Stelle Non predicavit, non convertit Freso...; ( Epistolae (Bonifatius et Lullus) (700 - 754), Epist. 109 (p. 235, lin. 30)) [1900]

Basic Information

Keywords	Ethnonym: Fresii, [wurzel: Fres] Ethnonym: Romani, [wurzel: roman] Keyword: apostolica sedes, [wurzel: apostolic sed] Keyword: episcopus, [wurzel: episcop] Keyword: gens, [wurzel: gent] Keyword: pagani, [wurzel: pagan] Keyword: papa, [wurzel: papa] Keyword: pontifex, [wurzel: pontific]
ID	1900
Text	Epistolae (Bonifatius et Lullus) (700 - 754) Boniface Lull
Quotation	Non predicavit, non convertit Fresos ad fidem Christi, sed pagana permansit gens Fresorum, usque quod venerandus pontifex Romanae sedis Sergius supradictum servum Dei Uuilbrordum episcopum ad predicandum supradictae genti transmisit; qui illam gentem, ut prefatus sum, ad fidem Christi convertit. Et modo vult Colonensis episcopus sedem supradicti predicatoris Uuilbrordi sibi contrahere, ut non sit episcopalis sedis subiecta Romano pontifici predicans gentem Fresorum. Cui respondebam, ut credidi, quod maius et fortius fieri debeat preceptum apostolicae sedis et ordinatio Sergii papae et legatio venerandi predicatoris Uuilbrordi, ut et fiat sedis episcopalis subiecta Romano pontifici predicans gentem Fresorum, quia magna pars illorum adhuc pagana est, quam destructae aecclesiolae fundamenta deruta et a paganis conculcata et per neglegentiam episcoporum derelicta.
Translation	He did not preach to the Frisians nor convert them to Christianity. The Frisian people remained pagans until Sergius, reverend pontiff of the Roman See, sent the aforesaid servant of God, Willibrord, as bishop and preacher to them. He, as I have said before, converted them to the faith of Christ. And now the bishop of Cologne wishes to annex this see of the missionary Willibrord, so that there shall be no episcopal see under the Roman pontiff for the Frisian mission. I answered him according to my conviction, that the order of the Apostolic See, the consecration by Pope Sergius, and the mission of the revered preacher Willibrord ought to be far stronger reasons for the establishment of an episcopal see under the Roman pontiff for the Frisian mission—a great part of them being still pagans—than the broken foundations of a little ruined church which had been trampled upon by pagans and abandoned by the neglect of bishops. (Trans. Emerton, pp. 182-3)
Summary	Boniface writes to the Pope about the Archbishop of Cologne's attempt to suppress the See of Utrecht, arguing that Cologne did not carry out missionary work whereas Wilibrord did.
Quotation source	Epist. 109 (p. 235, lin. 30)
Temporal Coverage	753 - 753
Associated use case(s)
Comment