Pope Pelagius I writes to Charles, the magister militum, regarding the Schism of the Three Chapters and the schismatic bishops.
[Pelagius Carello magistro militum]a
Quali nos de glorię vestręb studiis iudicioc gratulemur, non solum vestram, sed multorum ac pene omnium credimus habere noticiamd, et idcirco nunc de his quę vobis pręsentibus ibi fieri stupemus, fiducialiter apud gloriam vestram duximus conquerendum.e
Terciusf siquidem atque Maximilianus nomina tantum episcoporum habentes, et ęcclesiasticamg ibi unitatem [perturbare]h dicuntur, et omnes ęcclesiasticasi res suis usibus applicare, intantum ut contra unum eorum, id est Maximilianum, usque ad nos per tam longum iter, necessitate compellente, quidam infatigabiliter venientes, pręces offerrent.
Ob quam causam Petrumj presbyterum sedis nostrę, sedk et Proiectum notarium ad eadem loca duximus destinandos, ut ea quęl canonicis statutis a prędictis pseudom episcopis compererint fuisse commissan, vel digna debeant ibi ultione compescereo, vel eosdem ad nos usque perducerep.
Et ideo salutantes paternoq affectu gloriam vestramr, petimus ut pręfatis, qui a nostra sede directi sunt, in omnibus prębeatiss auxilium, nec putetis alicuius esse peccati si huiusmodi homines comprimunturt.
Hoc enim et divinęu et mundanęv leges statuerunt, ut ab Ęcclesięw unitate divisi, et eius pacem iniquissime perturbantes, a secularibus etiam potestatibus comprimanturz.
Nec quicquam maius est, unde Deo possitis sacrificiumx offerre, quam si id ordinetis, ut hi qui in suam et aliorumy perniciem debachanturaa, cumbb potenti debeant vigore compescicc.
a) om. CD; titulus epistolae C: Quod nullis sacrificium Deo a potestatibus gratius est ut scismatici episcopi ab obediendum coerceantur; titulis epistolae D: Quod nullum sacrificium Deo a potestatibus gratus est quam ut scismatici episcopi coerceantur ad obediendum. b) vestre D. c) iuditio D. d) notitiam D. e) Quali nos — conquerendum om. B. f) Techius B; Terentius coni. Gassó and Batlle. g) ecclesiasticam BD. h) om. CD. i) aecclesiasticas B; ecclesiasticas D. j) om. B. k) om. B. l) que B. m) seudo B. n) conmissa B. o) conpescere B. p) pervenire B. q) patenti B. r) om. BD. s) prebeatis B. t) conprimuntur B. u) divine B. v) mundane B. w) Ecclesie B; Ecclesię D x) conprimantur B. y) sacrificium possitis B. z) in aliorum B. aa) debacantur B. bb) cum potenti] conpenti B. cc) conpesci B.
The letter has nothing to do with Istrian bishops and as such there is little reason for including it in this collection of edited primary sources other than to demonstrate various dimensions of the Three Chapters Controversy that indeed gained ground in Istria. The main reason why the letter is included in FIM stems from Kandler's tampering with the document that ultimately produced many unnecessary distortions in Istrian historiography (cf. Kandler, Codice diplomatico istriano, 2nd ed. (Trieste 1986), doc. 23, p. 61).
Namely, Kandler took the text of the charter from De Rubeis's edition as featured in his Monumenta ecclesiae Aquileiensis commentatio historico-chronologico-critico illustrata (published in Venice in 1740). However, for some unknown reason, Kandler decided to "correct" the text and change the originally written Thracius into Euphrasius as in the contemporary bishop of Poreč that was indeed mentioned by Pope Pelagius I in one of his prior letters (see the document here). This "modification" further engendered methodologically incredibly flawed interpretations that Bishop Euphrasius was of Thracian origin, an argument rooted in Kandler's tampering. Many historians, including renowned scholars such as Conrad Eubel (cf. Hierarchia catholica medii aevi, vol. 2, p. 231), were led astray by Kandler's "corrections."
The primary sources do not corroborate Kandler's "thesis" and neither can the bishop Maximilian mentioned in this letter be dubbed the bishop of Koper as Kandler would have him. Instead, the two schismatic "pseudo-bishops" as the pope dubs them were most probably linked to the region of Tuscany as argued by Gassó and Batlle (cf. the pope's letter issued to brothers "Guadentio, Maximiliano, Gerontio, Terentio, Vitali et Laurentio per Tusciam Annonariam" edited in Gassó and Batlle (eds.), Pelagii I Papae epistulae, doc. 10, pp. 31-32); this opinion is also accepted by the likes of Giuseppe Cuscito and Rajko Bratož (cf. Selected Bibliography).
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