Gregory the Great (Wisigothic)→Unknown|gregory great
From: Gregory the Great, Pope, in Rome
To: All monks on the Island of Monte Cristo
Date: ~591 AD
Context: Gregory orders the irregular monks of Monte Cristo to obey their abbot Horosius.
Gregory to all monks established on the island of Monte Cristo [a small island off the Tuscan coast with a monastic community].
It has come to our attention that certain monks in your community are behaving irregularly — departing from the discipline of their rule and refusing the authority of Abbot Horosius, who has been lawfully appointed over you.
This must stop. A monastic community that does not submit to its abbot's authority is not properly a monastery — it is merely a group of individuals sharing a location. The whole point of the monastic life is the submission of the individual will to the common good as directed by the abbot; this is not an incidental feature but the heart of the institution.
I therefore direct all of you to obey Abbot Horosius in all things pertaining to the regular life. If you have genuine grievances against him, these may be brought to the attention of the bishop with proper oversight of your community, who will examine them according to canonical procedure. You may not use those grievances as justification for disobedience in the meantime.
Obey. And if obedience is difficult, remember that it is precisely in the difficulty that the virtue lies.
Gregory
Context:Gregory orders the irregular monks of Monte Cristo to obey their abbot Horosius.
Gregory to all monks established on the island of Monte Cristo [a small island off the Tuscan coast with a monastic community].
It has come to our attention that certain monks in your community are behaving irregularly — departing from the discipline of their rule and refusing the authority of Abbot Horosius, who has been lawfully appointed over you.
This must stop. A monastic community that does not submit to its abbot's authority is not properly a monastery — it is merely a group of individuals sharing a location. The whole point of the monastic life is the submission of the individual will to the common good as directed by the abbot; this is not an incidental feature but the heart of the institution.
I therefore direct all of you to obey Abbot Horosius in all things pertaining to the regular life. If you have genuine grievances against him, these may be brought to the attention of the bishop with proper oversight of your community, who will examine them according to canonical procedure. You may not use those grievances as justification for disobedience in the meantime.
Obey. And if obedience is difficult, remember that it is precisely in the difficulty that the virtue lies. Gregory
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.