Resultados25 letters/passages
gregory_great · c. 591 · score 0.02
Book II, Letter 22 To all the Bishops of Illyricum [the Roman province in the western Balkans]. Gregory to all the bishops. It both gives us joy for your careful judgment and confirms the validity of your own ordination that the ancient order of custom has been maintained. We have learned from the letters you sent thro …
gregory_great · c. 590 · score 0.02
And yet even this is not enough; but something besides is said to be exacted according to a custom of many years. This practice we altogether detest, and desire it to be utterly extirpated from the patrimony. But, whether in this or in other minute imposts, let your Experience consider what is paid too much per pound, …
gregory_great · c. 595 · score 0.02
… dvised connivance that neither is the fear of God maintained there, nor are the imperial commands carried out. They add that in the aforesaid province, through the bribes of the Donatists, the Catholic faith is being openly sold. The distinguished Gennadius, on the other hand, has in turn lodged a complaint against one …
gregory_great · c. 590 · score 0.02
… contradict the orders of our most devout lords [the Emperor and Empress]. Those imperial orders had mercifully and gently removed many of the hardships suffered by landowners and citizens of the empire. We therefore ask you, at a suitable time, to present the case to our most devout lords in accordance with the just an …
gregory_great · c. 594 · score 0.02
Gregory to the Empress Constantina. Almighty God, who holds your devout heart in His right hand, both protects us through you and stores up for you eternal rewards in return for your earthly deeds. I have learned from the letters of my representative, the deacon Sabinianus, how justly Your Serenity has taken up the cau …
gregory_great · c. 592 · score 0.02
Book III, Letter 30 To John, Subdeacon [Gregory's representative]. Gregory to John. Since it is clear that the Apostolic See [the papacy], by God's ordering, is set over all churches, there is among our many responsibilities none we take more seriously than ensuring the proper governance of the churches that look to us …
gregory_great · c. 592 · score 0.01
Gregory to the Emperor Mauricius. Anyone who is not blameless in all he does and says toward our most serene sovereigns is guilty before Almighty God. I, however, your Piety's unworthy servant, speak in this appeal neither as a bishop nor as your subject by right of the state, but in a private capacity — for, most sere …
gregory_great · c. 594 · score 0.01
Gregory to the Emperor Mauricius. Our most devout and God-appointed sovereign, among his many pressing cares, also watches over the preservation of peace among the clergy with genuine spiritual concern -- rightly and wisely recognizing that no one can govern earthly affairs well unless he knows how to handle the things …
gregory_great · c. 603 · score 0.01
… rejoicing, we who are glad that the kindness of Your Piety has ascended to the imperial throne. "Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad" (Psalm 96:11). Let the whole people of the republic, so long and so grievously afflicted, grow cheerful at your generous deeds. Let the proud minds of enemies be brought …
gregory_great · c. 603 · score 0.01
… urdens of long duration have been lifted from our necks, and the gentle yoke of imperial authority has returned, one that subjects are glad to bear. Let glory be given to the Creator of all by the choirs of angels on high. Let thanksgiving be offered by men on earth. For the whole republic, which has endured so many wo …
gregory_great · c. 603 · score 0.01
… e yoke of sorrow has been lifted and we have come to times of freedom under the imperial authority of Your Benign Piety. That Your Serenity has not found a deacon of the Apostolic See resident at the court according to ancient custom is not due to any negligence on my part, but to the most pressing necessity. While all …
gregory_great · c. 593 · score 0.01
Gregory to Maximus, Pretender at Salona. Even if a man's life were otherwise beyond reproach, the crime of canvassing for office is itself condemned by the strictest severity of the canons. We have been informed that you, having either obtained a fraudulent order from the most pious emperors or simply fabricated one, h …
gregory_great · c. 594 · score 0.01
Gregory to the Emperor Mauricius. The generosity of my Lords, which has always mercifully sustained your servants, has shone forth here in so generous a supply that the needs of all who are weak and suffering have been relieved by your bounty. For this we all pray with tears to Almighty God -- who moved your Clemency t …
gregory_great · c. 594 · score 0.01
… e that he alone is a bishop and all the rest are nothing. I ask, then, that the imperial power prohibit this presumption, so that I may not be compelled to take measures that would sadden both me and the Church. Let the matter be resolved through Your Piety's wisdom, so that the peace of the clergy -- and through it, t …
gregory_great · c. 590 · score 0.01
I want you to correct whatever has been done in this way without delay. Slaves taken into church possession without trial should be returned before any trial, so that if the Church has a legitimate claim, the current possessors may then be dispossessed through proper legal proceedings. Correct all this permanently. You …
gregory_great · c. 591 · score 0.01
The value of the farmland produce matters little to me if fraud is mixed in. If it comes to my knowledge that you are lax about this, you will be held responsible. Furthermore, I have learned that the Jews in Catania have been complaining that they were expelled by force from the site of their synagogue, which they had …
gregory_great · c. 594 · score 0.01
If the captivity of my land were not growing worse by the day, I would gladly pass over in silence the contempt and ridicule directed at me. But what afflicts me deeply is that my being branded a liar means Italy is dragged further under the Lombard yoke daily. While my reports go unbelieved, the enemy's strength grows …
gregory_great · c. 600 · score 0.01
Gregory to Romanus, our defender in Sicily. It has been reported to us that our most reverend brother Bishop Basilius is entangling himself in lawsuits as if he were a common layman, wasting his time attending the civil courts. Since this conduct both demeans the man himself and undermines the reverence owed to priests …
gregory_great · c. 599 · score 0.01
… pastors. You mention in your letter that Maximus still has the goodwill of the imperial court and the love of the people. That does not turn me aside from my commitment to justice, nor will it cause my determination to uncover the truth to falter through any failing of mine. Magnificent son, everyone should strive to …
gregory_great · c. 594 · score 0.01
I should also inform you that I have received a letter from the most devout Emperor asking me to be at peace with my brother and fellow bishop John of Constantinople. I wish to be at peace with everyone -- and I am. But when John, in his arrogance, assumes the new and unprecedented title of Universal Bishop, effectivel …
gregory_great · c. 591 · score 0.01
Book II, Letter 23 To John, Bishop of Prima Justiniana [a major city in Illyricum/the Balkans, designated by Emperor Justinian as a metropolitan see] in Illyricum. Gregory to John, Bishop of Prima Justiniana. It is clearly a powerful testament to goodness when everyone's agreement converges on one person. Since the rep …
gregory_great · c. 594 · score 0.01
Was it not the case -- as you well know -- that the prelates of this Apostolic See, which by God's providence I now serve, were offered the title of "universal" by the venerable Council of Chalcedon? Yet not one of them ever accepted it or claimed this ill-advised name, lest by seizing the glory of singularity by virtu …
boniface · c. 719 · score 0.01
Finally, we command you that in admitting within the Church those who have some kind of belief in God you will insist upon using the sacramental discipline prescribed in the official ritual formulary of the Holy Apostolic See. Whatever means you find lacking in the furtherance of your work, you are to report to us as o …
gregory_great · c. 590 · score 0.01
Book I, Letter 61 To Gennadius, Patrician and Exarch [supreme military and civil governor] of Africa [the Byzantine province of North Africa, roughly modern Tunisia]. Gregory to Gennadius. That you constantly keep the fear of God before your eyes and pursue justice is proven by the defeated enemies at your feet. But so …
gregory_great · c. 592 · score 0.01
Book III, Letter 15 To Scholasticus, Judge [the imperial civil governor] of Campania. Gregory to Scholasticus, Judge of Campania. While we were deeply concerned about the city of Naples, which had been deprived of the comfort of a bishop, the mercy of God has not abandoned His people. We …