Letter 9234

Gregory the Great (Wisigothic)Unknown|gregory great
From: Pope Gregory I
To: Maximus, Bishop of Salona
Date: ~600 AD
Context: Gregory rejoices that Maximus has given adequate satisfaction for the charges against him; he grants the pallium

I will not conceal my relief and joy. The charges against you have been a source of deep distress to me — not because I wished to think badly of you, but because unresolved questions about a bishop's integrity undermine his ministry in ways that affect his entire flock. Now that you have made full satisfaction for what was alleged, and done so in a manner that convinces those who examined the evidence, I am glad to close the matter and restore our relationship to the warmth it should always have had. I am also pleased to send you the pallium with this letter. Wear it with the humility of a man who has been through fire and emerged better for it.

Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.