Letter 2007: We execute more efficiently our heavenly commission, if we share our burdens with our brethren. For this cause we appoint you, our most reverend brother and fellow bishop, to have administration over all the churches of Sicily in the name of the Apostolical See, so that whosoever there is reckoned as being in a condition of religion may by our a...
Pope Gregory the Great→Maximianus, of Syracuse|c. 591 AD|gregory great
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Travel & mobility
Book II, Letter 7
To Maximianus, Bishop of Syracuse [Gregory's close friend and trusted deputy in Sicily].
Gregory to Maximianus.
We carry out our heavenly commission more effectively when we share our burdens with our fellow bishops. For this reason, we appoint you, our most reverend brother, to administer all the churches of Sicily in the name of the Apostolic See [the papacy].
Whoever is recognized as belonging to the religious community there is, by our authority, to be subject to Your Fraternity. This way, they will no longer need to make such long sea voyages to consult us on minor matters. Only those cases of real difficulty that cannot be resolved by your judgment should be referred to us. This will allow us to focus more effectively on the major issues, freed from the trivial ones.
Note that we grant this authority not to your office but to your person, because your past conduct has shown us what we may expect of you in the future.
The month of December; the tenth Indiction [591 AD].
Book II, Letter 7
To Maximianus, Bishop of Syracuse.
Gregory to Maximianus, etc.
We execute more efficiently our heavenly commission, if we share our burdens with our brethren. For this cause we appoint you, our most reverend brother and fellow bishop, to have administration over all the churches of Sicily in the name of the Apostolical See, so that whosoever there is reckoned as being in a condition of religion may by our authority be subject to your Fraternity, to the end that it may not hereafter be necessary for them to make such long sea-voyages in resorting to us for slight causes. But if by any chance there are matters of difficulty which can by no means be settled by the judgment of your Fraternity, in these only let our judgment be solicited, that so we may occupy ourselves more efficaciously in greater causes, being relieved from the least. And be it understood that we give this delegation of authority, not to your place, but to your person, because we have learned from your past life what we may presume of you in your future conduct.
The month of December, the tenth Indiction.
About this page
Source. Translated by James Barmby. From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 12. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1895.) Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. <https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/360202007.htm>.
Contact information. The editor of New Advent is Kevin Knight. My email address is feedback732 at newadvent.org. (To help fight spam, this address might change occasionally.) Regrettably, I can't reply to every letter, but I greatly appreciate your feedback — especially notifications about typographical errors and inappropriate ads.
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Book II, Letter 7
To Maximianus, Bishop of Syracuse [Gregory's close friend and trusted deputy in Sicily].
Gregory to Maximianus.
We carry out our heavenly commission more effectively when we share our burdens with our fellow bishops. For this reason, we appoint you, our most reverend brother, to administer all the churches of Sicily in the name of the Apostolic See [the papacy].
Whoever is recognized as belonging to the religious community there is, by our authority, to be subject to Your Fraternity. This way, they will no longer need to make such long sea voyages to consult us on minor matters. Only those cases of real difficulty that cannot be resolved by your judgment should be referred to us. This will allow us to focus more effectively on the major issues, freed from the trivial ones.
Note that we grant this authority not to your office but to your person, because your past conduct has shown us what we may expect of you in the future.
The month of December; the tenth Indiction [591 AD].
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.