Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Ser. II, Vol. XII:
The Book of Pastoral Rule, and Selected Epistles, of Gregory the Great.: Epistle IV

Epistle IV.

To Cyriacus, Bishop.

Gregory to Cyriacus, Bishop of Constantinople.

We have received with becoming charity our common sons, George the presbyter and Theodore your deacon; and we rejoice that you have passed from the care of ecclesiastical business to the government of souls, since, according to the voice of the Truth, He that is faithful in a little will be faithful also in much (Luke xvi. 10).  And to the servant who administers well it is said, Because thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things (Matth. xxv. 23); to whom also it is presently said further with respect to eternal retribution, Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.  Now you say in your letter that you had exceedingly wished for rest.  But in this you shew that you have fitly assumed pastoral responsibility, since, as a place of rule should be denied to those who covet it, so it should be offered to those who fly from it.  And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron (Hebr. v. 4).  And again the same excellent preacher says, If one died far all, then all died; and Christ died for all.  It remaineth that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again (2 Cor. 5:14, 15).  And to the shepherd of holy Church it is said, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?  Feed My sheep (John xxi. 17).  From which words it appears that, if one who is able refuses to feed the sheep of Almighty God, he shews that he does not love the chief Shepherd.  For if the Only-begotten of the Father, for accomplishing the good of all, came forth from the secrecy of the Father into the midst of us, what shall we say, if we prefer our secrecy to the good of our p. 211b neighbours?  Thus rest is to be desired by us with all our heart; and yet for the advantage of many it should sometimes be laid aside.  For, as we ought with full desire to fly from occupation, so, if there should be a want of some one to preach, we must needs put a willing shoulder under the burden of occupation.  And this we are taught by the conduct of two prophets 1684 , one of whom attempted to shun the office of preaching, while the other desired it.  For to the Lord who sent him Jeremias replied saying, Ah, Lord God, I cannot speak; for I am a child (Jer. i. 6).  And when Almighty God sought for some one to preach, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Isaias offered himself of his own accord, saying, Here am I, send me (Isa. 1:0, Isa. 6:8).  Lo, different voices proceeded outwardly from the two, but they flowed from the same fountain of love.

For indeed there are two precepts of charity; to wit, the love of God and of one’s neighbour.  Wherefore Isaias, wishing to profit his neighbours by an active life, desires the office of preaching; but Jeremias, longing to cling assiduously to the love of his Maker by a contemplative life, protests against being sent to preach.  What, then, one laudably desired the other laudably shrunk from:  the latter lest by speaking he should lose the gains of silent contemplation; the former lest by keeping silence he should feel the loss of diligent work.  But this is nicely to be observed in both, that he who refused did not resist finally, and he who wished to be sent saw himself previously purged by a coal from the altar; that so no one who has not been purged should dare to approach sacred ministries, nor any one whom heavenly grace chooses refuse proudly under a show of humility.

Moreover I find you in your epistles seeking with great longing after serenity of mind, and panting for tranquillity of thought apart from perturbation.  But I know not in what manner your Fraternity can attain to this.  For one who has undertaken the pilotage of a ship must needs watch all the more as he further recedes from shore, so as sometimes to foresee from signs the coming storms; sometimes, when they come, either, if they are small, to ride over them in a straight course, or, if they swell violently, to avoid them as they rush on by steering sideways; and often to watch alone when all who are without charge of the ship are at rest.  How, moreover, having undertaken the burden of pastoral charge, can you have serenity of thought, seeing that it is written, Behold giants groan under the waters (Job xxvi. 5)?  For, according to the words of John, The waters are peoples (Rev. xvii. 15).  And the groaning of giants under the waters means that whoso in this world has increased in degree of power, as though in a sort of massive size of body, feels the load of greater tribulation by so much the more as he has taken on himself the care of ruling peoples.  But, if the power of the Holy Spirit breathes upon the afflicted mind, forthwith what was done bodily for the people of Israel takes place with us spiritually.  For it is written, But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea (Exod. xiv. 29).  And through the prophet the Lord promises saying, When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee, and the rivers shall not overflow thee (Isa. 1:0, Isa. 43:2).  For the rivers overflow those whom the active business of this world confounds with perturbation of mind.  But he who is sustained in mind by the grace of the Holy Spirit passes through the waters, and yet is not overflowed by the rivers, because in the midst of crowds of peoples he so proceeds along his way as not to sink the head of his mind beneath the active business of the world.

I also, who, unworthy as I am, have come to a place of rule, had sometimes determined to seek some place of retirement:  but, seeing the Divine counsels to be opposed to me, I submitted the neck of my heart to my Maker’s yoke; especially reflecting on this, that no hidden places whatever can save the soul without the grace of God; and this we observe sometimes, when even saints go astray.  For Lot was righteous in the depraved city itself, and sinned on the mountain (Gen. xix.).  But why speak of these instances, when we know of greater ones?  For what is pleasanter than Paradise?  What safer than Heaven?  And yet man out of Paradise, and the angel from heaven, by sinning fell.  His power, then, should be sought, His grace implored, without whom we are nowhere without fault, with whom we are nowhere without righteousness.  We should, then, take care that perturbation of thought get not the better of our minds; for it can by no means be entirely got rid of.  For whosoever is in a place of rule must needs have to think sometimes even of earthly things, and to have a care also of external things, that the flock committed to him may be able to subsist for accomplishing what it has to do.  But it should be most carefully seen to, that this same care pass not due measure, and that, when lawfully admitted into the heart, it be not allowed to become excessive.  Whence p. 212b it is rightly said through Ezekiel 1685 , Let not the priests shave their heads, nor suffer their locks to grow long; but polling let them poll their heads (Ezek. xliv. 20).  For what are hairs in the head by signification but thoughts in the mind?  For, rising above the brain insensibly, they denote cares of the present life, which from negligent perception, since they come on sometimes importunely, advance as it were without our feeling them.  Since, then, all who are over others ought indeed to have outward anxieties, and yet not to devote themselves to them exceedingly, the priests are rightly forbidden either to shave the head or to let their locks grow long, so that they may neither entirely cut off from themselves carnal thoughts for the life of their subjects, nor again allow them to grow too much.  And it is also there well said, Polling let them poll their heads; meaning that the anxieties of a temporal charge should both proceed as far as is needful, and yet should be soon cut short, lest they grow to an immoderate length.  While therefore both, through external provision administered, the life of bodies is protected, and again intentness of heart is not hindered through the same being immoderate, the hairs on the head of the priest are kept to cover the skin, and cut short so as not to veil the eyes.

Furthermore, we have received in full faith your letters addressed to us, and give thanks to Almighty God, who, by the mutual confession of the faithful, guards the coat that is without seam woven from the top throughout, that is to say His Church, in the unity of grace, from all rent of error; and against the deluge (so to speak) of so many sins of the perishing world constructs an ark of many planks in which the elect of Almighty God may be preserved unto life.  For, when we in our turn send the confession of our faith to you, and you shew your charity towards us, what are we doing in holy Church but smearing the ark with pitch; lest any wave of error enter, and kill all the spiritual as being men, and the carnal as being beasts.

But, when you have wisely professed a right faith, it remains doubtless that you should keep the more warily the peace of hearts, because of what the Truth says, Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another (Mark ix. 50).  And Paul the apostle admonishes, saying, Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephes. iv. 3).  And again he says, Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see God (Hebr. xii. 14).  Which peace indeed you will then truly have with us, if you turn away from the pride of a profane name, according to what the same teacher of the Gentiles says, O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane novelties of words (1 Tim. vi. 20).  For indeed it is too bad, if these who have been made preachers of humility should glory in the elation of a vain name, when the true preacher says, But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ (Gal. vi. 14.).  He then is truly glorious who glories not in temporal power, but, for the name of Christ, glories in His passion.  Herein therefore we embrace you from the bottom of our heart, herein we recognize you as priests, if, rejecting the vanity of words, you occupy the place of holiness with holy humility.  For behold, we have been scandalized by this impious appellation, and retain in our mind and express in words by no means slight complaints.  But your Fraternity knows how the Truth says, If thou offerest thy gift before the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee, leave there thy gift, and go thy way to be first reconciled to thy brother, and then thou shalt come and offer thy gift (Matt. 5:23, 24).  Herein is to be considered, that, while every fault is done away by the offering of sacrifice, so great is the evil of offence engendered in another’s heart that from one who has so sinned the Lord accepts not the sacrifice itself which is wont to do away sin.  Take heed then with speed to wipe off cause of offence from your heart, that Almighty God may be able to regard as acceptable the sacrifice of your offering.

Furthermore, while you have truly and accurately professed the right faith, we find that among those whom you have held to be condemned by the most holy general synods you have condemned a certain Eudoxius; whose name we have not found mentioned in the Latin language either in synods or in the books of the bishops of blessed memory, Epiphanius, Augustin, or Philaster, whom we know to have been the chief disputants against heretics 1686 .  Now if any one of the catholic p. 213b Fathers really condemns him, we undoubtedly follow their opinion.  If, however, in your synodical epistle you have wished to condemn by name those also who, apart from the holy synods, are condemned in the writings of the Fathers, your Fraternity has mentioned too few by many; but if those whom the general synods reject, then too many by this one.  But in the midst of all these things it is to be remembered, that in order that we may be free to profess the true faith and to order whatever has to be done in peace and concord, we ought to pray incessantly for the life of our most serene lords and of their offspring, that Almighty God would subdue barbarous nations under their feet, and grant them long and happy lives, to the end that through a Christian empire the faith which is in Christ may reign.

Footnotes

What follows about Isaiah and Jeremiah occurs also in the Pastoralis Cura, I. 7.

The following fanciful interpretation of Ezekiel’s direction to priests is found also, almost word for word, in the Pastoralis Cura, II. 7.  See note there.

It is a sign of Gregory’s scanty knowledge of the history of controversies that so far he seems never to have heard of so noted an Arian leader as Eudoxius, whose followers, under the name of Eudoxians, had been specifically condemned in the 1st Canon of the first general Council of Constantinople.  But it appears from a subsequent letter (VII. 34), that there was no copy at Rome of the canons of that Council, which had not in fact been accepted there, probably because of the 3rd Canon, which assigned a primacy of honour after Rome to the See of Constantinople as being new Rome.  When he wrote this subsequent letter, he had become aware that the Eudoxians had been so condemned, but still had no idea who Eudoxius had been.  The fact was that he was not well versed in past ecclesiastical history and, being totally ignorant of Greek, could only consult such Latin writings as were within his reach; and in these he had failed to find Eudoxius mentioned.  He applied, however, to the patriarchs of Alexandria and Antioch for further information on the subject (see VII. 34, and VIII. 30), and was at length satisfied that Eudoxius had been a veritable heretic, having been condemned by many Greek Fathers of repute, and concluded that he was “manifestly slain, against whom our heroes have cast so many darts” (VIII. 30).