Resultados25 letters/passages
gregory_great · c. 590 · score 0.02
The barbarian invasions that continue to afflict Illyricum have produced a particular tragedy that I must address: bishops driven from their sees, wandering without resources, without community, without the basic means of life. This is a pastoral emergency, and I write to you collectively to demand a response equal to …
gregory_great · c. 597 · score 0.02
Gregory to all bishops of Sicily. Word has come of an imminent barbarian threat against Sicily. In response, I direct all bishops throughout the island to lead their communities in two weeks of litanies [solemn processions with prayer and fasting — a standard response to public danger in Gregory's church]. This is not …
gregory_great · c. 591 · score 0.02
Gregory to Jovinus, prefect of Illyricum. Word has reached me that a province which had been devastated by barbarian ravages is being restored and rebuilt under your governance. This news brings me genuine joy — not merely because the province is important, but because it suggests that the qualities of a good administr …
gregory_great · c. 590 · score 0.02
Even if no reason for writing to your Excellency presented itself, we ought nevertheless out of fatherly charity to be solicitous for your well-being, so that what we desire to hear about you we may learn through frequent messengers. Moreover, it has come to our attention that Blandus, bishop of the city of Horta, has …
gregory_great · c. 590 · score 0.02
My dear Leander — you of all people will understand what I am about to say: this office is a burden beyond what any man can rightly be expected to carry. The cares of it press on me daily, and the infirmities of my body, which never leave me, make the load heavier than I can describe. I long for the contemplative life …
gregory_great · c. 603 · score 0.02
We praise your writings, which breathe truth, charity, and humility — the three marks by which the genuineness of a Christian soul may be recognized. Those who live in solitude, like single combatants engaged in personal combat, are attacked with singular force by the ancient enemy. For the devil, unable to find allies …
gregory_great · c. 596 · score 0.01
Gregory to Innocentius, prefect of Africa. I have two feelings about your appointment as prefect of Africa, and I want to be honest about both. The first is genuine joy. I know you and respect you, and the knowledge that a man of your character and ability will be governing Africa is a source of real consolation. The p …
gregory_great · c. 602 · score 0.01
Your letter reached us at a time when we were burdened with many cares, yet we could not postpone our response to the matters you raised, for they touch upon the welfare of souls entrusted to our common care. You ask how to deal with the recent converts from paganism who still cling to certain superstitious practices. …
gregory_great · c. 597 · score 0.01
Gregory to the people of Milan. The church of Milan has endured extraordinary difficulties. [Milan had been largely abandoned by its bishop and clergy when the Lombards invaded; the Milanese church operated under constant pressure.] I am aware of this, and I do not write as though the difficulties are simple or the sol …
gregory_great · c. 591 · score 0.01
Gregory to Gennadius, patrician and commander in Africa. A man named Droculf has returned after being held captive by the barbarians. He has endured what I hope neither of us will ever be called upon to endure, and he has come back to us diminished in circumstances but, from all I hear, not in spirit. I commend him to …
gregory_great · c. 593 · score 0.01
Gregory to Chrysanthus, bishop of Spoleto. Two years ago we assigned to your fraternity the office of visitation of the church of Bevagna [Mevania], in which you were to seek out with diligence and energy persons who could be consecrated to the order of the priesthood there. Examine their lives and conduct with careful …
gregory_great · c. 600 · score 0.01
We address you on a matter of pastoral discipline that requires your immediate attention. It has come to our knowledge that certain priests in your diocese are admitting persons to baptism without adequate instruction in the faith. This practice, while perhaps motivated by zeal for winning souls, is dangerous and contr …
gregory_great · c. 592 · score 0.01
Those who with sincere intention wish to bring strangers to the Christian religion and the right faith ought to pursue this by gentleness, not by harshness, lest adversity drive far away those whose minds clear reason could have attracted. For those who act otherwise and wish under this cover to remove them from their …
gregory_great · c. 602 · score 0.01
Most serene Queen, the bearer of this letter is Hilarius, whom I send to you with confidence in your continued goodwill toward this see and toward the work of the Church in Frankia. He carries our message and our hope, and I ask you to receive him with the gracious welcome that I have come to expect from a queen who ha …
gregory_great · c. 595 · score 0.01
Gregory to Anthemius, subdeacon. Money was provided for the construction of a fort [the defense of Italian towns against the Lombards was a constant concern in Gregory's pontificate, and the church often provided funding for defensive works], and I have reason to believe that a portion of this money is held by Benenatu …
gregory_great · c. 600 · score 0.01
Gregory to the people of Ravenna. It has come to my attention that anonymous libels — placards placed at night — have been directed against Castorius. Whoever is responsible for this cowardly act is on notice: I take it seriously. Anonymous libel is an act of cowardice as well as injustice. Those who have genuine compl …
gregory_great · c. 595 · score 0.01
Gregory to the most excellent Queen Brunhild. A man named Hilarius is in need of the protection that only someone in your position can provide. I commend him to you. He has served the church's interests and deserves better than he has received. The details of his situation are known to those who will present this lette …
gregory_great · c. 592 · score 0.01
Gregory to Priscus, patrician of the East. If we truly attend to the course of this life, nothing in it should lift us up in prosperity or cast us down in adversity. I rejoice that the imperial favor has been restored to you, but I urge you to use this good fortune with humility, remembering that the same hand which ra …
gregory_great · c. 592 · score 0.01
We recall that your Magnificence, during the time you were here in the city of Rome, learned that Bonifatius, a former accountant, had by his established testament left a certain portion of his inheritance to the hospice situated at the church of the blessed Peter, prince of the apostles. And since we said we would exe …
gregory_great · c. 598 · score 0.01
Gregory to Smaragdus, exarch. The bishop Firminus has returned from the Istrian schism to the unity of the Catholic church. This is a matter for genuine rejoicing, and it is precisely what the church has been working toward through years of patient engagement with those who separated themselves over the Three Chapters …
gregory_great · c. 599 · score 0.01
Gregory to the estate managers [*conductores massarum*] throughout Gaul. Although you find yourselves placed amid the turmoil of foreign peoples, reason itself compels us to believe that you stand far apart from others in good conduct. For just as the name of Saint Peter, prince of the apostles, makes the household of …
gregory_great · c. 593 · score 0.01
Gregory to Maximianus, bishop of Syracuse. We have long since committed to your fraternity the authority to examine and correct ecclesiastical affairs in Sicily. The quarter portion of new revenues is to be distributed according to the canonical arrangement. A priest or other cleric is not to be made abbot unless he fi …
gregory_great · c. 596 · score 0.01
Pastoral care constrains us to attend with solicitous consideration to churches deprived of priestly governance. And therefore, since your church has long been deprived of pastoral governance on account of the bodily infirmity of its own bishop — as you yourselves know — moved by your prayers, we have not ceased to adm …
gregory_great · c. 591 · score 0.01
Gregory to Importunus, bishop of Atella. We believe your fraternity willingly embraces things that are wisely arranged. And since we have learned that the church of Holy Mary at Campiso, situated in your diocese, is without a priest, we have appointed the bearer of this letter, the presbyter Dominicus, to preside over …
gregory_great · c. 596 · score 0.01
Gregory to Fantinus, defender. A dispute has arisen between the bishops Sabinianus and Theodorus about expenses incurred for hospitality, and also about some property matters. I direct you to investigate both aspects of this dispute carefully and to work toward a resolution. Get the facts straight first. What happened, …