Letter to Rechared, King of Visigoths

In this letter to St. Gregory the Great (Dvoeslov) expresses admiration for Rechared, king of the Visigoths, for his role in converting the entire Gothic people from the Arian heresy to the Orthodox faith. The saint thanks God for the conversion of the Goths, equating the joy of this event with angelic praise. He warns Rehared about the danger of pride and the importance of humility, purity and moderation in government, and also admonishes the king to beware of the wiles of the devil, who seeks to take away the gifts of grace. I cannot express in words, my most excellent (excellentissime) son, how pleasant your deeds and life are to me. Having heard about the great miracle that is new in our days, that through your Highness (excellentia) the entire Gothic people, from the error of the Arian heresy, were converted to the stronghold of the Orthodox faith, I can exclaim with the Prophet: this is the betrayal of the right hand of the Most High (Ps. 77:11). And what, even a heart of stone, having learned about your deed, will not immediately soften, sending glory to Almighty God and being filled with love for your Highness? Such things of yours, I confess, are the most pleasant subject for me and frequent conversations with my children who gather with me, and shared surprise with them. Such things often arouse even in me indignation against myself, so that I, lazy and fruitless, stagnate in inaction at a time when kings, for the good of the heavenly fatherland, are working in collecting souls. Why am I imprisoned at this terrible test, the Judge of the future, if I appear empty there, where Your Highness will lead with him the flocks of the faithful, whom recently, through zealous and constant preaching, attracted to the grace of the true faith? But for me, good husband, by the gift of God, it serves as a great consolation that I love that holy thing, which I do not have in myself, in you. When I am filled with great joy about your deeds, then what is done through your work becomes mine through love. Therefore, in relation to the conversion of the Ready, both for your work and for our joy, we can exclaim with the Angels: glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will 1 (Luke 2:14). For we, I think, are most obliged to thank the Almighty Lord, because, although we did not work with you at all, yet, rejoicing in your work, we become participants in yours. And with what kindness Blessed Peter, the Supreme Apostle, accepted the gifts of your Highness, your very life clearly testifies to everyone. It is written: the vows of those who upright are pleasing to Him (the Lord) (Proverbs 15:8). For according to the judgment of Almighty God, it is not what is given that is worthy of attention, but from whom it is given. Therefore it is written: The Lord look upon Abel, and for this are his gifts; but Cain and his sacrifices are not heeded (Gen. 4:4-5). Here, before the words: the Lord has looked upon the gifts, the intention is placed: look upon Abel. Whence it is clearly seen that it is not the one who brings it according to his gifts, but the gifts according to the one who brings it, that were acceptable. Thus, you also demonstrate how pleasant your offering is to God, from the fact that before giving the gold, you, in the conversion of the people under your control, brought gifts of souls to the Lord. As for the fact that the abbots (abbates) you sent with your offering to the blessed Apostle Peter were forced by the violence of the sea to return from their journey to Spain, this shows not the rejection of your gifts, which subsequently came to us, but a test of the constancy of those sent, that is, whether they know how to overcome the dangers encountered with holy zeal and not weaken in spirit when the body is taxed. For contrary circumstances, opposed to good vows, do not mean a judgment of rejection, but a test of virtue. Who, for example, does not know how beneficial the voyage of the blessed Apostle Paul to Italy was? And yet, on his voyage, he suffered a shipwreck. But the ship of the heart remained unharmed in the waves of the sea. Moreover, I declare to you that the praise of God from your deeds was further increased by what I learned from my beloved son, Prester Probyn, namely, that when the Jews, against whose treachery your Highness issued a well-known decree, attempted to win over the righteousness of your spirit by presenting a large sum of money, your Highness despised this gift, and I wish to please the court of Almighty God, He preferred purity to gold. At the same time, the following act of King David comes to mind: when he desired water from the well of Bethlehem, which was then among the enemy troops, and the obedient soldiers brought him this water, he immediately said: God preserve me, if I drink the blood of these men in their souls (1 Chronicles 11:19). David, not wanting to drink this water, poured it out; which is why it is written: drink offerings are given to the Lord (2 Samuel 23:16). And so, if the water, despised by the armed King, turned into a sacrifice to God, then let us imagine what kind of sacrifice was made to Almighty God by that King, who, out of love for Him, did not want to accept not water, but gold? I will boldly say, most excellent son, that you poured out to the Lord that gold that you did not want to have contrary to His will. This is a great thing, and it is worthy to praise Almighty God for it. But at the same time, with vigilant diligence, one must beware of the deceits of the ancient enemy, who, the more he sees gifts in people, the more subtle he invents deceits in order to take away these gifts. For even small robbers seek to capture not empty travelers on the way, but those who carry gold and silver vessels. Likewise, on the path of real life, it is all the more necessary for everyone to beware of insidious spirits, the more he bears greater gifts. Therefore, it is necessary for your Highness, when he has such a great gift in converting the people subordinate to you, to preserve most of all, first, humility of heart, then purity of body. For if it is written: everyone who exalts himself will humble himself, and he who humbles himself will be exalted (Luke 14:11), then, obviously, he only truly loves high things who does not cut off his spirit from the root of humility. The evil spirit, in order to destroy what is good, often comes to the spirit of those workers whom he was previously unable to hinder, after the work has been completed, and in secret thoughts shakes it with some praises to it, so that this seduced spirit itself is surprised at the greatness of its work. And when our spirit, secretly puffed up, exalts itself, it is deprived of the grace of the one from whom it received the gift. Therefore, the prophet said against the proud soul: you trusted in your kindness, and if you committed a crime in your name (Ezek. 16:15). For the soul to trust in its own goodness means the same thing as to be proud of its own good action, and it commits fornication in its own name when in its good deed it seeks not the glory of the Creator, but its own glory. What to do in such cases? When an evil spirit, to exalt our spirit, brings to mind our virtues, we will always remember our evil deeds, so that we will recognize that it is our own sins, and that it is a gift from Almighty God, when we move away from sins. It is also necessary, when zeal for virtue, to preserve the purity of the body; for according to the instructional word of the Apostle, it is the church of God (1 Cor. 6:19). He says: for this is the will of God, your holiness, that is, as he immediately explains: keep yourselves from fornication, and lead everyone from you to acquire his vessel in holiness and honor, and not in the passion of lusts (1 Thess. 4: 3-5). Moreover, the royal administration itself in relation to its subjects must be combined with great caution and moderation, so that power does not delight the strength of the spirit. For then the government of the kingdom is good when the glory of the kingdom does not have spirit. We must also be careful not to become angry, and not to rush to do what we have the right to do. Thus, even when anger pursues the guilt of criminals, it should not precede the mind as a master, but should follow it as a servant, ready to fulfill only what is commanded. If he once masters the spirit, then he considers what he does with cruelty to be just, which is why it is said: the anger of a man does not accomplish the righteousness of God (James 1:20). And one more thing: let every man be quick to hear, and heedless of speech, and heedless of anger (James 1:19). You, I have no doubt, are observing all this with the help of God. But having the opportunity to exhort, I, as it were, secretly join myself to your good deeds, so that what you do without exhortation, having accepted the exhorter into the community, you will no longer do alone. May Almighty God cover you with His heavenly hand in everything you do and grant you prosperity in this present life, and eternal joy in the future, after many years have passed. From the most sacred relics of the blessed Apostle Peter, we send you a small key, in which iron is embedded from his shackles, so that what bound his neck for torment will free your neck from all sins. I also instructed the bearer of this letter to carry you a cross, in which is embedded the wood of the Cross of the Lord and the hair of blessed John the Baptist. May you have from this cross the everlasting consolation of your Savior, through the intercession of His Forerunner. To our most venerable brother and co-bishop Leander, from the see of the blessed Apostle Peter, we send the Mantle (pallium), to which we are prompted by both ancient custom and your customs, as well as the virtues and importance of him (the bishop). Long before this, your all-kind Highness, through one Neopolitan youth, ordered that I write to the Most Pious Emperor, asking him to find in the archives (in chartophylacie) those treaties that were decreed between the Sovereign Justinian of pious memory and the government of your kingdom, and thereby show what should be observed to you. But two circumstances presented me with a strong obstacle in this matter. The first is that the archive, during the time of the blessed memory of Emperor Justinian, burned so much from a sudden fire that almost not a single paper from that time remained. Another thing is that (which should not be announced to anyone) documents against you must be sought from you yourself and presented in my favor. Why do I ask your Highness to dispose as befits your customs (moribus) and try to do everything that relates to the world, so that the time of your reign will be remembered with great praise for many centuries - Moreover, from the most sacred relics of the blessed Apostle Peter, we are sending you another key, so that it will be placed in a worthy place, and everything that it finds with you will multiply with its blessing. So in the Latin translation, instead of: there is good will in men.