Canon Law & Easter Computus 4

SECOND COLLECTION OF THE DECREES OF THE ROMAN PONTIFFS, ADDED TO THE FIRST COLLECTION OF DIONYSIUS EXIGUUS. CATALOGUE OF THE ROMAN PONTIFFS WHOSE DECREES ARE REVIEWED IN THIS COLLECTION. THE RULES OF HILARY, in the consulship of the most renowned men Flavius Basiliscus and Hermenericus. On the thirteenth day before the Kalends of December, with the venerable man Pope Hilary presiding in the basilica of Saint Mary, and Maximus of the city of Turin in the province of the Gauls. Ingenuus of Embrun in the province of the holy; Mediolanus of the province of the holy; Saturninus of Avignon in the province of the holy; Peter of Portus; Primus of Allae; Gaudentius of Abitia; Paulinus of Aquae; Palladius of Salpina; Soter of Naples; Tiburtius of Capua; Felix of Luna; Eusebius of Siena; Justus of Faberina; Concordius of Barium; Caprarius of Casitanum.

Constantinus of Aquinum; Praetextatus of Interamna; Claudius of Pansalanum; Adeodatus of Velitrae; Crispianus of Subaugusta; Servusdei of Nomentum; Hilarius of Ameria; Paulus of Foranova; Apuleius of Tarquinii; Asterius of Gabii; Asterius of Forum Julii; Gaudentius of Vecconum; Gaudentius of Scyllaceum; Eubodius of Trifenum; Majorianus of Asta; Felix of Sipontum; Uranus; Januarius of Praeneste; Adeodatus of Cumae; Tiberius of Curium of the Sabines; Gerontius of Camerinum; Lucifer of Tifernum Metaurense; Humanus of Albanum; Florentius of Talesina; Candidus of Tibur; Eusebius of Sutrium; Gaudentius of Anteatum; Projectius of Nepe; Philippus of Numana; Restitutus and Octavius, Africans. With all the presbyters also seated, and the deacons likewise standing by.

Hilary, bishop of the catholic Church of the city of Rome, presiding over the synod, said: Since this religious assembly, gathered by the Holy Spirit, exhorts us to hand down with more diligent care whatever things are necessary for ecclesiastical discipline—if it please you, brethren, let us, with the Lord aiding, so establish to abide for all ages those things which pertain to the tenor of ordinations, according to the precepts of the divine law and the constitutions of the Nicene canons, that it be lawful for no one, without peril to his own standing, to violate either the divine constitutions or the decrees of the apostolic see; because the guilt of such transgressions will look back upon us, who administer the offices of the chief priesthood, if we are found slack in the causes of God, for we remember

what we ought to fear—how the Lord threatens the negligence of priests; since indeed he who enjoys a more eminent honor sins with greater guilt, and the loftiness of dignities makes the vices of sinners more grievous. Therefore care must be taken above all that, as was prescribed before in the earlier acts, no one who has married a wife who was not a virgin should aspire to the sacred grades. He too is to be rejected, whoever has come together in the nuptials of a second wife contrary to the apostolic precepts. Those ignorant of letters also, and likewise those who have suffered some damage of their members, and those who are from among the penitents, let them not dare to aspire to the sacred orders.

Whoever shall have been a consecrator of such men shall himself undo his own act, and shall condemn what he committed unlawfully, or found admitted by his predecessors, if he wishes to avoid his own peril; for we wish to exercise the severity of vengeance in no respect. But he who in the causes of God shall have offended through stubbornness or willfulness, or shall himself be unwilling to abolish what he wrongly did, will find brought upon himself whatever he did not cut off in another. And that this may henceforth be kept more tenaciously, if it please you, lend all your causes your own subscriptions, so that by the synodal judgment access may be closed to unlawful acts. By all the bishops and presbyters it was acclaimed: 'Hear, O Christ, long life to Hilary!'—said six times. 'These things we confirm, these things we teach!'—said eight times.

'These things are to be held, these things are to be kept!'—said five times. 'We give thanks for your teaching!'—said ten times. 'We pray that these things be kept forever!'—said fifteen times. 'Through lord Peter, we pray that they be kept forever!'—said eight times. 'May this presumption never happen!'—said ten times. 'He who violates these things will find it upon himself!'—said seven times. And when silence had been made, bishop Hilary said: Moreover, brethren, new and unheard-of things, as has reached us by a certain report through letters sent from the Spains, are arising from time to time in certain places—the seeds of perversities. In short, some think that the episcopate, which is granted only to preceding merits, is not a divine gift, but a hereditary profit.

And they believe that, like perishable and mortal things, so the priesthood can be bequeathed, as though by legal or testamentary right. For very many priests, set at the threshold of death, are reported to have others substituted in their place by designated names: namely, that no legitimate election should be awaited, but that the gratification of the deceased should be held in place of the people's assent. Consider how grievous this is; and therefore, if it please you, let us also take away this license generally from the Churches, lest—a thing shameful to say—anyone should think he is owed what belongs to God. And that what has been reported to us may also be able to reach your knowledge, let the writings of our Spanish brethren and fellow-bishops be read. Paul the notary recited.

To the most blessed pope Hilary, to be reverenced by us in Christ with apostolic reverence, Ascanius and all the bishops of the province of Tarraco. What care your apostolate bears for the priests of its provinces we have learned by the report of our son, the illustrious Vincentius, commander of our province, at whose urging our wish rose up in the daring of writing with ready devotion.

Therefore, presenting in provincial literary speech the obedience due to your crown, we beseech these things: that with the same condescension by which you deign to hold the others, you would also deign to hold our lowliness in mind in your prayers; most blessed and to be reverenced in Christ with apostolic reverence by us, venerable father, beseeching this in particular: that you would deign, having weighed our assertions, to confirm our deed, which is brought to your notice both by the wish of well-nigh the whole province and by the example of antiquity. And when he had read it, by all the bishops and presbyters it was acclaimed: 'Hear, O Christ, long life to Hilary!'—said ten times. 'May this presumption never happen!'—said six times. 'The things that are God's cannot be given by man!'—said six times.

'Through lord Peter, we pray that they be kept forever!'—said six times. 'We ask that these things be preserved.' Bishop Hilary said: Read. Paul the notary recited. The holy bishop Nundinatius of the city of the Barcelonans fulfilled the lot of the human condition; he, leaving to the venerable bishop our brother Irenaeus—whom he himself had previously, with our willing it, appointed in his own diocese—whatever the poverty of his last will could possess by the judgment of supreme will, chose that he be substituted in his place; but the judgment of the deceased does not waver as to his merit. And when he had read it, bishop Probus, rising from the assembly, said: That was lawful, this was not lawful.

It is God who gives successors; by your authority resist this matter through your apostolate. Bishop Hilary said: Run through what you had begun. Paul the notary recited. Since indeed all the clergy and the people of that same city, and the chief men, and very many of the provincials, gave their consent that the same man should hold his place, hoped it of us, we—considering the judgment of the deceased, and approving his life, and the nobility and multitude of those who petitioned, and at the same time the advantage of the said Church—deemed it best:

namely, that for so great a priest, who had departed to the divine things, an antistes of no lesser merit should be substituted; especially since it is established that the Church of that municipality, in which he had previously been ordained, was always of the diocese of this city's Church. Therefore we humbly pray your apostolate, that you would confirm by your authority that which seems to have been justly done by our lowliness. Indeed, some time ago we had complained in our letters about the presumption of bishop Sylvanus, and we marvel that we have received no replies from your apostolate; now, suggesting these same things, we ask that you would deign to inform us by apostolic words what is to be observed concerning these matters:

and lest perchance, through the negligence of the carrier, or through the difficulty of a long journey, the writings of our lowliness could not reach you concerning this business, we repeat our representation early. And the subscription: May the divine alternation preserve in continual age your holy apostolate praying for us, for us all and for his Church, our truly lord and apostolic pope. Bishop Hilary said: Let another letter be recited. Paul the notary recited. To the most blessed lord, to be reverenced by us in Christ with apostolic reverence, pope Hilary, Ascanius and all the bishops of the province of Tarraco.

Even if there were no necessity arising from ecclesiastical discipline, that privilege of your See would still in truth have to be sought by us; for, when the keys of the kingdom were received, after the resurrection of the Savior the singular preaching of the most blessed Peter looked to the enlightenment of all men throughout the whole world, and the principate of his vicar, just as it stands eminent, so is it to be feared and loved by all. Therefore, worshiping God first of all in you, whom you serve without reproach, we have recourse to the faith praised by the apostolic mouth (Rom. 1), seeking thence the answers from which nothing proceeds by error, nothing by presumption, but the whole is commanded by pontifical deliberation.

Since these things are so, there is nevertheless among us a false brother, by whose presumption, just as it was not permitted to keep silence any longer, so also the necessity of the future judgment has commanded us to speak. Sylvanus indeed, bishop of Calagurris, established in the farthest part of our province, by usurping for himself divinations that were not his due, has brought our lowliness to this point, that against his most vain superstition we implore the unique remedy of your See. For this man, now seven or eight years ago and more, setting aside the rules of the Fathers and despising your statutes, ordained a bishop although no peoples were petitioning for one; and we, thinking that his rash deed could be healed by fraternal and peaceful admonition, found that he advanced rather to the worse.

Finally, against the antiquity of the canons, against the decrees of the synod, kindled only by a spirit of presumption, in that very place which had been destined for another of our brethren, a presbyter—upon whom, unwilling and resisting, he had laid hands, and who had already been joined to our assembly—he made a bishop. Hence it came about that, concerning his most wretched temerity, our brother the bishop of the city of Caesaraugusta reported the whole matter to us; his diligence and solicitude had taken thorough forethought, had it availed anything.

Indeed, he most frequently warned all the bishops set in the vicinity not to join themselves to the schismatic; but with damnable obstinacy that man alone did not blush to commit, by himself, all that was unlawful and what it shames us to say. Therefore, since these presumptions—which divide unity, which make schism—must swiftly be met, we beg your See that we may be instructed by apostolic utterances as to what you wish to be observed in this matter, so that, our brotherhood being assembled and the decrees of the venerable synod brought forth into the midst, supported by your authority against the spirit of rebellion, we may, with God's help, be able to understand what ought to be done both concerning the ordination and concerning the one ordained.

Assuredly it will be your triumph, if in the days of your apostolate the Catholic Church hears what the chair of Saint Peter holds, if the new seeds of the tares be uprooted. And the subscription: May the divine eternity preserve for everlasting age your holy apostolate, praying for us. By all the bishops and presbyters it was acclaimed: We ask that these things be amended—said six times. We ask that these things be cut away—said seven times. We ask that discipline be kept—said eight times. We ask that antiquity be preserved—said seven times. We ask that discipline be kept—said five times. We ask that the canons be guarded—said seven times.

We ask that the presumptuous be punished—said seven times. Let the apostolic ordination be kept inviolate—said eight times. Hear, O Christ; long life to Hilarus—said five times. Worthy pope, worthy teacher—said eight times. Bishop Hilarus said: Having received what has been recited concerning all matters, now, brethren, by God's inspiring of us, deliver your particular opinions. Maximus, bishop of the Church of Turris, said: In keeping all the disciplines pertaining to sacred ordinations, I better declare by the profession of my opinion that nothing of those things which are forbidden is ever to be done by me.

Concerning the rest, I judge that whoever shall do such things, or shall refuse to cut away what has been detected in the Churches, let him know that he will render grave accounts in the judgment of the apostolic See, in which it will be necessary for him to undergo sentence. Ingenuus, bishop of Ebrodunum, said: For me too there is the same judgment concerning all matters, by which I bind myself, that nothing of these things which are forbidden be ever attempted by me, since I know my state and my profession. Concerning the rest also I judge: that whoever shall prove a transgressor of the statutes, let him know that he is ensnared in the bonds of the ecclesiastical rule, and incurs the guilt of the apostolic See. Paulus, bishop of Aquaeviva, said:

I too bind myself by a like law, and concerning the rest, who shall prove transgressors, I judge equally, that it be not permitted them without peril to themselves to attempt anything such as deserves rightly to be punished. Primus, bishop of the Church of Atella, said: This too I judge ought to be observed. Palladius, bishop of the Church of Salapia, said: I promise that I will do nothing against ecclesiastical discipline or the statutes of the holy canons. Tiberius, bishop of the Church of Sabina, said: I profess that I keep the statutes of the apostolic See in all things, and that if in my Church I shall detect any of the clergy, against the precepts of the holy canons, either to have taken a wife, or to have two wives, he shall be separated from ecclesiastical office.

By all the bishops it was said: We all follow the opinions of the brethren, we all confirm them, and we decree that they are to be observed. Hear, O Christ; long life to Hilarus—said seven times. May the things wrongly committed be corrected through you—said eight times. What is not lawful, let it not be done—said eight times. Hilarus, bishop of the Church of the city of Rome, presiding over the synod, said: Since we decree that the form of the present definition, which is according to the statutes of the holy ones, should come to the knowledge of all the Churches, lest it be permitted to anyone, through ignorance, to do what is not lawful, the solicitude of the notaries shall take care to publish the acts. Hilarus, bishop, to Ascanius and to all the bishops of the province of Tarraconensis.

After we received the letters of your charity, in which you asked that the presumptions of Sylvanus, bishop of the Church of the Calagurritani, be rebuffed, and again you seek that the all-too-unlawful wishes of the Barcinonenses be confirmed: it is established that letters were brought to us from the men of rank and the landholders of Tyriasso, Ascantia, Calagurris, Varegia, Tritium, Levia, and the city of Veroviscum, with the subscriptions of various persons, by which they were excusing that very thing which your complaint had set forth concerning Sylvanus. But their most just reproof was likewise not without just allegation, since it became clear that, without the knowledge of the metropolitan, our brother and fellow-bishop Ascanius, priests had been ordained in several cities.

Wherefore, since we see whatever has been alleged by either party to be confounded with every perversity, the necessity of the times being considered, we have decreed on this reasoning that what has been done pertains to pardon, on condition that henceforth nothing be attempted against the precepts of the blessed Apostle, nothing against the decrees of the Nicene canons. I. This first we will to be observed according to the rules of those same Fathers: that no one be in any way consecrated bishop without the cognizance and consent of our brother Ascanius the metropolitan, since the ancient order held this, and the authority of the three hundred and eighteen holy Fathers defined this; and whoever shall raise opposing hands against it confesses himself unworthy of the fellowship of those against whose precepts he has rebelled. II.

To their reproach, by a proud spirit that part also is despised by which it is guarded against that anyone presume, having left his own Church, to pass over to another. And this, with men too wickedly conniving, and—what is to be grieved more grievously—with you asserting it, Bishop Irenaeus attempts to commit: you who desire to be strengthened by our authority, you who, in matters most especially unlawful, prove that you are inflamed with great indignation. Therefore, your letters having been read in the assembly of the brethren whom the festivity of my birthday had gathered—the letters which were brought forth concerning the ordaining of bishops according to the statutes of the canons or the decrees of my predecessors—you will learn the sentence pronounced by the tenor of the acts, which we have likewise dispatched. III.

Wherefore, Bishop Irenaeus being removed from the Church of Barcino and sent back to his own, with the desires being calmed by sacerdotal modesty—the desires which, through ignorance of ecclesiastical laws, crave to obtain what is not lawful—let such a bishop forthwith be ordained for the Barcinonenses from their own clergy, such a one as it especially behooves you, brother Ascanius, to elect, and as is fitting to consecrate. Lest, if perchance it be done in like manner, our precept rebuke it not without reproach especially of your name—since we have learned that it was committed to the injury of God, from whom in a special way comes the grace of sacerdotal dignities—nor let the episcopal honor be reckoned a hereditary right, which is conferred on us by the goodness of our God Christ alone. IV.

The bishops therefore now ordained—who, although they were advanced while you were unaware, would have deserved to be removed together with their authors—we confirm on this reasoning: if no one of them was the husband of a widow, and entered into the marriage and vows of a single virgin, just as the legal statutes also command, saying: Let the priest take a virgin to wife, not a widow, not one put away (Lev. 21; Ezek. 44); according to which also the blessed Apostle Paul, the Teacher of the nations, did not keep silence by his own instruction concerning those who desire to become priests, saying (1 Tim. 3):

'The husband of one wife'; by the tenor of which sentence you ought to be so informed that, among the other things which are to be guarded against, you should especially be zealous to keep these which you recognize to have been enjoined before all things. V. In which it is also to be provided that there be not two priests in one Church, nor that one ignorant of letters, or lacking some part of his members, or even any one of the penitents, be allowed to approach the sacred ministry at all. Nor think that the petitions of the peoples avail so much that, while you desire to comply with them, you should forsake the will of our Lord which forbids us to sin—whose indignation is on this account the more gravely stirred, because His kindness is offended when unlawful things are done by those who are interpreters of propitiation. VI.

But that all things be corrected according to these things which we have written, we have dispatched the present letters by Trajanus, our subdeacon, who is coming. But if Bishop Irenaeus shall neglect to return to his own Church, the ambition of his wickedness being laid aside—which will be granted him not by judgment but by humanity—let him know that he is to be removed from the episcopal fellowship. Given on the third day before the Kalends of January, Basilicus and Herminericus, men most distinguished, being consuls. (In the year of Christ 465.) DECREES OF POPE SIMPLICIUS. I. Simplicius the bishop to John, bishop of Ravenna.

If there were any regard for ecclesiastical discipline, or if any sacerdotal modesty were held by you, punishable excesses would never be perpetrated; from which, if you could not be restrained by any precept of the paternal rules, you ought at least to have been recalled by the example of your predecessor of holy memory, who, although he had offended somewhat in making a presbyter against his will, had nonetheless felt a judgment worthy of such usurpation. Where did you learn these things which you have perpetrated against our brother and fellow-bishop Gregory—not by election, but by envy? Whom you suffered to be dragged to you by inexcusable violence, and to be harassed, that you might inflict on him an honor so great—not through tranquility of mind, but, as it must be said, through madness.

For such things could not have been done by soundness of counsel; we are unwilling to exaggerate what has been done, lest we be compelled to judge what is deserved: for he deserves to lose a privilege who abuses the power permitted to him. But one consideration makes us be of a milder sentence: that we preferred to learn of it through the report of our brother and fellow-bishop Projectus, rather than to publish it by our own letters on account of the disgrace.

For the scandal, of which you are acknowledged to be the author, our moderation has so checked, that our brother and fellow-bishop Gregory—who, it is established, was not advanced but driven out—shall, as he requested, have no case with you, but shall govern the Church of Mutina; and let him not refuse to embrace the spiritual fellowship which it was not fitting for him to be allotted against his will; and if perchance any business should arise for him, let our examination be sought from him, or against him.

For the necessities also which he is compelled to endure by your doing, we will provide by this definition: that, the estate being restored which he records as having been given to him a year before, and being returned to the Church of Ravenna, a possession in the district of Bononia yielding thirty solidi of free revenue be handed over to him without hesitation—namely, for the days of his life, the property right of the Church of Ravenna being preserved, to which, after the death of the aforesaid, it shall revert. But if our constitutions shall not be obeyed, you yourself weigh what remains after the transgression for the contumacious.

Moreover we declare, that if hereafter you shall presume anything such, and shall perchance think to make any one—whether bishop, or presbyter, or deacon—against his will, you may know that the ordinations of the Church of Ravenna, or of Aemilia, are to be taken from you. Given on the third day before the Kalends of June, Severinus, a most distinguished man, being consul. (In the year of Christ 481.) II. Simplicius the bishop to Florentius, Equitius, and Severus, bishops. The report of your charity has informed us, and the series of acts has more fully made known, that Gaudentius, priest of the Church of Aulinum, has perpetrated unlawful ordinations against the statutes of the canons and our precepts; the whole power of which we command to be utterly taken from him.

For we have written to Severus, our brother and fellow-bishop, that, if it be necessary, he himself in the aforesaid Church, the rules of the Fathers being considered, should discharge that office which the other has been convicted of having abused; so that those who have been unlawfully advanced by him be removed from ecclesiastical ministries. At the same time also concerning the revenues of the Church, or the offering of the faithful, let him promise that nothing is permitted to the ignorant man as is fitting, but let only the fourth portion of these be remitted to him; let two portions be ministered by Onager the presbyter, under peril of his order, for the profit of the ecclesiastical fabrics and for the relief of pilgrims and the poor; let the last be divided among the clergy according to the merits of each.

But the true ministries of the Church, which we have learned to have been alienated, let the presumptuous man be compelled by the insistence of the aforesaid brother to restore; on whom also in this matter we have specially commanded pressure to be brought, that he restore those three portions which he is said for a triennium to have claimed for himself alone. Given on the thirteenth day before the Kalends of December, after the consulate of Leo Augustus. (In the year of Christ 475.) DECREES OF POPE FELIX. (Roman Synod. In the year of Christ 487.) Flavius Boethius, a most distinguished man, being consul. On the third day before the Ides of

March, in the Constantinian basilica, the venerable man Pope Felix presiding, together with Candidus of Tibur, Paschasius of Centumcellae, Equitius of Matelica, Epiphanius of Spello, Herennius of Portus, Agnellus of Telese, Urbanus of Fulginium, Martinianus of Formia, Cresconius of Tudertum, Basilius of Tollentinum, Constantius of Aquinum, Philippus of Numana, Bonus of Ostia, Constantius of Tribea, Constantinus of Capua, Severus of Casinum, Martianus of Ameria, Herculius of Ocriculum, Maximus of Bleda, Projectitius of Tarquinii, Maximinus of Ferentinum, Felix of Anteatum, Felix of Anagni, Andreas of Gabii, Cyprianus of Nomentum, Vitalis of Fundi, Constantius of Sutrium, Gaudentius of Forum Clodii, Asterius of Forum Novum, Victor of ...

Rusticus and Pardalius of Africa, Petrus of Subaugusta, Bassus of Ferentinum, Innocentius of Mevania, Benignus of Aquaviva, Decius of Tres Tabernae, Athanasius of Albanum, Petrus of Lorium, Felicissimus of Sabina, Bonifacius of Velitrae, Romulus of Praeneste, Donatus—bishops; and presbyters; the deacons also standing by, Felix, bishop of the Catholic Church of the city of Rome, presiding over the synod, said: It is a common grief, and a general groaning, that within Africa we have learned that even bishops, presbyters, and deacons have been rebaptized; which matter without doubt has come also to the notice of your holiness. Concerning which, it behooves us to ordain what ought to be observed.

Therefore, that our judgment upon this matter may be manifest, let what has seemed good to us be recited. Anastasius the deacon recited: To the most beloved brethren in Christ Jesus, all the bishops established throughout the various provinces. In what manner the cunning of the devil has raged in the African regions against the Christian people, and has broken forth into this through manifold deception, that it has plunged into the depths of death not only the unwary common folk but the very priests themselves—no part of the world has not groaned, no land has been ignorant of it. Wherefore, set in great mourning, we cannot dissemble the peril of the souls that are perishing and that are to be required of us:

wherefore a fitting remedy must be applied to such wounds, lest a premature ease of healing avail nothing to those seized by a death-bearing plague, but rather the destruction, too sluggishly treated, involve alike the wounded and the healers in the guilt of an unlawful cure. First, therefore, the profession of one coming to you and asking a remedy, and the person of the deceived, must be carefully examined, so that a fitting remedy may be administered. And let it be inquired whether he who, intending to make satisfaction to God by penance, has lawfully grieved that he was rebaptized, ran to this crime, or approached it under compulsion.

Knowing that he who deceives deceives himself, and that nothing is detracted, through our leniency, from the lofty judgment of the tribunal, to which those things are ratified which are pious, which are true, which are just; and the reckoning of the will must be treated otherwise according to necessity. But worse is the case of him who perchance was solicited by a price, that he should perish.

For the enemy has left nothing unattempted; and lest it be permitted him to rejoice over his prey, the ensnared must be succored, and the snare of the hunter must be crushed, so that for those lamenting their fall in their flight there may be a return to the court which they had left, as much by the moderation of justice as by the compunction of mercy; nor let them perchance be ashamed or loath, in the appointed times of fastings and groanings, to obey, or to comply with the other precepts of a more healthful observance, since grace is given to the humble, not to the proud (James 4).

Let him therefore be prostrated by the grief of his ruin, whoever seeks to be raised up in Christ; and through the ministry of our dispensation (which it befits your charity to follow, nor is it lawful for anyone either to will or to be able to transgress it), let us treat the causes of him who, against the apostolic doctrine, gave himself over to the repetition of that most ill-omened baptism, or of him who craftily thought his own consent to be excusable by some arguments, with sacerdotal vigor and humanity, so that in them faith (which, unless it is one, is now none) may, by the help of the Lord the Judge, be repaired unto salvation without the offense of our haste; for when satisfaction is drawn out from the sinner by us, not without our praise and gladness is his mind found more purged unto pardon.

And therefore remember that we hold this sentence upon these matters: that, the distinction of sinners being preserved, not all who have lapsed are to be weighed in the same scale, since a heavier usury of chastisement is to be exacted from him to whom the discipline of the house of the Lord has been committed. That we may therefore begin from the heights of the Church: those who shall be established to have been bishops, presbyters, or deacons, and who—whether perchance desiring it, or compelled—shall be shown to have made shipwreck of that one and saving laver, and to have put off Christ, whom they had put on not only by the gift of regeneration but also by the grace of the honor they received—since it is established that no one could come to a second dipping unless he openly denied himself a Christian and professed himself a pagan.

Which, though it is generally to be execrated in all, much more in bishops, presbyters, and deacons is it proved horrible even merely to hear and to speak of. But because the same Lord and Savior is most clement, and wills no one to perish, it will befit them, if they come to their senses, to lie in penance even unto the day of their departure, and to be present in no wise at the prayer not only of the faithful but not even of the catechumens—to whom lay communion is to be restored at death; a matter which the care of a most approved priest must more diligently explore or perform.

But concerning clerics and monks, or maidens of God, or seculars, we command this tenor to be observed, which the Nicene synod determined was to be observed concerning those who are or shall be lapsed: namely, that those who, under no necessity, under no fear of any thing or peril, impiously gave themselves over to heretics to be rebaptized, if nonetheless they repent from the heart, be for three years among the hearers; for seven years let them lie among the penitents beneath the hands of the priests; for two years also let them in no manner be admitted to the offerings, but only be associated with the people in prayer; nor let him be confounded to bow his neck to God who did not fear to deny Him.

But if, inasmuch as they are mortal, the end of life shall begin to press within the bounds of the prescribed time, succor must be given to him who implores it; and whether by the bishop who gave the penance, or by another who shall nonetheless prove that it was given, or likewise by a presbyter, the viaticum is not to be denied to one departing from the world.

But to those youths, who—because they are as yet beardless—bear from their puberty the name, whether clerics or laymen, or also like maidens, for whom the ignorance of age pleads, who have been detained for some while under the imposition of hands, communion is to be restored, nor is their penance to be awaited, whom the censure exempts from coercion—which is by us providently constituted, lest these, for whom in the defilement of earthly contagion more or less remains for life, should perchance, while they are still in penance, commit things to be repented of.

But if, before the prefixed time of penance, anyone, despaired of by the physicians or pressed by evident signs of death, having received the grace of communion, recovers, let us observe in his case what the Nicene canons ordained: that he be held among those who communicate in prayer alone, until the span of time prefixed for him be fulfilled. Nor do we pass over our catechumens, who were baptized under such a profession, since the case is not dissimilar (as the same holy canons ordained) of him who in any manner whatsoever abjured Christ, whom he had once confessed: let them be for three years among the hearers, and afterwards let them be permitted to pray with the catechumens, to receive the grace of Catholic communion through the imposition of hands.

With the sole exception, indeed, of bishops, presbyters, and deacons, for whom we have already said reconciliation is to be made only at the time of their death, all others—whether clerics, or monks, or nuns, or laypersons, persons of either sex—who shall be established to have undergone the repetition of baptism, compelled by violence and perils, or who shall have said that, by some pretext, they are not held by the expiations of this crime, we decree to continue in penance for a triennium, and to be received into the fellowship of the sacrament through the imposition of hands.

That being preserved in all things, that none of these who at any age, anywhere other than in the Catholic Church, have been baptized or rebaptized, be at all permitted to approach to the ecclesiastical warfare; for whom it ought to be enough that they have been received into the number of the Catholics; since concerning his own order and communion will he be seen to bear judgment, whoever of the bishops shall have violated this, or who shall not have removed him whom he has known to have crept in from among these to the clerical ministry.

But it must be most especially taken care of, and provided with all caution, that none of our brethren and fellow-bishops, or even of the presbyters, receive in the city or diocese of another a penitent, or one placed under the hand of a priest, or one who shall have said that he is reconciled, without the testimony and letters of a bishop or presbyter—whether the presbyter in a parish, or the bishop in a city; for, this being neglected through some dissimulation, it touches the fault even of clerics who dwell in places in which this has been less attended to.

These things therefore being duly arranged, and brought by our deliberation to the knowledge of your Churches, it behooves you to obey—to you, to whom, although nothing seems to be lacking for the reparation of souls, yet if anything new, and which could escape us, shall have been revealed to any one, according to the blessed Apostle Paul (1 Cor. 14), the former being silent, let him confidently suggest it, because the Holy Spirit inspires where He wills, especially when His own cause is treated; nor will it irk us to hear, and, if anything has been omitted, not arrogantly to refuse, but reasonably to set it in order. Given on the Ides of March, Dinamius and Siphidius, men most distinguished, being consuls. (In the year of Christ 488.) DECREES OF POPE SYMMACHUS. (Roman Synod. In the year of Christ 499.) After the consulate of Paulinus, a most distinguished man, on the Kalends

On a day of March, in the basilica of the blessed apostle Peter, with the most blessed pope Symmachus presiding over the synod, Fulgentius the archdeacon said: Your Beatitude, having earlier dispatched directives through the provinces, has frequently convened a synod of the bishops of Italy, whose presence now appears established before your eyes; let Your Beatitude now deign to set in order, in a workable manner, those matters that pertain to the security of the churches, or to the peace of the whole Church, or to its concord. It was acclaimed by all the bishops and presbyters: 'Hear, O Christ; long life to Symmachus' — said ten times. 'Preserve his see and his years' — said eight times. 'We beg you to act' — said ten times. Symmachus, bishop of the catholic Church of the city of Rome, said:

The synod of your charity, with the harshness of winter disregarded, our solicitude for the security of the Church has specially gathered, so that the canvassing for the episcopate, the uncertainty of confusion or the popular tumult — which is agreed to have arisen by underhanded scheming — we may, by a deliberation shared in common, be able firmly and vigorously to cut away for the future; and that we may therefore take heed for the time to come, lest a subversion of discipline, or the audacity of presumptuous men, should be eager to attempt similar things; and that we may by a like enactment determine, by setting forth explicit judgments, what ought to be observed concerning the ordination of the bishop of Rome. All the bishops and presbyters said: 'We beg that it be done' — said ten times. 'We beg that the scandals be cut away' — said nine times.

'We beg that the canvassing be extinguished' — said twelve times. 'Hear, O Christ; long life to Symmachus' — said six times. 'Preserve his see and his years' — said five times. 'Let it be done in our presence' — said ten times. Bishop Symmachus said: Since your brotherhood has by its exhortations stirred up the care of our provision, and, with our God in contemplation, shows an equal mind toward the tranquillity of the Church, so — as we have already said — with deliberation now held, instruct us as to what among all your judgments is pleasing, that it may be recited in this venerable council through the ecclesiastical offices. And when they had risen, and a little afterward sat down again, Aemilianus, notary of the synod, promulgated the decrees. I.

On account of the frequent canvassings of certain men, and the stripping of the Church, and the clashing of the people, which the troublesome and unfitting greed of those coveting the episcopate has bred — in order that so pernicious a presumption may be extinguished for future times — the holy synod has decreed: that if any presbyter, or deacon, or cleric, while the pope is alive and without consulting him, shall attempt either to lend a subscription for the Roman pontificate, or to promise by a written pledge, or to offer an oath, or assuredly to promise any kind of support, or in private gatherings held on this matter to deliberate and to decide, he shall be deprived of the dignity and communion of his rank. The whole synod, rising, acclaimed: 'Hear, O Christ; long life to Symmachus' — said ten times.

'Here is peace with Symmachus' — said fifteen times. 'Preserve his see and his years' — said eight times; with the like severity to be inflicted upon him who, while this pontiff is alive (as has been said), shall in any manner be convicted of having canvassed or assuredly of having attempted it — all alike who are guilty of this offense being to be smitten with the penalty of anathema. Bishop Symmachus said: Therefore does this judgment please the whole assembly, and is it acknowledged and approved by all? The whole synod said: It pleases; and what pleases all, let it be done. II. If (which God forbid) the unexpected passing of the pope should occur, so that he could not decide beforehand concerning the election of his successor, as was approved above — if indeed the election of the entire ecclesiastical order shall have inclined toward one man, let the elected bishop be consecrated.

For if, as it commonly happens, the partisanships of those over whom the contest has arisen should begin to be divided, let the judgment of the majority prevail — yet in such a way that he forfeit the priesthood who, ensnared by a promise, shall have decided concerning the election not by an unbiased judgment. The synod said: It pleases — said ten times. III. Moreover, on account of hidden frauds and the secret snares of conspiracies, which the strictness of this judgment follows: if anyone shall bring to the notice of the Church the counsels of those who have engaged in canvassing for the pontificate against this synod, and shall convict them by reasonable proof, then, being a sharer in an action of this kind, let him not only be cleared of all blame, but also be rewarded with a recompense that is not unworthy.

The whole synod, rising, acclaimed: All these things please us; and it added: 'Hear, O Christ; long life to Symmachus' — said thirteen times. 'We beg that they be so kept' — said ten times. 'We pray that henceforth no one come to the Roman episcopate otherwise' — said ten times. 'We beg that you confirm our decrees' — said ten times. Symmachus, bishop of the catholic Church of the city of Rome, said: The present record shall receive your acclamations and the judgment of the synod.

And he added: those things which it has determined for the lulling to rest of the errors of a sluggish presumption, and of the diseases of a sickness hostile to ecclesiastical affairs — by which the deliberation of the universal Church, fitting to religion, was afflicted and made to suffer — shall obtain perpetual firmness; so that, by the favor of God, who is acknowledged to be the guardian of good things, the synodal ordinance may flourish, and all who, without distinction of any person, shall presume to come against it, shall be smitten by the strictness set down above. And the bishops subscribed, seventy-five in number. Caelius Symmachus, bishop of the holy catholic Church of the city of Rome, consenting to these synodal enactments, approved and confirmed by me, have subscribed.

Caelius Rusticus, bishop of the city of Minturnae, have subscribed, and have consented to the synodal enactments, and I profess to abide in this judgment. Caelius Bonifacius, bishop of the church of Velitrae, have subscribed, and have consented to the synodal enactments, and I profess to abide in this judgment. Missenus of Cumae. Cresconius of Tuder. Basilius of Tollentinum. Decius of Tres Tabernae. Valentinus of Amiternum. Vitalis of Fanum. Maximus of Blera. Benignus of Aquaviva. Palladius of Sulmo. Constantius of Otriculum. Germanus of Pisaurum. Candidus of Tibur. Vitalianus of Narnia. Justus of Acherontia. Stephanus of Nursia. Fortunatus of Anagnia. Clarus of Alifae. Rufinus of Canusium. Vitalis of Fundi.

Innocentius of Mevania. Bassus of Ferentinum. Vitalianus of Rusellae. Constantinus of Capua. Fortunatus of Suessa. Vindemius of Antium. Joannes of Ariminum. Martyrius of Terracina. Laurentius of Trebiae. Serenus of Nomentum. Adeodatus of Cerretum. Dulcitius of the Sabines. Paschasius of Vulturnum. Fortunatus, bishop of the church of Anagnia, on behalf of Sanctulus, bishop of the city of Signia, because he could not subscribe, have subscribed for him. Valerius of Calenum. Felicissimus of Forum Sempronii. Valentinus of Amiternum, have subscribed on behalf of Romanus, bishop of the church of the Pitinates. Colonius of Forum Clodii. Joannes of Spoletium. Maximianus of Perusia. Lucianus of Tarquinii. Florentius of Paestum. Fortunatus of Fulginium.

Gaudentius of Tadinum. Felix of Nepe. Aucupius of Puteoli. Rosarius of Surrentum. Epiphanius of Beneventum. Constantius of Venafrum. Salustius of Ameria. Malensis of Centumcellae. Maximianus of Subaugusta. Joannes of Vibo. Mercurius of Sutrium. Serenus of Nola. Timotheus of Abellinum. Stephanus of Naples. Rosarius the bishop, have subscribed on behalf of my brother Ursus the bishop. ... of Vulsinii. Likewise Gaudentius, bishop of Vulsinii, on behalf of Projectitius, bishop of Forum Novum. Quintus of Teanum. Bellator of Ostia. Lampadius of the city of Alba. Ursus of Stabiae. Gaudentius of Salernum. Marius of Tifernum. Adeodatus of Forum (Forbiensis). Saturninus of Herdonia. The presbyters subscribed, sixty-seven in number.

Caelius Laurentius, archpriest of the title of Praxedes, have here subscribed, and have consented to the synodal enactments, and I profess to abide in this judgment. Januarius, presbyter of the title of Vestina. Martianus, presbyter of the title of Saint Caecilia. Gordianus, presbyter of the title of Pammachius. Petrus, presbyter of the title of Saint Clement. Urbicus, presbyter of the title of Saint Clement. Paulinus, presbyter of the title of Saint Julius. Valens, presbyter of the title of Saint Sabina. Petrus, presbyter of the title of Chrysogonus. Soranus, presbyter of the title of Vestina. Asterius, presbyter of the title of Pudens. Justinus, presbyter of the title of Pudens. Felix, presbyter of the title of Equitius. Redemptus, presbyter of the title of Chrysogonus. Projectitius, presbyter of the title of Damasus. Jovinus, presbyter of the title of Aemiliana. Bonus, presbyter of the title of Crescentiana.

Paschasius, presbyter of the title of Eusebius. Joannes, presbyter of the title of Pammachius. Sebastianus, presbyter of the title of Nicomedes. Martinus, presbyter of the title of Cyriacus. Andreas, presbyter of the title of Saint Matthew. Servusdei, presbyter of the title of Saint Clement. Opilio, presbyter of the title of Vestina. Petrus, presbyter of the title of Chrysogonus. Romanus, presbyter of the title of Tigrida. Marcellinus, presbyter of the title of Julius. Dominicus, presbyter of the title of Crescentiana. Abundantius, presbyter of the title of Sabina. Marcellus, presbyter of the title of Romanus. Asellus, presbyter of the title of Vizans. Agatho, presbyter of the title of Equitius. Sebastianus, presbyter of the title of Vizans. Valentinus, presbyter of the title of Eusebius. Anastasius, presbyter of the title of Anastasia. Genesius, presbyter of the title of Nicomedes. Dionysius, presbyter of the title of Aemiliana. Epiphanius, presbyter of the title of the Apostles. Acontius, presbyter of the title

of Fasciola. Paulinus, presbyter of the title of Fasciola. Agapetus, presbyter of the title of the Apostles. Adeodatus, presbyter of the title of Equitius. Benedictus, presbyter of the title of Gaius. Dominicus, presbyter of the title of Prisca. Redemptus, presbyter of the title of Tigrida. Severus, presbyter of the title of Gaius. Stephanus, presbyter of the title of Marcellus. Crescentius, presbyter of the title of the Apostles. Julianus, presbyter of the title of Anastasia. Septiminus, presbyter of the title of Julius. Cyprianus, presbyter of the title of Marcus. Epiphanius, presbyter of the title of Fasciola. Bonifacius, presbyter of the title of Caecilia. Petrus, presbyter of the title of Praxedes. Timotheus, presbyter of the title of Marcellus. Hilarius, presbyter of the title of Lucina. Victorius, presbyter of the title of Sabina. Laurentius, presbyter of the title of Saint Laurence. Eutyches, presbyter of the title of Aemiliana. Julianus, presbyter of the title of Anastasia. Marcus, presbyter of the title of Lucina.

Vincemalus, presbyter of the title of Crescentia. Abundantius, presbyter of the title of Marcus. Venantius, presbyter of the title of Marcellus. Stephanus, presbyter of the title of Eusebius. Paulinus, presbyter of the title of Saint Laurence. Subscription of the deacons. Cyprianus, deacon of the holy Roman Church, of the seventh region, have here subscribed, and have consented to the synodal enactments, and I profess to abide in this judgment. Anastasius, deacon of the first region, have subscribed. Citonatus, deacon of the fifth region, have subscribed. Joannes, deacon of the second region, have subscribed. Tarrensis, deacon of the first region, have subscribed. Tertullus, deacon of the fourth region, have subscribed. OTHER DECREES OF POPE SYMMACHUS. (Roman synod, in the year of Christ 503.) In the consulship of Flavius Avienus the Younger, vir clarissimus,

on the eighth day before the Ides of November, in the basilica of the blessed apostle Peter, with the venerable man pope Symmachus presiding, together with the venerable men, the bishops, and with the presbyters also seated, and the deacons likewise standing by — Anastasius, Hormisda, Joannes, and Agapetus — Symmachus, bishop of the catholic Church of the city of Rome, said: I.

Indeed your brotherhood, obedient to the ecclesiastical laws under the fear of the divine judgment, has well defined the things that were to be established, and has reached the summit of justice, while it sufficiently embraces all matters, and the fulness needs no addition — especially concerning those clerics whom love of domination has invaded, and has made them spurn the yoke of ecclesiastical discipline; for which reason it was established among you that they had made a schism. Yet the mercy which God commands to be shown to all, as was fitting, you did not deny to them — if the hardness of their heart does not procure for itself a penalty, while it despises the remedies offered, the excesses of whom it is difficult to recount. One thing, however, which has occurred to me, I do not delay to make known to your venerable order.

They have said, among other things, that a certain Basilius, of illustrious memory, had drawn up a document as if out of love for the property of the Church, in which no prelate of the Roman Church either took part or subscribed, through whom it could have obtained legitimate firmness. Therefore, lest I should debate that matter on which your council can pass judgment, let it be sought out and brought into the midst, so that by its reading you may recognize what kind of substance it can have. The holy synod answered: Let it be brought into the midst, so that what kind it is may be recognized; and while he was speaking, Hormisda the deacon read it aloud. II.

When they had sat together in one place at the shrine of the blessed apostle Peter, the exalted and most eminent man, the praetorian prefect and patrician, also acting in the place of the most excellent king Odoacer, Basilius said:

Although it pertains to our zeal and to religion that in the election of the episcopate concord should principally be preserved in the Church, lest by occasion of sedition the standing of the city be called into doubt, nevertheless you remember that, by the admonition of the most blessed man our pope Simplicius — which we ought always to keep before our eyes — this charge was laid upon us under solemn adjuration: that, on account of that tumult and the detriment to the venerable Church, should it happen that he depart from this light, no election of anyone whatsoever should be carried out without our consultation. And when he had read this, Cresconius, bishop of the church of the city of Tuder, rising from his seat, said:

Here let the holy synod weigh carefully how, with the religious persons passed over — those whose care for so great a pontiff is greatest — they should reduce the matter into their own power; which is manifestly against the canons. Likewise Hormisda the deacon read: 'Lest the venerable Church should sustain any confusion or loss, we marvel that, with ourselves passed over, anything was attempted, since, while our priest survives, nothing ought to have been undertaken. Wherefore, if it please your magnificence or your holiness, let us preserve unharmed, by a religious obligation, all things that look to the election of the future prelate, putting forward this law especially, which we ordain for ourselves and our heirs with the devotion of a Christian mind.'

That never shall it be deemed valid, but adjudged ineffectual and void, if he who is now to be ordained prelate by the common election, and those who in future ages shall follow, should wish, under any title or pretext whatsoever, to alienate any estate, whether rural or urban, or the ornaments or vessels of the Churches, which now exist or which from any titles shall have come to the rights of the Churches; and let there be anathema for the one doing it, or consenting, or receiving. Maximus, bishop of the church of Blera, said: Let the holy synod now deign to declare, was it lawful for a layman to pronounce anathema upon the ecclesiastical order? Or if a layman could pronounce anathema upon a priest, and contrary to the canons (which is not fitting) establish anything?

Tell me, what seems to you concerning me? Was it lawful for a layman to lay down a law? The holy synod said: It was not lawful; and it added: Read what follows. Hormisda the deacon read: And he who shall have obtained a rural or urban estate of ecclesiastical right, let him know that he is protected by no law or prescription; but whether it be he who alienated it, or those who shall follow him, who by a contrary will shall attempt to reclaim an estate of this kind that has been alienated, let him restore it together with its fruits to the one who shall have obtained it. And when he had read this, Stephanus, bishop of the church of Venusia, rising from his seat, said: Let it be read through. Hormisda the deacon read: This penalty also it has pleased us that the receiving heirs and the heirs' heirs should regard.

In which matter, let there be free liberty for any of the clerics to object. For it is iniquitous, and tantamount to sacrilege, that what each man shall have conferred — or assuredly bequeathed — to the venerable Church, whether for the salvation, or for the pious welfare of his soul, for the cause of the poor, should be transferred into loftiness by those by whom it most chiefly ought to have been preserved. Clearly, whatever in gems, or gold and silver, and also in vestments, shall seem less suited to the uses or adornment of the Church, things that cannot be preserved and long endure, let them be sold under a just valuation, and let the disbursement profit religiously. And when this had been read, Laurentius, bishop of the church of Milan, said:

This document could bind no pontiff of the Roman city, because it was not lawful for a layman to have any power of establishing anything in the Church, apart from the Roman pope, to whom the necessity of compliance remains, not the authority of commanding — especially since neither did the Roman pope subscribe, nor is the assent of any metropolitan, according to the canons, to be read. Petrus, bishop of the church of Ravenna, said: The document which was published in our assembly, it is manifest that it subsists by no force, because it neither agrees with the canons, and seems to have been conceived by a lay person, especially because in it no prelate of the apostolic see is shown to have taken part, or to have confirmed it by his own subscription. Eulalius, bishop of the church of Syracuse, said:

The document which was recited in the priestly council is shown by the most evident proofs to be invalid. First, because it appears to have been made by laymen — however religious — to whom it is nowhere read that any power was granted of disposing anything concerning ecclesiastical resources; then, because it is shown to be confirmed by the subscription of no prelate of the apostolic see. But if the holy Fathers have sanctioned that whatever the priests of any province shall have attempted, within their own bounds, with a council held, without the authority of their own metropolitan bishop, ought to be void;

how much more is it not in doubt that what is recognized to have been presumed — by laymen, even with some bishops consenting (who nevertheless could not bring prejudice upon the pontiff by whom they are proved to be consecrated) — at a time when the apostolic see had no prelate (who, holding the primacy throughout the whole world by the prerogative of the blessed merit of the apostle Peter, was wont to grant firmness to synodal statutes of the priesthood) — lacks all force, and can in no way be reckoned among ecclesiastical statutes. III. The holy synod said:

Although, according to the prosecution of our venerable brethren — Laurentius, Petrus, Eulalius, Cresconius, Maximus, and Stephanus — it is held by us as not uncertain that this very document is of no moment, which, even if it could subsist by any reasoning, ought by all means in the synodal assembly to be enervated by the provident judgment of Your Beatitude, and reduced to nullity, lest it should remain as a precedent for any laymen — however religious or powerful — in any city whatsoever, to decree anything in any manner concerning ecclesiastical resources, the care of disposing which is taught to have been committed by God, without dispute, to priests alone. Bishop Symmachus said:

Now, since God has granted me your longed-for presence upon whatever occasion, I wish, if it please you, that a thing be made firm which I believe to be fitting for ecclesiastical resources, so that all those whom an empty fury has roused against me may recognize that I strive after nothing more than that there may be kept safe what has been committed to me by God under stewardship; and that it ought also to be welcome to any successors who fear God, and to pertain to the safeguarding of the ecclesiastical patrimony. The holy synod said: We know that your provision strives after things necessary, and therefore it is in your power to arrange the things to be followed. Symmachus, bishop of the catholic Church of the city of Rome, said:

Great cultivation is indeed owed to a venerable and priestly purpose, to which it falls to dispose what is right out of zeal, not out of necessity. But since, in some who demand the goods of others, avarice — the mother of vices — having rejected the barriers of honesty, thinks all that is permitted to be expedient, and thus, while it gapes after plunder, abuses the patience of the supreme Mercy; men awaiting correction while heaven governs, they reckon themselves not bound by judgments, and it is clear that, among certain men, the delay of the divine sentence becomes an occasion for plundering.

But for us, whom pastoral care, and the reckoning that must be rendered for the dispensation of the ecclesiastical substance entrusted to us, constrain, it is needful that we extend our solicitude not only to present, but also to coming ages, lest it come to pass, to the detriment of our soul, if those who are able, by the statutes due, should fail through the license of innocence presuming; since by religious power both we and our successors can be supported, serving the ecclesiastical laws. IV.

These things therefore having been weighed, by a decree that is to abide with the consideration of our God, we ordain: that to no prelate of the apostolic see, from the present day — so long as, by the Lord's disposition, the saving doctrine of the catholic faith shall remain — shall it be lawful, by perpetual alienation or by exchange, to transfer to the rights of anyone any rural estate, of whatever magnitude or smallness it may be, nor let any be excused under the pretext of necessity.

Indeed, since what we speak of is not personal, nor let any of the clerics or laymen, under this received occasion, defend himself, but neither let it be lawful for the rights to be given to any in usufruct, nor for what has been given to be retained — except to clerics, and captives, and pilgrims — lest occasion of ill dealing be furnished, since for that liberality other paths are reserved. Truly, only houses situated in any cities whatsoever, whose condition must needs be sustained by no small expense, may, with the revenues received — if it should happen that they be taken away — be exchanged under a just estimation and with the fear of the divine judgment. V.

By a like law we wish the keepers — that is, the presbyters who exist throughout all the titles of the churches of the Roman city, or whoever they shall be — to be bound, because it is unspeakable that, by the obligation by which the supreme pontiff binds himself through the charity of Christ, a man of the second order in the Church should not be held.

Whoever, however, forgetful of God and unmindful of this decree — by which we wish the priests of the Roman city to be bound by religious bonds — committing against the present enactment, shall in any manner whatsoever attempt to alienate anything of the right of the titles, or of the Church aforesaid above, apart from gold, silver, or gems, vestments also, if there be any, or if they have accrued, or any movable goods in no way pertaining to the divine ornaments — excepting only, under the aforesaid condition, the houses — let the donor, the alienator, and the seller be punished by the loss of his honor. VI.

Moreover, he who shall have sought, or received, or who of the presbyters, or deacons, or defensores shall have subscribed for the giver — whereby God, being angered, smites souls — let him be smitten with anathema; and let there be, for the receiver, or the subscriber, among the persons comprised above — that is, those whom we have decreed to be smitten with anathema — fellowship in the established penalty, the same vengeance being preserved which we have set forth above in the case of the alienator. Unless perhaps both the alienator, while he reclaims, and he who shall have received, by speedy restitution shall have made provision for himself. VII.

But if anyone, with too little care for his soul, should perchance neglect the remedy offered, then, over and above those kinds of penalties which are written above, if any document shall have been conceived against right, let it be made of no effect by all means (although from the beginning it had none). But let it also be lawful for any ecclesiastical persons whatsoever to bring the voice of objection, and to be supported by ecclesiastical authority, in such wise that one may demand back another's goods together with their fruits; nor let him fortify himself with any obstacle before the tribunal of Christ, because what was left by religious souls for the substance of the poor, against right, without any consideration of piety, he scatters abroad.

Moreover, we wish the law of this constitution to be observed in the apostolic see only; for all the churches throughout the provinces, let the custom be preserved, according to the consideration of souls, which the rulers of those churches shall have seen to befit the purpose of religion. And they subscribed. Caelius Symmachus, bishop of the Church of Rome, have subscribed to this constitution, made by us. Caelius Laurentius, bishop of the holy Church of Milan, have subscribed to this constitution, made by the venerable pope Symmachus. Petrus, bishop of the catholic Church of Ravenna, have subscribed to this constitution, made by the venerable pope Symmachus. Eulalius, bishop of the holy Church of Syracuse, have subscribed to this constitution, made by the venerable pope Symmachus.

Felix of Interamna, Aemilianus of Vetulonia, Tigridius of Turin, Bassus of Mutina, Maximus of Blera, Rufentius of Ignatium, Martinianus of Ostia, Fortunatus of Vessa, Eucarpus of Messana, Stephanus of Venusia, Romulus of Praeneste, Vindemius of Antium, Fortunatus of Fulginium, Martianus of Aecae, Chrysogonus of Alba, Laurentius of Bovianum, Paschasius of Vulturnum, Aprilis of Nuceria.

Innocentius of Forum Sempronii, Felix of Nepe, Amandus of Potentia, Colonius of Forum Clodii, Projectus of Forum Novum, Bonifacius of Forum Flaminii, Rusticus of Bursentum, Victor of Duna, Sylvianus of Velitrae, Areston of Ostia, Felix of Nepe, Asterius of Aquinum, Eusebius of Fanum, Cresconius of Tuder, Jocundus of Augusta, Vitalis of Fundi, Pacatianus of Coanilium, Martyrius of Terracina, Basilius of Tollentinum, Benignus of Aquaviva, Severinus of Tundarium, Joannes of Spoletium, Valentinus of Amiternum.

Probus of Carmeianum, Candidus of Tibur, Proculeianus of Sepinum, Maximianus of Perusia, Eutychius of Trani, Fortunatus of Anagni, Marcus of Samnium, Memor of Canusium, Florentius of Blestium, Concordius of Misenum, Asellus of Populonium, Elpidius of Volaterrae, Veneriosus of Pellae, Sebastianus of Sora, Venantius of Sena Gallica, Innocentius of Tifernum, Justus of Signia, Augustus of Lipara on behalf of Ursus, Propinquus of Trebia, Romanus of Nomentum. The Roman Synod, in the year of Christ 501, in the consulship of those most illustrious men Rufus Magnus and Faustus Avienus, on the tenth day before the Kalends of November. The holy synod, gathered together at the city of Rome by the command of the most glorious king Theodoric out of diverse regions, declared in the name of Christ:

When the royal authority had commanded that priests from diverse provinces should assemble at the city of Rome, so that the holy council might judge concerning those things which were being charged against the venerable Pope Symmachus, prelate of the apostolic see, by his adversaries, a necessity pressed upon the bishops of Liguria, Aemilia, and Venetia—whom the conduct of his own journey had drawn into the presence of the prince—to consult the king as to why he had wished these men, broken with age and feeble through bodily weakness, to be gathered for this cause. The aforesaid most pious king replied with the affection of one of good conduct, that many dreadful things concerning the deeds of Pope Symmachus had been reported to him, and that it behoved them to be dealt with in synod, so that it might be established by judgment whether the objection of his enemies were true.

The aforementioned pontiffs, upon whom the occasion for pleading pressed, suggested that he who was said to be accused ought himself to have convoked the synod, knowing that the merit, or primacy, of the apostle Peter belongs first to that see, and then, following the command of the Lord, the authority of the venerable councils has handed down to it a singular power in the Churches, and that the aforesaid bishop of that see was not subject to the judgment of lesser men—as in a similar matter he might readily attest by some precedent. But the most powerful prince signified that the pope himself had also shown his will by letters concerning the gathering of the synod.