Saint Who?
Saints Who Fostered Vocations to the Priesthood
Saint Gelasius I
Pope († 496)November 21
Gelasius was an adviser to Saint Felix III, succeeding him as pope in 492. He fought against the Monophysite heresy, which denied that Christ had two natures, divine as well as human. He also steadfastly defended the primacy of the Roman see against Constantinople’s posturing. A city’s temporal status should not determine its ecclesiastical rank. Though pressured to compromise for the sake of civic concord, he insisted that Roman primacy came from Christ’s institution of the papacy.
He wrote to Byzantine emperor Anastasius I, “there are two powers, by which chiefly this world is ruled: the sacred authority of the priesthood and the authority of kings. And of these, the authority of the priests is so much the weightier, as they must render, before the tribunal of God, an account, even for the kings of men.”
Gelasius also saw to the enforcement of a fourfold division of ecclesial revenues, which included a portion for the poor, a portion for the maintenance of church buildings, a portion for bishops, and a portion for minor clergy. He himself died in poverty, having given everything away.
Almighty Father, bless and guide the Holy Father,
all bishops, and all priests.
May you be their heart’s treasure.
