Letter against the Soldiers of Coroticus (7)

This is the custom of the Christian Roman Gauls: they send worthy holy men to the Franks and other heathens with as many thousand solidi as are needed for the redemption of baptized captives. You [Coroticus], on the other hand, kill them and sell them to a foreign people that does not know God; you betray the members of Christ as if in a brothel. What kind of hope do you have in God, or, for that matter, does anyone who goes along with you or who speaks to you in terms of respect? God will judge. It is indeed written: “Not only those who do evil, but even those who consent are to be damned.”

Translation Liam De Paor, St. Patrick’s World

Here again it’s not hard to see that Patrick is writing to two audiences, Coroticus and his soldiers, and the people who will receive this letter and are in the path of the soldiers’ retreat. The message is clear: true Christians act like Christians; they do not betray their brethren or in any way consort with those who do.

Patrick’s reference to the “Christian Roman Gauls” is telling, I think. First, it lets us know that Patrick’s awareness of the Kingdom was not limited to his work in Ireland. By some means he managed to stay apprised of what the Lord was doing in other lands as well. By referring to the believers there in this way he indicates his understanding that they were part of the Roman Catholic Church and under the oversight and authority of the Bishop of Rome. He does not describe himself in this way; rather, Patrick’s overseers are in Britain, yet he does not feel particularly bound to submit to their requests that he return to Britain and give an account of his ministry, since they opposed his going in the first place and seemed to be recalling him out of jealousy rather than true shepherds’ hearts. Patrick was a bishop like them, an equal, and he considered that he was in a better position than those in Britain to decide what was best for the progress of the Kingdom in Ireland. When Columbanus arrived in Gaul, a century and a half after Patrick, he, too, regarded the Roman Church as a different communion from the one in which he served, and refused to submit to the authority of the Frankish bishops. He even wrote letters to their bishop in Rome, the pope, complaining about their poor performance as shepherds of the flocks in their charge.

It was Christian practice in the fifth century, and Patrick participated in this, to purchase people out of slavery from pagan tribes and rulers. Especially, Christians sought to redeem their brethren in the Lord, but they also worked for the liberation of others as well. This was done within the framework of existing “laws”, such as they were, and without violent rebellion or political scheming. They raised the funds necessary to purchase slaves from their owners, then set them free.

These days it is not considered “good taste” to suggest to people who profess faith in Christ that their actions indicate they actually have no faith at all. But Patrick did not hesitate. The stakes are too high. People who betray the Church and the cause of Christ cannot possible expect any benefit from Him. And those who aid and abet their sinful ways show that they have no real love for Christ, either. Patrick expected those who professed faith in the Lord to act like true followers of the Lord. He knew that a day is coming when we will all have to give an account of our works, and he didn’t want any of those in his care to come up short. So he wrote difficult words like these, which, we can be sure, reflect the general theme and tenor of all his preaching and teaching. Those who profess faith in Jesus must follow in the path of good works which He trod. Otherwise, what “evidence” (Heb. 11.1) will they present to the Lord to indicate that their faith is real, and not just a dead and meaningless confession?

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