Selecta Thedosii De Religione Decreta

Theodosius the Great and Pacatus. Containing Selected Decrees of Theodosius on Religion. Book I, Title X: On the Office of the Count of the Sacred Largesses. The Emperors Gratian, Valentinian, and Theodosius, Augusti, to Syagrius, Praetorian Prefect. We command that the Palatine officials assigned to each region apply such diligence in all matters that not only shall one who cannot prove the exacted canon of his own administration with the most certain documents not be permitted to depart from the province, but also that the informed judgment of Our Clemency shall deem him to be corrected with a heavier penalty. Given on the 3rd day before the Nones of July at Viminacium, in the consulship of Syagrius and Eucherius (381). The Emperors Valentinian, Theodosius, and Arcadius, Augusti, to Trifolius, Count of the Sacred Largesses. The most frequent Palatine monitors shall always assist the ordinary judges in discharging the titles of the largitional taxes; then, if anyone's care in this matter has been found too remiss, each judge shall be detained by the Palatines within the province administered by him, even after his office has been completed, for as long as what was owed is exacted through him. Given on the 7th day before the Ides of April at Constantinople, in the first consulship of Arcadius Augustus and the consulship of Bauto (385).

The same three Augusti to Florianus, Count of the Sacred Largesses. In all cases you shall apply yourself to the hearing of disputes in such a way that, examining them out of the ordinary order and without regard to time limits, you know that a definitive sentence is to be pronounced promptly, when reason demands, and, on the other hand, more severely, if justice persuades. Given on the fifth day before the Kalends of December, in the first consulship of Arcadius Augustus and the consulship of Bauto (385). The same three Augusti to Severinus, Count of the Sacred Largesses. We have learned that, without consulting the Prefect of the City and with him being completely unaware, merchants have been dragged off to punishment, afflicted with bodily injuries, and moreover stripped by the harshness of a heavy fine. Since, therefore, you recognize that all kinds of corporati who dwell in the city of Constantinople, and likewise all citizens and common people, are governed by the authority of the urban prefecture: if perhaps the person of any one of them should demand an examination by the fisc, or if similar ill-will shall hereafter fall upon any of these, he shall not be prepared for the hearing of the case through the palatine office, but through the apparitores of the urban seat, and shall be brought before that judge to whom the whole city is subject, so that he may be heard by him, or, if necessity urges, be transmitted to your tribunal, at your request. Given on the seventeenth day before the Kalends of May, at Milan, in the consulship of Tatianus and Symmachus (391).

The Emperors Theodosius and Valentinianus Augusti to Volusianus, Praetorian Prefect. A palatinus shall not exercise any public office more than once within the same province, but the suggestion of the adjutor, expressed in the official records, shall be maintained, which shall clearly state both the name of the palatinus and that he who is to be dispatched has committed nothing previously in the same province. But if, either through neglect of such formality or by a repeated act, a palatinus has been sent to a province, he shall strike the adjutor of the office and the primicerius and secundicerius with a penalty of thirty pounds of gold; nor will it be permissible to use perhaps such tricks, that the same matters, though not the same, may be entrusted to him to be carried out: for it is not lawful for the same palatinus to undertake any public office again within the same province. Palatini, moreover, shall know that they have nothing in common with the provincials. It will, of course, be necessary for the judges to insist, and if among the briefs which they bring to the province and those which are produced by the provincial record-keepers there is any discrepancy, the governor of the province, having summoned to his council five honorati from the province, shall adjudicate between the palatinus and the provincial record-keeper, and after the trustworthiness of the briefs has been examined, he shall order the exaction to be accelerated or shall be subject to the sanction of the ancient laws.

The governors of the provinces shall certainly know that no part of the exaction whatsoever pertains to the palatine office, nor shall assistance ever be provided to them; moreover, the palatinus shall not impose himself upon the susceptor or the tabularius of the province, nor shall he demand from the susceptor the sum of the collected amounts, nor the nominal rolls from the tabularius, since all this concern belongs to the judge. We also order that to the comites titulorum, if ever the necessity of the case requires them to be sent to a province, no assistance shall be given from the palatine office, but only the provincial apparitio shall obey them, with a penalty of twenty pounds of gold striking the comes titulorum and the palatine office, if any palatinus should be attached to any comes titulorum. Given on the third day before the Kalends of March at Ravenna, in the consulship of Felix and Taurus (428). Book II, Title VIII. On Holidays. The Emperors Gratianus, Valentinianus, and Theodosius, Augusti, to Principius, Praetorian Prefect. On the day of the Sun, which our ancestors rightly called the Lord's day, the pursuit of all lawsuits, business, and contracts shall cease entirely; no one shall demand public or private debt; nor even before arbiters, whether summoned by judicial process or voluntarily chosen, shall there be any hearing of disputes. And not only blameworthy, but even sacrilegious shall be judged he who has deviated from the observance or rite of the holy religion. Posted on the third day before the Nones of November at Aquileia. Received on the eighth day before the Kalends of December at Rome, in the consulship of Honorius, Nobilissimus Puer, and Evodius (386).

The Emperors Valentinian, Theodosius, and Arcadius, Augusti, to Albinus, Praetorian Prefect. We order that all days are to be juridical. Only those days shall be permitted to remain as holidays which a more indulgent year has received for the rest from labor in the twin months, for mitigating the summer heats and for gathering the autumn fruits. § 1. We also consign the customary days of the Kalends of January to leisure. § 2. To these we add the birthday days of the greatest cities, Rome and Constantinople, to which the laws ought to defer, because they themselves were born from them. § 3. We also count the sacred days of Easter, which either precede or follow by the number seven, in the same observance, and also the days of the sun, which revolve upon themselves in a recurring cycle. § 4. It is necessary that equal reverence be held for our days as well, which have brought forth either the beginnings of light or the origins of the empire. Given on the seventh day before the Ides of August at Rome, in the consulship of Timasius and Promotus (389). INTERPRETATION. We order that cases throughout the whole year be heard on all days according to the laws. And although the law has granted four months for gathering the fruits, yet we have believed it should be done in this way according to the quality of the provinces and the presence of the masters, so that from the eighth day before the Kalends of July up to the Kalends of August, harvest holidays are granted, and from the Kalends of August up to the tenth day before the Kalends of September, permission for conducting cases is granted. From the tenth day before the Kalends of September, however, up to the Ides of October, vintage holidays are granted.

We also set apart the days of the Lord, which are holidays, from hearing cases or exacting debts. We wish the holy days of Easter—that is, the seven that precede and the seven that follow—as well as the day of the Nativity of our Lord or the Epiphany to be celebrated without forensic clamor. The birthday of the emperor or the beginning of his reign ought likewise to be observed with equal reverence. The same Emperors, Augusti, to Proculus, Praetorian Prefect. On feast days only the contests of the Circus are to be prohibited, so that the venerable mysteries of the Christian law may be turned aside by no throng of spectacles, except on the birthday anniversaries of our Clemency. Given on the fifteenth day before the Kalends of May at Constantinople, in the second consulship of Arcadius Augustus and the consulship of Rufinus (392). The same Emperors, Augusti, to Tatianus, Praetorian Prefect. All acts, whether public or private, are to be suspended on the fifteen Paschal days. Given on the sixth day before the Kalends of June at Constantinople, in the second consulship of Arcadius Augustus and the consulship of Rufinus (392). The Emperors Honorius and Theodosius, Augusti, to Jovius, Praetorian Prefect. After other matters: On the Lord’s day, which the common people call the day of the Sun, we suffer no pleasures whatsoever to be exhibited, even if by chance on that day either the anniversary of the beginning of our reign, as the year’s cycle returns, should dawn, or the solemnities due to a birthday should be offered. Given on the Kalends of April at Ravenna, in the eighth consulship of Honorius Augustus and the third consulship of Theodosius Augustus (409).

The same Augusti to John, Praetorian Prefect. After other matters: On the Sabbath day and the remaining days, at the time when the Jews observe the reverence of their own cult, we order that no one should be compelled either to do anything or to be summoned in any respect; it is established that the remaining days can suffice for fiscal interests and private lawsuits, etc. Given on the seventh day before the Kalends of August, at Ravenna, under the consulship of Our Lords Honorius for the eighth time and Theodosius for the third time, Augusti. (409). Interpretation. On the Sabbath day we wish no Jew to be summoned either for fiscal benefit or for any business whatsoever, because the day of their religion ought not to be disturbed by any legal action. Book III, Title VII. On Marriages. The Emperors Valentinian, Theodosius, and Arcadius, Augusti, to Cynegius, Praetorian Prefect. Let no Jew take a Christian woman in marriage, nor let a Christian contract a marriage with a Jewess. For if anyone has committed anything of this sort, the crime of this offense will hold the place of adultery, and freedom to accuse is also granted to public voices. Given on the day before the Ides of March, at Thessalonica, under the consulship of Theodosius for the second time and Cynegius, Vir Clarissimus. (388).

Interpretation. By the severity of this law it is forbidden that a Jew should enter into marriage with a Christian woman, nor that a Christian man should take a Jewish wife. But if any, contrary to this prohibition, have joined themselves in such a union, they shall know that they are to be pursued with the same penalty by which adulterers are condemned, and that the accusation of this crime is permitted not only to relatives but to all for the purpose of prosecution. Book V, Title III. On the Goods of Clerics and Monks. I. The Emperors Theodosius and Valentinian Augusti to Taurus, Praetorian Prefect and Patrician. If any bishop or presbyter or deacon or deaconess or subdeacon or cleric of any other rank, or any monk or woman who is devoted to the solitary life, should die without having made a will, and there exist for him no parents of either sex, nor children, nor any who are joined by right of agnation or cognation, nor a wife, the goods which belonged to him shall in every way be joined to the sacrosanct church or monastery to which he was assigned (excepting those resources which clerics or monks of either sex, who are perhaps enrolled in the census or subject to the right of patronage or bound by curial status, leave behind).

Nor is it just that goods or property, which are owed by law either to a patron or to the master of the estate to which any of them may have been assigned, or which are known to pertain to the municipal councils in accordance with the tenor of a previously issued constitution under a certain form, should be detained by the churches; the right of action being, of course, competently reserved to the sacrosanct churches, if anyone subject to the aforesaid conditions should have died obligated either by reason of transactions conducted or by any other ecclesiastical acts whatsoever): so that, if any lawsuits arising from such claims are pending in the courts, they shall be completely settled, and it shall not be lawful for the claimant, after the publication of this law, to enter into litigation or to cause annoyance to the stewards or monks or procurators. The claim itself being rendered void, and the goods which have been left behind being consecrated to the most religious churches or monasteries to which they were dedicated. Given on the eighteenth day before the Kalends of January, in the consulship of Ariovindus and Aspar (134).

INTERPRETATION. If any bishop, or those whom the law itself mentions, or any religious men or women die intestate without children, relatives, or wife, who nevertheless owed nothing to the municipal council nor to a patron, whatever they have left behind shall belong to the churches or monasteries to which they were devoted. If they wish to make a will, they shall have free power to do so. BOOK V, TITLE V. CONCERNING THE RIGHT OF POSTLIMINIUM. The Emperors Honorius and Theodosius Augusti, to Theodorus, Praetorian Prefect. No one shall detain men of various provinces, of any sex, condition, or age, whom barbarian savagery has brought away under the necessity of captivity, against their will, but those desiring to return to their own homes shall have free permission. §1. If anything has been expended on them for clothing or sustenance, it shall be considered as given out of humanity, and no claim for the recovery of the cost of provisions shall remain, except in the case of those who are proved to have been bought from the barbarians who sold them, for whom it is just that the price of their status be repaid to the purchasers on account of public utility. For lest consideration of loss should cause purchase to be denied to those placed in such necessity, it is fitting that the redeemed either restore to the purchasers the price given for themselves, or by labor, service, or work of a five-year period repay the benefit, and they shall have their freedom unimpaired, if they were born in that condition. §2. Therefore, let them be restored to their own abodes under the moderation which we have commanded, for whom by the right of postliminium, even according to the responses of the ancients, all things are preserved unimpaired. §3.

If anyone, therefore, should attempt to resist this command—whether an agent, a tenant, or a procurator—let him not doubt that he will be condemned to the mines with the penalty of deportation; but if the owner of the property, let him know that his property will be claimed by the treasury and that he himself will be deported. § 4. And in order that execution may proceed easily, we wish Christians of the neighboring places to undertake the care of this matter. It has also been decided that the curiales of the nearest cities be warned, so that when such cases arise, they may know that the aid of our law is to be brought; and let all governors know that ten pounds of gold will be exacted from themselves and the same amount from their attendants, if they have neglected this command. Given on the fourth day before the Ides of December at Ravenna, in the eighth consulship of Honorius and the third of Theodosius, Augusti (109). INTERPRETATION. Those who were led away by enemies at the time of captivity, if they received anything from anyone for food or clothing, when they wish to return to their own property, nothing at all shall be demanded from them for those expenses. However, if the captor has received a price for his captive, what the buyer proves to have given shall be received back without hesitation. But if he does not have the price, the captive shall serve the buyer for five years, and after five years he shall be restored to freedom without payment; and when he returns to his own property, he shall receive all his possessions whole and safe. If anyone, therefore, attempts to resist this most just command, let him know that he is to be sentenced to exile; but if he is a property owner, his property shall be adjudged to the resources of the treasury.

Certainly, we wish Christians, who ought to devote themselves to redemption, to be concerned for captives. This concern shall also pertain to the curiales, so that all judges know that they will pay ten pounds of gold to the treasury if they have neglected the commands of this law. BOOK IX. TITLE VII. CONCERNING THE LEX JULIA ON ADULTERIES. The Emperors Valentinianus, Theodosius, and Arcadius, Augusti, to Cynegius, Praetorian Prefect. Let no Jew take a Christian woman in marriage, nor let a Christian contract a marriage with a Jewess. For if anyone commits anything of this sort, the crime of this committed act shall be considered equivalent to adultery, with the freedom to accuse being also granted to public voices. Given on the third day before the Ides of March at Thessalonica, in the second consulship of Theodosius Augustus and the consulship of Cynegius (388). INTERPRETATIO. Neither shall a Jew marry a Christian woman nor a Christian a Jewess. But if he does so, by the accusation of anyone, let him be punished as an adulterer. BOOK IX. TITLE XXV. CONCERNING THE ABDUCTION OR MARRIAGE OF CONSECRATED VIRGINS OR WIDOWS.

The Emperors Honorius and Theodosius Augusti to Palladius, Praetorian Prefect. After other matters: If anyone, prodigal of himself, should have coveted a virgin consecrated to God as a ravisher, he shall be punished with deportation and the confiscation of his goods; license for this accusation is granted to all without fear of delation. For it is not fitting to require an informer, whom humanity invites for the sake of religious chastity. Given on the 8th day before the Ides of May at Ravenna, in the ninth consulship of the Emperor Theodosius Augustus and the third consulship of Constantius, Vir Clarissimus (420). Book IX, Title XXXV. Concerning Tortures. The Emperors Gratian, Valentinian, and Theodosius Augusti to Albucianus, Vicar of Macedonia. For forty days, which precede the Paschal time by the auspice of the ceremonies, all cognizance of criminal tortures shall be forbidden. Given on the 6th day before the Kalends of April at Thessalonica, in the fifth consulship of Gratian Augustus and the first consulship of Theodosius Augustus (380). Interpretation: During the days of Lent, out of reverence for religion, every criminal action shall be at rest. The Emperors Valentinian, Theodosius, and Arcadius Augusti to Tatianus, Praetorian Prefect. On the sacred days of Lent, there shall be no bodily punishments, by which the absolution of souls is awaited. Given on the 8th day before the Ides of September at Foroflaminium, in the consulship of Timasius and Promotus (389).

Book IX, Title XXXVIII: On Indulgences for Crimes. The Emperors Gratian, Valentinian, and Theodosius, Augusti, to Antidius, Vir Clarissimus, Vicar. The days of Paschal joy do not permit even those minds hardened by the commission of crimes to be held in confinement; let the horrid prison sometimes open its doors to unaccustomed eyes. But we consider alien to this indulgence anyone who has arrogantly animated a nefarious consciousness of crimes against the majesty of the state, anyone who, seized by parricidal fury, has stained his hand with his own blood, anyone who is stained by the slaughter of any other man, anyone who has been the invader of another’s marriage bed and couch, anyone who has been the ravisher of virginal modesty, anyone who has violated the venerable bond of kindred blood with profane and blind incest, or anyone who has compounded poisons of mind and body sought from noxious herbs and muttered with dire secrets, or anyone who, as an imitator of the sacred mouth and a seeker of divine countenances, has impressed venerable forms with sacrilegious skill. Therefore, with these also condemned under such an absolution, we conclude the grant of our serenity with this limit of the decree: that crimes shall not have remission of pardon unless they have been committed once, lest the humanity of the August liberality be extended to those who have attributed impunity for a past offense not to amendment but rather to habit. Recited on the twelfth day before the Kalends of August at Rome, in the consulship of Syagrius and Eucherius (381).

The same three Augusti to Marcianus, Vicar. The religion of the annual supplication urges that we should order all persons whatsoever who are accused of a lesser crime to be released from the danger of prison and the fear of punishments. Hence it is evident that those are excepted whom atrocious greed drove to more savage crimes: among these the first and greatest crime is that of treason, then homicide, poisoning and sorcery, seduction and adultery, and sacrilege of equal enormity, violation of a tomb, counterfeiting of money, and the forging of coinage. Given on the 11th day before the Kalends of April at Milan, in the consulship of Richomeres and Clearchus (384). The same three Augusti to Neoterius, Praetorian Prefect. Let no one henceforth perhaps wait for tardy addresses of our perpetuity: let the judges carry out what we have been accustomed to grant. As soon as the Paschal day has arrived, let no one be held imprisoned, let the chains of all be loosed. But from these we separate those by whom, if they are released, we perceive that the common joys and gladness would rather be polluted. For who would grant indulgence to a sacrilegious person on holy days? Who would pardon an adulterer or one guilty of incest at a time of chastity? Who would not pursue a rapist more insistently in the utmost peace and common joy? Let him who did not know how to let the buried rest in peace, by some enormity of crime, receive no respite from chains; let the poisoner, the sorcerer, and the forger of coinage suffer torments; let the homicide always await what he did; even the one guilty of treason against the lord, against whom he plotted such things, ought not to hope for pardon. Given on the 5th day before the Kalends of March.

From Milan, in the first consulship of Arcadius Augustus and the consulship of Bauto (385). INTERPRETATION. A sacrilegious person, an adulterer, one accused of incest, a rapist, a violator of tombs, a poisoner, a sorcerer, a counterfeiter of coinage, and a murderer are by no means to be released on the days of Easter. All others whom the guilt of lesser causes binds are to be specially released on the venerable days of Easter. BOOK IX, TITLE XLV. CONCERNING THOSE WHO FLEE TO THE CHURCHES. The Emperors Theodosius, Arcadius, and Honorius, Augusti, to Romulus, Count. Greetings. If public debtors believe that they should flee to the churches, it will be necessary either to drag them forthwith from their hiding places, or else the bishops who are proven to have concealed them are to be required to pay for them. Let your eminent authority therefore know that henceforth no debtor is to be defended by clerics, nor is the debt of him whom they have believed should be defended to be paid through them. Given on the fifteenth day before the Kalends of November at Constantinople, in the second consulship of Arcadius Augustus and the consulship of Rufinus (392).

Book XV, Title VII: On Stage Performers. The Emperors Gratian, Valentinian, and Theodosius, Augusti, to Paulinus, Praetorian Prefect of the City. Women who, born of a lower class, are owed to the services of the spectacles, if they should decline stage duties, are to be assigned to theatrical ministries—those, however, whom consideration of the most sacred religion and reverence for Christian law have not yet bound to their faith. For we forbid the recall of those whom a better way of life has freed from the bond of natural condition. We also order that those women who, by the benefit of our clemency, have merited being exempt from a more shameful office, are to remain free from the prejudice of stage association. Given on the fifth day before the Kalends of May at Milan, in the fifth consulship of Gratian Augustus and the first consulship of Theodosius Augustus (380). The same Augusti to Paulinus, Praetorian Prefect of the City. Whoever, forgetful of honor, abducts a female stage performer from the venerable City and transfers her to distant places, or even retains her within his own house so that she does not serve public pleasures, shall be penalized by the payment of five pounds of gold. Given on the fifth day before the Kalends of May at Milan, in the fifth consulship of Gratian Augustus and the first consulship of Theodosius Augustus (380).

The same three Augusti to Valerian, Praetorian Prefect of the City. The horses which either the largesse of Our Serenity or those from the most august order of magistrates supply for the solemn contest, Our Serenity has decreed shall henceforth be provided in such abundance that whatever is gathered there—glorious in the number of palms and noble with victories celebrated on both sides—shall serve the spectacles of the urban populace rather than be assigned to plunder and profit. Therefore, whoever shall consider that any loss from what either Our Serenity or the ordinary consuls or the praetors bestow for pleasures of this kind should be diverted to private advantage and profit, shall be mulcted by the condemnation of one pound of gold and shall be compelled to be generous to Our largesses. Given on the eighth day before the Kalends of May at Trier, in the consulship of Eucherius and Syagrius (381). The same three Augusti to Valerian, Praetorian Prefect of the City. Your illustrious authority shall know that those who practice the office of charioteering ought to be subjected to no punishments except those of the circus contest. Given on the eighth day before the Ides of May, in the consulship of Eucherius and Syagrius (381).

The same three Augusti to Valerian, Praetorian Prefect of the City. If a woman of the stage should petition for a leave on the ground of religion, she shall not lack the pretext of a plea for pardon. But if afterwards, having wallowed in shameful embraces, she is detected to have betrayed the religion she had sought and to be carrying on in spirit what she had ceased in office, yet as a stage performer, she shall be dragged back to the stage and remain there without any hope of release until she is a ridiculous old woman, deformed by old age; and not even then shall she obtain release, since she can be nothing other than unchaste. Given on the 8th day before the Ides of May at Aquileia, in the consulship of Syagrius and Eucherius (381). The same three Augusti to Herasius, Proconsul of Africa. Whatever women born from such dregs decline stage duties, they shall be assigned to servile offices, unless the most holy religion and the reverence of the Christian law, to be preserved in perpetuity, have already claimed them for their own faith. We also order that those women who have been freed from the association of stage prejudice shall endure, who by the benefit of our Clemency have merited being exempt from a more shameful office. Posted at Carthage on the 5th day before the Kalends of September, in the consulship of Eucherius and Syagrius (381).

The same three Augusti to Cynegius, Praetorian Prefect. No one is permitted to buy, teach, sell, or employ a female lyre-player at banquets or spectacles. Nor is it lawful for anyone, for the sake of pleasure, to possess female slaves trained in the art of music. Given on the eighth day before the Kalends of July at Constantinople, in the consulship of Arcadius Augustus for the first time and Bauto (385). The Emperors Theodosius, Arcadius, and Honorius, Augusti, to Rufinus, Praetorian Prefect. No mime actress shall use gems, nor any sealed or gilded silks or woven fabrics. They shall also know to abstain from those garments which the Greeks call by the Latin name "crustae," in which the pure redness of the murex blazes up mixed with another color. They may, however, use the same checkered and varicolored silks; and we do not forbid gold without gems on the neck, arms, or belt. Given on the eleventh day before the Kalends of October at Constantinople, in the consulship of Theodosius Augustus for the third time and Abundantius (393). The same three Augusti to Rufinus, Praetorian Prefect. If any painting in public porticoes or in those places of the cities where our images are customarily consecrated should depict a pantomime in humble dress, or a charioteer with wrinkled folds, or a base actor, let it be torn down immediately, and never afterward shall it be permitted to record dishonorable persons in an honorable place. However, we do not forbid that they be placed at the entrance of the circus or on the stages of theaters. § 1.

We add this: that mimes and those who make a profit from the abuse of their own bodies shall not publicly use the attire of those virgins who are consecrated to God, and that no woman or boy shall be initiated into the company of thymelic performers if they are known to be of the Christian religion. Given on the third day before the Kalends of July at Heraclea, in the third consulship of Arcadius Augustus and the second of Honorius Augustus (394). Book XVI, Title I. On the Catholic Faith. The Emperors Gratian, Valentinian, and Theodosius, Augusti. Edict to the People of the City of Constantinople. We desire that all peoples whom the moderation of our clemency governs shall live in that religion which the divine Apostle Peter is declared to have handed down to the Romans, a religion which has been instilled by him and continues to the present day, and which it is clear that Pontiff Damasus follows, as does Peter, Bishop of Alexandria, a man of apostolic sanctity; that is, that according to apostolic discipline and evangelical doctrine we believe in one deity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, under equal majesty and in a pious Trinity. §1. Following this law, we command that the name of Catholic Christians be embraced; the rest, whom we judge to be mad and insane, shall bear the infamy of heretical dogma, and their meeting places shall not receive the name of churches, to be punished first by divine vengeance, and then also by our own motion, which we have taken up from heavenly judgment, with retribution. Given on the third day before the Kalends of March at Thessalonica, in the fifth consulship of Gratian Augustus and the first of Theodosius Augustus (380).

The same Augusti to Auxonius, proconsul of Asia. We order that all churches be immediately handed over to those bishops who confess the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as of one majesty and power, of the same glory and of one brightness, making no dissonance by profane division, but affirming the order of the Trinity, the assertion of the persons, and the unity of the divinity; those who are established to be associated in communion with Nectarius, bishop of the Constantinopolitan Church, and with Timothy, bishop of the city of Alexandria within Egypt; also those who in the regions of the East are in communion with Pelagius, bishop of Laodicea, and Diodorus, bishop of Tarsus; in Asia, both the proconsular and the Asian diocese, with Amphilochius, bishop of Iconium, and Optimus, bishop of Antioch; in the Pontic diocese, with Helladius, bishop of Caesarea, and Otreius of Melitene, and Gregory, bishop of Nyssa, Terennius, bishop of Scythia, and Marmarius, bishop of Marcianopolis. These men must be admitted to obtain the catholic churches on the basis of their communion and association with approved priests. But all who dissent from the faith and communion of those whom a special mention has expressed, are to be expelled from the churches as manifest heretics, and no right or power of obtaining churches is thereafter to be permitted to them at all, so that the priesthoods of the true and Nicene faith may remain pure, and no place be given to malignant cunning after the evident form of our decree. Given on the third day before the Kalends of August at Heraclea, in the consulship of Eucherius and Syagrius (381).

Book XVI, Title II: On Bishops, Churches, and Clergy. The Emperors Gratian, Valentinian, and Theodosius, Augusti, to the people. Those who either through ignorance confuse the sanctity of the divine law, or through negligence violate and offend it, commit sacrilege. Given on the third day before the Kalends of March at Thessalonica, in the fifth consulship of Gratian, Augustus, and the first consulship of Theodosius, Augustus (380). The same Augusti to Tiscianus, Count of the East. We decree that all those who are established as guardians of churches or of holy places, and who serve in religious duties, shall suffer no harassment from any attack. For who would allow those to be bound by a head tax whom he necessarily understands to be devoted to the aforementioned service? Given on the day before the Kalends of April at Constantinople, in the consulship of Eucherius and Syagrius (381). The Emperors Valentinian, Theodosius, and Arcadius, Augusti, to Tatian, Praetorian Prefect. No woman, unless she has completed sixty years of age and has living children at home, shall be transferred to the order of deaconesses, according to the precept of the apostle. She shall then, having petitioned for a guardian for her children if their age requires it, entrust her property to suitable persons for management with diligent piety; she herself shall receive only the income from her estates, over which—whether for preserving, alienating, giving, selling, bequeathing, either while she survives or when she passes away, and as her free will dictates—she shall have full power.

Let nothing be spent on necklaces and household goods, nothing on gold, silver, or other adornments of a splendid house under the pretext of religion; but let him transfer everything whole to his children, relatives, or any others, according to the judgment of his own discretion. And if at any time he dies, let him write no church, no cleric, no poor person as heirs. For whatever is done contrary to the prohibition concerning persons specifically included, if it has been executed by a dying person, must necessarily lack force. Indeed, if anything has been extorted from the dying person by these persons, let nothing be conveyed to clerics by a secret trust in fraud of this venerable sanction, whether by cunning artifice or by the shameful connivance of anyone; let them be dispossessed of all the goods they have coveted. And if anything is discovered to have been written by letter, codicil, donation, will, or any kind of document whatsoever in favor of those whom we have removed by this sanction, let it not be brought into court; but rather, let the person who understands that he has a claim under intestacy succeed according to the definition of this statute. If anyone acknowledges himself a son, if anyone proves himself a relative, if anyone, finally, whether by chance or by judgment, is found to be heir, legatee, or trustee for the whole or for a portion under open codicils, let him enjoy the gift of fortune and the fruit of his own conscience, and with these persons removed and cast out, let him exercise the power of an heir over the hereditary property. § 1.

Women who have cut their hair against divine and human laws, persuaded by the prompting of their profession, shall be barred from the doors of the church. It shall not be lawful for them to approach the sacred mysteries, nor shall they deserve, by any supplications, to frequent the altars that all must venerate; to such an extent that, if a bishop permits a woman with shorn head to enter, he himself, deposed from his office, shall also be barred along with such associates. And not only if he has urged this to be done, but also if he has learned that it has been demanded by some, or that it has been done for any reason whatsoever, let him understand that nothing will avail him. This shall be, without doubt, a law for those who are to be corrected, and a custom for those who have been corrected, so that the latter may have a testimony, and the former may begin to fear judgment. Given on the 11th day before the Kalends of July at Milan, in the fourth consulship of Valentinianus and the consulship of Neoterius (390). The same three Emperors to Tatianus, Praetorian Prefect. The law recently promulgated concerning deaconesses or widows—that no cleric, nor anyone under the name of the church, should seize slaves, household goods, or plunder, as if despoiling the weaker sex, and, having removed relatives and kin, should act under the pretext of Catholic discipline as the heir of a living person—let him note that it is revoked to such an extent that it is to be removed from all documents, if it is already known, and no one, whether a litigant may use it for himself, or a judge may know to enforce it. Given on the 10th day before the Kalends of September at Verona, in the fourth consulship of Valentinianus and the consulship of Neoterius (390).

Book XVI, Title III: Concerning Monks. The Emperors Valentinian, Theodosius, and Arcadius, Augusti, to Tatianus, Praetorian Prefect. Whoever are found under the profession of a monk are ordered to follow and inhabit deserted places and vast solitudes. Given on the third day before the Nones of September at Verona, in the fourth consulship of Valentinian Augustus and the consulship of Neoterius (390). The same Augusti to Tatianus, Praetorian Prefect. We order that monks, to whom cities had been forbidden while they were being prosecuted for judicial injuries, be restored to their former status, this law being removed: indeed, by a command of our clemency now antiquated, we grant them free entry into towns. Given on the fifteenth day before the Kalends of May at Constantinople, in the second consulship of Arcadius Augustus and the consulship of Rufinus (392). Book XVI, Title IV: Concerning Those Who Dispute About Religion. The Emperors Valentinian, Theodosius, and Arcadius, Augusti, to Eusignius, Praetorian Prefect. If those who think that only for themselves the opportunity of assembly has been granted should attempt to do anything turbulent against the precept of our tranquility, they shall, as authors of sedition and disturbers of the peace of the Church, suffer the penalty of high treason with capital punishment and blood. Given on the tenth day before the Kalends of February at Constantinople, in the consulship of the Noble Boy Honorius and the consulship of Evodius (386).

The same three Augusti to Tatianus, Praetorian Prefect. No opportunity shall lie open to anyone who goes out into public either to debate concerning religion or to discuss or to convey any counsel. And if anyone hereafter, with grave and damnable audacity, should believe that this law is to be contravened, or should dare to persist with the motion of pestilent perseverance, let him be restrained by fitting penalty and worthy punishment. Given on the sixteenth day before the Kalends of July at Stobi, in the second consulship of Theodosius Augustus and the consulship of Cynegius (388). 3. The same three Augusti to Potamius, Prefect of the Augustan Prefecture. Deportation is deserved by one who, neither admonished by a general law nor corrected by a competent sentence, disturbs the Catholic faith and the people. Given on the fifteenth day before the Kalends of August at Constantinople, in the second consulship of Arcadius Augustus and the consulship of Rufinus (392). Book XVI, Title V: Concerning Heretics. 5. The Emperors Gratian, Valentinian, and Theodosius, Augusti, to Hesperius, Praetorian Prefect. All heresies forbidden by divine and imperial laws shall be permanently silenced. Whoever profanes with punishable opinions the things of God, let him feel harm only to himself, and not disclose what will harm others. Whoever, by a renewed death, corrupts bodies redeemed by the venerable font, by taking away that which gives rebirth, let him know such things for himself alone, and not destroy others by nefarious instruction.

All the teachers and ministers of that perverse superstition—whether they defame the name of bishop by a priestly assumption, or, what comes next, falsely claim religion under the title of presbyter, or even call themselves deacons, though they are not even considered Christians—shall abstain from the assemblies of that long-condemned opinion. Finally, the rescript that recently emerged at Sirmium is annulled; only those things concerning Catholic observance shall remain which our father of perpetual memory and we ourselves have commanded by an equally numerous decree, destined to live forever. Given on the third day before the Nones of August at Milan. Received on the thirteenth day before the Kalends of September in the consulship of Ausonius and Olybrius (379). The same three Augusti to Eutropius, Praetorian Prefect. No place for mysteries shall be open to heretics, no opportunity shall lie open for exercising the madness of a more obstinate mind. Let all know that even if anything has been obtained by any special rescript fraudulently elicited by this kind of men, it is invalid. § 1. The crowds of all heretics shall be kept away from unlawful gatherings. The name of the one and supreme God shall be celebrated everywhere; the observance of the Nicene faith, long ago handed down by our ancestors and confirmed by the testimony and assertion of divine religion, shall be maintained forever; the contamination of the Photinian stain, the poison of Arian sacrilege, the crime of Eunomian perfidy, and the unspeakable monstrosities of sects bearing the names of their authors shall be abolished even from hearing. § 2.

But the true adherent of the Nicene faith and the genuine worshiper of the Catholic religion is to be understood as one who confesses Almighty God and Christ the Son of God as one in name, God from God, light from light; who does not violate the Holy Spirit, that which we hope for and receive from the supreme parent of all, by denying it; in whom, with the sense of an inviolate faith, the undivided substance of the incorrupt Trinity flourishes, which, by the assertion of the Greek word, is called "rightly believing." These things indeed are more approved by us, these are to be venerated. § 3. But those who do not serve the same [faith] should cease to assume the alien name of true religion through feigned deceits, and let them be marked by their own open crimes. Let them be utterly barred from the threshold of all churches, since we forbid all heretics to conduct unlawful gatherings within towns, and if any factious outbreak should attempt anything, let it be driven out even from the walls of the cities, the madness expelled, so that all orthodox bishops who hold the Nicene faith may have the Catholic churches restored throughout the whole world. Given on the 4th day before the Ides of January, at Constantinople, in the consulship of Eucherius and Syagrius (381).

The same Augustuses to Eutropius, Praetorian Prefect. If any Manichaean man or woman, from the day of the law long since promulgated, and first from our parents, has transferred his own property by a will made in favor of any person, or by any title of liberality or form of donation, or if anyone has been enriched by a collation received from them through any form of succession, since we immediately snatch away from them, under the perpetual mark of just infamy, all power of testating and living according to Roman law, and we do not permit them to have the power either of leaving or of receiving any inheritance, the whole shall be joined to the resources of our treasury by imminent investigation. Whether this has been done to a husband, or to a relative, or to any well-deserving person, or even to children, whom, however, the crimes of his life and of his offense join in association, or even through any interposed person who will profit the same one who is found in such a kind and herd of men, it shall be claimed under the title of caducary property. § 1. And not only in the future shall the form of this law, issued by our clemency, prevail, but also for the past, whatever such persons have left by way of property, or whatever succession has held, the fiscal usurpation of the benefit shall pursue.

For although the order of celestial statutes indicates that subsequent [enactments] following observance of the consecrated constitution are not accustomed to prejudice prior acts, nevertheless, since we recognize what custom—the stubborn nature of obstinacy—deserves, in this sanction alone, which we wish to have special force, with the sense of just instigation, we hold those who, even after the law first given, could by no means be restrained from illicit and profane assemblies even by divine admonition, as guilty of sacrilege, as if in injury to the law itself depicted; we have decreed the severity of the present statutes not so much for establishing the law as for avenging it, so that no defense of time shall avail. § 2. Succession to paternal or maternal goods shall be granted only to those children who, although born of Manichaeans, yet admonished by the sense and affection of their own salvation, have removed themselves from the fellowships of that same life and profession, dedicating themselves pure to religion, such being immune from the crime. § 3. We also add this to the sanction: that they shall not establish the customary tombs of their funereal mysteries in conventicles of towns, nor in famous cities, but shall be entirely restrained from the sight of the celebrated city.

Let them not defend themselves under the pretense of a deception, namely, by those names by which many, as we have learned, wish to be called and designated as being of proven faith and of a more chaste purpose, while they wickedly defend themselves by fraud; especially since some among them wish to be called Eucratitae, Apotactitae, Hydroparastatae, or Saccophori, and by a variety of different names they feign the duties of a religious profession as it were. For it is fitting that all of them be considered not defended by the profession of their names, but rather marked and abominable because of the wickedness of their sects. Given on the 8th day before the Ides of May at Constantinople, in the consulship of Eucherius and Syagrius (381). The same Augusti to Clicherius, Count of the East. We command that no Eunomians or Arians, nor those of the Ethi doctrine, have the opportunity to build churches either in cities or in the countryside. But if this should be rashly presumed by anyone, that same house where these things, which are forbidden to be built, have been constructed, and also the estate or private possession, shall immediately be claimed by the authority of our treasury, and all places that have received either the seat or the ministers of this sacrilegious doctrine shall forthwith become fiscal property. Given on the 14th day before the Kalends of August at Constantinople, in the consulship of Eucherius and Syagrius (381).

The same Augusti to Florus, Praetorian Prefect. Whoever, by the false pretense of a solitary life, flees the company of good men and chooses secret cities of the worst, so that he is subjected as a profaner and corrupter of the Catholic discipline, which we all revere, to the law, so that he lives as an outlaw, spends nothing while alive on illicit things, leaves nothing at death to the unworthy, restores everything not to his own customs but to nature, or entrusts it to be better governed to relatives, if legitimate succession is lacking, or understands it to be obligated to the treasury's domain, if the line of descent fails, without fraudulent scheming. These things concerning solitaries. § 1. Moreover, those whom they call by the prodigious name of Encratites, together with the Saccophori or Hydroparastatae, once refuted by judgment, betrayed by crime, or found in even a slight trace of this crime, we order to be afflicted with the supreme punishment and inexpiable penalty, with that condition concerning goods remaining which we have imposed on this entire class, from the beginning of the law recently promulgated. Your Sublimity shall therefore appoint investigators, open a court, and accept informers and accusers without envy of the accusation. Let no one, by common prescription, break the beginning of this accusation. Let no one compel such secret and hidden gatherings: it is permitted in the fields, forbidden within the walls, condemned in public and private places. § 2. And let it be examined with the utmost scrutiny, so that whoever does not assemble on the day of Easter with obedient religion shall undoubtedly be considered such as we have condemned by this law. Given on the day before the Kalends of April.

At Constantinople, in the consulship of Antonius and Syagrius (382). The same three Augusti to Constantinianus, Vicar of the Diocese of Pontica. The Tascodrogitae are by no means to be driven from their own dwellings, yet let the crowd of heretical superstition gather at no church; or if it should happen to gather, let it be thrust from its conventicles without any delay. Given on the 12th day before the Kalends of July, at Constantinople, in the consulship of Merobaudes II and Saturninus (383). The same three Augusti to Postumianus, Praetorian Prefect. Absolutely all whom the error of diverse heresies drives about—that is, Eunomians, Arians, Macedonians, Pneumatomachi, Manichaeans, Encratites, Apotactitae, Saccophori, Hydroparastatae—shall assemble in no gatherings, gather no multitude, draw no people to themselves, nor display private walls in the likeness of churches, nor practice anything, either publicly or privately, that could offend Catholic sanctity. And if anyone should arise who so manifestly transgresses what is forbidden, let him be expelled by the common conspiracy of all good men, to whom the cult and beauty of right observance is pleasing, with the faculty granted to all. Given on the 8th day before the Kalends of August, at Constantinople, in the consulship of Merobaudes II and Saturninus (383).

The same three Augusti to Postumianus, Praetorian Prefect. The institution of the sects hateful to God and men, namely the Eunomian, Arian, Macedonian, Apollinarian, and of the other sects which the sincere faith of Catholic observance condemns by the venerable worship of the true religion, shall presume no license for either public or private assemblies within the places of cities, fields, and villages, nor for gathering congregations or establishing churches, nor shall it exercise the celebration of its perfidy or the solemnity of its dire communion, nor shall it usurp and hold any ordinations of priests to be created. Moreover, those same houses, whether in cities or in any places whatsoever where crowds of professors and ministers of such sects gather, shall be subjected to the dominion and right of our treasury, so that those who have been accustomed to exercise either the teaching or the mysteries of such assemblies, having been sought out from all cities and places, constrained by the force of the proposed law, shall be expelled from the gatherings and ordered to return to their own lands whence they originated, lest any of them have the power either to travel to any other places or to wander to cities. But if what our Serenity has established is fulfilled too negligently, both the offices of the provincial judges and the chief men of the cities in which a meeting of a forbidden congregation is shown to have been found shall be subjected to sentence and condemnation. Given on the third day before the Nones of September at Constantinople, in the consulship of Merobaudes for the second time and Saturninus (383).

The same three Augusti to Cynegius, Praetorian Prefect. The Eunomians, Macedonians, Arians, and also the Apollinarians are names infamous for their errors within the offices of sacred religion. Therefore, all who have claimed for themselves either the pontificate or the ministry of these professions, who assert themselves to be priests of a proscribed name, and who impose upon themselves the name of ministers in a criminal religion, who claim to teach what it is disgraceful either to know or to learn, having been examined with more careful inquiry through all the hiding places of this city, shall be expelled without any intervention of favor; let them live in other places, and be completely separated from the gatherings of good men. Given on the twelfth day before the Kalends of February at Constantinople, in the consulship of Richomer and Clearchus (384). The same three Augusti to Cynegius, Praetorian Prefect. We order that the Apollinarians and the other followers of diverse heresies be prohibited from all places, from the walls of cities, from the assembly of honorable men, from the communion of the saints; they shall have no power to ordain clerics; they shall lack the faculty of gathering congregations either in public or in private churches. No authority shall be granted to them for making bishops; the bishops themselves, stripped of the name, shall lose the appellation of this dignity. Let them approach places which, as if by a rampart, most effectively cut them off from human communion. To these we also add that access and the right to petition our Serenity shall be denied to all those aforementioned. Given on the sixth day before the Ides of March at Thessalonica, in the second consulship of Theodosius Augustus and the consulship of Cynegius.

(388) The same three Augusti to Trifolius, Praetorian Prefect. All those of diverse and perfidious sects, whom a wretched madness of conspiracy drives against God, are to be permitted nowhere to hold any assembly, to enter into discussions, to conduct secret gatherings, nor to impudently raise altars of nefarious prevarication with impious hand for the services, and to adapt a simulation of mysteries to the injury of true religion. That this may achieve a fitting effect, let Your Sublimity appoint the most trustworthy men in every watchtower, who can both restrain these persons and offer those apprehended to the courts, so that, according to previous sanctions, they will pay the most severe penalty both to God and to the laws. Given on the 18th day before the Kalends of July at Stobi, in the consulship of Our Lord Theodosius Augustus for the second time and of Cynegius, Vir Clarissimus. (388) The same three Augusti to Cynegius, Praetorian Prefect. We have discovered that some of the Arians put forward a form of our decree in such a way that they claim it permits them to usurp what seems to suit their own interests. Let them know that this pretext is removed, and that no such decree has flowed from our sacred chancery. Therefore, whatever has been produced by them for their own convenience, whoever circulates it henceforth shall be held liable as a forger. Given on the 5th day before the Ides of August at Constantinople, in the consulship of Theodosius Augustus for the second time and of Cynegius. (388)

Emperors Valentinian, Theodosius, and Arcadius, Augusti, to Tatianus, Praetorian Prefect. Eunomians are to have no license to make or acquire a testament. We wish this to be observed concerning all whom the law finds alive, and no one is to be defended by the privilege of any past will, since, whether earlier testaments are shown to have been made or not made, after this sanction of our oracle they shall have no license to possess, to claim, nor even to leave an heir under the principal name, nor a fiduciary heir, nor a legatee, nor a secret trust, nor any designation whatsoever that the order of law establishes in such matters; but all things that are or shall be determined to belong to such persons are to be claimed as escheated to the strength of our fisc. In sum, they are to have nothing in common with the rest. Given on the third day before the Nones of May at Milan, in the consulship of Timasius and Promotus (389). The same three Augusti to Albinus, Praetorian Prefect. Whoever under the name of Manichaeans disturb the world are to be expelled from the entire globe, but especially from this city, under threat of judgment. §1. The wills, indeed even the properties themselves, of these same persons, once made public to the people, are to have no force of testaments, nor is it lawful for them to be bequeathed by them or to them. In sum, these persons are to have nothing in common with the world. Given on the fifteenth day before the Kalends of July at Rome, in the consulship of Timasius and Promotus (389).

The same three Augusti to Tatianus, Praetorian Prefect. Those who hold the leadership of a depraved sect, that is, bishops, presbyters, deacons, and lectors, and those who, under the veil of clerical status, attempt to inflict a stain upon religion, being established under the name of any heresy or error, whether they are found in their accursed conventicles within the city or in the suburbs, are to be expelled by every means. Given on the sixth day before the Kalends of December at Mediolanum, in the consulship of Timasius and Promotus (389). Copy of the Sacred Letters. We order that the polluted contagions of heretics be driven from the cities, thrust out from the villages, and that no assemblies whatsoever be permitted to them, so that in no place may a sacrilegious band of such men be gathered. Let no public meeting-places or more hidden retreats for their errors be granted to their perversity. Given on the thirteenth day before the Kalends of June at Rome, in the consulship of Tatianus and Symmachus, both Viri Clarissimi (391). The same three Augusti to Tatianus, Praetorian Prefect. We decree that whoever is found to have ordained clerics or to have accepted the office of clerics in heretical errors shall be fined ten pounds of gold per person. Moreover, the place in which forbidden acts are attempted, if it has been exposed by the owner's connivance, shall be added to the resources of our treasury. But if it is established that the owner was ignorant of the deed, done secretly, we order that the tenant of that estate, if he is freeborn, pay ten pounds of gold to our treasury; if he is descended from servile filth and, by reason of his poverty, scorns the penalty of loss and his own lowliness, he shall, after being beaten with clubs, be condemned to deportation.

We specially provide for this, that if the property is an imperial estate or of any public right, and the tenant or manager has given permission for gathering, they shall be fined ten pounds of gold by the proposed condemnation. But if it is now discovered that any persons have been found to comply with such mysteries and to usurp for themselves the names of clerics, we order that each be compelled to pay ten pounds of gold. Given on the 17th day before the Kalends of July at Constantinople, in the consulship of Arcadius Augustus for the second time and Rufinus (392). The Emperors Theodosius, Arcadius, and Honorius, Augusti, to Victorius, Proconsul of Asia. Heretics shall have neither the power to make bishops nor lawful confirmations of bishops. Given on the 17th day before the Kalends of May at Constantinople, in the consulship of Arcadius for the third time and Honorius for the second time, Augusti (394). The same three Augusti to Rufinus, Praetorian Prefect. We long ago believed a law should be promulgated concerning Eunomians, that they should not take anything or leave anything by will, which law we now revoke with fuller deliberation. Let them live under common law, let them write wills and be written as heirs alike. Given on the 12th day before the Kalends of July at Hadrianople, in the consulship of Arcadius for the third time and Honorius for the second time, Augusti (394).

The same Augustuses to Rufinus, Praetorian Prefect. The madness of heretics shall no longer attempt to perpetrate what it has discovered, nor hold unlawful assemblies; they shall nowhere teach or learn profane precepts. Their bishops shall not dare to insinuate a faith which they do not possess, nor create ministers, which they are not. Nor shall such audacity be neglected and grow through the connivance of judges and all those to whom care over this matter has been entrusted by the paternal constitutions. Given on the seventh day before the Ides of July at Constantinople, in the year of the consulship of Arcadius for the third time and Honorius for the second time, Augustuses (394). Book XVI, Title VII. Concerning Apostates. The Emperors Gratian, Valentinian, and Theodosius, Augustuses, to Eutropius, Praetorian Prefect. From those who have become pagans from Christians, the right and power of making a will shall be taken away, and any testament of the deceased, if there be any, shall be rescinded, the condition being removed. Given on the sixth day before the Nones of May at Constantinople, in the year of the consulship of Syagrius and Eucherius (381). The same Augustuses to Posthumianus, Praetorian Prefect. To Christians and the faithful who have migrated to pagan rites and cults, we forbid all power of making a testament in favor of any person whatsoever, so that they shall be without Roman law. §1. But to those who, being Christians and only catechumens, have neglected the venerable religion and passed over to altars and temples, if they shall have sons or full brothers, that is, their own or legitimate succession, the right of testating by their own choice in favor of any other persons shall be taken away. §2.

The same form is to be observed and maintained regarding their persons in acquiring inheritances, so that apart from their own and lawful successions, which may come to them from the goods of parents or brothers, and also by judgment, if circumstances permit, of a will duly made, they shall claim no right whatsoever to inheritances by testamentary law, and shall undoubtedly be excluded from all power not only of making wills, but also, under the guise of acquiring an inheritance by pontifical right, of usurping them. Given on the 13th day before the Kalends of June at Constantinople, in the consulship of Merobaudes II and Saturninus (383). The same three Augustuses to Hypatius, Praetorian Prefect. We reclaim the right of testation denied to Christians who migrate to altars and temples, and we condemn the offense. The crimes of those also are to be punished who, neglecting the dignity of the Christian religion and name, pollute themselves with Jewish contagions. But those who have preferred to follow the nefarious secrets and criminal retreats of the Manichaeans at any time, let that penalty attend them continually and perpetually which either the father of our divine judgment, Valentinian, prescribed, or which our own decrees have no less frequently commanded. The authors of this persuasion, who have turned unstable minds into their own fellowship, shall be attended by the same penalty as the guilty of this kind of error; indeed, we deem that even heavier punishments, often according to the impulses of the judges and the quality of the offense, may be inflicted out of the ordinary order upon the nefarious artificers of this crime. § 1.

But so that the dead may not be perpetually harassed by the injury of accusation, nor hereditary questions, long since extinguished by the passage of time, be constantly stirred up into renewed conflicts, we assign a time limit to questions of this kind: that if anyone accuses a deceased person of having violated and abandoned the Christian religion, and contends that he passed over into the sacrileges of the temples, or into Jewish rites, or into the disgrace of the Manichaeans, and for that reason could not have made a will, he shall bring his own actions within a continuous five-year period, which is established for actions concerning undutiful wills, and shall initiate a proceeding of this kind for a future judgment, so that while the person whose transgression is to be accused is still alive, he who is charged with being a participant in this crime and wickedness, having testified under public witness, shall prove the charge, and shall not, acquiescing in the crimes, later accuse as if ignorant the perfidy which he silently rendered to the divine name. Given on the 12th day before the Kalends of June at Patavium, in the consulship of Merobaudes for the second time and Saturninus (383).

Emperors Valentinian, Theodosius, and Arcadius, Augusti, to Flavianus, Praetorian Prefect. Those who have betrayed the holy faith and profaned holy baptism shall be segregated from the fellowship of all, alienated from giving testimony, shall have no right to make a will, as we have previously decreed, shall succeed to no inheritance, and shall be written as heirs by no one. We would have ordered them to be cast far off and banished to a greater distance, had it not seemed a greater penalty for them to dwell among men and yet be deprived of men's support. § 1. But they shall never return to their former state; the disgrace of their conduct shall not be effaced by penance, nor shall any shadow of contrived defense or protection be drawn over them, since those who have polluted the faith which they had dedicated to God and, betraying the divine mystery, have migrated into profane rites, cannot be protected by things that are fabricated and contrived. For those who have lapsed and erred are given assistance; but for the lost, that is, those who profane holy baptism, no remedy of penance, which usually avails for other crimes, comes to their aid. Given on the 5th day before the Ides of May at Concordia, in the consulship of Tatianus and Symmachus (391).

The same Emperors, Augusti, to Flavianus, Praetorian Prefect. If any splendor of rank or inborn dignity has been conferred upon those who, deviant in faith and blinded in mind, have deserted the worship and reverence of the sacrosanct religion and have given themselves over to sacrifices, let them lose it, so that, cast down from their place and status, they may be burned with perpetual infamy, and not even be counted among the lowest part of the common crowd. For what can be common with men to those who, with unspeakable and funereal minds, hateful of the grace of communion, have withdrawn from men? Given on the fifth day before the Ides of May at Concordia, in the consulship of Tatianus and Symmachus (391). Book XVI, Title VIII. Concerning Jews, Coelicolae, and Samaritans. The Emperors Theodosius, Arcadius, and Honorius, Augusti, to Tatianus, Praetorian Prefect. The complaints of the Jews assert that certain persons, by the authority of judges, are being received into their sect, while the leaders of their law protest, whom they themselves cast out by their own judgment and will. We order that this injury be entirely removed, and that in that superstition neither a persistent gathering of them, nor by force of judges or by surreptitious rescript, against the will of their own leaders—whom, by the judgment of the most renowned and illustrious patriarchs, it is manifest have authority to pronounce concerning their religion—should they obtain the undeserved help of reconciliation. Given on the fifteenth day before the Kalends of May at Constantinople, in the second consulship of Arcadius Augustus and the consulship of Rufinus (392).

The same Emperors, Augusti, to Addaeus, Count and Master of Both Militias throughout the East. That the sect of the Jews is prohibited by no law is sufficiently established. Hence we are gravely moved that their assemblies have been forbidden in certain places. Therefore, your Sublime Magnitude, upon receiving this order, shall restrain with fitting severity the excesses of those who, under the name of the Christian religion, presume upon any unlawful acts and attempt to destroy synagogues and to plunder them. Given on the third day before the Kalends of October at Constantinople, in the consulship of Theodosius III and Abundantius (393). BOOK XVI, TITLE X. CONCERNING PAGANS, SACRIFICES, AND TEMPLES. The Emperors Gratian, Valentinian, and Theodosius, Augusti, to Florus, Praetorian Prefect. If anyone should immerse himself in forbidden sacrifices, by day or by night, like a madman and sacrilegious person, in the consultation of uncertain things, and should believe that a shrine or temple is to be taken by himself as an excuse for a crime of this kind, or should think it is to be approached, let him know that he is to be subjected to proscription, since we admonish by just institution that God is to be worshipped with pure prayers, not profaned with dreadful incantations. Given on the twelfth day before the Kalends of January at Constantinople, in the consulship of Eucherius and Syagrius (381).

The same Emperors, Augusti, to Palladius, Duke of Osroene. We decree by the authority of public counsel that a temple once dedicated to public gathering, common to the assembly and now also to the people, in which statues are said to be placed, to be measured by the value of their artistry rather than by their divinity, shall remain perpetually open, and we do not permit a surreptitious oracle to obstruct this matter, so that it may not appear to be by the city's assembly and frequent gathering. Your Experience, with all solemnity of vows preserved, shall permit the temple to remain open by the authority of our oracle, lest the use of forbidden sacrifices be believed to have been granted access through this occasion. Given on the day before the Kalends of December at Constantinople, in the consulship of Antonius and Syagrius (382). The same Emperors, Augusti, to Cynegius, Praetorian Prefect. Let no mortal dare to perform sacrifice in such a way as to receive vain hope of promise by the inspection of the liver and the divination of entrails, or, what is worse, to learn the future under an execrable consultation. For a more severe punishment of torture will threaten those who, contrary to the prohibition, have attempted to explore the truth of present or future things. Given on the eighth day before the Kalends of June at Constantinople, in the consulship of Arcadius Augustus for the first time and Bauto, Vir Clarissimus (385).

The same Emperors, Augusti, to Albinus, Prefect of the City. Let no one defile himself with sacrifices, let no one slay an innocent victim, let no one approach shrines, traverse temples, or gaze upon images formed by mortal work, lest he be held liable under both divine and human sanctions. Judges also shall observe this rule, so that if anyone, devoted to profane ritual, enters a temple anywhere, whether on a journey or in a city, for the purpose of worship, he shall be compelled immediately to pay fifteen pounds of gold; and his office staff, if they have not both opposed the judge and immediately reported the matter by public attestation, shall pay a like sum with similar promptness. Consulars shall pay six pounds, and their office staffs in like manner; correctors and governors shall pay four pounds, and their attendants shall pay a like amount under the same rule. Given on the sixth day before the Kalends of March at Milan, in the consulship of Tatianus and Symmachus (391). The same Emperors, Augusti, to Evagrius, Augustal Prefect, and Romanus, Count of Egypt. Let no one be granted the power to sacrifice, let no one go around temples, let no one gaze upon shrines. Let them recognize that the profane approaches are blocked to them by the barrier of our law, so that if anyone attempts anything concerning the gods contrary to the prohibition, or engages in sacred rites, he shall know that he is not to be stripped of his property by any indulgences. Also, if any judge during his term of office, relying on the privilege of his power, enters polluted places as a sacrilegious violator, he shall be compelled to pay fifteen pounds of gold to our treasury, and his office staff, unless they have opposed him with combined efforts, shall be compelled to pay a like sum. Given on the sixteenth day before the Kalends of July at Aquileia, in the consulship of Tatianus and Symmachus (391).

The Emperors Theodosius, Arcadius, and Honorius, Augusti, to Rufinus, Praetorian Prefect. Absolutely no one, from any class, order of men, rank, whether placed in power or having discharged an honor, whether powerful by birth or humble in lineage, condition, or fortune, in any place whatsoever, in any city, shall slaughter an innocent victim before senseless images, or, by a more secret rite of expiation, venerate the Lar with fire, the Genius with wine, the Penates with incense, kindle lights, place incense, or hang garlands. §1. But if anyone shall dare to immolate a victim for sacrifice or to consult the entrails of breathing creatures, he, as guilty of the crime of treason, upon being accused by any person whomsoever, shall receive the competent sentence, even if he has sought nothing against the safety of the emperors or concerning safety. For it is sufficient for the magnitude of the crime to wish to rescind the laws of nature itself, to investigate illicit things, to unseal hidden things, to attempt forbidden things, to seek an end to another's safety, to promise hope of another's destruction. §2. If, however, anyone shall venerate with placed incense images made by mortal work and destined to suffer the passage of time, and, by a ridiculous example, fearing what he himself has feigned, or with a tree bound with fillets, or with an altar erected from dug-up sods, shall attempt to honor empty images, albeit with a humbler reward of the offering, yet with a full injury of religion, he, as guilty of violated religion, shall be punished by the loss of that house or property in which he is proved to have served the gentile superstition.

For we decree that all places which are proved to have been filled with the smoke of incense, if it is established that they were under the legal control of those who offered the incense, are to be annexed to our treasury. § 3. But if anyone should attempt to practice such a kind of sacrifice in public temples or shrines, or in the buildings or lands of others, if it is established that the act was committed without the owner's knowledge, he shall be compelled to pay twenty-five pounds of gold as a fine; but if the owner is complicit in this crime, the same penalty as that of the sacrificer shall apply. § 4. We wish this to be enforced by the judges, defenders, and curials of each city, so that offenses discovered by them are immediately brought to court, and once reported, are punished by them. But if they think that anything should be concealed out of favor or overlooked through negligence, they shall be subject to judicial proceedings. And if, after being warned, they delay punishment through dissimulation, they shall be fined thirty pounds of gold, and their offices shall be subjected to a similar penalty. Given on the sixth day before the Ides of November at Constantinople, in the second consulship of Arcadius Augustus and the consulship of Rufinus (392).