Letter 9206: Brother, the people of the castle of Callipolis live on land that belongs to the Roman church, and their pastoral...

It has been reported to us that the men of the fortress of Callipolis, in which, with the Lord's favor, we have appointed you bishop, are afflicted with grievous troubles of various kinds and are worn down by distant forced services and by many expenses. We therefore exhort your Fraternity that, since the place itself is recognized to belong to our church, as is known to all, you should kindle your concern with zeal for their rightful defense, and not permit them to be burdened with unlawful exactions; for we have also caused copies of the privileges of the church to be given to you from our archive for this purpose, so that, being informed in all matters, you may not be ignorant of how you can defend the inhabitants of that place. We also wish that you should, from the coming third indiction, have the men of that estate of Callipolis under the care of your concern, and that you be most careful in relieving their troubles; and, with concern duly applied, that you carefully ascertain each man's means, namely what they can contribute from their rent toward the needs of the church, and arrange for each one to pay according to his means. Once your Fraternity has formed a precise estimate of this arrangement, do not delay to indicate what the men of the whole estate of Callipolis are able to give, so that we may know what we can thereafter arrange with the Lord's help. To Sergius the defensor, indeed, we have directed instructions that in this matter he should not only not dare to be contrary to you, but should rather furnish you with assistance wherever he can.