Pope Zosimus, in a letter to the bishops of Africa in 417 (Collectio Avellana 45), states that he questioned the presbyter Caelestius, accused of heresy, in the basilica in Rome of *Clemens/Clement (bishop of Rome, martyr of the Crimea, S00111). Written in Latin in Rome.
E06244
Documentary texts - Letter
Collectio Avellana 45 (Zosimus to the bishops of Africa; 'Magnum pondus', JK 329/JH 734)
(2.) Caelestius presbyter nostro se ingessit examini expetens ea, quae de se apostolicae sedi aliter quam oportuit essent inculcata, purgari. Et licet multae occupationes maioribus uinculis ecclesiasticorum negotiorum curam nostram sollicitudinemque distraherent, tamen ne fraternitatis uestrae de aduentu ac discussione praedicti diutius penderet expectatio, posthabitis omnibus die cognitionis resedimus in sancti Clementis basilica, qui inbutus beati Petri apostoli disciplinis tali magistro ueteres emendasset errores tantosque profectus habuisset, ut fidem, quam didicerat ac docuerat, etiam martyrio consecraret: scilicet ut ad salutiferam castigationem tanti sacerdotis auctoritas praesenti cognitioni esset exemplo. (3.) omnia igitur, quae prius fuerant acta, discussimus, sicut gestorum huic epistolae cohaerentium instructione discetis [...]
'(2.) Caelestius the presbyter has offered himself for our examination, seeking to exonerate himself of the things that have wrongly been complained against him before the apostolic see. And while many occupations with great chains of ecclesiastical business distract our care and attention, however, so that the uncertainty of Your Fraternity about the arrival and questioning of the above-mentioned should not continue any longer, we, postponing all other things, sat for a day of scrutiny in the basilica of St Clement, who, marked by the teachings of the blessed apostle Peter, by means of such a teacher corrected his old errors and made such progress that he consecrated the faith he had learned and taught through martyrdom: evidently so that the authority of such a great priest should be an example of salutary reproof to the present investigation. (3.) We have therefore reviewed everything done before, as you will learn through the instruction of the acts attached to this letter ...'
Text: Günther 1895, 99-100.
Translation: David Lambert.
Cult building - independent (church)
Activities accompanying CultMeetings and gatherings of the clergy
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - Popes
Heretics
Source
The Collectio Avellana is a collection of 244 letters and other documents dating from 367 to 553, mostly correspondence between the papacy and the imperial authorities in Italy or in Constantinople. The date of its compilation is uncertain, but has most frequently been placed soon after 553.This letter is numbered as Letter 2 ('Magnum pondus') in editions of Zosimus' letters. It dates from September 417 (Dalmon 2015, 499).
Discussion
Caelestius was an associate of Pelagius who had been condemned by Zosimus' predecessor as pope, Innocent I, at the request of Augustine and other African bishops opposed to Pelagius. He appealed to Zosimus, who heard his appeal in the basilica of Clement (present-day San Clemente). This letter is addressed to Aurelius of Carthage, the primate of Africa, and the other African bishops, and informs them of Zosimus' decision to rescind Caelestius' condemnation. (As the Pelagian controversy developed and Zosimus came under further pressure from Pelagius' opponents, he reversed his position the following year and renewed Caelestius' condemnation.)In this context, Zosimus' remarks about Clement as an example of repentance and reform have an obvious relevance. The depiction of the relationship between Clement and St Peter originates from the early Christian apocryphal work known as the Pseudo-Clementine Recognitions (Dalmon 2011, 216, n. 31).
Bibliography
Edition:Günther, O., Collectio Avellana. 2 vols. (Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum 35/1-2; Vienna, 1895-1898).
French translation in the works by Dalmon below.
Further reading:
Dalmon, L., "Trois pièces de la Collectio Avellana : édition critique, traduction et commentaire," Recherches augustiniennes et patristiques 36 (2011), 195-246.
Dalmon, L., Un dossier de l'Épistolaire augustinien: la correspondance entre l'Afrique et Rome à propos de l'affaire pélagienne (416-418) (Leuven: Peeters, 2015).
David Lambert
11/12/2021
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00111 | Clemens/Clement, bishop of Rome, martyr of the Crimea | Clemens | Certain |
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