A letter from Gregory I, pope (September 597)

Translated letter:

Gregory to Brunhild queen of the Franks. How much your mind is confirmed by the solidity of its excellence in the fear of almighty God, you show, among the other good things which you do, also in your laudable love for his priests; and we derive great happiness from your christianity as you strive to increase in honors those you love, venerating them as truly servants of Christ. For it is fitting that you, most excellent daughter, should be such that you can be subject to the ruler. For in that you confirm the kingdom of your power to people subject [to you] and you subject the neck of your mind in fear of the almighty Lord, and as you subject yourself to the service of the creator, so you oblige your subjects more devotedly to your service. That is why, having received your letters, we declare that we wished very much to please the zeal of your excellence and send a pallium to our brother and cobishop Syagrius as you requested. On account of that and what our deacon who gave him the response of the church made known to us of the most serene lord emperor, the will is inclined and desired to grant this altogether, and many good things have been told us about our foresaid brother as much from you as from other witnesses, particularly of his life which we know from his fellow countryman John who came to us. And hearing what he did for our brother Augustine, we bless our redeemer, since we feel that he fulfills the name of priest also by his deeds. But several other things kept us from doing this except minimally. First, that the one who is to receive the pallium is entangled in the error of schismatics. Then that you wished it to be understood as coming from us not from your request. Moreover, he who desires to use it did not ask with a special petition addressed to us that it be given to him and we should in no way offer such a thing without his asking, particularly since the prior custom obtained that the honor of the pallium should not be given to one asking strongly except as merit demanded. We however rather than seem to wish to put off the desire of your excellence under some pretext of excuse, we have provided that the pallium be sent to our most beloved son the priest Candidus, so that he might bestow it in our place with appropriate observation. Whence it is necessary that our fore-mentioned brother and cobishop Syagrius, having made a petition with some of his fellow bishops, give it to said priest hoping that he may be worthy to obtain the use of the pallium with the grace of God. That this care may be fruitful to you before the eyes of our creator, let the sollicitude of your christianity watch diligently that no one under your rule be suffered to accede to holy orders by giving money or any kind of patrimony of persons or right of relationship, but that he be chosen for the office of bishop or other sacred order whose life and customs show him worthy, so that the honor of the priest not become venal, which we do not want, or that the simoniac heresy which first appeared in the church and was condemned by sentence of the fathers does not arise in those parts and, let it not be, threaten the strength of your kingdom. For it is a quite serious crime and worse than can be said to sell the holy spirit which redeems all. But, and let this be of concern to you, just as the outstanding preacher [Paul] forbids the neophyte to become a priest, as you know, so you must allow no one to be consecrated bishop from the laity. For what sort of teacher will he be who was never a student? What kind of leadership can he offer the lord’s flock who was not before subject to the discipline of the shepherd? If the life of someone were such that he was worthy to be promoted to this order he should first serve the ministry of the church until he saw by long experience what to imitate, and learned what to teach, so the novelty of conversion does not bear the weight of direction nor the occasion of ruin arise from immaturity of promotion. How your excellence showed itself to our brother and cobishop Augustine, how much charity, with God inspiring, it bestowed on him, we know from the reports of various faithful; giving thanks for which we beseech mercy of the divine power that it keep you under its protection and make you rule in eternal life as you do among men, after the course of many years. Strive, moreover, to recall to the unity of concord through your mercy those whom the error of schismatics cuts off from the unity of the church. For they do no more than turn in the blindness of ignorance up to now, unless they flee ecclesiastic discipline and have the licence to live perversely as they wish; since they do not understand what they reject or what they follow. We, however, venerate and follow the council of Chalcedon in all things, about which they assume clouds of pestiferous excuse and if one presumed to subtract or add anything from that faith, he would be put under anathema. But he who was sent to us by your excellency has so absorbed those stains of error that those who believe his ignorance flee the universal church and all four patriarchs not by reason but only by malicious mind, and when he was asked by us why he was separated from the universal church, professed himself to be unaware. But he did not know what he said or heard. This too we urge equally that you should restrain other subjects of yours under the regulation of discipline so they do not sacrifice to idols, worship trees, make sacrilegious sacrifices with heads of animals, since we have heard that many come to the churches of Christians and, what is unspeakable, do not give up the worship of demons. Since truly these things displease our God in every way and he does not dwell in divided minds, make sure that they are restrained for their own good from these illicit things so that the sacrament of holy baptism does not become for them, let it not be, punishment instead of redemption. If you know any who are violent, adulterers, thieves, or zealous in other perverse actions, hasten to appease God by correcting them, so that the scourge of infidel peoples which as we see is excited to the punishment of many nations is not brought on by you, lest, which we do not believe, the wrath of divine vengeance be moved by the action of the wicked and the pestilence of war destroy those deliquent whom the precepts of God do not recall to the path of rectitude. It is necessary therefore that with all zeal and assiduous prayer we hasten to be converted to the mercy of our redeemer, where there is a safe place and great security for all. For there danger does not grind down, nor fear rile up one who persists firmly. We are sending you the book [codex] just as you wrote with our foresaid most beloved son Candidus the priest since we are anxious to participate in the good of your study/zeal. Almighty God keep you under his protection and extend his arm to defend your kingdom from infidel peoples and lead you after a long course of years to eternal joys.

Original letter:

Gregorius Brunigildae reginae Francorum. Quanta in omnipotentis Dei timore excellentiae vestrae mens soliditate firmata sit, inter alia bona, quae agitis, etiam in sacerdotum eius laudabiliter dilectione monstratis; et magna nobis fit de christianitate vestra laetitia, quoniam, quos venerantes ut famulos re vera Christi diligitis, augere honoribus studetis. Decet enim vos, excellentissima filia, decet tales existere, ut subiectae possetis esse dominatori. In eo enim regnum potestatis vestrae et subiectis gentibus confirmatis, in quo timori omnipotentis Domini mentis colla subicitis, et unde vosmetipsas servitio creatoris subditis, inde vobis vestros subditos ad servitium devotius obligatis. Susceptis itaque epistolis vestris, valde nobis excellentiae vestrae studium placuisse signamus atque fratri et coepiscopo nostro Syagrio pallium dirigere secundum postulationem vestram voluimus. Propter quod et serenissimi domni imperatoris, quantum nobis diaconus noster, qui apud sum responsa ecclesiae faciebat, innotuit, prona voluntas est et concedi hoc omnino desiderat, atque multa de praedicto fratre nostro tam vobis, quam etiam aliis testificantibus ad nos bona perlata sunt, maxime vitam eius Iohanne regionario ad nos remeante cognovimus. Et quid in fratre nostro Augustino fecerit, audientes redemptorem nostrum benedicimus, quia eum sacerdotis nomen etiam operibus implere sentimus. Sed res plurimae restiterunt, quae nos hoc interim facere minime permiserunt. Primum siquidem, quia is qui pallium ipsum venerat accepturus scismaticorum errore tenetur implicitus. Deinde quod non id ex vestra petitione, sed ex nobis transmissum voluistis intellegi. Extra hoc autem quia nec is qui eo uti desiderat directa ad nos hoc sibi largiri speciali petitione poposcerat et tantam causam nullo modo praebere sine eius postulatione debuimus, maxime quia et prisca consuetudo optinuit, ut honor pallii nisi exigentibus causarum meritis et fortiter postulanti dari non debeat. Nos tamen, ne vestrae excellentiae desiderium sub praetextu cuiusdam excusationis forsitan videremur velle differre, dilectissimo filio nostro Candido presbytero pallium praevidimus dirigendum iniungentes ei, ut vice nostra, congrua id debeat observatione tribuere. Unde necesse est, ut ex opere suprascriptus frater et coepiscopus noster Syagrius facta cum aliquantis suis episcopis petitione hoc sperare atque eam praedicto debeat dare presbytero, quatenus digne eiusdem pallii usum cum Dei gratia valeat adipisci. Ut ergo haec vobis cura ante oculos creatoris nostri in fructu sit, christianitatis vestrae sollicitudo diligenter invigilet et nullum, qui sub regno vestro est, ad sacrum ordinem ex datione pecuniae vel quarumlibet patrocinio personarum seu proximitatis iure patiatur accedere, sed ille ad episcopatus vel alterius sacri ordinis officium eligatur, quem dignum vita et mores ostenderint, ne, si, quod non optamus, honor venalis fuerit sacerdotis, simoniaca in illis partibus heresis, quae prima in ecclesia prodiit et patrum sententia est damnata, consurgat et regni vestri, quod absit, vires inminuat. Nam grave omnino et ultra, quam dici potest, facinus est spiritum sanctum, qui omnia redemit, venundare. Sed et hoc vobis curae sit, ut, quia, sicut nostis, neophytum egregius praedicator ad sacerdotii regimen omnino vetat accedere, nullum ex laico patiamini episcopum consecrari. Nam qualis magister erit, qui discipulus non fuit? Aut quemadmodum ducatum gregi dominico praebeat, qui disciplinae pastoris subditus ante non fuerit? Si cuius ergo talis vita constiterit, ut ad hunc dignus sit ordinem promoveri, prius ministerio debet ecclesiae deservire, quatenus longae exercitationis usu videat, quod imitetur, et discat, quod doceat, ne forte onus regiminis conversionis novitas non ferat, et ruinae occasio de provectus inmaturitate consurgat. Qualiter autem se excellentia vestra erga fratrem et coepiscopum nostrum Augustinum exhibuerit quantamque illi sibi Deo aspirante caritatem impenderit, diversorum fidelium relatione cognovimus; pro quo gratias referentes divinae potentiae misericordiam deprecamur, ut et hic vos sua protectione custodiat et, sicut inter homines, ita quoque et post multorum annorum tempora in aeterna faciat vita regnare. Praeterea hos quos ab unitate ecclesiae scismaticorum error dissociat, ad unitatem pro vestra mercede studete concordiae revocare. Nam non aliud in ignorantiae suae hactenus caecitate volvunt, nisi ut ecclesiasticam fugiant disciplinam et perverse habeant, ut voluerint, vivendi licentiam; quia nec quid defendant nec quid sequantur, intellegunt. Nos autem Chalcedonensem synodum, de qua illi sibi pestiferae nebulas excusationis adsumunt, per omnia veneramur et sequimur et, si quis de fide eius minuere aut addere aliquid praesumpserit, anathematizamus. Sed ita illos erroris labes inbibit, ut ignorantiae suae credentes universam ecclesiam atque omnes quattuor patriarchas non ratione sed malitiosa tantummodo mente refugiant, ita ut is qui ad nos a vestra excellentia missus est, cum quaereretur a nobis, cur universali ecclesia separatus existeret, se ignorare professus est. Sed neque quid diceret neque quid audiret, valuit scire. Hoc quoque pariter hortamur, ut et ceteros subiectos vestros sub disciplinae debeatis moderatione restringere, ut idolis non immolent, cultores arborum non existant, de animalium capitibus sacrificia sacrilega non exhibeant, quia pervenit ad nos, quod multi Christianorum et ad ecclesias occurrant et, quod dici nefas est, a culturis daemonum non abscedant. Quoniam vero omnino Deo nostro haec displicent et divisas mentes non possidet, providete, ut ab his debeant inlicitis salubriter coerceri, ne, quod absit, non eis ad ereptionem, sed ad poenam sacri fiat baptismatis sacramentum. Si quos igitur violentos, si quos adulteros, si quos fures vet aliis pravis actibus studere cognoscitis, Deum de eorum correctione placare festinate, ut per vos flagellum perfidarum gentium, quod, quantum videmus, ad multarum nationum vindictam excitatum est, non inducat, ne, si, quod non credimus, divinae ultionis iracundia sceleratorum fuerit actione commota, belli pestis interimat, quos delinquentes ad rectitudinis viam Dei praecepta non revocant. Necesse est ergo, ut omni studio et oratione adsidua ad redemptoris nostri converti misericordiam festinemus, ubi tutus omnibus locus est et magna securitas. Nam illic quemquam solide persistentem nec, periculum conterit nec metus exagitat. Codicem vero, sicut scripsistis, praedicto dilectissimo filio nostro Candido presbytero vobis offerendum transmittimus, quia boni vestri studii esse participes festinamus. Omnipotens Deus sua vos protectione custodiat atque a perfidis gentibus regnum vestrum sui extensione brachii defendat vosque post longa annorum curricula ad gaudia aeterna perducat.

Historical context:

Gregory writes to Brunhild about a number of church related matters, simony, the appointment of laymen as bishops, schismatics, and idolatry. He also thanks her for her help to Augustine on his mission to the Angles, but he takes particular pains to explain why he will not send a pallium for Syagrius bishop of Autun except through the priest Candidus. This refusal to surrender a church function to a secular lord will be cited by Peter Damian in a letter to empress Agnes, explaining why the pallium she had requested could not be sent, ep.71 (Epistolae 128.html): “Brunhild, queen of the Franks was not able to obtain the pallium for her brother Syagrius, bishop of Autun, from blessed Gregory although he was good and just unless he went to be examined by the defender Candidus who performed the office of apochrisary [papal official] in those parts, so that he [Syagrius] showed worthy reverence to the Roman pontiff in his legate when he accepted the pallium.” Syagrius did get the pallium, see ep.9.213.

Printed source:

MGH, Gregorii Pape Registrum Epistolarum, ep.8.4, 2.5-8, and HGF4 ep.20 p.22-24

Date:

September 597