Some of Gregory's Mail is Missing

[Truthstalker]

Gregory the Great wrote letters. Better than that, he kept copies. Even better, we have most of them. But John Calvin, that merry ex-Catholic, seems to have had more. He cites as proof for some of his arguments letters that I can’t find. Does anyone know where there is a COMPLETE set of Gregory’s letters? And why does Schaff have only a selected set? And the Latin text would be wunderbar.

As I read Gregory, he seems to have had an unshakeable faith in the supremacy of the Roman See. He even lectured the bishops of Jerusalem and Constantinople (and I think, Alexandria, but I need to reread something I haven’t taken the time to find again), although in a respectful way. Calvin maintains he was more collegial than bossy with his fellow bishops, but he seems pretty authoritarian to me. And not, as Calvin seems to claim, a tool of the Emperor.

Calvin seems to be maintaining that Gregory stood for a pure papacy, without the arrogation that arrived later. But the kinds of things he wrote seem either to infer an established authority, or they were, indeed, in the strict sense, arrogant.

 

[JaneFrances]

Hey there TS. . .I see you’re up to your old habits again! What the heck would we all do without the tedium of our blasted researchers!

I agree with your summation regarding Gregory’s perspective of papal jurisdiction and his obvious exercise of authority among the Church, especially in the climate of political transition.

While Calvin’s Institutes are often of some interest to me, I can honestly say that I haven’t encountered much of his commentary on Gregory–or at least I wasn’t paying attention to it. With that being said, I, too, am interested in any information which would suggest Calvin’s reliance on spurious sourcing–that would seem out of character, in light of his own knack for tedium.

You’re probably way ahead of me at this point, but did you check the register at New Advent? I know it’s not Latin, but it may be a good start.

 

[Truthstalker]

Thanks, I checked New Advent. Some of the letters are missing, again.

Gregory, hero against a foreseen rapacious papacy, advocate of conciliar equality among bishops: thus Calvin seems to portray him, as a Pope as Calvin would desire, allowing he might regard one as desirable at all (he doesn’t).

The letters I have read are those of a man in authority directing bishops with love and firmness, many of whom were undergoing severe trials, such as their lands being overrun and their people turning into refugees, insistent on the supremacy of his own position, one he admitted he was not worthy of and was a dire challenge to be in. His letters are much easier to read than Augustine and edifying. He was a good writer to boot. The overall sense is not one that you would draw from the letters Calvin cites: it bothers me that there is a missing side that Calvin seems to advocate that doesn’t show up in the letters we have…

He cites Gregory in Book 4, where he chronicles the slide of the Catholic Church from its pristine beginnings to its utter decline. Checking his sources, however, seems to bring me to a different conclusion about the data than he has. Critical information is overlooked, ignored, or avoided in a manner that today would bring academic thunder down on any writer who tried it today.

Enough venting.

 

[Mintaka]

If you go to the library and look in Pope St. Greg’s complete Works (aka Opera omnia), I guarantee all the letters will be there. You can also check the Patrologia Latina, which is online in bits at books.google.com and archive.org.

Unfortunately, all these sources will be in Latin.

There just comes a point, if you’re doing serious research, when you run out of sources in English. Calvin read Latin, of course, but so can you. Then you can post your translations on the Web so we can read 'em!

 

[Todd_Easton]

John Martyn’s 2004 English translation of The Letters of Gregory the Great might contain the missing letters you wish to read. Perhaps you could borrow a copy from your library.