Letter 3002: I write briefly, because the season is busy and the messenger cannot wait, but I wanted you to have some word of...

From: Victorinus (correspondent) To: Ruricius, Bishop of Limoges Date: ~490 AD Context: A colleague of Ruricius reports on church affairs and sends greetings — the ordinary correspondence of the late Gallic church. Victorinus to the most holy Bishop Ruricius, in Christ. I write briefly, because the season is busy and the messenger cannot wait, but I wanted you to have some word of what is happening here. The news from the synod that met last month is more encouraging than I expected. Several of the problems that have been festering for years were addressed with more firmness than we have seen recently — the disputed appointments, the situation with the monastery that has been refusing episcopal visitation, the question of the clergy who have been behaving as though they were exempt from canon law. The bishop who presided handled all of it with a combination of firmness and pastoral sensitivity that I found admirable. The less encouraging news: the Visigothic presence in this region continues to create the usual complications for the Catholic clergy. Nothing dramatic — no persecutions, no confiscations. But the constant pressure of an Arian political authority exerts a kind of gravitational pull that has to be resisted consciously. I hope Limoges is well. Write when you have time. Your brother in Christ, Victorinus

II. DOMINO BEATISSIMO AC REUERENTISSIMO ATQVE A ME DEBITO CULTU SINGULARITER OBSERUANDO IN CHRISTO PATRONO RURICIO EPISCOPO UICTORINUS. Cum beatitudinem uestram uidere et breuissimo tempore et una tantum uice meruerim, ita tamen ad primum uestrae agnitionis contemplationisque congressum sensus meos fonte 8] Rom. 12, 11 1 epistulas a Fausto ad Ruricium scriptas exhibuimus p. 208 sqq . 6 operi S 9 uitae addidi, om. 8 aeterne Kr . 10 aquiritis S 12 quae v, qua S solo v 13 pensum v, pensam S, fort . pensa acribendum 15 ut Kr., et 8 16 minoratur e inperciens S que S 17 habet add. v, om. S 19 debit occultu 8 20 obserdo S, corr. v 21 uicturinus S 23 et v, ut S meruerim v, meruero S Kr . 24 agnicionis S, cognitionis v contemplacionisque S sensos S, purissimo benigni pectoris inrigastis, ut, quamlibet alloquiorum uestrorum munera pretiosa non capiam, praesentiam tamen uestram intra mentis profunda possideam, ut, etsi causas desiderii refouendi extrinsecus non accipiam, intra me eas tamen, dum gratiae uestrae reminiscor, inueniam. neque enim fas est, ut bonum illud ex accedentibus tantum requirat adiutoriis incrementum, quod medullis constat infusum. quo fit, ut caritas, quae in uisceribus meis iugi recordatione uestri innouata dulcescit, caritatis mihi uestrae uicissitudinem repromittat. ac sic affectus erga uos meus uestri mihi animi fideiussor accedit et quodam modo conscientia interioris mei mutuo mihi uestrae testis dilectionis adsistit, quantumque mihi de uobis praesumere debeam, mentem meam, quae toto erga uos amoris ardore flagrat, interrogo. unde salutationem deferens et intercessionem deposcens pro harum portitore insufficientes gratias refero. et quia infelicis ipsius laborem, quo pro absolutione uxoris per diuersarum regionum est iactatus exilia, mors redemptae protinus subsecuta cassauit et nunc rursus pro filiae redemptione anxietas paterna distenditur, uestris eum litteris prosequi pro cumulanda mercedis uestrae ubertate iubeatis. Pius dominus reuerendam mihi beatitudinem uestram ad profectum et ornatum ecclesiae suae et annis multiplicare dignetur et meritis, domine beatissime ac reuerentissime atque a me debito cultu singulariter obseruande in Christo patrone.