Letter 13

From: Guntchramn, King of Burgundy To: Pope Gregory the Great Date: ~585 AD Context: The most pious of the Merovingian kings writes to Gregory about church reform in his kingdom — one of the few Merovingian rulers who took the church's moral concerns seriously. Guntchramn, king, to the most blessed Gregory. I am aware that the Frankish church — even the part of it under my direct rule — does not always present a picture that the bishop of Rome would find wholly admirable. I want to address this honestly rather than defensively. The things that are wrong: bishops appointed for political reasons rather than spiritual ones; clergy in several areas who are functionally indistinguishable from secular landlords; a gap between the wealth of the church's institutions and the poverty of the people around them that I find morally troubling. The things I am trying to do about it: I have been working, with limited success, to establish the principle that episcopal elections involve genuine clerical and popular participation, not just royal appointment. I have been pressuring several bishops whose personal conduct is a scandal to reform or step down. And I have been directing a larger proportion of my own almsgiving toward the redemption of captives and the relief of the poor — the things that scripture commends most explicitly — rather than toward the building of new churches that will stand as monuments to my generosity. Whether these efforts are sufficient, God will judge. I am asking your prayers and your counsel. Your servant in Christ, Guntchramn, king