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
(d) The Church of Ravenna.
The history of Gregory's quarrel with the Bishops of
Ravenna is the subject of our next section, and it affords a very interesting
illustration of the attitude which the great metropolitans of Northern Italy
assumed with reference to the Papal claims. Ravenna was, of course, the capital
of the Imperial possessions in Italy, and the residence of the Exarch. It was,
therefore, perhaps, not unnatural that the bishops of the place should aspire
to an ecclesiastical dignity somewhat corresponding with the secular importance
of their city, and should resent any assumption of authority over them on the
part of the Bishop of Rome. Just as the Patriarch of Constantinople, the
capital of the Empire, struggled to make himself independent of the Patriarch
of the West, so the Bishops of Ravenna, the seat of Italian administration,
were impatient of control by the Pope, and, with the help and countenance of
the Imperial officials, ventured to arrogate to themselves rights and
privileges in defiance of the authority of the Apostolic See. It seemed to
them, doubtless, that the secular and the ecclesiastical rank of a place should
harmonize, and that the bishop of a city of such high importance in the Empire
ought not to occupy a merely subordinate position in the Church. And this view
was naturally shared by the Exarch and his Court.
The dispute between Gregory and the Bishops of Ravenna
was occasioned by an objection concerning the use of the pallium. This
vestment, as is well known, consisted of a long band of white wool, ornamented
with a varying number of black or purple crosses. It was draped over the
shoulders (to which it was secured by three gold pins), with the two ends
depending, one before and one behind. Possibly it was of official origin; but,
as an episcopal vestment, it was in use, at any rate in the East, in the fifth
century, being then regarded as the distinctive mark of episcopal authority in
full exercises. In the sixth century, in the East, it was worn indiscriminately
by all bishops; in the West it was worn of right by only three, namely, the
Bishop of Rome, the Bishop of Ostia as the usual consecrator of the Pope, and
(it seems probable) the Bishop of Ravenna. Besides these three, other bishops
were granted the privilege of wearing it by the special favor of the Pope.
Gregory, for instance, conferred it on the bishops of Syracuse, Messina,
Palermo, Milan, Salona, Nicopolis, Corinth, Prima Justiniana,
Arles, Autun, Seville, and Canterbury. In some of
these cases (e.g. of Arles, Canterbury, and Syracuse) it carried with it
special powers and a right of jurisdiction as Papal Vicar; in others it was
merely a mark of honor and dignity. Some of the recipients, moreover, e.g. the
bishops of Syracuse, Messina, Palermo, and Autun—were
simple bishops and not metropolitans: nor was the pallium as yet considered a
necessary badge of the metropolitan dignity. The vestment seems to have been
originally an Imperial gift, and in the sixth century the Popes usually asked
the Emperor's permission before bestowing it on bishops who were not subjects
of the Empire. As late as the seventh century the Emperor even claimed the
right of conferring it directly, without the mediation of the Pope. The pallium
was only granted to a bishop on personal application, and was worn during the
first part of the mass, up to the reading of the Gospel. The Pope, however, and
in Gregory's time at least the Bishop of Ravenna, kept it on throughout the
service, and only laid it aside when they returned to the sacristy after the
celebration.
Now, when Gregory became Pope, the Bishop of Ravenna
was one John, a Roman by birth, and up to the time of the quarrel a trusted
friend and ally of the Popes He is described as a man of medium height and
dignified presence, stout but not fat, with curly grey hair. He was a zealous
preacher, and given to good works. He completed the Church of St. Severus, at
Ravenna, placing within it the body of the saint; and he built the Monastery of
SS. Mark, Marcellus, and Felicula. To him Gregory
dedicated his Pastoral Rule; to him he committed the charge of certain bishops
of his own jurisdiction who were unable to come to Rome on account of the
intervening Lombards. His zeal in the Istrian controversy was warmly
acknowledged. Sometimes, indeed, John's discretion was at fault. Thus Gregory
wrote on one occasion: “As to what you say about one who is already ordained
being ordained again, it is exceedingly ridiculous, and ought not to be
contemplated by a man of sense like you, unless by chance some precedent can be
adduced which should be taken into account”. But on the whole, Gregory's
relations with John were extremely friendly, until the bishop fell a victim to
what the Pope regarded as “the sin of pride”.
It was reported at Rome that the Bishop of Ravenna was
accustomed to wear the pallium, not merely during mass, like the other
metropolitans, but also when he gave audience to the laity before the service,
and when he went in solemn processions through the city. Further, it was said
that he encouraged his clergy to use “mappulae”,
or white linen coverings placed over the saddles of their horses, when they
went in processions—a privilege which had hitherto been reserved to the Roman
clergy alone.
So soon as Gregory was informed of these practices, he
ordered the notary Castorius, his agent at the Exarch’s court, strictly to
prohibit their continuance. Castorius obeyed, but the bishop despatched to Rome an indignant remonstrance. He denied
that he was vested with the pallium when he gave audience to the laity; that he
wore it in solemn litanies he admitted, but asserted that he did so in virtue
of a privilege granted by a former Pope and exercised by his own predecessors.
In much the same manner he defended the use of the “mappulae”,
and he enclosed in his letter a copy of a “praeceptum”,
in which Pope John the Third had confirmed to Peter, John's predecessor in the
see of Ravenna, all the privileges hitherto conceded to his Church.
To this apology Gregory, in July 593, sent a carefully
worded answer. With regard to the wearing of the pallium during the reception
of the laity in the sacristy, he did not press the point, though he said that
he knew for a fact that John had worn it on such occasions, and forbade his
doing so for the future. That the privilege of wearing it in solemn processions
had ever been granted by any former Pope, there was no evidence to prove. No
record of such a grant was extant in the archives of the Apostolic See; on the
contrary, certain Romans who had visited Ravenna asserted positively that it
had never been so used in their presence. Gregory, therefore, charged John
either to conform to the general custom and wear his pallium only during mass,
or else to forward documentary evidence of the alleged privilege. In respect of
the “mappulae”, Gregory permitted them to be used, as
a special favor, by the first deacons of Ravenna, when in attendance on the
bishop. “The use of them at any other time or by any other persons we most
strictly forbid”.
John’s reply to this was submissive enough. “My
fellow-servant Castorius, notary of your Apostolic See, has presented to me the
letter of my Lord, in which honey and stings were mingled. The stings, however,
were not beyond all hope of remedy. For when any one reproves pride, in
obedience to the Divine commands, he indirectly professes to be mild and gentle
himself. Now, you have stated that I, from a rebellious love of novelty, have
in my use of the pallium exceeded the privileges granted to my predecessors. I
trust that the conscience of my Lord, guided as it is by the hand of God, will
not continue to believe this. I trust that my Lord will not open his most
sacred ears to uncertain rumors. In the first place, I, though a sinner, know
how grievous a thing it is to transgress the limits fixed by the Fathers; I
know that the end of all pride is a fall. If our ancestors did not tolerate
pride in kings, with much more reason is pride intolerable in bishops. And, in
the second place, I do not forget that I was brought up in the heart and bosom
of your holy Roman Church, and there by God's grace obtained my first
promotion. And how should I possibly dare to oppose that most holy See, which
transmits its laws to the universal Church,—to preserve the authority of which
I have, God knows, incurred the bitter hostility of many”. After further
defending himself from the charge of introducing novelties, John concluded
thus: “As the Providence of God has placed all things in your hand and in your
most pure conscience, I adjure you by that Apostolic See which you once ruled
by force of character, and which you now rule with the honor which is your due,
do not, for my sins, in any way lessen the privileges enjoyed till now by the
Church of Ravenna, which Church is peculiarly yours. Now that you have learnt
the real state of the case, it depends on God and on yourself to determine what
shall be done. For in my anxiety to obey the commands of my Apostolic Lord, I
am determined to abstain from these ancient usages, until I hear from you
again”.
These meek expressions might have had more effect on
Gregory if he had not received trustworthy information that Bishop John in
private was in the habit of indulging in all manner of scurrilous witticisms
and sarcasms at his expense, reviling him worse than “a lawyer's clerk”. Nor
does it appear that this double-faced prelate ever attempted to discontinue his
illegal practices. On the contrary, he exerted himself to the utmost to stir up
the Government authorities, and bring official pressure to bear upon the Pope.
And, in consequence of his solicitations, Romanus the Exarch, George the
Pretorian Prefect of Italy, Andrew a judicial assessor, and other eminent and
influential persons, sent urgent letters to Rome, imploring Gregory to respect
the rights and privileges of the Church of Ravenna.
The duplicity and contumacy of the bishop greatly
incensed the Pope. "I thank Almighty God," he wrote, " that when
I heard of it the Lombards were posted between me and Ravenna. Else perhaps I
should have been minded to show the world how severe I can be." He said he
had made further inquiry concerning the use of the pallium in litanies by
former Bishops of Ravenna. One witness had averred that it was only worn when
relics were deposited; another, named Adeodatus, sometime deacon of Ravenna,
asserted that it was worn only on the festivals of St. John the Baptist, St.
Peter, and St. Apollinaris; several Roman responsales,
however, affirmed that it was never worn in litanies by any former bishops nor
even by John himself until after Gregory’s accession. The balance of evidence
thus seemed to show that the alleged custom was nothing more than a
“surreptitious usurpation” of very recent origin. Gregory, however, felt that
it would be unwise to ignore altogether the wishes of the Exarch and the other
official persons who had written to him. He accordingly ordered careful inquiry
to be made at Constantinople regarding the use of the pallium in litanies, and
promised that if the practice was found to obtain anywhere, he would not deny
it to the Church of Ravenna. Meanwhile, until accurate information came to
hand, he permitted John to go vested with the pallium on the festivals of St.
John the Baptist, St. Peter, and St. Apollinaris, and on the anniversary of his
consecration; at other times he was to wear it only at mass.
On the 11th of January 595, John died, after an
episcopate of more than sixteen years. Since the consecration of the Bishops of
Ravenna was at this time performed in Rome, Gregory directed that one or more
of those nominated for the bishopric should be sent to him without delay,
accompanied by five of the senior priests, the same number of influential
laymen, and some others of the clergy. Accordingly, in due time two candidates
arrived. One was Donatus archdeacon of Ravenna, who had secured the interest of
the Exarch, and was supported by the suffrages of the official party; the other
was a priest named John. The event of the election is told in the following
letter from Gregory to Andrews: “We were anxious to comply with the wishes of
his Excellency the Patrician in favour of Donatus the
archdeacon. But since it is very perilous to the soul to ordain any one without
careful consideration, we made it our business to investigate thoroughly his
life and character. And whereas we discovered much which disqualified him from
being made bishop—of which we have notified our Lord the Patrician by letter—we
felt that we could not possibly consent to his consecration, as we fear the
judgment of God. Nor did we venture to ordain the priest John, because he did
not know the Psalms—a circumstance which proved that he was deficient in zeal
for his own improvement. These candidates then being rejected, and the persons
present being urged by us to choose one of their own people, and confessing
that they could produce no one fit for the office, both they and we alike were
greatly grieved. At last with one consent and with united voice they over and
over again petitioned for my venerable brother, the priest Marinianus, who, as
they knew, had been a long time with me in my monastery. He tried in various
ways to get off, and was with difficulty persuaded at last to accept their
petition. As we know his character well, and have found him zealous for winning
souls, we ordained him without delay. I pray your Glory, therefore, to receive
him kindly, comforting him and helping him in his inexperience, for, as you
well know, inexperience makes the work of any office very troublesome”.
Curiously enough, Marinianus, the Roman, was a nephew
of his predecessor. He was a man of considerable personal beauty, with a long,
ruddy face, and flashing grey eyes. His character was spotless, and his
affection for Gregory sincere. Doubtless the Pope congratulated himself on the
result of the election, expecting that now the pallium controversy would be
quietly dropped, and that his own influence at Ravenna would be increased by
means of his old fellow-monk and pupil. If such was his expectation, however,
Gregory met with a disappointment. Once consecrated bishop, Marinianus found it
impossible to retreat from the position taken up by his predecessor. Feeling at
Ravenna was very strong, and the clergy and officials united in pressing the
bishop to resist the intrusions of Rome. Hence, whether of his own free will or
by compulsion, Marinianus went over to the party of resistance, and Gregory had
the mortification of seeing his old friend taking sides with the Exarch and the
disobedient clerical faction against himself.
Soon after the consecration of Marinianus, the Pope
had sent him the pallium, directing him to wear it only during the celebration
of mass and during the solemn litanies on the four great festivals, according
to the instructions furnished to John. But this concession by no means
satisfied the patriotic party at Ravenna. Once more official pressure was
brought to bear upon the Pope. In particular, "the magnificent Lord
Andrew" was ceaseless in his importunity, boldly asserting that it was the
custom at Ravenna to wear the pallium daily in a solemn litany, except during
the season of Lent. Gregory was naturally astonished at this statement, which
conflicted not only with those of his own delegates, but also with that of
Adeodatus. Nevertheless, he could not avoid reopening the question. He promised
to allow the Church of Ravenna to retain such customs as could be proved to
have existed before the time of Bishop John. And to discover what exactly these
were, he ordered that the senior clergy and laity should assemble before the
body of St. Apollinaris, and, touching his sepulcher, should take oath in the
following form: “I swear by the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, the
undivided Trinity of Divine Power, and by this body of the blessed martyr
Apollinaris, that without favor to any one and without advantage to myself, I
give my testimony. But this I know by personal experience, that before the time
of John, the late bishop, in the presence of such and such representatives of
the Apostolic See, on such and such days, the Bishop of Ravenna was accustomed
to wear the pallium, and I am not aware that he had secretly or in the absence
of the Roman representative usurped this privilege”.
It seems, however, that this investigation was never
held. At any rate, it led to no definite result. For three years later (in 599)
we find Gregory complaining of the difficulty of extracting the truth from
those who were sent by Marinianus to treat with him on the matter, and ordering
another inquiry to be instituted. How the affair finally ended we do not know.
There is no evidence to show that Marinianus and his supporters submitted to
the Pope's regulations, nor is it likely that these regulations were ever
formally cancelled. The probability is that the question was allowed to drop.
The pallium controversy illustrates the jealous temper
of the Ravennate clergy, and their rooted belief that
the Pope desired to encroach. This hostility to Rome was clearly expressed in
596, when an abbat named Claudius appealed against
the sentence of the bishop, and Gregory proceeded to try his case. Both clergy
and laity were loud in their complaints that such an act of interference was
contrary to the canons of the Church and to Imperial law. “Do not mind what
foolish people say”, wrote Gregory to Marinianus, “and do not think that we are
doing any injustice to your Church”. The cause, he went on to explain, could
not be tried at Ravenna, because the complaint of the abbat was that he had been unjustly treated by the late bishop. He had, therefore, a
perfect right to appeal to a higher authority. And if according to the canons,
appeals could be made from Constantinople, the Imperial city, to the Apostolic
See, much more could they be made from Ravenna. Marinianus recognized that in
this instance Gregory was in the right. He therefore sent proctors to represent
him at the trial in Rome, and acquiesced without protest in the result, which
was favorable to the monastery.
The conduct and administration of the bishop himself
Gregory watched very closely, and he sent him at times some severe reproofs.
Complaints came to Rome, for instance, that the clergy of Ravenna oppressed the
monasteries, and that monks who had been ordained for parochial work continued
to reside among the brethren. Gregory charged Marinianus to correct these
abuses, and when his first admonition was productive of no effect, he wrote
again yet more sharply: “Do not defer the correction of this evil now that you
have been warned a second time. For if we find you still negligent—which we do
not think will be the case—we shall be compelled to provide for the peace of
the monasteries in another way. Be it known to you that we will not allow the
congregation of God's servants to be subject any longer to such oppression”.
With all his affection for his old friend, Gregory
seems to have felt, especially at first, that Marinianus was too much a recluse
and too little a man of business to administer satisfactorily so important a
see. The discontent he felt is vented in a letter to the Abbat Secundus, about
a year after Marinianus's appointment. “Talk to my brother and fellow-bishop
Marinianus, and do your best to stir him up, for I suspect that he has gone to
sleep. Among a party of men who came to me the other day were some mendicants.
I asked them what had been given them and by whom, and they told me what each
person had given them during their journey. And when I anxiously inquired what
Marinianus had given them, they answered that they had asked of him but had
received nothing, not even bread for their journey, although it always used to
be the custom of the Church of Ravenna to give to everybody. Their words were,
He answered us saying: I have nothing to give you! I am indeed surprised that a
man who has garments, who has silver, who has food, has nothing to give to the
poor. Tell him that, as he has changed his position, so he ought to change his
ideas. He must not think that study and prayer are enough for him, and that he
may sit by himself and make no profit by the work of his hands. He must have an
open hand, he must help those who are in want, he must regard the distresses of
others as though they were his own,—otherwise he bears the name of a bishop in
vain. I have given him some advice in a letter for his soul's good, but he has
answered me not a word, so I suppose he has not condescended even to read it. I
have therefore not felt bound to give him any counsel in a letter that I have
just sent him; I have only written to him as an adviser in matters of worldly
business. I am not obliged to weary myself with dictating a letter to a man who
will not read it. I therefore beg your Affection to talk over the whole matter
with him privately, and to admonish him how he ought to act, lest—which God
forbid!—he lose by his negligence the life he once possessed”.
Marinianus's slackness, however, seems to have been
incurable, and some time afterwards we find Gregory writing to him that he had
wished to entrust some affairs to his management, but, seeing how neglectful he
had been in one matter, he would not trouble him about the others. Yet if the
Bishop of Ravenna was sometimes disposed to think that the reproofs he received
were too severe, the following letter, written on a bed of sickness, must have
proved to him that the Pope's affection was in no way lessened :—
“On the arrival of a person from Ravenna I was greatly
shocked and grieved to hear that your Fraternity was suffering from spitting of
blood. I have caused careful inquiry to be made of every one of the doctors
here who are known to be well informed upon the subject, and I have sent you a
written statement of what they severally thought and of what they prescribed.
Above all things, they recommend quiet and silence, and I am very doubtful
whether you can obtain this while you remain in your diocese. I therefore think
you ought to make arrangements for the management of your Church, appoint
persons to celebrate mass, to show hospitality, to receive strangers and look
after the monasteries, and then come to me before the summer, that I may
myself, to the utmost of my power, take special care of your health and see
that you are kept quiet. The doctors say that the summertime is very dangerous
for persons suffering from your complaint. Hence I am very much afraid that if,
in addition to the unfavorableness of the season, you
should be troubled with anxieties about your diocese, the disease will become
yet more dangerous than it is at present. I am very weak myself, and I feel it
very desirable that you should, by God's grace, return in good health to your
Church, or that, if you are to be called away from earth, you should receive
the call in the arms of your own friends, or that, if Almighty God should see
fit to call me before you—and I am not far from death—I should pass away in
your arms. If, however, the troubled state of the country is an obstacle to
your journey, Agilulf may be induced, for a small present, to send one of his
own men to escort you as far as Rome. If you feel that the disease continues
and you make up your mind to come here, you need bring but few persons with
you, because you will live with me in my palace, and will be waited on daily by
the attendants belonging to the Church. Furthermore, I do not exhort or
advise, but I strictly charge you not to venture to fast, because the doctors
say that fasting is very injurious in such cases. If, however, some important
celebration requires you to do so, I allow you to fast five times in the year.
You must also give up observing the vigils; and you must get someone else to
recite the prayers, which, according to the custom at Ravenna, are said over
the Paschal candle, and to deliver the expositions of the Gospel which are
given by the bishops about the time of Easter. On no account undertake any work
which is beyond your strength. I say this that, in case you feel better and so
defer coming here, you may know what care you ought to take of yourself, in
obedience to my orders”.
The Bishop of Ravenna did not accept Gregory's
invitation. His health seems to have improved, and he outlived Gregory two
years, dying on the 23rd of October 606.
CHAPTER V.GREGORY PATRIARCH OF THE WEST.HIS RELATIONS WITH OTHER WESTERN CHURCHES.THE CHURCH OF ISTRIA
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