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ER 2235

Gregory the Great orders Subdeacon Peter who administrates papal estates in Sicily to send revenue from the estates belonging to the church of Canosa to its clergy. The lapsed clerics ought to be sent to the monasteries for penance, but they should still collect stipends. Gregory the Great, Letter 1.42, AD 591.

Letter 1.42 to Peter, subdeacon of Sicily (May 591)

Gregorius Petro subdiacono Siciliae

Gregory describes how Peter should deal with different problems which arose in the estates in Sicily administrated by the papal see.

De solidis ecclesiae Canusinae uolumus ut aliquid clericis eiusdem ecclesiae largiaris, quatenus et hi qui nunc inopiam patiuntur sustentationem aliquam habeant, et si illic uoluerit Deus ordinari episcopum, habeat unde subsistat.

De lapsis sacerdotibus ac leuitis uel quolibet ex clero obseruare te uolumus ut in rebus eorum nulla contaminatione miscearis. Sed pauperrima regularia monasteria require, quae secundum Deum uiuere sciunt, et in eisdem monasteriis ad paenitentiam lapsos trade, et res lapsorum in eo loco proficiant, in quo agere paenitentiam traduntur, quatenus ipsi ex rebus illorum subsidium habeant, qui de correptione eorum sollicitudinem gerunt. Si uero parentes habent, res eorum legitimis parentibus dentur, ita autem ut eorum stipendium qui in paenitentiam dati fuerint sufficienter debeat procurari. Si qui uero ex familia ecclesiastica sacerdotes uel leuitae uel monachi uel clerici uel quilibet alii lapsi fuerint, dari eos in paenitentiam uolumus, sed res eorum ecclesiastico iuri non subtrahi. Ad usum tamen suum accipiant, unde ad paenitendum subsistant, ne si nudi dantur locis in quibus dati fuerint onerosi sint. Si qui parentes in possessione habent, ipsis res eorum tradendae sunt, ut in ipsis iuri ecclesiae conseruentur.

Three years before, the subdeacons of Sicily were forbidden by the previous pope to sleep with their wives. Gregory now accepts that some of them did not obey. They should be permitted to stay with their wives, but no new subdeacon can be ordained, unless he vows to live in celibacy. Furthermore, those subdeacons who preserved chastity should be commended.

Eos autem qui post prohibitionem factam se a suis uxoribus continere noluerunt peruenire ad sacrum ordinem nolumus, quia nullus debet ad ministerium altaris accedere, nisi cuius castitas ante susceptum ministerium fuerit approbata.

(ed. Norberg 1982: 54-55, summarised by J. Szafranowski)

Letter 1.42 to Peter, subdeacon of Sicily (May 591)

Gregory to Subdeacon Peter of Sicily

Gregory describes how Peter should deal with different problems which arose in the estates in Sicily administrated by the papal see.

Concerning the gold coins (solidi) of the church of Canosa, we want you to dispense some of them to the clerics of this church, so that those who now suffer poverty might have some sustenance, and, if God should want a bishop to be consecrated there, he might have something to live on.

Regarding the priests and levites or any other cleric who has lapsed, we want you to take care that you are involved in none of the contamination of their affairs. Instead, look for the very poor monasteries that [obey the monastic] rule (regularia monasteria) and know how to live according to God's will, and bring the lapsed to those monasteries for penance. Let the property of the lapsed benefit the place where they were brought in order to do penance, so that [monks] who take care of [clerics] as they atone [for their sins], can find comfort in the income from their property. But if they have relatives (parentes), their property should be given to their lawful relatives (parentes), in such a way, however, that the stipends of those who have been handed over for penance should be adequatly administered. If the lapsed priests or levites, or monks, or clerics, or any others were part of the ecclesiastical household (familia ecclesiastica), we want them to be handed over for penance, but their property should not be taken from them, according to ecclesiastical law. Let them receive as much [of the stipends] as necessary for their own sustenance during the time of penance so that they are not handed over to those places without any means and as such become excessively burdensome to them. If some have relatives (parentes) in their charge, the property should be given to them for safekeeping, according to ecclesiastical law.

Three years before, the subdeacons of Sicily were forbidden by the previous pope to sleep with their wives. Gregory now accepts that some of them did not obey. They should be permitted to stay with their wives, but no new subdeacon can be ordained unless he vows to live in celibacy. Furthermore, those subdeacons who preserved chastity should be commended.

However, we do not want those who were unwilling to abstain from their wives after this prohibition was introduced to be promoted to holy orders, for nobody ought to be elevated to the ministry of the altar unless his chastity has been proven before accepting the ministry.

(trans. Martyn 2004: 167, altered and summarised by J. Szafranowski)

Discussion:

It seems, then, that the bishopric of Canosa owned some land in Sicily. As the see was vacant (Canosa was recently heavily destroyed, probably by the Lombards), the revenues were likely not sent to the city. In the letter sent two months later, Gregory asked the bishop of Siponto (also in Apulia) to ordain at least two presbyters to serve in Canosa as the city desperately needed clergy [2237]. It is unclear then whether the Canosian clergy were living in poverty or were killed/captured by the Lombards. Maybe those who survived the Lombard onslaught dispersed when they lost their source of income.

The context suggests that the lapsed mentioned in this letter were guilty of some moral infringements. Letters 5.5 [xxxxxx">xxxxxx] and 5.18 [xxxxxx">xxxxxx] indicate that Gregory did not allow the clerics to return to the ministry of the altar after doing penance.

Place of event:

Region

Italy south of Rome and Sicily

City

Canosa

About the source:

Author: Gregory the Great
Title: Letters, Epistulae, Epistolae, Registrum epistularum, Registrum epistolarum
Origin: Rome (Rome)
Denomination: Catholic/Nicene/Chalcedonian

Gregory, later called the Great (Gregorius Magnus), was born ca 540 to an influential Roman family with some connection to the ancient gens Anicia. His great-great-grandfather was Felix III, who served as the bishop of Rome from 526 to 530. Possibly, Agapetus I, pope between 535 and 536, was his relative as well. Little is known about his early career, but in 573 Gregory ascended to the high office of city prefect. Shortly afterwards, however, he resigned from his post and adopted the monastic way of life. He founded a monastery dedicated to St. Andrew within his family estate on Coelian Hill, next to the library established by Agapetus and Cassiodorus. Six other monasteries were founded in the estates his family owned in Sicily. Soon after his monastic conversion, he started to be given various tasks by Popes Benedict I (575–578) and Pelagius II (578–590). At that time, he was ordained a deacon. Between 579 and 585/6, Gregory acted as Pelagius` envoy in Constantinople. In 590, he was elected Pelagius` successor to the bishopric of Rome. The registry of his letters contained copies of Gregory`s papal correspondence up to his death in 604. The scope of Gregory`s original registry is still the subject of scholarly speculation. There are 854 extant letters gathered in fourteen volumes, most of them (686 letters) originating from the collection compiled at the time of Pope Hadrian I (772–795).

It is worth remembering that the majority of Gregory’s correspondence was jointly produced by the pope and his subordinates, see Pollard 2013.

Edition:

D. Norberg ed., S. Gregorii Magni Registrum Epistularum, Corpus Christianorum: Series Latina 140, 140A, Turnhout 1982.

Translation:

The Letters of Gregory the Great, trans. J.R.C. Martyn, Mediaeval Sources in Translation 40, Toronto 2004.

Bibliography:

R.M. Pollard, A Cooperative Correspondence: The Letters of Gregory the Great, in: M. Dal Santo, B. Neil (eds.), A Companion to Gregory the Great, Leiden-Boston 2013, pp. 291–312.

Categories:

Family life - Separation/Divorce

Sexual life - Sexual abstinence

Former ecclesiastical career - Deacon

Described by a title - Sacerdos/ἱερεύς

Described by a title - Clericus

Impediments or requisits for the office - Marriage

Economic status and activity - Indication of poverty

Relation with - Other relative

Relation with - Monk/Nun

Administration of justice - Ecclesiastical

Administration of justice - Demotion

Monastic or common life

Livelihood/income

Administration of justice - Imprisonment

Administration of justice - Penance

Private law - Ecclesiastical

Impediments or requisits for the office - Public penance

Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL: J. Szafranowski, Presbyters in the Late Antique West, ER2235, http://www.presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=2235