#66 | Papal Snapshot: St. Pope Gregory II Advises St. Boniface on Evangelizing the Germans, Letter 18 (726)

Related Resources

• #63 | Papal Snapshot: St. Pope Gregory II Appoints St. Boniface Apostle to the Germans, Letter 4 (719)
• #64 | Papal Snapshot: St. Boniface’s Oath to Obey the Popes, Letter 8 (722)

Roadmap

This “Papal Snapshot” will examine the letter from St. Pope Gregory II in which he advises St. Boniface (c. 675-754)—who he had tasked with evangelizing the Germans—on how to do so. Our Roadmap is as follows:

• Our thesis is that St. Pope Gregory II’s letter to St. Boniface (listed as Letter 18 in Boniface’s letters)¹ exhibits a Catholic view of the papacy. We will show this by:
• Quoting and analyzing relevant sections from Letter 18; then
• Summarizing the conclusions we believe can be reached.

For further historical context, see the articles listed under “Related Resources” above.

St. Pope Gregory II, Letter 18 (November 22, 726)

Let us examine St. Pope Gregory II’s letter, which he wrote on November 22, 726. The Pope opened by acknowledging that St. Boniface had offered him numerous questions, and that this showed proper deference for the papal office (pg. 31):

In this same letter you inserted several paragraphs of inquiries as to the faith and teaching of this Holy and Apostolic Roman Church. And this was well done; for the blessed apostle Peter stands as the fountainhead of the apostolate and the episcopate. And to you who consult us about ecclesiastical matters we show what decision you have to take according to the teaching of apostolic tradition, and we do this not as if by our own personal authority, but by the grace of Him who opens the mouth of the dumb and makes eloquent the tongues of infants.

The Pope makes several important assertions here:

First, the Roman Church is “Holy and Apostolic” because of its foundation by St. Peter.

Second, St. Peter—and by implication his successors, the Bishops of Rome—are the “fountainhead of the apostolate and the episcopate.” By “apostolate,” he means those, in general, who are “sent” by the Church (this is the meaning behind the word “apostle,” meaning those who were “sent” by Christ). If one is “sent” by the Church, they thereby speak and act with its authority to one degree or another. One is reminded of the words of the Apostles and presbyters at the Council of Jerusalem when they said the following about the heretics who had unsettled the mind of the Church: “we gave them no instructions” (Acts 15:24). In other words, they were not “sent” by the Church, i.e. part of the “apostolate.” The episcopate refers to the office of bishop, which is occupied by successors of the Apostles. St. Peter, he says, was the “fountainhead” of both. Thus, by claiming to be the “fountainhead” of the episcopate, the Pope is claiming to be the source of the legitimate authority of bishops throughout the world, as St. Peter was the source of the legitimate authority of the other Apostles, etc. in the primitive Church (indeed, the Pope himself ordained St. Boniface as a bishop).

Third, the Pope affirms that he has the authority to command St. Boniface in “ecclesiastical matters,” and that this authority comes from God.

St. Pope Gregory II advised St. Boniface on multiple issues about which he had inquired:

• Prohibited degrees of marriage.
• Relations between husbands and wives when one spouse is diseased.
• Dealing with priests accused by the people.
• The Sacrament of Confirmation and whether it can be repeated or not.
• Details related to the liturgy of Holy Mass.
• Whether Christians can eat food the pagan Germans offered to idols.
• Whether children placed in monasteries by their parents may leave once they have reached a more mature age.
• The proper rite of baptism, and whether it can be repeated.
• The baptism of children about whom it is not known whether their parents had them baptized.
• The reception of the Eucharist by lepers.
• Whether Christians may flee in cases of contagious diseases.
• Whether St. Boniface can eat at the same table with heretical priests and bishops.

We need not examine all the answers provided by the Pope, other than to acknowledge the range of issues and matters St. Boniface brought to his attention for an authoritative answer.

The Pope concluded his letter as follows (pg. 33):

This, my dear brother, is all that need be said with the authority of the Apostolic See. For the rest we implore the mercy of God, that He who has sent you into that region in our stead and with apostolic authority and has caused the light of truth to shine into that dark forest by means of your words may mercifully grant the increase, so that you may reap the reward of your labors and we may find remission for our sins.

St. Pope Gregory II once more affirms the authority of “the Apostolic See.” While the Roman Church was not the only Apostolic See (i.e. founded by an Apostle), it was nonetheless the diocese most often referred to as the Apostolic See, as opposed to a/an Apostolic See, befitting its greater authority over even the other Apostolic Sees, given its foundation by St. Peter, chief of the Apostles.

The Pope likewise affirms that since it was Rome that sent St. Boniface to evangelize the Germans, he does so “with apostolic authority”—an illustration once more of the origination of “the apostolate” in St. Peter and his successors, the bishops of the Roman Church.

Conclusion

From this short letter, we can thus discern a thoroughly Catholic understanding of the papacy on the part of St. Pope Gregory II, and implicitly St. Boniface as well, whose questions the Pope was answering. That understanding included the following:

1. The Church of Rome is “Holy and Apostolic” due to its founding by St. Peter.
2. St. Peter and his successors, the Popes, are the “fountainhead of the apostolate and the episcopate,” meaning, the source of the legitimate authority of both.
3. The Pope has plenary authority to render decisions in “ecclesiastical matters,” and does so for St. Boniface on numerous issues and questions.
4. The Church of Rome is “the Apostolic See,” distinguished from other Apostolic Sees by its uniquely Petrine foundation and authority, by which he commissions agents like St. Boniface “with apostolic authority.”

Footnotes

1. St. Boniface, Ephraim Emerton, trans., The Letters of Saint Boniface (New York: Columbia University Press, 2000). ↩︎