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ER 2376

Gregory the Great described to Bishop Januarius of Cagliari (Sardinia) how to choose proper candidates to clergy, so that there will be no need to depose them immediately after ordination. Gregory reluctantly permits presbyters, if a bishop is lacking, to baptize with chrism and on the forehead. Gregory the Great, Letter 4.26, AD 594.

Letter 4.26 to Bishop Januarius of Cagliari (May 594)

Gregorius Ianuario episcopo Caralitano

Gregory the Great implores Bishop Januarius that he ought to be more strict in disciplining his clergy and demote those who persist in sinful behaviour. Januarius should also make sure that no peasant in Sardinia is still a pagan.

Peruenit etiam ad nos quosdam de sacris ordinibus lapsos, uel post paenitentiam uel ante paenitentiam, ad ministerii sui officium reuocari. Quod omnino prohibemus, et in hac re sacratissimi quoque canones contradicunt. Qui igitur post acceptum sacrum ordinem lapsus in peccato carnis fuerit, sacro ordine ita careat, ut ad altaris ministerium ulterius non accedat. Sed ne umquam hi qui ordinati sunt pereant, prouideri debet quales ordinentur, ut prius aspiciatur, si uita eorum continens in annis plurimis fuit, si studium orationis, lectionis, si elemosynae amorem habuerunt. Quaerendum quoque est ne fortasse fuerit bigamus. Videndum etiam ne sine litteris, aut ne obnoxius curiae compellatur post sacrum ordinem ad exactionem publicam redire. Haec itaque omnia fraternitas uestra diligenter inquirat, ut, dum diligenter quilibet exquisitus ordinatur, non celeriter post ordinationem deponatur. Ea autem quae fraternitati uestrae scripsimus cunctis sub uos episcopis innotescite, quia ego illis scribere nolui, ne honorem uestrum uiderer imminuere.

Peruenit quoque ad nos quosdam scandalizatos fuisse, quod presbyteros chrismate tangere eos qui baptizandi sunt prohibuimus. Et nos quidem secundum usum ueterem ecclesiae nostrae fecimus. Sed si omnino hac de re aliqui contristantur, ubi episcopi desunt, ut presbyteri et in frontibus baptizandos chrismate tangere debeant concedimus.

(ed. Norberg 1982: 245–246)

Letter 4.26 to Bishop Januarius of Cagliari (May 594)

Gregorius to Januarius, bishop of Cagliari

It has also come to our attention that some who have lapsed from sacred orders are being recalled to the office of their ministry, either after doing penance, or before it. We have totally forbidden this, and in this matter the most sacred canons also declare against this practice. Therefore, whoever has received a sacred order and has lapsed in carnal sin, must forfeit his sacred order so as to never again approach the ministry of the altar. But so that those who have been ordained should never been lost to the Church, care should be taken as to what sort of people are ordained, so that the first consideration is whether their life was continent over a great many years, and whether they had a passion for prayer and bible reading and a love of almsgiving. An enquiry should also be made in case one of them was perhaps married twice. Care should be taken that he is not illiterate, and that he is not liable to state service, and forced to return to public employment after taking orders. And so let your Fraternity carefully inquire into all these matters. Thus, as long as each person is ordained after a dilligent enquiry, he will not be deposed soon after ordination. As for these matters about which we have written to your Fraternity, make them known to all of the bishops under you. For I was unwilling to write to them all, in case I should appear to be undermining your dignity.

It has also come to our attention that some have been upset because we prohibited presbyters from anointing those needing to be baptized with the chrism. We certainly did so following the ancient practice of our Church, but if any presbyters are totally distressed over this matter, where bishops are lacking, we concede that presbyters should anoint those needing baptism with the chrism, even on their foreheads.

(trans. Martyn 2004: 308, slightly altered and summarised by J. Szafranowski)

Discussion:

This letter is a follow-up to the letter 4.9, see ([2363]).

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:

Education - Insufficient education

Described by a title - Presbyter/πρεσβύτερος

Impediments or requisits for the office - Improper/Immoral behaviour

Impediments or requisits for the office - Marriage

Impediments or requisits for the office - Social/Economic/Legal status

Ritual activity - Baptism and instructing catechumens

Ritual activity - Anointment with chrism

Public law - Ecclesiastical

Conflict

Relation with - Bishop/Monastic superior

Administration of justice - Ecclesiastical

Administration of justice - Demotion

Equal prerogatives of presbyters and bishops

Administration of justice - Penance

Devotion - Almsgiving

Devotion - Reading the Bible and devotional literature

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, ER2376, http://presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=2376