Letter 17: fidutia B 3 sessulanae] Loewenfeld (cj.

To John, bishop of Nola. Since you have petitioned us with a detestable presumption, we were astonished that, although we had frequently instructed your Charity by our earlier letters that you should be admonished, lest you ever presume, under the compulsion of any necessity whatsoever, either to write or to demand things unbecoming and abhorrent to our practice, we observe not only that your Affection has by no means corrected itself with regard to past matters, but even that it is proceeding to give cause for the expectation of still worse things. For who, so manifest an enemy both of our reputation and likewise of your own good name, persuaded you, as a thing to be believed, that by our injunctions a free faculty of selling the sacred ministering-vessels should be granted to you? On account of which we command you by our present authority that you in no wise presume henceforth to do or to speak any such thing concerning any object, however small, that has long since been dedicated to sacred uses, knowing that peril either of your honor or of your substance will follow you, if anything of the sort be attempted. But if so great is the destitution of the church of Sessula [i.e. Suessula, between Nola and Capua], that it cannot be a parish, establish it rather as a title [dependent church] of the church of Nola, so that, with such a reduction made, nothing may be diverted from the sacred ministering-vessels, and the fitting offices of divine worship may there be celebrated through the cardinal presbyters appointed to the church. And if there is anything in the way of land, let it be cultivated through the men of the church of Nola, so that it may at least be the better able to discharge the fisc [the tax owed to the public treasury].

fidutia B 3 sessulanae] Loewenfeld (cj. l. 18): sensulane B 4 ministeria Loewenfeld Tit. lohanni episcopo Nolano: Quamquam has litteras noverat, loannem nostrum in albo Nolanorum pontificum inadvertenter omisit F. Lanzoni, 0 . c., p. 239, ideoque etiam H. EECEERCQ, Nole, DACL., t. XII, 2, c. 1426. loannes igitur ponendus est inter 12. Leonem et 13. Aurelianum; sedit itaque Nolae, in Campania, in sede Paulini, ab a. c. 537 ad a. c. 560. Quod adtinet ad sedem Nolanam, cf. F. Lanzoni, o. c., p. 228-239; P. Kehr, 0 . c., t. VIII, p. 297-300; H. EECEERCQ, ibid., c. 1422-1465. Cf. etiam D. Maeeardo, Nola, in Enc. CattoL, t. VIII, c. 1912-1915, qui loannem nostrum in catalogum Nolanorum antistitum (c. 1913) ut decebat, reposuit. 1. ecclesiae Sessulanae: Pro Suessulanae, ni fallor; Suessulae, iuxta hodiernum Cancello, paroedalis ecclesia (cf. etiam § 4), inter Nolam et Ca¬ puam, ad dioecesim Nolanam pertinens. Cf. F. Lanzoni, o. c., p. 252,4; Ae. Forceeeini, ...I. Perin, Lexicon..., t.,VI, Onomasticon, p. 653; Th. Mom- MSEN, CIL., t. X, 1, p. 363; PmLiFV, Suessula, in Pauly-Wissowa, t. IV^, c. 590; P. Mingazzini, Suessula, in Enc. ItaL, t. XXXII, c. 957. sacra ministeria: Sunt vasa aut supellex sacra, ut videri potest in §3: de qualibet re minima sacris usibus dedicata, et in epp. 51,1.3: sacra uasa uel ministeria; 82, 1.3: ecclesiastica uasa. Cf. praeterea Du Cange, Glossarium ..., t. IV, p. 419-420; Thesaurus ..., t. VIII, p. 1014, 1. 12-45; A. Beaise, o. c., p. 532^ 5. PElyAGII I PAPAE nobis execrabili licentia postulasti, mirati sumus quod, dum praecedentibus caritatem uestram frequenter dpxerimus apicibus commonendam, ne aliquando incongrua et nostra exosa moribus uel scribere uel pos[s]cere qualibet necessitate cogente praesume¬ res, non solum de praeteritis dilectionem tuam minime correxisse conspicimus, uerum etiam ad speranda paulo amplius deteriora procedere. Quis namque tam opinionis nostrae quam tuae quoque 2 aestimationis inimicus apertissimus tibi credidit suadendum, ut nostris praeceptionibus uendendorum mi<ni>steriorum tibi facultas libera cederetur? Propter quod tibi praesenti auctoritate manda- 3 mus, ut nulla<tenus> hoc de qualibet re minima sacris dudum usibus dedicata facere seu loqui praesumas ulterius, sciens uel honoris uel substantiae te periculum sequuturum, si quicquam tale fuerit adtemptatum. Sed si tanta est ecclesiae Sessulanae 4, penuria, ut parrochia esse non possit, eam potius titulum Nolanae ecclesiae constitue, ut, tali depositione habita, nec de sacris quicquam ministeriis distrahatur, et conpetentia ibidem diuini cultus per de¬ putatos cardinales ecclesiae praesbyteros ministeria celebrentur. 5 Et si quid est in cespite, per ecclesiae Nolanae homines, ut dili¬ gentius saltem fiscum soluere ualeat, excolatur. karitatem B 10 conspicimus] neram etiam seq. delet, in B 11 tam] ex tamte ^te expunx.) B 18 est] superscr, B2 20 superscr. B 21 ministeris] misteriis ^ni superscr.) B2 22 ministeria] leg. potius mysteria (cf. epp. 57y l. 12 et 43y l. 15-16). 3. nullatenus: Saepe, hoc modo adhibita, occurrit vox in scriptis Pelagii: epp. 11,3; 19,6; (34,5); 49,2; 55; 59,3; 64,6; dum nulla, vi et sensus vocis nequaquam, ut notat S. ioEWENEEED, o. c., p. 13, n. i, nusquam reperii. 4. cardinales praesbyteros: Presb 3 rteri videlicet qui titulari eccle¬ siae, tamquam cardini cuidam, iungebantur: eam ... titulum Nolanae ecclesiae constitue. Cf. ep. 86,3 quaeque ad locum notavi, p. 210; Du Cange, Glossa¬ rium ..., t. II, p. 164; Thesaurus ..., t. III, p. 442,1. 24-46. 5. saltem fiscum: Cf. adnotationes in ep. 16,2, p. 49; H. Leceercq, Domaines ruraux, l. c., c. 1326. Eucarpo, episcopo Messanensi, electionem episcopi Catinensis committit.