To the Emperor Maurice, Against the Title of Universal Bishop

Gregory to Maurice, and so on. [a]

Our most pious lord, appointed by God, among his other imperial cares and burdens also keeps watch with upright spiritual zeal over the keeping of peace among the priests. For he devoutly and truly considers that no one can govern earthly things rightly unless he knows how to deal with divine things, and that the peace of the state hangs on the peace of the universal church. For, most serene lord, what human power, what strength of fleshly arm, would dare to lift impious hands against the lofty height of your most Christian empire, if the priests, with hearts in harmony, were eager to plead with their Redeemer for you with their tongues, and also, as they ought, by their merits? Or what sword of a most savage race would advance with such cruelty to slaughter the faithful, if the life of us, who are called priests but are not, were not weighed down by most wicked deeds? But while we neglect what concerns us and think about what does not concern us, we join our sins to the forces of the barbarians; and our fault, which weighs down the forces of the state, sharpens the swords of the enemy. And what shall we say for ourselves? We press down the people of God, over whom we are unworthily set, with the loads of our sins. We destroy by our example what we preach with our tongue. By our deeds we teach what is unrighteous, and only with our voice do we set forth what is righteous. Our bones are worn down by fasts, and in our minds we swell with pride. Our bodies are covered with mean clothing, and in the pride of our hearts we outdo the purple. We lie in ashes, and we look down on what is lofty. Teachers of humility, we are leaders of pride; behind the faces of sheep we hide the teeth of wolves. But what comes of all this, except that we persuade men, but are laid bare before God? So it is with great foresight that our most pious lord, to restrain the movements of war, seeks the peace of the church, and to bind it together is pleased to bring the hearts of its priests back into harmony. This is indeed what I wish, and for my part I give obedience to his most serene commands. But this is not my cause; it is God’s. The pious laws, the venerable synods, the very commands of our Lord Jesus Christ are thrown into confusion by the invention of a certain proud and pompous expression. So let our most pious lord cut into the place where the sore is, and bind the patient who resists in the chains of imperial authority. For in binding these things up tightly you bring relief to the state, and in cutting such things away you provide for the lengthening of your reign. [c]

For it is plain to all who know the Gospel that by the Lord’s own voice the care of the whole church was entrusted to the holy apostle Peter, Prince of all the apostles. For to him it is said, “Peter, do you love me? Feed my sheep.” To him it is said, “See, Satan has desired to sift you like wheat; and I have prayed for you, Peter, that your faith may not fail. And you, when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” To him it is said, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth will be bound also in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed also in heaven.” [d] See: he received the keys of the heavenly kingdom; the power to bind and loose is given to him; the care and the chief rule of the whole church are entrusted to him; and yet he is not called the universal apostle. Meanwhile the most holy man, my fellow priest John, tries to be called Universal Bishop. I am forced to cry out and say, “O what times! O what ways!” [e]

See: everything in the regions of Europe has been given over into the power of barbarians. Cities are destroyed, forts are overthrown, provinces are emptied of their people, and no farmer lives on the land. Worshipers of idols rage and lord it every day to slaughter the faithful. And yet priests, who ought to lie weeping on the ground and in ashes, seek names of vanity for themselves and boast in new and profane titles. Am I, most pious lord, defending my own cause in this matter? Am I resenting a wrong done to me in particular? No: it is the cause of Almighty God, the cause of the universal church. Who is this who, against the ordinances of the Gospel and against the decrees of the canons, dares to usurp a new name for himself? I wish that he who longs to be universal were indeed one by himself, if only he could be so without lessening anyone else!

And we certainly know that many priests of the church of Constantinople have fallen into the whirlpool of heresy, and have become not only heretics but even founders of heresies. From there came Nestorius, who thought Jesus Christ, the Mediator between God and men, to be two persons, because he did not believe that God could be made man; and he broke out even into the unbelief of the Jews. From there came Macedonius, who denied that God the Holy Spirit is of one substance with the Father and the Son. So if anyone in that church takes for himself that name by which he makes himself the head of all the good, it follows that the universal church falls from its standing (which God forbid) when he who is called universal falls. But far from Christian hearts be that name of blasphemy, by which the honor of all priests is taken away while one man madly claims it for himself. [f] It is true that, in honor of Peter, prince of the apostles, this name was offered to the Roman pontiff by the venerable Synod of Chalcedon. But none of them has ever agreed to use this name of singularity, for fear that, if something were given to one alone, priests in general would be deprived of the honor due to them. How is it, then, that we do not seek the glory of this title even when it is offered, and another dares to seize it for himself though it was never offered? [h]

So the one who ought rather to be bent by the order of our most pious lords is he who scorns to give obedience to the commands of the canons. He is the one to be restrained who wrongs the holy universal church, who swells with pride in his heart, who longs to delight in a name of singularity, and who by a title peculiar to himself even sets himself above the dignity of your empire. See, we all suffer offense over this matter. So let the author of the offense be brought back to a right way of life, and all the quarrels of priests will cease. For I, for my part, am the servant of all priests, so long as they live as priests should. But whoever, through the swelling of empty glory, lifts up his neck against Almighty God and against the statutes of the fathers, I trust in Almighty God that he will not bend my neck to himself, not even with swords.

Moreover, I have told my deacon and representative Sabinianus in full what was done in this city when we heard of this title. So let my lords in their piety think of me as their own, whom they have always cherished and supported beyond others, and who wishes to give obedience to you and yet fears to be found guilty at the heavenly and fearful judgment. And, in answer to the petition of the deacon Sabinianus, let my most pious lord either be pleased to judge this business himself, or move the man so often mentioned to give up this attempt at last. If, then, through the most just judgment of your piety he complies with your orders, even if they are gentle ones, we will give thanks to Almighty God and rejoice in the peace granted through you to the whole church. But if he persists any longer in his present contention, we hold that this sentence of the Truth is already fulfilled: “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled.” And again it is written, “Before a fall the heart is lifted up.” I, however, in obedience to the commands of my lords, have both written gently to my fellow priest and humbly urged him to correct himself of this craving for empty glory. If he is willing to listen to me, he has a devoted brother. But if he persists in pride, I already see what will follow: he will find as his adversary the One of whom it is written, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” [i]