Letter 4079: The matter of slaves who wish to convert to Christianity is one where the church's position must be unambiguous: a...

To Bishop Fortunatus. [Summary:] When a Jewish or pagan slave desires to be converted to the Christian faith, he is to be set at liberty. Gregory to Fortunatus, bishop of Naples. We wrote to your Fraternity before this present time, that those who, from the Jewish superstition and by the inspiration of God, desire to come to the Christian faith should give their masters no license to sell them; but that, from the moment they made known the desire of their will, they ought in all respects to be defended unto liberty. But because, as far as we have learned, certain persons who weigh neither our will nor the enactments of the laws with subtle discernment do not consider themselves bound by this condition in the case of pagan slaves, it behooves your Fraternity [Gratian, Distinction 54, chapter 15] [...] that not only a Jew, but anyone of the pagans as well, who shall wish to become a Christian, after his will has been made manifest, may not by any device or pretext be subject to being sold to any of the Jews; but that he who desires to be converted to the Christian faith should by your protection be vindicated unto liberty by every means. But as for those who must in this manner lose their slaves, lest perchance they should reckon their own interests to be unreasonably impeded, it befits you to observe this matter with careful consideration: namely, that if pagans whom they have bought for the sake of trade from foreign parts should happen, within the three months during which a buyer to whom they ought to be sold is being sought, to flee to the Church, and should say that they wish to become Christians, or should even outside the Church make known such a will, then their masters are to receive their price from the Christian buyer, of course. But if, after the appointed three months, any of such slaves should declare his will and should wish to become a Christian, neither may anyone thereafter buy him, nor may his master under pretext of any occasion dare to sell him, but without doubt he is to be brought to the rewards of liberty; for it is understood that the master had kept him back not for selling, but for serving himself. All these things, therefore, let your Fraternity observe so vigilantly that neither the supplication of certain persons may prevail with you, nor any person steal in upon you. [Cf. John the Deacon, Book 1, no. 46.] [The remaining lines are editorial textual apparatus, not part of the letter: variant readings noted from the Vulgate recent editions; "thus in the Tours, Saint-Gatien, and Vatican manuscripts"; "Letter 33 (al. 31)"; a note that "concerning the Jews" is perhaps added for the sake of explanation, since it is not read in the manuscripts, with cross-references on the slaves of the Jews to Letter 9 of Book 4, the third Novel of Valentinian (year 425) which Sirmond placed in the first volume of the Councils of Gaul, and to the Code, On the Jews, book 17 and the following title, "lest a Christian slave..."]

Ab FORTUNATUM EPISCOPUM. & Judaicum aut paganum mancipium ad Christianam ſidem converti desiderat, in libertatem vindicetur. Gregorius Forlunato episcopo Neapolitano. Fraternitati vestre ante hoc tempus scripsimus, ul hos qui de Judaica $uperslitivne ad Christianam ſidem Deo aspiranle venire desiderant, dominis eo- rum nulla esset licentia venundandi; sed ex eo quo voluntatis suze desiderium prodidissent, defendi in libertatem per omnia debuissent. Sed quia, quantum cognovimns , nec voluntatem nostram, nec !egum Stlatuta sublili scientes discretione pengare, in paga- nis servis hac se non arbiſrantur conditione cons1rin- gi, fraternitatem vestram (Grat. dis. 54, c. 15) opor- © Vulgati recent., i tanti mali conscius etiam pro- D us, © Ita in Turon. S. Gat. et in Vatic. - Eeisr, XXXIIL | Al. 31]. — * Recent., et sf de Ju- deorum, ſorie _ explicationis gratia , nam in Mss. non legitur. mancipiis Judzorum plura ad epist. 9, |. iv. Vide Nov. Valentiniani tertiam, an, 425, quam Sirmondus in primum tomum Conc. Gal- liz conjecit; et in Cod. de Judais, lib. xvit, et lit. £eq., ne Christianum mancipium. mal, non solum Judzus, $ed etiam quisquam paganormm ſieri voluerit Christianus , poslquam volunlas ejus ſuerit pateſacta, nec hunc Þ sub quolibet ingenio vel argumento cuipiam Judzxorum . venundandi facultas Sit, 8ed is qui ad Christianam converli fidem deside- rat deſensione vestra in libertatem modis omnibus vindicetur. Ii vero quos hnjuscemodi oportet servos amillere, ne forsilan utilitates 81as jrrationabiliter estliment impediri, sollicita vos hc convenit consi- deratione servare; ut si Paganos , quos mercimonii causa de externis finibus emerint, intra 1 es menses dum emptor © cui vendi debeant invenitovr, fugere ad Ecclesiam ſorte conligerit , et velle $e fieri dixe- rint Christ anos, vel etiam extra Feclesiam hanc ta- B lem voluntatem prodiderint, pretium eorum a Chri- Stiano $cilicet emptore percipiant. Si autem post przefinitos tres menses quisquam hnjusmodi servo- rum velle suum cdixerit, et fieri voJuerit Christia- nus, nec aliquis eum pos|{modum emere, nec dJomi- nus qualibet occaSionis spercie andeat venundare , 8d ad libertatis procul dubio premia perducatur, quia hunc non ad vendendum, sed ad serviendum sibi intelligitur 4 reservasse. Hac igitur omnia fraterni las vesira ita \igilanter observet, quateius ei nec Supplicatio quorumdam valeat, nec persora Subripe- re. (Cf. Joan. Diac. |. i, n. 46.)