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E06367: A letter of Pope Gregory the Great (Register 6.31) of 596, to his notary Castor in Ravenna (northern Italy), seeks sworn testimony over the relics of *Apollinaris (bishop and martyr of Ravenna, S00331) regarding the earlier practice of bishops of Ravenna in the wearing of the pallium. Written in Latin in Rome.
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posted on 2018-09-11, 00:00 authored by francesPope Gregory the Great, Register of Letters 6.31
This letter continues a long-standing dispute with Ravenna over its bishop's excessive (in Rome's eyes) use of the pallium (see E06354 and E06353). Gregory instructs Castor to find older priests and laymen who can testify how bishops of Ravenna had used the pallium in times gone by:
Et ueniant ante corpus sancti Apollinaris et tacto eius sepulcro iurent, quae consuetudo ante Iohannis episcopi tempora fuerit.
‘And let them come before the body of Saint Apollinaris, and touching his sepulchre, swear as to what the custom was before the time of Bishop John.’
Gregory then provides the oath which must be sworn:
IURAMENTUM. Iuro ego per Patrem et Filium et Spiritum Sanctum, inseparabilis diuinae potentiae trinitatem, et hoc corpus beati Apollinaris martyris me pro nullius fauore personae neque commodo aliquo interueniente testari. Sed hoc scio et per memetipsum cognoui quia ante tempora Iohannis quondam episcopi Rauennas episcopus praesente apocrisiario sedis apostolicae illo atque illo et illis diebus consuetudinem utendi pallio habuit; et non cognoui quia hoc latenter uel absente apocrisiario usurpasset.
‘The oath: I swear by the Father and Son and Holy Spirit, the indivisible Trinity of divine power, and by this body of Saint Apollinaris the martyr, that I give my testimony without favouring any person or allowing any advantage to intervene. But this I know, and learned myself, that before the time of John, late bishop of Ravenna, the bishop, in the presence of the emissary of the apostolic see, on this, and that, and these days was accustomed to using the pallium. And I have not found that he usurped this privilege secretly or in the absence of an emissary.’
Text: Norberg 1982, vol. 1, 404. Translation: Martyn 2004, vol. 2, 425-6, modified.
This letter continues a long-standing dispute with Ravenna over its bishop's excessive (in Rome's eyes) use of the pallium (see E06354 and E06353). Gregory instructs Castor to find older priests and laymen who can testify how bishops of Ravenna had used the pallium in times gone by:
Et ueniant ante corpus sancti Apollinaris et tacto eius sepulcro iurent, quae consuetudo ante Iohannis episcopi tempora fuerit.
‘And let them come before the body of Saint Apollinaris, and touching his sepulchre, swear as to what the custom was before the time of Bishop John.’
Gregory then provides the oath which must be sworn:
IURAMENTUM. Iuro ego per Patrem et Filium et Spiritum Sanctum, inseparabilis diuinae potentiae trinitatem, et hoc corpus beati Apollinaris martyris me pro nullius fauore personae neque commodo aliquo interueniente testari. Sed hoc scio et per memetipsum cognoui quia ante tempora Iohannis quondam episcopi Rauennas episcopus praesente apocrisiario sedis apostolicae illo atque illo et illis diebus consuetudinem utendi pallio habuit; et non cognoui quia hoc latenter uel absente apocrisiario usurpasset.
‘The oath: I swear by the Father and Son and Holy Spirit, the indivisible Trinity of divine power, and by this body of Saint Apollinaris the martyr, that I give my testimony without favouring any person or allowing any advantage to intervene. But this I know, and learned myself, that before the time of John, late bishop of Ravenna, the bishop, in the presence of the emissary of the apostolic see, on this, and that, and these days was accustomed to using the pallium. And I have not found that he usurped this privilege secretly or in the absence of an emissary.’
Text: Norberg 1982, vol. 1, 404. Translation: Martyn 2004, vol. 2, 425-6, modified.
History
Evidence ID
E06367Saint Name
Apollinaris, bishop and martyr of Ravenna : S00331Saint Name in Source
ApollinarisRelated Saint Records
Type of Evidence
Literary - LettersLanguage
- Latin
