Opera Savonaroliana
Illustration of the Convent of San Marco, Florence
Opera Savonaroliana

Letters

Personal and public correspondence, ranging from spiritual counsel to defenses of his mission and proceedings.

Letters

15 min read

To the Prioress of San Domenico in Pisa

May the grace of God preserve you in the love of Christ Jesus. Your letter was most pleasing to me, and I willingly read your admonition, knowing it to proceed from zeal for charity; and in this I recognize that you love me in truth, without dissimulation, according to the teaching of Jesus Christ. Would that God granted that I might speak with you face to face, and set forth the beginning, the means, and the end of our affairs! I am certain that all would then be according to your desire.

Fra Girolamo Savonarola, O.P.

Letters

2 min read

To Pope Alexander VI, 1497[8]

Most blessed Father, Since it is the charge of every Christian to defend the honor of God, the faith of Christ, and the rectitude of good living, and seeing the flock led astray by the wicked example of many pastors who have departed from the way of truth, I have preached the Gospel, confirming and strengthening the faith, teaching the Christian life, declaring by divine inspiration the things to come, that men might be brought unto repentance. With all diligence have I labored to preserve peace in this city, and for this cause have I suffered, and do yet suffer, many persecutions at the hands of wicked men.

Fra Girolamo Savonarola, O.P.

Letters

12 min read

To the Brethren of San Domenico in Bologna

Grace and peace to you from God and our Savior Jesus Christ. Having often heard, most beloved in Christ Jesus, of the zeal of your charity and your good works done in truth, through the light granted to you by the divine goodness, I have rejoiced; and I continually thank God, who has deigned to illuminate your minds with the way of truth. I also rejoice with you, for the light granted to you has not only not been extinguished, but has grown into a greater knowledge of our Savior and a deeper love of His inestimable mercy. This light has spread, and continues to spread, to ever more people.

Fra Girolamo Savonarola, O.P.

Letters

13 min read

To the Brethren of San Marco in Florence

The grace of God and the peace of Jesus Christ be with you, most beloved sons, from God the Father and our Savior Jesus Christ, to whom I render unceasing and infinite thanks for you; because He has given you a heart and a soul in Christ Jesus, and a devout and ready will for His service, praying night and day that He may bring to perfection the work He has begun in you, in the confirmation of all virtues, so that you may become pillars of the Church of God and uphold His edifice, which, as you see, is weakening and falling into ruin.

Fra Girolamo Savonarola, O.P.

Letters

2 min read

To Giovanna Caraffa and Dianora della Mirandola

Having been requested by your and our lord Count Ioanfrancesco to write a few words to Your Graces, I write to you in the name of our Savior so that you may strive to taste and know how good and sweet our Lord Jesus Christ is; who, although he does not want us to walk the broad path of sin, nonetheless does not demand of us such strict consciences that we would consider every splinter to be a beam. Our Savior delights in a serene, tranquil, and peaceful conscience, one that so hopes in His goodness and in His blood that it believes our minor sins are easily absorbed by His compassion.

Fra Girolamo Savonarola, O.P.

Letters

21 min read

To a Friend

Beloved in Christ Jesus, I am astonished to see how the baseless accusations and slander from malign individuals have somewhat shaken your steadfastness in the way of the truth. It should not come as a surprise that the evangelical truth, being the sole beacon towards salvation, faces vehement opposition. Satan, the adversary of Christ, driven by envy, harbors enmity not just toward all truths but specifically targets the evangelical truth with unparalleled fervor. His aim is to prevent humanity from attaining the glory from which his pride has estranged him. Consequently, he spares the truths of philosophy and others, for without faith, their benefit is minimal. A review of both the Old and New Testaments will reveal that the truth leading to salvation has faced far greater opposition in the past than it does today, which includes opposition against its preachers. Despite the evident falsehood of the slanders directed at me—a fact that anyone who has heard me could ascertain and which I have partially refuted in writing—the distance between us and the daily propagation of these unfounded criticisms without any rebuttal of truth compels me, out of the love I bear for you, to defend the truth and expose the triviality of our adversaries' accusations in this letter.

Fra Girolamo Savonarola, O.P.

Letters

2 min read

To Pope Alexander VI, 1497[8]

Most blessed Father, Since it is the charge of every Christian to defend the honor of God, the faith of Christ, and the rectitude of good living, and seeing the flock led astray by the wicked example of many pastors who have departed from the way of truth, I have preached the Gospel, confirming and strengthening the faith, teaching the Christian life, declaring by divine inspiration the things to come, that men might be brought unto repentance. With all diligence have I labored to preserve peace in this city, and for this cause have I suffered, and do yet suffer, many persecutions at the hands of wicked men.

Fra Girolamo Savonarola, O.P.

Letters

12 min read

To the Brethren of San Domenico in Bologna

Grace and peace to you from God and our Savior Jesus Christ. Having often heard, most beloved in Christ Jesus, of the zeal of your charity and your good works done in truth, through the light granted to you by the divine goodness, I have rejoiced; and I continually thank God, who has deigned to illuminate your minds with the way of truth. I also rejoice with you, for the light granted to you has not only not been extinguished, but has grown into a greater knowledge of our Savior and a deeper love of His inestimable mercy. This light has spread, and continues to spread, to ever more people.

Fra Girolamo Savonarola, O.P.

Letters

13 min read

To the Brethren of San Marco in Florence

The grace of God and the peace of Jesus Christ be with you, most beloved sons, from God the Father and our Savior Jesus Christ, to whom I render unceasing and infinite thanks for you; because He has given you a heart and a soul in Christ Jesus, and a devout and ready will for His service, praying night and day that He may bring to perfection the work He has begun in you, in the confirmation of all virtues, so that you may become pillars of the Church of God and uphold His edifice, which, as you see, is weakening and falling into ruin.

Fra Girolamo Savonarola, O.P.

Letters

2 min read

To Giovanna Caraffa and Dianora della Mirandola

Having been requested by your and our lord Count Ioanfrancesco to write a few words to Your Graces, I write to you in the name of our Savior so that you may strive to taste and know how good and sweet our Lord Jesus Christ is; who, although he does not want us to walk the broad path of sin, nonetheless does not demand of us such strict consciences that we would consider every splinter to be a beam. Our Savior delights in a serene, tranquil, and peaceful conscience, one that so hopes in His goodness and in His blood that it believes our minor sins are easily absorbed by His compassion.

Fra Girolamo Savonarola, O.P.

Letters

21 min read

To a Friend

Beloved in Christ Jesus, I am astonished to see how the baseless accusations and slander from malign individuals have somewhat shaken your steadfastness in the way of the truth. It should not come as a surprise that the evangelical truth, being the sole beacon towards salvation, faces vehement opposition. Satan, the adversary of Christ, driven by envy, harbors enmity not just toward all truths but specifically targets the evangelical truth with unparalleled fervor. His aim is to prevent humanity from attaining the glory from which his pride has estranged him. Consequently, he spares the truths of philosophy and others, for without faith, their benefit is minimal. A review of both the Old and New Testaments will reveal that the truth leading to salvation has faced far greater opposition in the past than it does today, which includes opposition against its preachers. Despite the evident falsehood of the slanders directed at me—a fact that anyone who has heard me could ascertain and which I have partially refuted in writing—the distance between us and the daily propagation of these unfounded criticisms without any rebuttal of truth compels me, out of the love I bear for you, to defend the truth and expose the triviality of our adversaries' accusations in this letter.

Fra Girolamo Savonarola, O.P.

Letters

2 min read

To Pope Alexander VI, 1497[8]

Most blessed Father, Since it is the charge of every Christian to defend the honor of God, the faith of Christ, and the rectitude of good living, and seeing the flock led astray by the wicked example of many pastors who have departed from the way of truth, I have preached the Gospel, confirming and strengthening the faith, teaching the Christian life, declaring by divine inspiration the things to come, that men might be brought unto repentance. With all diligence have I labored to preserve peace in this city, and for this cause have I suffered, and do yet suffer, many persecutions at the hands of wicked men.

Fra Girolamo Savonarola, O.P.

Letters

12 min read

To the Brethren of San Domenico in Bologna

Grace and peace to you from God and our Savior Jesus Christ. Having often heard, most beloved in Christ Jesus, of the zeal of your charity and your good works done in truth, through the light granted to you by the divine goodness, I have rejoiced; and I continually thank God, who has deigned to illuminate your minds with the way of truth. I also rejoice with you, for the light granted to you has not only not been extinguished, but has grown into a greater knowledge of our Savior and a deeper love of His inestimable mercy. This light has spread, and continues to spread, to ever more people.

Fra Girolamo Savonarola, O.P.

Letters

13 min read

To the Brethren of San Marco in Florence

The grace of God and the peace of Jesus Christ be with you, most beloved sons, from God the Father and our Savior Jesus Christ, to whom I render unceasing and infinite thanks for you; because He has given you a heart and a soul in Christ Jesus, and a devout and ready will for His service, praying night and day that He may bring to perfection the work He has begun in you, in the confirmation of all virtues, so that you may become pillars of the Church of God and uphold His edifice, which, as you see, is weakening and falling into ruin.

Fra Girolamo Savonarola, O.P.

Letters

2 min read

To Giovanna Caraffa and Dianora della Mirandola

Having been requested by your and our lord Count Ioanfrancesco to write a few words to Your Graces, I write to you in the name of our Savior so that you may strive to taste and know how good and sweet our Lord Jesus Christ is; who, although he does not want us to walk the broad path of sin, nonetheless does not demand of us such strict consciences that we would consider every splinter to be a beam. Our Savior delights in a serene, tranquil, and peaceful conscience, one that so hopes in His goodness and in His blood that it believes our minor sins are easily absorbed by His compassion.

Fra Girolamo Savonarola, O.P.

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