Presbyters Uniwersytet Warszawski
ID
ER 2364
Gregory the Great rebukes Bishop Maximian of Syracuse (Sicily) for the unjust distribution of church revenues. Presbyters who have assigned clerical duties cannot keep their appointments after becoming monastic supervisors. Higher clergy should list all their ecclesiastical property when their bishop dies. Clerics serving temporarily in some parishes outside of their diocese should receive adequate stipends. Gregory the Great, Letter 4.11, AD 593.
Letter 4.11 to Bishop Maximian of Syracuse (October 593)
 
Gregorius Maximiano episcopo Syracusano
 
Bishop Maximian should correct the unjust distribution of church revenues by his suffragan bishops.
 
Presbyteros, diacones ceterosque clericos qui ecclesiis militant abbates fieri per monasteria non permittas, sed aut, omissa clericatus militia, monachicis prouocentur ordinibus, aut, si in abbatis loco permanere decreuerint, clericatus nullatenus permittantur habere militiam. Satis enim incongruum est si, cum unum ex his pro sui magnitudine diligenter quis non possit explere, ad utrumque iudicetur idoneus, sic que inuicem et ecclesiasticus ordo uitae monachicae, et ecclesiasticis utilitatibus regula monachatus impediat.
 
The clerics of higher rank should make an inventory of their Church property every time their bishop dies.
 
Visitatores ecclesiarum clericique eorum, qui cum ipsis per non suae ciuitatis parroechias fatigantur, aliquod laboris sui capiant, te disponente, subsidium. Iustum namque est ut et illic consequantur stipendium quo pro tempore suum commodare repperiuntur obsequium.
 
(ed. Norberg 1982: 229)
Letter 4.11 to Bishop Maximian of Syracuse (October 593)
 
Gregory to Maximian, bishop of Syracuse
 
Bishop Maximian should correct the unjust distribution of church revenues by his suffragan bishops.
 
You should not allow presbyters, deacons and other clerics, who serve the churches, to become abbots in the monasteries. Rather, they should either give up their clerical service and be called to monastic orders, or if they have decided to remain in the role of abbot, they should in no way be permitted to continue in the service of a cleric. For it is quite improper if someone cannot fulfill just one of these roles diligently, in proportion to its importance, and yet is judged suitable for both of them. Thus the ecclesiastical order would impede the monastic life, and in turn the rule of monasticism would also impede the ecclesiastical benefits.
 
The clerics of higher rank should make an inventory of the Church property which is attributed to them every time their bishop dies.
 
Let visitors to churches, and their clerics who labor with them in parishes not of their own city, receive some subsidy for their work, paid by you. For it is just that they should also obtain a stipend there, where they are found to be lending their services temporarily.
 
(trans. Martyn 2004: 296, slightly altered and summarized by J. Szafranowski)

Discussion:

It should be noted that Gregory only mentions those "presbyters, deacons and other clerics" who were appointed abbots. Could it mean that the clerics where otheriwise permitted to become regular monks, and they only were expected to leave their ecclesiastical posts when elected monastic supervisors? Taking into account other letters of Gregory (see, e.g. [2357]), I would find this doubtful: monks, according to Gregory, ought not to leave their monastery for any reason, which would exclude them from any regular parrochial duties. Gregory might have assumed that the monks themselves would be disciplined in this regard by their own abbot.
 
It is interesting that Gregory's letter seems to suggest that these clerics became abbots without any prior monastic experience. Likely, they wanted to hold still to their old appointment in order to still receive according stipends.

Place of event:

Region
  • Italy north of Rome with Corsica and Sardinia
  • Rome
City
  • Cagliari
  • Rome

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:

Travel and change of residence
    Described by a title - Presbyter/πρεσβύτερος
      Described by a title - Clericus
        Monastic or common life - Monastic superior (abbot/prior)
          Impediments or requisits for the office - Monastic rule
            Ecclesiastical administration - Administering Church property
              Relation with - Bishop/Monastic superior
                Livelihood/income
                  Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL: J. Szafranowski, Presbyters in the Late Antique West, ER2364, http://presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=2364