To Januarius, Bishop of Cagliari, on the Will of the Abbess Sirica

Gregory to Januarius, and so on.

The law has laid down in plain terms that those who enter a monastery to take up the monastic life are no longer free to make wills, but that their property passes into the possession of that monastery. Since almost everyone knows this, we were greatly surprised by the report of Gavinia, abbess of the monastery of Saints Gavinus and Luxorius, that Sirica, abbess of her monastery, had made a will leaving certain legacies after receiving the office of governing it. And when we asked your holiness’s solicitude why you had allowed property belonging to the monastery to be held by others, our common son Epiphanius, your archpresbyter, who was present before us, replied that the abbess had refused to the day of her death to wear the monastic habit, and had gone on wearing the kind of dress worn by the presbyteresses of that place. To this Gavinia replied that the practice had become almost lawful by custom, pointing out that the abbess before Sirica had worn such dress. [a]

Since we had begun to feel no small doubt about the character of the dress, it seemed necessary to consider with our legal advisers, and with other learned men of this city, what the law required. Having considered the matter, they answered that once an abbess had been solemnly ordained by the bishop, and had presided over the government of a monastery for many years until the end of her life, the character of her dress might bring blame on the bishop for having allowed it, but still could not prejudice the monastery: her property belongs by clear right to that house from the time she entered it and was made abbess. So, since Gavinia asserts that a guesthouse wrongly holds possession of property unlawfully left to it, and since both the monastery and the guesthouse are in your city, we urge you to see to it with all care and diligence that, if this possession comes from no earlier contract but from Sirica’s bequest, it is restored to the monastery without dispute or evasion. But if by chance it is said to have come from some other contract, then either let your fraternity find out the truth between the parties and decide as legal order seems to require, or let them by mutual consent choose arbitrators who can decide between their claims. And whatever these decide, see to it under your care that it is kept, so that no grudge may remain between the venerable houses, which ought by all means to be cherished in mutual peace and harmony.

Therefore everything else held under Sirica’s will, since none of it is permitted by legal sanction, must be carefully restored to the monastery’s possession through your fraternity’s priestly care. For the imperial constitutions plainly lay down that what has been done against the laws is not only void, but is to be held as never having been done at all.