Letter 4021: Gregory to Venantius, Bishop of Luna (in Etruria). It has reached us by the report of many that Christian slaves are detained in servitude by Jews living in the city of Luna ; which thing has seemed to us by so much the more offensive as the sufferance of it by your Fraternity annoys us. For it was your duty, in respect of your place, and in you...
Pope Gregory the Great→Venantius of Syracuse|c. 593 AD|Pope Gregory the Great|Human translated
property economicsslavery captivity
Slavery or captivity; Economic matters; Jewish-Christian relations
Gregory to Venantius, Bishop of Luna.
Multiple reports have reached us that Christian slaves are being held in servitude by Jews living in the city of Luna. We find this all the more offensive because your Fraternity's tolerance of it disturbs us deeply. Given your position and your duty to the Christian faith, you should have left no opportunity for innocent souls to be subjected to Jewish authority — not through persuasion, but effectively by force of the arrangement.
We therefore urge your Fraternity to act in accordance with the most pious laws: no Jew is to be permitted to hold a Christian slave in his possession. Any who are found in their power must be secured in their liberty under the protection of the law.
As for any Christians who are on Jewish-owned property — though they are themselves legally free — since they have long been attached to the cultivation of those lands by the terms of their tenure, let them continue to work the farms they have been accustomed to, making their payments to the landowners and fulfilling all obligations that the law requires of tenant farmers. No additional burden, however, may be imposed on them.
If any of these tenants wishes to remain in his current situation, that is his choice. If any wishes to leave for another place, let him consider that by his own decision he will have forfeited his rights as a tenant farmer, even though he has gained his freedom by force of law.
In all of this, we expect you to act with such wisdom that you are neither a negligent shepherd of a scattered flock nor a bishop whose insufficient zeal earns our censure.
Book IV, Letter 21
To Venantius, Bishop.
Gregory to Venantius, Bishop of Luna (in Etruria).
It has reached us by the report of many that Christian slaves are detained in servitude by Jews living in the city of Luna ; which thing has seemed to us by so much the more offensive as the sufferance of it by your Fraternity annoys us. For it was your duty, in respect of your place, and in your regard for the Christian religion, to leave no occasion for simple souls to serve Jewish superstition not through persuasion, but, in a manner, by right of authority. Wherefore we exhort your Fraternity that, according to the course laid down by the most pious laws, no Jew be allowed to retain a Christian slave in his possession. But, if any are found in their power, let liberty be secured to them by protection under the sanction of law. But as to any that are on the property of Jews, though they be themselves free from legal obligation, yet, since they have long been attached to the cultivation of their lands as bound by the condition of their tenure, let them continue to cultivate the farms they have been accustomed to do, rendering their payments to the aforesaid persons, and performing all things that the laws require of husbandmen or natives, except that no farther burden be imposed on them. But, whether any one of these should wish to remain in his servitude, or any to migrate to another place, let the latter consider with himself that he will have lost his rights as a husbandman by his own rashness, though he has got rid of his servitude by force of law. In all these things, then, we desire you to exert yourself so wisely that neither may thou be a guilty pastor of a dismembered flock, nor may your too little zeal render you reprehensible before us.
Multiple reports have reached us that Christian slaves are being held in servitude by Jews living in the city of Luna. We find this all the more offensive because your Fraternity's tolerance of it disturbs us deeply. Given your position and your duty to the Christian faith, you should have left no opportunity for innocent souls to be subjected to Jewish authority — not through persuasion, but effectively by force of the arrangement.
We therefore urge your Fraternity to act in accordance with the most pious laws: no Jew is to be permitted to hold a Christian slave in his possession. Any who are found in their power must be secured in their liberty under the protection of the law.
As for any Christians who are on Jewish-owned property — though they are themselves legally free — since they have long been attached to the cultivation of those lands by the terms of their tenure, let them continue to work the farms they have been accustomed to, making their payments to the landowners and fulfilling all obligations that the law requires of tenant farmers. No additional burden, however, may be imposed on them.
If any of these tenants wishes to remain in his current situation, that is his choice. If any wishes to leave for another place, let him consider that by his own decision he will have forfeited his rights as a tenant farmer, even though he has gained his freedom by force of law.
In all of this, we expect you to act with such wisdom that you are neither a negligent shepherd of a scattered flock nor a bishop whose insufficient zeal earns our censure.
Human translation - New Advent (NPNF / ANF series)
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