文集與托雷多會議 第 75 章

The Emperor Justinian Augustus to Atarbius, praetorian prefect. Applying every providence concerning the most holy churches, in honor and glory of the holy and incorrupt and consubstantial Trinity, through which we have believed both ourselves and the common commonwealth shall be saved, insisting also upon the doctrine of the holy apostles concerning the creation of irreproachable priests, who indeed are ordained chiefly for this, that by their prayers they may acquire the benignity of the most humane God for common affairs, by the present law we ordain that, as often as in any city whatsoever...

Whenever it happens that such a priestly see falls vacant, let a decree be made by those who dwell in that city concerning three persons of right faith, of honourable life, and bearing the testimony of other good qualities and virtues, so that from among these the more suitable may be promoted to the episcopate. For if the holy and glorious Apostles, having obtained their priesthood from the Lord Christ and God, who filled the earth with all good things and imparted His teaching to all, did not even spare their own lives, which they led in this world, for the sake of our salvation, how would it not be just that those who succeed into their order and are appointed priests of the most holy Churches should be pure?

…let them hold it as established, and despise riches, and direct their whole course toward the most merciful God. It is therefore fitting that such men be chosen and ordained priests as have neither children nor grandchildren; for it is scarcely possible that a man burdened with the cares of this daily life, which children create as the greatest cares for a parent, should devote all his zeal and all his attention to the divine liturgy and to ecclesiastical affairs. For when certain people, in their highest hope toward God and that their souls may be saved, hasten to the most holy churches and bring and bequeath to them all their resources, that these may be spent upon the poor and needy and other pious uses, it is unseemly that bishops should turn these to their own gain, or expend them upon their own offspring and kindred.

For a bishop ought, being in no way hindered by affection for children of the flesh, to be the spiritual father of all the faithful. For these reasons therefore we forbid that one who has sons or grandsons be ordained bishop. Section 2. Concerning those bishops who now are, or shall be in future, we decree that they shall in no way have the power of bequeathing, or of giving, or by any other contrivance whatsoever of alienating anything from those goods which, after they have been made bishops, they shall have possessed and acquired, whether from wills, or donations, or from any other cause whatsoever:

with these alone excepted: namely, those goods which they had before the episcopate from any cause whatsoever, or those which after the episcopate came, or shall come, to them from parents and theioi (that is, paternal or maternal uncles) and from brothers. For whatever, after ordination and from any cause whatsoever, came to them apart from the aforesaid persons, these we order to belong to the most holy Church over whose episcopate they presided, and to be claimed and recovered by it, no other person having the power to take any property for his own gain from that source.

For who would doubt that those who leave, or have left, their own goods to the bishops—even if they transfer, or have transferred, them to another person—did so contemplating the priesthood itself rather than his person, reflecting that not only would the things left by themselves be piously expended, but that the bishops would also add their own resources to them? Section 3. From this our general law we except only these things, whatsoever and of whatever kind, which up to this present day have belonged to Epiphanius, archbishop of this fortunate city and most holy patriarch. For concerning those things which from this time forward shall be acquired by him, we order that the provisions established by us shall hold good, and that these shall belong to the most holy Great Church. Section 4.

After the death of the most God-beloved bishops, we order that the stewards of those churches for the time being shall render accounts of those things which have been left by them, and that whatever is owed to them under this our law shall accrue to the most holy churches. Section 5. And we direct that these stewards themselves be appointed with judgement and careful scrutiny: they being aware that each year they shall render an account of their administration to the most holy bishop; and in whatever respect they shall be seen to have diminished or harmed the property of the church, or to have sought their own gain, this they shall restore to the church's property. And so, if while still living they shall have submitted to accounts of this kind, let the things stated above be done;

but if they shall have died without having rendered their accounts, then let their heirs be subjected to such scrutiny, and let action be brought against them for the restitution of all that it shall be established they owed from that cause. Section 6. We have also judged it necessary to define something concerning those who have undertaken, or shall undertake, the care of the venerable hostels (xenones), and infirmaries (nosocomia), and poorhouses (ptochia), and orphanages (orphanotrophia), and foundling-homes (brephotrophia); for from these too we take away all licence, after such cares have been undertaken, of transferring anything to other persons from goods acquired, whether by will, or by any other manner whatsoever, or by contrivance:

those things excepted which they had previously, or which afterward came to them from parents or theioi (uncles), or brothers. For all things whatsoever that pertain to the holy places, or that came, or shall come, to their superintendents after such a care had been undertaken, shall belong to those venerable places themselves; and we will that these be piously distributed and dispensed among those who are in those places, or are cared for there. For it is manifest that whoever leaves or gives anything—whether in writing or without writing—to a hostel-keeper (xenodochos), or infirmarian (nosocomos), or poorhouse-keeper (ptochotrophos), or orphanage-keeper (orphanotrophos), gives it for this end: that it may be piously dispensed through him; inasmuch as he has great confidence and assurance of the piety of those who are set over those places;

nor indeed is it just that he should not spend upon them, or for them, what he receives under the pretext of those who are under his care, but should take it away to his own person and apply it to his own gain, scorning the fear of God. For who would not suppose that one set over such a care undertook it for this purpose: that he should expend upon that matter not only what comes to him from outside, but also all that he happens to possess? Section 7. Furthermore we order this also: that whatever, after the necessary disbursement upon those committed to their care and the due upkeep of the properties and buildings, shall happen to be left over, shall be applied to the acquisition of revenue;

for everywhere our aim and our intention is to bring to enlargement and increase the resources set apart for pious uses; for thus whoever wishes to do anything for his own soul will give the more readily, if he believes that what is given by him will be piously administered. Section 8. But if it should happen that anyone ceases from the administration which he had received, we decree that he who is appointed in his place shall, with the fear of the Lord, subject to the rendering of accounts the administration carried on under him, as is contained in our divine law: he too who is appointed after him being aware that he shall render account to the Lord God for these things. Section 9.

Moreover we decree (just as has also been defined in the divine canons) that no bishop or chorbishop, or visitor (periodeutes), or circuit-inspector, or presbyter, or cleric of whatever rank, be ordained through bribery. Nor let a steward, nor a church-advocate (ekklesiekdikos), nor a hostel-keeper, nor an infirmarian, nor a poorhouse-keeper, nor an orphanage-keeper, nor a foundling-home keeper, nor anyone who is to be set over a poorhouse, be made so through such bribery, but through the judgement and approval of the most God-beloved bishops who are in those places.

But if anyone shall be found, on occasion of the aforesaid ordinations and administrations, to have given or received anything, whether he be a bishop or a cleric, we order both him who gave and him who received to be put outside the priesthood and the clergy, so that thereafter they may lie under the condemnation of the Lord God. And if anyone shall be discovered to have given anything on account of a superintendence, we order him who has thus been made superintendent to be outside the clergy;

and if a steward, or church-advocate or defensor, or chorbishop—that is, a periodeutes, visitor—or hostel-keeper, or infirmarian, or poorhouse-keeper, or orphanage-keeper, or one set over a poorhouse, shall be found to have given anything in order that that care might be committed to him, we order this man too to be removed from such a care. Section 10. Furthermore we decree that all clerics appointed throughout the several Churches shall by themselves chant the nocturnal, and the morning, and the evening offices, lest the clerics appear to exist solely by consuming the property of the church—having indeed the name of clerics, but not fulfilling the reality of clerics with respect to the liturgy of the Lord God. For it is shameful that others be hired in their stead, the necessity of chanting being imposed upon those hired.

For if many of the laity, in order to take counsel for their own souls, flocking to the most holy Churches, show themselves zealous about psalmody, how would it not be unseemly that clerics ordained for this should not fulfil their office? Wherefore we order that the clerics chant in every way, and that they be examined by the most God-beloved bishops for the time being, and by two presbyters in each church, and by him who is called the archon or exarchos, and by the ekdikos or defensor of each most holy church, and that those who shall not be found persevering blamelessly in the liturgies be set outside the clergy.

For those who established or founded the most holy churches, for their own salvation and that of the common commonwealth, left to them estates, that through these the sacred liturgies should be performed, and that in them God should be worshipped by pious ministers. And we grant licence to every person who shall have learned that any of these things has been neglected, to denounce and make it public. Section 11. But the things which have been decreed by us, we order to be carried into execution and brought to effect, with the favour of God; and as for those who shall fall under suspicion of having, by rash daring, neglected any of these things, we order them first to bear the peril of the judgement of the Lord God, and thereafter to undergo the penalties laid down in this law. Given on the Kalends of March, at Constantinople, in the second consulship of our lord Justinian, Perpetual Augustus, in the year 528.