Presbyters Uniwersytet Warszawski
ID
ER 2377
Gregory the Great attests that a presbyter guards the chains of Saint Paul. He uses a file to distribute the collected filings among the faithful. Gregory the Great, Letter 4.30, AD 594.
Letter 4.30 to Empress Constantina (June 594)
 
Miracula apostolorum atque reliquiae sanctorum. Gregorius Constantinae Augustae
 
 Gregory refuses the Empress Constantine to send her parts of the saints' bodies which lay in Rome, arguing that the partition of saintly bodies is a strictly Eastern custom.
 
Sed quia serenissimae dominae tam religiosum desiderium esse uacuum non debet, de catenis, quas ipse sanctus Paulus apostolus in collo et in manibus gestauit, ex quibus multa miracula in populo demonstrantur, partem uobis aliquam transmittere festinabo, si tamen hanc tollere limando praeualuero. Quia dum frequenter ex catenis eisdem multi ueniunt et benedictionem petunt, ut parum quid ex limatura accipiant, assistit sacerdos cum lima, et aliquibus petentibus ita concite aliquid de catenis ipsis excutitur, ut mora nulla sit. Quibusdam uero petentibus diu per catenas ipsas lima ducitur, et tamen ut aliquid exinde exeat non obtinetur.
 
(ed. Norberg 1982: 248 and 250)
Letter 4.30 to Empress Constantina (June 594)
 
The miracles of the apostles and relics of the saints. Gregory to the Empress Constantina
 
Gregory refuses the Empress Constantine to send her parts of the saints' bodies which lay in Rome, arguing that the partition of saintly bodies is a strictly Eastern custom.
 
But since so religious a desire of my most serene lady ought not to be wholly unsatisfied, I will make haste to transmit to you some portion of the chains which Saint Paul the apostle himself bore on his neck and his hands, from which many miracles are displayed among the people; if at least I should succeed in removing it by filing. For, while many come frequently to seek a blessing from these same chains, in the hope of receiving a little part of the filings, a priest (sacerdos) attends with a file, and in the case of some seekers a portion comes off so quickly from these chains that there is no delay: but in the case of other seekers the file is drawn for long over the chains, and yet nothing can be got from them.
 
(trans. Martyn 2004: 310 and 312, summarised by J. Szafranowski)

Discussion:

In this cotext the word sacerdos ("priest") certainly refers to a presbyter and not a bishop.

Place of event:

Region
  • Rome
City
  • 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:

Described by a title - Sacerdos/ἱερεύς
    Devotion - Veneration of saints and relics
      Devotion - Supernatural experience
        Functions within the Church - Martyrarius Martyrarius
          Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL: J. Szafranowski, Presbyters in the Late Antique West, ER2377, http://presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=2377