Presbyters Uniwersytet Warszawski
Search Presbyter Records
Search Evidence Records
Print:
ID
ER 2408
Pope John II writes a letter to the presbyters, deacons and other clergy of the diocese of Riez informing them that their bishop Contumeliosus has been deposed from his office. A visiting bishop is sent to Riez to administer the sacraments until a new bishop is elected. Letter II from John II, Rome, AD 534.
Epistola secunda Iohannis II papae
 
Iohannes presbyteris, diaconibus et cuncto clero ecclesiae in qua fuit Contumeliosus episcopus.
Peruenit ad nos a fratribus et coepiscopis nostris missa relatio, ubi Contumeliosus de criminibus suis confessus legitur atque conuictus. Et quia huiusmodi sceleribus inplicatus sacerdotii non potest ministeria iam tractare, necessaria uobis solacia credidimus uisitatoris adiungere; et ideo in ecclesia eius uisitatorem dari nostra decreuit auctoritas, ut ecclesia suo priuata praesule summi nequeat pontificis solaciis indigere; cui uos in omnibus parere decernimus ad ea tantummodo quae sacris sunt gerenda mysteriis; ita tamen, ut nihil de ecclesiastica facultate praesumat, sed clerus in quo nunc est ordine constitutus nullis gradibus prouehatur, donec proprium sacerdotem possit habere. Omnem uero hanc sollicitudinem Caesario fratri et coepiscopo nostro iniungimus, ad cuius curam cuncta quae necesse sint, pertinere censuimus.
Deus uos incolumes custodiat, dilectissimi filii.
Data VIII. Idus Apriles, Flauio Paulino iuniore uiro clarissimo consule.
 
(ed. de Clercq 1963: 86-87)
Letter 2 of the pope John II
 
John to the presbyters, deacons, and all the clergy of the church in which Contumeliosus was once bishop.
We have received a report sent to us by our brethren and fellow bishops, in which we read that Contumeliosus confessed his crimes and was condemned. And because a person involved in such offenses can no longer exercise the mysteries of the priesthood, we believed that you should have the necessary consolation of a visiting bishop (visitor). And therefore, our authority has ordered that a visiting bishop be given to your Church, so that the Church, deprived of its bishop, may not be without the consolation of the high pontiff. We command you to obey him in all things so far as the celebration of the sacred mysteries is concerned; but he should act in such a way as not to usurp anything of ecclesiastical power: the clergy established in the present order should not be promoted to higher ranks until they can have their own bishop. We entrust the care of all this to our brother and fellow bishop Caesarius. We think that whatever is necessary should be his responsibility.
May God keep you safe and sound, O beloved sons.
Given on the eighth day before the Ides of April in the consulate of vir clarissimus Flavius Paulinus the Younger [= April 6, 534].
(trans. M. Szada)

Place of event:

Region
  • Rome
  • Gaul
City
  • Rome
  • Riez
  • Marseille

About the source:

Author: John II
Title: Epistula, Council of Marseille 533, Concilium Massiliense a. 533
Origin: Rome (Rome)
Denomination: Catholic/Nicene/Chalcedonian
In April 534, Pope John II sent three letters, one to the bishops of Gaul, one to the clergy of Riez (which is the letter quoted in full here), and one to Caesarius of Arles. They were written in response to Caesarius' appeal to Rome in connection with the affair of Contumeliosus. Contumeliosus was a bishop of Riez who was accused of sexual misconduct and alienation of church property at the Council of Marseilles presided over by Caesarius in May 533. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to do penance in a monastery and to repay the property he had sold. However, the bishops disagreed as to whether Contumeliosus should be permanently deprived of his office or merely suspended. Caesarius, who advocated the harsher solution, could not prevail and turned to Rome, where he received the support of John II. Later, Contumeliosus himself turned to Rome and Pope Agapitus reversed John's decision and ordered a retrial. See Klingshirn 1994: 248-49.
Edition:
C. de Clercq ed., Concilia Galliae a. 511-a. 695, Corpus Christianorum. Series Latina 148 A, Turnhout 1963.
Bibliography:
W.E. Klingshirn, Caesarius of Arles: The Making of a Christian Community in Late Antique Gaul, Cambridge 1994.

Categories:

Writing activity - Correspondence
    Further ecclesiastical career - Unspecified clerical grade
      Described by a title - Presbyter/πρεσβύτερος
        Relation with - Bishop/Monastic superior
          Administration of justice - Ecclesiastical
            Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL: M. Szada, Presbyters in the Late Antique West, ER2408, http://presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=2408
            Record by: Marta Szada
            last edited: 2022-08-02 14:16:27
            Contact
            Privacy policy
            FAQ
            About the project
            Team