(Updated June 26, 2025)
This Author Quote Archive collects pertinent quotes from the Church Father, St. Pope Celestine I (c. 376-432).
Next to each quote are the topic-based Quote Archives in which they are included.
This Quote Archive is being continuously updated as research continues.
Letters
St. Pope Celestine, Letter 19: To Emperor Theodosius II (431)1
QUOTE ARCHIVE | Christendom: The Spiritual and Temporal Powers, and the Conversion of the Empire
May the concern showed by your clemency suffice for the defense of the Catholic faith, which out of love for Christ our God, who directs your reign, you hasten to support in every way. By condemning the error of perverse doctrines you keep the faith pure and immaculate; in this you place the protection of your reign, knowing that your rule when protected by the observance of holy religion, will endure more firmly. But in virtue of episcopal office, each of us as far as he is able devotes his labor to the glory of this heavenly responsibility, and we are present at the council [of Ephesus] you have ordered in those whom we send, while we entreat your piety, as we appeal to the divine judgment, that your mildness should not give any scope to unruly novelty, and that no opportunity should be given to those who endeavor to restrict the authority of divine majesty within the limits of human debate–which would upset the peace of the church. The cause of the faith ought to be more important to you than that of your rule, and your clemency ought to be more concerned about the peace of the churches than about the security of all your territories. For success in everything else will follow if priority is given to preserving the things of God, as being still more dear. Abraham flourished through faith and 204 | 205 filled the whole world with the fame of his success; Moses, the liberator of his people, armed himself with zeal for the Lord against those who had departed form the true worship of God; and the Lord protected King David by subjecting his enemies to him, because in his reign he upheld the Lord’s commandments. Fortified by these examples, uphold by faith, vigilance, and power the universal church’s most pious worship of our God, lest dissension arrogate anything to itself. For your rule is assisted by every labor undergone on behalf of the peace of the church and the respect due to holy religion.
