CRISTO RAUL. READING HALL THE DOORS OF WISDOM |
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THE HISTORY OF THE POPES |
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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
(e) The Church in Istria.
In Istria the schism of the Three Chapters continued
throughout Gregory's pontificate. It has already been related how Gregory
exerted himself in the time of Pelagius to confute the schismatics, and what
small success attended his efforts. When he became Pope he determined to try
more drastic measures. He dispatched a body of soldiers, under the command of a
tribune and an Imperial guardsman, who carried the following summons to
Severus, the Patriarch of Aquileia: “The Lord is eager to embrace the man who goes
astray and returns to the right path, yet when such a one again deserts the way
of truth, His sorrow over the wanderer is greater than His joy over his first
conversion. For it is less sinful to be ignorant of the truth than not to abide
in it when known. It is one thing to act in error; it is another to sin with
knowledge. And we who lately rejoiced at your return to the unity of the
Church, are now the more abundantly distressed at your apostasy. Accordingly,
we desire you, at the instance of the bearer of these presents, according to
the command of our Most Christian and Serene Emperor, to present yourself with
your adherents at the threshold of St. Peter, that a synod may be assembled,
and a decision reached concerning the matters which are in dispute among you”.
The allusion in the above letter to the Emperor was
nothing more than a piece of bluff. Maurice cared nothing about the matter. The
Exarch Smaragdus, who had been hot against the schismatics, and had even
kidnapped the Patriarch, had been withdrawn, and his successor, Romanus, was
strongly opposed to the violent measures which found favor with Gregory and
such ardent Catholics as John of Ravenna. Hence the Pope could count on the
support neither of the Emperor nor of the Exarch, as indeed speedily became apparent.
The stern summons of the Pope caused much alarm to
Severus and his suffragans. Two synods were immediately held—one of the
schismatic bishops dwelling in Lombard territory, and the other of those in the
Imperial cities on the coast. Each of these assemblies drew up a letter of
remonstrance to the Emperor, and Severus, in his individual capacity, added a
third. Of these three documents the first alone, subscribed by ten bishops of
Venetia and Rhaetia Secunda, has come down to us. It begins with an emphatic assertion
of the Catholicity of the bishops subscribing, and also of their loyalty to the
Roman Republic, though oppressed by the “grievous yoke of the Gentiles”. The
petitioners pleaded that in refusing to condemn the three so-called heretics,
they were only upholding the Council of Chalcedon, and obeying the express
orders which Pope Vigilius had caused to be circulated through all the
provinces. These orders their predecessors had accepted and obeyed, and they
themselves did but follow in their footsteps when they refused to accept the
Fifth Council or to communicate with those who did so. The Patriarch Elias,
however, on this account had been persecuted by Smaragdus, and so had Severus.
And now Pope Gregory had summoned the latter to appear in Rome before himself—a
judge who was a party in the case and with whom they held no communion. But the
Emperor had rescued Elias; let him now do as much for Severus. Let him grant a
truce for the present. Later, when the Lombards were crushed and peace was
restored, they would be glad to present themselves at Constantinople and to
plead their cause before him; for the Emperors had always shown themselves just
arbiters and restorers of peace in the Church. Unless the persecution were
stopped and the rights of Aquileia were preserved, their own successors in the
Venetian and Rhaetian sees would undoubtedly transfer their allegiance from the
loyal Patriarch to the neighbouring Archbishops of
Gaul. And it was likely that when ecclesiastical allegiance was transferred,
political obedience also would shortly follow.
This representation produced the desired effect.
Maurice, if indifferent to the religious aspect of the question, was by no
means indifferent to the political consequences involved. He therefore sent off
to Gregory a rescript in Latin, ordering him to let the schismatics alone. The
document was addressed in grandiloquent style: "In the name of the Lord
our God Jesus Christ, the Emperor Caesar Flavius Mauritius Tiberius, Faithful
in Christ, the Pacific, Mild, Greatest, Beneficent, Victor of the Alamanni, to the
Most Holy Gregory, the Very Blessed Archbishop of the fostering city of Rome,
and Patriarch." The Emperor referred to the receipt of the Istrian
dispatches, and commanded Gregory, on account of the disturbed condition of
Italy, to cause no further trouble to the schismatic bishops for the present.
When civil peace was established, ecclesiastical union might be restored.
Maurice added a postscript in his own handwriting: “God keep you many years,
most holy and blessed Father”.
Gregory had some reason to feel aggrieved at this
command. His efforts to uphold the doctrine which the Emperor Justinian had
thrust upon the Church were actually being hindered by one of Justinian's own
successors. Surely Constantinople was the last place where those who
contumaciously refused to accept the Fifth Council ought to have been defended.
Moreover, even if the rescript had not, as was alleged, been obtained by
liberal bribes to persons of influence at court, yet it was evident that the
motives which led to its issue were not ecclesiastical, but purely secular. It
was a glaring case of the subordination of religious interests to political
expediency. Nevertheless, Gregory dared not disobey so express a mandate. He
was obliged to give up for a time all thought of persecution, although he did
not cease to importune the Emperor on the matter "with the greatest zeal
and freedom." On Severus himself he shortly had an opportunity of taking a
rather petty revenge. In 592 the city of Aquileia was devastated by a terrible
fire, and a relief fund was started in aid of the sufferers. Even such
aggressive Catholics as John of Ravenna were moved to sympathy, and sent
contributions; but Gregory refused to give anything. Alms should be given to
the faithful, he said, and not to the enemies of the Church, particularly when
the latter had been spending money in Constantinople to thwart the purposes of
the Apostolic See.
In a later letter, addressed to “all the bishops of
Iberia”, Gregory insisted that the schismatics had no right to regard
themselves as martyrs, or to talk about “persecution”. “Persecution, unless
endured in a good cause, is unprofitable for salvation. There is no reward for
sin, and it is impious to expect it. Recollect Cyprian's [or rather it should
be Augustine's] words: Martyrem non facit poena sed causa”. Nor
could the schismatics with any show of reason point to the troubles in Italy,
as though they were God’s punishment for the Church's acceptance of the Fifth
Council. They should remember the text, Whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth. God has shown greater love and approval of
Italy, since He has counted her worthy to endure His scourge. Talk of
punishment Why, Rome was captured after Vigilius’s condemnation of the
Acephali. Was, then, the cause of the Monophysites favoured by Heaven? To remove all remaining doubts, Gregory forwarded to his
correspondents the very useful letter which he had composed in the time of Pope
Pelagius, recommending them to study it carefully with unbiassed minds. If
after that they continued to maintain their damnable opinions, it would be a
proof that they surrendered themselves “not to reason, but to obstinacy”.
Meanwhile among the schismatics themselves a reaction
appears to have set in, and many individuals or small parties of disaffected
persons became reconciled to the Church. Thus in the very first year of his
pontificate, Gregory received in Rome a certain Neapolitan named Stephen, who
for certain doubts (probably on the question of the Three Chapters) had
withdrawn from the communion of the Catholic Church. This man, being convinced
of his error, stated that he had several friends in Naples who would be willing
to return to orthodoxy, provided that the Pope would take upon his own soul the
peril, so that no punishment should fall on them hereafter. Gregory gladly
assented, and wrote to the Bishop of Naples to readmit them all, declaring that
he himself was willing to bear all the responsibility.
Again, in July 595 two Istrian bishops—Peter of
Altino, and Providentius of some see unknown
—expressed a wish to confer with Gregory about reunion, provided that they
could do so without fear of molestation. And in 599, once more, a large body of
schismatics came to Rome and were received into the Church among them being a deputation
from the “insula Capritana”. The details of the
transactions which took place in connection with the last-named place are
involved in some obscurity, but the general course of events seems to have been
as follows. The “insula Capreae Histricae provinciae”—probably to be identified with a village
named Isola, situated in the neighbourhood of Cittanuova—had been annexed to the episcopal see of Cittanuova, where a Pannonian named John was bishop. After
a while, however, John was expelled by violence from the province, and another
bishop was consecrated in his place, who, moreover took up his residence, not
at Cittanuova, but at Isola. At first the newcomer
had some thoughts of returning to the Roman communion, and with that end in
view commenced negotiations with the Exarch. But afterwards he changed his mind
and reverted to the schism. The Capritans, however,
were eager for reunion, and refused to receive their bishop, who thereupon
retired to Sicily. Then the Capritans sent a
deputation to Rome to announce their return to allegiance, and to request that
a new bishop might be ordained. Gregory, however, with his habitual caution,
refused to sanction another ordination until an appeal had been made to the
exiled prelate in Sicily, who was reported to be once more wavering in his
views. The envoys were accordingly sent on to Sicily to interview their former
bishop. If the latter was really inclined for reunion, Gregory directed that he
should come to Rome, the expenses of his journey being paid; or if he neither
wished this nor desired to return to his see, but yet was willing to give a
written security that he would remain in communion with the Roman Church, a
suitable provision was to be made to enable him to live quietly where he was.
In the latter case, however, or in case of his continuing in schism, the
Archbishop of Ravenna was to ordain someone to administer the see of Isola, who
was moreover to be subject to his metropolitan jurisdiction, “until the Istrian
bishops return to the orthodox faith”.
Gregory's activity in this affair seems to have
somewhat alarmed the Exarch Callinicus, who wrote to remind him of the
Emperor's express injunctions respecting Severus and his associates. Gregory
replied that "the order, though itself elicited by false representations,
by no means enjoins you to repulse those who are returning to Church unity, but
only forbids you at this unsettled time to compel those who are unwilling to
return," and he suggested that the whole affair should be reported to Maurice.
At the end of the letter he expressed his surprise that Callinicus should have
awarded only a slight punishment to his majordomo for his negligence (or, as
Gregory suspected, his venality) in allowing the petition of a bishop, who
desired to return to the Catholic Church, to fall into the hands of the
schismatics. “And yet”, he adds, “I soon blamed myself for being surprised, for
where the Lord Justinus gives advice, these heretics cannot be arraigned”.
Clearly the Exarch had on his council men who favoured the schism, and were not unwilling to thwart the intentions of the powerful
Bishop of Rome.
In May 602 Firminus bishop of Trieste was received
back into the Catholic communion, and signed the following document, which was
delivered to Gregory's representative at Ravenna: “Whenever the eye of the soul
which has been darkened by the clouds of error is illuminated by the light from
heaven, we must earnestly strive lest the author of schism should again
secretly enter into the soul, and with the sword of falsehood shall sever it
once more from the root of unity to which it has attached itself. I, therefore,
now that I have learnt the nature of that snare which held me in the bonds of
schism, of my own accord and of my own free will, after long and careful
consideration, have returned, under the guidance of Divine grace, to the unity
of the Apostolic See. And lest I should be supposed to be acting disingenuously
and insincerely in this matter, I bind myself by an anathema, and under penalty
of losing my rank as a bishop, I vow and promise to you, and through you to St.
Peter, the chief of the Apostles, and to his Vicar, the most blessed Gregory
and his successors, that I will never be persuaded by any one or be induced in
any way to return to that schism from which I have been set free by the mercy
of our Redeemer, but I will ever remain under all circumstances in the unity of
the holy Catholic Church, and in communion with the Roman Pontiff. Therefore I
swear by Almighty God and by these four holy Gospels which I hold in my hands,
and by the life and genius of our Sovereigns who rule the commonwealth, that I
will always faithfully abide in the unity of the Catholic Church, to which by
the goodness of God I have returned, and in the communion of the Roman Pontiff.
But if—which God forbid—I shall under any pretext or induced by any argument,
sever myself from this unity, may I be sentenced to eternal punishment for the
sin of perjury, and have my portion in the world to come with the author of
schism. This record of my confession and promise I have dictated to my notary
and have signed it with my own hand, acting with the consent of the priests,
deacons, and clergy, who have urged me to this act of reunion, and who now,
following my example of their own free will, are about themselves to sign the
document”.
In consequence of his secession, Firminus had to
endure much persecution at the hands of his former associates, and Gregory
wrote to request the Exarch to protect him. The fact that many of the
reconciled bishops went to live at Constantinople or else in Sicily seems to
prove that Severus and the schismatic leaders had no more enlightened ideas of
tolerance than the Pope himself, and that they were not above using violent
measures to keep their party together and hinder those who might otherwise have
been willing to return to the communion of the Roman Church.
Gregory, on his side, continued to strain every nerve
to break the strength of the schism. Those who had once begun to hesitate found
their return facilitated in every way. The Pope invited them, especially the
bishops, to come to Rome to discuss with him the points in dispute. He promised
them a kindly welcome, and the means of returning to their own homes, even if
he failed to convince them. Those who abandoned the schism he helped—if help
were needed—to the utmost of his power, and protected them from the enmity of
their former associates. They were not required explicitly to give their
adherence to the Fifth General Council, but only to sign a document renouncing
the schism, similar to that which was given by Firminus. When mere persuasion
failed to convince, Gregory sometimes tried the effect of a bribe. Thus, when
he heard that the clergy of Como had told the Archbishop of Milan that in a
dispute about some property they had not been so well treated by the Roman
Church as to be anxious to return to her communion, he wrote: “If the land
which they say is unjustly retained by us be really theirs, it shall be
restored to them at once, even if they continue in their schism. But if, as we
hope, they will return to the Church, we are ready to give up the land to them,
whether they have a right to it or not”.
The last argument of coercion by violence Gregory
never dared to employ during Maurice's lifetime; but when the Emperor was dead,
and Smaragdus, whose zeal had been so conspicuously displayed during his former
tenure of office, was once more Exarch, Gregory urged that sterner measures
might be adopted? “We hope that the fervor of zeal which you formerly showed in
this matter will be kindled to greater heat than ever, and that you will be the
more ready to punish and restrain the enemies of God, as the defense of the
soul, in the sight of God, is more precious than that of the body. Let the
uprightness of faith which is strong within you arm you against those who go
astray. Let the body of the Church now rent asunder in your dominions, be
restored during your rule to its former wholeness. You will be repaid for your
exertions in this matter by Him who is the Author of uprightness and unity. For
we trust in God's mercy that our outward enemies will find you the stronger
against them, in proportion as the enemies of the true faith find you terrible
against themselves through your love to God”.
Before the close of his pontificate, Gregory had the
satisfaction of knowing that the schism was greatly weakened.
Every year the reasons which originally seemed to
justify it were losing their force, every year the schismatics became more
isolated. No fresh converts joined them, and the old leaders were either dying
off or returning into Catholic communion. Certainly in the cities of Istria and
Northern Italy which were subject to the Lombards, the party of resistance was
still vigorous. The Lombard Queen Theudelinda, though on the best of terms with
Gregory, could not be persuaded to renounce the schismatic communion; and in
this point her trusted friend and councillor, the abbat Secundus, shared and perhaps formed her views. Yet
the end was now only a matter of time. About a hundred. years later, at the
Synod of Pavia, summoned by King Cunincpert in 698, the last of the schismatics
renounced their heresy, and were restored to the unity of the Catholic Church.
The harvest was gathered by Pope Sergius the First, but we cannot doubt that
the seeds of it were sown by Pope Gregory the Great.
CHAPTER V
GREGORY PATRIARCH OF THE WEST.HIS RELATIONS WITH OTHER WESTERN CHURCHES(f) THE CHURCH IN DALMATIA
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