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.
Sunday, 31 October 2010
In Need Of A Reprimand
Letter 1,81 - to Januarius, archbishop of Cagliari in Sardinia. August 591.
"Liberatus, about whom your Fraternity has spoken to us, and who is said to hold the office of deacon, if he was not incardinated by your predecessor, ought not to be put in charge of the deacons appointed by you for any reason, in case you seem to be critical of those whom you are known to have approved of by consecrating them, by somehow putting them under him.
And so at every instant restrain the aforesaid Liberatus from the depravity of his intention, as a spirit of ambition inspires him and he is in need of a reprimand.
Arrange for him to stand last among the deacons, in case while he strives illegally to put himself above them, he is judged undeserving of the rank which he now holds.
Yet if you were to be attracted by his obedience, and you wanted to incardinate him after this, remember that you must abstain from his incardination, unless he has earned the agreement of his bishop, as is the usual custom."
Cited from: The Letters of Gregory the Great, trans. John R.C. Martyn (Toronto: PIMS, 2004), I: 192.
"Liberatus, about whom your Fraternity has spoken to us, and who is said to hold the office of deacon, if he was not incardinated by your predecessor, ought not to be put in charge of the deacons appointed by you for any reason, in case you seem to be critical of those whom you are known to have approved of by consecrating them, by somehow putting them under him.
And so at every instant restrain the aforesaid Liberatus from the depravity of his intention, as a spirit of ambition inspires him and he is in need of a reprimand.
Arrange for him to stand last among the deacons, in case while he strives illegally to put himself above them, he is judged undeserving of the rank which he now holds.
Yet if you were to be attracted by his obedience, and you wanted to incardinate him after this, remember that you must abstain from his incardination, unless he has earned the agreement of his bishop, as is the usual custom."
Cited from: The Letters of Gregory the Great, trans. John R.C. Martyn (Toronto: PIMS, 2004), I: 192.
Wednesday, 27 October 2010
Differences on Money
Letter 1,80 - to Laurence, bishop of Milan. August 591.
"Receiving the letter of your Fraternity, I offered thanks to almighty God for relieving me with a longed for report of your good health. But you tell me that a certain quantity of money has been raised from the revenue of the patrimony of the Sicilian province, by the right of the sacred church over which you preside with God's authority, for the reason that at the same time, the revenue of the patrimony of your church was being collected by agents of the holy Roman Church.
And so it was necessary, you said, in accordance with the tenor of the letter sent by you, to examine the sum of money received and entered, and to track down the value of the whole account with care.
After examining this, it has been alleged that nothing was refunded to your church from the holy Roman Church.
But while your deacon, Constantius, has alleged something different to what had been argued by our people. the examination of the business became doubtful, and it could be aired more precisely if there were a person who could settle something firmly.
Therefore, it is necessary for your Sanctity to nominate a person over this matter, with whose help the Roman Church should settle something definitely."
Cited from: The Letters of Gregory the Great, trans. John R.C. Martyn (Toronto: PIMS, 2004), I: 191.
"Receiving the letter of your Fraternity, I offered thanks to almighty God for relieving me with a longed for report of your good health. But you tell me that a certain quantity of money has been raised from the revenue of the patrimony of the Sicilian province, by the right of the sacred church over which you preside with God's authority, for the reason that at the same time, the revenue of the patrimony of your church was being collected by agents of the holy Roman Church.
And so it was necessary, you said, in accordance with the tenor of the letter sent by you, to examine the sum of money received and entered, and to track down the value of the whole account with care.
After examining this, it has been alleged that nothing was refunded to your church from the holy Roman Church.
But while your deacon, Constantius, has alleged something different to what had been argued by our people. the examination of the business became doubtful, and it could be aired more precisely if there were a person who could settle something firmly.
Therefore, it is necessary for your Sanctity to nominate a person over this matter, with whose help the Roman Church should settle something definitely."
Cited from: The Letters of Gregory the Great, trans. John R.C. Martyn (Toronto: PIMS, 2004), I: 191.
Monday, 25 October 2010
For The Good Of Your Souls
Letter 1,79 - to the clergy and nobility of Corsica. Two equal letters. August 591.
"Although you yourselves are not upset that a church of God has been without a bishop for a very long time now, yet the care of the office we have undertaken compels us to think about its governing, and our affection for your Beloved selves very much obliges us to do so, knowing that the good of your souls depends at the same time on its proper guidance."
Cited from: The Letters of Gregory the Great, trans. John R.C. Martyn (Toronto: PIMS, 2004), I: 191.
"Although you yourselves are not upset that a church of God has been without a bishop for a very long time now, yet the care of the office we have undertaken compels us to think about its governing, and our affection for your Beloved selves very much obliges us to do so, knowing that the good of your souls depends at the same time on its proper guidance."
Cited from: The Letters of Gregory the Great, trans. John R.C. Martyn (Toronto: PIMS, 2004), I: 191.
Church Matters
Letter 1,78 - to the clergy, senate and people residing by the church of Bevagna. August 591.
"Whenever some matter is entrusted to several people to deal with, while each has a different view from the others, the door is opened to losses of money, rather that to profits. Foreseeing this, and so that is cannot happen at your church, we have decided that the church's care and profits should be entrusted to the priest Honoratus, for the present, so that the goods and services of the church can be looked after and guarded in every way by him."
Cited from: The Letters of Gregory the Great, trans. John R.C. Martyn (Toronto: PIMS, 2004), I: 190.
"Whenever some matter is entrusted to several people to deal with, while each has a different view from the others, the door is opened to losses of money, rather that to profits. Foreseeing this, and so that is cannot happen at your church, we have decided that the church's care and profits should be entrusted to the priest Honoratus, for the present, so that the goods and services of the church can be looked after and guarded in every way by him."
Cited from: The Letters of Gregory the Great, trans. John R.C. Martyn (Toronto: PIMS, 2004), I: 190.
Thursday, 21 October 2010
Your Appointment
Letter 1,77 - to Martin, bishop in Corsica. August 591.
"We ought to lend a kindly ear to those asking for justice, so that those seeking remedies find what they hoped for, and the pastor's concern does not fail the Church.
The church of Tania, in which your Fraternity has long been decked with priestly honor, has been so occupied and torn apart by the enemy's ferocity, due to our sins, that no hope remains of returning there any more.
So with this authority we have appointed you without hesitation as incardinate priest to the church of Aleria, that has long since been destitute of the support of its bishop, in line with the manner of your request.
Therefore, dispose and organize these things in accordance with all the precepts of the Church canons, with vigilant care and in fear of God, so that your Fraternity is glad to have obtained its desires, and that the church of God is filled with the reciprocal joy, seeing that you have become its incardinate bishop."
Cited from: The Letters of Gregory the Great, trans. John R.C. Martyn (Toronto: PIMS, 2004), I: 190.
"We ought to lend a kindly ear to those asking for justice, so that those seeking remedies find what they hoped for, and the pastor's concern does not fail the Church.
The church of Tania, in which your Fraternity has long been decked with priestly honor, has been so occupied and torn apart by the enemy's ferocity, due to our sins, that no hope remains of returning there any more.
So with this authority we have appointed you without hesitation as incardinate priest to the church of Aleria, that has long since been destitute of the support of its bishop, in line with the manner of your request.
Therefore, dispose and organize these things in accordance with all the precepts of the Church canons, with vigilant care and in fear of God, so that your Fraternity is glad to have obtained its desires, and that the church of God is filled with the reciprocal joy, seeing that you have become its incardinate bishop."
Cited from: The Letters of Gregory the Great, trans. John R.C. Martyn (Toronto: PIMS, 2004), I: 190.
Tuesday, 19 October 2010
Pastoral Care
Letter 1,76 - to Leo, bishop in Corsica. August 591.
"Pastoral care obliges us to help a church bereft of a priest's guidance with concerned care. And since we recognize that the church of Saona has been totally destitute for many years, since the death of its bishop, we have thought that the task of visiting it should be imposed on your Fraternity, as fas as its usefulness can be completed by your arrangements.
And in that church also and its parishes, we grant you the freedom to ordain deacons and priests. But with regard to them, be keen to examine them quite diligently, to ensure that none of them should be rejected by the sacred canons.
But those whom your Fraternity sees as worthy of such great ministry, recognizing their morals and actions as being in accord with this ordination, let it freely promote to the aforesaid office, with the permission of our authority."
Cited from: The Letters of Gregory the Great, trans. John R.C. Martyn (Toronto: PIMS, 2004), I: 189.
"Pastoral care obliges us to help a church bereft of a priest's guidance with concerned care. And since we recognize that the church of Saona has been totally destitute for many years, since the death of its bishop, we have thought that the task of visiting it should be imposed on your Fraternity, as fas as its usefulness can be completed by your arrangements.
And in that church also and its parishes, we grant you the freedom to ordain deacons and priests. But with regard to them, be keen to examine them quite diligently, to ensure that none of them should be rejected by the sacred canons.
But those whom your Fraternity sees as worthy of such great ministry, recognizing their morals and actions as being in accord with this ordination, let it freely promote to the aforesaid office, with the permission of our authority."
Cited from: The Letters of Gregory the Great, trans. John R.C. Martyn (Toronto: PIMS, 2004), I: 189.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
