Letter 4038: Gregory to Theodelinda, Queen of the Lombards. It has come to our knowledge from the report of certain persons that your Glory has been led on by some bishops even to the offense against holy Church of suspending yourself from the communion of Catholic unanimity. Now the more we sincerely love you, the more seriously are we distressed about you,...

Gregory to Queen Theodelinda of the Lombards. We have learned from certain reports that Your Glory has been led by some bishops to the point of suspending yourself from communion with the Catholic Church. The more sincerely we love you, the more seriously this distresses us -- that you believe unskilled and foolish men who do not understand what they are talking about, can barely grasp what they have heard, and, since they neither read for themselves nor trust those who do, remain trapped in the error they have invented for themselves about us. For we venerate the four holy councils: the Council of Nicaea, in which Arius was condemned; the Council of Constantinople, in which Macedonius was condemned; the first Council of Ephesus, in which Nestorius was condemned; and the Council of Chalcedon, in which Eutyches and Dioscorus were condemned. We declare that whoever thinks otherwise than these four councils is alien from the true faith. We condemn whomever they condemn and absolve whomever they absolve, striking with anathema anyone who presumes to add to or subtract from the faith of these four councils -- especially that of Chalcedon, about which doubt and misunderstanding have arisen in the minds of certain uninformed people. Since you now know the integrity of our faith from my clear statement and profession, you should have no further scruple of doubt regarding the Church of the blessed Peter, prince of the apostles. Remain firm in the true faith, and build your life on the rock of the Church -- that is, on the confession of the blessed Peter. Otherwise, all your tears and all your good works may come to nothing if they are found separated from the true faith. For as branches dry up without the life of the root, so works, however good they may appear, are nothing if they are cut off from the faith.

Book IV, Letter 38 To Queen Theodelinda. Gregory to Theodelinda, Queen of the Lombards. It has come to our knowledge from the report of certain persons that your Glory has been led on by some bishops even to the offense against holy Church of suspending yourself from the communion of Catholic unanimity. Now the more we sincerely love you, the more seriously are we distressed about you, that you believe unskilled and foolish men, who not only do not know what they talk about, but can hardly understand what they have heard; who, while they neither read themselves, nor believe those who do, remain in the same error which they have themselves feigned to themselves concerning us. For we venerate the four holy synods; the Nicene, in which Arius, the Constantinopolitan, in which Macedonius, the first Ephesine, in which Nestorius, and the Chalcedonians, in which Eutyches and Dioscorus, were condemned; declaring that whosoever thinks otherwise than these four synods did is alien from the true faith. We also condemn whomsoever they condemn, and absolve whomsoever they absolve, smiting, with interposition of anathema, any one who presumes to add to or take away from the faith of the same four synods, and especially that of Chalcedon, with respect to which doubt and occasion of superstition has arisen in the minds of certain unskilled men. Seeing, then, that you know the integrity of our faith from my plain utterance and profession, it is right that you should have no further scruple of doubt with respect to the Church of the blessed Peter, Prince of the apostles: but persist in the true faith, and make your life firm on the rock of the Church; that is on the confession of the blessed Peter, Prince of the apostles, lest all those tears of yours and all those good works should come to nothing, if they are found alien from the true faith. For as branches dry up without the virtue of the root, so works, to whatsoever degree they may seem good, are nothing, if they are disjoined from the solidity of the faith. It therefore becomes your Glory to send a communication with all speed to our most reverend brother and fellow bishop Constantius, of whose faith and life I have long been well assured, and to signify by your letters addressed to him how kindly you accept his ordination, and that you are in no wise separated from the communion of his Church, so that we may truly rejoice with a common exultation, as for a good and faithful daughter. Know also that you and your works will please God, if, before his assize comes, they be approved by the judgment of his priests. About this page Source. Translated by James Barmby. From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 12. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1895.) Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. <https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/360204038.htm>. Contact information. The editor of New Advent is Kevin Knight. My email address is feedback732 at newadvent.org. (To help fight spam, this address might change occasionally.) Regrettably, I can't reply to every letter, but I greatly appreciate your feedback — especially notifications about typographical errors and inappropriate ads.