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Medieval Sourcebook:
Pope John VIII:
Indulgence for Fighting the Heathen, 878
John VIII to the bishops in the realm of Louis II [the Stammerer].
You have modestly expressed a desire to know whether those who have
recently died in war, fighting in defence of the church of God and
for the preservation of the Christian religion and of the state, or those
who may in 'he future fall in the same cause, may obtain indulgence for
their sins. We confidently reply that those who, out of love to the Christian
religion, shall die in battle fighting bravely against pagans or unbelievers,
shall receive eternal life. For the Lord has said through his prophet:
"In whatever hour a sinner shall be converted, I will remember his sins
no longer." By the intercession of St. Peter, who has the power of binding
and loosing in heaven and on the earth, we absolve, as far as is permissible,
all such and commend them by our prayers to the Lord.
Note:
Thatcher and McNeal attribute this text to "John II," but this appears
to be a typographical error since John II ruled in 523.. The pope who was
ruling in 878 was John VIII (872-882). [Thanks to a correspondent for pointing
out the problem here.]
In Migne, Patrologia Latina, 126: 816
trans. Oliver J. Thatcher, and Edgar Holmes McNeal, eds., A Source
Book for Medieval History, (New York: Scribners, 1905), 512
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(c)Paul Halsall Mar 1996
halsall@murray.fordham.edu
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