CAPUT PRIMUM Quod Ecclesia corpus Christi sit, et in ea duae sint principaliter eximiae personae; et quod pro regibus sacerdotes Deo sint rationem reddituri.
A Small Work with a Heavy Burden
The author opens by acknowledging the humble style of this treatise while emphasizing the weight and profit of the divine oracles it carries.
What follows is a short work, simple in its writing, yet heavily laden with divine oracles, and meant to benefit those who follow it.
The Two Powers That Rule the World
The Church is Christ's body, and within it priestly and royal persons are preeminent; as Gelasius taught, the priestly office is weightier because priests must give an account even for kings.
Every believer needs to know that the universal Church is the body of Christ, and that her head is that same Christ; and that in her there stand, above all, two outstanding persons—namely the priestly and the royal—and the priestly is so much the greater as it will have to give an account to God even for the kings themselves. That's why Gelasius, the venerable pontiff of the Roman Church, writing to the emperor Anastasius (Epist. 8): «There are, in fact, two things, Emperor Augustus, by which this world is chiefly ruled: the sacred authority of the pontiffs, and royal power. Of these, the burden on priests is so much the heavier as they will also have to give an account for the kings of men themselves in the divine judgment.
No One Greater Than a Bishop or Emperor
Fulgentius is cited to affirm that, in this present life, no one in the Church is greater than a bishop and no one in the Christian world is higher than the emperor.
» Fulgentius also, in his book On the Truth of Predestination and Grace (Lib. II) writes as follows. «As far as this present life goes, no one in the Church is greater than a bishop, and no one in the Christian world is higher than the emperor.1
A Pastor's Duty Toward the King
In light of the priestly burden to give account for kings, the author commits himself to humbly warn and counsel the king toward salvation, lest silence bring condemnation.
» Therefore, because the ministry of priests is of such great authority—indeed, of such great risk—that they will have to give an account to God even for the kings themselves, it is right and deeply necessary that we always be concerned for your salvation, and that we carefully warn you so that you do not stray—God forbid—from the will of God or from the ministry he has entrusted to you; and if, God forbid, you should in any way wander from it, then by our episcopal care, humbly warning you and helpfully providing for you, we may give counsel suited to your salvation, so that we are not condemned for the silence of our own muteness, but rather may deserve to be rewarded by Christ for our most careful concern and life-giving warning.2
Read the original Latin
SEQUITUR OPUSCULUM SCRIPTIS PERMODICUM, Oraculis tamen divinis pergravidum, suisque sectatoribus profuturum.
Sciendum omnibus fidelibus est quia universalis Ecclesia corpus est Christi et ejus caput idem est Christus, et in ea duae principaliter exstant eximiae personae,sacerdotalis videlicet et regalis, tantoque est praestantior sacerdotalis, quanto pro ipsis regibus Deo est rationem redditura. Unde Gelasius Romanae Ecclesiae venerabilis pontifex ad Anastasium imperatorem scribens (Epist. 8): « Duo quippe sunt, imperator Auguste, quibus principaliter hic regitur mundus, auctoritas sacra pontificum, et regalis potestas: in quibus tanto est gravius pondus sacerdotum, quanto etiam pro ipsis regibus hominum in divino sunt examine rationem reddituri. » Fulgentius quoque in libro de Veritate praedestinationis et gratiae (Lib. II) ita scribit. « Quantum attinet ad hujus temporis vitam, in Ecclesia nemo pontifice potior, et in saeculo Christiano imperatore nemo celsior invenitur. » Ergo quia tantae auctoritatis, imo tanti discriminis est ministerium sacerdotum, ut de ipsis etiam regibus Deo sint rationem reddituri, oportet et valde necesse est, ut de vestra salute semper simus solliciti, vosque ne a voluntate Dei, quod absit, aut a ministerio quod vobis commisit, erretis, vigilanter admoneamus, et si, quod absit, ab eo aliquo modo exorbitaveritis, pontificali studio humiliter admonendo, et salubriter procurando, opportunum consultum saluti vestrae conferamus, ut non de silentio taciturnitatis nostrae damnemur, sed magis de solertissima cura et admonitione salutifera remunerari a Christo mereamur.
Notes
On the Institution of a King (De institutione regia) companion
Rule yourself daily, not just on retreat
Chosen Portion turns the mirror into a daily practice — a short reading and examining question each morning before you lead anyone.
Chosen Portion makes the mirror daily: the ruler-formation questions this collection preserves become a two-minute morning examination in the app.
- A daily formation reading drawn from centuries of counsel to those in authority
- One pointed examination question a day — two minutes, before the meetings start
- Track your practice over weeks and watch the examined life become a habit