Pastoral Rule, Dialogues & Letters 257

Gregory to John, bishop of Prima Justiniana. After the long tribulations which Adrian, bishop of the city of Thebes, endured from his fellow priests as though from enemies, he took refuge in the city of Rome. And although the first accusation had been against John, bishop of Larissa, and no judgment was passed by him in the pecuniary cases reserved by the laws, yet after these things he complained most grievously rather against the person of your fraternity, by whom he demanded that he had been unjustly cast down from the grade of the priesthood. But we, not giving credence to petitions undiscussed, have re-read those same things which were done before John our brother and fellow bishop, and those which were done before your fraternity.

And indeed concerning the judgment of the aforementioned John, bishop of Larissa, which had been suspended by appeal, both our most pious lords of affairs have decreed, by sending orders to the bishop of Corinth. And we too, through the bearers of these presents, by our letters directed to the aforesaid John of Larissa, have, with Christ's help, decreed.

But when we ventilated the disputation of the judgment whose examination the imperial orders had committed to you, and inspected the series of the criminal proceedings held before John the bishop, we found that you had inquired into almost nothing that pertained to the causes named and charged to you, but that by certain machinations you had produced witnesses against Demetrius the deacon for the condemnation of the same bishop, who alleged that they had heard him giving testimony about that which is not even lawful to be heard. And when Demetrius, being present, contradicted that he had said it, against priestly custom and canonical discipline you handed over the deacon, stripped of his honor, to the proconsul of the province.

And when he, torn with many stripes, might perhaps have lied against his own bishop under the compulsion of the torments, we found that right up to the end of the affair he had confessed nothing at all of the things about which he was interrogated. But neither in the proceedings themselves, whether through the deposition of witnesses or through Adrian's own profession, did we find anything that could have told against him. But your fraternity alone, by some impulse of mind I know not what, despising both divine and human law, brought forth an abrupt sentence in his condemnation; which, although it was not suspended by appeal, yet being pronounced against the laws and canons, could not itself stand by right.

But after it is established that an appeal was superabundantly presented to you, we wondered why you did not even send your men, according to the security set forth to Honoratus our deacon through the responsals of your Church, who could have rendered the reason of your judgment. This deed convicts you either of contumacy or of a trepidation of conscience. If therefore these things which have been laid before us are fortified by truth, since we consider that on the occasion of our districts you presume unjust things, we shall, with Christ's help, decree concerning these matters at another time, according to what shall have been deliberated by us.

But as regards the present, having first quashed and reduced to nothing the decrees of your aforesaid sentence, we decree, by the authority of blessed Peter, prince of the apostles, that for the space of thirty days you be deprived of the sacred communion, and implore from our almighty God pardon for so great an excess with the utmost penitence and tears. But if we shall have learned that you have fulfilled this our sentence too remissly, know that not only the injustice but also the contumacy of your fraternity is, the Lord helping, to be more severely punished.

But our aforesaid brother and fellow bishop Adrian, having been, as we have said, by your sentence in no way condemned according to the canons or the laws, we arrange, Christ accompanying us, to be restored to his own place and order, so that neither may the sentence pronounced against the path of justice by your fraternity harm him, nor may your charity, for the appeasing of the indignation of the future Judge, remain uncorrected. (See below, epistles 7 and 58. Cf. John the Deacon, book 4, ch. 26.)