Quote from Letter 4,35 to Victor and Columbus, bishops of Africa. July 594.
The message of this consideration ought to force us powerfully to resist the diseases of the soul as far as is possible, quickly. Otherwise, while we fail to apply healthy medicines, they may rob many of you of your lives, with which we are striving to enrich our God.
We must therefore protect with vigilant care the sheepfolds of our sheep, over which we seem to have been placed as guards, so that the cunning wolf finds shepherds fighting against him on all sides, and has no way of getting into the sheepfold.
For indeed, we have found that the stings of the Donatists have disturbed our Lord's flock in those parts like this, as if they were not looked after by the control of any shepherd. And the report has come to us, which we cannot mention without heavy grief, that very many of them have already been torn by poisoned teeth.
Cited from: The Letters of Gregory the Great, trans. John R.C. Martyn (Toronto: PIMS, 2004), I: 315
Showing posts with label Donatists. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Donatists. Show all posts
Thursday, 16 February 2012
Monday, 6 February 2012
Donatists
Quote from Letter 4,32 to Pantaleo, praetorian prefect of Africa. july 594.
It is no light sin, therefore, if those who are condemned by both the integrity of our faith and the strictness of earthly laws, discover the freedom to spread in your times. And so in those parts, as far as we have learnt, the audacity of the Donatists, has so increased that they not only eject priests of the Catholic faith from their own churches, with pernicious authority, but also do not fear to re-baptize those whom the water of rebirth has washed clean with a true confession of faith. And we are quite amazed, it is is actually so, that wicked people of this sort should be allowed to do wrong, with you in charge there.
Cited from: The Letters of Gregory the Great, trans. John R.C. Martyn (Toronto: PIMS, 2004), I: 312
It is no light sin, therefore, if those who are condemned by both the integrity of our faith and the strictness of earthly laws, discover the freedom to spread in your times. And so in those parts, as far as we have learnt, the audacity of the Donatists, has so increased that they not only eject priests of the Catholic faith from their own churches, with pernicious authority, but also do not fear to re-baptize those whom the water of rebirth has washed clean with a true confession of faith. And we are quite amazed, it is is actually so, that wicked people of this sort should be allowed to do wrong, with you in charge there.
Cited from: The Letters of Gregory the Great, trans. John R.C. Martyn (Toronto: PIMS, 2004), I: 312
Friday, 21 January 2011
The Ancient Enemy
Letter 2,39 - to bishop Columbus. 23 July 592
"It is well known, dearest brother in Christ, that the ancient enemy, who first used cunning persuasion to depose man from the delights of paradise to this life of misery, and then in this act at once inflicted the penalty of mortality on the human race, is now trying with the same cunning to infect the shepherds of the Lord's sheep, pouring his poison through them, to capture their flocks more easily, and to claim them as already rightfully under his own control.
But we who, although undeserving, have received the government of the apostolic see in the place of Peter, prince of the apostles, are forced by the office itself of the pontificate to oppose our universal enemy with all the effort we can muster.
And so the bearers of this present letter, Constantius and Mustelus, presenting a petition, have suggested to us, as is asserted by the archdeacons of the church of Pudentia, that Maximian, bishop of the same church, in the place where he lives, has been corrupted by a bribe from the Donatists, and has allowed a bishop to be elected with a new license, although the Catholic faith prohibited this from continuing and persisting, even if an earlier use might have permitted it.
Because of this therefore we have thought it necessary to advise your Fraternity with the present letter that, when our private secretary Hilary reaches you, and a universal council of your bishops has been arranged, with the terror of a coming judgment before their eyes, the same affair should be examined with a careful and sagacious inquiry.
If the bearers of this letter endorse this charge, with documents pertinent to the aforesaid bishop, he must be stripped in every way of the dignity of the office he holds, so that he may return to the profits of penitence through the acknowledgement of his sin, and so other may not resume to try such things. For it is just that he who has sold our Lord, Jesus Christ, to a heretic, accepting money they say, should of course be removed from handling the mysteries of his sacrosanct body and blood."
Cited from: The Letters of Gregory the Great, trans. John R.C. Martyn (Toronto: PIMS, 2004), I: 217.
"It is well known, dearest brother in Christ, that the ancient enemy, who first used cunning persuasion to depose man from the delights of paradise to this life of misery, and then in this act at once inflicted the penalty of mortality on the human race, is now trying with the same cunning to infect the shepherds of the Lord's sheep, pouring his poison through them, to capture their flocks more easily, and to claim them as already rightfully under his own control.
But we who, although undeserving, have received the government of the apostolic see in the place of Peter, prince of the apostles, are forced by the office itself of the pontificate to oppose our universal enemy with all the effort we can muster.
And so the bearers of this present letter, Constantius and Mustelus, presenting a petition, have suggested to us, as is asserted by the archdeacons of the church of Pudentia, that Maximian, bishop of the same church, in the place where he lives, has been corrupted by a bribe from the Donatists, and has allowed a bishop to be elected with a new license, although the Catholic faith prohibited this from continuing and persisting, even if an earlier use might have permitted it.
Because of this therefore we have thought it necessary to advise your Fraternity with the present letter that, when our private secretary Hilary reaches you, and a universal council of your bishops has been arranged, with the terror of a coming judgment before their eyes, the same affair should be examined with a careful and sagacious inquiry.
If the bearers of this letter endorse this charge, with documents pertinent to the aforesaid bishop, he must be stripped in every way of the dignity of the office he holds, so that he may return to the profits of penitence through the acknowledgement of his sin, and so other may not resume to try such things. For it is just that he who has sold our Lord, Jesus Christ, to a heretic, accepting money they say, should of course be removed from handling the mysteries of his sacrosanct body and blood."
Cited from: The Letters of Gregory the Great, trans. John R.C. Martyn (Toronto: PIMS, 2004), I: 217.
Sunday, 31 October 2010
Discretion But..
Letter 1,82 - to Hilary, notary of Africa. August 591.
"Felicissimus and Vincent, deacons of the church of Lamigenum, presenting a petition that can be seen below, suggested that they had suffered a serious injustice at the hands of Argentius, bishop of the same city. In return for bribes, they said, Donastists had been put above them in their churches, and they recalled that among other wrongdoings, the bishop had committed another, serious crime, which it would be wrong to mention.
For the reason we thought that with the letter bearing this instruction, we should enjoin your Experience to commit the aforesaid bishop to a suitable pledge without delay.
Through your initiative a council should be formed according to the local custom and, with a thorough investigation, all things should be looked into, in line with the text of the petition presented, according to canon law and before both parties Whatever is decided by their judgement should be carried out in every detail, with you seeing it through."
Cited from: The Letters of Gregory the Great, trans. John R.C. Martyn (Toronto: PIMS, 2004), I: 192.
"Felicissimus and Vincent, deacons of the church of Lamigenum, presenting a petition that can be seen below, suggested that they had suffered a serious injustice at the hands of Argentius, bishop of the same city. In return for bribes, they said, Donastists had been put above them in their churches, and they recalled that among other wrongdoings, the bishop had committed another, serious crime, which it would be wrong to mention.
For the reason we thought that with the letter bearing this instruction, we should enjoin your Experience to commit the aforesaid bishop to a suitable pledge without delay.
Through your initiative a council should be formed according to the local custom and, with a thorough investigation, all things should be looked into, in line with the text of the petition presented, according to canon law and before both parties Whatever is decided by their judgement should be carried out in every detail, with you seeing it through."
Cited from: The Letters of Gregory the Great, trans. John R.C. Martyn (Toronto: PIMS, 2004), I: 192.
Tuesday, 19 October 2010
Dearest Brethren
Letter 1,75 - to all the bishops of Numidia. August 591.
"You requested from our predecessor of blessed memory that all the customs of previous times should be preserved for you, which he preserved over a long past, from the very first regulations of Saint Peter, the prince of the apostles, right up to now.
And we indeed, in accordance with the sequence of your review, allow any custom to remain unchanged, provided however that it is known to employ nothing contrary to the Catholic faith, whether about the election of primates and the other chapters, except for those which affect the episcopate from the Donatists, whom we prohibit in every way from being promoted to the rank of primate, even though their clergy might raise them to this position.
Rather let it suffice for them just to take care of the common people entrusted to them, but not even to go before those bishops whom the Catholic faith has taught in the bosom of the Church, and has brought forth for the culmination, which is becoming a primate.
You therefore, dearest brethren, anticipate our admonitions with the zeal of your love for the Lord, knowing that a very strict judge is going to be brought down to examine all we are doing, and he will approve of each one of us not for the privilege of a more sublime rank, but for the merits of our deeds."
Cited from: The Letters of Gregory the Great, trans. John R.C. Martyn (Toronto: PIMS, 2004), I: 188.
"You requested from our predecessor of blessed memory that all the customs of previous times should be preserved for you, which he preserved over a long past, from the very first regulations of Saint Peter, the prince of the apostles, right up to now.
And we indeed, in accordance with the sequence of your review, allow any custom to remain unchanged, provided however that it is known to employ nothing contrary to the Catholic faith, whether about the election of primates and the other chapters, except for those which affect the episcopate from the Donatists, whom we prohibit in every way from being promoted to the rank of primate, even though their clergy might raise them to this position.
Rather let it suffice for them just to take care of the common people entrusted to them, but not even to go before those bishops whom the Catholic faith has taught in the bosom of the Church, and has brought forth for the culmination, which is becoming a primate.
You therefore, dearest brethren, anticipate our admonitions with the zeal of your love for the Lord, knowing that a very strict judge is going to be brought down to examine all we are doing, and he will approve of each one of us not for the privilege of a more sublime rank, but for the merits of our deeds."
Cited from: The Letters of Gregory the Great, trans. John R.C. Martyn (Toronto: PIMS, 2004), I: 188.
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