roaring lion goes about, seeking whom he may devour, so also does the devil cease not to go about and seek whom he may destroy from among the faithful, and especially those whom he finds to be more ardent in the service of the Savior and more familiar to Him: more familiar, I say, those whom He has willed to be consecrated to Himself and to be established in the order of the apostolate. “For they themselves intercede for the people, and they consume the sins of the people, because by their prayers and offerings they blot them out and consume them.” The more worthy they are, the more easily are they heard for the necessities for which they cry out. “For the continual prayer of a just man,” as the blessed apostle James says, “availeth much.” [B ] For whoever persecutes you, persecutes Him whose office you perform; because just as the Son of God Himself was the mediator between God and men, so also are you established in His stead in the Church, that you may perform the office of an embassy between God and men. If, however, anyone impedes your embassy, he averts not the profit of one, but of many. And just as he harms many, so he is to be rebuked by many and excluded from the society of the good. And because he impedes the cause of God and disturbs the state of the Church, therefore let him be excluded from her thresholds. Such a one is also to be avoided by all, and not to be received into the communion of the faithful until satisfaction is made. For it is an ancient statute that he who disturbs the state of the Church be excluded from her thresholds; nor shall he communicate with the faithful who averts their goods. If, therefore, you have love among yourselves and are of one mind, you will easily be able to overcome such men. C But if—which God forbid!—you are discordant, and begin to gnaw at one another with a dog’s tooth, not only will you not overcome them, but you will harm yourselves, and be overcome by them, and perhaps perish innocently. He who is of your college, and who withdraws from your help, will be proven more of a schismatic than a priest. “Behold,” says the Prophet, “how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” They truly do not dwell in unity who withdraw themselves from the solace of the brethren, or, what is worse, prepare ambushes for the brethren, or lay snares. For concerning these and their like the Lord speaks through the prophet Hosea, saying: “Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth in it shall languish, with the beasts of the field and with the fowls of the air; but the fishes of the sea shall be gathered together. D Nevertheless, let no one judge, and let no man be rebuked; for thy people are as they that contradict the priest. And thou shalt fall today, and the prophet also shall fall with thee. In the night I have made thy mother to be silent. My people have been silent, because they had no knowledge. Because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will reject thee, that thou shalt not do the office of priesthood to me. And thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I also will forget thy children. According to the multitude of them so have they sinned against me. I will change their glory into shame. They shall eat the sins of my people, and shall lift up their souls to their iniquity. And there shall be like people, like priest. And I will visit upon him his ways, and I will render his thoughts to him. And they shall eat, and shall not be filled; they have committed fornication, and have not ceased, because they have forsaken the Lord in not observing His law.” Beware of these things, brethren, and hasten always to do good: “For in this shall all men know,” says the Lord, “that you are my disciples, if you have love one to another.”
For it is indeed good and desirable to all who fear God to restrain dissensions and altercations, and to help the brethren, and not to envy, but to assist one another. We, therefore, who wish to be both called and to be disciples of the Lord, ought to carry the cross of Christ and sympathize with the brethren, and not prepare any ambushes or pits for them, because a man deserves the retaliation who prepares a pit for his brethren. “Be not deceived, brethren, for God is not mocked.” For this reason the Lord has entrusted to you His Church, that you might labor for all, and not neglect to bring aid to all the oppressed. Whence also the Lord speaks through the prophet, saying: “Thus saith the Lord: Deal judgment in the morning, and deliver him that is oppressed out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my indignation go out like a fire, and be kindled, and there be none to quench it.” You, therefore, who have been established by the Lord in the highest watchtower, ought to attend to them and restrain those who excite seditions and scandals among the brethren, lest they perish together with them.
Greet all those who labor rightly in the Gospel of Christ, and who justly govern His ship, so that those living within it may not be submerged or suffocated. The whole apostolic Church greets you in the Lord. Amen.
Given on the seventh day before the Kalends of November, in the consulship of the most illustrious Trajan and Aelian.
At the end of this epistle, I found these things added in the Lucca Codex, which I do not doubt to be the work of some interpolator, but which nevertheless had to be provided:
The commandment of the Lord is that, except for the cause of fornication, a wife ought not to be put away by her husband; and therefore, whoever puts away his wife for any reason whatsoever without the guilt of the A aforementioned crime, because he determined to separate what God has joined, let him be deprived of ecclesiastical communion for as long as he remains, and let him remain an alien from the assembly of all Christians, until he returns to the society of his abandoned spouse and sincerely embraces and cherishes the part of his own body by the honest law of marriage. However, those who, having already been warned by a priest once, and twice, and a third time to be corrected, refuse to return to the dear consortium of their own spouse, shall themselves, by their own merits, be separated from the office of palatine dignity, and furthermore shall lose the testimony of noble status for as long as they remain in their guilt, because they have delivered their own flesh to the yoke of discord.
EPISTLE III
That detractions and unjust attacks may be avoided.
Alexander the bishop, to all those serving in the divine priesthood, may peace and mercy be multiplied, and may wisdom and good will increase and bear fruit in all in the Lord.
«We are by the grace of God what we are.» Therefore, we must provide and strive exceedingly that we be not found empty in it, but that, with the same grace cooperating with us, we may bring back much fruit to the Lord. This can be done in no other way than by pursuing wisdom, and meditating upon His precepts in readings and hymns, and by fulfilling them with His aid, praying and keeping watch, C and B by striving to complete His will, in as much as He Himself has granted it. For the Lord has not given us grace to be neglected, but has bestowed it to be faithfully exercised. For love without simulation must be in us and appear in us; because «everyone who hates his brother is a killer»: but he who loves him, remains in God, and God in him. Whence the Apostle also says: «Do not judge one another, brethren, but judge this rather, that you put not an obstacle or a scandal in your brother’s way.» And the Lord says: «What you do not wish to be done to you, do not do to another.» And elsewhere: «By this shall all know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.» And Solomon says: «It is a salutary sacrifice to attend to the commandments, and to depart from all iniquity.»
D «For it is the greatest iniquity, brethren, to detract and to accuse. Whence it is written: ‘Everyone who detracts his brother is a killer,’ and every killer has no part or inheritance in the kingdom of God. And elsewhere: ‘Beware, dearest brethren, that you do not become partakers—which God forbid!—of their evils.’» And do not only beware of such men yourselves, but also teach others to beware of them and turn away from them. For of these the Lord says through the prophet Micah: «Woe to you who devise that which is useless, and work evil in your beds; in the morning light they do it, because their hand is against God. And they have coveted fields, and have taken them by violence, and have stolen houses, and have oppressed a man and his house, a man and his inheritance. Therefore thus says the Lord: Behold, I devise evil against this family, from which you shall not pull away your necks, and you shall walk proudly, for it is a time of evil. In that day shall a parable be taken up against you, and a song shall be sung with sweetness, saying: We are devastated by a thinning, the portion of my people has been changed. How do you depart from me, that you may return to him who divides our regions? Because of this, there shall be no one for you casting a cord, a strong one in the assembly of the Lord. Speak not, saying: Distillation shall not fall upon these, nor shall confusion overtake them, says the Lord of Jacob. Has the spirit of the Lord been abridged, or are these his thoughts? Are not my words good with him who walks uprightly? And on the contrary, my people have risen up against (me) as an enemy. You have taken off the mantle above the tunic, and those who were passing simply, you have converted to war.»
And on the contrary, concerning those who are accused or troubled, the Lord, comforting them through the prophet Nahum, speaks thus: «The Lord is good, and strengthening in the day of tribulation, and knowing those who hope in Him. And in a flood passing over, He will bring about the consummation of His place, and darkness shall pursue His enemies. What do you devise against the Lord? He will make D the consummation. Double tribulation will not arise; for as thorns interlace with each other, so is the banquet of those who are drinking together; they will be consumed like stubble full of dryness. Out of you will go forth one devising malice against the Lord, thinking over transgression in his mind. Thus says the Lord: If they were perfect, and so many: so also they will be sheared, and it will pass by. I have afflicted you, and I will not afflict you more.»
It is easy, brethren, to deceive a man with a word, but not God. He is not wise who does harm, nor will a glib man direct himself to evil on earth. Yet he who is faithful wills no evil. For to an evil and perverse character, loyalty is foreign. For the Apostle says regarding the ignorance of the unfaithful: «For if they had known, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory.» For they crucify the Lord who persecute Him in His priests, because the cross from the crucifi-