File(s) not publicly available
E02762: A letter of Pope Gregory the Great (Register 1.8) of 590, to bishop Bacauda of Formia, mentions the grave of the martyr *Erasmus (bishop of Antioch and martyr of Formia, S00867) in Formia (southern Italy). Written in Latin in Rome.
online resource
posted on 2017-05-05, 00:00 authored by mpignotPope Gregory the Great, Register of Letters 1.8
Complete text of the letter:
GREGORIVS BACAVDAE EPISCOPO FORMIENSI
Et temporis necessitas nos perurget et imminutio exigit personarum ut destitutis ecclesiis salubri ac prouida debeamus dispositione succurrere. Et ideo, quoniam ecclesiam Minturnensem funditus tam clerus quam plebis destitutam desolatione cognouimus, tuamque pro ea petitionem quatenus Formianae ecclesiae, in qua corpus beati Erasmi martyris requiescit, cuique fraternitas tua praesidet, adiungi debeat piam esse ac iustissimam praeuidentes, necessarium duximus, consulentes tam desolationi loci illius quam tuae ecclesiae paupertati, reditus supradictae ecclesiae Minturnensis uel quicquid ei antiquo modernoque iure uel priuilegio potuit potestque qualibet ratione competere, ad tuae ecclesiae ius potestatemque hac praecepti nostri auctoritate migramus, ut a praesenti tempore sicuti de propria quippe ecclesia debeas cogitare eique competentia tua prouisione disponere, quatenus deinceps quod perire nuncusque potuit pauperum ecclesiae tuae utilitatibus clerique proficiat.
'Gregory to Bacauda, bishop of Formia
The necessity of time urges us, and the diminution of the population demands, that we should assist destitute churches with a helpful and provident disposition. We have learnt that through abandonment, the church of Minturno is as totally destitute of its clergy as it is of its people, and we can see how pious and extremely just your petition is on its behalf, namely that it ought to be joined to the church of Formiae (wherein lies the body of Saint Erasmus the Martyr), over which your Fraternity presides. We have thought it necessary, therefore, in considering the abandonment of the place as much as the poverty of your church, that by the authority of this injunction of ours, we transfer to the right and power of your church the revenues of the above-mentioned church of Minturno, or whatever could and can for whatever reason belong to it, by ancient and modern right or privilege. Thus from now onwards you should think of it as if it were in fact your own church and should dispose of its belongings with foresight, so that thereafter what might have been wasted until now, might benefit the interests of the poor of your church and of your clergy.'
Text: Norberg 1982, vol. 1, 10. Translation: Martyn 2004, vol. 1, 127.
Complete text of the letter:
GREGORIVS BACAVDAE EPISCOPO FORMIENSI
Et temporis necessitas nos perurget et imminutio exigit personarum ut destitutis ecclesiis salubri ac prouida debeamus dispositione succurrere. Et ideo, quoniam ecclesiam Minturnensem funditus tam clerus quam plebis destitutam desolatione cognouimus, tuamque pro ea petitionem quatenus Formianae ecclesiae, in qua corpus beati Erasmi martyris requiescit, cuique fraternitas tua praesidet, adiungi debeat piam esse ac iustissimam praeuidentes, necessarium duximus, consulentes tam desolationi loci illius quam tuae ecclesiae paupertati, reditus supradictae ecclesiae Minturnensis uel quicquid ei antiquo modernoque iure uel priuilegio potuit potestque qualibet ratione competere, ad tuae ecclesiae ius potestatemque hac praecepti nostri auctoritate migramus, ut a praesenti tempore sicuti de propria quippe ecclesia debeas cogitare eique competentia tua prouisione disponere, quatenus deinceps quod perire nuncusque potuit pauperum ecclesiae tuae utilitatibus clerique proficiat.
'Gregory to Bacauda, bishop of Formia
The necessity of time urges us, and the diminution of the population demands, that we should assist destitute churches with a helpful and provident disposition. We have learnt that through abandonment, the church of Minturno is as totally destitute of its clergy as it is of its people, and we can see how pious and extremely just your petition is on its behalf, namely that it ought to be joined to the church of Formiae (wherein lies the body of Saint Erasmus the Martyr), over which your Fraternity presides. We have thought it necessary, therefore, in considering the abandonment of the place as much as the poverty of your church, that by the authority of this injunction of ours, we transfer to the right and power of your church the revenues of the above-mentioned church of Minturno, or whatever could and can for whatever reason belong to it, by ancient and modern right or privilege. Thus from now onwards you should think of it as if it were in fact your own church and should dispose of its belongings with foresight, so that thereafter what might have been wasted until now, might benefit the interests of the poor of your church and of your clergy.'
Text: Norberg 1982, vol. 1, 10. Translation: Martyn 2004, vol. 1, 127.
History
Evidence ID
E02762Saint Name
Erasmus, martyr and bishop of Formia (Italy), ob. c. 303 : S00867Saint Name in Source
ErasmusRelated Saint Records
Type of Evidence
Literary - LettersLanguage
- Latin
