¹ To the holy and apostolic father in Christ, N., Pope, Columba, a sinner in Christ, sends greetings.

² For a long time, I have yearned to visit in spirit and to console all those presiding over the apostolic seat—most sweet bishops to all the faithful and deservedly the most reverend fathers of apostolic honor. Until now, however, I have been unable to fulfill this desire due to the various clamorings of this age and the tumultuous uprisings of nations that interpose themselves, as though I were trapped upon a plank amidst the sea. I have been hindered not so much by the harsh and impassable surface of the visible sea as by the intelligible one.

³ As you well know, numerous obstacles have been placed before me. Twice now, Satan has hindered the messengers of letters written by us to the blessed Pope Gregory of holy memory. These letters, which had been entrusted for delivery, are included in the present correspondence, to be offered to you for review. They were sent not out of pride, as might falsely appear from the wording—such a presumption would be diabolical—but rather in observance of the customs of our region. This requires the necessary proof of true reckoning, as the boundaries followed by the books of our province do not align with the books of these Gauls, which are not received by our teachers in two specific places. As much as we could, we made an effort in earlier letters to the aforementioned blessed pope to explain this presumption on our part.

⁴ I hesitate to repeat the same matters in writing to you now, in case I provoke annoyance rather than provide clarity concerning the teachings of both authors. Therefore, I place before you, as is fitting, with the due offices of respectful salutation, only these prayers: through our Lord Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit, and through the unity of our faith—which unites us in confessing One Father in heaven, from whom all things come; one Redeemer, the Son of God, through whom all things are made; and one Holy Spirit, in whom all things exist. We believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths that there is one God in the Trinity, and the Trinity in unity. Each person is fully Lord, and the three persons together are one Lord.

⁵ We humbly pray that your merciful judgment may grant us, strangers and laborers in this world, the solace of your decision. If it is not against the faith, may you confirm the traditions of our elders so that we may observe, in our pilgrimage, the rite of Easter as it has been handed down to us by our forebears, through your judgment. It is clear that we remain true to our homeland when we reject the rules of these Gauls, sitting quietly in solitude and bothering no one, adhering instead to the traditions of our elders. For the defense of these traditions, we have written to you, our apostolic fathers, as well as to our neighboring brethren—our fathers in Christ—these letters, commended to you by this document.

⁶ Since we have been unable to resolve this matter ourselves, due to the tumult of the times rather than sound reasoning, we ask for the mature judgment of your authority. With your decision, we may live among these neighbors in the peace of ecclesiastical unity, as the holy fathers, namely Polycarp and Pope Anicetus, once persevered without scandal to the faith but with full charity. They taught to preserve what they had received and to remain in the vocation to which they were called.

⁷ Farewell, sweetest Pope in Christ. Remember us in your holy prayers, beside the relics of the saints, and in your most pious decrees. In accordance with the decisions of the 150 fathers of the Constantinopolitan Synod, judge that the churches of God established among barbarian nations may live according to their own laws, as instructed by their forefathers.