Documenta / Galliae Concilia

COUNCILS OF GAUL.

THE TWENTY-FIRST COUNCIL, THE FIRST OF ARLES

Held by very many bishops, in the city of Arles, in the presence of Marinus the bishop, in the times of the Emperor Constantine, at that time when the Council of Nicaea was also held, of three hundred and eighteen bishops.

To the lord and most holy bishop Silvester, the assembly of bishops who were gathered in the town of Arles: we signify to your charity what we have decreed in common counsel, so that all may know what they ought to observe in future.

I. That Easter be celebrated on one day and at one time.

Concerning the observance of the Lord's Easter, that it be observed on one day and at one time throughout the whole world, and that according to custom you direct letters to all.

II. That wherever anyone is ordained, he remain there.

Concerning those who have been ordained as ministers in whatever places, that they persevere in those same places.

III. That those who throw down their arms in peace be excommunicated.

Concerning those who throw down their arms in peacetime, it was decided that they be excluded from communion.

IV. That charioteers be excommunicated while they drive.

Concerning drivers who are faithful, it was decided that they be separated from communion for as long as they drive.

V. That those who gather in the theaters be excommunicated.

Concerning theatrical performers, it was likewise decided that they be separated from communion for as long as they perform.

VI. That those converted in illness receive the imposition of hands.

Concerning those who wish to believe in illness, it was decided that hands ought to be imposed upon them.

VII. Concerning governors, that they communicate with the knowledge of their bishop.

Concerning governors who, being faithful, leap forward to the governorship, it was decided thus: that when they have been promoted, they receive ecclesiastical letters of communion, yet in such a way that in whatever places they serve, care be taken for them by the bishop of that same place, so that when they begin to act against public discipline, then at last they be excluded from communion; similarly also concerning those who wish to hold public office.

VIII. That those converted from heresy, if they were baptized in the Trinity, receive the imposition of hands.

Concerning the Arians who use their own law so as to be rebaptized, it was decided that if any from this heresy come to the church, they be asked the creed, and if it be seen that they were baptized in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, hands be imposed on them only, that they may receive the Holy Spirit; but if when asked they do not respond with this Trinity, let them be baptized.

IX. That those who carry letters of the confessors receive others.

Concerning those who bring letters of the confessors, it was decided that, their letters being set aside, they receive others, communicatory letters.

X. That if anyone's wife has committed adultery, he not take another.

Concerning those who find their wives in adultery, and who are young faithful men and are forbidden to marry, it was decided that as far as possible counsel be given them, that even while their wives are living—although they be adulteresses—they not take others.

XI. That faithful women who have joined themselves to Gentiles are to be excommunicated.

Concerning faithful girls who are joined to Gentiles, it was decided that they be separated from communion for some time.

XII. That clerics who practice usury are to be excommunicated.

Concerning ministers who lend at interest, it was decided that, according to the form divinely given, they be kept from communion.

XIII. That betrayers of brethren, or of sacred vessels, or of the Scriptures, are to be deposed with beatings.

Concerning those who are said to have handed over the Scriptures, or the vessels of the Lord, or the names of their brethren, it was decided by us that whoever of them is convicted in the public records is to be removed from the order of the clergy, not by mere words; for if the same persons are found to have ordained anyone, and the account concerning those whom they ordained stands, their ordination shall not be an obstacle to them. Since there are many who seem to strive against the Church and think that by purchased witnesses they ought to be admitted with an excuse, they are by no means to be permitted unless, as we said above, they have proven it by the public records.

XIV. That false accusers of their brethren are to be excommunicated until death.

Concerning those who falsely accuse their brethren, it was decided that they are not to communicate until death, but that a false witness is not permitted to go unpunished, according to Scripture.

XV. That Levites are not to offer.

Concerning the deacons whom we have learned offer in many places, it was decided that this should by no means be done.

XVI. That penitents are to communicate in the place where they received the prayer.

Concerning those who are separated from communion because of their offense, it was decided that in whatever places they were excluded, in that same place they are to obtain communion.

XVII. That no bishop is to trample upon another bishop.

That no bishop is to trample upon another bishop.

XVIII. That a deacon is to offer nothing without a presbyter.

Concerning the city deacons, that they are not to presume so much for themselves, but are to reserve honor for the presbyters, so that without their knowledge they do nothing of this kind.

XIX. That a place of sacrificing is to be given to a visiting bishop.

Concerning foreign bishops who customarily come into the city, it was decided that a place be given them to offer.

XX. That no bishop be ordained without three bishops.

Concerning those who presume that they alone ought to ordain a bishop, it was decided that no one should presume this for himself, unless he has taken to himself seven other bishops; if however he cannot [have] seven, he shall not dare to ordain with fewer than three.

XXI. That a cleric passing elsewhere be excommunicated.

Concerning presbyters or deacons who customarily abandon the places in which they were ordained and have transferred themselves to other places, it was decided that they minister in these places; but if, having left their own places, they wish to transfer themselves to another place, they are to be deposed.

XXII. That apostates who return too late are not to be received except through worthy penitence.

Concerning those who apostatize and never present themselves to the church, nor even seek to do penance, and afterwards, seized by illness, ask for communion, it was decided that communion is not to be given them unless they have recovered and have borne worthy fruits of penitence.

From Sicily, Sixtus bishop of the Syracusans and Florus deacon; from the province of Campania, of the city of [—], Protinus bishop and Agrippa and Tutila deacons; from the province of Apulia, Pardus bishop and Crescens deacon; from the province of Dalmatia, Theodorus bishop and Agathon deacon; from the city of Rome, those whom Sylvester the bishop sent, Claudianus and Avitus presbyters, Eugenius and Cyriacus deacons; from the province of Italy, Orosius bishop, Nazareus lector; from the province of the Viennenses, of the city of Arelate, Marinus bishop, Salamas presbyter, Nicatius, Afer, Ursinus, and Petrus deacons; from the province which is above [mentioned] of the Viennenses, Verus bishop, Beclas exorcist; from the city of Vasio, Damnas bishop and Victor exorcist; from the city of the Arausici, Laustinus presbyter; from Porta, Innocentius deacon, Agapius exorcist; from the province of Gaul, of the city of the Rhemi, Imbethausius [B.

R., Bethausius bishop, Primigenius deacon: from the city of the Rothomagenses, Avidianus bishop, Nicetius deacon: from the city of Augustodunum, Petius bishop, Amandus presbyter, Philomatius deacon: from the city of Leudona, Votius bishop, Petulius exorcist: from the city of Agrippina, Maternus bishop, Marinus deacon: from the province of Aquitania, of the city of Vagalum, Genialis bishop: from the city of Burdegala, Orientalis bishop, Flavius deacon: from the city of the Treviri, Agricius bishop, Felix exorcist: from the city of Tolosa, Martinus bishop, Leoncius deacon: from the province of Britannia, Eburius bishop: from the city of the Lugdunenses, Restitutus bishop: from the city of Clunia, Adelphus bishop, Soter presbyter: from the city of the Rhemi, Liberius bishop, Florentius deacon: from the city of Baetica, Sabinus presbyter: from the city of the Ursulentes, Natalis presbyter, Cytherius deacon: from the city of Tarraco, Probatius presbyter, Castorius deacon: from the city of Caesaraugusta, Clementius presbyter, Rufinus exorcist: from the city of the Bastigentes, Termarius presbyter, Victor lector: from the province of Mauritania Caesariensis, Fortunatus bishop, Deuterius deacon: from the province of Sardinia, Quintus [T.

2, Quintinus bishop, Aumonius presbyter: from the province of Africa, Caecilianus bishop, Sperantius deacon: from the city of Omina, Lampadius bishop: from the city of Utica, Victor bishop: from the city of Beneventina, Anastasius bishop: from the city of Turbustana, Faustus bishop: from the city of Cocofeltis, Surgentius bishop: from the province of Numidia, Victor bishop; from the city of the Virensians, Vitalis bishop: from the port of the city of Rome, Gregorius bishop: from Centumcellae, Epictetus bishop: from the city of Ostia, Leontius and Macarius presbyters.

THE SECOND COUNCIL OF ARLES.

I. That neophytes are not to be ordained as clerics.

That a neophyte ought not to be ordained to the office of the diaconate and priesthood.

II. How married men are promoted to the priesthood.

That someone bound in the bond of marriage cannot be taken up to the priesthood unless a conversion has first been undertaken.

III. That no cleric or deacon is to have a woman who is an outsider in his company.

If any cleric presumes to have a woman with him in his service after the rank of deacon—other than his grandmother, mother, sister, daughter, granddaughter, or a converted woman who is his wife—let him be alienated from communion; and let the same penalty strike the woman as well, if she refuses to separate.

IV. That no cleric introduce a girl into a storeroom or secret place.

Let no deacon, or presbyter, or bishop introduce a girl into the secrecy of a storeroom, whether she be freeborn or a maidservant.

V. That when a bishop is ordained, three bishops shall ordain him with the consent of the metropolitan.

That it shall not be lawful to ordain a bishop without the metropolitan, or a letter of the metropolitan, or three fellow provincials, in such a way that the other fellow provincials are admonished by letters to signify that they have consented by their own reply; but if any doubt arises between the parties, the metropolitan shall consent to the election by the greater number.

VI. Concerning a bishop who has been ordained without the knowledge of the metropolitan.

But let this be clear before all things, that he who has been constituted a bishop without the knowledge of the metropolitan ought not, according to the great synod, to be a bishop.

VII. Concerning those who mutilate themselves.

Those who, not knowing how to resist carnal vice, mutilate themselves cannot attain to the clerical order.

VIII. Concerning those who receive the excommunicated of another.

If anyone presumes, after an interdict, to receive an excommunicated person of another, whether cleric or layman, let him know that he will render himself guilty of the cause of fraternal communion in the council.

IX. That the Novatians are not to be received into communion.

A Novatian is not to be received into communion unless, having undertaken the belief of penitence, he condemns his past error.

X. Concerning those who have prevaricated in persecution.

Concerning those who have prevaricated in persecution, if they voluntarily denied the faith, the Nicene synod decreed this concerning them: that for five years they go out among the catechumens, and for two among the communicants, so that they do not presume communion among the penitents; nevertheless it is in the power or judgment of the bishop, if he sees that they have cast off their error from the heart and are doing penance, to receive them into communion according to ecclesiastical humanity.

XI. Concerning those who, overcome by punishments, were compelled to sacrifice.

But if any, overcome by pain and the weight of persecution, were compelled to deny or to sacrifice, let them be held suspended from communion for two years among the catechumens and for three years among the penitents.

XII. Concerning those who, placed in penitence, have departed this life.

Concerning those who, placed in penitence, have departed this life, it has been decided that no one ought to be dismissed void of communion, but in return for the honor he showed to penitence, his offering is to be received.

XIII. That no one, under any necessity, should abandon his own Church.

No cleric of any order—not a deacon, not a presbyter, not a bishop—for whatever occasion, should abandon his own Church, but in every way he should either be excommunicated or compelled to return; but if, during some period of residence, against the will of his own bishop, dwelling in another's church, he has been ordained a cleric by the bishop of that place, an ordination of this kind is to be held invalid.

XIV. That a cleric is not to receive interest.

If any cleric has given money at interest, or has wished to be the lessee of another's property, or for the sake of shameful gain has exercised any kind of business, let him be deposed from the clergy and become alien to communion.

XV. That a deacon is not to sit in the presence of a presbyter or to hand over the eucharist.

In the secretarium let it not be permitted for a deacon to sit among the presbyters, nor let him presume to hand over the body of Christ in the presence of a presbyter; but if he has done so, let him withdraw from the office of the diaconate.

XVI. That the Photinians and Paulianists are to be baptized.

But that the Photinians or Paulianists ought to be baptized according to the statutes of the Fathers.

XVII. Concerning baptized heretics.

But the Bonitiaci, coming from the same error, whom it is manifest are to be baptized in the Trinity just as the Arians, when, having been questioned, they have confessed our faith with their whole heart, it suffices that they be received in the Church with chrism and the imposition of hands.

XVIII. That a synod is to be convened at the discretion of the metropolitans.

A synod is to be convened at the discretion of the bishop of Arelate, to which city we read that a council and assembly was held from all parts of the world in the time of Saint Marinus: if anyone, having been summoned, is absent by reason of illness, let him send a person in his place.

XIX. That it is not permitted to any bishop to depart from the synod. But if anyone has neglected to be present, or has believed that the fellowship of the brethren is to be abandoned before the council is dissolved, let him know that he is alienated from the communion of the brethren, nor is it permitted that he be received unless he has been absolved in the following synod.

XX. Concerning faithful charioteers and theatrical performers.

Concerning charioteers or theatrical performers who are faithful, it has been decided that, as long as they perform, they are to be separated from communion.

XXI. If anyone marries after receiving penance.

Penitents who, their husband being dead, have presumed to marry others, or have lived with an outsider in suspect or forbidden familiarity, are to be kept from the thresholds together with the same man: this has also been decided to be observed concerning a man placed in penance.

XXII. That penance is to be given to married persons by consent.

Penance is not to be given to married persons except by consent.

XXIII. Concerning priests who have not overturned idolatry.

If in the territory of any presbyter unbelievers either kindle torches or worship trees, springs, or stones, if he has neglected to root this out [T. 2, overturn it], let him know that he is guilty of sacrilege; but the lord or ordainer of the matter himself, if after being admonished he refuses to amend it, let him be deprived of communion.

XXIV. Concerning accusers of brethren.

Those who have been convicted of having falsely brought capital charges against their brethren, it has been decided that they are not to communicate until their departure, just as the great synod previously established, unless they have repented with worthy satisfaction.

XXV. Concerning apostates, if they do not return.

Those who after the holy profession of religion apostatize and return to the world, and afterward do not seek the remedies of penance, let them by no means receive communion without penance; whom we also order not to be admitted to the office of the clergy, and whoever he is, let him not presume to adopt secular dress after penance; but if he has presumed, let him be held alien from the Church.

XXIII THE THIRD COUNCIL OF ARLES

Of twelve bishops, held in the year 461, in the reign of the Emperor Marcian, with Opilio and Vincomalus as consuls, on the eighth day before the Ides of July.

203-204 When, by the will of God, the priests of the Lord had assembled in the city of Arles for the dedication of the basilica of Saint Mary, it seemed fitting and reasonable to them that they should first, treating with most attentive care of the canons to be observed, define by wholesome counsel how the ecclesiastical rules might be kept by them.

I. That a deacon is not to be ordained before twenty-five years of age, nor a priest before thirty.

And because it is known that in the ordination of clerics the statutes of the ancient Fathers have not been observed in full, as is expedient, lest the priests of the Lord be worn out by the importunate and disorderly entreaties of certain persons, and be compelled to transgress what has so often been decreed, they determine that this is to be observed among them: that none of the bishops presume to ordain a deacon before he has completed twenty-five years; and that no layman receive the honor of the episcopate or presbyterate before the aforesaid conversion or before thirty years of age.

II. That a layman is not to be ordained before a year of his conversion.

And although the ancient fathers ordained that longer periods be observed in the case of laymen, nevertheless, because with the increasing number of churches it is necessary for us to ordain more clerics, this has been settled among us, without prejudice to the canons of the ancients, that no metropolitan is to bestow the dignity of the episcopate on any layman whatsoever, nor are the other pontiffs to presume to confer the honor of the presbyterate or diaconate, unless a full year of conversion has preceded.

III. That digamists, penitents, and the husbands of repudiated women are not to be promoted to the priesthood.

Let no one dare to ordain a penitent, no one a digamist or the husbands of women married after [the death of a former spouse], to the aforesaid honors. And although the institutions of nearly all the canons already contain these things, nevertheless, lest the importunity or wicked suggestion of any suppliant, as we have already said, creep in upon any of the priests, it was necessary that the priests of the Lord should now wish to impose a stricter rule upon themselves: and therefore whoever from this day presumes to ordain a cleric contrary to those things which have been set forth above, from the day on which this can be proven against him, for a full year he is to do masses [i.e., be suspended from celebrating mass].

2. he shall not presume to act: but if anyone shall be unwilling to observe this matter, and acting against the consent of the brethren shall presume to celebrate masses, let him know that he is alienated from the charity of all the brethren; because it is fitting that he feel the severity of ecclesiastical discipline who despises to observe what has been wholesomely instituted by the holy fathers.

IV. Concerning foreign clerics who are defended by others.

And if perchance any of the clerics, evading the rule of ecclesiastical discipline, shall have wandered astray, whoever receives him, and not only does not reconcile him to his own bishop, but rather presumes to defend him, shall be deprived of communion with the Church.

Caesarius, bishop in the name of Christ, I have read and subscribed this definition of my holy brethren and of myself.

Contumeliosus, bishop, I have consented and subscribed.

Philacrius, bishop, I have subscribed.

Praetextatus, bishop, I have subscribed.

Maximus, bishop, I have subscribed.

Julian the bishop subscribed. Florentius the bishop subscribed. Cyprian the bishop subscribed. Montanus the bishop subscribed. Florentius the bishop subscribed. Cyprian the bishop subscribed. Coelestinus the bishop subscribed. Porcianus the bishop subscribed. Eucherius the bishop subscribed. Cataphronius the presbyter, sent by my lords Agricius and Severus the bishops, consented and subscribed. I, Desiderius the presbyter, sent by my lord John the bishop, consented and subscribed. Leontius the presbyter, sent by my lord Constantine the bishop, subscribed. I, Hemeterius, sent by my lord Gallicianus the bishop, consented and subscribed.

XXIV THE COUNCIL OF VALENTIA

Of twenty bishops, held in the era 313, in the consulship of the emperors Gratian and Valentinian, on the fourth day before the Ides of July, in the consulship of Gratian for the third time and Equitius.

To the most beloved brothers in the Lord, the bishops established throughout the Gauls and the five provinces: Faegadius and Eumerius, Florentius, Artemius, Aemilianus, Britto, Justus, Euphodius, Rhodamius, Eortius, Cretus, Concordius, Constantius, Paulus, Antherius, Felix, Neoterius, Urbanus, Simplicius, and Vincentius, bishops, greeting in the Lord. Since all the matters at Valencia have been transacted and, in the name of God, brought into a better state—the cause of dissension that had been begun—there was a useful and religious suggestion from certain of the fathers, that reconsideration should also be given to those matters which we can neither accept because of the holiness of the Church, nor yet condemn on the ground of an usurped custom. For this kind of germ of vices has so grown up throughout all the Churches that the recourse to full remedies is not easy, certainly not without shame for those whom the matter concerns. Wherefore, brothers, with a counsel long weighed and moderate, that principle of caution has been observed which would both remove scandals and guard the holiness of the Church.

I. That digamists are not to be consecrated.

It has therefore been decided that after this synod, by which remedy is brought, albeit late, to such unlawful unions, no digamists or husbands of women married after the death of a previous husband may be ordained as clerics; nor is it to be asked whether they defiled themselves with this unhappy lot by necessity before they were initiated in the divine sacraments, or as Gentiles.

II. That penance be assigned to girls who have vowed themselves to God if they marry or commit fornication.

Concerning girls, however, who have vowed themselves, if they pass over to earthly marriages of their own will, we have decreed that this is to be observed: that penance is not to be given them at once, and when it has been given, unless they have fully satisfied God, their communion is to be deferred as far as their case shall demand.

III. That those who, after being baptized, worship idols or are polluted by incest are to do penance.

Concerning the persons of those, however, who after the one and holy washing have polluted themselves either by the profane sacrifices of demons or by incestuous washing, we have judged that this form of censure is to be observed: that the approach of satisfaction is indeed not to be denied them, according to the Nicene synod, nor is the door of consolation to be closed to their unhappy tears by despair, since they are to do penance even unto the day of death, yet not without hope of remission, which they ought fully to hope for from him who alone holds the right of it and is so rich in mercy that no one should despair; for God did not make death, nor does he rejoice in the perdition of the living.

IV. That a priest or deacon, if he confesses any crime concerning himself, is to be deposed.

Nor did we judge it foreign to the Church's utility, brothers, to write this also, that you may know that whoever under the ordination either of the diaconate or of the presbyterate or of the episcopate have said that they are polluted by a mortal crime are to be removed from the above-mentioned ordinations, guilty namely either by the confession of truth or by the lie of falsehood; for they cannot be absolved in these matters unless they have said it concerning themselves, whereby what was said against others would be punished, since everyone who has been the cause of death to himself is, as it says, a greater murderer. May the divine piety keep you forever, most beloved brothers.

Likewise another [letter] of the same men as above.

To the most beloved brothers, the clergy and people of the church of Forum Julii, Faegadius, Eumerius, Florentius, Artemius, Aemilianus, Britto, Justus, Euphodius, Rhodamius, Eortius, Constantius, Paulus, Cretus, Concordius, Antherius, Neoterius, Nicetius, Urbanus, Felix, Simplicius and Vincentius, bishops, greeting in the Lord.

Although our brother Benedictus has suggested, in the person of the most holy Acceptus, matters worthy of a prudent and Christian man, and has declared with what zeal all of you are urged to the honor of the priesthood; nevertheless, because it had already been settled in the synod that ordinations of this kind, which cannot be without scandal, must be set aside, we could not grant to one what was denied to the others. And although we were not unaware that many, out of shame, and some, out of fear of undertaking the priesthood—which are certainly signs of holiness—have spoken falsely against themselves for the sake of rejecting the honor; nevertheless, because the judgment of nearly all is prone to what is worse, and material for disputes is sought through the disparagement of God's priests, it was settled in the synod that whoever had said anything about himself, whether true or false, should have credence given to him as confirmed by his own testimony, and should be removed at once from that rank which ought to be free from all scandal. May the divine goodness protect you forever.

XXV COUNCIL OF TAURINUM.

To the most beloved brethren established throughout the Gauls and the five provinces, the holy synod which convened in the city of the Taurini.

209-210 When, in response to the petition of the provinces of Gaul, we priests had assembled at the city of Taurinum and were seated in the church of that same city, with the Lord as author and mediator, after hearing the allegations of the bishops—namely those who had been gathered for our judgment—concerning individual matters, this form of sentence proceeded, such that the statutes of the canons were preserved for the good of peace, and a beneficial remedy was applied to the intentions of very many.

I. That he who has proved that his city was a metropolis shall hold the primacy.

For when the holy man Proculus, bishop of the city of Massilia, claimed before all others that he ought to preside as metropolitan over the churches that appeared to be situated in the second province of Narbonensis, and that the ordinations of the chief priests in the aforesaid province should be performed through him, asserting indeed that those same churches were either his parishes or that the bishops in those same churches had been ordained by him; while on the other hand the bishops of that same region defended otherwise and contended that a priest of another province ought not to preside over them: it was judged by the holy synod, out of regard for peace and concord, that the concession should be made not so much to his city, which is situated in another province and whose greatness we did not fully know, as rather to the man himself, so that he might stand by his sons as a father in the honor of primacy. For it seemed fitting that, although they were not bound together by the unity of a province, they should nevertheless be bound by the affection of piety. This form shall be preserved for him alone for the term of his life, so that in the churches of the second province of Narbonensis which were shown to have been either his parishes or his disciples ordained, he shall hold the dignity of primacy.

Let it be observed by the parties that, although it is superfluous, it is nevertheless not uselessly admonished, that the holy Proculus himself, as a pious father, should honor his fellow priests as sons, and the priests of the aforementioned province, as good sons, should hold him as a parent, and should show toward one another the affection of charity, fulfilling this which the blessed Apostle says: "Anticipating one another in honor, not thinking highly of yourselves, but consenting to the humble." Then that matter between the bishops of the cities of Arelate and Vienna, who were contending among us over the honor of primacy, has been defined by the holy synod: that whichever of them shall have proved his own city to be the metropolis, he shall obtain the honor of primacy over the whole province, and he himself, according to the precept of the canons, shall have the power of ordinations. Certainly, for preserving the bond of peace, it has been decreed by this more useful counsel, that if it pleases the bishops of the aforementioned cities, each of them shall claim for himself the cities within the province nearer to himself, and shall claim those churches which are established to be closer to his own towns, so that, mindful of unanimity and concord, the one may not disturb the other by usurping for himself from farther off what belongs to another.

II. That bishops who act against the statutes are to be deprived of honor.

It has also pleased us to have it written in a continuous record of the proceedings, for perpetual discipline, what the holy synod decreed concerning the bishops Octavius, Ursio, Remigius, and Tryferius, who were called out for a certain envy of usurpation regarding the ordination of priests; and it seems that to these it has been granted up to now that, being admonished by this authority for the future, they should attempt to usurp nothing, since they defended themselves from this charge by the excuse that they said they had not been summoned beforehand. Accordingly the synod judged that if anyone hereafter acts against the statutes of the fathers, let him who has been ordained know that he is to be deprived of the honor of the priesthood, and let him who ordained him know that he is to retain no authority in ordinations or in councils. Nor shall this sentence prevail only concerning the bishops mentioned above, but also concerning all who, deceived by a similar error, have perpetrated ordinations of this kind.

III. Concerning laymen who bring accusations against clerics.

But concerning Palladius, a layman, who had brought no light charge against the priest Spano, and among whom the bishop Tryferius testified that he had himself examined the causes of that same charge, the authority of the council decreed this: that the same Palladius should remain under the same sentence with which he had been penalized by the priest Tryferius at the time of the investigation, with this concession of humanity preserved for him by the council, that Tryferius himself should have it in his power to release him whenever he wished.

IV. Concerning clerics who through their own fault are excommunicated by their bishop.

The holy synod also decreed concerning the priest Exuperantius, who had heaped up grave and many offenses against his holy bishop Tryferius and had provoked him with frequent insults, so that he did certain things contrary to ecclesiastical discipline, on which account he had been deprived by him of the Lord's communion: that his restoration should be at the discretion of the one in whose power his rejection lay; that is, that whenever the same Exuperantius should make satisfaction, or it should seem good to the bishop Tryferius, then he should receive the grace of communion.

V. Concerning one who wishes to separate himself from heretics so that he may be received by the catholic Church.

The holy synod further decreed that, since the legates of the bishops of Gaul who communicate with Felix have been sent, if anyone wishes to withdraw himself from his communion, he is to be received into the fellowship of our peace according to the letters long since issued by Ambrose, bishop of venerable memory, or by the priest of the Roman Church, which were read in the council in the presence of the legates.

VI. That one man is not to promote another man's cleric, nor receive one who has been cast out.

Nor was that to be passed over which was defined by the sentence of the synod: that no one is to receive another man's cleric according to the statutes of the canons, nor presume to ordain him in his own church in another grade, nor receive one who has been cast out into communion.

VII. Concerning those who have been ordained contrary to prohibition, or have fathered sons while in office.

But those who have been ordained contrary to prohibition, or have fathered sons in the ministry, the authority of the synod decreed are not to be permitted to the higher grades of orders.

May our Lord deign to preserve you safe for the longest time, most beloved lords and brothers.

XXVI COUNCIL OF RIEGO

Of thirteen bishops, held in the era 477, under the emperors Theodosius the Younger and Valentinian, with Theodosius consul for the seventeenth time and Festus as consuls.

When we had assembled in the will of the Lord at the church of Riego, and a remedy was being sought for the transgression committed at the church of Ebroin—where it was clear that, with the sacred canons of the Church and the revered constitutions of the Fathers neglected on every side, without the presence of three bishops, without letters of the fellow provincials, without the authority of the metropolitan, an invalid semblance of ordination had been rashly presumed by two who had gathered together—no less grief over the fall of those who presumed it than over the tearing apart of that same church was turned over in the hearts of all by long deliberation.

First, therefore, because the zeal not for avenging but for healing had, by the will of the Lord of all, wholly settled in the hearts of the priests by priestly counsel, the proper meaning of the canons having been examined in each of the speeches, it pleased [us] that, just as those things which had been presumptuously done were to be called to nullity as reprobate, so those who had presumed reprobate things, although censure compelled them to be put to shame, charity might absolve—especially since those who had fallen into such perverse things, from the first day of their lapse, with prayers offered everywhere, repenting of their fault, had imputed it either to ignorance or to deception; because, even if it were believed excusable that a priest did not know the priestly statutes, it was nevertheless lighter than if with shameless mouth he confessed that he had trampled upon things known.

I. That he who has been ordained by two bishops shall not be held as a bishop.

And so it pleased [us] that those who had usurped such disordered and such unstable things be received into communion and love with such an onset of mercy and charity, that they should know, according to the recent and most wholesome definition of the Synod of Turin, that for the perpetual pouring out of this life they would hereafter have no part in any ordinations, no part in any ordinary councils, because nothing wholesome was to be expected to be established by them, because they had provided such detestable examples of such great corruption.

For the church of Ebrudunum it seemed maturely advisable, before all else, to make provision, because, deprived of a legitimate priest for four months of a two-year period, it had fallen so much more gravely ill that the innocent clergy, mindful of discipline, as has been proven, harassed by the insolence and various disturbances of certain laymen, had recently and dangerously endured, even among priests and ministers, threats and quarrels and the most bitter violence through a deadly slaughter; nor could the examination of good men and those mindful of discipline be deferred, lest the desires of the contumacious and the restless seem to be flattered, whose conspiracies and machinations both in the past, insofar as they can be detected, were to be punished by ecclesiastical censure, and in the future were to be anticipated. And so the ordination which the canons define as invalid, we too have judged to be void, in which, with the presence of three [bishops] omitted and the letters of the comprovincials not sought, and the will of the metropolitan also neglected, nothing at all was shown that would make a bishop.

II. On the removal of the one whom two men presumed wrongly to ordain.

And so it pleased [us], in the will of the Lord, that this man who had been wrongly assumed as bishop be removed, and that the decree of the brethren be carried out in every respect, with ecclesiastical tradition preserved. But because this holy synod took thought not only for discipline but also for mercy, and since it came to mind that Armentarius in recent days had brought upon that same church much through the insolence of flatterers, it nevertheless came to mind that he had departed before the admonition, that at the urging of certain priests for this very purpose he had even withdrawn himself to a private house, that he had sent letters to the clergy themselves in which he announced that he sought the episcopate which he acknowledged he had not obtained, asking that his name be erased, and confirming by his protest that this very thing which had been presumptuously undertaken in his case would even then be disorderly and invalid. The judgment inclined rather to that side, that more support should be given to the young man reared in the fear of the Lord, because in a most vicious act he had at times felt what was sound, than that he had yielded in some part to youthful provocations. Therefore, setting aside those things which, by his return, had marked him out as sharing in guilt without any escape by way of excuse, the priests of the Lord who were present at this council preferred to pass over the same man as innocent and free of condemnation, by indulgence, under the name of a stranger or fellow bishop.

III. Concerning heretical and schismatic bishops, that if they come to the catholic faith, they should observe [the following].

Therefore, what the Council of Nicaea decreed concerning the receiving of certain schismatics, this present assembly also decreed, for each in their own territories, that it ought to be observed by all: namely, that to whatever brother charitable counsels have dictated such a thing, it shall be permitted to yield to him one church of his parishes, in which he might enjoy either the name of co-bishop, as the same canon says, or, as they say, a foreign communion. First, therefore, it is decreed that this be permitted in any province whatsoever except in the maritime Alps; but if anyone in any part has recourse to it, as an instigator of evils and impatient of quiet, he shall be subject to the condemnation which he has brought upon himself; but even if anyone communicates with him who transgresses any of the things that have been decreed, he shall be made alien from the communion of all.

Next, that it be conducted anywhere other than in public, and that no place be appointed for him which the appearance or rank of a city and its nobility distinguishes, it is added that he never presume to offer in cities or in the absence of bishops, nor to ordain even the lowest cleric, nor indeed in that church which has been assigned to him by anyone's mercy, nor may any of the bishops, or one assumed in his early years by succeeding age, be permitted to yield to him in anything as if out of reverence for his age, nor anywhere to usurp anything for himself from episcopal offices, except in the church which he has obtained by anyone's mercy, in which alone it is granted to him to confirm neophytes and to offer before the presbyters. But if ever, provoked by another's charity, he has varied concerning a change of residence, let him not otherwise receive rest in another church than by renouncing the former one, nor let him ever obtain the governance of two churches at all, for whom also in that church which is ceded to him it is necessary that ministers be ordained by the bishop of the city.

Of course, because mention was made of the ministers and certain persons found by him to have been excommunicated were said to have been rashly advanced in the clergy, it was decreed that those who had been assumed in this way should be deposed; but those whom no stain of conduct would prejudice, as seemed best to the priest of Ebrudunum when he was being appointed, were either to be kept in the ministry of his own church, or to be transferred to him wherever he might reside, to bless the people whom he would receive by the permission of this constitution, as has been defined above, to confirm neophytes in one and the same church, and in castles and villages to be permitted to him before the presbyters, wherever he may come, all that is altogether prescribed in cities.

IV. That the priest both bless and confirm the neophyte.

And amid these small discussions it seemed good that every presbyter, throughout households, through the fields, through private homes, should open the faculty of blessing according to the desire of the faithful—which it has occurred that certain provinces already possess—and that this same thing should be granted among the congregations of churches, yet in rural places rather than in cities. In the church also in which he has been ordained, he shall have the right of consecrating a virgin, just as of confirming a neophyte; and in all things, as if by the testimony of great indulgence, let him always conduct himself as inferior to the bishop and superior to the presbyter; let him live in the fear of the Lord, with the commands and vows of all the saints attending him; let him cultivate quiet, serve God, give thanks for the benevolence of the synod concerning himself, and always confess himself unworthy of the indulgences granted and unequal to those denied.

V. That a bishop who has buried a bishop shall have care of his church.

But all the priests who had assembled decreed in common that they must guard against scandals of this kind among themselves.

Therefore, on account of rash acts of this kind, it has been provided by the following decree that hereafter it be observed that no one should approach the church which has lost its bishop, except the bishop of a neighboring church at the time of the funeral; yet he should immediately take the strictest care of that church, so that nothing be permitted before the ordination, to the subversion of the clergy in novelties, by those who disagree. And so when something of this kind happens, the inspection, description, and review of the neighboring churches is entrusted to the neighboring bishops.

VI. That no bishop be ordained without the metropolitan.

But he shall perform all these things at the time of the funeral, up to the seventh day after the deceased, reporting the mandate of the metropolitan to the principal church; together with all the holy bishops he shall be buried. Nor shall anyone approach the church which has lost its chief priest, unless invited by letters of the metropolitan, lest he be deceived by the people and seem to have wished for the power of the pallium.

VII. Concerning those who have been seditious against the churches or their cultivators, that is, the priests.

It has come to the attention of this holy synod that certain unknown persons, by the counsel of the ancient enemy, strive to mutilate the established ordinances of the canons through the arrogance of pride—persons who persist not as humble men but as proud and seditious against the churches of God and His priests. The whole synod has decreed that such men be separated from the Church of God and from the assembly of catholics, and, being excommunicated, be relegated to exile, so that afterward, corrected by the satisfaction of penance, they may be admitted to holy communion, but not to the clergy.

VIII. That a council be held twice a year.

It has seemed sufficient that a council of bishops be held in each province twice a year: once indeed after the third week of the paschal festival, so that in the fourth week which follows—that is, at mid-Pentecost—the council be completed. Moreover, the bishops of the same province—those who reside in the more prominent cities, that is, the metropolitan cities—are to give notice. The second council, however, is to be held on the Ides of October, at the time of the vintage; which day is found among the Greeks as the tenth day of the month Hyperberetaeus. At these councils both presbyters and deacons and judges, whether curiales or private persons, ought to be present; and all, as many as consider themselves wronged, are to set forth their cases and await the synodal sentence.

Nor shall it be permitted to any to hold councils of the metropolitans among themselves without the presence and knowledge of the metropolitan bishops, since it is established that from them, in all causes, the truthful and most faithful judgment of sanction has been issued.

I, Hilary, bishop, in accordance with what pleased all my holy fellow bishops who subscribed with me, following the statutes of the Fathers, have subscribed to these definitions on the thirteenth day before the Kalends of December, in the consulship of Theodosius Augustus for the seventeenth time and of Festus the honorable.

I, Severianus, bishop, was present at this definition and subscribed on the day of the above-written consulship.

I, Audentius, bishop, was present at these statutes on the day of the above-written consulship.

I, Julius, bishop, was present at these statutes and subscribed on the day of the above-written consulship. I, Arcadius, bishop, was present at these definitions and subscribed on the day of the above-written consulship. I, Auspicius, bishop, was present at these definitions and subscribed on the day of the above-written consulship.

I, Severus, bishop, was present at these definitions and subscribed on the day of the consulate written above. I, Valerianus, bishop, was present at these definitions and subscribed on the day of the consulate written above. I, Nectarius, bishop, was present at these definitions and subscribed on the day of the consulate written above.

I, Asclepius, bishop, was present at these definitions and subscribed on the day of the consulate written above.

I, Theodorus, bishop, was present at these definitions and subscribed on the day of the consulate written above.

I, Maximus, bishop, was present at these definitions and subscribed on the day of the consulate written above.

I, Vincentius, presbyter of the bishop Constantianus, ordained by him, was present and subscribed on the day of the consulate written above.

XXVII THE COUNCIL OF ORANGE

OF SIXTEEN BISHOPS, HELD IN THE ERA 479, IN THE TIMES OF THEODOSIUS THE YOUNGER, ON THE SIXTH DAY BEFORE THE IDES OF NOVEMBER, WITH CYRUS AS CONSUL, IN THE CHURCH OF JUSTINIANA.

I. Concerning heretics, if they are converted in the danger of death.

It is resolved that heretics placed in the danger of death, if they desire to be catholic, if a bishop is lacking, are to be signed by a presbyter with chrism and blessing.

II. That no minister should set out without chrism.

No minister who receives the office of baptizing ought to proceed anywhere without chrism, because it has been resolved among us that chrismation is to be performed once. But concerning him who, by whatever necessity, has not been chrismated at baptism, the priest shall be reminded in confirmation: for among those for whom there is but one blessing of that same chrism, not as prejudging anything, but so that a repeated chrismation is not held to be necessary.

III. Concerning penitents who depart from the body.

Those who depart from the body after accepting penance, it is resolved that communion be granted to them without the imposition of the reconciling hand, because this suffices for the consolation of the dying according to the definitions of the Fathers, who suitably named this kind of communion viaticum, so that if they survive, they stand in the order of penitents, so that, with the necessary fruits of penance having been shown, they may receive legitimate communion with the imposition of the reconciling hand.

IV. Concerning clerics who wish to do penance.

Penance is not to be denied to clerics who desire it.

V. Concerning those who flee to the church, that they not be handed over.

Those who have fled to the church ought not to be handed over, but defended by the reverence and intercession of the holy place.

VI. Concerning slaves fleeing to the church.

But if anyone thinks that the slaves of clerics are to be seized on behalf of his own slaves who flee to the church, let him be struck through all the churches with the strictest condemnation.

VII. Concerning freedmen who have been commended to the church, that they not be oppressed.

If anyone attempts to press into servitude, or service, or the condition of a colonus those manumitted in the church or commended to the church by testament, he shall be restrained by ecclesiastical censure.

VIII. Concerning those who presume to ordain another's cleric.

If anyone thinks that a cleric residing elsewhere is to be ordained, let him first determine that he dwell with him, and even so not without consultation of the bishop with whom he previously dwelt; nor let him presume to ordain one who perhaps not without cause has long been [left] unordained by another.

IX. Concerning those who have ordained the citizens of another [place].

If anyone ordains men who are citizens of another place or residing elsewhere, lest they be accused as disorderly in any respect, let him either recall them to himself or himself obtain the favor of those among whom they dwell.

X. Concerning bishops who have built a basilica not on their own property but in another's diocese.

If any of the bishops decides to build a church in the territory of another city, whether by reason of his own estate or an ecclesiastical one, or for any opportunity of his own, since permission to build has been granted—for it is unlawful to forbid this vow—he shall not presume to perform the dedication, which is reserved in every way to him in whose territory the church rises; with this favor reserved to the bishop who builds, that those whom he desires to see as clerics in his own affair, he whose territory it is shall ordain, or if they have already been ordained, he shall consent to have them; and the entire governance of that church shall belong to him in whose city's territory the church has risen. But if any of the secular laity as well has built a church, and has thought that someone other than him in whose territory he builds should be invited, then both he to whom he wishes to show favor contrary to the constitution and discipline, and all the bishops who are invited to a dedication of this kind, shall abstain from the assembly. If anyone has exceeded, he shall be brought to account; if anyone has exceeded, let him acknowledge the order.

XI. Concerning bishops who receive a person excommunicated by another.

It has been decided that a bishop incurs guilt who, having been warned concerning someone's excommunication, presumes to communicate with him without the reconciliation of the one who excommunicated him, so that the whole matter—if a reconciliation has intervened—may be reserved to the next synod, as to the justice or injustice of the excommunication.

XII. Concerning those who suddenly fall mute, that they may receive both baptism and penance.

One who suddenly falls mute can, as has been established, be baptized or receive penance, if he has testimony of his will, whether past, by the words of others, or present, by his own nod.

XIII. Concerning those who are deranged in mind.

Whatever belongs to piety is to be conferred on the insane.

XIV. Concerning the baptized who are possessed.

Baptized persons who are possessed, if they take care for their cleansing and entrust themselves to the solicitude of the clergy and obey their admonitions, may in every way communicate, by virtue of the sacrament itself—both to be fortified against the incursion of the demon by which they are beset, and to be cleansed, whose life is now shown to be purer.

XV. That the possessed and the catechumens be consulted concerning baptism.

The possessed and the catechumens are to be consulted concerning baptism, insofar as necessity demands or opportunity permits.

XVI. That the possessed not be promoted to the clergy.

Those who have at some time been openly seized are not only not to be assumed to any order of the clergy, but even if some have already been ordained, they are to be expelled from the office imposed upon them.

XVII. That the offering of the sacrament be consecrated in one [place]. When the vessel and the chalice are to be brought in, and by the mingling of the eucharist it is to be consecrated.

XVIII. That the catechumens hear the Gospels.

It has been decided that the Gospels be read to the catechumens henceforth in every Church of our provinces.

XIX. That the catechumens not approach the baptistery. The catechumens are never to be admitted to the baptistery.

XX. That the catechumens not receive the blessing with the faithful.

The catechumens are to be segregated from the blessing of the faithful, even during domestic prayers, as far as it can be guarded against, and are to be instructed to withdraw themselves, and to present themselves separately to be signed or blessed.

XXI. That two bishops shall not make a bishop.

In our provinces it has pleased us concerning presumptuous men, that wherever it happens that two bishops make a bishop against his will, the authors being condemned, he who suffered the violence shall be substituted in the church of one of them; if however his life corresponds, and he shall nonetheless be ordained in the place of the other who was cast down; if two have done it with his consent, he himself shall also be condemned, so that those things which were established of old may be observed more cautiously.

XXII. That married clerics shall not become deacons unless they profess continence.

But furthermore, that married men shall not thereafter be ordained deacons, unless they have first professed chastity by the purpose of conversion.

XXIII. Concerning those who after receiving the diaconate are found incontinent.

But if anyone after receiving the Levitical blessing is found incontinent with his wife, he shall be cast out from his office.

XXIV. Concerning incontinent clerics,

Concerning those who, having been ordained earlier, have fallen into this same thing, the sentence of the Council of Turin is to be followed, by which they are ordered not to be promoted further.

XXV. Concerning approved men.

But concerning suitable and approved men, whom the seriousness of their own life compels to be bound to the clergy, if perhaps they have fallen into doubled marriages, they are to receive no office beyond the subdiaconate or ecclesiastical dignities.

XXVI. That deaconesses are not to be ordained.

Deaconesses are in no way to be ordained; but if any already exist, let them submit their heads to the blessing which is bestowed upon the people.

XXVII. Concerning women who have professed widowhood before the bishop.

The profession of preserving widowhood, made before the bishop in the secretarium, with the widow's garment imposed by the bishop, is not to be violated; but her abductor, or the woman herself as a deserter of such a profession, is deservedly to be condemned.

XXVIII. Concerning those who have professed chastity, if they have transgressed.

In both sexes, deserters of the professed state of chastity are to be held as transgressors, and provision is to be made for all these through legitimate penance.

XXIX. That no bishop may depart from a council without consent, or excuse himself from going to a council.

These things which we subscribe, together with the agreement also of those who gave their consent, we wish and sanction to be held valid henceforth among us and our people; not passing over those who refuse to be present at the synod, either by themselves or through their consent, or by sending legates in their place—so that those who despise the statutes of the fathers may not please themselves above us; by which statutes it is ordained that they convene twice a year, which is difficult for us according to the condition of the times; adding that we desire henceforth to add to similar documents, for the health and remedies of the Church, concerning assembling, so that no assembly may be dissolved without the announcement of another assembly. Therefore in the following year, if our Lord and God Jesus Christ permits and grants it, on the fifteenth day before the Kalends of November we shall hold a council in the territory of Orange in the consulship of Justinian; which is therefore announced so much earlier through that council itself, so that there may be neither freedom of excuse nor necessity of invitation; for concerning the day and place we shall each be reminded by ourselves among ourselves, setting forth in copies the things which have been established by us; the rest who were absent we leave to the solicitude of our most blessed brother Hilary, with copies of these things given to them to be reminded.

After all these things, concern arises regarding the weaknesses of human frailty: that if any bishop through infirmity, debility, or some dullness of sense should fall into such a state, or should lose the function of speech, he is not to permit presbyters to perform in his presence those things which are done only through bishops, but he is to summon a bishop and impose upon him what must be done in the church.

I, Hilarius, bishop, have subscribed.

I, Claudius, bishop, have subscribed.

I, Constantianus, bishop, have subscribed.

I, Audentius, bishop, have subscribed.

I, Agrestius, bishop, have subscribed.

I, Julius, bishop, have subscribed.

I, Auspicius, bishop, have subscribed.

I, Theodorus, bishop, have subscribed.

I, Maximus, bishop, have subscribed.

I, Eucherius, bishop, have subscribed, awaiting the assent of my fellow holy priests of the province concerning these matters.

I, Nectarius, bishop, have subscribed.

I, Justus, bishop, have subscribed.

Gevetius, bishop, I have subscribed.

I, Augustalis, bishop, have subscribed.

I, Ingenuus, bishop, have subscribed.

I, Superventor Solonius, bishop, have subscribed.

On behalf of my father, Bishop Claudius, I have subscribed and acknowledged.

THE TWENTY-EIGHTH COUNCIL, THE FIRST OF VASIO

HELD IN THE ERA 480, AT THE CHURCH OF THE CATHOLIC BISHOP AUSPICIUS, IN THE TIMES OF THEODOSIUS THE YOUNGER, WITH DIOSCORUS AS CONSUL, ON THE DAY BEFORE THE IDES OF NOVEMBER.

I. That the Gallic bishops be not called to account within the Gauls.

It has pleased us, after deliberation was held, that bishops coming from the Gallic provinces be not called to account within the Gauls, but that it be sufficient only that no one has forbidden anyone's communion; because among those dwelling round about and almost known to one another, the upright have no need so much of testimony as the corrupt do of denunciation and accusations.

II. Concerning penitents who die suddenly, that their offerings be received.

For those who, having accepted penance and living in a good course of life with satisfactory compunction, are sometimes unexpectedly overtaken by death without communion while in the fields or on journeys, the offering is to be received and their funerals and thereafter their memory are to be attended with ecclesiastical affection, because it is wrong that their commemoration be excluded from the saving sacred rites—they who, striving toward those same sacred rites with faithful affection, while they set themselves down as guilty for too long, show themselves unworthy of the life-giving mysteries and desire to be restored purer, are cut off without the viaticum of the sacraments, to whom perhaps the priest would have judged that even the most complete reconciliation should not be denied.

III. That no one receive chrism from the bishop of another.

Throughout each territory, presbyters or ministers are to seek chrism from their own bishops, not as it pleases them from nearer ones, but from their own, each year as the paschal solemnity approaches, and not through any ecclesiastical person whatsoever; but if there is any necessity or the ministers are occupied, through a subdeacon, because it is dishonorable for the highest things to be entrusted to inferiors; but it is best that he receive it himself who is going to use it in handing it on; if anything prevents this, at least he whose office it is to arrange the sacrarium and receive the sacraments.

IV. That those who withhold the offerings of the dead are to be excommunicated.

Those who withhold the offerings of the dead and delay to hand them over to the churches are to be cast out of the Church as unfaithful, since it is certain that this embittering of divine piety reaches even to the emptying of faith, whereby both the faithful departing from the body are defrauded of the fullness of their vows, and the poor of the contribution of sustenance and necessary support: for such men are to be regarded as killers of the needy, and as not believing in the judgment of God; whence also one of the fathers inserted in his writings on this matter a fitting sentence, saying: To seize anything from a friend is theft. To defraud the Church is sacrilege.

V. That he who does not acquiesce in the sentence of his bishop should have recourse to the synod.

If anyone does not acquiesce in the sentence of his bishop, let him have recourse to the synod.

VI. That the excommunicated should humble himself so that he may be reconciled the more quickly.

From the letter of Saint Clement, all things useful and necessary for the churches at the present time are to be brought forth honorably, and it is to be received with reverence by all the faithful and especially by clerics: of which things, what in particular has pleased us besides their venerable antiquity, we confirm by the present statutes, namely what the above-written blessed martyr recalls from the Institution of the most blessed apostle Peter, saying: But you ought also to understand certain things even from yourselves, if there are any which he cannot speak out more evidently and clearly on account of the snares of evil men.

For example, is someone an enemy to another because of his deeds? Do not wait for him to tell you himself, "Do not be friends with that man," but you ought prudently to observe and to comply without communion with his will—namely, the will of him who has charge of the church—and to turn away from the one whom you perceive to be opposed to him, and not even to speak with those with whom he himself does not speak, so that each one who is at fault, while he desires to restore the favor of all of you, may hasten the sooner to be reconciled to him who presides over all, and through this may return to salvation once he begins to obey the warnings of the one who presides; and the other things which in what follows mark out the friends of those who are enemies of the truth. Let the clergy therefore know that henceforth the guilt, and also the faithful people that the blame, is to be ascribed to them, if anyone is recognized to be in this vice of confounding the wicked and subverting discipline.

VII. That accusers are not to be heard in trivial causes, but are to be examined in criminal ones.

It has further pleased us to restrain the license of accusing, even within our own order, if any such levity exists, so that a bishop, if he judges someone must be kept away, if he rises up for the humiliation and correction of a brother and is entreated by the others, should yield to the brother in question, with rebuke and warning applied; but if he thinks someone is to be condemned for a crime, he should know that he must be examined by his accuser; for it is right that what is approved by one should be approved by all.

VIII. That a bishop should rebuke another's cleric who sins.

But if a bishop knows himself to be aware of another's crime only, as long as he cannot prove it he should bring nothing forward, but should labor with him toward his compunction by secret rebukes; and if, when rebuked, he proves more obstinate and thrusts himself publicly into communion, then even if the bishop, in rebuking him whom he judges guilty, lacks proof, he may nevertheless, though blameless, be ordered to withdraw for a time in view of the person of greater authority, while that man, as long as he can prove nothing, remains in the communion of all except of him who judges him guilty.

IX. That whoever finds an exposed child must make it known to the church.

Concerning exposed children, since a universal complaint has gone forth that they are now exposed not to mercy but to dogs, and human minds, however bent by the fear of calumny, shrink from gathering them up despite the precepts of mercy, it has seemed good that this be observed: that according to the statutes of the most faithful, most pious, and most august princes, whoever gathers up an exposed child shall make it known to the church, and shall gather the declaration; nonetheless, on the Lord's day the minister shall announce from the altar that the church may know an exposed child has been gathered, so that within ten days from the day of exposure the child may receive anyone who proves to have acknowledged it as his own; to the gatherer, for the mercy of those same ten days, let thanks be paid as he himself prefers, either in person by the man or forever with God.

X. That whoever reclaims an exposed child contrary to the ordinance be held as a murderer.

Indeed, if anyone after this most diligent sanction shall prove to be a reclaimer or false accuser of exposed children gathered in this order, he is to be held as a murderer.

XXIX THE SECOND COUNCIL OF VASONIUM.

I. Concerning the oversight of presbyters.

It has been decided that all presbyters established in parishes, according to the custom which we know is quite beneficially observed throughout all Italy, should receive into their own home, where they themselves appear to dwell, whatever younger readers they may have without wives, and, nurturing them spiritually like good fathers, should strive to prepare them in the psalms, to apply themselves to the divine readings, and to instruct them in the law of the Lord, so that they may both provide worthy successors for themselves and receive eternal rewards from the Lord. But when they have come to perfect age, if any of them, on account of the frailty of the flesh, wishes to have a wife, the power of contracting marriage shall not be denied him.

II. How homilies are to be read by deacons.

This also, for the edification of all churches and for the benefit of the whole people, has pleased us: that we should grant presbyters the power to preach the word not only in cities but also in all parishes, so that if a presbyter, prevented by some illness, cannot preach by himself, the homilies of the holy Fathers may be read by deacons. For if deacons are worthy to read what Christ spoke in the Gospel, why should they be judged unworthy to publicly read the expositions of the holy Fathers?

III. That Kyrie eleison or Sanctus be said often.

And because both in the apostolic see and also throughout all the eastern and Italian provinces a sweet and exceedingly wholesome custom has been introduced, that Kyrie eleison be said more frequently with great affection and compunction, it has pleased us also that in all our churches this so holy custom be introduced, both at matins and at mass and at vespers, with God's favor, and that in all masses, whether in the morning masses or in the Lenten ones, or in those which are made for the commemorations of the dead, Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus should always be said in that order in which it is said at public masses: because so holy and so sweet and so desirable a voice, even if it could be said day and night, could not generate disgust.

IV. That the name of the pope be recited in the churches. And this has seemed just to us, that the name of the lord pope, whoever presides over the apostolic see, be recited in our churches.

V. That "As it was in the beginning" be said;

And because not only in the apostolic see, but also throughout the whole East and all Africa and Italy, on account of the cunning of the heretics who blaspheme that the Son of God was not always with the Father but began from time, in all the clauses after the Gloria "As it was in the beginning" is said; we also have decreed that this be so said in all our churches.

Caesarius, in the name of Christ, rereading this catholic rule of our definition, subscribed.

And it was made known on the day of the Nones of November, in the consulship of Decius the younger, a most illustrious man: in this constitution seventeen bishops subscribed.

Because we also know that the things written below are sufficiently necessary for all churches, therefore it seemed just and reasonable that we should join them to the above-written titles of the canons, according to the synodal constitution of the apostolic see among other things.

THE THIRTIETH COUNCIL OF AGDE.

Of twenty-five bishops, held in the year 544.

In the twenty-second year of King Alaric, on the third day before the Ides of September, when in the name of the Lord we had assembled in the city of Agde in the basilica of Saint Andrew, we sat down to treat of the discipline and ordinations of clerics and pontiffs, and of the interests of the Churches. In the first place it pleased us that the canons and statutes of the Fathers be read in order; having read them,

I. Concerning twice-married clerics, that they not minister.

It pleased us that concerning twice-married men or the husbands of women married after widowhood, although the statutes of the Fathers have decreed otherwise, those who have been ordained up to this point, out of compassion, shall retain only the name of presbyter or deacon; but they shall not presume to exercise the office of consecrating as presbyters or of ministering as deacons of this kind.

II. Concerning contumacious clerics and those slow to their office.

But contumacious clerics shall be corrected by the bishops according as the order of their dignity permits; and if any of the higher rank, puffed up with pride, should perhaps despise communion, or neglect to frequent the church or to fulfill their office, let a foreign communion be granted them; so that when penance has corrected them, being written back into the register, they may receive their rank and dignity.

III. Concerning bishops who excommunicate some people either when they are innocent or for the most trivial causes.

But if bishops, setting aside priestly moderation, presume to excommunicate people who are innocent or guilty of only the most trivial causes, and perhaps, hastening to restore them to grace, are unwilling to receive them, they shall be warned by letter by the neighboring bishops of whatever province; and if they refuse to comply, communion shall not be denied to those people by the remaining bishops until the time of the synod, lest perhaps, on account of the sin of the one excommunicating, those excommunicated be overtaken by death over a long period.

IV. Concerning those who defraud the church of their own offerings or those of their relatives.

Also clerics or laypeople who persist in retaining the offerings of their parents, whether given or left by will, or who believe that what they themselves have given to churches or monasteries is to be taken away, shall, just as the holy synod has established, be excluded from the churches like murderers of the poor until they make restitution.

V. If a cleric has committed theft against the church.

If any cleric has committed theft against the church, let a foreign communion be granted to him.

VI. If anything has been left to a bishop by anyone.

But the pontiffs established in the highest priesthood, when anything is left or given to them by outsiders—whether to the church or separately—since the one who gives is shown to offer it for the redemption of his own soul, not for the advantage of the priest, they shall count it among the resources of the church, not as their own property but as left to the church; because it is just that, just as the priest has what has been left to the church, so the church should have what is left to the priest. Indeed, whatever is perhaps left by trust or bequest either to a priest or to the church, to be of benefit afterward to any other person, the church cannot count or retain among its own resources.

VII. Concerning the property of the church, how it is to be held by bishops: and concerning the slaves of the church, how they are to be manumitted by the bishop.

But the estates and small slave holdings of the church, as the ancient authority of the canons has enjoined, and the vessels of ministry, let the bishops possess as if entrusted to them with faithful purpose, the right of the church remaining intact; that is, let them not presume either to sell or to alienate by any contracts the things from which the poor live. But if a certain necessity has compelled it, so that for the necessity or utility of the church something must be dispersed either by usufruct or by indirect sale, the cause that makes the sale necessary shall first be approved before two or three comprovincial or neighboring bishops, and after a priestly discussion has been held, the sale that has been made shall be confirmed by their subscription; otherwise the sale or transaction made shall not be valid. Of course, if the bishop has granted freedom to any well-deserving servants of the church, it has been decided that the freedom conferred shall be preserved by his successors, together with what the manumitter conferred upon them for their freedom; nevertheless we order that this keep to the measure of the number of twenty solidi, in a small piece of land, a small vineyard, or a small dwelling. What has been given beyond this, the church shall revoke after the death of the manumitter; but things of lesser value or less useful to the church we permit to remain for the use of strangers or clerics, the right of the church being preserved.

VIII. Concerning clerics who flee to secular persons.

It also pleased [the council] that if a cleric, having abandoned his office on account of some constraint, has perhaps fled to a secular person, and the one to whom he has recourse has afforded him the solace of protection, he shall be expelled from the communion of the Church together with that same person.

IX. Concerning presbyters and deacons who return to conjugal intercourse.

It also pleased [the council] that if married deacons or presbyters wish to return to the bed of their wives, the ordinance of Pope Innocent or the authority of Bishop Siricius shall be preserved; but if it shall not be proven that that ecclesiastical formulary of life and discipline alike, which came from Bishop Siricius to the provinces, has reached certain persons, pardon for their ignorance shall be granted to them, on the condition that henceforth they begin to abstain entirely, and that they so retain their grades in which they were found as not to be permitted to ascend to higher ones: for it ought to be a benefit to them that they do not lose this very position which they retain. But if any are detected to have known the form of living handed down by Saint Siricius, and yet have not immediately cast off the lusts of cupidity, those are to be removed by every means, who after admonition have judged pleasure to be preferred to what they have come to know.

X. That no cleric should live with unrelated women.

We also command this with a special ordinance for the safeguarding of life and reputation, that no cleric should be joined to an unrelated woman by any association or familiarity; and not only should an unrelated woman not enter his house, but he himself should not have the power to frequent an unrelated woman, but only with his mother, sister, daughter, or granddaughter, if he has or wishes [to have them], should he have free power to live: concerning which names it is unlawful to suspect anything other than nature has established.

XI. That no cleric should admit a woman into his storeroom or private quarters.

It pleased [the council] that maidservants or freedwomen be removed from the storeroom or from private service and from the same dwelling in which a cleric resides.

XII. That on the Sabbath during all the days of Lent there should be fasting.

It also pleased [the council] that all the churches, except on the Lord's days in Lent, even on the day of the Sabbath, should fast by priestly ordinance and with the threat of strict discipline.

XIII. That the creed be preached to those seeking baptism eight days before Easter.

It also pleased the churches that the creed be publicly handed on in church to those seeking baptism on one day in all churches, that is, eight days before the Lord's resurrection.

XIV. That the altar be both anointed and blessed.

It pleased that altars be consecrated not only by anointing with chrism but also by priestly blessing.

XV. How the greater and how the lesser, that is, the younger, are to receive penance.

Penitents, at the time when they seek penance, are to receive the imposition of hands and a hair shirt upon the head from the priest, as has been established everywhere; and if they have not cut their hair or changed their garments, they are to be rejected, and unless they have worthily done penance they are not to be received. Penance is not easily to be entrusted to the young because of the frailty of their age; yet the viaticum is not to be denied to all who are at the point of death.

XVI. At what age deacons are to be ordained.

But let a bishop by no means entrust the blessing of the diaconate to those under twenty-five years of age. Of course, if married young men have consented to be ordained, the will of their wives must also be sought, such that, with the dwelling of the household set apart and religion having been promised, they may be ordained after they have been converted together.

XVII. At what age bishops or presbyters are to be consecrated.

But let no metropolitan presume to ordain a presbyter or bishop before thirty years, that is, before they reach the age of a perfect man, lest through age, as has sometimes happened, they be blamed for some error.

XVIII. Concerning laypeople, at what times they ought to communicate.

But secular persons who have not communicated at the Nativity of the Lord, at Easter, and at Pentecost are not to be believed to be catholic, nor are they to be held among the catholics.

XIX. Concerning virgins, at what age they are to be veiled.

Virgins, however approved their life and conduct may be, are not to be veiled before the fortieth year of their age.

XX. Concerning clerics who grow their hair long.

Clerics who grow their hair long are to be shorn by the archdeacon, even against their will and unwilling though they be; nor shall they be permitted to use or possess clothing or footwear other than what befits their religion.

XXI. That the greater solemnities be celebrated in the cities.

If anyone wishes to have an oratory in the countryside outside the parishes, in which a lawful and regular assembly is held, we permit by a just ordinance that on the remaining feast days they hold Mass there on account of the weariness of the household; but Easter, the Nativity of the Lord, the Epiphany, the Ascension of the Lord, Pentecost, and the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, or whatever greatest days are held among the feasts, they shall hold only in the cities or in the parishes. But any clerics who, on these feast days which we have mentioned above, wish to officiate or hold service in these oratories without the bishop's command or permission, are to be expelled from communion.

XXII. That it is not permitted for a presbyter or cleric to sell or give away property of the church.

And although it is superfluous to define once again a matter that is known and forbidden by the ancient canons, nevertheless, so that greed or shamelessness may be more easily restrained, we decree what all enjoin: that presbyters or clerics, whether city-based or diocesan, keeping the right of the church safe, shall hold the property of the church as the bishops have permitted, and shall not presume at all to sell or give it away; but if they do so, both the sale made shall be invalid, and from their own resources, if they have any, they shall restore the church unharmed and be deprived of communion.

XXIII. That a junior cleric is not to be placed before a senior.

Let the bishop also place no later man before an earlier one, whose life is not reprehended, unless perhaps one elated by pride despises to carry out what the bishop has ordered for the necessity of the church. Of course, if he cannot fulfill or discharge the office of archdeaconate because of a simpler nature, let him retain the name of his own place and let him be placed before the ordination of the church whom the bishop has chosen.

XXIV. Concerning exposed foundlings.

Concerning exposed children, that is to be observed which the holy synod long ago established.

XXV. Concerning laypersons who abandon their spouses.

But those laypersons who dismiss or even have dismissed the marital union through a graver fault, and who for that reason dissolve their marriages without credibly alleging any grounds for separation—so that they may presume either illicit or another's unions—if, before they have stated the grounds for separation before the bishops of their province, and before their wives have been condemned by judgment, they cast them off, let them be excluded from the communion of the Church and from the sacred assembly of the people, because they defile faith and marriage.

XXVI. That if a cleric has voluntarily caused loss to the church, he shall both make satisfaction and be excommunicated.

But if any of the clerics shall presume, with damnable and punishable obstinacy, to steal, or deny, or perhaps hand over to adversaries the documents by which the church's possession is confirmed, whatever loss has been inflicted on the church through the absence of the documents, let them repay from their own resources and be deprived of communion; these also, who, wickedly solicited to the church's loss, have received the church's instruments from traitors.

XXVII. That no one should build a monastery without consulting the bishop: and concerning monks.

Let no one presume to begin or found a new monastery unless the bishop either permits or approves it. But let wandering monks not be ordained to the office of the clergy, whether in cities or in parishes, unless their abbot has given testimony on their behalf. Let no abbot presume to receive or retain a monk who moves to another monastery without the permission or will of his abbot, but wherever they may be, let them be recalled to their abbot by the authority of the canons. If it should be necessary for a cleric to be ordained from among the monks, let the bishop presume to do so with the consent and will of the abbot.

XXVIII. That a monastery of maidens be built far from monks.

Monasteries of maidens are to be placed farther away from monasteries of monks, either on account of the snares of the devil or on account of the slanders of men.

XXIX. Concerning freedmen, that in necessity they be protected by the church.

The church shall protect freedmen lawfully made so by their masters, if necessity requires it; but if anyone before a hearing presumes either to assail or to despoil them, let him be driven away from the church.

XXX. That prayers be said after the antiphons.

And because it befits that the order of the Church be kept equally by all, care must be taken that, as is done everywhere, both the collects after the antiphons be said in order by the bishops or presbyters, and the morning or evening hymns be sung on all days, and at the conclusion of the morning or evening masses, after the hymns, the little chapters from the psalms be said, and the people, with the collect prayer said, be dismissed for the evening by the bishop with a blessing.

XXXI. Concerning those who through hatred do not return to peace.

It has also pleased, that as is very often done, whoever have disagreed among themselves through hatred or a long-standing quarrel, and have been unable by long persistence to be recalled to peace, be first reproved by the priests of the city: who if they refuse to lay aside their enmities through a pernicious intent, let them be driven from the assembly of the Church by a most just excommunication.

XXXII. That a cleric shall not go to a secular judge without consulting the bishop.

A cleric shall by no means presume to bring suit before a secular judge without the bishop's permission; but if he has been summoned, let him answer. He shall not bring forward, nor dare to bring forward, a criminal matter in a secular court. If any of the laity, however, attempts by false accusation to harass the Church or a cleric, and is convicted, let him be barred from the thresholds of the Church and from the communion of catholics, unless he has duly repented.

XXXIII. If a bishop having no heirs has not made the Church he presided over his heir.

A bishop who, having no sons or grandsons, has left the Church as his heir, if he has presumed to take anything from the Church not for the Church's cause or necessity, whatever he has squandered or given away shall be held invalid. But he who has sons: from the goods he has left, provision shall be made by his heirs for the indemnity of the Church.

XXXIV. How Jews who wish to be converted are to be received.

Jews, whose perfidy often returns to its vomit, if they wish to come to the catholic law, shall for eight months enter the threshold of the church among the catechumens; and even if they are known to come in pure faith, only then shall they obtain the grace of baptism. But if by some chance anyone incurs the danger of illness within the prescribed time and is despaired of, let him be baptized.

XXXV. If a bishop, admonished by the metropolitan, delays to come for a synod or for an episcopal ordination.

If the metropolitan bishop sends letters to the bishops of his province, in which he invites them either to the ordination of the chief pontiff or to a synod, they shall, setting aside all things except grave bodily infirmity or a royal command, not delay to be present on the appointed day. But if they are absent, as the ancient authority of the canons has decreed, let them be deprived of the charity of the brethren and of communion with the Church until the next synod.

XXXVI. That the stipends of clerics are to be distributed according to merit.

Let all clerics also who serve the Church faithfully and vigilantly obtain from the priests the stipends due for their holy labors according to the merit of their service or the ordination of the canons.

XXXVII. Concerning murderers and false witnesses.

Therefore we have decreed that murderers and false witnesses are to be removed from ecclesiastical communion, unless they have washed away the crimes they committed by the satisfaction of penance.

XXXVIII. That it is not permitted for a cleric or monk to set out without a letter from his own bishop; and concerning monks and abbots.

For clerics, the license to wander shall not lie open without commendatory letters from their own bishop; in the case of monks also let the form of the present sentence be observed; and if the rebuke of words does not correct them, we decree that they be restrained even by blows. It is to be observed also concerning monks that they may not be permitted to depart from the congregation to solitary cells, unless perhaps, after labors duly completed or on account of the necessity of infirmity, a harsher rule is relaxed by the abbots: which shall be done in such a way that, remaining within the same enclosures of the monastery, they are nonetheless permitted, under the authority of the abbot, to have separate cells. Nor shall it be permitted for individual abbots to have various cells or several monasteries, but only to place receptacles within the walls on account of the incursion of hospitality.

XXXIX. That clerics are to avoid nuptial banquets.

Presbyters, deacons, subdeacons, and thereafter those who have no license to take wives, are also to avoid the banquets of others' marriages, and are not to mingle in those gatherings where amatory and shameful songs are sung, or where obscene movements of bodies are carried on with choruses and dances, lest the hearing and sight dedicated to the sacred mysteries be polluted by the contagion of shameful spectacles and words.

XL. That Christians are to avoid the banquets of Jews.

Thereafter all clerics and laymen are to avoid the banquets of Jews, nor is anyone to receive them at a banquet, because since they do not use common foods among Christians, it is unworthy and sacrilegious for their foods to be taken by Christians, since the things which we take, with the Apostle permitting, are judged unclean by them, and thus Christians would begin to be inferior to Jews, if we should use what is set before us by them, while they despise what is offered by us.

XLI. That drunkenness is forbidden to clerics.

Above all, drunkenness is to be forbidden to clerics, which is the tinder and nurse of all vices. Therefore, when anyone has been established to have been drunk, as the order permits, we decree that he is either to be removed from communion for a period of thirty days, or subjected to corporal punishment.

XLII. That sorcerers and those who observe auguries are to be separated from the church.

And lest perhaps that be seen to have been omitted which especially attacks the faith of the catholic religion — namely, that certain clerics or laymen devote themselves to auguries, and under the name of a feigned religion, which they call the lots of the saints, profess the knowledge of divination, or promise future things by the inspection of any scriptures whatsoever — whoever, cleric or layman, is detected either to consult or to teach this, let him be held a stranger from the Church.

XLIII. That a cleric is not to be ordained from among the penitents, and that a presbyter is not to erect an altar.

Concerning penitents, it pleased [us] that what our holy Fathers established in their synodal sentence be observed: that no cleric be ordained from among them, and that those who have already been ordained through ignorance hold the place either as bigamists or as husbands of women who have been married before. A presbyter is not to presume to ordain deacons or consecrate an altar.

XLIV. That a presbyter shall not presume to give a blessing or penance in the church.

It shall not be permitted to a presbyter at all to pour forth a blessing over the people in the church, or to bless a penitent in the church.

XLV. That a bishop may dispose of something small even without the consent of the clerics.

Small plots of land or little vineyards that are of little use to the church, or small ones situated at a distance, a bishop shall have the power to dispose of, if necessity requires, without the counsel of the brethren.

XLVI. That it be permitted to a bishop to sell fugitive slaves of the church.

Fugitives also who desert their homes or families, who even if recalled cannot be held, shall by a similar reckoning be disposed of by bishops, if they wish it or if those persons have so deserved.

XLVII. That the people shall not presume to leave before the mass is completed.

We command by a special ordinance that the masses on the Lord's day be kept in full by the secular faithful, so that the people shall not presume to leave before the blessing of the priest; and if they do so, let them be publicly put to shame by the bishop.

XLVIII. Concerning a bishop's own property or acquired property.

Whatever a bishop has of his own private property, let him leave it to his heirs if he wishes; but whatever comes from the provision of the Church, whether from lands or from produce or from offerings, we are accustomed to reserve all of it under the right of the Church.

XLIX. That the property of the Church is not to be alienated by a bishop, and concerning freedmen.

Deacons or presbyters established in a parish shall not dare to exchange, sell, or give away anything of the property of the church entrusted to them, because such things are known to be consecrated to God. Likewise, priests shall not presume to strip away anything of the property of the church committed to them, as has been set out above; but if they wish to do so, let them be subject to reproach in the council and, deposed from their office, let them restore from their own property as much again as they are seen to have presumed to take. Of course, if anyone, for whatever reason, wishes to alienate anything of the property of the church, if he has contributed to the church from his own property as much as he is seen to have taken away, then it shall be permitted for that house to stand; nevertheless, we command that the freedmen whom priests, presbyters, or deacons wish to make from the church committed to them shall carry out the business of the church; but if they refuse to do so, it has been decided that they return to their own servitude.

L. Concerning clerics who have committed a capital crime.

If a bishop, presbyter, or deacon has committed a capital crime, or has falsified a document, or has given false testimony, let them be deposed from the honor of their office and confined to a monastery, and there, for as long as they live, let them receive only lay communion.

LI. Concerning bishops who have conveyed something of the Church's property by testament.

If a bishop, having made a testament, has bequeathed anything from the property of ecclesiastical right, it shall not be valid otherwise unless he has made it good from the resources of his own private property.

LII. Concerning clerics who set out without letters of their bishop.

If a presbyter or deacon or cleric travels without letters of his bishop, let no one extend communion to him.

LIII. Concerning parish presbyters who squander the property of the church.

Whatever a presbyter of the parishes has squandered from the possession of ecclesiastical right shall be held void and empty, with the action passing from the seller to the buyer.

LIV. Concerning the same, that whatever they have bought, they should not acquire in the name of any of the church.

While a presbyter holds a diocese, let him make a written record, in the name of the church, of the things he has bought, or let him depart from the ordination of the church which he held.

LV. That priests and levites are not to use dogs and hawks for hunting.

It is not permitted for bishops, presbyters, or deacons to have dogs or hawks for hunting. But if anyone of such persons is detected in this desire, if he is a bishop, let him suspend himself from communion for three months; a presbyter is to abstain for two months; a deacon is to cease from every office or communion for one month.

LVI. Concerning the sales which abbots presume to make.

In the sales which abbots have presumed to make, this form is to be observed: that whatever has been sold without the bishop's knowledge is to be recalled to the bishop's authority. But slaves given to monks are not to be manumitted by abbots; for we consider it unjust that, while monks perform daily rural labor, their slaves should enjoy the leisure of liberty.

LVII. That one abbot should not be set over two monasteries.

We forbid one abbot to preside over two monasteries.

LVIII. That a monastery should not be built without the knowledge of the bishop.

We prohibit the establishment of new cells or small congregations of monks without the knowledge of the bishop.

LIX. Concerning things conferred on the church for use, that they should not be defended by prescription of time.

Whatever clerics have possessed from the church's remuneration, however great the length of time, let it not be called into their own right by prescription of time, provided it is clear that the thing belonged to the church; lest bishops also be seen to have been obliged to make long or precatory administrations when they were ordained, or to be able to transfer to their own property faculties long retained.

LX. Concerning the lapsed who pass from the catholic faith into heresy.

For the lapsed, that is, those baptized in the catholic faith who afterward passed into heresy by damnable prevarication, antiquity sanctioned a great difficulty of returning; for them we, with the multitude of years shortened, impose penance on the condition of a two-year period of the observance written below: during the aforesaid two years let them fast on the third day without relaxation and strive to frequent the church; let them know that the humility of standing and praying in the place of penitents is to be observed by them, so that they too, when the catechumens are bidden to go out, may be instructed to depart.

If they wish to observe this, let the requirement for those to be admitted to the altar at the appointed time be relaxed; but if perhaps they consider it arduous or hard, they shall be bound to fulfill the statutes of the earlier canons.

LXI. Concerning incestuous marriages.

Concerning incestuous unions we reserve that nothing at all may come [to be permitted] unless they have healed the adultery by separation; but we hold that the incestuous are to be reckoned under no name of marriage, whom it is even deadly to designate: for we judge these to be such: if anyone violates by carnal union his brother's widow, who had previously been almost a sister to him; if anyone takes his own brother's wife; if anyone marries his stepmother; if anyone joins himself to his cousin or his cousin's cousin—which we forbid at the present time in such a way that we do not dissolve those things which were instituted before us; if anyone mingles with the widow or daughter of his uncle, or is polluted by intercourse with his father's daughter or his own stepdaughter. Indeed, those for whom an unlawful union is forbidden shall have the freedom to enter into a better marriage.

LXII. Concerning those who kill their own slaves without a judge.

If anyone kills his own slave without the knowledge of a judge, he shall cleanse the guilt of bloodshed by excommunication or by penance of two years.

LXIII. Concerning laypeople who do not assemble at the city on the major solemnities.

If, as above, citizens of higher birth, when they know that they are stationed in those cities where the bishop is, neglect to attend the festivity of Easter and of the Lord's Nativity, out of a desire to receive communion or blessing, those who neglect to do this shall be deprived of communion with the Church for three years.

LXIV. Concerning clerics who are absent from the church's office on solemn days.

If anyone established in the clergy is absent from his church on solemn days, that is, on the Nativity of the Lord, holy Epiphany, Easter, or Pentecost, while he is more eager for worldly gain than to obey his service, it is fitting that he be suspended from communion for three years; likewise a deacon or presbyter, if he is absent from his church for three weeks, shall succumb to this condemnation.

LXV. That Levites are not to sit without the presbyter's command.

Since it is not fitting for a deacon to sit while the presbyter is present, but he is to sit at the presbyter's command; likewise the deacon is to be honored by the lower ministers and by all the clergy.

LXVI. That ministers are not to enter the sacristy.

Since it is not fitting for ministers to have license to enter the sacristy, which the Greeks call the diaconicon, and to touch the Lord's vessels.

LXVII. That Catholics are not to be joined in marriage with heretics.

Since it is not fitting to contract marriages with any heretics, or to give sons or daughters to them, but rather to receive them, if only they profess that they will be Catholic Christians.

LXVIII. That Levites and clerics are not to be sorcerers or enchanters.

Since it is not fitting for ministers of the altar or clerics to be sorcerers or enchanters, or to make what are called phylacteries, which are great bindings of souls; but we have ordered that those who use such things be cast out from the church.

LXIX. Concerning seditious men.

Seditious men are never to be ordained as clerics, just as neither are usurers nor avengers of their own injuries.

LXX. Concerning scurrilous and jesting clerics.

A scurrilous cleric and one who jests with shameful words is to be withdrawn from office.

LXXI. Concerning a synod to be gathered every year.

It pleased [us] that a synod also be gathered every year according to the constitutions of the Fathers: and because, with all things wholesomely established in the name of the Lord, the synod is dismissed in peace, we give thanks to God, praying his clemency that we may be able to do these same things in honor of the Lord through many years.

I, Caesarius, bishop in the name of Christ, according to what pleased all my holy fellow bishops who subscribed with me, following the institutes of the Fathers, assenting to these definitions, subscribed on the day before the fifth calends of September.

I, Cyprian, bishop, subscribed.

I, Clarus, bishop, subscribed.

I, Tetradius, bishop, have subscribed.

I, Heraclius, bishop of the city of Toulouse, have subscribed.

I, Sophronius, in the name of Christ bishop of the city of Agde, have subscribed.

I, Sedatus, bishop, have subscribed.

I, Quintianus, bishop, have subscribed.

I, Sabinus, bishop, have subscribed.

I, Boentius, bishop, have subscribed.

I, Gratianus, bishop, have subscribed.

I, Nicetius, bishop, have subscribed.

I, Suavis, bishop, have subscribed.

I, Galactorius, bishop, have subscribed.

I, Gratus, bishop, have subscribed.

I, Vigilius, bishop, have subscribed.

I, Glicerius, bishop, have subscribed.

I, Petrus, bishop, have subscribed.

I, Coronopius, bishop, have subscribed.

I, Probatius, bishop, have subscribed.

I, Martinus, bishop, have subscribed.

I, Marcellus, bishop, have subscribed.

I, Agricius, bishop, have subscribed.

I, Pentadius, bishop, have subscribed.

I, Albinus, presbyter, sent by my lord Caprarius the bishop, have subscribed.

I, John, presbyter, sent by my lord Victorius, bishop, have subscribed.

I, Ingenuus, presbyter, sent by my lord Aper, bishop, have subscribed.

I, Paul, presbyter, sent by my lord Julian, bishop, have subscribed.

I, Pompedius, presbyter, sent by my lord Julian, bishop, have subscribed.

I, Polemius, presbyter, sent by my lord Cistilius, bishop, have subscribed.

I, Peter, presbyter, sent by my lord Marcellus, bishop, have subscribed.

I, Firminus, presbyter, sent by my lord Pampulus, bishop, have subscribed.

I, Leo, deacon, sent by my lord Verus, bishop, have subscribed.

I, Optimus, deacon, sent by my lord Leonius, bishop, have subscribed.

THE FIRST COUNCIL OF ORLEANS

OF TWENTY-EIGHT BISHOPS,

When, with the Lord as author, a council of the highest prelates had been assembled in the city of Orleans, it pleased all by common deliberation that what they established in word they should also confirm by the testimony of writing.

I. Concerning homicides, adulterers, and thieves, if they flee to the church.

We decree that what the ecclesiastical canons have decreed and the Roman law has established is to be observed: that it is not permitted at all to drag the accused away from the porticoes of the church or the bishop's house, nor to hand them over to anyone else, unless they have been made secure by oaths given over the Gospels concerning death and maiming and every kind of punishment; so that the accused criminal may come to a settlement of satisfaction with the one against whom he has committed the offense. But if he is convicted of having violated his oaths, he shall be separated as guilty of perjury not only from the communion of the Church or of all the clergy, but also from the table of catholics. But if the one against whom he has committed the offense is unwilling to settle with him by his own initiative, and the accused himself, driven out of the church, departs in fear, he shall not be sought by the clergy of the church.

II. Concerning abductors, if they flee to the church.

Concerning abductors, however, we have judged that this should be decreed: that if an abductor comes to the church together with the woman abducted, and it is established that the woman herself suffered violence, she shall immediately be freed from the power of the abductor, and the abductor, having been granted immunity from death or punishments, shall be subjected to the condition of servitude, or shall have the free faculty of redeeming himself. But if it is established that the one abducted has a father, and the girl has consented to the abductor, she shall be returned, excused, to the power of her father, and the abductor shall be held liable to the father for satisfaction of a higher condition.

III. Concerning slaves who have fled to the church.

A slave who has fled to the church for refuge on account of any fault whatsoever, if his master, having forgiven the fault, has received a sworn assurance from him, is to be compelled to return at once to his master's service. But if, after the oath has been given and he has been pledged to his master, he is shown to have suffered any punishment for the same fault for which he is excused, then for contempt of the church and for betrayal of the faith he is to be held an outsider from the communion and the fellowship of Catholics, as has been set out above. If, however, a slave, defended by the church for his fault, has obtained from the Lord's clerics, at their demand, assurances of impunity, and refuses to leave, he may be seized by his master.

IV. Concerning one who seeks something back from a bishop: he is not to be deprived of the church on account of that suit alone.

If anyone believes he has some claim to seek back from a bishop, whether from the church or from his own property, and brings no insult or accusation against him, he is not to be removed from the communion of the church on account of that suit alone.

V. If a bishop has made another man's slave a cleric.

If a slave, in the absence or without the knowledge of his master, with the bishop knowing that he is a slave, has been ordained a deacon or presbyter, the office of cleric itself remaining in force, the bishop shall compensate the master with a double satisfaction. If, however, the bishop did not know that he was a slave, those who gave testimony for him or begged that he be ordained shall be liable to a similar restitution.

VI. If a deacon or presbyter has committed a capital crime.

If a deacon or presbyter has committed a capital crime, let them be expelled both from office and from communion.

VII. Concerning those who have violated penance.

Concerning those who, having undertaken penance, forgetful of the religion of their profession, slip back into worldly things, it has been decided that they be suspended from communion and separated from the table of all catholics. But if, after the prohibition, anyone presumes to eat with such a person, let he himself also be deprived of communion.

VIII. If a presbyter or deacon has suspended himself from the eucharist for some offense.

If a presbyter or deacon, on account of his own offense, has withdrawn himself from communion of the altar under the profession of a penitent, then also, if others are lacking and a case of certain necessity arises, let it be permitted to baptize one who asks for baptism.

IX. If a woman, having left a presbyter or deacon, has joined herself to another.

If any woman, having left a presbyter or deacon, has joined herself to another in a second marriage, either let them be separated after being corrected, or certainly, if they persist in the intention of their crimes, let them be struck with equal excommunication.

X. Concerning those things which are offered on the altar.

Reading the ancient canons, we believe the former statutes are to be renewed, that of those things which are contributed as offerings of the faithful on the altar, the bishop shall claim half for himself, and the clergy shall receive the half to be dispensed to them according to their rank, with the estates remaining under the power of the bishops for every benefit.

XI. Concerning those things which are offered by the faithful in parish basilicas.

Concerning those things which any of the faithful have offered to the parishes in lands, vineyards, slaves, and private property, the statutes of the ancient canons are to be observed, so that all things remain in the power of the bishop; yet of those things which have come to the altar, a third is to be faithfully delivered to the bishop.

XII. That the bishop protect both the poor and the sick.

The bishop shall bestow food and clothing, as far as his ability allows, upon the poor or the sick who by reason of weakness are unable to labor with their own hands.

XIII. That the basilicas within whose territory they are remain in the power of their bishop.

But it has pleased [us] that all basilicas which have been built in various places, or are being built daily, remain, according to the rule of the earlier canons, in the power of the bishop in whose territory they are situated.

XIV. Concerning the incestuous, that they be excommunicated.

Let not a surviving brother ascend to his deceased brother's wife, nor let anyone who has lost his wife dare to be joined to her sister; if they shall have done so, let them be struck with ecclesiastical censure.

XV. That abbots are to be under the power of bishops, and concerning wandering monks.

Abbots, for the benefit of religion, are to remain under the power of bishops, and if they shall have done anything beyond the rule, let them be corrected by the bishops; let them assemble once a year at the place which the bishop shall have chosen, having received a summons. But monks are to be subject to their abbots in all obedience and devotion; and if anyone shall have proved undevout through contumacy, and shall have presumed to wander about through various places or to hold any private property, all that he has acquired is to be taken away by the abbots, to be of benefit to the monastery according to the rule. But those who shall have wandered about, wherever they are found, are to be recalled under custody with the aid of the bishop as fugitives; and let that abbot know that he will be guilty, who has not restrained such persons with regular correction, or who has received another's monk.

XVI. That monks are not to use the orarium or leggings.

It shall not be permitted for a monk to have an orarium or leggings in the monastery.

XVII. If a monk takes a wife.

If a monk, having been converted in the monastery, is proven to have received the pallium, and afterwards is joined to a wife, being guilty of so great a transgression, let him never obtain the office of an ecclesiastical grade.

XVIII. That a monk is not to build a cell for himself without the permission of the bishop or abbot.

Let no monk, having abandoned the congregation of the monastery, presume, driven by ambition and vanity, to build a cell for himself without the permission of the bishop or the will of his abbot.

XIX. If a bishop has granted small plots of land to anyone to cultivate, they shall be held without prejudice to the right of the Church.

If a bishop, out of regard for humanity, has granted small slaves, little vineyards, or small plots of land to clerics or monks or to anyone at all, to cultivate or to hold for a time, even if it is proven that long spans of years have passed, let the Church suffer no prejudice, nor let the prescription of secular law, which might impede the Church in anything, be set against it.

XX. That Lent be kept before Easter.

It has been decreed by all the priests that before the solemnity of Easter, not Quinquagesima but Quadragesima be kept.

XXI. That no citizen celebrate the major festivals in a village.

That it be permitted to no citizen to celebrate the solemnity of Easter, of the Lord's Nativity, or of Quinquagesima in a village, unless illness shall be proven to have kept him there.

XXII. That the people not leave the mass before the priest's blessing.

When they are gathered in God's name to celebrate masses, the people shall not depart before the solemnity of the mass is completed; and where the bishop is absent, let them receive the blessing of the priest.

XXIII. That litanies be celebrated after the Lord's Ascension.

It has pleased that the Rogations, that is the litanies, be celebrated after the Lord's Ascension, such that the aforesaid three-day fast be concluded after the solemnity of the Lord's Ascension; throughout which three days let servants and maidservants be released from every work, so that the whole people may more readily assemble; during which three days let all abstain and use Lenten foods.

XXIV. Concerning clerics who disdain to come to duty.

But clerics who have disdained to be present at the holy work shall receive ecclesiastical discipline according to the judgment of the bishop.

XXV. Concerning familiarity with foreign women.

Concerning familiarity with foreign women, bishops as well as presbyters and deacons shall observe the statutes of the earlier canons.

XXVI. Concerning religious and secular persons who attend to divinations.

If any cleric, monk, or secular person has thought that divination, or auguries to be observed, or lots, which they falsely claim to be of the saints, should be communicated to anyone whomsoever, let him together with those who have believed them be expelled from the communion of the Church.

XXVII. That a bishop ought not to be absent from the church on the Lord's day.

If a bishop has not been hindered by illness, he shall not be permitted to be absent on the Lord's day from the church to which he is nearest.

I, Bishop Tetradius, have subscribed.

I, Bishop Gelidandus, have subscribed.

Heraclius, bishop, I have subscribed.

Lucinius, bishop, I have subscribed.

Leontius, bishop, I have subscribed.

Camilianus, bishop, I have subscribed.

Quintianus, bishop, I have subscribed.

Eusebius, bishop, I have subscribed.

Boetius, bishop, I have subscribed.

Petrus, bishop, I have subscribed.

Euphrasius, bishop, I have subscribed.

Cyprianus, bishop, I have subscribed.

Principius, bishop, I have subscribed.

Melanius, bishop, I have subscribed.

Epiphanius, bishop, I have subscribed.

Adelphius, bishop, I have subscribed.

Micetius, bishop, I have subscribed.

Abentius, bishop, I have subscribed. Modestus, bishop, I have subscribed.

Lupius, bishop, I have subscribed.

Leontianus, bishop, I have subscribed.

Nepus, bishop, I have subscribed.

Theodosius, bishop, I have subscribed.

Libanius, bishop, I have subscribed.

Sephronius, bishop, I have subscribed.

Ediusus, bishop, I have subscribed.

Litardius, bishop, I have subscribed.

Maurus, bishop, I have subscribed.

THE SECOND COUNCIL OF ORLEANS.

When in the name of God we had assembled in the city of Orleans for a synodal council, concerning those matters which had been omitted through a long period of time while observance ceased, keeping the tenor of the earlier canons, we renewed the old statutes with present rules, and we believed that new ones should be added according to the condition of causes or of times.

I. Concerning the council of the metropolitan.

First, that each metropolitan in his own province with his fellow provincials ought to hold a synodal council each year at a suitable time: but if illness or certain necessity has held him, so that he cannot be present at another appointed place, let him summon his brothers to his own city. But if within two years, with tranquility of times granted by divine will, a synod has not been announced by the metropolitan to his fellow provincials after they have been admonished, the metropolitan himself, for the tardiness of his summons, shall not presume to celebrate masses for a whole year. But if those summoned, detained by no bodily infirmity, have disdained to be present through their own abuse, they shall be subject to a similar sentence; yet let them know that this excuse also has been removed from them, if they have believed their absence should be excused by the division of a lot.

II. Concerning married priests.

That no cleric from the subdeacon and above, who are forbidden to take wives by their own resolve, should have relations with his own wife, if he happens to have one already; but if he does so, let him be content with lay communion and be deposed from his office according to the statutes of earlier canons; and if his bishop knowingly afterward admits to office one living in this base presumption, that bishop himself shall be separated from his office for three months to perform penance.

III. Concerning the ordination of a metropolitan.

But concerning the ordinations of metropolitans, it has been decided that metropolitans be ordained by a metropolitan, with all the provincial bishops present, if it can be done; so that the privilege of ordaining remains with that same metropolitan which the custom of ordination requires. Nevertheless the metropolitan himself is to be chosen by the bishops of the same province, as the decrees of the apostolic see contain, with the consent of the clergy or the citizens, because it is fair, as the apostolic see itself has said, that he who is to be set over all be chosen by all; but for ordaining provincial bishops, with the consent of the metropolitan, the clergy, and the citizens, the will and election is required according to the statutes of earlier canons.