Letter 4095: A man named Agathon wishes to enter your monastery and embrace the monastic life.

Gregory to Urbicus, abbot. A man named Agathon wishes to enter your monastery and embrace the monastic life. This desire is, in itself, admirable. However, the circumstances of his marriage complicate the matter. A married man may enter the religious life only if his wife also enters religious life — the obligations of the married state and the obligations of the monastic state are incompatible if only one partner embraces the latter. Canon law is clear on this. I therefore direct you: if Agathon's wife is willing to similarly commit herself to religious life — whether in a monastery or some other recognized form of dedicated life — then receive Agathon. If she is not willing to do this, he cannot enter. Let him know the condition. Allow him to discuss it with his wife. Then act according to the result of that discussion. Gregory

AD URBICUM AFBATEM. Agathonem in monaslerio suscipiat, 8i illius uxor 8i- mililer converti voluerit. Gregorius * Urbico abbati monasterii sancti Her- metis, ® quod in Panormo situm est. Quisquis divioa inspiratione compunctus, relictis $2culi hujus actionibus, ad Deum converli feslinat, ita et cum charitate suscipiendus est, et blandis per omnia consolationibus reſovendus, ut in ea quam 4 In Norm., Reg. et nonnullis, calcem vero quam... oblatam. Keisr. XLVII. — * Fanum $eu Fanum fortun:e, vulgo Fano, urbs vlim Umbriz, nunc ducatus Urbi- nails, in ora maris Adriatici,;Ariminum inter et Seno- gal-iam, adhuc episcopalis, immediate subjecta Ro- mano pont. in eujus dominio esl. Gus8anv. | EeisT, NEV. [ Al. 49]. — * De Urbico et mona- $terio £ancli Hermetis, Supra epist. 41. Gussaxv. Tit electus, hunc ab illo cenasemus diversum. EerisT, XLIX [ Al. 5U]. — *® Fuit decimus episco- pus Santonensis, prosapia nobilis. Hunc Gunichram- nus rex odio habuit alque vexavil, quod Gundobal- dum regnum affectantem urbe $ua palam, ct Frede- gundis nuntios clam tecto recepisset; de qua re vide Gregorium Turon., lib. vu Historize, cap. 51, et lib. vin, cap. 2, 7 et 45. De co etiam agzit lib. de Gloria tonſes$Sorum, cap. 57 et 6), et lib. iv de Miraculis Kucti Martini, c. 8. A Forlunalo lib. 1, carim. 5, pudatur ob edificalain Saucli Stephani eccle>iam. mecſuit concilio Paris. 1v, anno 5:5, et Matiscon. 1, im. 580, Kjus nomen in Ecclesi.e fasus legitur, Saintes, urbs episcopalis Galiiz, Sub archiepiscopo Burdigalensi Aquilaniz Il metropoltano, Santoniz fA conversatione persistere. Quia igitur © Agathoprezsen- tium lator in monaslerio dilectionis tuz converti desi- derat, hortamur ut cum omni eum dulcedine dile- clioneque SusCipias, atque ad zternam vitam ejusdesi- rium asSidua adhortatione succendas, et circa anime ipsius salutem diligenter studeas esse $0llicitus, qua- tenus dum in Dei nostri servitio, te admonente, de- vola mente perslilerit, et illi prosit szculum reli- quisse, et tibi ejus conversio proficiat ad mercedem. Quem tamen ita $u>-cipiendum esse cognosce, 8 et uxor ipsius similiter converti voluerit. Nam dum unum utrorumque corpus conjugii copulatione: Sit factum, incongruum est partem converti, et par- tem in sculo remanere (Cſ. Grat. 27, q. 2, c. 25).