A Place for Donation of Constantine Stuff
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| Students of Raphael (Gianfrancesco Penni? Giulio Romano?), "Donation of Constantine" Vatican, Apostolic Palace (1520-1524) (Photo: Burkhard Mücke, CC BY-SA 4.0) |
Medieval
Sourcebook: The Donation of Constantine (c.750—800)
Introduction provided by Medieval Sourcebook:
This is perhaps the most famous forgery in history. For centuries, until
Lorenzo Valla proved it was forgery during the Renaissance it provided the basis
for papal territorial and jurisdictional claims in Italy. Probably at least a
first draft of it was made shortly after the middle of the eighth century in
order to assist Pope Stephen II in his negotiations with the Frankish Mayor of
the Palace, Pepin the Short. The Pope crossed the Alps to anoint the latter as
king in 754, thereby enabling, the Carolingian family, to which Pepin belonged,
to supplant the old Merovingian royal line which had become decadent and
powerless and to become in law as well as in fact rulers of the Franks. In
return, Pepin seems to have promised to give to the Pope those lands in Italy
which the Lombards had taken from Byzantium. The promise was fulfilled in 756.
Constantine's alleged gift made it possible to interpret Pepin's grant not as a
benefaction but as a restoration.
(c) Paul Halsall Jan 1996 [updated 11/23/96] halsall@murray.fordham.edu
Text from Ernest F. Henderson, Select Historical Documents of the Middle
Ages (London: George Bell, 1910), 319—329.
In the text I have place those portions of the document quoted by Pope Leo IX
in his letter to the Patriarch Michael Cerularius, which contributed the Eastern and Western
Churches mutually excommunicating each other in 1054. The Latin text of Leo IX’s
letter used for comparison comes from Cornelius Will, Acta et scripta quae
de controversiis ecclesiae Graecae et Latinae saeculo undecimo composita extant
(Leipzig and Marburg: N.G. Elwert, 1861), 65-85
THE DONATION OF CONSTANTINE
In the name of the holy and indivisible Trinity, the Father,
namely, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. The emperor Caesar Flavius Constantine
in Christ Jesus, the Lord I God our Saviour, one of that same holy Trinity,—faithful
merciful, supreme, beneficent, Alamannic, Gothic, Sarmatic, Germanic, Britannic,
Hunic, pious, fortunate, victor and triumpher, always august: to the most holy
and blessed father of fathers Sylvester, bishop of the city of and to all his
successors the pontiffs , who are about to sit upon Rome and pope, the chair of
St. Peter until the end of time — also to all the most reverend and of God
beloved catholic bishops, subjected by this our imperial decree throughout the
whole world to this same holy, Roman
church, who have been established now and in all previous times—grace, peace,
charitv, rejoicing, long—suffering, mercv, be with you all from God the Father almighty
and from Jesus Christ his Son and from the Holy Ghost. Our most gracious
serenity desires, in clear discourse, through the page of this our imperial
decree, to bring to the knowledge of all the people in the whole world what
things our Saviour and Redeemer the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the most High
Father, has most wonderfully seen fit to bring about through his holy apostles
Peter and Paul and by the intervention of our father Sylvester, the highest
pontiff and the universal pope First, indeed, putting forth, with the inmost
confession of our heart, for the purpose of instructing the mind of all of you,
our creed which we have learned from the aforesaid most blessed father and our confessor,
Sylvester the universal pontiff; and then at length announcing the mercy of God
which has been poured upon us.
For we wish you to know,, as we have
signified through our former imperial decree, that we have gone away, from the
worship of idols, from mute and deaf images made by hand, from devilish contrivances
and from all the pomps of Satan; and have arrived at the pure faith of the
Christians, which is the true light and everlasting life. Believing, according
to what he—that same one, our revered supreme father and teacher, the pontiff
Sylvester — has taught us, in God the Father, the almighty maker of Heaven and
earth, of all things visible and invisible; and in Jesus Christ, his only Son,
our Lord God, through whom all things are created; and in the Holy Spirit, the
Lord and vivifier of the whole creature. We confess these, the Father and the
Son and the Holy Spirit, in such way that, in the perfect Trinity, there shall
also be a fulness of divinity and a unity of power. The Father is God, the Son
is God, and the Holy Spirit is God; and these three are one in Jesus Christ.
There are therefore three forms but one
power. For God, wise in all previous time, gave forth from himself the word
through which all future ages were to be born; and when, by that sole word of
His wisdom, He formed the whole creation from nothing, He was with it,
arranging all things in His mysterious secret place. Therefore, the virtues of the Heavens and all
the material part of the earth having been perfected, by the wise nod of His
wisdom first creating man of the clay of the earth in His own image and
likeness, He placed him in a paradise of delight. Him the ancient serpent and
envious enemy, the devil, through the most bitter taste of the forbidden tree,
made an exile from these joys; and, be being expelled, did not cease in many
ways to cast his poisonous darts; in order that, turning the human race from
the way of truth to the worship of idols, he might persuade it, namely to
worship the creature and not the creator; so that, through them (the idols), he
might cause those whom he might be able to entrap in his snares to be burned
with him in eternal punishment. But our Lord, pitying His creature, sending ahead
His holy prophets, announcing through them the light of the future life—the
coming, that is, of His Son our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ—sent that same
only begotten Son and Word of wisdom: He descending from Heaven on account of
our salvation, being born of the Holy Spirit and of the Virgin Mary,—the word
was made flesh and d welt among us. He did not cease to be what He had been,
but began to be what He had not been, perfect God and perfect man: as God,
performing miracles; as man, sustaining human sufferings. We so learned Him to
be very man and very God by the
preaching of our father Sylvester, the supreme pontiff, that we can in no wise
doubt that He was very, God and very man. And, having chosen twelve apostles,
He shone with miracles before them and an innumerable multitude of people. We
confess that this same Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled the law and the prophets;
that He suffered, was crucified, on the third day arose from the dead according
to the Scriptures; was received into Heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of
the Father. Whence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead, whose kingdom
shall have no end. For this is our orthodox creed, placed before us by our most
blessed father Sylvester, the supreme pontiff. We exhort, therefore, all
people, and all the different nations, to hold, cherish and preach this faith;
and, in the name of the Holy Trinity, to obtain the grace of baptism; and, with
devaout heart, to adore the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour, who with the Father
and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns through infinite ages; whom Sylvester our
father, the universal pontiff, preaches. For He himself, our Lord God, having
pit on me a sinner, sent His holy apostles to visit us, and caused the light of
his splendour to shine upon us. And do ye rejoice that I, having been withdrawn
from the shadow, have come to the true light and to the knowledge of truth.
For, at a time when a mighty and filthy leprosy had invaded all the flesh of
my, body, and the care was administered of many physicians who came together,
nor by that of any one of them did I achieve health: there came hither the
priests of the Capitol, saving to me that a font should be made on the Capitol,
and that I should fill this with the blood of innocent infants; and that, if I
bathed in it while it was warm, I might be cleansed. And very many innocent
infants having been brought together according to their words, when the
sacrilegious priests of the pagans wished them to be slaughtered and the font
to be filled with their blood: Our Serenity perceiving the tears of the
mothers, I straightway abhorred the deed. And, pitying them, I ordered their
own sons to be restored to them; and, giving them vehicles and gifts, sent them
off rejoicing to their own. That day having passed therefore—the silence of
night having come upon us—when the time of sleep had arrived, the apostles St.
Peter and Paul appear, saying to me: "Since thou hast placed a term to thy
vices, and hast abhorred the pouring forth of innocent blood, we are sent by,
Christ the Lord our God, to give to thee a plan for recovering thy health.
Hear, therefore, our warning, and do what we indicate to thee. Sylvester—the
bishop of the city of Rome—on Mount Serapte, fleeing they persecutions,
cherishes the darkness with his clergy in the caverns of the rocks. This one,
when thou shalt have led him to thyself, will himself show thee a pool of
piety; in which, when he shall have dipped thee for the third time, all that
strength of the leprosy will desert thee. And, when this shall have been done,
make this return to thy Saviour, that by thy order through the whole world the
churches may be restored. Purify thyself, moreover, in this way, that, leaving
all the superstition of idols, thou do adore and cherish the living and true
God — who is alone and true — and that thou attain to the doing of His will.
Rising, therefore, from sleep, straightway
I did according to that which I bad been advised to do by, the holy apostles;
and, having summoned that excellent and benignant father and our enlightener—Sylvester
the universal pope—I told him all the words that had been taught me by the holy
apostles; and asked him who where those gods Peter and Paul. But he said that
they where not really called gods, but apostles of our Saviour the Lord God
Jesus Christ. And again we began to ask that same most blessed pope whether he
had some express image of those apostles; so that, from their likeness, we
might learn that they were those whom revelation bad shown to us. Then that
same venerable father ordered the images of those same apostles to be shown by
his deacon. And, when I had looked at them, and recognized, represented in
those images, the countenances of those whom I had seen in my dream: with a
great noise, before all my satraps*, I confessed that they were those whom I
had seen in my dream.
[* there were no such Roman officials]
Hereupon that same most blessed Sylvester
our father, bishop of the city of Rome, imposed upon us a time of penance—within
our Lateran palace, in the chapel, in a hair garment,—so that I might obtain pardon
from our Lord God Jesus Christ our Saviour by vigils, fasts, and tears and
prayers, for all things that had been impiously done and unjustly ordered by
me. Then through the imposition of the hands of the clergy, I came to the
bishop himself; and there, renouncing the pomps of Satan and his works, and all
idols made by hands, of my own will before all the people I confessed: that I
believed in God the Father almighty, maker of Heaven and earth, and of all
things visible and invisible; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son our Lord, who
was born of the Holy Spirit and of the Virgin Mary. And, the font having been
blessed, the wave of salvation purified me there with a triple immersion. For there
I, being placed at the bottom of the font, saw with my own eyes a band from
Heaven touching me; whence rising, clean, know that I was cleansed from all the
squalor of leprosy. And, I being raised from the venerable font—putting on
white raiment, be administered to me the sign of the seven—fold holy Spirit,
the unction of the holy oil; and he traced the sign of the holy cross on my brow,
saying: God seals thee with the seal of His faith in the name of the Father and
the Son and the Holy Spirit, to signalize thy faith. All the clergy replied:
"Amen." The bishop added, "peace be with thee."
And so, on the first day after receiving
the mystery of the holy baptism, and after the cure of my body from the squalor
of the leprosy, I recognized that there was no other God save the Father and
the Son and the Holy Spirit; whom the most blessed Sylvester the pope doth
preach; a trinity in one, a unity in three. For all the gods of the nations,
whom I have worshipped up to this time, are proved to be demons; works made by
the hand of men; inasmuch as that same venerable father told to us most clearly
how much power in Heaven and on earth He, our Saviour, conferred on his apostle
St. Peter, when finding him faithful after questioning him He said: "Thou
art Peter, and upon this rock shall I build My Church, and the gates of bell
shall not prevail against it." Give heed ye powerful, and incline the ear
of .your hearts to that which the good Lord and Master added to His disciple,
saying: Andand I will give thee the keys of the kingdom of Heaven; and whatever
thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound also in Heaven, and whatever thou shalt
loose on earth shall be loosed also in Heaven." This is very wonderful and
glorious, to bind and loose on earth and to have it bound and loosed in Heaven.
And when, the blessed Sylvester preaching
them, I perceived these things, and learned that by the kindness of St. Peter
himself I had been entirely restored to health: I together with all our
satraps and the whole senate and the nobles and all the Roman people, who are
subject to the glory of our rule—considered it advisable that, as on earth he
(Peter) is seen to have been constituted vicar of the Son of God, so the
pontiffs, who are the representatives of that same chief of the apostles,
should obtain from us and our empire the power of a supremacy greater than the
earthly clemency of our imperial serenity is seen to have had conceded to it,—we
choosing that same prince of the apostles, or his vicars, to be our constant
intercessors with God. And, to the extent of our earthly imperial power, we decree
that his holy Roman church shall be honoured with veneration; and that, more
than our empire and earthly throne, the most sacred seat of St. Peter shall be
gloriously exalted; we giving to it the imperial power, and dignity of glory,
and vigour and honour.
And we ordain and decree that he shall
have the supremacy as well over the four chief seats Antioch, Alexandria,
Constantinople* and Jerusalem, as also over all the churches of God in the —whole
world. And he who for the time being shall be pontiff of that holy Roman church
shall be more exalted than, and chief over, all the priests of the whole world;
and, according to his judgment, everything which is to be provided for the
service of God or the stability of the faith of the Christians is to be
administered. It is indeed just, that there the holy law should have the seat
of its rule where the founder of holy laws, our Saviour, told St. Peter to take
the chair of the apostleship; where also, sustaining the cross, he blissfully
took the cup of death and appeared as imitator of his Lord and Master; and that
there the people should bend their necks at the confession of Christ's name,
where their teacher, St. Paul the apostle, extending his neck for Christ, was
crowned with martyrdom. There, until the end, let them seek a teacher, where
the holy body of the teacher lies; and there, prone and humiliated, let them
perform I the service of the heavenly king, God our Saviour Jesus Christ, where
the proud were accustomed to serve under the rule of an earthly king.
*at the time of the supposed date of the document,
Constantinople had not been founded. Its
position as "chief seat" was two centuries away.]
Meanwhile we wish all the people, of all
the races and nations throughout the whole world, to know: that we have
constructed within our Lateran palace, to the same Saviour our Lord God Jesus
Christ, a church with a baptistry from the foundations. And know that we have
carried on our own shoulders from its foundations, twelve baskets weighted with
earth, according to the number of the
holy apostles. Which holy church we command to be spoken of, cherished,
venerated and preached of, as the head and summit of all the churches in the
whole world—as we have commanded through our other imperial decrees. We have
also constructed the churches of St. Peter and St. Paul, chiefs of the apostles,
which we have enriched with gold and silver; where also, placing their most
sacred bodies with great honour, we have constructed their caskets of electrum,
against which no force of the elements prevails. And we have placed a cross of
purest gold and precious gems on each of their caskets, and fastened them with
golden keys. And on these churches for the endowing of divine services we have
conferred estates, and have enriched them with different objects; and, through
our sacred imperial decrees, we have granted them our gift of land in the East
as well as in the West; and even on the northern and southern coast;—namely in
Judea, Greece, Asia, Thrace, Africa and Italy and the various islands: under
this condition indeed, that all shall be administered by the hand of our most
blessed father the pontiff Sylvester and his successors.
For let all the people and the nations of
the races in the whole world rejoice with us; we exhorting all of you to give
unbounded thanks, together with us, to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. For
He is God in Heaven above and on earth below, who, visiting us through His holy
apostles, made us worthy to receive the holy sacrament of baptism and health of
body. PPP In return for which, to those same holy apostles, my masters, St.
Peter and St. Paul; and, through them, also to St. Sylvester, our father,—the
chief pontiff and universal pope of the city of Rome,—and to all the pontiffs
his successors, who until the end of the world shall be about to sit in the
seat of St. Peter: we concede and, by this present, do confer, our imperial
Lateran palace, which is preferred to, and ranks above, all the palaces in the
whole world; then a diadem, that is, the crown of our head, and at the same
time the tiara; and, also, the shoulder band,—that is, the collar that usually
surrounds our imperial neck; and also the purple mantle, and crimson tunic, and
all the imperial raiment; and the same rank as those presiding over the
imperial cavalry; conferring also the imperial sceptres, and, at the same time,
the spears and standards; also the banners and different imperial ornaments,
and all the advantage of our high imperial position, and the glory of our
power.
And we decree, as to those most
reverend men, the clergy who serve, in different orders, that same holy Roman
church, that they shall have the same advantage, distinction, power and
excellence by the glory of which our most illustrious senate is adorned; that
is, that they shall be made patricians and consuls,—we commanding that they
shall also be decorated with the other imperial dignities. And even as the
imperial soldiery, so, we decree, shall the clergy of the holy Roman church be
adorned. And I even as the imperial power is adorned by different offices—by
the distinction, that is, of chamberlains, and door keepers, and all the
guards,—so we wish the holy Roman church to be adorned. And, in order that the
pontifical glory may shine forth more fully, we decree this also: that the
clergy of this same holy Roman church may use saddle cloths of linen of the
whitest colour; namely that their horses may be adorned and so be ridden, and
that, as our senate uses shoes with goats' hair, so they may be distinguished
by gleaming linen; in order that, as the celestial beings, so the terrestrial
may be adorned to the glory of God. Above all things, moreover, we give
permission to that same most holy one our father Sylvester, bishop of the city
of Rome and pope, and to all the most blessed pontiffs who shall come after him
and succeed him in all future times—for the honour and glory of Jesus Christ our
Lord,—to receive into that great Catholic and apostolic church of God, even
into the number of the monastic clergy, any one from our senate, who, in free
choice, of his own accord, may wish to become— a cleric; no one at all
presuming thereby to act in a haughty manner.
We also decreed this, that this same
venerable one our father Sylvester, the supreme pontiff, and all the pontiffs
his successors, might use and bear upon their heads—to the Praise of God and
for the honour of St. Peter—the diadem; that is, the crown which we have
granted him from our own head, of purest gold and precious gems. But he, the
most holy pope, did not at all allow that crown of gold to be used over the
clerical crown which he wears to the glory of St. Peter; but we placed upon his
most holy head, with our own hands, a tiara of gleaming splendour representing
the glorious resurrection of our Lord. And, holding the bridle of his horse,
out of reverence for St. Peter we performed for him the duty of groom;
decreeing that all the pontiffs his successors, and they alone, may use that
tiara in processions. In
imitation of our own power, in order that for that cause the supreme
pontificate may not deteriorate, but may rather be adorned with power and glory
even more than is the dignity of an earthly rule: behold we—giving over to the
oft—mentioned most blessed pontiff, our father Sylvester the universal pope, as
well our palace, as has been said, as also the city of Rome and all the
provinces, districts and cities of Italy or of the western regions; and
relinquishing them, by our inviolable gift, to the power and sway of himself or
the pontiffs his successors—do decree, by this our godlike charter and imperial
constitution, that it shall be (so) arranged; and do concede that they (the
palaces, provinces etc.) shall lawfully remain with the holy Roman church.
Wherefore we have perceived it to be
fitting that our empire and the power of our kingdom should be transferred and
changed to the regions of the East; and that, in the province of Byzantium, in
a most fitting place, a city should be built in our name; and that our empire
should there be established. For, where the supremacy of priests and the bead
of the Christian religion has been established by a heavenly ruler, it is not
just that there an earthly ruler should have jurisdiction.
We decree, moreover, that all these
things which, through this our imperial charter and through other godlike commands, we have established and
confirmed, shall remain uninjured and unshaken until the end of the world.
Wherefore, before the living God, who commanded us to reign, and in the face of
his terrible judgment, we conjure, through this our imperial decree, all the
emperors our successors, and all our nobles, the satraps also and the most
glorious senate, and all the people in the whole world now and in all times
previously subject to our rule: that no one of them, in any way allow himself
to oppose or disregard, or in any way seize, these things which, by our
imperial sanction, have been conceded to the holy Roman church and to all its
pontiffs. If anyone, moreover,—which we do not believe — prove a scorner or
despiser in this matter, he shall be subject and bound over to eternal
damnation; and shall feel that the holy chiefs of the apostles of God, Peter
and Paul, will be opposed to him in the present and in the future life. And,
being burned in the nethermost hell, he shall perish with the devil and all the
impious.
The page, moreover, of this our
imperial decree, we, confirming it with our own hands, did place above the
venerable body of St. Peter chief of the apostles; and there, promising to that
same apostle of God that we would preserve inviolably all its provisions, and
would leave in our commands to all the emperors our successors to preserve
them, we did hand it over, to be enduringly and happily possessed, to our most
blessed father Sylvester the supreme pontiff and universal pope, and, through him,
to all the pontiffs his successors —God our Lord and our Saviour Jesus Christ
consenting. To our most blessed father Sylvester, supreme pontiff and universal
pope, and through him to all his successor pontiffs, with our Lord God and
Savior Jesus Christ assenting, we have handed over to be possessed
everlastingly and auspiciously.
And the imperial subscription: May the
Divinity preserve you for many years, oh most holy and blessed fathers.
Given at Rome on the third day before the
Kalends of April, our master the august Flavius Constantine, for the fourth
time, and Galligano, most illustrious men, being consuls.
1. In nomine sanctae et individuae trinitatis patris scilicet
et filii et spiritus sancti.
Imperator Caesar Flavius Constantinus in Christo Iesu, uno ex
eadem sancta trinitate salvatore domino deo nostro, fidelis mansuetus, maximus,
beneficus, Alamannicus, Gothicus, Sarmaticus, Germanicus, Britannicus,
Hunnicus, pius, felix, victor ac triumphator, semper augustus, sanctissimo ac
beatissimo patri patrum Silvestrio, urbis Romae episcopo et papae, atque
omnibus eius successoribus, qui in sede beati Petri usque in finem saeculi
sessuri sunt, pontificibus nec non et omnibus reverentissimis et deo amabilibus
catholicis episcopis eidem sacrosanctae Romanae ecclesiae per hanc nostram
imperialem constitutionem subiectis in universo orbe terrarum, nunc et in
posteris cunctis retro temporibus constitutis, gratia, pax, caritas, gaudium,
longanimitas, misericordia a deo patre omnipotente et Iesu Christo filio eius
et spiritu sancto cum omnibus vobis.
2. Ea quae salvator et redemptor noster dominus deus Iesus
Christus, altissimi patris filius, per suos sanctos apostolos Petrum et Paulum,
interveniente patre nostro Silvestrio summo pontifice et universali papa,
mirabiliter operari dignatus est, liquida enarratione per huius nostrae
imperialis institutionis paginam ad agnitionem omnium populorum in universo
orbe terrarum nostra studuit propagare mansuetissima serenitas. Primum quidem
fidem nostram, quam a praelato beatissimo patre et oratore nostro Silvestrio
universali pontifice edocti sumus, intima cordis confessione ad instruendas
omnium vestrum mentes proferentes et ita demum misericordiam dei super nos
diffusam annuntiantes.
3. Nosse enim vos volumus, sicut per anteriorem nostram
sacram pragmaticam iussionem significavimus, nos a culturis idolorum,
simulacris mutis et surdis manufactis, diabolicis compositionibus atque ab
omnibus Satanae pompis recessisse et ad integram Christianorum fidem, quae est
vera lux et vita perpetua, pervenisse credentes iuxta id, quod nos isdem
almificus summus pater et doctor noster Silvester instruxit pontifex, in deum
patrem omnipotentem, factorem caeli et terrae, visibilium omnium et invisibilium,
et in Iesum Christum, filium eius unicum, dominum deum nostrum, per quem creata
sunt omnia, et in spiritum sanctum, dominum et vivificatorem universae
creaturae. Hos patrem et filium et spiritum sanctum confitemur, ita ut in
trinitate perfecta et plenitudo sit divinitatis et unitas potestatis: pater
deus, filius deus et spiritus sanctus deus, et tres unum sunt in Iesu Christo.
Tres itaque formae, sed una potestas.
4. Nam sapiens retro semper deus edidit ex se, per quod
semper erant gignenda saecula, verbum, et quando eodem solo suae sapientiae
verbo universam ex nihilo formavit creaturam, cum eo erat, cuncta suo arcano
componens mysterio. Igitur perfectis caelorum virtutibus et universis terrae
materiis, pio sapientiae suae nutu ad imaginem et similitudinem suam primum de
limo terrae fingens hominem, hunc in paradiso posuit voluptatis; quem antiquus
serpens et hostis invidens, diabolus, per amarissimum ligni vetiti gustum
exulem ab eisdem effecit gaudiis, eoque expulso non desinit sua venenosa multis
modis protelare iacula, ut a via veritatis humanum abstrahens genus idolorum
culturae, videlicet creaturae et non creatori, deservire suadeat, quatenus per
hos eos, quos suis valuerit irretire insidiis, secum aeterno efficiat
concremandos supplicio. Sed deus noster, misertus plasmae suae, dirigens
sanctos suos prophetas, per quos lumen futurae vitae, adventum videlicet filii
sui, domini dei salvatoris nostri Iesu Christi, annuntians, misit eundem
unigenitum suum filium et sapientiae verbum. Qui descendens de caelis propter
nostram salutem natus de spiritu sancto et Maria virgine, verbum caro factum
est et habitavit in nobis. Non amisit, quod fuerat, sed coepit esse, quod non
erat, deum perfectum et hominem perfectum, ut deus mirabilia perficiens et ut
homo humanas passiones sustinens. Ita verum hominem et verum deum praedicante
patre nostro Silvestrio summo pontifice intellegimus, ut verum deum verum
hominem fuisse nullo modo ambigamus; electisque duodecim apostolis, miraculis
coram eis et innumerabilis populi multitudine coruscavit. Confitemur eundem
dominum Iesum Christum adimplesse legem et prophetas, passum, crucifixum,
secundum scripturas tertia die a mortuis resurrexisse, assumptum in caelis
atque sedentem ad dexteram patris, inde venturum iudicare vivos et mortuos,
cuius regni non erit finis.
5. Haec est enim fides nostra orthodoxa a beatissimo patre
nostro Silvestrio summo pontifice nobis prolata; exhortantes idcirco omnem
populum et diversas gentium nationes hanc fidem tenere, colere ac praedicare et
in sanctae trinitatis nomine baptismi gratiam consequi et dominum Iesum
Christum salvatorem nostrum, qui cum patre et spiritu sancto per infinita vivit
et regnat saecula, quem Silvester beatissimus pater noster universalis
praedicat pontifex, corde devoto adorare.
6. Ipse enim dominus deus noster, misertus mihi peccatori,
misit sanctos suos apostolos ad visitandum nos et lumen sui splendoris infulsit
nobis et abstracto a tenebris ad veram lucem et agnitionem veritatis me
pervenisse gratulamini. Nam dum valida squaloris lepra totam mei corporis
invasisset carnem, et multorum medicorum convenientium cura adhiberetur, nec
unius quidem promerui saluti; ad haec advenerunt sacerdotes Capitolii, dicentes
mihi debere fontem fieri in Capitolio et compleri hunc innocentium infantum
sanguine et calente in eo loto me posse mundari. Et secundum eorum dicta
aggregatis plurimis innocentibus infantibus, dum vellent sacrilegi paganorum
sacerdotes eos mactari et ex eorum sanguine fontem repleri, cernens serenitas
nostra lacrimas matrum eorum, ilico exhorrui facinus, misertusque eis proprios
illis restitui praecepimus filios, datisque vehiculis et donis concessis
gaudentes ad propria relaxavimus.
7. Eadem igitur transacta die, nocturna nobis facta silentia,
dum somni tempus advenisset, adsunt apostoli sanctus Petrus et Paulus dicentes
mihi: "Quoniam flagitiis posuisti terminum et effusionem sanguinis
innocentis horruisti, missi sumus a Christo domino deo nostro, dare tibi
sanitatis recuperandae consilium. Audi ergo monita nostra et fac quodcumque
indicamus tibi. Silvester episcopus civitatis Romae ad montem Seraptem
persecutiones tuas fugiens in cavernis petrarum cum suis clericis latebram fovet.
Hunc cum ad te adduxeris, ipse tibi piscinam pietatis ostendet, in qua dum te
tertio merserit, omnis te valitudo ista deseret leprae. Quod dum factum fuerit,
hanc vicissitudinem tuo salvatori compensa, ut omnes iussu tuo per totum orbem
ecclesiae restaurentur, te autem ipsum in hac parte purifica, ut relicta omni
superstitione idolorum deum vivum et verum, qui solus est et verus, adores et
excolas, ut ad eius voluntatem adtingas."
8. Exsurgens igitur a somno protinus iuxta id, quod a sanctis
apostolis admonitus sum, peregi, advocatoque eodem praecipuo et almifico patre
et illuminatore nostro Silvestrio universali papa, omnia a sanctis apostolis
mihi praecepta edixi verba, percunctatique eum sumus, qui isti dii essent:
Petrus et Paulus? Ille vero non eos deos debere dici, sed apostolos salvatoris
nostri domini dei Iesu Christi. Et rursum interrogare coepimus eundem
beatissimum papam, utrum istorum apostolorum imaginem expressam haberet, ut ex
pictura disceremus hos esse, quos revelatio docuerat. Tunc isdem venerabilis
pater imagines eorundem apostolorum per diaconem suum exhiberi praecepit. Quas
dum aspicerem et eorum, quos in somno videram figuratos, in ipsis imaginibus
cognovissem vultus, ingenti clamore coram omnibus satrapibus meis confessus sum
eos esse, quos in somno videram.
9. Ad haec beatissimus isdem Silvester pater noster, urbis
Romae episcopus, indixit nobis poenitentiae tempus intro palatium nostrum
Lateranense in uno cubiculo in cilicio, ut omnia, quae a nobis impie [peracta
atque] iniuste disposita fuerant, vigiliis, ieiuniis atque lacrimis et
orationibus apud dominum deum nostrum Iesum Christum salvatorem impetraremus.
Deinde per manus impositionem clericorum usque ad ipsum praesulem veni, ibique
abrenuntians Satanae pompis et operibus eius vel universis idolis manufactis,
credere me in deum patrem omnipotentem, factorem caeli et terrae, visibilium et
invisibilium, et in Iesum Christum, filium eius unicum, dominum nostrum, qui
natus est de spiritu sancto et Maria Virgine, spontanea voluntate coram omni
populo professus sum; benedictoque fonte illic me trina mersione unda salutis
purificavit. Ibi enim, me posito in fontis gremio, manu de caelo me contingente
propriis vidi oculis; de qua mundus exsurgens, ab omni me leprae squalore
mundatum agnoscite. Levatoque me de venerabili fonte, indutus vestibus
candidis, septemformis sancti spiritus in me consignatione adhibuit beati
chrismatis unctionem et vexillum sanctae Crucis in mea fronte linivit dicens:
"Signat te deus sigillo fidei suae in nomine patris et filii et spiritus
sancti in consignatione fidei." Cunctus clerus respondit:
"Amen." Adiecit praesul: "Pax tibi."
10. Prima itaque die post perceptum sacri baptismatis
mysterium et post curationem corporis mei a leprae squalore agnovi, non esse
alium deum nisi patrem et filium et spiritum sanctum, quem beatissimus
Silvester papa praedicat, trinitatem in unitate, unitatem in trinitate. Nam
omnes dii gentium, quos usque hactenus colui, daemonia, opera hominum manufacta
comprobantur etenim, quantam potestatem isdem salvator noster suo apostolo
beato Petro contulerit in caelo ac terra, lucidissime nobis isdem venerabilis pater
edixit, dum fidelem eum in sua interrogatione inveniens ait: "Tu es
Petrus, et super hanc petram aedificabo ecclesiam meam, et portae inferi non
praevalebunt adversus eam." Advertite potentes et aurem cordis intendite,
quid bonus magister et dominus suo discipulo adiunxit inquiens: "Et tibi
dabo claves regni caelorum; quodcumque ligaveris super terram, erit ligatum et
in caelis et quodcumque solveris super terram, erit solutum et in caelis."
Mirum est hoc valde et gloriosum, in terra ligare et solvere et in caelo
ligatum et solutum esse.
11. Et dum haec praedicante beato Silvestrio agnoscerem et
beneficiis ipsius beati Petri integre me sanitati comperi restitutum, utile
iudicavimus una cum omnibus nostris satrapibus et universo senatu, optimatibus
etiam et cuncto populo Romano, gloriae imperii nostri subiacenti, ut, sicut in
terris vicarius filii dei esse videtur constitutus, etiam et pontifices, qui
ipsius principis apostolorum gerunt vices, principatus potestatem amplius, quam
terrena imperialis nostrae serenitatis mansuetudo habere videtur concessam, a
nobis nostroque imperio obtineant; eligentes nobis ipsum principem apostolorum
vel eius vicarios firmos apud deum adesse patronos. Et sicut nostra est terrena
imperialis potentia, eius sacrosanctam Romanam ecclesiam decrevimus veneranter honorare
et amplius, quam nostrum imperium et terrenum thronum sedem sacratissimam beati
Petri gloriose exaltari, tribuentes ei potestatem et gloriae dignitatem atque
vigorem et honorificentiam imperialem.
12. Atque decernentes sancimus, ut principatum teneat tam
super quattuor praecipuas sedes Antiochenam, Alexandrinam, Constantinopolitanam
et Hierosolymitanam, quamque etiam super omnes in universo orbe terrarum dei
ecclesias; et pontifex, qui pro tempore ipsius sacrosanctae Romanae ecclesiae
extiterit, celsior et princeps cunctis sacerdotibus totius mundi existat et
eius iudicio, quaeque ad cultum dei [p. 73] vel fidei Christianorum
stabilitate procuranda fuerint, disponantur. iustum quippe est, ut ibi lex sancta
caput teneat principatus, ubi sanctarum legum institutor, salvator noster,
beatum Petrum apostolatus obtinere praecepit cathedram, ubi et crucis patibulum
sustinens beatae mortis sumpsit poculum suique magistri et domini imitator
apparuit, et ibi gentes pro Christi nominis confessione colla flectant, ubi
eorum doctor beatus Paulus apostolus pro Christo extenso collo martyrio
coronatus est; illic usque in finem quaerant doctorem, ubi sanctum doctoris
quiescit corpus, et ibi proni ac humiliati caelestis regis, die salvatoris
nostri Iesu Christi, famulentur officio, ubi superbi terreni regis serviebant
imperio.
13. Interea nosse volumus omnem populum universarum gentium
ac nationum per totum orbem terrarum, construxisse nos intro palatium nostrum
Lateranense eidem salvatori nostro domino deo Iesu Christo ecclesiam a
fundamentis cum baptisterio, et duodecim nos sciatis de eius fundamentis
secundum numerum duodecim apostolorum cophinos terra onustatos propriis
asportasse humeris; quam sacrosanctam ecclesiam caput et verticem omnium
ecclesiarum in universo orbe terrarum dici, coli, venerari ac praedicari
sancimus, sicut per alia nostra imperialia decreta statuimus. Construximus
itaque et ecclesias beatorum Petri et Pauli, principum apostolorum, quas auro
et argento locupletavimus, ubi et sacratissima eorum corpora cum magno honore
recondentes, thecas ipsorum ex electro, cui nulla fortitudo praevalet
elementorum, construximus et crucem ex auro purissimo et gemmis pretiosis per
singulas eorum thecas posuimus et clavis aureis confiximus, quibus pro
concinnatione luminariorum possessionum praedia contulimus, et rebus diversis
eas ditavimus, et per nostras imperialium iussionum sacras tam in oriente quam
in occidente vel etiam septentrionali et meridiana plaga, videlicet in Iudaea,
Graecia, Asia, Thracia, Africa et Italia vel diversis insulis nostram
largitatem eis concessimus, ea prorsus ratione, ut per manus beatissimi patris
nostri Silvestrii pontificis successorumque eius omnia disponantur.
14. Gaudeat enim una nobiscum omnis populus et gentium
nationes in universo orbe terrarum; exhortantes omnes, ut deo nostro et
salvatori Iesu Christo immensas una nobiscum referatis grates, quoniam ipse
deus in caelis desuper et in terra deorsum, qui nos per suos sanctos visitans
apostolos sanctum baptismatis sacramentum percipere et corporis sanitatem
dignos effecit. Pro quo concedimus ipsis sanctis apostolis, dominis meis,
beatissimis Petro et Paulo et per eos etiam beato Silvestrio patri nostro,
summo pontifici et universali urbis Romae papae, et omnibus eius successoribus
pontificibus, qui usque in finem mundi in sede beati Petri erunt sessuri atque
de praesenti contradimus palatium imperii nostri Lateranense, quod omnibus in
toto orbe terrarum praefertur atque praecellet palatiis, deinde diademam
videlicet coronam capitis nostri simulque frygium nec non et superhumerale,
videlicet lorum, qui imperiale circumdare assolet collum, verum etiam et
clamidem purpuream atque tunicam coccineam et omnia imperialia indumenta seu et
dignitatem imperialium praesidentium equitum, conferentes etiam et imperialia
sceptra simulque et conta atque signa, banda etiam et diversa ornamenta
imperialia et omnem processionem imperialis culminis et gloriam potestatis
nostrae.
15. Viris enim reverentissimis, clericis diversis
ordinibus eidem sacrosanctae Romanae ecclesiae servientibus illud culmen,
singularitatem, potentiam et praecellentiam habere sancimus, cuius amplissimus
noster senatus videtur gloria adornari, id est patricios atque consules
effici, nec non et ceteris dignitatibus imperialibus eos promulgantes decorari;
et sicut imperialis militia, ita et clerum sacrosanctae Romanae ecclesiae
ornari decernimus; et quemadmodum imperialis potentia officiis diversis,
cubiculariorum nempe et ostiariorum atque omnium excubiorum ornatu decoratur,
ita et sanctam Romanam ecclesiam decorari volumus; et ut amplissime
pontificalis decus praefulgeat, decernimus et hoc, ut clerici eiusdem sanctae
Romanae ecclesiae mappulis ex linteaminibus, id est candidissimo colore, eorum
decorari equos et ita equitari, et sicut noster senatus calciamenta uti cum
udonibus, id est candido linteamine illustrari: ut sicut caelestia ita et
terrena ad laudem dei decorentur; prae omnibus autem licentiam tribuentes ipso
sanctissimo patri nostro Silvestrio, urbis Romae episcopo et papae, et omnibus,
qui post eum in successum et perpetuis temporibus advenerint, beatissimis
pontificibus, pro honore et gloria Christi dei nostri in eadem magna dei
catholica et apostolica ecclesia ex nostra synclitu, quem placatus proprio
consilio clericare voluerit et in numero religiosorum clericorum connumerare,
nullum ex omnibus praesumentem superbe agere.
16. Decrevimus itaque et hoc, ut isdem venerabilis pater
noster Silvester, summus pontifex, vel omnes eius successores pontifices
diademam videlicet coronam, quam ex capite nostro illi concessimus, ex auro
purissimo et gemmis pretiosis uti debeant et eorum capite ad laudem dei pro
honore beati Petri gestare; ipse vero sanctissimus papa super coronam
clericatus, quam gerit ad gloriam beati Petri, omnino ipsam ex auro non est
passus uti coronam, frygium vero candido nitore splendidam resurrectionem
dominicam designans eius sacratissimo vertici manibus nostris posuimus, et
tenentes frenum equi ipsius pro reverentia beati Petri stratoris officium illi
exhibuimus; statuentes, eundem frygium omnes eius successores pontifices
singulariter uti in processionibus ad imitationem imperii nostri.
17. Unde ut non pontificalis apex vilescat, sed magis
amplius quam terreni imperii dignitas et gloriae potentia decoretur, ecce tam
palatium nostrum, ut praelatum est, quamque Romae urbis et omnes Italias seu
occidentalium regionum provincias, loca et civitates saepefato beatissimo
pontifici, patri nostro Silvestrio, universali papae, contradentes atque
relinquentes eius vel successorum ipsius pontificum potestati et ditioni firma
imperiali censura per hanc nostram divalem sacram et pragmaticum constitutum decernimus
disponenda atque iuri sanctae Romanae ecclesiae concedimus permanenda.
18. Unde congruum prospeximus, nostrum imperium et regni
potestatem orientalibus transferri ac transmutari regionibus et in Byzantiae
provincia in optimo loco nomini nostro civitatem aedificari et nostrum illic
constitui imperium; quoniam, ubi principatus sacerdotum et christianae
religionis caput ab imperatore caelesti constitutum est, iustum non est, ut
illic imperator terrenus habeat potestatem.
19. Haec vero omnia, quae per hanc nostram imperialem
sacram et per alia divalia decreta statuimus atque confirmavimus, usque in
finem mundi illibata et inconcussa permanenda decernimus; unde coram deo vivo,
qui nos regnare praecepit, et coram terribili eius iudicio obtestamus per hoc
nostrum imperialem constitutum omnes nostros successores imperatores vel
cunctos optimates, satrapes etiam, amplissimum senatum et universum populum in
toto orbe terrarum nunc et in posterum cunctis retro temporibus imperio nostro
subiacenti, nulli eorum quoquo modo licere, haec, quae a nobis imperiali
sanctione sacrosanctae Romanae ecclesiae vel eius omnibus pontificibus concessa
sunt, refragare aut confringere vel in quoquam convelli. Si quis autem, quod
non credimus, in hoc temerator aut contemptor extiterit, aeternis
condemnationibus subiaceat innodatus, et sanctos dei principes apostolorum
Petrum et Paulum sibi in praesenti et futura vita sentiat contrarios, atque in
inferno inferiori concrematus, cum diabolo et omnibus deficiat impiis.
20. Huius vero imperialis decreti nostri paginam propriis
manibus roborantes super venerandum corpus beati Petri, principis apostolorum,
posuimus, ibique eidem dei apostolo spondentes, nos cuncta inviolabiliter
conservare et nostris successoribus imperatoribus conservanda in mandatis
relinqui, beatissimo patri nostro Silvestrio summo pontifici et universali
papae eiusque per eum cunctis successoribus pontificibus, domino deo et
salvatore nostro Iesu Christo annuente, tradidimus perenniter atque feliciter
possidenda.
Et subscriptio imperialis:
Divinitas vos conservet per multos annos, sanctissimi ac
beatissimi patres.
Datum Roma sub die tertio Kalendarum Aprilium,
domino nostro Flavio Constantino augusto quater et Gallicano viris clarissimis
consulibus.
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