Letters to Cyriacus, Patriarch of Constantinople, to the Emperor Mauritius

In letters to Cyriacus, Patriarch of Constantinople, and to the Emperor Mauritius, St. Gregory the Great (Dvoeslov) expresses concern for the preservation of church peace and unity. In his letter to Cyriak, the saint congratulates him on his election to the patriarchal throne, reminding him of the importance of humility and trust in God in pastoral service. He emphasizes the importance of internal unity in the Church, calling for the overcoming of differences and the observance of brotherly love. In a letter to Mauritius, St. Gregory supports his decision to appoint Cyriacus as patriarch, noting his long experience and ability in pastoral management. These two letters illustrate not only the pastoral care of St. Gregory, but also his close connections with Constantinople and the Byzantine court. Contents I. To Cyriacus, Patriarch of Constantinople II. To the Emperor Mauritius I. To Cyriacus, Patriarch of Constantinople 1 Even then, when in the city of Tsar I fulfilled the position of intercessor of the Apostolic See, the virtues of your Holiness became known to the dream. Therefore, now that you have been entrusted with the care of souls, I am filled with great joy, and although unworthy, I beg, with all the prayers I can, of the almighty Lord, may He always return His grace to you, giving you the strength to collect the treasures of souls for the eternal fatherland. As for the fact that you call yourselves weak for the work to which you are called, we know that the first virtue is the knowledge of your weakness, and when we see this humble consciousness in you, we see in this very opportunity to fulfill the accepted service well. For we are all weak; but he is weaker who is unable to see his weakness. You, most blessed brothers, are strong because, without relying on your own strength, you trust in the power of Almighty God. How attached my spirit is to your love, I cannot express in words in a letter. But I pray that Almighty God, by the gift of His grace, will multiply our mutual love and remove every occasion for temptation, so that the Holy Church, united by the confession of the true faith and established on the consent of the hearts of believers, will not suffer any harm from disagreement between priests. For my part, in everything I say, in all my contradictions to the proud actions of some, by the goodness of the almighty Lord, I never leave to preserve inner love; but I fulfill the justice of the public court in such a way that I do not at all forget the duty of love and brotherly love. And you always repay me with love for love and remain peaceful, so that by being in unity in spirit, and not allowing any disagreement between us, according to the strength of this unity of our hearts, we can quickly receive what we ask from the Lord. I entrust to the goodwill of your Holiness John the Chalcedonian Presbyter and Athanasius of Lycaon. Do not allow any slander against them; for I carefully tested their faith, and found that they were Orthodox in their confessions, which they set out in writing. May the Holy Trinity cover you with its hand and make you forever vigilant and diligent in preserving such souls, so that as an eternal reward you can receive a crown not only for your work, but also for the improvement of those under you. II. To the Emperor Mauritius 2 Almighty God, who has made your Piety the guardian of church peace, preserves you by the very faith that you preserve in priestly unity; when you humbly subject your heart to the yoke of the Most High Goodness, then, by heavenly grace, you trample on your enemies with your courage. And it was worthy of no small reward that, after the departure of John, worthy of holy memory, from this life, your Piety did not dare to ordain a priest for a long time, postponed the ordination for a somewhat distant time and, with the fear of the almighty Lord, sought advice, so that the work of God would be arranged with great reverence. That is why I consider my brother and co-servant Cyriac, whom the long-term advice of your Piety brought to this position, to be very capable in pastoral administration. We all know how zealous he has been for a long time and how experienced he is in managing church affairs. Why do I have no doubt that this was arranged by a higher providence, so that the one who was a good doer in small things will worthily accept greater things, and from caring for affairs will move on to governing souls. This prompts us to diligently pray to Almighty God, that for this good He will reward the most luminous Sovereigns and their pious branch, both in the present century and during eternal reward, and grant the said brother and fellow servant of mine, appointed shepherd of the Lord’s flock, the strength to fully fulfill the duty of the guardian of souls, so that in his subordinates he will blamelessly correct the wrong and promote the growth of the right; We pray that your Piety’s decision about it will be valid not only before people, but also before the eyes of the Most High Majesty. Fulfilling the command of the Sovereigns, and because winter was soon approaching, we did not force the venerable men in our city - Presbyter George and Deacon Theodore - to hesitate any longer.