Velut alienae legis: una nota sui rapporti tra papa Vigilio e Totila nel 550

In 550, pope Vigilius sent a letter (Epistolae Arelatenses 45) to bishop Aurelianus in order to convince king Childebert to intercede with Totila and ask him not to harm the Roman church. The expression quippe velut alienae legis, which is included in this document, has often been connected with the Arianism of Totila, but a closer examination of the epistle shows that it refers to the Church of Rome instead, which the Ostrogothic king should not treat as if it were an heretic community. Vigilius chose these words in order to voice his concern that the properties of the Roman Church would be seized by the king, and not to stress Totila's Arianism.