Letter to Mauritius Augustus

This collection of letters to St. Gregory the Great (Dvoeslov) covers the period from 593 to 603. and was addressed to various recipients, including Emperor Augustus of Mauritius, bishops, patricians, and even manumitted servants. The letters reveal a wide range of issues that worried the Church and society of that time: from the relationship between church and secular authorities to the resolution of specific legal and moral dilemmas. The letter to Mauritius Augustus addresses the issue of the role of the state in regulating church life and emphasizes the need for harmony between secular and spiritual authorities. St. Gregory expresses disagreement with the imperial decree limiting the possibility of joining the monastery for former soldiers and civil servants, believing that this interferes with the salvation of souls. Letters to Montana and Thomas (about the emancipation of slaves) and to Defensor Roman (about returning a home to an orphan) testify to the Church’s desire to protect the oppressed and disadvantaged, showing mercy and care for those in need. St. Gregory is ready to soften the severity of church laws in order to help the poor and orphans. In letters to patricia Theoktista and Bishop Augustine (about marriage relations) to St. Gregory recognizes the imperfection of human nature and allows a certain leniency for past sins committed out of ignorance. Letters to Bishop Januarius (about the will of a nun) and Defensor John (about the investigation of the bishop’s case) concern issues of managing church property, maintaining the law and maintaining discipline in the church environment. Contents Gregory I the Great August 593 Gregory to Mauritius Augustus September 595 Gregory to Montane and Thomas October-November 598 Gregory to Defensor Romanu July 599 Gregory to Bishop Januarius of Cagliari February 601 Gregory to Patricia Theoctiste July 601 Gregory to Bishop (English) Augustine August 603 Gregory Defensor John, heading to Spain Pope Gregory I the Great (590–604), one of the four Western Church Fathers, was descended from a noble Roman family that had played a prominent role in the Roman Church for generations. Before retiring to the monastery, Gregory the Great served as the highest master in Rome, prefect of the city. Subsequently, having become pope, he proved himself to be an extremely active head of the Roman Church: he not only managed its vast estates, but also took charge of the inhabitants of Rome and its environs. Of the business correspondence he conducted throughout his pontificate, 866 messages have survived. They serve as clear evidence of the application of Roman law in the practical activities of the church: they identified 74 obvious and 54 hidden quotations from the “Corpus juris civilis”. Remaining a subject of the Byzantine emperor, Gregory the Great did not imagine any other legal basis for public order than imperial law, therefore, compliance with the rules of law in force on the territory of the Roman Empire and the legal division of powers of the state and the church was a matter of primary concern for the pope. According to Roman law, the church was given jurisdiction over matters of faith, internal church discipline, civil and partly criminal cases in which the clergy or people who fell under church jurisdiction were involved. Gregory the Great allowed himself to go beyond its limits only in exceptional cases: 1) when imperial laws threatened church order, for example, the law of the Emperor of Mauritius, which prohibited government officials and soldiers from taking monastic vows; 2) when they diverged from church regulations, for example, laws establishing the conditions for concluding or dissolving a marriage; 3) when mercy required their mitigation. Many of Gregory the Great's epistles and passages from his writings were included in the Decretum Gratiani and thus in the Corpus juris canonici, forming the basis of canon law. Gregory the Great left behind a number of creations that had a significant impact on European culture. First of all, these are “Dialogues on the life and miracles of the holy Italian fathers,” for which he received the nickname Two Words (Dialogues-Double Words) in the Eastern tradition, and “Pastoral Rule,” i.e., a guide for shepherds. The Anthology publishes translations of some of the messages of Gregory the Great, demonstrating the pope's attitude to Roman law and its application in church practice. August 593 Gregory to Mauritius Augustus 1 He is guilty before Almighty God who is not sincere in word and deed before his most illustrious monarch. I, your Lordship’s unworthy servant, express my advice not as a bishop, nor as a servant by state law, but as a servant by personal law, since, my most illustrious sovereign, you were my master before you became the general master. (...) The law of the sovereign established that none of those involved in public administration should hold any ecclesiastical office. I fully approved of this decree, realizing in the most obvious way that a person who, having abandoned worldly clothing, hastens to move to an ecclesiastical position, seeks not to abandon his worldly state, but to modify it. But when the same law says that such a person is forbidden to retire to a monastery, I am extremely surprised, since his account can be made in the monastery, and it can be arranged so that even his debts will be assumed by the institution into which he was admitted. (...) This law further adds that no one who has been marked on the hand 2 is allowed to retire to a monastery. I confess to my lord that I was seriously struck by this institution, because it closes the way to heaven for many and prohibits what has hitherto been permitted. Without a doubt, there are many people who can achieve religious life in secular clothes, but there are more of those who, if they do not abandon everything, will certainly not be able to find salvation from God. (...) Since I feel that this constitution is directed against the Creator of everything, God, I cannot remain silent before the sovereign. For power over all people was given by the Almighty to your mercy in order to promote those who strive for good, so that the road to heaven opens wider, so that the earthly kingdom serves the kingdom of heaven. And so it is said openly that he who has once been enlisted in the earthly army is not allowed to become a soldier of Christ until then. until his earthly service ends or he is written off due to poor health. (...) I, your unworthy servant, know how many warriors converted to the monastery worked miracles and performed signs and valiant deeds in my lifetime. And now this law prohibits any of them from having the opportunity to convert. I ask that my sovereign find out which emperor was the first to issue such a law 3 and weigh more carefully whether it is right for him to issue such a law. (...) If He is a [Terrible Judge| will forgive all sins and only this law passed against him will impute guilt, which, I ask, will then be an excuse. (...) I pray (...) your mercy, either by interpretation or modification, to soften the severity of the law. I, obeying the order, will make sure that this law is sent to different ends of the earth, and since the law itself is least pleasing to God, I sent this piece of my thoughts to the Most Serene Sovereign. Therefore, in both one and the other, I do what I must: I obey the emperor, and for the benefit of God I do not remain silent about what I think 4 . September 595 Gregory to Montane and Thomas When our Savior, the Organizer of all creation, (...) wanted to clothe himself in human flesh, in order, through his divinity, to restore us to freedom, dissolving the bonds of the former slavery in which we, fearful, are held, it is reasonable that men, whom nature at first produces free, and the right of nations places under the yoke of slavery, are set free out of mercy, return to the state in which they were born. Also moved to this by mercy and consideration of this matter, you, Montana and Thomas, servants of the Holy Roman Church, which we also serve by God's will, from this day we make you free and Roman citizens and release to you all your peculium 5 . (...) We dictated this written document of manumission to the notary Paterius and signed it with our own hand, together with three presbyters-priors and thundering deacons, for the fullest confirmation of it and handed it over to you. October-November 598 Gregory to Defensor Romanu 6 Although the law does not allow alienation of what falls into the power of the church, the severity of the prohibition should sometimes be moderated if mercy prompts it, especially when the extent is such that it will not burden the giver and will somehow ease the lot of the taker. The giver of this. Stefania, with her little son Kallixep, whom she said she once fathered with her husband Peter, declared that she was living in extreme poverty. Having come here, in persistent prayers and tears, she asks us that the house in the city of Catana, which the mother-in-law of Mammonia, the grandmother of the above-mentioned Callixenus, gave to our church under the title of 7 donations, we would order to return to this Callixenus. At the same time, she claims that the aforementioned Mammonia did not have the right to alienate him, and he was entirely in the power of the above-mentioned Callixenus, her son. In which case, our beloved son Deacon Cyprian 8, who investigated the case, raised objections, declaring that the complaint of the above-mentioned woman was unfounded and she could not demand the transfer or return of this house to the possession of her son. However, in order not to leave the tears of the above-mentioned woman in vain and so that it does not seem that we are following the path of severity rather than devoting ourselves to works of mercy, we order you by this injunction that the said house (for, as is known, it is located there in Sicily), together with the donation made by Mammonia from this house, you must return to the repeatedly named Callixenes. After all, as we said, it is better not to follow severity in doubt, but rather to lean towards gentleness, especially when, because of a concession in a small matter, the church is not burdened, and help is mercifully provided to the orphan and the poor. July 599 Gregory to Bishop Januarius of Cagliari A clear definition of the law establishes that those who retire to a monastery because of their conversion are no longer granted any right of testament, and their property passes under the authority of this monastery. At a time when almost everyone knows this, we were greatly surprised by the news of Gavinia, the abbess of the monastery of St. Gavinia and Luxuria: she stated that the abbess of her monastery of Surik, after which she assumed management responsibilities, left legacies 9 for third parties in her will. (...) And since she declares that out of the illegally abandoned ones, one estate is unjustly retained by the hospice house, with this appeal we encourage you (for both the monastery and this hospice house are located in your city) to take care with all care and active participation so that in the event that this possession does not arise from any previous contract, but from the legacy of the said Syuriki, then the estate is uncomplainingly and unconditionally returned to the above-mentioned monastery. If, however, it turns out that it arises from another contract, then either your brotherhood, having established the truth with the parties, let them determine what the legal order recommends, or let them, by mutual consent, choose for themselves arbitrators who can sort out their arguments. And whatever they decide, let it be ensured by your care that no differences remain between the honorable institutions, which most of all ought to be preserved by the mutual consent of peace. Everything else that is kept under the will of the above-mentioned Syuriki (after all, nothing is allowed for which there is no legal permission), it is necessary that, under the priestly care of your brotherhood, with all possible diligence, be allocated under the authority of the monastery, for it is clearly established by the imperial constitution: what is done contrary to the laws should not only be considered useless, but also imperfect 10. February 601 Gregory Patricia Theoktiste 11 If they say 12 that marriages should be dissolved because of religion, you should know that although human law allowed this, 13 the divine law forbade it. After all, the Truth Itself says: “What God has joined together, let no man put asunder” (Matthew 19:6). And She says: “You should not divorce your wife except on the grounds of adultery.” Who contradicts this heavenly lawgiver? We know that it is written: “The two will become one flesh” (Gen. 2:24). If husband and wife are one flesh and, because of religion, the husband divorces his wife or the woman divorces her husband, while remaining in this world or, perhaps, turning to what is unlawful, what kind of communication is this, in which the same body partly passed on to abstinence, and partly remained in defilement? If both agree to lead a temperate life, who will dare to condemn this, since it is absolutely certain that the almighty God, who allowed the lesser, did not forbid the greater? And we know that many saints previously led abstinent lives with their spouses, and subsequently moved on to govern the holy church. (...) Therefore, when good spouses want to either increase their merits or make amends for the guilt of their previous life, then they should oblige themselves to abstinence and strive for a better life. If the wife does not follow the abstinence that the husband strives for, or if the husband refuses the abstinence that the wife strives for, the marriage should not be dissolved, for it is written: “The wife has no power over her own body, but the husband does; likewise, the husband has no power over his own body, but the wife does” (1 Cor. 7:4). July 601 Gregory to Bishop (English) Augustine 14 Augustine: “To what degree should the faithful marry their relatives, and whether they should marry stepmothers and cognates.” Gregory: After all, earthly law in the Roman state allows the son and daughter of either brother and sister, or two blood brothers or two sisters to unite. However, we know from experience that no offspring can come from such marriages, and sacred law forbids revealing the shame of consanguinity. This is why it is necessary that only the third or fourth generation of faithful couple together freely. And to have sex with a stepmother is a grave crime, for it is written in the law: “Do not reveal the shame of your father” (Lev. 18:7). And indeed the son cannot reveal the shame of his father, but since it is written: “The two will become one flesh” (Gen. 2:24), the one who dared to reveal the shame of the stepmother, who is one flesh with the father, actually revealed the shame of the father. (...) But since there are many among the English people who, while hitherto in unbelief, are said to have mixed in these unholy marriages, on the way to faith they should be instructed to abstain [from this] and recognize that it is a serious sin, to fear the Last Judgment of God and not to strive for the torments of eternal torture for carnal love. However, for this deed they should not be deprived of the sacrament of the sacred body and blood of the Lord, so that it does not seem that they are being punished for something of which they were guilty of ignorance before the baptismal font. At the same time, the Holy Church corrects something with benevolence, endures another with meekness, neglects another after reflection, and thus endures and neglects that, enduring and neglecting, it often curbs the evil that it opposes. However, those who have already come to faith should be instructed not to dare to do anything like this. Let those who have committed this be deprived of the sacrament of the body and blood of the Lord, for what should be to some extent tolerated in those who have committed a crime through ignorance should be resolutely persecuted in those who are not afraid to sin deliberately. August 603 Gregory to John the Defensor on his way to Spain 15 In the name of the Lord, under such and such an emperor, on such and such a day, on such and such an indictment 16. It is so necessary for the one who is entrusted with the duty of an investigator to show himself in everything with a clear and unclouded consciousness, so that, due to the fact that he condemned others, he himself would not be subjected to the punishment of eternal torment. So, while, by the decision of my most holy and blessed apostolic lord Pope Gregory, I, Defensor John, was the investigator [in the case] between the bishop of the city of Malaga Januaris and such and such bishops, I needed to investigate on the spot the case of the above-mentioned Januarius and carefully ask the parties the truth: was he, as his claim claims, forcibly removed from churches sent from the mentioned bishops by clergy along with the people of the glorious Comitiolo 17. Both sides, as the facts show, accused each other of many things, and finally came to the conclusion of this case, asking me to make a decision about what was learned. Then, having carefully considered what had been done, I did not find any evidence of the guilt of the above-mentioned Januarius, which should be punished by expulsion or deposition, and even more so by his violent ejection from the church. And, although this kind of recklessness is most severely punished by strict laws, however, having softened the strength of the laws with the moderation appropriate to a priest, with the help of the holy Gospels, which were here from the very beginning, I, the investigator, was confirmed in this decision: what was decreed against him (Januarius) on a legal basis should not be observed and have no significance. On the contrary, I declare it invalid and illegal, and I also decree and pronounce judgment, condemning the mentioned such and such bishops, who, neglecting the consideration due to a priest, without having the fear of God, were involved in the unfounded and unjust condemnation of their brother: they should be sent to a monastery for a while to repent. I also decree, condemning the one who was so arrogant as to frivolously take the place of the above-mentioned most holy Januarius, against the establishment of the holy canons: he is deprived of the priestly rank and is completely removed from the church rank, so that he would be deprived of what he unrighteously acquired, and would not return to the position that he previously unworthily occupied. I decree: with God’s help, the repeatedly named Most Holy Bishop Januarius, removed from his place in the episcopal rank, should be returned and restored by any means. Published by: Gregorii I pararae Regi.strum epistolarum/Ed. R. Ewald et M. Hartmann //Monumenta Germanies Hisloriea. Epistolae. T. 1. Berolini, 1887. P. 219–222, 390–391; T. 2. P. 1–2. Berolini. 1893. P. 75, 185–186, 335–336; T. 2. P. 3. Berolini, 1899. Cain and Mauritius - Byzantine emperor in 582-602. Gregory I is referring to Julian the Apostate. The emperor eventually changed the law, allowing soldiers to retire to a monastery after a probationary period. Peculium is property that the master allocated to the slave for management. Defensor Romanus - manager of the Syracuse estates of the Roman Church. The title is a legal basis. Deacon Cyprian, manager of the estates of the Roman Church in Sicily. Legacies are refusals of a will, i.e. orders of the testator to leave some things from his property to third parties. Justinian Code, book 1, title 14, § 5. Theoctista is the sister of the Emperor of Mauritius. Theoktista wrote to Gregory the Great about a certain sect in Constantinople. Justinian Code, book 5, title 17; Novels of Justinian, 22, 5; 123, 40. Augustine is the first Archbishop of Canterbury. Draft resolution on the case of Bishop Januarius of Malaga. Indict is the serial number of the current goal in a fifteen-year cycle. Comitiolo is the governor of the province.