CONCERNING THE PRIVILEGES OF THE FIRST JUSTINIANIAN ARCHBISHOP, AND THE PATRIARCHAL SEE OF ILLYRIA IN SECOND PANNONIA, WHICH IS NOW TRANSFERRED TO THE FIRST JUSTINIANIAN ARCHBISHOP.

  We, being desirous of conferring many and various benefits upon the province in which God first permitted Us to see the light, do hereby establish there the center of sacerdotal authority; intending that the temporal head of the first Justinianian shall be not only a metropolitan, but also an archbishop; and that his jurisdiction shall include other provinces, that is to say Dacia upon the Mediterranean, as well as Dacia Ripense, Second Mysia, Gardania, the province of Praevalitana, Second Macedonia, and that part of Second Pannonia in which is the City of Bacense. After the establishment of the Prefecture of Firmia, all the authorities of Illyria, civil as well as ecclesiastical, resided in that city; but after the time of Attila, when this country was laid waste, the Praetorian Prefect Appennius fled from Firmia, and took refuge in Thessalonica, where the bishop followed him; from which date the said city became the seat of the prefecture as well as of the episcopal authority. The bishop of Thessalonica, however, did not thereby obtain any prerogatives over the other bishops merely through the exercise of his own authority, but acquired supremacy by being in the shadow of the Prefecture. Now, as by the aid of God, the public territory is increased, and both banks of the Danube are occupied by towns subject to Our Empire, and Viminacia, Recidua, and Litterata, situated on the other side of the Danube, are subjected to Our dominion, We have deemed it necessary to establish in the province of Our birth the glorious prefecture formerly situated in Pannonia, for the reason that it is not far distant from Mediterranean Dacia, and Second Pannonia; and, moreover, while Our subjects were occupied with the hardships of war, the public welfare suffered because of the great distance which separated Macedonia from the seat of the Prefecture, it appeared to Us necessary to bring this seat nearer to the upper provinces, in order that they might obtain the advantages incident to its proximity. Hence Your Holiness, and all the prelates of the first Justinianian diocese, shall have the rank of archbishop and enjoy the superior privileges, power, and authority that this title confers over other ecclesiastics, and it will be your duty to ordain them; and you will enjoy the first sacerdotal dignity in all the aforesaid provinces, and the highest honors of the priesthood will attach to your See; the provinces will have no other archbishop; and you will, in no way, be subject to the Bishopric of Thessalonica. When any dispute arises between the judges and other magistrates, you and your successors must decide and finally dispose of it, without recourse being had to anyone else; and all the provinces above mentioned, while recognizing you as the head of the Church, shall obey your orders, whether they are issued by you personally and of your own authority, or whether this is done by members of the clergy whom you may designate for that purpose; for you are invested with supreme power, unlimited sacerdotal supervision and the right of appointment. We desire Your Highness to select a bishop for the City of Aquis, situated in the province of Dacia Ripense, so that the said city may no longer be subject to the spiritual jurisdiction of the Bishop of Southern Thrace, as We "desire that his authority shall only be exerted in the South, and, under no circumstances, at Aquis. The Bishop of Aquis shall have that city with all its castles, territory, and churches under his jurisdiction, so that he can banish the heresy of the Bono-sians from that city and country, and bring them into the orthodox faith. We communicate this law to your venerated See, in order that Your Holiness may become acquainted with these provisions, and that the church of Our country may forever preserve the remembrance of a benefit which We have bestowed upon it for the glory of Omnipotent God. When anyone who happens to occupy your See shall have departed from life, We order that his successor shall be ordained by the Venerated Council of Metropolitans; and, as it is proper for the archbishop to be honored by all the churches of his jurisdiction, the archbishop of Thessalonica shall not be allowed to participate in the proceedings of the said Council.

  Your Holiness will not delay to see that this law is carried into execution.