To Constantius, Bishop of Milan, on Fallen Clergy

Gregory to Constantius, bishop of Milan. If those who have fallen are given leave to be restored to their rank, the force of the church’s discipline is undoubtedly broken, since in the hope of being restored no one is afraid to give way to his evil desires. Your fraternity, for instance, has asked us whether Amandinus, formerly a presbyter and formerly an abbot, who was deposed by your predecessor for a fault that called for it, should be brought back to his rank. That is not allowable, and we decree that it cannot be done on any account. Still, if his way of life deserves it, since he has been stripped of his sacred office altogether, give him a place in a monastery, as you see fit, ahead of the other monks. Above all, then, take care that no one’s pleading persuades you in any way to restore the fallen to their sacred orders. Otherwise it might be thought that such a punishment was not laid on them for good, but only as a measure for the time being. [a]

As for Vitalianus, the former presbyter, who you write should be kept under strict guard, we will have him sent to Sicily. There, cut off from all hope of leaving, he may at least bring himself to weep in penitence. Jobinus too, of Porto Venere, once a deacon and abbot, we have decreed is to be stripped of his office, and we have written that another is to be ordained in his place. In the same way we decree that the three subdeacons whom your fraternity has reported to us as having fallen are to give up their office and remain stripped of it for good, and that nothing beyond lay communion is to be allowed them. Further, we have ruled that Saturninus, the former presbyter, is to give a pledge that he will never presume to approach the ministry of his sacred order. And we wish him to remain, stripped of his sacred order, on the same island where he was, while we allow him to have and exercise care and oversight of monasteries. For we believe that his fall has made him more wary, and that he will now keep watch all the more carefully over those entrusted to him. [b]

Further, concerning John, the notary of your church, the love with which we love you, and have long loved you, warns us to write, so that you do not give any order about him while you are still provoked by his fault. Guard against this, then, and look fully, by every means in your power, into the possessions of your church. In this way you will not offend God, and he will not be able to find grounds for accusing you before men. For we are not writing to defend John, or to commend him personally without reason, but so that your soul may not be burdened with sin in any way under the goading of anger. That is why, as we said before, you must on no account neglect to look into the possessions of your church, in the fear of God, with a full investigation.

Furthermore, your most dear fraternity’s letter has made us wonder a great deal about the matter of Fortunatus. Either that letter was not dictated by you, or, if it is yours, we certainly do not recognize in it our brother the lord Constantius. You ought to have kept in mind, and ought still to keep in mind, that it is for the sake of your good name that we write. For when he claims that he suffers wrong among you and has been unable to get the help of the defensor, what else is he suggesting but ill will on your part? So, that this affair may not dim your good name in some quarters, and that no harm may perhaps come to your church with good cause, you ought to send someone here whom you have instructed, so that the nature of the case can be examined and the matter settled without ill will on your part. This matters especially because, if sentence were given in your favor among yourselves after his complaint, people would believe that he had been defeated not by reason but by power alone. But out of the love that binds us to you, we do not stop urging you to do what will serve your good name. We know that though this urging saddens you for now, it will give you joy later, once the heat of the dispute has passed. In the month of September, in the thirteenth indiction. [c]