| A compendium codex of the Bodleian Library, Oxford (Baroccianus Graecus 76), containing texts of Cretan interest, includes a letter from the pro-unification priest Gratianos to the Catholic Archbishop of Crete Fantino Valaresso, requesting financial assistance. The formerly Orthodox Gratian was in dire financial straits due to the reduction of his flock and the indifference of the Catholic nobles who had originally supported him. His position was made even worse by his responsibilities to his wife and children. In his letter, in which he does not fail to stress the sanctity of these family ties, he paints the blackest possible picture of the probable marginalisation of any Orthodox Cretan priest who adopts the decisions of the Council of Ferrara-Florence. |