Donus & Pope Gregory the Great

Gregory to Donus, Bishop of Messana (Messene). Moved by the benevolence of the Apostolic See, and by the order of ancient custom, we have thought fit to grant to you, who art known to have undertaken the office of government in the Church of Messana, the use of the pallium; to wit, at such times and in such manner as we dispute not that your pre...

Gregory to Donus, Bishop of Messana (Messene). The ordinances both of the sacred canons and of the laws allow the utensils of the Church to be sold for the redemption of captives. And so, seeing that Faustinus, the bearer of these presents, is proved to have contracted a debt of three hundred and thirty solidi for the purpose of redeeming his da...

The most eloquent man, our son Faustinus, has come to us and complained that his late father Peltrasius left some things which were not his own to your Church for his burial. And indeed he knows himself, and we have heard, what the secular law is in such a case; namely, that the heir is bound to pay if his father has bequeathed what was not his ...