Letter to Michael Cerularius and Leo of Ohrid (In terra pax)
A long letter in the name of Pope Leo IX answering Greek attacks on Latin usages. It sets out the claims of the Roman see at length and quotes the Donation of Constantine in their support.
The letter answers Greek writings against unleavened bread and other Latin customs. It is addressed to Michael Cerularius and to Leo, archbishop of Ohrid, and shows what Rome was prepared to say on the eve of the legation of 1054.
Its theme is that the Roman church is the head and mother of the churches and is judged by no one. It rehearses the heresies of past bishops of Constantinople, quotes the Donation of Constantine at length as a genuine grant (chapters 13–14), and demands that the Greeks stop calling the Latins “azymites” and closing their churches (chapter 20).
Cited in
- AD 863 to AD 867, estimated date
- 16 July 1054, firm date