CRISTO RAUL. READING HALL THE DOORS OF WISDOM

THE HISTORY OF THE POPES

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF POPE GREGORY I THE GREAT. A.D. 540 – 604

CHAPTER V

GREGORY PATRIARCH OF THE WEST.

HIS RELATIONS WITH OTHER WESTERN CHURCHES

(b)   The Church in Africa.

At the time of Gregory’s accession to the pontificate, Africa for half a century had been reckoned a portion of the Roman Empire, and since 525 the Catholic Church there had been re-established in its ancient rights and privileges. There can be no doubt that this Church had suffered severely through the Arian persecution by the Vandals, and that the number of bishoprics had considerably diminished. Nevertheless, in Gregory's time it was rapidly recovering, and seems, indeed, to have been fairly prosperous. Further, as will be seen, with the revival of its fortunes the African Church had regained much of its old spirit of independence, and Gregory, in his dealings with it, was obliged to proceed with extreme caution. Even so, his attempts to exercise an effective supervision were steadily opposed by the majority of the bishops, who were generally supported in their resistance by the Government officials.

It is remarkable that in none of his letters to the bishops and officials of Africa does Gregory make the slightest allusion to the existence of any Arians among them. All trace of the Vandals and their religion seems to have entirely disappeared; the space of a single lifetime had been sufficient to reduce to insignificance a heresy which had been predominant for more than a century. That Manichaeism was rife in Africa we gather from one of Gregory’s letters, in which he forbade the Bishop of Squillace to ordain Africans for fear lest they might turn out to be adherents of that sect. But by far the most important and widespread heresy at this period was that of Donatism.

It is clear from Gregory’s correspondence that in Numidia, at any rate, the Donatists were still a numerous and influential body. The Pope laments that the heresy was daily gaining ground, that Catholic priests were being turned out of their churches, and that numbers of people, “having obtained leave by bribery”, were submitting to rebaptism at the hands of the Donatists. It was even reported that persons who were not only Catholics but actually religiosi, permitted their children and slaves to be baptized by the bishops of the sect. Meanwhile the Catholic episcopate made no efforts to check the growing schism, but looked on calmly while their flock was being torn by the wolves. Indeed, neglect was not the worst crime with which the Catholics were charged. Argentius, bishop of the Numidian town of Lamigia, was said to have been bribed to appoint Donatists to minister in churches in his diocese; while Maximianus of Prudentiana actually permitted a Donatist bishop to establish himself in his own episcopal city, thereby, in Gregory’s opinion, “selling our Lord Jesus Christ to a heretic for a sum of money”.

To bring this schism to an end, Gregory devoted all his energies. His plan for its repression was carefully thought out. He saw clearly that it would be useless to stir up the secular arm and put into force the Imperial laws against the Donatists, unless at the same time the Catholic bishops could be roused from their inertia to resist the "damnable presumption," each in his own diocese. Gregory's policy, therefore, was twofold. The civil authorities were to be incited to commence a persecution, and the ecclesiastical authorities were to be strengthened from within for an effective co-operation. Thus Gregory hoped that, by the combined efforts of a persecuting Government and a purified Church, the obstinate schism might be finally extinguished.

In pursuance of this line of policy, Gregory, in the first place, made an appeal to the secular officials. According to the strict laws of the Empire, the Donatists labored under serious disabilities: they were forbidden to assemble for worship, to ordain bishops and clergy, to baptize or convert any one, to serve in the army or to hold any public office. These laws, for the most part, had become a dead letter. But the Pope now exerted himself to get them put into execution. The principal official in Africa at this time was Gennadius, Patrician and Exarch,—a man of distinction, who had achieved some victories over the Moorish tribes that infested the Roman frontiers, and besides this had the credit of being well disposed towards the Roman Church. To him, therefore, Gregory first appealed, and after congratulating him on his successes against the enemies of the Emperor, exhorted him to undertake a still nobler warfare against the enemies of God.

But the Exarch was a cautious politician, and by no means an enthusiast. He had no liking for persecution. So long as the Donatists did not disturb the peace of the province, so long as they paid their taxes and fulfilled their obligations as subjects of the Empire, and above all, so long as they were prepared to make it worth his while to be lenient, he was quite content to let them alone. Great as was his respect for the Roman See and for Gregory himself, he had no intention of sacrificing to it his own perquisites and popularity, or of running any risk of disturbance and bloodshed. Gennadius, therefore, remained unmoved by Gregory's eloquence; and the Pope, finding that he could effect nothing with the Exarch, turned his batteries on the second official in Africa, Pantaleo the Pretorian Prefect.

“With what rigor the law punishes the execrable wickedness of the Donatists your Excellency is well aware. It is no light sin, then, if those whom the purity of the faith and the severity of human laws alike condemn, find under your rule the means of creeping up again into importance. We have learnt that the audacity of these people has so increased in your province, that not only do they expel with pestilent force the bishops of the Catholic Faith from their churches, but they even venture to rebaptize those whom by a true confession the water of regeneration has already cleansed. If this be so, we are greatly surprised that, while you occupy your present position, such evil men should be able to commit such excesses. Consider, in the first place, what sort of reputation you are likely to have among men, if those who under other governors have been justly suppressed, now under your administration find a way open for transgressing. And in the second place, be assured that God will require at your hand the souls that are lost, unless you correct this evil to the best of your power. Do not take amiss what we say. It is because we love you as our own son that we tell you what we are sure is for your good”.

But neither with Pantaleo did the Pope’s appeal meet with success.

Meanwhile Gregory turned his attention to the Catholic episcopate in Africa. It seems that the Catholic bishops were as willing as the Catholic officials to live on good terms with their Donatist neighbors, and it was rumored that they were not less appreciative of the Donatist gold. Peace, toleration, and a lump sum now and then appear to have been their programme. The dangers of the schism they entirely ignored. This venality and want of vigour was, in Gregory’s opinion, largely accounted for by a vicious ecclesiastical organization, and he hoped that by amending the defects of the system he might strengthen the characters of those affected by the system, and so create a body of bishops willing and able to crush out once for all “the damnable wickedness of the heretics”.

With this end in view, Gregory in 591 aimed a blow at the African system of primacies. What exactly this organization was, it is extremely difficult to ascertain. However, from some rather dubious expressions contained in a letter to Gennadius, I arrive at the following conclusions. Each of the provinces of Africa possessed a Primate, a bishop of superior rank to the rest, who presided at the synods and superintended the ecclesiastical affairs of his district. In the proconsular province the Bishop of Carthage was Primate; in the rest of the provinces the dignity was not attached to particular sees, but depended simply on the seniority of the bishops themselves. “Here,” says Bingham, “the primacy was not fixed, as in other places, to the civil metropolis, but always went along with the oldest bishop of the province, who succeeded to this dignity by virtue of his seniority, whatever place he lived in. In other parts of the world the bishop of the civil metropolis was commonly metropolitan in the Church also ... But in the African Churches it was otherwise; their rule was to let the primacy remove from city to city, and still go along with the senior bishop, without any regard to the civil metropolis, except only at Carthage, where the bishop was a fixed and standing metropolitan for the province of Africa, properly so called.” It thus happened that bishops were elevated to the primacy, not on account of any personal merit or fitness, but simply on account of their seniority in respect of the date of their consecration. Hence the primates were frequently old men, and so deficient in energy; or bishops of unimportant villages, and therefore deficient in authority.

The defects of this system were obvious. To check the encroachments of the schismatics it was of the utmost consequence that the Catholics should be united under the leadership of powerful men. But such leaders were rare, and could only be secured after careful testing of character and capacity. Gregory, therefore, proposed to the African bishops, first, that the primates should in future be chosen, not on account of their seniority, but with regard to the merits of their lives; and secondly, that the primates should reside, “not as the custom is, here and there, in different villages, but in one city, according to their election”.

Reasonable as these proposals were, the bishops of Africa regarded them in the light of an encroachment on their prerogatives, and made a stout resistance. The bishops of Numidia, at any rate, sent an expostulation to the Pope, pleading their ancient custom, “which from the very first regulations made by St. Peter, chief of the Apostles, has been preserved through a long course of time down to the present day." And Gregory was too wise to press the point. He knew that it would be useless to engage in an irritating struggle, when the object he had at heart could only be attained by a cheerful co-operation on the part of all concerned. He therefore gave way with the best grace he could, permitting the old custom to be retained, and merely stipulating that in future no bishop who had been a Donatist should on any pretext become primate. “Let it suffice them to take care of the people committed to them, without seeking the first place and the primacy, in preference to those bishops whom the Catholic Faith has engendered and taught in the bosom of the Church”.

But though he yielded in this matter, Gregory did not swerve in his general purpose. He was determined that the Donatists should, if possible, be suppressed, and that, to this end, the more flagrant scandals within the African Church should be remedied. He realized, however, that he had to deal with a clergy of traditionally independent spirit, who were likely to pay but little heed to fulminations issuing from distant Rome. He determined, therefore, to select some influential person on the spot, and make use of his authority to press the question of reform upon the bishops.

Now, there were at this time three prominent prelates in Africa, between whom the choice lay. The first was Dominicus of Carthage, the highest of all in rank and influence. Of this man’s character Gregory had a high opinion. He recognized, too, his attachment to the Apostolic See. “Since you know from whence the episcopal organization in Africa was derived,” he wrote on one occasion, “you do well, when, mindful thereof, you wisely and lovingly have recourse to the Apostolic See, which is the origin of your own, and continue steadfast, as you ought, in your affection for it.” We have several letters written by Gregory to Dominicus in a tone of warm friendship and esteem. Nevertheless, the Pope did not see fit to make Dominicus his Vicar. Possibly he distrusted the bishop's capacity for leadership; possibly he was unwilling to increase the authority of one who was already so powerful; more probably he feared that the Numidian bishops, jealous as they were of Carthage, would be inclined to resist any influence brought to bear on them from that quarter. At any rate, whatever may have been the reason, Dominicus was passed over. The second candidate was Adeodatus, Primate of Numidia, a feeble old man, whose age and weakness alike precluded him from being entrusted with any additional responsibilities. The third candidate, on whom the Pope's choice fell, was a certain Columbus, a Numidian bishop, whose see is not recorded. This prelate possessed all the qualifications necessary for the discharge of the duties that were now to be laid upon him. His excellent character was universally acknowledged, his spirit and energy were highly commended by Gregory, above all, he was "utterly devoted, mind and heart and soul," to the Roman See. The confidence which Gregory reposed in him may be estimated from the following extract from a letter to Adeodatus: “Above all others, you should in all matters take counsel with our brother and fellow-bishop Columbus. For we believe that if you act by his advice no one will have the least occasion to find fault with you. Know also that it will be as acceptable to us as if you acted by our own advice. For the life and manners of Columbus have been so approved by us in all things, that we are certain that anything done with his consent will be darkened by no stain of fault”. Such was the man whom Gregory chose to act as his informal Vicar in Africa.

In the August, probably, of 593 a synod was held in Numidia under the presidency of Adeodatus. Columbus was instructed to press on the assembled prelates the duty incumbent on them of resisting the Donatists, and also of purifying the Catholic ministry by the exclusion of boys and immoral persons from ordination, and by the suppression of bribery and secular influence at episcopal elections. But the council does not appear to have been a success. For in the September of the same year we find Gregory writing to the Exarch Gennadius, that frequent complaints have reached him from Africa, that “many things are being done in the Council of Numidia contrary to the usage of the Fathers and the ordinances of the canons”.

He accordingly urged Gennadius to assist Columbus to enforce discipline, concluding his letter in characteristic fashion: “If you desire victories, most excellent son, if you are anxious to secure the safety of the province committed to your charge, nothing will help you more than an increase of zeal in the lives of the bishops, and the suppression by your means of intestine warfare among the Churches”.

In 594 Gregory wrote in very urgent terms to Columbus and to Victor, who had succeeded Adeodatus as Primate of Numidia, to hold another council, and take immediate measures against the growing evils. But neither did this council, if it was held, produce much effect. Certainly two years later we find Gregory renewing his old complaints about the spread of Donatism, and the wickedness of the Catholics who permitted their slaves and children to be baptized by the schismatics. On the whole, we may conclude that the synods held in Numidia in the first four years of Gregory’s pontificate failed to accomplish any notable result, though they may have been effectual in arousing the zeal of individual bishops.

In the same year 594 a council was held at Carthage against the Donatists. The Emperor, possibly at Gregory’s instigation, had sent strict orders to Africa that the schism should be suppressed. Dominicus accordingly convoked a synod at Carthage, at which it was decreed that any bishop who was negligent in searching out and punishing heretics should be degraded from his rank and should forfeit his property. As this was meant to apply to the bishops of all the African provinces, Gregory was somewhat apprehensive lest the primates of the provinces should take umbrage, and he urged Dominicus to be careful not to do anything which might lead to discord, since in that case it would be impossible to combine the forces of the faithful and successfully combat the schism.

Although the Emperor's decree was received in Africa, it does not appear to have been acted upon. Zealous bishops came to Rome, complaining that the laws of God and the commands of the Augustus were equally disregarded, and that they themselves had suffered persecution on account of their zeal for the Faith. Gregory sent these bishops on to Constantinople, with an urgent letter from himself to Maurice (August, 596):

“Amid the cares of warfare and the numberless anxieties which you endure in your unwearied zeal for the government of the Christian commonwealth, it causes myself, and indeed the whole world, great delight that your Piety ever watches with special care over the custody of that Faith which makes the Empire of my Lords so resplendent. Whence I feel the fullest confidence, that, just as you champion the cause of God with religious affection, so God champions and assists yours with the grace of His Majesty. How greatly your Serene Piety, out of regard for righteousness and zeal for the true religion, has been moved against the impious wickedness of the Donatists, the tenor of the commands you have sent most clearly shows. But most reverend bishops coming from the province of Africa, assert that these commands have been disregarded by carelessness or connivance, and that neither is the judgment of God feared, nor, so far, have the Imperial decrees been put into effect. They add, moreover, that the bribes of the Donatists so prevail in the province that the Catholic Faith is publicly put up to sale. On the other hand, the Glorious Gennadius has complained to me of one of those who made these complaints, and two others bore him out on the same matter. But since in this case a secular judge was concerned, I have thought it right to send these bishops to your Piety, that they may in person inform you of what, as they say, they have endured for the Catholic Faith. Wherefore, I beseech you, my Most Christian Lord, for the salvation of your own soul and the life of your most gracious offspring, to issue strict orders for the punishment of such persons, and to arrest with saving hand the fall of the perishing, to apply the balm of correction to minds insane, and to expel from them the venom of error, so that, while by the remedies of your godly care the darkness of pestilential wickedness is expelled, and the true Faith sheds her bright rays in these lands, you may have laid up for you a heavenly triumph in the presence of our Redeemer, because you not only defend men from outward enemies, but also, what is a yet more glorious achievement, preserve them from the venom of diabolic fraud within”.

After this there is no further mention of the Donatists in Gregory's letters. Possibly the Pope's vigorous action may have frightened them into a less obtrusive resistance to the Catholic Church, and possibly both the ecclesiastical and the secular authorities became more vigilant against the spread of the schism. At any rate, there were no more flagrant and notorious scandals to call for notice from Rome. Nevertheless, though the Donatists may have declined in numbers and importance, the sect certainly did not become extinct until half a century later, when all forms of Christianity alike were submerged beneath the flood of the Mohammedan invasion.

Gregory's attention was constantly directed to the concerns of the Church in Africa, and the number of his letters to the bishops and officials is considerable. Here, however, I have space to allude only to two cases, each of which presents some singular features, and also illustrates the relationship which subsisted at this time between the Churches of Africa and of Rome.

First, there is the affair of the bishop Paul. A certain African bishop named Paul, whose diocese is unknown, became involved in difficulties, owing to his zeal against the Donatists. He had apparently made an attempt to persecute them, but they instead had succeeded in persecuting him. He then tried to visit Rome to lay his grievance before the Pope, but his desire was baulked, apparently by the agency, or at least with the connivance, of the Imperial officials. Even when the Pope sent letters to Gennadius and Pantaleo, Victor and Columbus, ordering that the bishop should be sent to the threshold of St. Peter without delay or opposition, no notice was taken of his injunction. Two years, indeed, elapsed, and the persecution of Paul increased. The Exarch was his enemy. Possibly the bribes of the Donatists had something to do with it; possibly Paul, who seems to have been a rash and impulsive person, had uttered indiscreet remarks about the Exarch's want of vigour. At any rate, some charges were trumped up, Paul was found guilty and excommunicated, and Gennadius sent to Rome a formal complaint of the bishop’s misdemeanours, together with an official notice of his excommunication. Paul, on his side, denied all the charges, and declared that his unpopularity was occasioned simply and solely by his zealous defense of the Catholic Faith. At the same time, he supplied the Pope with a deal of information, apparently on matters connected with the government of Africa,—“all which things”, Gregory darkly hints to the Exarch, “since this is not a fit time to mention them, we have thought best to keep to ourselves”.

Meanwhile Paul managed to elude his enemies and escaped to Rome. He was followed, however, by a deacon of Columbus to explain the action of the Church in Africa, and by the chancellor of Gennadius to justify the conduct of the Exarch. The deacon loitered on the way, and arrived too late to be of any use; the chancellor refused to accuse the bishop in person, but he brought forward three persons belonging to Paul's diocese, who were, however, of such mean quality that Gregory refused to hear them. Matters being thus at a deadlock, Paul obtained the Pope's permission to repair with a couple of friends to Constantinople, to lay his case before the Emperor. But it seems that his affair went no better at Constantinople than in Africa and Rome, and in the beginning of 598 he once more appeared before the Pope, with the charges against him still unresolved. Owing to the difficulty of obtaining trustworthy evidence, Gregory refused to exercise jurisdiction; but, with the bishop's own consent, he sent him back to Africa, and ordered Columbus to try the case and give a just and unbiassed judgment. How the affair ended we do not know.

In this case there are one or two notable features. In the first place, it proves that there was an independent party in Africa who disapproved of reference being made to Rome on provincial questions. This independent party, further, was supported by the Government officials, who had their own reasons for disliking Papal interference. Their action in forcibly preventing Paul from leaving his diocese to confer with the Pope was by no means unique, but was merely a part of the general policy of independence, and had been adopted before on similar occasions. Again, it is significant of the inde­pendent spirit which prevailed in the African Church, that, when the sentence of excommunication was launched against Paul, Gregory was not informed of it by the Primate of the province, but was left to learn it casually from the letter of a layman. “I greatly wonder”, wrote the Pope, “that this news is announced to me in a letter from your Excellency, and not by the Primate”. Lastly, it is noticeable that the final trial took place, not in Rome but in Africa, and that it was Columbus and not Gregory who pronounced sentence.

Another curious incident is that of the Primate of Byacena. Crementius or Clementius, Primate of Byacena was accused of certain crimes by his bishops, who even went to Constantinople to prosecute their case, against him. The Emperor ordered Gregory to take cognizance of the matter. But Theodore, a Magister-Militum, having been bribed with ten pounds of gold, prevented this being done, probably by hindering the parties involved from leaving Africa. A second rescript from the Emperor then commanded Gregory to commission someone to hear the case in Byzantium, and pronounce judgment in accordance with the canons. Gregory, however, on account of the strength of the opposition, was very unwilling to take action. But meanwhile the Primate, who was apparently somewhat alarmed by the persistent attacks of his suffragans, deigned to send the Pope a statement couched in humble terms, the sincerity of which Gregory took leave to doubt. “As to his saying that he is subject to the Apostolic See, I know of no bishop who is not subject to it when any fault has been committed. But when no fault exacts this submission, all are equal by the law of humility”.

At last it was arranged that John, bishop of Syracuse, should arbitrate. And to him Crementius dispatched a proctor, named Martin, with instructions to proceed subsequently to Rome to satisfy the Pope. Martin, however, remained in Sicily, though both he and John sent to Gregory unsatisfactory letters concerning the case. The former wrote a very superficial account, glossing over everything that was really important, while John’s letter proved nothing save the writer’s profound ignorance of all the essential points. The result was that Gregory, on his own admission, could understand nothing whatever of the quarrel; and, after a little while, the case was quietly shelved. Rather more than three years afterwards, however, the Pope’s attention was again drawn to the matter, and in 602 he ordered the bishops of Byacena to assemble in council and thoroughly investigate the allegations against their Primate. But, as in the case of Paul, we have no information how the matter ended.

Here once more we have to note Gregory’s moderation and his unwillingness to interfere more than was necessary in the affairs of the African Church. Not only did he refrain from exercising his own right of jurisdiction, though expressly commissioned to do so by the Emperor, but he referred the matter, not to Columbus or any adherent of his own, but to the bishops of the province of the accused Primate. Thus he effectually stopped the mouth of the party of independence. At the same time, in his charge to the bishops of Byacena, he showed clearly that he considered the affair as belonging to the jurisdiction of the Roman See.

Such appears to have been Gregory’s invariable policy in his dealings with the Church in Africa. There can be no doubt that in theory he claimed supreme authority over the African bishops; but he realized that such a claim could not in practice be substantiated. The African episcopate was far too independent to tolerate Roman interference: and even Columbus was exposed to hostile attack on account of his relations with the Pope. Gregory therefore, except in the matter of the Donatist schism, thought it best to intervene as little as possible. Wherever he encountered determined opposition—as in his proposed reform of the primatial system, he yielded at once. At the same time, he did everything in his power to allay the suspicion which was generally felt respecting the aims of the Roman See. “Just as we defend our own rights”, he wrote to Dominicus, “so we preserve those of the several Churches. I do not through partiality grant to any Church more than it deserves, nor do I through ambition derogate from any what belongs to it by right. Rather I desire to honor my brethren in every way, and study that each may be advanced in dignity, so long as there can be no just opposition to it on the part of another”. Thus by tact and discretion Gregory managed to keep up a show of authority over the African bishops, though he had little real power. Even in the sixth century the Church in Africa had not learnt the lesson of submission to the successors of St. Peter.

BOOK II.CHAPTER V.

GREGORY PATRIARCH OF THE WEST...

THE CHIRCH OF MILAN