Letter 32

From: The Austrasian Court To: [Church official] Date: ~571 AD Context: Austrasian letter 32; royal communication regarding the founding and governance of a new monastery, establishing its privileges and its relationship to royal and episcopal authority. To the bishop in whose diocese the newly founded monastery of the Holy Mother of God is situated, We have confirmed the founding of this monastery and granted it the royal protection that our predecessors granted to other houses of God in this kingdom. The monks who have gathered there under the leadership of the abbot do so with our blessing and with the protection of our name. The conditions of that protection are as follows: the monastery is exempt from the public levies that apply to secular properties, subject to the provisions of the grant we are issuing separately. The abbot governs the internal affairs of the monastery according to the Rule they have adopted. The bishop has the right to conduct canonical visitation of the monastery and to examine whether it is being governed according to its rule and the canons of the church. In case of conflict between the abbot and the bishop on matters of internal governance, the matter is to be brought to us for resolution. We expect such cases to be rare, since we believe the relationship between a bishop and the monasteries in his diocese should be one of mutual support rather than competition. We commend this new community to God's protection and to yours. By order of the king