Canones Gelasio Ascripti

Second Appendix. Canons Ascribed to Gelasius. Notice. Among the ancient pontiffs, scarcely any occurs—if we except Gregory the Great and perhaps also Leo—under whose name so many decrees are read, inscribed in the collections of old compilers. I have undertaken to present all or nearly all of them here under a single view, as it were; not because I consider all of them to be genuine productions of Gelasius, but for the same plain reason that the other collectors of councils before me judged that even less genuine materials, yet those which have been held as genuine by others, ought to be given. Moreover, in collecting these, I have made principal use of the codices of Burchard, Ivo, and Gratian. I have added my own brief notes occasionally, and such as easily pertain to variant readings taken from manuscript codices. I could have added also the censures of individual authors, but since the reasons for my statements would have to be adduced, that matter would draw me out to too great a length. Let those who wish consult the distinguished work of Carlo Sebastiano Berardi, presbyter of Unelia, prefect of the studies of jurisprudence in the royal academy of Turin, inscribed: "The Genuine Canons of Gratian Distinguished from the Apocryphal, Turin 1752, divided into four volumes.

Gelasius to Majoricus and John, Bishops. That the Body of the Lord should not be taken without the chalice. We have discovered, moreover, that some in that same region, having taken only a portion of the sacred body, abstain from the blood of the sacred chalice. These are undoubtedly taught to be bound by some superstition; either they should receive the complete sacraments, or they should be kept away from the complete sacraments, because the division of one and the same mystery cannot occur without great sacrilege. Gelasius to Majoricus and John, Bishops. Concerning those who have killed their two bishops so that they may be without a bishop. Indeed, the repeated slaughter of Latin pontiffs has so confounded us with the atrocity of a horrible crime that the deliberation of our constitution has long hesitated; while we would hesitate to impose any bishop upon parricidal examples. Wherefore, now, as if declining a sacrilegious custom and practice, we have thought it proper to consult religion to this extent: that the parishes should be governed by priests placed from outside, because those living in the same place have learned by the sword to kill their pastors, and this unheard-of crime (which has never happened in any provinces anywhere, not even those afflicted by continuous and diverse incursions of wars) has been discovered by this city, which, while administering the Christian faith to itself, lays low its bishops without persecution.

Care must therefore be taken that the deadly ruin there be healed by the cessation of its own bishops, and that at least in this way the material of such great fury be removed, and that either it, having no one on whom to vent its rage, desist from such cessation, or that it not offer dire contagions to others who might imitate it. Therefore, it must be supplied with episcopal subsidies from elsewhere, since it has cruelly stained with shed blood the sacred dignity conferred in its own bosom; because it is to be punished by this vengeance in both respects, whether, that is, by domestic instigation or driven by furies, it commits this nefarious act externally. Therefore, let your beloved provide the ministry of visitation to the church placed in this state; and either by meeting together or in turn, as the quality of things and the cause demands, represent the divine ministries to the ungrateful; lest while we avoid the tares, we seem to pass over the Lord's wheat. Gelasius to John the Bishop.

We have dared to disturb Asellus, who was performing the office of archdeacon; for when, by a harsh accident, the pontiff was mortally wounded, he ought, above all others, to have guarded the church, and ensured that nothing be removed from the episcopal house, and yet he allowed that same pontiff to be killed in the present tumult, when he ought to have preserved him for confession, whether he did this of his own will or at the instigation of someone else; and, because the same man is said to have been the murdered bishop's creditor, the ecclesiastical property should be demanded from him first. But who does not clearly understand that the bishop was removed so quickly precisely so that he would not betray his accomplices, and so that the unknown resources of the church would more easily be subject to plunder? For also, the bishop's money-belt is reported to have been found cut open, and the good man Asellus, worthy of his rank (which had never before been attempted), first compelled the ministers of the church to celebrate a decree against himself, before a report concerning the excess was sent to the apostolic see according to ancient custom. But what Christian would doubt how intolerable an evil this is? For, whereas even upon the death of a pontiff by common lot, his passing is announced before all else, a suitable visitation is appointed, and only then is the election of a successor considered, this one man, when the religious bishop had been killed, thought immediately about his own honor, rather than striving to report what had been done.

Although it is outwardly hidden what is being done, nevertheless the abruptness of an assumed power does not free the conscience from suspicion, especially when the one who is ambitiously seeking the place of the deceased—meanwhile, lest anyone ever dare to usurp what no one before him has dared—has been removed by our authority from the office he held, until a fuller deliberation is made as to what we decree should be permanently ordained concerning such a matter. If indeed he is proven to have taken away anything pertaining to ecclesiastical law, he shall be compelled to restore it in every way. Gelasius to Elpidius, Bishop. The sacrosanct religion, which holds to catholic discipline, claims such reverence for itself that no one dares approach it except with a pure conscience. For how shall the celestial Spirit, when invoked, come to the consecration of the divine mystery, if the priest, and the one who prays for his presence, is reprobate and full of criminal actions? Gelasius to Helpius, Bishop of Volterra.

Without the authority of the Roman Pontiff, bishops shall not dare to set out for the court. By what audacity, by what rashness do you write that you are preparing to set out for Ravenna, when the canons clearly command that no pontiff whatsoever, unless he has seen and consulted us, ought to strive for the court (which, as bishops of long standing, whether in age or honor, of Pistoia, Lucca, and Fiesole have recently been shown to have done, you, who seem to have held the priesthood for only a few days), how do you think it is permitted to you, which is not permitted, except that you hasten to be deprived of this office, which you show yourself unworthy of by these excesses? Gelasius to the Bishops Maximus and Eusebius. Although it is contained in the ancient rules that parishes assigned to each church by a former disposition can be torn away by no reason, lest through a very bad custom, with the rashness of a bad example growing, universal confusion should arise everywhere, nevertheless, by our decrees sent not long ago, we ordered all things that had been invaded in such a way to be restored; but because the rashness of the invaders thinks that a law can be generated for itself, if it adds the pertinacity of retention to its crime, we desire that those things which we decreed between our brother and fellow bishop Constantius, priest of the Church of Camiscana, and those sent by the Pontiff of Ancona, be fulfilled by you. Then we prescribed the form which is to be followed in other inquiries.

Therefore, we do not permit the status of parishes, which has endured with the firmness of perpetual age, to be changed by any presumption, because neither the negligence of a bishop, nor a temporal objection which may arise through carelessness, nor consent given through indolence, nor a command obtained by surreptitious petition can tear apart a diocese once established, from which the devoted people always assemble for regeneration and consignation. (In Gratian it is added, and these are perhaps the words of Gratian himself, not Gelasius: for a territory is not known to have made a diocese once ordained.) GELASIUS TO EPIPHANIUS, BISHOP. We have sent a directive to the other bishops, that those who are reported to have violated churches should be judged unworthy of access to them. GELASIUS TO VICTOR, CONSTANTINUS, MARTYRIUS, FELICISSIMUS, SORANUS, AND TIMOTHEUS, BISHOPS. Our brother and fellow bishop Epiphanius has informed us by his report that Henenatus and Maurus, citizens of the municipality of Beneventum, have rushed forth with a bitterness too harsh and a punishable contumacy against the reverence of religion; they did not allow their own curial, who had fled to the enclosures of the church, to be safe there or secure from injury, daring with a reckless mind to commit what not even the authorities or princes were ever permitted to perpetrate: namely, to drag away by force a man placed in sanctuaries, resisting and protesting, taking advantage of the priest's absence. These men, as his report has revealed to us, he has rightly judged unworthy of holy communion.

And if indeed the commission of such a great crime is established, our authority also consents in this matter. For one ought not to be admitted to supplication by right where he did not hesitate to admit sacrilege. For no one within the thresholds set apart for such great veneration should think it is permitted to him according to the whim of his own will to claim humility for himself and yet rage. And therefore, dearest brothers, by the authority of our command, forbid the aforementioned persons, if the complaint makes them clearly guilty, from all the churches of your parishes, so that not only those who are proven to have rushed into an injury against holy places may deservedly receive punishment according to the quality of their deed, but also that others may be recalled from such presumption by fear of this vengeance. Concerning the sincerity of this letter, Berardus argues on both sides and leaves the matter in the middle; to me nothing truly suspicious occurs. Gelasius to Bishop Justus.

Your Love should diligently investigate the truth of all matters that have been inquired into, so that if concerning the boundaries which are mentioned a dispute has arisen, and a definite decision has already been issued, it may be preserved inviolate. Otherwise, if nothing has ever been determined, then concerning the prescription of time, if any party dissents, let it provide an oath; yet so that the party which is reported to have possessed up to now is permitted to offer the oath. Gelasius to Martyrius and Justus, Bishops. Concerning slaves ordained without the consent of their masters. From the ancient rules and the recent synodal explanation it has been understood that persons subject to servitude are not to be girded with the belt of heavenly military service. But I know not whether through ignorance or will you are carried away, so that on this account almost no bishop seems to be an exception. For the frequent and very numerous complaint of many people surrounds us, so that on this point nothing is thought to have been established at all. Indeed, the agents of the illustrious man, our son Amandianus, complain grievously that men subject to his legal authority, some already clerics, others already ordained deacons, not only ought not to be received after the recent decree, which is known to have been perfected by the collection of so many pontiffs with the assent of all for a most salutary provision, but also if any such persons were received before into the service of divine worship through ignorance, they ought to be completely removed and, stripped of religious privilege, compelled by just admonition to return to the possessions of their masters.

And therefore, dearest brothers, restore to the clerical office those whom the aforementioned men have shown to be bound as actors, after they have been examined, convicted, and proven, preserving the path of the laws without injury, so that if anyone is found already a presbyter, he may remain in the same grade with the loss only of his peculium. A deacon, however, shall either provide a vicar, or if he does not have one, he shall be restored. The remaining offices shall know that no one can be exempted from liability if he is convicted, provided that with order preserved, neither the rights of the masters nor those privileges are disturbed by that reasoning. GELASIUS TO RUFINUS AND JUSTUS, BISHOPS. The honored and chief men of the city of Yarulana (perhaps Verulana) have more fully besought us with prayers, as is contained in the attached documents, to which they have also affixed their own subscription, that they were harassed by the deacon Agnellus with a grave kind of insult, so that they assert they were even inclined to perjury (as they themselves say); and therefore, dearest brothers, according to the credibility of the petition, after the aforementioned deacon has been brought to your judgment, with Laurentius, the defender of the Roman Church, being present, and the truth has been discussed, if the integrity of the petitioners is established, either the deacon shall prove what he has alleged, or you shall know that vengeance must be exacted for his insolence, so that, excluded from such excesses of remembered wicked temerity, a worthy punishment may accompany him, and he who has involved himself in vulgar insults shall be barred from access to sacred communion.

Gelasius to Cresconius, the Illustrious. We wish you to observe in every way that no bishop of Sicily presume to receive more than two solidi under the name of cathedraticum from the parishes belonging to him, nor compel the presbyter or clergy of his parishes to prepare feasts for him beyond their means. Both are brought by Ivo, part 3, chapter and 136, and from Ivo, Gratian, 16, q. 3. The chapter "Illud te modis" of the love [decree] 10, q. 5. This last fragment Gratian attributes not to Gelasius, but to Pelagius; but since Gratian is easily judged to have taken it from Ivo, therefore, since Ivo reads Gelasius, it must be that Gratian also wrote the same. However, it is a canon abhorrent from the discipline prevailing in the age of either Gelasius or Pelagius. Gelasius to Justin the Archdeacon and Faustus the Defender. That a bishop may alienate church property by no device, and that privileges ought to be preserved intact by every reasoning.

We have decreed that the administration or patrimony of the Volaterana Church, which we have hitherto found to be destitute, or after the condemnation of Eucharistus, by whom it was scattered in its corruption, is to be entrusted to your care, so that with the diligence by which we believe you to be vigilant for the interests of the Church, you may restore the estates to their ancient cultivation; you are to recall any slaves that have been sold or given away, and also possessions which you see held by the bishops Ennatius and Oppilio or by others under any right whatsoever (since, contrary to the decrees of the synod, no property of a bishop can be alienated by any device, they are nonetheless to be recalled; recourse is to be had by the purchasers to the one who presumed to dispose of anything from the Church's property by illicit sale); and you are to bring the annual revenues to the pontiff, whose privileges it is fitting to preserve in every respect, so that by his dispensation the customary portions may be provided, and so that the fourth portion, which pertains to them, the pontiff may distribute by his own ordination, as he recognizes the place and merit of each. Likewise, from the offerings of the faithful, it is to be done that the bishop may distribute the fourth to the clergy according to the consideration of his own choice. Also, the portion for the fabric of the church is to be paid out by your disbursement, with the bishop knowing and disposing, so that you allow nothing whatsoever to be generated to the detriment of any matter.

If, however, you should see your bishop admit anything to the detriment of your church, or into those things which are prohibited by our directive, immediately indicate it to us by report, so that we may decide what ought to be done. It has seemed to our predecessors, no less than to us, that tithes in proper order are owed only to the parishes where the sacred baptisms are administered. Gelasius to Herculentius, Stephen, and Justus, Bishops. Concerning the same matter. Indeed, a frequent and persistent complaint clamors about us concerning those bishops who, considering neither the ancient rules nor our recently issued decrees, do not refuse to bring liable possessions and bound persons violently to the girdle of the clerical office. For recently, the agents of the illustrious lady Placidia complained by means of a petition, that Sabinus of the city of Marcellianum or Casilinum, having seized the opportunity of his absent mistress, advanced Antiochus, a slave subject to the right of his patroness, all the way to the honor of the priesthood, and also adorned his brother Leontius with the privilege of the clerical office. And therefore, dearest brothers, we entrust to you, by our authority, the appointed examination between the aforementioned agents and those who are charged as being of the lowest condition, so that, with all truth having been investigated, if he cannot reasonably refute the stain of justice's opposition truly charged against him, you are by all means to compel Leontius the cleric, whom the prescribed grade does not defend by law, to follow the necessity of his own examination.

Antioch, however, because it cannot now be restored through the priesthood, if he desires to place it in his own church in the honor in which it now is, not as something returned to him, but let him have it as received for the celebration of the ministries. GELASIUS TO PHILIP AND CASSIODORUS. The case of Caelestinus is such as I think you also are not unaware of, since this man, conscious and convicted in the slaying of a parent and a bishop, as is shown by the tenor of the festivals, was by the judgment of all in no way deemed worthy of the office of the altar, and for such a detestable crime communion was forbidden him for one year, so that by suitable penance he might remedy the rupture of so great a crime. Even if this were ordered by us, he himself, thinking more of the sacrament of the divine body, ought to have returned to it with a purer mind. But we think that time is either completed or nearly now elapsed; after which there is no doubt that the opportunity of communion lies open to him, so that the synodal sentence may be broken, and so that it may benefit him more, it may be purified by greater satisfaction.

Gelasius to Secundinus of Visinum 2. Concerning the correction of one who has been accused of the magic art. We consider it utterly unseemly that atrocious injuries be inflicted upon the voices of the ministers of the Church, since such actions are often shunned even by laymen. For a good woman had learned from the deacon Paul, her teacher, that she was not only assailed by accusations, but also that she had involved herself in the condemned art of magical execration with a guilty conscience. And therefore, brother, we have decreed you as the judge in the aforementioned matters, so that if this insolence convicts the said deacon, after he has been improperly proven to have approached the woman in an uncivil manner, you shall either compel him to prove what he has asserted, or restrain him with a fitting correction. Gelasius to Quinigesius the Bishop. That converted Jews should be honored. The most illustrious man Telesinus, although he appears to be of Jewish belief, strives to approve himself to us in such a way that we ought to call him our own; who has especially petitioned for his parent Antonius (Antio) that we commend him to your love; and therefore, brother, it is fitting that the aforementioned be held in regard to our will and to the respect of our mandates, so that he not only be in no way oppressed, but also that in whatever he has need, he may rejoice in the aid of your love.

Pope Gelasius to Quinigesius, Bishop. A matter placed in litigation shall be transferred to no person before the outcome of the inquiry. Since a matter placed in litigation can by no means be transferred to any person whatsoever until, by the outcome of a lawful inquiry, it can be ascertained by judicial examination to whom it is rather owed, no one is permitted to exact rents from that same matter, but with the same matter placed in the same state in which it is seen (as has been said) to have been established before, whoever thinks that something can belong to him shall petition by a legal hearing, all prejudices being removed therefrom. Gelasius to Syracusius, Constantius, and Laurentius, Bishops. How diligently inquiry must be made concerning the slaves of Jews. Judas, who was a slave of the Jewish profession, has suggested that a man of his own right, which he asserts he purchased a few years ago, has now fled to the church of Venefrana, as the attached tenor of the petition shows, because he says that he, a Christian from infancy, has recently had the mark of circumcision inflicted upon him by the aforementioned master. Therefore, let your diligence faithfully examine the truth between the two, so that neither religion may appear violated, nor the slave, by this pretense, attempt to evade the lawful rights of his master.

Gelasius to Majoricus, Seranus, and John, the Bishops. Let no one communicate with the excommunicated contrary to ecclesiastical satisfaction. Celestinus, a presbyter of our brother and fellow bishop Seranus, who, rushing against pontifical judgment and against the mandates of the apostolic see, presumed to administer sacred communion to the aforementioned persons, since he could not have been ignorant of the sentence of his own priest, shall be forthwith repelled from ecclesiastical office, so that no minister of the Church may strive to come against pontifical statutes. Pope Gelasius to Faustus, Master of the Soldiers. We read that Christ raised the dead; we do not read that he absolved those dead in error; and He who alone had the power to do this principally commanded the blessed apostle Peter: "Whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound also in heaven, and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed also in heaven" (Matthew 16). "On earth," He says, for He never said that one deceased in this binding is to be absolved.

Gelasius to John, Bishop of Vivarium. An example of punishment for those who falsely claim to have just causes. The wife of Felix and his daughter arrived at Rome (as was necessary), since we ordered this same man, who first betook himself to the basilica of the barbarians, boasting that he had good causes, to come forth under this condition: that if he faithfully and reasonably alleged his actions, we would suffer nothing harsh or severe to be done against him at all; otherwise, if he were proven to have come against the faith and utility of the Lord, he would have himself to blame and would be subject to appropriate discipline. When our son, the honorable man Orthasius, arrived, he was so convicted on each and every point that he could not open his mouth, and he confessed with his own voice that what was objected to him was true, and therefore he is held, committed to custody. Gelasius to Honorius, Bishop. Concerning men of ecclesiastical right, that they should not make a testament for themselves.

We also wish that your sincerity not be unaware that it has been reported to us that Ampliatus the conductor, who is known not only to be a slave of the church, but also so entangled in accounts for a long time that, even if he were freeborn, he would be held liable in every way until he rendered all accounts, has with rash audacity attempted to compose a testamentary document, whose entire peculium is undoubtedly bound to ecclesiastical law by the laws. Therefore, let your fraternity, in our stead, contradict these presumptions, and permit it to happen by no surreptitious means. And if anything of a human nature should happen to him (for he is said to be advanced in age), let your unanimity immediately commit his substance without delay to his sons only, to whom the patrimony is proven to have been entrusted, under a faithful inventory, until such time as he is compelled to render the parties of the lord indemnified for all the periods during which he is known to have administered this patrimony.

Gelasius to Honorius, Bishop. Mindful of divine retribution, you should not doubt that it pertains to pontifical conscience not to deny pious solicitude to the needs of the poor. Gelasius to Cresconius, John, and Messala, Bishops. It is fitting to preserve the statutes of predecessors. Just as it is proper for successors to preserve the legitimate and just statutes of predecessors, so also they ought to correct misdeeds. Gelasius to John, Bishop of Sorana. It is certainly established, and ordained by our decrees, that no one should think to conduct a public procession in a church or oratory of our see not legitimately dedicated by permission: lest founders, by stealthy surreptions, leap forth against the statutes of the canons. But because Magetia, a respectable woman, has suggested to us by the presentation of a petition that she has buried the bodies of her own in her own possessions: dearest brother, it is intimated by humanity that the earlier statutes are not defiled by funerals, and that you should know that in the places comprehended in the petition, services are to be provided only for tombs, for the celebration of solemnity, so that divine offices are celebrated solely in the name of the deceased, with public gathering and procession ceasing. Given on the Ides of April.

Pope Gelasius to Bishop Senicio. The church which someone builds should claim nothing for itself beyond others. The devotion of a pious mind is to be embraced, with which Julius, a man of honorable memory, is reported to have founded a church on his own property in the Juvian region, which he wishes to be consecrated in honor of Saint Vitus, the confessor, under his name. Therefore, dearest brother (if you are not uncertain that it pertains to your diocese), it is fitting that it be dedicated according to custom, once the solemn donation has first been conferred, which he attests he has destined for the ministers of the church from the aforementioned gift, knowing without doubt that, except for the right of entry, which is owed to every Christian, he will have nothing there of his own right. Given on the 13th day before the Kalends of August. Concerning the same. Frigentius, however, suggested to us by a petitionary notice that on his property, which is called Sextilianum, he has founded a basilica of the holy archangel Michael and the confessor Martin for his own defense. And therefore, dearest brother, if it pertains to your parish, bestow the blessing upon the aforementioned basilica with solemn veneration. Nevertheless, the founder shall claim nothing for himself from this basilica, except the right of entry, which is owed in common to all Christians.

Bishops should be consecrated by their metropolitan, and the metropolitan himself by the same. Because through illicit ambitions some are not ashamed to disturb the rights of churches and to invade with rash presumption the privileges which antiquity decreed for metropolitan or provincial bishops. For this reason they also desire to maintain a division from apostolic communion, so that, separated from its authority, they may exercise their own usurpations with impunity, not considering that they will render account to the eternal Judge both for the injury to Catholic integrity and for the prejudices against the paternal traditions, and will not perish without eternal damnation if they persist in this obstinacy. We have thought it right to instruct your charity, so that all of you, brothers in common, whether established in Dardania or in any adjacent province, who remember that you are under your metropolitans and have been appointed by them, may unanimously decree, as ancient custom demands, that you consecrate bishops, and likewise, if the metropolitan should happen to die by human condition, you should determine by all means, as the form has transmitted, that he be consecrated by the co-provincial bishops. And do not allow anyone to claim for himself what has not been granted to you by ancient arrangement, so that even amid the storms of opposing wills, you may in no way cease to observe the ancient rules, just as our fathers steadfastly did in times of various persecutions, as is beyond doubt.

Gelasius to Anastasius the Bishop. It is fitting that a bishop, when entreated, should come to the aid of those who are left destitute of the help of their own defense, and who, on account of the infirmity of their age, cannot be present for their own affairs, because even the Divinity has commanded that protection be given to orphans. And therefore, you will provide assistance, by our delegation, to Maximus and Januarius of the clerical office (who assert that they are deprived of the support of parents or relatives), so that, protected against the wickednesses of their adversaries, by the support of your execution, they may not suffer harmful fabrications. Gelasius to Fortunatus the Bishop. The Church should protect those whom it has taken under its defense. We judge it utterly irreligious and execrable, if anyone should not guard with complete faith and the entire sanctity of his soul those whom he has received under his protection, even strangers. But since Olympius the deacon is suggested to be the uncle of your beloved Felix and Olympius, and has received them, as minors, to be nurtured in place of a guardian, we judge it to be beyond banditry that he has left them, as they assert, dispossessed of the small properties of their parents, retaining some things, and selling others contrary to the laws and rights.

Gelasius to Justinus the Archdeacon and Faustinus the Defender. Concerning ecclesiastical property, nothing is to be alienated. For we have considered it advantageous for you and for your reputation that someone else be substituted in the place of your bishop, to be with you, and that he, in his name, should arrange everything equally: so that you may recall all the estates to your care, and not think that any portion of church land should be assigned to any cleric for his share: lest it be diminished through carelessness and negligence; but you should bring to the bishop the total sum of all pensions collected from all rural and urban estates. From this collection, however, account shall be taken of what is seen to be necessary for the causes and expenses of incidental needs, so that it may be set aside in the middle; and four portions shall be made from the offerings of the faithful or from this pension in every way: so that the bishop takes one for himself, distributes another to the clergy according to his judgment and choice, causes a third to be disbursed to the poor with all conscientiousness; and for the fabrics, we decree that the fourth, which is appropriate, is to be weighed out for the bishop's arrangement, by your disbursement. If anything should remain from the annual expense, a suitable guardian having been chosen by both sides, it shall be handed over to the treasury so that if a larger building project arises, there may be a subsidy which could have been preserved by diligence over time, or certainly a property shall be bought which looks to the common utilities.

Gelasius to the clergy, the order, and the people of Brundisium. The portions of revenues and offerings are to be entrusted to the clergy. Since the brother and fellow bishop of mine, Julian, whom you requested, has been granted to you as your bishop, it was necessary (he having been immediately sent back to his own church) that our letter be likewise dispatched to you, by which you would recognize that it was commanded to him never to presume illicit ordinations, and so forth. He is to divide the revenues and offerings of the faithful into four parts, of which he is to retain one for himself, distribute another to the clergy according to the diligence of their offices, set aside a third for the fabric of the church, and faithfully expend a fourth for the poor and for pilgrims; for the account of these he will be answerable to divine judgment. Gelasius to the Eastern bishops concerning the condemnation of Dioscorus. Absolution is not to be sought when a sentence is unjustly borne. If the one upon whom sentence has been passed lays aside his error, the sentence is void; but if it is unjust, he ought not to seek to have it annulled, inasmuch as an unjust sentence can burden no one before God and His Church. Thus, therefore, he should not desire to be absolved, in that he sees himself in no way bound.

Gelasius to the bishops Gerontius and Peter. Bishops ought to be present for those imploring their protection. Although we ought not to deny ourselves, as much as we are able, to all who hope in us, yet we consider the causes of widows and orphans to be more and more diligently pursued, which the assertion of the day itself manifestly shows are to be defended by us, or by all. Gelasius to the bishops Leontius and Peter. Whoever hopes that remedies can be conferred upon him in his own affairs through the intercession of our name, it is fitting that we be provided with ready eagerness. Gelasius to the clergy, the order, and the people of Brundisium. Since the brother and fellow bishop of mine, Julian, whom you requested, has been granted to you, it was necessary, after he was soon sent back to his own church, to likewise dispatch our letters to you, by which you would recognize that it was commanded to him never to presume illicit ordinations. He is not to permit a bigamist, nor one who has not married a virgin, nor an illiterate, nor one who is liable, nor one who is maimed in any part of the body, nor one marked in any ways, to approach the sacred orders. He must also beware of this concerning foreigners and unknown persons or those seeking it, because such persons are prohibited from venerable offices, and he is not to dare to transfer anything from the ministries and ornaments, finally from whatever thing which is known to belong to the church, into another by any reason whatsoever.

The offerings and oblations of the faithful he shall divide into four parts, of which he shall retain one for himself, distribute a second to the clergy according to the diligence of their offices, a third for the fabric, for which he will render account to divine examination. Also, for those to be admitted to sacred orders, he shall promote them with this observance, so that he knows that presbyters and deacons are to be ordained on the evening of the Sabbath of the fast of the fourth, seventh, and tenth months. Moreover, he shall not presume to administer the venerable sacrament of baptism except at the feast of Easter and Pentecost, except for those suffering from illness. Gelasius to Coelestinus, Bishop. For the ministry of any church, clerics of that same church are to be promoted. Presbyters, deacons, and all clerics of the city of Stomensis (Histoniensis) have suggested to us by petition presented, that in the church of the blessed martyr Eleutherius the bishop (which is proven to be constructed in the parish of the aforementioned city), the presbyter who had been appointed has died; and that in his place, Julian, a deacon of that same church, ought to be ordained as soon as possible for the celebration of that place. And therefore, dearest brother, if there is nothing concerning his life or morals that comes against the statutes of the canons, you will adorn the above-written with the honor of the presbyterate, knowing that you have created him as a visitor, not as a cardinal pontiff.

Likewise, you shall also substitute the deacon Felicissimus in the ministry of that church, if his conduct permits, so that the most celebrated place of the procession for the consecration of the mysteries may lack neither priest nor minister. Pope Gelasius to Count Ezechias. A cleric is not to be heard by a secular judge. It ought always to be pleasing to Christians that what is demanded of their dignity is to be rendered, because it is not fitting to deny a benefit to those serving God. Therefore, Silvester and Faustinianus, who confess themselves to have been clerics from the cradle, complain that they are oppressed by Theodora through violence, because they say that they are freeborn and, by God’s authority, released from the bonds of their former condition, are being reduced again to the worst sort of servitude, and that by royal authority, contrary to public laws, while they were held bound by the clerical girdle, they were summoned through the archdeacon of the city of Grumentum, since it is established that one who strikes a heavenly soldier ought to follow only his own strap. And therefore, beloved son, having paid the salutation of greeting, I commend the aforementioned clerics to you, so that if their adversaries have disdained to come to the judgment of the delegates, they may be fortified by the protection of your highness, lest any surreptitious act or hostile violence contrary to the laws impose anything upon them, because one who flees judgment appears to have no confidence in his justice.

Gelasius to Crispinus and Sabinus, the Bishops. A cleric is not to be summoned except to the judgment of bishops. Silvester and Faustinianus, clerics of the Church of Grumentum, have complained to us with tearful insinuation that the freedom granted them by the kindness of their master is being assailed by the oppression of his heirs, and that they, serving in the office of the clergy almost from the cradle, and still established in that same office while their manumitter was alive, are not permitted to render service to the divine mysteries, since (if the petition is followed by the truth) those who come against the act of their father and author are deprived of the inheritance by the laws as unworthy, nor is it permitted to them, upon taking the inheritance, to rush against the judgment of their author. And therefore, dearest brothers, since they also complain that they are oppressed by the archdeacon of the said church, who, through their absence, promised that they would follow the judgment of the moderator, with all reasons trampled upon, and with both divine and public laws assailed, he thought that his own forum was removed from your judgment, whoever he is who harasses a cleric, let him come, so that the rights of the church, which the ancient princes have confirmed by constant sanction, may not be denied to the clerics under attack.

Pope Gelasius to Fabianus, the Bishop. A number for those to be baptized is not to be imposed, nor is the cathedraticum to be exacted beyond the ancient custom. Nor is a number for those to be believed to be imposed for baptism, since however many have sought it, or have hastened to regeneration, are not to be repelled by the will of another. And therefore, dearest brother, you will remove this superfluous constitution in every way, so that each person may be baptized either in the church nearest to him, or in one chosen according to the judgment of his own mind. Also, you shall know that the cathedraticum is to be exacted from the presbyter of that place no more than what is established by ancient custom, and concerning those things which have been contributed by the devotion of the offerers on the day of dedication, you will preserve the custom which has been prescribed generally for all churches. Pope Gelasius to Philippus and to Geruntinus, the Bishops. In the election of a bishop, the parish priest ought to be present. "The people of Diotra have complained to us in a petition, lamenting that for a long time they have been scattered without the governance of their own rector. And, as is asserted, he who is said to have been already approved by you is now thought to have been elected by a few and insignificant persons, whereas it pertains to you to compel everyone by constant admonition, so that all may consent together to one whom they have seen as worthy of the priesthood, and without any reproach.

Therefore, dearest brothers, you ought to summon more frequently from all the often-mentioned parishes of that place the presbyters, deacons, and the entire multitude, so that, not as each one pleases, but with concordant minds, with you admonishing them, they may seek for themselves a person solely by attention to the Divinity, whom no diversity of circumstances can recall from the established prescriptions. Gelasius to Boniface, the Bishop. That fugitive slaves from their masters ought to seek intercession at the church, not hiding-places. If servants, fearing their masters, take refuge within the enclosures of churches, they ought to seek intercession, not hiding-places, lest this very presumption of delay increase the temerity of resistance. For our son, the spectabilis vir Petrus, complains that his slave has been lingering for a long time in the church of Saint Clement, and when he had arranged for the sacraments to be administered to him, the slave in no way wished to leave. And therefore, the beloved men of the aforementioned person are to be sent from the present with the one whom he has chosen, who, when they have offered the sacraments concerning his impunity, shall immediately cause him to return to his master in every way; or if he should perhaps persist in this obstinacy, after the sacrament has been provided to him, he shall be returned unwillingly.

Gelasius to Rufinus and Aprilis, Bishops. Who would say that the laws of princes, or the rules of the Fathers, or modern admonitions ought to be despised, unless it be one who thinks that a crime committed by him will go unpunished? For the agents of our daughter, the illustrious and magnificent woman Maxima, have complained to us by the presentation of a petition that Silvester and Candidus, their originaries, were ordained deacons by the bishop of Lucerinus, contrary to the constitutions which have been mentioned above, and with a prior objection. Therefore, dearest brothers, you should know that the excesses of such a great transgression are to be investigated more carefully; and if it is established that the complaint is supported by truth, let those who were not legitimately created [or: consecrated] with a prior objection be immediately repelled from the sacred offices. The same to the same. It is not lawful to despise the laws of princes or the rules of the Fathers. Who, moreover, would say that the laws of princes, or the rules of the Fathers, or paternal admonitions ought to be despised, unless it be one who thinks that a crime committed by him will go unpunished?

Gelasius to King Theodoric. The laws of the Roman princes are to be observed by all. It is certain that your magnificence wishes the laws of the Roman princes, which have commanded that they be observed in the affairs of men, to be observed all the more concerning the reverence of the blessed apostle Peter for the increase of your own felicity. Pope Gelasius to Bishop Palladius. The dignity accepted in a time of integrity is not lost by a subsequent injury. The precepts of the canons, by which ecclesiastical discipline is governed, just as they do not permit the physically weak to attain to the priesthood, so also if someone has been established in it and is then wounded, he cannot lose what he received in the time of his integrity. For Stephen, a presbyter, lamented to us in a petition presented that he had formerly, many years ago, received the dignity of the presbyterate, which he had indeed undertaken with a judgment of an immaculate body; but recently, on account of the devastation of the province (which the ferocity of various barbarian sects and the ambiguity of minds had brought upon Tuscany more than all others), while he was trying to evade threatening swords by the aid of flight, leaping over sharp stakes that met him, he suffered an injury to the lower parts of his body, which, with difficulty, could only be healed after two years. And therefore, dearest brother, restore to the aforementioned his place and dignity, so that he may exercise the sacred mysteries as he was accustomed.

For it is not fitting that it be taken away before the order is undertaken, in which afterwards he is proved to have fallen, by reason of bodily infirmity, through an accident. Gelasius to Bishops Rusticus and Fortunatus. Let him who is frequently thrown to the ground be suspended from the governance of the church. Recently, the clerics of the Church of Foropopulensis, together with Bishop Sabinus and Pelagius and laymen, have disclosed by their own suggestion that their prelate is afflicted by a grave necessity, by the onset of which they say he is frequently struck down. Lest this should seem to cause scandal to the faithful and disturb the Church of God placed everywhere by this offense, especially since they affirm that he himself, of his own will, set out for this place, we have directed letters to your Love, that you may render suitable visitation to the Church whose rector is held bound by such a case. But since now the same pontiff himself has come here and spreads abroad that all things boasted about him are false, under the contemplation of divine judgment and with respect for your conscience and reputation, let it be sought with the utmost careful inquiry into the truth of the matter, whether at any time, whether at home or in a procession or in any other place, he is proved to have suddenly collapsed, and to have uttered confused cries and foamed at the mouth. Yet, whether it cannot be confirmed by the testimony of any act, or whether it is said never to have happened, it is not to be thought sufficient to know, but certain and manifest proof is required, because in so great a matter it is not to be dealt with carelessly.

Let your belovedness, brother Rusticus, do what is customary for you and fitting for a great pontiff, that you keep him with you for thirty days, and compel him by necessary proof to use meat indifferently. GELASIUS TO BISHOP VICTOR. When they have disdained to be ordained from the greater orders, let them be promoted from the lesser orders. Your direction has consulted concerning the promotion of your clerics, stating that deacons refuse to come to the grade of the presbyterate (which you mention your church needs). Wherefore, because ecclesiastical moderation and gravity does not permit unwilling persons to be made willing, that ordination can be accomplished if you have any among your acolytes or subdeacons who are more mature in age and whose life is approved; strive to promote these to the presbyterate, so that those who have been unwilling to advance in their own orders are made inferior to their own juniors after the lesser orders; and let the very benefits of a presbyter be obtained more readily than those of a deacon, so that at least by this reasoning they may be constrained, and may strive to seek the honor which they had shunned, and the profit.

POPE GELASIUS. The will of the testator must be observed. Consideration of ecclesiastical utility demands that the disposition of the testator be kept. GELASIUS. What priests have given, succeeding pontiffs shall not presume to take away. We have decreed that it be established that whatever benefactions preceding priests have given to clerics or to those serving them, either from church property for use or from their own property in ownership, succeeding pontiffs shall not presume to take away in any way. If, however, any fault should arise, let the strictness be applied to the person according to the quality of the persons or the rule of preceding canons, not to the property. POPE GELASIUS. He does not lie who has no intention of deceiving. For the blessed apostle Paul is not, God forbid, to be believed to have deceived, or to have been inconsistent with himself, because when he had promised to go to the Spaniards, being occupied by greater matters through divine disposition, he could not fulfill what he promised. For as far as his own will was concerned, he declared this, which he truly wished to accomplish. For as far as the secrets of divine counsel (which, though full of the Spirit of God, he could not, as a man, know entirely) are concerned, he was prevented by a supreme disposition. Nor because the blessed apostle Peter, out of divine reverence, answered the Lord himself: "You will not wash my feet forever," is he to be thought to have deceived, God forbid, or to have been considered not to have stood by his own statement; because he soon yielded to that same divine will.

and what he had said he would do, bound by the causes of human salvation, he suffered to be done with willing disposition. GELASIUS TO AGILULPHUS. I beseech, moreover, that you deign to defend the rule of the blessed apostle Peter established among the Dalmatias, and that whatever my brother and fellow bishop Honorius, for its utility, may suggest, or the stewards think should be intimated, you order to be provided as far as possible. GELASIUS TO JANUARIUS. But the causes by which the benefits of the blessed apostle Peter are continuously renewed, I confidently entrust. Let your nobility therefore grant that aid and defense be given to the property of his poor, and that the stewards of these properties be supported with pious favor, so that you may receive the consequent return from him, to whose merits and honor you, devoted, pay this. GELASIUS TO FIRMINA, AN ILLUSTRIOUS WOMAN. But it is most certain to pertain to the increase of your reward, if the estates which have been unjustly seized, whether by barbarians or by Romans, are restored by your dispositions to the sustenance of the needy. Such a multitude has flocked to Rome from various provinces, devastated by the calamity of wars, that we can scarcely suffice for it, God being witness. You see, therefore, how much good work you acquire, if the estates which someone has conferred upon the blessed apostle Peter for the sake of his own soul are restored, freed by your protection after God. I ask that you deign to receive with a grateful mind the blessings of his benediction, which I have sent out of affection.

GELASIUS TO THE ACTORS OF URBICUS. It is established that you have brought into the actions of the church, from the payment of the fundus Claculas, which you hold under a title of lease, from the fruits of the year of the consulship of Asterius and Praesidius, the most illustrious men, of the third indiction, thirty gold solidi. I have noted this on the fifth day before the Kalends of August, under the consulship of Flavius, the most illustrious consul. GELASIUS TO HERELIEVA THE QUEEN. Since, for the sustenance of the poor, I had supplicated the most excellent lord son with my letters, I hastened to send Peter, the defender of the Church. Upon his coming, I did not cease also to greet your Sublimity, beseeching you most earnestly that, for the increase of your health and prosperity, you deign to assist the causes of the needy. Given on the fifth day before the Kalends of March. GELASIUS TO PETER, BISHOP OF POTENTIA. According to what the libellus of your bearer signified, we have found that you have in hand an unusual matter. He reported that a certain deacon had committed incest, known in the vicinity by many indications. But because no one can canonically prove that defilement, the aforementioned deacon refuses to undergo any judgment on the matter. To this, involved as I am in many unavoidable cares, I reply as briefly as I can, and thus reasonably. No judgments among men would indeed be necessary if all truths were apparent to all. It follows, therefore, that the judge ought to seek proof in the order of judgment, whence the truth of the guilt is not otherwise known. But since the guilt is not unknown, we order that neither a synod need be gathered for this, nor a judgment be agitated.

But only a measured sentence should be considered in council, one which does not appear to exceed the merit of the fault. As was said to the ancients, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, and a balanced measure was therefore commanded in the law, so that the penalty of punishment would be imposed according to the merit of the fault. If perhaps some who are less capable vacillate in these matters which we have set forth, because they have it written in our laws, "Let no one be judged or judge concerning hidden things." But let such persons consider with a vigilant mind, because what is denied concerning hidden things is, under tacit understanding, conceded concerning manifest things. It is therefore established that this is said consequently concerning those very hidden things which bring no scandal to the Church. If after a scandal arises for a crime, it is in no way to be passed over, because the Church, pacified by satisfaction, may rest, and the fault, thus publicly punished, may remain settled, so that others may also have fear. For that satisfaction is the one by which an innocent person is manifested, whom some believed to be guilty.