Letter 5037: Gregory tells Fortunatus to dedicate Theodosius' monastery, allow masses there, and leave offerings for the monks who serve the place.
Theodosius, abbot of Saint Martin's monastery, has submitted a petition, included below, saying that in the house once belonging to Martin, and by Martin's own will, his predecessor Abbot Andrew built a monastery where monks are to live. Since he asks for it to be dedicated in honor of blessed Peter, chief of the apostles, and holy Michael the archangel, I have thought it right to urge your Affection by this letter: when he asks, go to the place readily and perform the solemn dedication.
Whenever necessary, let the priests of your church who serve in that holy place celebrate the venerable sacrifices of the Mass. But neither your Brotherhood nor the priests should cause any trouble in that monastery, except for careful discipline. And if any benefit comes there through the devotion of various faithful people, do not think it belongs to you. Whatever is offered by the faithful should benefit the monks who serve in that place.
AI-assisted translation - This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek below for scholarly use.
Latin / Greek Original
EPISTOLA XXXVII. AD FORTUNATUM EPISCOPUM.
Monasterium in honorem sancti Petri et sancti Michaelis dedicet, in quo missas celebrent presbyteri ibi deservientes; monachis tamen proficiat quidquid a fidelibus offerri contigerit.
Gregorius Fortunato episcopo Neapolitano.
Theodosius, abbas monasterii sancti Martini, petitoria nobis insinuatione suggessit, quae habetur in subditis, in domo quondam Martini, ex ejus voluntate, decessorem suum Andream abbatem monasterium in quo monachi habitare debeant construxisse. Et quia id in honorem beati Petri apostolorum principis, et sancti archangeli Michaelis postulat dedicari, dilectionem tuam praesentibus apicibus duximus adhortandam, quatenus ad praedictum locum, cum postulaverit, ingravanter accedas, venerandae solemnia dedicationis impendens. Et quoties necesse fuerit, a presbyteris Ecclesiae tuae in loco sancto deservientibus, celebrentur sacrificia veneranda missarum, ita ut in eodem monasterio nec fraternitas tua, nec presbyteri, praeter diligentiam disciplinae aliquid molestiarum inferant; aut si quid illic pro diversorum devotione commoditatis accesserit, sibi existiment vindicari, cum monachis in eodem loco deservientibus debeat proficere quidquid a fidelibus offerri contigerit.
Revision history
- 2026-05-27v2.2.34-import
Initial corpus import from modern gregory pl77 t248 v1.
Fields: letter text, metadata, source links. Source: https://la.wikisource.org/wiki/Epistolae_(Gregorius_Magnus)/V
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