Gildas, The Ruin of Britain (6)

Britain has priests, but they are fools; very many ministers, but they are shameless; clerics, but they are treacherous grabbers. They are called shepherds, but they are wolves all ready to slaughter souls. They do not look to the good of their people, but to the filling of their own bellies. They have church buildings, but go to them for the sake of base profit. They teach the people – but by giving them the worst examples, vice and bad character. Rarely do they sacrifice and never do they stand with pure heart amid the altars. They do not reprimand the people for their sins; indeed they do the same things themselves. They make mock of the precepts of Christ, and all their prayers are directed to the fulfilment of their lustful desires. They usurp with unclean feet the seat of the apostle Peter, yet thanks to their greed they fall into the pestilential chair of the traitor Judas. They hate the truth as an enemy, and love lies like favourite brothers. They look askance at the just poor as though they were dreadful snakes; and, showing no regard for shame, they respect the wicked rich as though they were angels from heaven.

They preach, lip-deep, that the poor should be given alms, but themselves contribute not a groat. They keep quiet about terrible public crimes, but make much of injuries done to themselves as if it were Christ who suffered them. They may drive a religious mother or sisters from their house, but they indecently make light of strange women, as being suited for a more intimate service: or rather – to tell a truth that brings disgrace not so much on me as on those responsible – they degrade them. After that, they canvas posts in the church more vigorously than the kingdom of heaven; they get them and keep them like tyrants, and bring to them no lustre of lawful behaviour. They yawn stupidly at the precepts of holy men – if they every do hear them: though they should constantly; while they show alert interest in sports and the foolish stories of worldly men, as though they were the means to life and not death.

Translation Michael Winterbottom, The Ruin of Britain

Gildas does not intend to say that all the clergy of Britain in the 6^th century were scoundrels. Many faithful shepherds continued to serve the flocks of God, and he will credit those true saints in due course.

In the main, however, the clergy of Britain were no better than the rulers previously denounced. Gildas insists that their primary motivation in going into the ministry was to gratify lustful desires and become wealthy. This is ironic, in that, just a generation or so prior to Gildas, the British clergy had tried to pin the same charge on Patrick, who shrugged it off in his Confession. Gildas would not make such claims against his colleagues if they were not true and obvious to many people. These men were false shepherds, who loved the name of pastor but cared only for the perks of the job. Their approach to the work of ministry was strictly a matter of convenience and self-interest. They sought only their own aggrandizement and did not care for the souls of God’s people. Instead, the tools of their ministry – prayer, the Word, and their personal example – were all employed in serving themselves and leading the Lord’s sheep into sin.

And this seemed to suit these ministers just fine. They didn’t confront anyone about their sins because they enjoyed the practice of sin themselves. Much less would they speak out about public (that is, political) crimes or the wickedness of those in high places. They held the truth of God in contempt and their preaching showed it. Even the clearest teachings of Scripture – such as caring for the “just poor” – they scorned, made light of, or somehow talked their way around. Women, sports, frivolity, and the lusts of the flesh were the driving force in the lives of these false shepherds. They grasped after better posts and, whenever they heard one of Britain’s true priests ministering the Word – as, for example, when all priests in a particular region would convene in synod – they were bored and paid no attention.

These priests were the true cause of the ruin of Britain. The kings Gildas previously denounced were only taking their cues from the clergy who served them, who, in turn, were taking advantage of the immorality of the kings to feather their nests and gratify their lusts.

Gildas’ denunciation will continue, and we’ll examine it in more detail in subsequent installments. What it shows us, however, is how firmly entrenched sin can become in even the most sanctified of places. When men neglect their salvation, fail to maintain an active self-watch, and set their minds on the things of earth rather than the things above, where Christ is seated in heavenly places, compromise and accommodation become the order of the day and sin, disguised as “tolerance” and “love”, runs rampant throughout the courts of the Lord.

The ruin of the ministry becomes the ruin of the Church and the ruin of the Church’s host nation.

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