St. Braulio of Zaragoza’s Letter 21 to Pope Honorius I regarding lapsed baptized Jews

Abstract

Braulio of Zaragoza’s Letter 21, a response to a now lost letter from Pope Honorius I, is most important for our understanding of the question of lapsed baptized Jews in Visigothic Spain. The letter addresses a series of very serious and harsh criticisms that the pope expressed against some bishops in Iberia and their alleged lack of proper ministry towards baptized Jews who had relapsed into their Judaism supposedly without any consequences. Braulio not only respectfully denied all of the charges he also expressed firm rejection of the pope’s harsh policy that he wanted them to adopt. The letter, however, has never been thoroughly studied as this article does. After setting forth the modern historiography of the letter and the divergent policies regarding lapsed baptized Jews it explores the biblical-theological imagery, its ecclesiology, the Petrine primacy, and lastly what this letter reveals about the relationship between the Iberian bishops and the See of Rome.