Those who have confessed concerning themselves ought not to be interrogated concerning the consciences of others, 651. Whether confession for venial faults was of old frequented by monks, 997. Confirmation is designated by the term "consignation," 1075. The bishop ought to sign the baptized infants; the priests are forbidden to sign the infants twice on the forehead, 689. The Sardinian priests are forbidden to sign on the forehead with chrism, 689. This is afterward permitted to them, in the bishop's absence, ibid., 703. What was of old the practice in Spain, Gaul, and now in the Eastern Churches concerning the minister of confirmation, 706. Those are to be confirmed concerning whose confirmation there is no certainty, 1279. A bishop going out to sign infants, let him not burden the subject priests beyond measure, 1231.
Confusion is useful to the insolent, 41. Marriage. Who the married are to be admonished, 79, 80. Let each so study to please a spouse as not to displease the Creator, 79. The mind of Christian spouses is both weak and faithful, ibid. What it is to have a wife and to be as one not having, ibid. Let spouses bear the care of the flesh out of necessity, but strive after eternal things out of desire, ibid. Let spouses be patient, ibid. Let spouses remember that they are joined for the sake of receiving offspring, 80. Those who transgress the rights of marriage, ibid. The Apostle's indulgence is granted not so much to the sound as to the weak, ibid. That is shown to be a fault which is set forth as indulged, ibid. Those who use marriage as a remedy for concupiscence are worthy of pardon, 80.
Let spouses by frequent prayers blot out that which, amid the fair appearance of union, they defile by intermingled pleasures, 80. From marriages earthly cares arise, 81. Since the body of the spouses is made one, it is unfitting that part be converted and part remain in the world, 827. Let a wife cast off by her husband on the plea of servitude, once her freedom is proved, be bound to be received back by him, 845. In prohibiting the marriage of blood-relations the practice of the ages differs, 1153, 1154 and following. Whether marriage is to be dissolved. See Matrimony. Who of old were called conspirators (conjuratores), 864. Cono, abbot of Lerins, 1098, 1099, 1100. The marriage of blood-relations, see Marriage. Conscience. Whom conscience defends, he is free amid accusation.
He is not free and without accusation whom conscience alone accuses, 860. Conscience alone suffices against calumnies, 1093, 1126, 1127. A consecration celebrated by the excommunicated is null, 699. Consentia, a city formerly of the Bruttii in Italy, 961, 962. Palumbus, bishop of Consentia, 896, 962. Who is a true counselor, 524. Evil counselors are to be guarded against, 743, 744. To what a counselor of a prince is bound, 782. Counsel. Who sits in the chair of the perverse of counsel, 91. Counsel of life is sometimes sought from the abettors of death, 524. From whom the counsel of salvation is to be heard, ibid. In matters of the highest moment counsel ought not to be hasty, 574. Consolantia, 1232. The consolation of one enduring adversity, 1233.
The sole consolation is the expectation of death, ibid. What conspersio (the moistened lump) is, 37, 97, 288, 392. Constancy. The heart of the wise is consistent with itself, but not so the heart of fools, 60. Let love of peace not bend zeal and constancy, 69. Constantina Augusta, daughter of the emperor Tiberius, 708. Her death, ibid. Gregory dissuades her when she asks for the head of St. Paul, ibid. and following. He sends her particles of chains struck from the chains of St. Paul, 711. What she ought to do in favor of the Corsicans and Sicilians unjustly harassed is suggested, 768, 769. See the alphabetical Index of the Epistles. Constantina, abbess of the monastery of St. Lawrence, 800. Constantina, a maiden, snatched from the allurements of this world before she married, 873.
Constantinople. The synods of Chalcedon and Ephesus were in some place falsified by the Church of Constantinople, 803. The Roman clergy could not bear that the bishop of Constantinople should be inflated with pride, 803. From the Church of Constantinople came forth heretics and heresiarchs, 873. What was admitted by the Roman Church from the first synod of Constantinople, and what was reprobated, 882, 883. The Church of Constantinople is subject to the Apostolic See, 944. The Second Council of Constantinople, see the Fifth Council. The bishop of Constantinople seems of old to have been nominated by the emperor, 833. The bishops of Constantinople: Anatolius, 504; John, 489 (see his title); Cyriacus, 354 (see the alphabetical Index of the Epistles). Whether in Gregory's time there was any bishop of Constantinople named Eusebius, 941.
Constantine the Great. The history of the baptism of this same emperor, celebrated at Rome, had not yet been circulated in Gregory's age, 177. Constantine's reverence toward the bishops, 767. Constantine abolishes the worship of idols, 1165. Constantine, bishop of Scodra, 1201. Constantine the pope, why he was deposed from his rank, and the ordinations performed by him were annulled, 608. Constantine the First, abbot of Cassino after Blessed Benedict, 208. Constantius, bishop of Aquino, 240. Enriched with the spirit of prophecy, 293. He is venerated by the Church, 240, 293. Constantius of Milan, first a deacon, 565. By the votes of all he is elected bishop, 644, 643, 646, 681, 1288. A man beyond reproach, 644. Bound to Gregory by close friendship, 646, 683. The pallium is sent to him, 682.
Why the schismatic bishops separated themselves from his communion, 682, 683. In the affair of the Three Chapters, what he ought to swear and what he ought not, 719. Gregory admonishes him to assist bishop Venantius in the correction of his own clergy, 701. Why Constantius was unwilling to transmit Gregory's letter to Theodelinda, 635, 720. Because he names the name of John, bishop of Ravenna, at the altar, very many are scandalized, 719. To him is committed for judgment the case of Maximus of Salona, 983. The death and virtues of Constantius, 1094. See the alphabetical Index of Letters. Constantius or Constantine, bishop of Narni, 1288, 1291. And the visitation of the Church of Terni is enjoined upon him, 987. Constantius the presbyter, nephew of Boniface, bishop of Fiesole, 194.
His avarice punished, 189. He was procuring money to obtain a bishopric, ibid. Constantius the monk, elected third abbot, why he was rejected by Gregory, 1194. Constantius, deacon of the Church of Pudentiana, 611. Constantius, sacristan of the Church of St. Stephen near Ancona, venerable for his sanctity, 173. He puts water in the lamp instead of oil, ibid. His humility, 176 and following. Constantius the prefect, 856. Constantius the tribune, 592. Constantius the defensor, 95. What custom is, 533. Which customs are to be kept, which to be abrogated, ibid. Many things have been introduced into the Church which justice, prudence, or the canons now forbid to be exacted, ibid. In doubtful matters one must adhere to the ancient custom, 719. The strength of custom, 822.
In one faith, a diverse custom does no harm to the holy Church, 532. The differing customs of the Churches are not to be reproved, but the better ones are to be chosen, 1152. The consulship abolished by Justinian, which Justin tried in vain to restore, 489, 620, 1283. Men were sometimes made consulars and consuls by codicils, 489. The contemplative life is signified by Rachel, 491. And by Mary, ibid. Let the ruler be suspended in contemplation, 18, 514. It is unworthy of religious to engage long in disputes over earthly things, 949. An end is not put to disputes if the fulfillment of what has been adjudged is deferred, 1139. A dispute between two abbots over the boundaries of fields, how it is to be settled, 887.
A controversy over earthly matters, how it is to be settled, 1246, 1217, 1261. What 'contestari' (to attest) means, 1046, 1047. A 'contestatio' is said to be a libelous document, 817. The author of such an attestation, unless he proves the truth or confesses his fault, is to be deprived of communion, ibid. Continence necessary for those approaching the temple, 193. See Concubitus (Sexual union). Those who profess continence should abstain from cohabitation with women, 289. Subdeacons in Sicily already ordained are not to be compelled to continence, but those to be ordained henceforth should promise and observe it, 538. The life of the continent is often confounded with the conduct of worldly men, 83. Continentia (Continence). This word has various meanings: for it is taken for the content or condition of someone, 490, 491.
For love, benevolence, and favor, 490, 749, 763. For clerical stipend and dole, 780, 781. Annual 'continentia,' that is, an annual pension for the support of life, 538. To 'continere' (sustain) is the same as to cherish, help, sustain; to be sustained is the same as to be maintained by subsidy, 540, 640, 757, 1231, 1232. To sustain someone, that is, to make him content, 596. Controversia (Controversy). See Contentio (Dispute), Lites (Lawsuits). Contumacy, according to the canons, suffices for someone to be deprived of communion, 811, 812. Contumelia (Insult). The cunning enemy stirs up war against him who both offers and endures insults, 43. What each man conceals within himself, an insult inflicted reveals, 176. A bishop given to insult, 501. Conventiones (Agreements).
In agreements Gregory's assent was often required, 974. What difference there is between an assembly (conventus) and a conventicle, 577. What is an ordinary and lawful assembly, ibid. The public assembly of all the faithful for celebrating the chief festivals with their bishop in the mother Church, 579. 'Conversatio' (manner of life) is the same as 'conversio' (conversion), 209. Conversio (Conversion). What is required for true conversion, 93. He who desires to be converted must first be overturned by the hand of correction, that he may afterward be raised up to the state of right action, 94. To be converted signifies to be clothed with the habit of conversion, 633, 677, 678. The conversion of a sinner is a greater miracle than the resurrection of the dead, 321. Which banquets are praiseworthy, 617. It is better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting.
better, 377. Copiosus, physician and brother of Justus the monk, 465. Who cured his brother of the vice of ownership at the end of life, ibid. To Copiosus the deceased brother appears, 468. Sexual union is granted solely for the sake of receiving offspring, 80. After union, even lawful union, it was formerly forbidden to enter the churches, 193. And forbidden to receive the Eucharist, 194. See Concubitus. The heart wanders amid human words, 33. Nothing in us is swifter than the heart, 53. The heart of the wise is steady with itself; not so the heart of fools, 61. The heart must not only be contrite but also humbled, 88. The pure in heart are easily heard by God, 312. What hinders returning to the heart, 491. Whoever denies that the devil enters into the heart of man is a Pelagian, 884.
Carnal hearts are designated by the world, 1093. Corcyra, an island of the province of Nicopolis, adjacent to Epirus, 1264, 1263. The Church of Corcyra, 1266. The bishop of Corcyra, Alcyson, 1264, 1266, 1271. Corinth, a city situated on the isthmus, 517. It is called two-sea'd and having two seas (Bimaris and Bithalassus), ibid. The Bishops of Corinth: Anastasius, 317. John, 779. See the alphabetical Index of Letters. Cornelium, or the Forum of Cornelius, a city of Italy under the jurisdiction of the supreme pontiff, 872. Cornu (Horn). What it is to 'exalt the horn' of the transgressors, 88. A 'corona' is a candelabrum in the form of a crown, 555. 'Corona' (Crown), a title of honor by which the supreme pontiffs and bishops were formerly addressed, 622. The body receives movement from the soul, 381. The cure of a bodily thing is a lesser miracle than that of the mind, 321.
Subject to the body, or that someone is a man of the body, 756, 757. Cleanliness of body must be diligently guarded, 1030. Fraternal correction. Its usefulness is twofold, 54. He who does not love his neighbor as himself, ibid. Whoever neglects to correct his neighbor is the author of his death, ibid. It must be seen to that the love of human peace does not separate us from the peace of our Author, 69. How great a fault it is to hold peace with the worst, 70. Let him who leaps forth to words of rebuke hold peace within, ibid. A bitter cup is willingly received when it is offered for the preservation of health, 1022. It is the mark of a wise man both to weigh at length what is briefly heard, and to correct with speed what displeases God, 1081.
How grave it is to refuse to be corrected, 1236, 1237. Correction and reproof. The word of reproof is a key of opening, 17, 510. With what mind correction is to be done, 22. Let vehement reproof be circumspect, 32. Let the pastor in reproving imitate the Samaritan, 514. So let him pursue the fault by reproving that he may love the person, 524. In those things which must be corrected outwardly, let inward charity first be preserved, 732. Wounds to be cut away must first be gently palpated with a light hand, 742. Certain things must be corrected gently, certain things patiently endured, 1135. In correcting evils, discretion must be observed, 1177. One must rejoice at the correction of the crime, but grieve over the fall of the brother, 789.
Very often a discreet leniency in correction has more force than severity in exacting punishment, 1051. If the gravity of the excess demands severity, let punishment correct the fault, and let grace not be denied to those who are corrected, ibid. When and on what grounds we are bound to correction, 617, 618. He seems to consent to the erring man who does not correct what ought to be corrected, 1020. In correcting faults, anger ought not to go before the mind, but to serve behind the back of reason, 1030, 1080. He who does not correct what ought to be cut away, sins, 1074, 1263. A superior owes reproof to an inferior not only by the debt of charity but also by that of justice, 618. Against faults, the slower discreet indignation is, the more it is to be feared, 681.
Whom divine discipline crushes, to add human scourges to him is superfluous, 597. How through reproof greater vices are recognized from the least ones, 29. Those who transgress through ignorance or weakness are to be reproved gently, 30. Who are to be vehemently rebuked, 31. He who is eager to do evil, and wishes the rest to keep silent about these things, seeks to be loved more than the truth, 28. Correction, even unjust, must be borne most patiently, 665. See Castigare (To chastise), Increpatio (Rebuke). A 'correus' is called a surety (guarantor), 1108. Corsica, an island of the Tyrrhenian Sea, 561, 562. Corsica, joined to Sardinia, was subject to the Prefect of Africa, 848. The priests of Corsica are forbidden to associate with women, 546. A monastery to be built in Corsica, ibid.
The Corsicans, oppressed by exactions, were compelled to sell their sons, 768, 769. The Corsican bishop, Leo, 562. A raven used to receive its daily food from the hand of St. Benedict, 228. It is ordered to cast away outdoors the bread infected with poison, ibid. Cosmas, from a monk a subdeacon, then a presbyter, 1237. Cosmas, deacon of Thebes, deposed on account of frauds committed concerning ecclesiastical property, 629. Cosmas, oppressed by another's debt, for whom Gregory orders payment to be made from the patrimony of the Church, 670. Gregory sends sixty solidi to be paid on his behalf, 724. Every creature is narrow to one who sees the Creator, 272. What can be seen cannot be believed, 381. Creditor. Let not the goods of others be unjustly withheld from creditors, 537.
The right of a creditor over a debtor was variously established by various laws, 670, 724. The laws forbid a debtor's son to be held liable by creditors, 724. Let not creditors press the sons of a debtor whose inheritance they have chosen to enter upon, 821. With what penalties are creditors punished who have detained a free person for a debt, 724. Crementius, primate of Byzacena, accused, is to be judged by the Council of Byzacena, 1203. Crescens, deacon of Palermo, 1228. Crescentius the cleric, on account of the sacred furnishings of the Church sold to a Jew, condemned to penance, 554, 553. Crescentius, vicar of the prefect of the City, 1075, 1077. No one is compelled to grow unwillingly, 504. The bishop of Crete, John, 898. See his title. Crimen (Crime).
Accomplices of crimes cannot bear witness, 651. Those to whom it pertains are bound to avenge crimes, under peril of their own salvation, 668. The investigation of a crime by torments. See Tortura (Torture). Let unjust accusers dread the severity of the law, 631. 'Criminor' (to accuse) is sometimes taken passively among authors, 631, 632. Crisconius, an African bishop, complains of churches and goods taken from his parish, 916. Crispus, son-in-law of Phocas, 663. Crotona or Croto, a city, otherwise of the Bruttii, in Magna Graecia, 601, 602. There are two cities of this name, 358. The visitation of the Church of Crotona is committed to John, bishop of Squillace, 600, 602. Crotona upon the Adriatic Sea, captured by the Lombards, 872. Why the apostate angel is called cruel, 49.
In what sense someone is said to hand over his years to the cruel one, 49. The Cross. The sign of the Cross was most frequently employed by the ancient Christians, 196. By the sign of the Cross light was restored to a blind man, ibid. A broken glass vessel is made whole, 216. Poison drunk does no harm, 288. Serpents are killed, 356. The sign of the Cross divinely impressed upon bread, 204. The efficacy of the sign of the Cross, 197, 262. A little cross with fragments of the chains of St. Peter is sent, 648. Wood of the Lord's Cross is sent to Reccared, 1031. From the wood of the Lord's Cross oil once flowed, which was sent as a relic, 924. A 'cubicularius' is one who attends the bedchamber, or the threshold, 868. Sometimes he is called Secretary of secrets, ibid. A 'cuculla' is called a sheepskin garment (melotes) and a cape, 223.
What a 'cuculla' is, 1093. Whence a 'culcitra' (mattress) is so called, 1092. What it is to 'strain out a gnat,' 92. The tempest of the mind is the power of high station, 10. Fault. Three modes of faults: by suggestion, by delight, and by consent, 85. What it is to weep for a fault, 87. Which faults are said to be soluble or insoluble, 472. Lesser faults which are denied are not to be avenged, 667. Let not the father's fault burden the son, 717. Faults are to be punished not in substances but in persons, without hope of gain, 535. Fault is signified by blood, 1027. To leave certain faults unpunished is itself a fault, 1263. Nature begot all men equal, but fault sets some below others, 20. Cumae, once a city of Campania, 587, 588, 606.
The visitation of the Church of Cumae is committed to Benenatus, bishop of Misenum, 587, 588. The Churches of Cumae and Misenum are united, 606. The bishop of Cumae, Liberius, 587. Cumquodeus, an abbot in Africa, 884. Cupidity is the root of all evils, 1007. Care. The mind occupied with exterior cares forgets on its journey whither it was going, 5. The mind knows how to think of many things while unaware of itself, ibid. When one has advanced in the cares of worldly things, so much the more does he decrease in the love of God, 520. The rivers overwhelm those whom the actions of this world confound with perturbation of mind, 849, 875. How harmful worldly care is to a pastor, 24. With what caution the Pastor ought to attend to temporal things, 514. What a 'curator' of a city is, 1001, 1237.
Cures, the chief city of the Sabines, 638. The penalty of a certain shameless curialis, 421. Who the curiales are, 421, 673. The curiales are called the lesser senate, 421. Those bound to the curia are not to be ordained, 704. Cyminum (Cumin). Why Christ reproached the Pharisees for tithing cumin, 92. The feast of St. Cyprian is called Cypriana or Cyprianica, 594. 'Cypriana' signified either a dreadful storm or winter, ibid. Cyprian, deacon and rector of Sicily, 670. He is ordered to collect and preserve the vessels of the Church scattered throughout Sicily, 693, 696. The affairs of the Church of Lilybaeum are committed to him for examination, 753. The various matters entrusted to him by Gregory. See the alphabetical Index of Letters. Cyriacus the abbot, 925, 928.
Sent into Sardinia to convert the Barbaricini, 702, 703. He is ordered to introduce monks into a monastery built by Theodosius, 727, 728. Cyriacus is sent to Syagrius, and is commended to Serenus, bishop of Marseilles, 1006. Cyriacus, bishop of Constantinople, comes to the government, more inclined to the quiet of contemplation, 848. Made bishop, he sends a Synodal letter to St. Gregory according to custom, 830. He is elected long after the death of John, 853. Gregory rejoices at his election, 847, 851, 853. Cyriacus is most solicitous in administering ecclesiastical affairs, 833. He is praised, 854, 878. He retains the title of Universal Bishop against Gregory's will, and communion being preserved, 984, 1246.
Gregory dissuades him from this title, 850, 878, 879, 1246. Gregory admits Cyriacus's respondents to communion, and yet is unwilling to have his own deacon commune with Cyriacus, 881, 882. Cyriacus, through the profane word 'universal bishop,' either commits or follows the fault of pride, ibid. Cyriacus, after service faithfully rendered to Peter the subdeacon, is appointed defensor, 593. Cyriacus, bishop of Alexandria, is reckoned catholic in the Council of Chalcedon, 968. Dalmatia was once properly a part of Illyricum, 528. After the first Dalmatian war it was reduced to a province, ibid. The bishops of Dalmatia are refuted, 689, 690. They are forbidden to ordain a bishop of Salona without Gregory's consent, 690. The form of dalmatics, 1012.
The use of dalmatics, by whom granted to deacons, 1011. It is permitted to the bishop of Gap and his archdeacon, 1012. Pope Damasus. The fourth letter circulated under his name to Stephen and the bishops of Africa is spurious, 481. Hence it is false that this title, 'servant of the servants of God,' was assumed by Damasus, ibid. How the damned, though always living, nevertheless die without end, 376. From the day of their departure they are tormented by fire, 416. Daniel is refreshed by a meal in the lions' den, 232. He sees a terrible vision, from which he is sick for many days, 333. The Daratitii are peoples of the region of Dara, 560. 'Dare' (to give) is used for transferring ownership, 637. Darida, a duke of the Goths, 157. Datio (Giving).
Through 'datio' (giving) ownership is acquired by delivery; through delivery, only possession, 637. Who the 'datitii' are, 560. Datianus. See Domitianus. Datius, bishop of Milan, drives demons from a house, 285. David pleased God in persecution, he transgressed in the leisure of peace, 5. He was more pleasing to God in servitude than when he came to the kingdom, 78. He is recalled to pardon by scourges, 5. David is reproved by Nathan, 37. The subject humbly hears the correction, 28. By David is signified the humble life of the saints, 36. David strikes Saul's madness with the cithara, ibid. Why David spared Saul in the cave, 39. That he cut off the hem of Saul's cloak, what his penitence signifies, 39. David represents good subjects, ibid.
David, although a prophet, being deceived, condemns the innocent son of Jonathan, 172. Why David's sin was avenged by the slaughter of the people through pride, 855. He did not hold concord with the wicked, 69. How David asserted that he knew the judgments of God, 241, 244. He acknowledges the sins remitted to him through penance, 939. Why, unwilling to drink the water brought to him, he poured it out to the Lord, 1029, 1131. 'Debere' (to owe), what it signifies in Gregory, 213, 359. Various penalties inflicted upon debtors by laws and emperors, 670. The holy Fathers teach that they are to be treated more mildly, ibid. Formerly clergy and any honor were forbidden to debtors, 676. Gregory willed that these could become monks, 675. But afterward he changed his opinion, 676.
Debtors of the treasury. See Fiscus (Treasury). 'Decanica' are called the appendages of the temple, in which clerics were sometimes detained, 527, 759. 'Decanica' are not to be confounded with ecclesiastical enclosures, 527. The tithes of the Church are not to be given at farm-rent to clerics only, 606. 'Decimata' is a jar or measure, 541. Decius Forensis, presbyter, bishop of Lilybaeum, 1059, 1089. He strives to reform his church, 801. His case is committed to John, bishop of Syracuse, and to Leontius the ex-consul, 1077. The decrees of the elders are to be observed, 618, 619, 637. The decrees of St. Gregory, 1288. Dedication. Churches were customarily dedicated with relics of the martyrs, 341, 571, 638, 808, 826, 828, 897, 947. Alms given to the poor at the dedication of a church, 548.
Banquets once customarily held at a dedication, 549. A basilica is not to be dedicated unless a lawful and secure endowment for it has first been established, 571, 577, 897, 995. Basilicas occupied by heretics, and handed over to the Catholics, are consecrated anew, 637, 638. A church, if there is legitimate doubt about its dedication, is to be consecrated, 1279. To defend. Nothing is safer for defending than purity, 47. Minds always surrounded by a false defense are signified by fortified cities, 48. Defensor. Who the defensors of the Church were, what their office and institution, 193. Defensors were formerly either civil or ecclesiastical, 247. What the duties of each kind of defensor were, ibid., 517. A defensor is called a procurator, a syndic, 517.
Some were judges, ibid. Defensors were requested from the emperors, ibid. Under Gregory, defensors were engaged not so much in the interests of the Church as in relieving the necessities of the poor, 547. Defensors are enrolled among the lesser ecclesiastical orders, 639. A dignity in the presbytery was granted to defensors, 593. The formula for instituting a defensor, 756, 944, 1120. The office of defensor was committed by codicils, 979. Those usurping the name of defensors are restrained, ibid. Who are to be chosen as defensors, 756, 979, 1120. There was a school of defensors, 1121. When clergy or bishop were lacking, the defensors bore the care of the Church's affairs, 951, 1059.
The sons of defensors are not to be joined in marriage outside the class into which they were born, 1197. Gregory adorns seven defensors with the honor of regionaries, 905. What their privilege was, ibid. The various offices which defensors discharged at Gregory's command: concerning relieving the poor, or defending them from oppression, 528, 547, 556, 891, 993, 1178. Concerning dispensing alms, 502, 506, 541, 548, 549, 554, 707, 714, 793, 796, 823, 942, 936, 1105, 1182, 1186, 1210. Concerning defending the oppressed, 1082, 1104, 1209. Concerning redeeming captives, 654, 820, 858, 1210. Gregory permitted the vessels of the Church of Fano to be sold for redeeming captives only in the presence of a defensor, 859.