Brief of Pope Sixtus V adding elements of the papal coat of arms to the coat of arms of the city of Lviv

POPE SIXTUS V. Beloved sons, greetings and apostolic blessing. Our venerable brother Jan Dymitr, Archbishop of Lviv, father and shepherd of your souls, has recently presented to us your pious thought and intention, according to which you greatly desire that the coat of arms of your city of Lviv, which converges with our coat of arms in the lion, be decorated and honored by us with a certain gift. We, wishing to grant this pious and devout desire of yours for the greater glory of Almighty God and for the adornment of the Holy Roman Church, and in eternal memory of our special love for you, having been moved by your requests and those of the aforementioned Archbishop Dymitr, by apostolic authority and by virtue of this [letter], we forever introduce and add to the lion of the said city in your common coat of arms three hills and a star, taken from the coat of arms of our lion; trusting that you, strengthened by the mystical protection of that star and hills, will achieve the desired victory over your enemies, with whom constant war must be waged. For the weapons of our warfare (as the Apostle says) are not carnal, but have the power of God to demolish strongholds, destroying arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and taking every thought captive to obey Christ, and being ready to punish every disobedience. For what else should be understood by the Lion, if not Christ, according to that [word] from the Apocalypse, ch. 5: "The Lion of the tribe of Judah has conquered"; and from Amos, ch. 3: "The lion has roared, who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken, who can but prophesy?"; of whom it is also [written] in the Book of Numbers, ch. 23: "he crouched, he lay down like a lion". What by the hills, if not the Catholic Church built on a firm rock in the confession of the Most Holy Trinity, according to that [word] of Isaiah, ch. 2: "The mountain of the house of the Lord [shall be] established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, and many peoples shall come, and say: Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways". What, finally, does the star mean, if not the Most Holy Virgin Mary, who as the mother of grace and mother of mercy, a zealous intercessor for the salvation of the faithful, her combatants, intercedes with Christ, the true Lion, whom she fed with her maternal breasts, as in the Book of Numbers, ch. 24: "A star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel, and shall strike the chiefs of Moab". Take, therefore, sons of blessing, the model of your coat of arms presented here in images, and carry it against all your visible and invisible enemies, so that, supported by such help, after you have achieved victory over both enemies in this world, you may attain the rewards of heavenly grace in the future age. And since it may happen that this emblem of ours, introduced and added to your coat of arms, might better suit and serve the public good and the Christian religion if arranged differently than it has been depicted, depending on the circumstances of time, the location of places, and the nature of the thing itself, we hereby grant and bestow upon you the power and authority to introduce, add, and place it according to your pleasure – where, when, and how it seems more appropriate, notwithstanding any contrary [provisions]. Given in Rome at Saint Mark's under the Fisherman's Ring on the 15th day of September 1586, in the second year of our pontificate. [Secretary's signature:] Tho: Thom: Gualterutius. [Below the text are two heraldic miniatures:] [1. On the left, in an oval cartouche with golden volutes on a blue background, a rampant golden lion holding in its paw a branch with three hills and an eight-pointed star – the coat of arms of Sixtus V (Peretti).] [2. On the right, in an oval cartouche, the coat of arms of the city of Lviv: red city walls with three towers with blue roofs, in the open gate a rampant lion with hills and a star in its paws.] [Verso:] [Address:] To our beloved sons, the community and inhabitants of the city of Lviv. [Chancery and archival notes:] Arca 20. [and other old signatures] [Ink stamp:] ARCHIVE OF ANCIENT ACTS OF THE CITY OF LVIV [Trace of a seal under the wafer / sub annulo Piscatoris]

SIXTVS PP. V. Dilecti filij salutem, et apostolicam benedictionem. Aperuit nobis nuper uenerabilis fr[ater] Joannes Demetrius Archiep[iscop]us Leopolien[sis] pater, et pastor animar[um] uestrar[um], piam mentem, et intentionem uestram, qua magnopere cupitis, ut insignia Ciuitatis uestrae Leopolien[sis], quae cum n[ost]ris insignibus in Leone conueniunt per nos aliquo munere decorentur, ac illustrentur. Nos huic uestro pio, ac deuoto desiderio ad maiorem Omnipotentis Dei gloriam, et Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae decus, ac sempiternam erga nos eximiae caritatis nostrae memoriam annuere cupientes, uestrisq[ue], ac dicti Demetrij Archiep[iscop]i supplicationibus inclinati, Leoni dictae Ciuitatis communibus insignibus uestris, tres monticulos, et stellam de Leonis n[ost]ri stemmate desumptos apl[ic]a authoritate tenore pr[ae]sentium perpetuo inserimus, et adiungimus; sperantes fore ut uos h[uius]m[od]i stella et montium mystico praesidio muniti de inimicis uestris, quibuscum bellum continuum gerendum est, exoptatam uictoriam reportetis. Arma siquidem militiae n[ost]rae (ut Apostolus ait) non sunt carnalia, sed potentia Deo ad destructionem munitionum, consilia destruentes, et omnem altitudinem extollentem se aduersus scientiam Dei, et in captiuitatem redigentes omnem intellectum in obsequium Christi, et in promptu habentes ulcisci omnem inobedientiam. Quid n[am] aliud per Leonem intelligi debet, nisi Christus iuxta illud Apocalypsis v. uicit Leo de tribu Juda; et Amos c. iij. Leo rugit quis non timebit? Dn[u]s locutus est, quis non euangelizabit? de quo et Num. c. xxiij accubans dormiuit ut leo. Quid per monticulos nisi Ecclesia catholica super aedificata supra firmam petram in confessione Sanctissimae Trinitatis iuxta illud Isaiae. c. ij. Mons domus D[omi]ni in uertice montium, et eleuabitur super omnes colles, et fluent ad eam omnes gentes, et ibunt populi multi, et dicent uenite ascendamus ad montem D[omi]ni ad domum Dei Jacob, et docebit nos uias suas. Quid deniq[ue] per stellam designatur nisi Beatissima Virgo Maria, quae et mater gra[ti]ae et mater misericordiae pro salute fidelium suor[um] athletarum sedula exoratrix ad Christum uerum Leonem, quem maternis lactauit uberibus, intercedit ut Num. c. xxiiij Orietur stella ex Jacob, et consurget uirga de Israel et percutiet Duces Moab. Sumite ergo uos benedictionis filij exemplar insignium uestrorum partibus hic expressum: illudq[ue] contra quoscunq[ue] inimicos uestros uisibiles, et inuisibiles gerite ut eiusmodi adminiculo inixi post adeptam a uobis de utroque hoste in hoc mundo uictoriam praemia coelestis gratiae in alio seculo consequi possitis. Quoniam uero contingere potest, ut n[ost]ra haec insignia uestris insignibus aliter quam repraesententur inserta, et adiuncta secundum temporum conditionem, locorum situationem, ac ipsius rei qualitatem magis decori publico, et christianae religioni congruere et inseruire ualeant, uobis illa ad libitum uestrum ubi, quando et quomodo uidebitur decentius, inserendi, adiungendi, et collocandi facultatem, et authoritatem per p[rae]sentes concedimus, et impartimur, contrarijs non obstantibus quibuscunq[ue]. Datum Romae apud sanctum Marcum sub annulo Piscatoris die. xv. Septembris M. D. LXXXVI Pont[ificatus] Anno Secundo. [Podpis sekretarza:] Tho: Thom: Gualterutius . [Poniżej tekstu dwie miniatury herbowe:] [1. Po lewej w owalnym kartuszu ze złotymi wolutami na błękitnym tle wspięty złoty lew trzymający w łapie gałązkę z trzema wzgórzami i ośmiopromienną gwiazdą – herb Sykstusa V (Peretti).] [2. Po prawej w owalnym kartuszu herb miasta Lwowa: czerwone mury miejskie z trzema wieżami o niebieskich dachach, w otwartej bramie lew wspięty ze wzgórzami i gwiazdą w łapach.] [Verso:] [Adres:] Dilectis filijs Communitati, et Hominibus Ciuitatis Leopolien[sis] . [Noty kancelaryjne i archiwalne:] Arca 20. [oraz inne dawne sygnatury] [Pieczęć tuszowa:] ARCHIWUM AKT DAWNYCH MIASTA LWOWA [Ślad po pieczęci pod opłatkiem / sub annulo Piscatoris]