Letter 31: So that you may know what letters I've sent to the clergy in Rome and what they've written back to me — and also...

So that you may know what letters I've sent to the clergy in Rome and what they've written back to me — and also what Moyses, Maximus, Rufinus, Nicostratus, and the rest of the confessors in prison have replied to my letters — I'm sending you copies of everything. Read them carefully. Make sure, with as much diligence as you can, that what I've written and what they've replied is communicated to our brothers. If any bishops from other regions, or any presbyters or deacons, are currently with you or should arrive, let them hear all of this from you. And if anyone wants to make copies of the letters to take back to their own communities, give them every opportunity to do so. I've also instructed our brother Saturus the reader to allow copying to anyone who asks. The goal, for the present, is that everyone who is managing the affairs of the Church maintain one consistent and faithful agreement. As for the other matters that need to be addressed — as I've also written to several of my colleagues — we'll deliberate on those more fully in a common council, when, by the Lord's permission, we can all assemble in one place. I bid you, brothers beloved and longed for, ever heartily farewell. Greet the brotherhood for me.

Epistle 31