Letter 7016: **From:** Gregory I, Bishop of Rome

To Bishop Agnellus. He delegates the visitation of the church of Formiae. Gregory to Agnellus, bishop of Terracina. The report sent to us has made plain the death of Bacauda the bishop; wherefore we solemnly delegate to your Fraternity the task of visiting the church thus left destitute. This office it befits you so to discharge that nothing concerning the promotions of the clergy, the revenue, or the furnishings and the ministries, or whatever else may belong to the patrimony of that same church, be presumed upon by anyone. [A gap in the manuscript follows here in the editorial text.] And therefore your Fraternity shall hasten to go to the aforesaid church, and shall make haste with constant exhortations to admonish the clergy and people of that same church, that, with rivalry set aside, with one and the same consent they may seek for a priest to be set over them who may be found worthy of so great a ministry and may in no way be rejected by the venerable canons. And when he has been requested, let him come to us to be consecrated with the solemnity of a decree confirmed by the subscriptions of all, and with the testimony of your Charity by letter. We also admonish your Fraternity that you permit no one to be chosen from another church, unless perhaps among the clergy of that very city in which you are discharging the office of visitation no one worthy of the episcopate could be found-which we do not believe will happen. Providing above all that no person of any manner of life or merit, being a layman, presume to aspire to this, and that you not incur, which God forbid, peril to your own order. [The following fragment belongs to a separate letter concatenated here in the manuscript:] ...by repeated letters to admonish [him] of the communion, that, excuse laid aside, he should hasten to come to us for his own purification; but he chose rather to succumb to excommunication than to render obedience. Whence it comes to pass that the depravity of his own perverse mind drags down others along with him into his own-which is unspeakable to say-perdition. But now, since we have learned that you dissent from his wickedness, finally we exhort you by the present writings that you neither communicate with him, nor make mention of his name amid the sacred solemnities of the masses, so that it may profit your soul that, though late, you have come to be at variance with him; to the end that, delay being removed, you do not put off coming to us, but also that you hasten to bring with you the other bishops and other religious persons whom nevertheless you are able, so that, the case being more subtly examined, both your absolution-if the matter shall require it-and also [theirs] may fittingly and becomingly proceed. [The following are the editors' marginal and footnote annotations, not part of Gregory's letter:] [Footnote, on "calumnia": Indeed that is a most difficult thing; for calumny disturbs even a wise man. Ecclesiastes vii. Rightly Theodoret on Psalm cxviii: "Let not the proud calumniate me." A sad thing is calumny, hard is calumny, although it may have a great reward, etc.-Gussanville.] [Epistle XV.-In the Vatican manuscript, "Gregorio."] [Footnote: In the book on heresies, in chapter [?], the title is: The heresy concerning Christ's descent to the lower regions. But many things follow which Saint Gregory suppresses. That this Philastrius was indeed careless Saint Augustine testifies, in the book on heresies addressed to Quodvultdeus, in the letter prefixed to the treatise; nor does he report this heresy except from Philastrius.-Gussanville.] [Footnote: He agrees with Augustine in many places.-Gussanville.] [Footnote: In the Tours manuscript of Saint [Gatian?] there is appended: in the month of April, indiction 15.] [Epistle XVI.-Footnote: This letter is omitted in the Norman, Anglican, Corbie, and Rheims manuscripts, perhaps because it contains the formula for enjoining a visitation already found in very many letters. It exists in the Royal, Colbertine, and Vatican codices, save one, marked D, which for the most part agrees with the Norman and Anglican.] [Marginal heading: Of Saint Gregory the Great.]

AD ANGNELLUM EPISCOPUNM. Formiensis Ecclesi@ visitationem delegat. Gregorius Agnello episcopo Terracinensi. Obitum Bacaudz antistitis directa relatio pateſe- cit; quapropter visitationis Þ Ecclesiz destitutz ſra- ternitati tuz operam $0!emniter delegamus : quam ita te convenit exhibere , ut nihil de provectionibus clericorum , reditu, vel ornalu, ministeriisque, vel quidquid illud est in patrimonio ejusdem a quoquam ! 1d quidem diflicilliwum ; nam sapientem etiam D 1astri libro de heresibus, in cap. evi titulus ext : He- lurbat calumnia. Krcle. vii. Recie Theodoret. in Peal. cx'im: Non calumnientur me 8uperbi. Tristis res ca- lummia , dura est calumnia, licet magnam mercedem habeat, elc. Gussanv. ; Eeist, XV. — * In Valic., Gregorio. Py resis de Christi descensu ad inſeros. Sed multa sequun- tur que Supprimit sanctus Gregorins, Hunc vero Philasirum indiligentem fuisse testatur Sanctus Au- guslinus, lib. de Heresibus ad Quodvultdeum , in epistola tractalui pretixa ; nec hanc heresim nisi ex Philastro refert. Guzsawv. 4 Convenit Augnsuno muliis in locis. GUuSsawv. * In Turon, S. Cat. subjicitur, mense Apritli, in- dict. 15. h | Eersr. XVI. — © Hee epistola omiltitur in Norm, Anglic. , Corb., Rbem. , ſortasse quod formulam in- jungendz visitationis contineat jain plurimis in epi- stolis repertam. Exstat in Codd. Reg., Colbe+:tino et Vaucanis, $i unum excipias, notatum D, qui ut plu- rimum convenit cum Norm. et Anuglic. $71 SANCTI GREGORI MAGhr preesumarur. Et ideo ſraternitas tua ad pradiclam A dictione communionis iteratis ep!stolis admonere, ut Ecclesiam ire properabit, et assiduis adhortationibus clerum plebemque ejusdem Ecclesize admonere ſesli- net, ut, remolo studio, uno eodemque consensu la- tem sibi przeſiciendum expetat sacerdotem, qui tanto minis'erio dignus valeat reperiri, et a venerandis ca- nonibus nullatenus respuatur. Qui dum fuerit YGZ postulatus , eum $olemnitate deereti omnium $ub- scriptionibus roborati , et dilectionis tuz lestimonio literarum, ad nos 8acrandus occurrat: * commo- nentes etiam ſraternitalem tuam ut nullum de altera eligi permiuatis Ecclesia , nisi forle inter clericos ipsius civitatis in qua visitationis impendis officium nullus ad episcopatum dignus, quod evenire non cre- dimus, potuerit inveniri. Provisurus ante omnia * ne ad nos pro sui puriſicatione venire, excusatione post- posila, properaret; sed elegit excommunicationi $uc- cumbere, quam obedientiam exhibere. Unde contin- git ut perversze ipsius mentis pravitas in $na alios S$ecum, quod dici nefas es1, perditione convolvere!. Nune autem quia ab ejus te nequitia cognovimus dissentire , denique ut nec ei communices, nec n0- minis ipsius ſacias inler sacra mis8arum $olemnia mentionem , ut anime tuz vel sero tc ab eo discor- dasse YGL proliciat, scriptis te praesentibus adhor- tamur; quatenus ad nos mora 8ubmota venire non difſeras , sed et alios tecum , quos tlamen potueris, episcopos c#lerosque religiosos ſeslines adducere : ut causa Subtilius examiuata , Þ et vestra, si res exe- ad hoc cujuslibet conversationis vel meriti laicz per- B gerit, congrue decenlerque debeat absolutio prove- $OnE aspirare pregumant , et tu periculum ordinis tui, quod absit, incurras.