THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS WRITINGS - VOLUME 101
The Apostolic Constitutions V–VIII and the Later Councils
AD 381 – 787

SermonIndex · sermonindex.net/books/

Texts are public domain except where marked in Sources and Credits.

============================================================

INTRODUCTION TO THIS VOLUME
===========================

HOW THIS BOOK IS ARRANGED

This is the hundred and first volume of a series that gathers the writings of the early
Church. The first volumes of the series follow the writers in order of date; this volume
belongs to the later part of the series, which gathers the church orders and the decisions
of the councils, which do not belong to any one author. This volume holds the last four
books of the Apostolic Constitutions and the canons and decrees of the councils from
Constantinople in AD 381 to the second council of Nicaea in AD 787.

Within each work the text is divided into chapters and numbered sections, so that any
passage can be found again and cited. The small bold figures in the text are the section
numbers.

THE TRANSLATIONS

The text is in English only. Wherever a modern English version has been prepared for
SermonIndex it is used here; otherwise the book prints an older public-domain translation.
In both cases the wording is the translator’s own: older translations have not been
altered beyond dividing them into sections. The sources for every work are listed at the
back of the book, together with the licence under which each text is released. All the
works in this volume are printed in older public-domain translations. Greek words that the
editors of the councils quote in their notes are given in Latin letters.

IN THIS VOLUME

The first part completes the Apostolic Constitutions with Books 5 to 8, and the short
Ecclesiastical Canons that follow them in the old editions. Book 8 holds the prayers for
the ordination of bishops, presbyters and deacons, and the liturgy that is called the
Liturgy of Clement.

The rest of the volume carries the councils from the second ecumenical council at
Constantinople in AD 381 to the second council of Nicaea in AD 787: Constantinople,
Carthage (the code of the African church), Ephesus, Chalcedon, the later councils of
Constantinople, the Quinisext Council and Nicaea. For each council the book prints what
the older series prints: the canons, the creeds and definitions of faith, the letters and
the extracts from the proceedings, with the notes of the editors. These are the texts in
which the Church fixed its teaching on the Trinity and on the person of Christ, and its
rules for the clergy.

DATES AND AUTHORSHIP

The dates of the councils are those given in the sources. The date and the author of the
Apostolic Constitutions are debated by scholars. Each work begins with a short
introduction that says what is known and what is uncertain.


CONSTITUTIONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES, BOOK 5
==========================================

CONSTITUTIONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES, BOOK 5 Apostolic Constitutions

c. AD 380

Book 5, on the care of martyrs and confessors, on the resurrection of the dead, and on the
feast of the Passover and the fasts of the year.

Sec. I.-Concerning the Martyrs. — That It is Reasonable for the Faithful to Supply the
Wants of Those Who are Afflicted for the Sake of Christ by the Unbelievers, According to
the Constitution of the Lord.

1 I. If any Christian, on account of the name of Christ, and love and faith towards God,
be condemned by the ungodly to the games, to the beasts, or to the mines, do not ye
overlook him; but send to him from your labour and your very sweat for his sustenance, and
for a reward to the soldiers, that he may be eased and be taken care of; that, as far as
lies in your power, your blessed brother may not be afflicted: for he that is condemned
for the name of the Lord God is an holy martyr, a brother of the Lord, the son of the
Highest, a receptacle of the Holy Spirit, by whom every one of the faithful has received
the illumination of the glory of the holy Gospel, by being vouchsafed the incorruptible
crown, and the testimony of Christ's sufferings, and the fellowship of His blood, to be
made conformable to the death of Christ for the adoption of children. For this cause do
you, all ye of the faithful, by your bishop, minister to the saints of your substance and
of your labour. But if any one has not, let him fast a day, and set apart that, and order
it for the saints. But if any one has superfluities, let him minister more to them
according to the proportion of his ability. But if he can possibly sell all his
livelihood, and redeem them out of prison, he will be blessed, and a friend of Christ.

2 For if he that gives his goods to the poor be perfect, supposing his knowledge of divine
things, much more is he so that does it on account of the martyrs. For such a one is
worthy of God, and will fulfil His will by supplying those who have confessed Him before
nations and kings, and the children of Israel; concerning whom our Lord declared, saying:
"Whosoever shall confess me before men, him will I also confess before my Father. And if
these be such as to be attested to by Christ before His Father, you ought not to be
ashamed to go to them in the prisons. For if you do this, it will be esteemed to you for a
testimony, because the real trial was to them a testimony; and your readiness will be so
to you, as being partakers of their combat: for the Lord speaks somewhere to such as
these, saying: "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from
the foundation of the world. For I was an hungry, and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and
ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; naked, and ye clothed me; I was
sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous
answer, and say, Lord, when saw we Thee an hungered, and fed Thee? or thirsty, and gave
Thee drink? When saw we Thee naked, and clothed Thee? or sick, and visited Thee?

3 When saw we Thee a stranger, and took Thee in? or in prison, and came unto Thee? And He
will answer and say unto them, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these
my brethren, ye have done it unto me. And these shall go away into life everlasting. Then
shall He say unto them on His left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire,
prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry, and ye gave me no meat; I was
thirsty, and ye gave me no drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me not in; naked, and ye
clothed me not; sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer
and say, Lord when saw we Thee hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in
prison, and did not minister unto Thee? Then shall He answer and say unto them, Verily I
say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have not done it unto one of the least of these, neither have
ye done it unto me. And these shall go away unto everlasting punishment."

That We are to Avoid Intercourse with False Brethren When They Continue in Their
Wickedness.

4 II. But if any one who calls himself a brother is seduced by the evil one, and acts
wickedness, and is convicted and condemned to death as an adulterer, or a murderer, depart
from him, that ye may be secure, and none of you may be suspected as a partner in such an
abominable practice; and that no evil report may be spread abroad, as if all Christians
took a pleasure in unlawful actions. Wherefore keep far from them. But do you assist with
all diligence those that for the sake of Christ are abused by the ungodly and shut up in
prison, or who are given over to death, or bonds, or banishment, in order to deliver your
fellow-members from wicked hands. And if any one who accompanies with them is caught, and
falls into misfortune, he is blessed, because he is partaker with the martyr, and is one
that imitates the sufferings of Christ; for we ourselves also, when we oftentimes received
stripes from Caiaphas, and Alexander, and Annas, for Christ's sake, "went out rejoicing
that we were counted worthy to suffer such things for our Saviour." Do you also rejoice
when ye suffer such things, for ye shall be blessed in that day.

That We Ought to Afford an Helping Hand to Such as are Spoiled for the Sake of Christ,
Although We Should Incur Danger Ourselves.

5 III. Receive also those that are persecuted on account of the faith, and who "fly from
city to city" on account of the Lord's commandment; and assist them as martyrs, rejoicing
that ye are made partakers of their persecution, as knowing that they are esteemed blessed
by the Lord; for Himself says: "Blessed are ye when men shall reproach you, and persecute
you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be
exceeding glad, because your reward is great in heaven: for so persecuted they the
prophets which were before us." And again: "If they have persecuted me, they will also
persecute you." And afterwards: "If they persecute you in this city, flee ye to another.
For in the world ye have tribulation: for they shall deliver you into the synagogues; and
ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, and for a testimony to them."
And, "He that endureth unto the end, the same shall be saved." For he that is persecuted
for the sake of the faith, and bears witness in regard to Him, Christ, and endures, is
truly a man of God.

That It is an Horrible and Destructive Thing to Deny Christ.

6 IV. But he that denies himself to be a Christian, that he may not be hated of men, and
so loves his own life more than he does the Lord, in whose hand his breath is, is wretched
and miserable, as being detestable and abominable, who desires to be the friend of men,
but is the enemy of God, having no longer his portion with the saints, but with those that
are accursed; choosing instead of the kingdom of the blessed, that eternal fire which is
prepared for the devil and his angels: not being any longer hated by men, but rejected by
God, and cast out from His presence. For of such a one our Lord declared, saying:
"Whosoever shall deny me before men, and shall be ashamed of my name, I also will deny and
be ashamed of him before my Father which is in heaven." And again He speaks thus to us
ourselves, His disciples: "He that loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of
me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me; and he that
taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his
life, shall lose it; and he that loseth his life for my sake, shall find it. For what is a
man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own souL? or what shall a man
give in exchange for his soul? " And afterwards: "Fear not them that kill the body, but
are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and
body in hell."

That We Ought to Imitate Christ in Suffering, and with Zeal to Follow His Patience.

7 V. Every one therefore who learns any art, when he sees his master by his diligence and
skill perfecting his art, does himself earnestly endeavour to make what he takes in hand
like to it. If he is not able, he is not perfected in his work. We therefore who have a
Master, our Lord Jesus Christ, why do we not follow His doctrine?-since He renounced
repose, pleasure, glory, riches, pride, the power of revenge, His mother and brethren,
nay, and moreover His own life, on account of His piety towards His Father, and His love
to us the race of mankind; and suffered not only persecution and stripes, reproach and
mockery, but also crucifixion, that He might save the penitent, both Jews and Gentiles. If
therefore He for our sakes renounced His repose, was not ashamed of the cross, and did not
esteem death inglorious, why do not we imitate His sufferings, and renounce on His account
even our own life, with that patience which He gives us? For He did all for our sakes, but
we do it for our own sakes: for He does not stand in need of us, but we stand in need of
His mercy. He only requires the sincerity and readiness of our faith, as the Scripture
says: "If thou beest righteous, what doest thou give to Him? or what will He receive at
thy hand? Thy wickedness is to a man like thyself, and thy righteousness to a son of man."

8 That a Believer Ought Neither Rashly to Run into Danger Through Security, Nor to Be
Over-Timorous Through Pusillanimity, But to Fly Away for Fear; Yet that If He Does Fall
into the Enemy's Hand, to Strive Earnestly, Upon Account of the Crown that is Laid Up for
Him. 9 VI. Let us therefore renounce our parents, and kinsmen, and friends, and wife, and
children, and possessions, and all the enjoyments of life, when any of these things become
an impediment to piety. For we ought to pray that we may not enter into temptation; but if
we be called to martyrdom, with constancy to confess His precious name, and if on this
account we be punished, let us rejoice, as hastening to immortality. When we are
persecuted, let us not think it strange; let us not love the present world, nor the
praises which come from men, nor the glory and honour of rulers, according as some of the
Jews wondered at the mighty works of our Lord, yet did not believe on Him, for fear of the
high priests and the rest of the rulers: "For they loved the praise of men more than the
praise of God. But now, by confessing a good confession, we not only save ourselves, but
we confirm those who are newly illuminated, and strengthen the faith of the catechumens.
But if we remit any part of our confession, and deny godliness by the faintness of our
persuasion, and the fear of a very short punishment, we not only deprive ourselves of
everlasting glory, but we shall also become the causes of the perdition of others; and
shall suffer double punishment, as affording suspicion, by our denial that that truth
which we gloried in so much before is an erroneous doctrine.

10 Wherefore neither let us be rash and hasty to thrust ourselves into dangers, for the
Lord says: "Pray that ye fall not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the
flesh is weak. Nor let us, when we do fall into dangers, be fearful or ashamed of our
profession. For if a person, by the denial of his own hope, which is Jesus the Son of God,
should be delivered from a temporary death, and the next day should fall dangerously sick
upon his bed, with a distemper in his bowels, his stomach, or his head, or any of the
incurable diseases, as a consumption, or gangrene, or looseness, or iliac passion, or
dropsy, or colic, and has a sudden catastrophe, and departs this life; is not he deprived
of the things present, and loses those eternal? Or rather, he is within the verge of
eternal punishment, "and goes into outer darkness, where is weeping and gnashing of teeth.
But let him who is vouchsafed the honour of martyrdom rejoice with joy in the Lord, as
obtaining thereby so great a crown, and departing out of this life by his confession. Nay,
though he be trot a catechumen, let him depart without trouble; for his suffering for
Christ will be to him a more genuine baptism, because he does really die with Christ, but
the rest only in a figure. Let him therefore rejoice in the imitation of his Master, since
is it thus ordained: "Let every one be perfect, as his Master is.

11 Now his and our Master, Jesus the Lord, was smitten for our sake: He underwent
reproaches and revilings with long-suffering. He was spit upon, He was smitten on the
face, He was buffeted; and when He had been scourged, He was nailed to the cross. He had
vinegar and gall to drink; and when He had fulfilled all things that were written, He said
to His God and Father, "Into Thy hands I commend my spirit. Wherefore let him that desires
to be His disciple earnestly follow His conflicts: let him imitate His patience, knowing
that, although he be burned in the fire by men, he will suffer nothing, like the three
children; or if he does suffer anything, he shall receive a reward from the Lord,
believing in the one and the only true God and Father, through Jesus Christ, the great
High Priest, and Redeemer of our souls, and rewarder of our sufferings. To whom be glory
for ever. Amen.

Several Demonstrations Concerning the Resurrection, Concerning the Sibyl, and What the
Stoics Say Concerning the Bird Called the Phoenix.

12 VII. For the Almighty God Himself will raise us up through our Lord Jesus Christ,
according to His infallible promise, and grant us a resurrection with all those that have
slept from the beginning of the world; and we shall then be such as we now are in our
present form, without any defect or corruption. For we shall rise incorruptible: whether
we die at sea, or are scattered on the earth, or are torn to pieces by wild beasts and
birds, He will raise us by His own power; for the whole world is held together by the hand
of God. Now He says: "An hair of your head shall not perish. Wherefore He exhorts us,
saying: "In your patience possess ye your souls. But as concerning the resurrection of the
dead, and the recompense of reward for the martyrs, Gabriel speaks to Daniel: "And many of
them that sleep shall arise out of the dust of the earth, some to everlasting life, and
some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that understand shall shine as the sun,
and as the firmament, and as the stars. Therefore the most holy Gabriel foretold that the
saints should shine like the stars: for His sacred name did witness to them, that they
might understand the truth. Nor is a resurrection only declared for the martyrs, but for
all men, righteous and unrighteous, godly and ungodly, that every one may receive
according to his desert.

13 For God, says the Scripture, "will bring every work into judgment, with every secret
thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil. This resurrection was not believed by the
Jews, when of old they said, "Our bones are withered, and we are gone. To whom God
answered, and said: "Behold, I open your graves, and will bring you out of them; and I
will put my Spirit into you, and ye shall live: and ye shall know that I the Lord have
spoken it, and will do it. And He says by Isaiah: "The dead shall rise, and those that are
in the graves shall be raised up. And those that rest in the earth shall rejoice, for the
dew which is from Thee shall be healing to them. There are indeed many and various things
said concerning the resurrection, and concerning the continuance of the righteous in
glory, and concerning the punishment of the ungodly, their fall, rejection, condemnation,
shame, "eternal fire, and endless worm. Now that, if it had pleased Him that all men
should be immortal, it was in His power, He showed in the examples of Enoch and Elijah,
while He did not suffer them to have any experience of death. Or if it had pleased Him in
every generation to raise those that died, that this also He was able to do He hath made
manifest both by Himself and by others; as when He raised the widow's son by Elijah, and
the Shunammite's son by Elisha.

14 But we are persuaded that death is not a retribution of punishment, because even the
saints have undergone it; nay, even the Lord of the saints, Jesus Christ, the life of them
that believe, and the resurrection of the dead. Upon this account, therefore, according to
the ancient practice, for those who live in the great city, after the combats He brings a
dissolution for a while, that, when He raises up every one, He may either reject him or
crown him. For He that made the body of Adam out of the earth will raise up the bodies of
the rest, and that of the first man, after their dissolution, (to pay what is owing to the
rational nature of man; we mean the continuance in being through all ages. He, therefore,
who brings on the dissolution, will Himself procure the resurrection. And He that said,
"The Lord took dust from the ground, and formed man, and breathed into his face the breath
of life, and man became a living soul," added after the disobedience, "Earth thou art, and
unto earth shalt thou return; " the same promised us a resurrection afterwards. ) For says
He: "All that are in the graves shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear
shall live. Besides these arguments, we believe there is to be a resurrection also from
the resurrection of our Lord. For it is He that raised Lazarus, when he had been in the
grave four days, and Jairus' daughter, and the widow's son.

15 It is He that raised Himself by the command of the Father in the space of three days,
who is the pledge of our resurrection. For says He: "I am the resurrection and the life.
Now He that brought Jonas in the space of three days, alive and unhurt, out of the belly
of the whale, and the three children out of the furnace of Babylon, and Daniel out of the
mouth of the lions, does not want power to raise us up also. But if the Gentiles laugh at
us, and disbelieve our Scriptures, let at least their own prophetess Sibylla oblige them
to believe, who says thus to them in express words:- 16 "But when all things shall be
reduced to dust and ashes, And the immortal God who kindled the fire shall have quenched
it, God shall form those bones and that ashes into a man again, And shall place mortal men
again as they were before. And then shall be the judgment, wherein God will do justice,
And judge the world again. But as many mortals as have sinned through impiety Shall again
be covered under the earth; But so many as have been pious shall live again in the world.
When God puts His Spirit into them, and gives those at once that are godly both life and
favour, Then shall all see themselves."

17 If, therefore, this prophetess confesses the resurrection, and does not deny the
restoration of all things, and distinguishes the godly from the ungodly, it is in vain for
them to deny our doctrine. Nay, indeed, they say they can show a resemblance of the
resurrection, while they do not themselves believe the things they declare: for they say
that there is a bird single in its kind which affords a copious demonstration of the
resurrection, which they say is without a mate, and the only one in the creation. They
call it a phoenix, and relate that every five hundred years it comes into Egypt, to that
which is called the altar of the sun, and brings with it a great quantity of cinnamon, and
cassia, and balsam-wood, and standing towards the east, as they say, and praying to the
sun, of its own accord is burnt, and becomes dust; but that a worm arises again out of
those ashes, and that when the same is warmed it is formed into a new-born phoenix; and
when it is able to fly, it goes to Arabia, which is beyond the Egyptian countries. If,
therefore, as even themselves say, a resurrection is exhibited by the means of an
irrational bird, wherefore do they vainly disparage our accounts, when we profess that He
who by His power brings that into being which was not in being before, is able to restore
this body, and raise it up again after its dissolution?

18 For on account of this full assurance of hope we undergo stripes, and persecutions, and
deaths. Otherwise we should to no purpose undergo such things if we had not a full
assurance of these promises, whereof we profess ourselves to be the preachers. As,
therefore, we believe Moses when he says, "In the beginning God made the heaven and the
earth; " and we know that He did not want matter, but by His will alone brought those
things into being which Christ was commanded to make; we mean the heaven, the earth, the
sea, the light, the night, the day, the luminaries, the stars, the fowls, the fishes, and
four-footed beasts, the creeping things, the plants, and the herbs; so also will He raise
all men up by His will, as not wanting any assistance. For it is the work of the same
power to create the world and to raise the dead. And then He made man, who was not a man
before, of different parts, giving to him a soul made out of nothing. But now He will
restore the bodies, which have been dissolved, to the souls that are still in being: for
the rising again belongs to things laid down, not to things which have no being. He
therefore that made the original bodies out of nothing, and fashioned various forms of
them, will also again revive and raise up those that are dead.

19 For He that formed man in the womb out of a little seed, and created in him a soul
which was not in being before,-as He Himself somewhere speaks to Jeremiah, "Before I
formed thee in the womb I knew thee; " and elsewhere, "I am the Lord who established the
heaven, and laid the foundations of the earth, and formed the spirit of man in him," -will
also raise up all men, as being His workmanship; as also the divine Scripture testifies
that God said to Christ, His only-begotten, "Let us make man after our image, and after
our likeness. And God made man: after the image of God made He him; male and female made
He them. And the most divine and patient Job, of whom the Scripture says that it is
written, that "he was to rise again with those whom the Lord raises up," speaks to God
thus: "Hast not Thou milked me like milk, and curdled me like cheese? Thou hast clothed me
with skin and flesh, and hast fenced me with bones and sinews. Thou hast granted me life
and favour, and Thy visitation hath preserved my spirit. Having these things within me, I
know that Thou canst do all things, and that nothing is impossible with Thee. Wherefore
also our Saviour and Master Jesus Christ says, that "what is impossible with men is
possible with God. And David, the beloved of God, says: "Thine hands have made me, and
fashioned me. And again: "Thou knowest my frame. And afterward:

20 "Thou hast fashioned me, and laid Thine hand upon me. The knowledge of Thee is declared
to be too wonderful for me; it is very great, I cannot attain unto it. "Thine eyes did see
my substance, being yet imperfect; and all men shall be written in Thy book. Nay, and
Isaiah says in his prayer to Him: "We are the clay, and Thou art the framer of us. If,
therefore, man be His workmanship, made by Christ, by Him most certainly will he after he
is dead be raised again, with intention either of being crowned for his good actions or
punished for his transgressions. But if He, being the legislator, judges with
righteousness; as He punishes the ungodly, so does He do good to and saves the faithful.
And those saints who for His sake have been slain by men, "some of them He will make light
as the stars, and make others bright as the luminaries," as Gabriel said to Daniel. All we
of the faithful, therefore, who are the disciples of Christ, believe His promises. For He
that has promised it cannot lie; as says the blessed prophet David: "The Lord is faithful
in all His words, and holy in all His works. For He that framed for Himself a body out of
a virgin, is also the Former of other men. And He that raised Himself from the dead, will
also raise again all that are laid down.

21 He who raises wheat out of the ground with many stalks from one grain, He who makes the
tree that is cut down send forth fresh branches, He that made Aaron's dry rod put forth
buds, will raise us up in glory; He that raised Him up that had the palsy whole, and
healed him that had the withered hand, He that supplied a defective part to him that was
born blind from clay and spittle, will raise us up; He that satisfied five thousand men
with five loaves and two fishes, and caused a remainder of twelve baskets, and out of
water made wine, and sent a piece of money out of a fish's mouth by me Peter to those that
demanded tribute, will raise the dead. For we testify all these things concerning Him, and
the prophets testify the other. 22 We who have eaten and drunk with Him, and have been
spectators of His wonder fill works, and of His life, and of His conduct, and of His
words, and of His sufferings, and of His death, and of His resurrection from the dead, and
who associated with Him forty days after His resurrection, and who received a command from
Him to preach the Gospel to all the world, and to make disciples of all nations, and to
baptize them into His death by the authority of the God of the universe, who is His
Father, and by the testimony of the Spirit, who is His Comforter,-we teach you all these
things which He appointed us by His constitutions, before "He was received up in our sight
into heaven," to Him that sent Him. And if you will believe, you shall be happy; but if
you will not believe, we shall be found innocent, and clear from your incredulity.

Concerning James the Brother of the Lord, and Stephen the First Martyr.

23 VIII. Now concerning the martyrs, we say to you that they are to be had in all honour
with you, as we honour the blessed James the bishop, and the holy Stephen our fellow-
servant. For these are reckoned blessed by God, and are honoured by holy men, who were
pure from all transgressions, immoveable when tempted to sin, or persuaded from good
works, without dispute deserving encomiums: of whom also David speaks, "Precious in the
sight of the Lord is the death of His holy ones; " and Solomon says, "The memory of the
just is with encomiums: " of whom also the prophet speaks, "Righteous men are taken away."

Concerning False Martyrs.

24 IX. These things we have said concerning those that in truth have been martyrs for
Christ, but not concerning false martyrs, concerning whom the oracle speaks, "The name of
the ungodly is extinguished." For "a faithful witness will not lie, but an unjust witness
inflames lies." For he that departs this life in his testimony without lying, for the sake
of the truth, is a faithful martyr, worthy to be believed in such things wherein he strove
for the word of piety by his own blood.

Sec. II.-All Association with Idols is to Be Avoided. — A Moral Admonition, that We are to
Abstain from Vain Talking, Obscene Talking, Jesting, Drunkenness, Lasciviousness, and
Luxury.

25 X. Now we exhort you, brethren and fellow-servants, to avoid vain talk and obscene
discourses, and jestings, drunkenness, lasciviousness, luxury, unbounded passions, with
foolish discourses, since we do not permit you so much as on the Lord's days, which are
days of joy, to speak or act anything unseemly; for the Scripture somewhere says: "Serve
the Lord with fear, and rejoice unto Him with trembling." Even your very rejoicings
therefore ought to be done with fear and trembling: for a Christian who is faithful ought
neither to repeat an heathen hymn nor an obscene song, because he will be obliged by that
hymn to make mention of the idolatrous names of demons; and instead of the Holy Spirit,
the wicked one will enter into him.

An Admonition Instructing Men to Avoid the Abominable Sin of Idolatry.

26 XI. You are also forbidden to swear by them, or to utter their abominable names through
your mouth, and to worship them, or fear them as gods; for they are not gods, but either
wicked demons or the ridiculous contrivances of men. For somewhere God says concerning the
Israelites: "They have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods." And afterwards:
"I will take away the names of your idols out of their mouth." And elsewhere: "They have
provoked me to jealousy with them that are no gods; they have provoked me to anger with
their idols." And in all the Scriptures these things are forbidden by the Lord God.

That We Ought Not to Sing an Heathen or an Obscene Song, Nor to Swear by an Idol Because
It is an Impious Thing, and Contrary to the Knowledge of God.

27 XII. Nor do the legislators give us only prohibitions concerning idols, but also warn
us concerning the luminaries, not to swear by them, nor to serve them. For they say:
"Lest, when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, thou shouldest be seduced to
worship them. And elsewhere: "Do not ye learn to walk after the ways of the heathen, and
be not afraid of the signs of heaven. For the stars and the luminaries were given to men
to shine upon them, but not for worship; although the Israelites, by the perverseness of
their temper, "worshipped the creature instead of the Creator," and acted insultingly to
their Maker, and admired the creature more than is fit. And sometimes they made a calf, as
in the wilderness; sometimes they worshipped Baalpeor; another time Baal, and Thamuz, and
Astarte of Sidon; and again Moloch and Chamos; another time the sun, as it is written in
Ezekiel; nay, and besides, brute creatures, as among the Egyptians Apis, and the Mendesian
goat, and gods of silver and gold, as in Judea. On account of all which things He
threatened them, and said by the prophet: "Is it a small thing to the house of Judah to do
these abominations which they have done? For they have filled the land with their
wickedness, to provoke me to anger: and, behold, they arc as those that mock. And I will
act with anger. Mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have mercy;

28 and they shall cry in mine ears with a great voice, and I will not hearken unto them.
Consider, beloved, how many things the Lord declares against idolaters, and the
worshippers of the sun and moon. Wherefore it is the duty of a man of God, as he is a
Christian, not to swear by the sun, or by the moon, or by the stars; nor by the heaven,
nor by the earth, by any of the elements, whether small or great. For if our Master
charged us not to swear by the true God, that our word might be firmer than an oath, nor
by heaven itself, for that is a piece of heathen wickedness, nor by Jerusalem, nor by the
sanctuary of God, nor the altar, nor the gift, nor the gilding of the altar, nor one's own
head, for this custom is a piece of Judaic corruption, and on that account was forbidden;
and if He exhorts the faithful that their yea be yea, and their nay, nay, and says that
"what is more than these is of the evil one," how much more blameable are those who appeal
to deities falsely so called as the objects of an oath, and who glorify imaginary beings
instead of those that are real, whom God for their perverseness "delivered over to
foolishness, to do those things that are not convenient!"

Sec. III.-On Feast Days and Fast Days. — A Catalogue of the Feasts of the Lord Which are
to Be Kept, and When Each of Them Ought to Be Observed.

29 XIII. Brethren, observe the festival days; and first of all the birthday which you are
to celebrate on the twenty-fifth of the ninth month; after which let the Epiphany be to
you the most honoured, in which the Lord made to you a display of His own Godhead, and let
it take place on the sixth of the tenth month; after which the fast of Lent is to be
observed by you as containing a memorial of our Lord's mode of life and legislation. But
let this solemnity be observed before the fast of the passover, beginning from the second
day of the week, and ending at the day of the preparation. After which solemnities,
breaking off your fast, begin the holy week of the passover, fasting in the same all of
you with fear and trembling, praying in them for those that are about to perish.

Concerning the Passion of Our Lord, and What Was Done on Each Day of His Sufferings; And
Concerning Judas, and that Judas Was Not Present When the Lord Delivered the Mysteries to
His Disciples.

30 XIV. For they began to hold a council against the Lord on the second day of the week,
in the first month, which is Xanthicus; and the deliberation continued on the third day of
the week; but on the fourth day they determined to take away His life by crucifixion. And
Judas knowing this, who for a long time had been perverted, but was then smitten by the
devil himself with the love of money, although he had been long entrusted with the purse.
and used to steal what was set apart for the needy, yet was he not cast off by the Lord,
through much long-suffering; nay, and when we were once feasting with Him, being willing
both to reduce him to his duty and instruct us in His own foreknowledge, He said: "Verily,
verily, I say unto you, that one of you will betray me; "and every one of us saying, "Is
it I? " And the Lord being silent, I, who was one of the twelve, and more beloved by Him
than the rest, arose up from lying in His bosom. and besought Him to tell who it should be
that should betray Him. Yet neither then did our good Lord declare His name, but gave two
signs of the betrayer: one by saying, "he that dippeth with me in the dish; "a second, "to
whom I shall give the sop when I have dipped it. Nay, although he himself said, "Master,
is it I? "the Lord did not say Yes, but, "Thou hast said.

31 And being willing to affright him in the matter, He said: "Woe to that man by whom the
Son of man is betrayed! good were it for him if he had never been born. Who, when he had
heard that, went his way, and said to the priests, What will ye give me, and I will
deliver Him unto you? And they bargained with him for thirty pieces of silver. And the
scripture was fulfilled, which said, "And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price
of Him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value, and gave them for
the house of the potter. And on the fifth day of the week, when we had eaten the passover
with Him, and when Judas had dipped his hand into the dish, and received the sop, and was
gone out by night, the Lord said to us: "The hour is come that ye shall be dispersed, and
shall leave me alone; " and every one vehemently affirming that they would not forsake
Him, I Peter adding this promise, that I would even die with Him, He said, "Verily I say
unto thee, Before the cock crows, thou shall thrice deny that thou knowest me. And when He
had delivered to us the representative mysteries of His precious body and blood, Judas not
being present with us, He went out to the Mount of Olives, near the brook Cedron, where
there was a garden; and we were with Him, and sang an hymn according to the custom.

32 And being separated not far from us, He prayed to His Father, saying: "Father, remove
this cup away from me; yet not my will, but Thine be done. And when He had done this
thrice, while we out of despondency of mind were fallen asleep, He came and said: "The
hour is come, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. And behold Judas,
and with him a multitude of ungodly men," to whom he shows the signal by which he was to
betray Him-a deceitful kiss. But they, when they had received the signal agreed on, took
hold of the Lord; and having bound Him, they led Him to the house of Caiaphas the high
priest, wherein were assembled many, not the people, but a great rout, not an holy
council, but an assembly of the wicked and council of the ungodly, who did many things
against Him, and left no kind of injury untried, spitting upon Him, cavilling at Him,
beating Him, smiting Him on the face, reviling Him, tempting Him, seeking vain divination
instead of true prophecies from Him, calling Him a deceiver, a blasphemer, a transgressor
of Moses, a destroyer of the temple, a taker away of sacrifices, an enemy to the Romans,
an adversary to Caesar. And these reproaches did these bulls and dogs in their madness
cast upon Him, till it was very early in the morning, and then they lead Him away to
Annas, who was father-in-law to Caiaphas;

33 and when they had done the like things to Him there, it being the day of the
preparation, they delivered Him to Pilate the Roman governor, accusing Him of many and
great things, none of which they could prove. Whereupon the governor, as out of patience
with them, said: "I find no cause against Him. But they bringing two lying witnesses,
wished to accuse the Lord falsely; but they being found to disagree, and so their
testimony not conspiring together, they altered the accusation to that of treason, saying,
"This fellow says that He is a king, and forbids to give tribute to Caesar. And themselves
became accusers, and witnesses, and judges, and authors of the sentence, saying, "Crucify
Him, crucify Him; " that it might be fulfilled which is written by the prophets concerning
Him, "Unjust witnesses were gathered together against me, and injustice lied to itself; "
and again, "Many dogs compassed me about, the assembly of the wicked laid siege against
me; " and elsewhere, "My inheritance became to me as a lion in a wood, and has sent forth
her voice against me. Pilate therefore, disgracing his authority by his pusillanimity,
convicts himself of wickedness by regarding the multitude more than this just person, and
bearing witness to Him that He was innocent, yet as guilty delivering Him up to the
punishment of the cross, although the Romans had made laws that no man unconvicted should
be put to death.

34 But the executioners took the Lord of glory and nailed Him to the cross, crucifying Him
indeed at the sixth hour, but having received the sentence of His condemnation at the
third hour. After this they gave to Him vinegar to drink, mingled with gall. Then they
divided His garments by lot. Then they crucified two malefactors with Him, on each side
one, that it might be fulfilled which was written: "They gave me gall to eat, and when I
was thirsty they gave me vinegar to drink. And again: "They divided my garment among
themselves, and upon my vesture have they cast lots. And in another place: "And I was
reckoned with the transgressors. Then there was darkness for three hours, from the sixth
to the ninth, and again light in the evening; as it is written: "It shall not be day nor
night, and at the evening there shall be light. All which things, when those malefactors
saw that were crucified with Him the one of them reproached Him as though He was weak and
unable to deliver Himself; but the other rebuked the ignorance of his fellow and turning
to the Lord, as being enlightened by Him, and acknowledging who He was that suffered, he
prayed that He would remember him in His kingdom hereafter. He then presently granted him
the forgiveness of his former sins, and brought him into paradise to enjoy the mystical
good things; who also cried out about the ninth hour, and said to His Father: "My God! my
God!

35 why hast Thou forsaken me? " And a little afterward, when He had cried with a loud
voice, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do," and had added, "Into Thy
hands I commit my spirit," He gave up the ghost, and was buried before sunset in a new
sepulchre. But when the first day of the week dawned He arose from the dead, and fulfilled
those things which before His passion He foretold to us, saying: "The Son of man must
continue in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. And when He was risen from
the dead, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, then to
Cleopas in the way, and after that to us His disciples, who had fled away for fear of the
Jews, but privately were very inquisitive about Him. But these things are also written in
the Gospel.

Of the Great Week, and on What Account They Enjoin Us to Fast on Wednesday and Friday.

36 XV. He therefore charged us Himself to fast these six days on account of the impiety
and transgression of the Jews, commanding us withal to bewail over them, and lament for
their perdition. For even He Himself "wept over them, because they knew not the time of
their visitation. But He commanded us to fast on the fourth and sixth days of the week;
the former on account of His being betrayed, and the latter on account of His passion. But
He appointed us to break our fast on the seventh day at the cock-crowing, but to fast on
the Sabbath-day. Not that the Sabbath-day is a day of fasting, being the rest from the
creation, but because we ought to fast on this one Sabbath only, while on this day the
Creator was under the earth. For on their very feast-day they apprehended the Lord, thai
that oracle might be fulfilled which says: "They placed their signs in the middle of their
feast, and knew them not. Ye ought therefore to bewail over them, because when the Lord
came they did not believe on Him, but rejected His doctrine, judging themselves unworthy
of salvation. You therefore are happy who once were not a people, but are now an holy
nation, delivered from the deceit of idols, from ignorance, from impiety, who once had not
obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy through your hearty obedience: for to you, the
converted Gentiles, is opened the gate of life, who formerly were not beloved, but are now
beloved;

37 a people ordained for the possession of God, to show forth His virtues, concerning whom
our Saviour said, "I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest to them
that asked not after me. I said, Behold me, to a nation which did not call upon my name.
For when ye did not seek after Him, then were ye sought for by Him; and you who have
believed in Him have hearkened to His call, and have left the madness of polytheism, and
have fled to the true monarchy, to Almighty God, through Christ Jesus, and are become the
completion of the number of the saved-"ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of
thousands; " as it is written in David, "A thousand shall fall beside thee, and ten
thousand at thy right hand; " and again, "The chariots of God are by tens of thousands,
and thousands of the prosperous. But unto unbelieving Israel He says: "All the day long
have I stretched out mine hands to a disobedient and gainsaying people, which go in a way
that is not good, but after their own sins, a people provoking me before my face."

38 An Enumeration of the Prophetical Predictions Which Declare Christ, Whose Completion
Though the Jews Saw, Yet Out of the Evil Temper of Their Mind They Did Not Believe He Was
the Christ of God, and Condemned the Lord of Glory to the Cross. 39 XVI. See how the
people provoked the Lord by not believing in Him! Therefore He says: "They provoked the
Holy Spirit, and He was turned to be their enemy. For blindness is cast upon them, by
reason of the wickedness of their mind, because when they saw Jesus they did not believe
Him to be the Christ of God, who was before all ages begotten of Him, His only-begotten
Son, God the Word, whom they did not own through their unbelief, neither on account of His
mighty works, nor yet on account of the prophecies which were written concerning Him. For
that He was to be born of a virgin, they read this prophecy: "Behold, a virgin shall be
with child, and shall bring forth a Son, and they shall call His name Emanuel. "For to us
a Child is born, to us a Son is given, whose government is upon His shoulders; and His
name is called the Angel of His Great Council, the Wonderful Counsellor, the Mighty God,
the Potentate, the Prince of Peace, the Father of the Future Age. Now, that because of
their exceeding great wickedness they would not believe in Him, the Lord shows in these
words: "Who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?
" And afterward: "Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall
see, and shall not perceive: for the heart of this people is waxed gross.

40 Wherefore knowledge was taken from them, because seeing they overlooked, and hearing
they heard not. But to you, the converted of the Gentiles, is the kingdom given, because
you, who knew not God, have believed by preaching, and "have known Him, or rather are
known of Him," through Jesus, the Saviour and Redeemer of those that hope in Him. For ye
are translated from your former vain and tedious mode of life and have contemned the
lifeless idols, and despised the demons, which are in darkness, and have run to the "true
light," and by it have "known the one and only true God and Father," and so are owned to
be heirs of His kingdom. For since ye have "been baptized into the Lord's death," and into
His resurrection, as "new-born babes," ye ought to be wholly free from all sinful actions;
"for you are not your own, but His that bought you" with His own blood. For concerning the
former Israel the Lord speaks thus, on account of their unbelief: "The kingdom of God
shall be taken from them, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof; " that
is to say, that having given the kingdom to you, who were once far estranged from Him, He
expects the fruits of your gratitude and probity. For ye are those that were once sent
into the vineyard, and did not obey, but these they that did obey; but you have repented
of your denial, and you work therein now.

41 But they, being uneasy on account of their own covenants, have not only left the
vineyard uncultivated, but have also killed the stewards of the Lord of the vineyard, -one
with stones, another with the sword; one they sawed asunder, another they slew in the holy
place, "between the temple and the altar; " nay, at last they "cast the Heir Himself out
of the vineyard, and slew Him. And by them He was rejected as an unprofitable stone, but
by you was received as the corner-stone. Wherefore He says concerning you: "A people whom
I knew not have served me, and at the hearing of the ear have they obeyed me."

How the Passover Ought to Be Celebrated.

42 XVII. It is therefore your duty, brethren, who are redeemed by the precious blood of
Christ, to observe the days of the passover exactly, with all care, after the vernal
equinox, lest ye be obliged to keep the memorial of the one passion twice in a year. Keep
it once only in a year for Him that died but once. Do not you yourselves compute, but keep
it when your brethren of the circumcision do so: keep it together with them; and if they
err in their computation, be not you concerned. Keep your nights of watching in the middle
of the days of unleavened bread. And when the Jews are feasting, do you fast and wail over
them, because an the day of their feast they crucified Christ; and while they are
lamenting and eating unleavened bread in bitterness, do you feast. But no longer be
careful to keep the feast with the Jews, for we have now no communion with them; for they
have been led astray in regard to the calculation itself, which they think they accomplish
perfectly, that they may be led astray on every hand, and be fenced off from the truth.
But do you observe carefully the vernal equinox, which occurs on the twenty-second of the
twelfth month, which is Dystros (March), observing carefully until the twenty-first of the
moon, test the fourteenth of the moon shall fall on another week, and an error being
committed, you should through ignorance celebrate the passover twice in the year, or
celebrate the day of the resurrection of our Lord on any other day than a Sunday.

A Constitution Concerning the Great Passover Week.

43 XVIII. Do you therefore fast on the days of the passover, beginning from the second day
of the week until the preparation, and the Sabbath, six days, making use of only bread,
and salt, and herbs, and water for your drink; but do you abstain on these days from wine
and flesh, for they are days of lamentation and not of feasting. Do ye who are able fast
the day of the preparation and the Sabbath-day entirely, tasting nothing till the cock-
crowing of the night; but if any one is not able to join them both together, at least let
him observe the Sabbath-day; for the Lord says somewhere, speaking of Himself: "When the
bridegroom shall be taken away from them, in those days shall they fast." In these days,
therefore, He was taken from us by the Jews, falsely so named, and fastened to the cross,
and "was numbered among the transgressors."

Concerning the Watching All the Night of the Great Sabbath, and Concerning the Day of the
Resurrection.

44 XIX. Wherefore we exhort you to fast on those days, as we also fasted till the evening,
when He was taken away from us; but on the rest of the days, before the day of the
preparation, let every one eat at the ninth hour, or at the evening, or as every one is
able. But from the even of the fifth day till cock-crowing break your fast when it is
daybreak of the first day of the week, which is the Lord's day. From the even till cock-
crowing keep awake, and assemble together in the church, watch and pray, and entreat God;
reading, when you sit up all night, the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms, until cock-
crowing, and baptizing your catechumens, and reading the Gospel with fear and trembling,
and speaking to the people such things as tend to their salvation: put an end to your
sorrow, and beseech God that Israel may be converted, and that He will allow them place of
repentance, and the remission of their impiety; for the judge, who was a stranger, "washed
his hands, and said, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it. But
Israel cried out, His blood be on us, and on our children. And when Pilate said, "Shall I
crucify your king? they cried out, We have no king but Caesar: crucify Him, crucify Him;
for every, one that maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar. And, "If thou let this
man go, thou art not Caesar's friend.

45 And Pilate the governor and Herod the king commanded Him to be crucified; and that
oracle was fulfilled which says, "Why did the Gentiles rage, and the people imagine vain
things? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together
against the Lord, and against His Christ; " and, "They cast away the Beloved, as a dead
man, who is abominable. And since He was crucified on the day of the Preparation, and rose
again at break of day on the Lord's day, the scripture was fulfilled which saith, "Arise,
O God; judge the earth: for Thou shalt have an inheritance in all the nations; " and
again, "I will arise, saith the Lord; I will put Him in safety, I will wax bold through
Him; " and," But Thou, Lord, have mercy upon me, and raise me up again, and I shall
requite them. For this reason do you also, now the Lord is risen, offer your sacrifice,
concerning which He made a constitution by us, saying, "Do this for a remembrance of me; "
and thenceforward leave off your fasting, and rejoice, and keep a festival, because Jesus
Christ, the pledge of our resurrection, is risen from the dead. And let this be an
everlasting ordinance till the consummation of the world, until the Lord come. For to Jews
the Lord is still dead, but to Christians He is risen: to the former, by their unbelief;
to the latter, by their full assurance of faith.

46 For the hope in Him is immortal and eternal life. After eight days let there be another
feast observed with honour, the eighth day itself, on which He gave me Thomas, who was
hard of belief, full assurance, by showing me the print of the nails, and the wound made
in His side by the spear. And again, from the first Lord's day count forty days, from the
Lord's day till the fifth day of the week, and celebrate the feast of the ascension of the
Lord, whereon He finished all His dispensation and constitution, and returned to that God
and Father that sent Him, and sat down at the right hand of power, and remains there until
His enemies are put under His feet; who also will come at the consummation of the world
with power and great glory, to judge the quick and the dead, and to recompense to every
one according to his works. And then shall they see the beloved Son of God whom they
pierced; and when they know Him, they shall mourn for themselves, tribe by tribe, and
their wives apart.

A Prophetic Prediction Concerning Christ Jesus.

47 XX. For even now, on the tenth day of the month Gorpiaeus, when they assemble together,
they read the Lamentations of Jeremiah, in which it is said, "The Spirit before our face,
Christ the Lord was taken in their destructions; " and Baruch, in whom it is written,
"This is our God; no other shall be esteemed with Him. He found out every way of
knowledge, and showed it to Jacob His son, and Israel His beloved. Afterwards He was seen
upon earth, and conversed with men. And when they read them, they lament and bewail, as
themselves suppose, that desolation which happened by Nebuchadnezzar; but, as the truth
shows, they unwillingly make a prelude to that lamentation which will overtake them. But
after ten days from the ascension, which from the first Lord's day is the fiftieth day, do
ye keep a great festival: for on that day, at the third hour, the Lord Jesus sent on us
the gift of the Holy Ghost, and we were filled with His energy, and we "spake with new
tongues, as that Spirit did suggest to us; " and we preached both to Jews and Gentiles,
that He is the Christ of God, who is "determined by Him to be the Judge, of quick and
dead. To Him did Moses bear witness, and said: "The Lord received fire from the Lord, and
rained it down. Him did Jacob see as a man, and said: "I have seen God face to face, and
my soul is preserved.

48 Him did Abraham entertain, and acknowledge to be the Judge, and his Lord. Him did Moses
see in the bush; concerning Him did he speak in Deuteronomy: "A Prophet will the Lord your
God raise up unto you out of your brethren, like unto me; Him shall ye hear in all things,
whatsoever He shall say unto you. And it shall be, that every soul that will not hear that
Prophet, shall be destroyed from among his people. Him did Joshua the son of Nun see, as
the captain of the Lord's host, in armour, for their assistance against Jericho; to whom
he fell down, and worshipped, as a servant does to his master. Him Samuel knew as the
"Anointed of God," and thence named the priests and the kings the anointed. Him David
knew, and sung an hymn concerning Him, "A song concerning the Beloved; " and adds in his
person, and says, "Gird Thy sword upon Thy thigh, O Thou who art mighty in Thy beauty and
renown: go on, and prosper, and reign, for the sake of truth, and meekness, and
righteousness; and Thy right hand shall guide Thee after a wonderful manner. Thy darts are
sharpened, O Thou that art mighty; the people shall fall under Thee in the heart of the
king's enemies. Wherefore God, Thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above
Thy fellows. Concerning Him also spake Solomon, as in His person: "The Lord created me the
beginning of His ways, for His works:

49 before the world He founded me, in the beginning before He made the earth, before the
fountains of waters came, before the mountains were fastened; He begat me before all the
hills. And again: "Wisdom built herself an house. Concerning Him also Isaiah said: "A
Branch shall come out of the root of Jesse, and a Flower shall spring out of his root.
And, "There shall be a root of Jesse; and He that is to rise to reign over the Gentiles,
in Him shall the Gentiles trust. And Zechariah says: " Behold, thy King cometh unto thee,
just, and having salvation; meek, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of an
ass. Him Daniel describes as "the Son of man coming to the Father," and receiving all
judgment and honour from Him; and as "the stone cut out of the mountain without hands, and
becoming a great mountain, and filling the whole earth," dashing to pieces the many
governments of the smaller countries, and the polytheism of gods, but preaching the one
God, and ordaining the monarchy of the Romans. Concerning Him also did Jeremiah prophesy,
saying: "The Spirit before His face, Christ the Lord, was taken in their snares: of whom
we said, Under His shadow we shall live among the Gentiles. Ezekiel also, and the
following prophets, affirm everywhere that He is the Christ, the Lord, the King, the
Judge, the Lawgiver, the Angel of the Father, the only-begotten God.

50 Him therefore do we also preach to you, and declare Him to be God the Word, who
ministered to His God and Father for the creation of the universe. By believing in Him you
shall live, but by disbelieving you shall be punished. For "he that is disobedient to the
Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. Therefore, after you have
kept the festival of Pentecost, keep one week more festival, and after that fast; for it
is reasonable to rejoice for the gift of God, and to fast after that relaxation: for both
Moses and Elijah fasted forty days, and Daniel for "three weeks of days did not eat
desirable bread, and flesh and wine did not enter into his mouth. And blessed Hannah, when
she asked for Samuel, said: "I have not drunk wine nor strong drink, and I pour out my
soul before the Lord. And the Ninevites, when they fasted three days and three nights,
escaped the execution of wrath. And Esther, and Mordecai, and Judith, by fasting, escaped
the insurrection of the ungodly Holofernes and Haman. And David says: "My knees are weak
through fasting, and my flesh faileth for want of oil. Do you therefore fast, and ask your
petitions of God. We enjoin you to fast every fourth day of the week, and every day of the
preparation, and the surplusage of your fast bestow upon the needy; every Sabbath-day
excepting one, and every Lord's day, hold your solemn assemblies, and rejoice:

51 for he will be guilty of sin who fasts on the Lord's day, being the day of the
resurrection, or during the time of Pentecost, or, in general, who is sad on a festival
day to the Lord. For on them we ought to rejoice, and not to mourn.


CONSTITUTIONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES, BOOK 6
==========================================

CONSTITUTIONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES, BOOK 6 Apostolic Constitutions

c. AD 380

Book 6, on schism and heresy: the apostles warn against the false teachers from Simon
Magus onward, and against those who follow the customs of the Jews.

Sec. I.-On Heresies. — Who They Were that Ventured to Make Schisms, and Did Not Escape
Punishment.

1 I. Above all things, O bishop, avoid the sad and dangerous and most atheistical
heresies, eschewing them as fire that burns those that come near to it. Avoid also
schisms: for it is neither lawful to turn one's mind towards wicked heresies, nor to
separate from those of the same sentiment out of ambition. For some who ventured to set up
such practices of old did not escape punishment. For Dathan and Abiram, who set up in
opposition to Moses, were swallowed up into the earth. But Corah, and those two hundred
and fifty who with him raised a sedition against Aaron, were consumed by fire. Miriam
also, who reproached Moses, was cast out of the camp for seven days; for she said that
Moses had taken an Ethiopian to wife. Nay, in the case of Azariah and Uzziah, the latter
of which was king of Judah, but venturing to usurp the priesthood, and desiring to offer
incense, which it was not lawful for him to do, was hindered by Azariah the high priest,
and the fourscore priests; and when he would not obey he found the leprosy to arise in his
forehead, and he hastened to go out, because the Lord had reproved him.

That It is Not Lawful to Rise Up Either Against the Kingly or the Priestly Office.

2 II. Let us therefore, beloved, consider what sort of glory that of the seditious is, and
what their condemnation. For if he that rises up against kings is worthy of punishment,
even though he be a son or a friend, how much more he that rises up against the priests!
For by how much the priesthood is more noble than the royal power, as having its concern
about the soul, so much has he a greater punishment who ventures to oppose the priesthood,
than he who ventures to oppose the royal power, although neither of them goes unpunished.
For neither did Absalom nor Abdadan escape without punishment; nor Corah and Dathan. The
former rose against David, and strove concerning the kingdom; the latter against Moses,
concerning pre-eminence. And they both spake evil; Absalom of his father David, as of an
unjust judge, saying to every one: "Thy words are good, but there is no one that will hear
thee, and do thee justice. Who will make me a ruler? " But Abdadan: "I have no part in
David, nor any inheritance in the son of Jesse. It is plain that he could not endure to be
under David's government, of whom God spake: "I have found David the son of Jesse, a man
after my heart, who will do all my commands. But Dathan and Abiram, and the followers of
Corah, said to Moses: "Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us out of the land of
Egypt, out of a land flowing with milk and honey?

3 And why hast thou put out our eyes? And wilt thou rule over us? "And they gathered
together against him a great congregation; and the followers of Corah said: "Has God
spoken alone to Moses? Why is it that He has given the high-priesthood to Aaron alone? Is
not all the congregation of the Lord holy? And why is Aaron alone possessed of the
priesthood? " And before this, one said: "Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us? "

Concerning the Virtue of Moses and the Incredulity of the Jewish Nation, and What
Wonderful Works God Did Among Them.

4 III. And they raised a sedition against Moses the servant of God, the meekest of all
men, and faithful, and affronted so great a man with the highest ingratitude; him who was
their lawgiver, and guardian, and high priest, and king, the administrator of divine
things; one that showed as a creator the mighty works of the Creator; the meekest man,
freest from arrogance, and full of fortitude, and most benign in his temper; one who had
delivered them from many dangers, and freed them from several deaths by his holiness; who
had done so many signs and wonders from God before the people, and had performed glorious
and wonderful works for their benefit; who had brought the ten plagues upon the Egyptians;
who had divided the Red Sea, and had separated the waters as a walt on this side and on
that side, and had led the people through them as through a dry wilderness, and had
drowned Pharaoh and the Egyptians, and all that were in company with them; and had made
the fountain sweet for them with wood, and had brought water out of the stony rock for
them when they were thirsty; and had given them manna out of heaven, and had distributed
flesh to them out of the air; and had afforded them a pillar of fire in the night to
enlighten and conduct them, and a pillar of a cloud to shadow them in the day, by reason
of the violent heat of the sun;

5 and had exhibited to them the law of God, engraven from the mouth, and hand, and writing
of God, in tables of stone, the perfect number of ten commandments; "to whom God spake
face to face, as if a man spake to his friend; " of whom He said, "And there arose not a
prophet like unto Moses. Against him arose the followers of Corah, and the Reubenites, and
threw stones at Moses, who prayed, and said: "Accept not Thou their offering. And the
glory of God appeared, and sent some down into the earth, and burnt up others with fire;
and so, as to those ringleaders of this schismatical deceit which said, "Let us make
ourselves a leader," the earth opened its mouth, and swallowed them up, and their tents,
and what appertained to them, and they went down alive into hell; but tie destroyed the
followers of Corah with fire.

Sec. II.-History and Doctrines of Heresies. — That Schism is Made. Not by Him Who
Separates Himself from the Ungodly, But Who Departs from the Godly.

6 IV. If therefore God inflicted punishment immediately on those that made a schism on
account of their ambition, how much rather will He do it upon those who are the leaders of
impious heresies! Will not He inflict severer punishment on those that blaspheme His
providence or His creation? But do you, brethren, who are instructed out of the Scripture,
take care not to make divisions in opinion, nor divisions in unity. For those who set up
unlawful opinions are marks of perdition to the people. In like manner, do not you of the
laity come near to such as advance doctrines contrary to the mind of God; nor be you
partakers of their impiety. For says God: "Separate yourselves from (he midst of these
men, lest you perish together with them." And again: "Depart from the midst of them, and
separate yourselves, says the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive
you."

Upon What Account Israel, Falsely So Named, is Rejected by God, Demonstrated from the
Prophetic Predictions.

7 V. For those are most certainly to be avoided who blaspheme God. The greatest part of
the ungodly, indeed, are ignorant of God; but these men, as fighters against God, are
possessed with a wilful evil disposition, as with a disease. For from the wickedness of
these heretics "pollution is gone out upon all the earth," as says the prophet Jeremiah.
For the wicked synagogue is now cast off by the Lord God, and His house is rejected by
Him, as He somewhere speaks: "I have forsaken mine house, I have left mine inheritance.
And again, says Isaiah: "I will neglect my vineyard, and it shall not be pruned nor
digged, and thorns shall spring up upon it, as upon a desert; and I will command the
clouds that they rain no rain upon it. He has therefore "left His people as a tent in a
vineyard, and as a garner in a fig or olive yard, and as a besieged city. He has taken
away from them the Holy Spirit, and the prophetic rain, and has replenished His Church
with spiritual grace, as the "river of Egypt in the time of first-fruits; " and has
advanced the same "as an house upon an hill, or as an high mountain; as a mountain
fruitful for milk and fatness, wherein it has pleased God to dwell. For the Lord will
inhabit therein to the end. And He says in Jeremiah: "Our sanctuary is an exalted throne
of glory. And He says in Isaiah:

8 "And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord shall be
glorious, and the house of the Lord shall be upon the top of the mountains, and shall be
advanced above the hills. Since, therefore, He has forsaken His people, He has also left
His temple desolate, and rent the veil of the temple, and took from them the Holy Spirit;
for says He, "Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. And He has bestowed upon you,
the converted of the Gentiles, spiritual grace, as He says by Joel: "And it shall come to
pass after these things, saith God, that I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh; and
your sons shall prophesy, and your daughters shall see visions, and your old men shall
dream dreams. For God has taken away all the power and efficacy of His word, and such like
visitations, from that people, and has transferred it to you, the converted of the
Gentiles. For on this account the devil himself is very angry at the holy Church of God:
he is removed to you, and has raised against you adversities, seditions, and reproaches,
schisms, and heresies. For he had before subdued that people to himself, by their slaying
of Christ. But you who have left his vanities he tempts in different ways, as he did the
blessed Job. For indeed he opposed that great high priest Joshua the son of Josedek; and
he oftentimes sought to sift us, that our faith might fail.

9 But our Lord and Master, having brought him to trial, said unto him: "The Lord rebuke
thee, O devil; and the Lord, who hath chosen Jerusalem, rebuke thee. Is not this plucked
out of the fire as a brand? " And who said then to those that stood by the high priest,
"Take away his ragged garments from him; "and added, "Behold, I have taken thine
iniquities away from thee; "He will say now, as He said formerly of us when we were
assembled together, "I have prayed that your faith may not fail."

That Even Among the Jews There Arose the Doctrine of Several Heresies Hateful to God.

10 VI. For even the Jewish nation had wicked heresies: for of them were the Sadducees, who
do not confess the resurrection of the dead; and the Pharisees, who ascribe the practice
of sinners to fortune and fate; and the Basmotheans, who deny providence, and say that the
world is made by spontaneous motion, and take away the immortality of the soul; and the
Hemerobaptists, who every day, unless they wash, do not eat,-nay, and unless they cleanse
their beds and tables, or platters and cups and seats, do not make use of any of them; and
those who arc newly risen amongst us, the Ebionites, who will have the Son of God to be a
mere man, begotten by human pleasure, and the conjunction of Joseph and Mary. There are
also those that separate themselves from all these, and observe the laws of their fathers,
and these are the Essenes. These, therefore, arose among the former people. And now the
evil one, who is wise to do mischief, and as for goodness, knows no such good thing, has
cast out some from among us, and has wrought by them heresies and schisms.

Whence the Heresies Sprang, and Who Was the Ringleader of Their Impiety.

11 VII. Now the original of the new heresies began thus: the devil entered into one Simon,
of a village called Gitthae, a Samaritan, by profession a magician, and made him the
minister of his wicked design. For when Philip our fellow-apostle, by the gift of the Lord
and the energy of His Spirit, performed the miracles of healing in Samaria, insomuch that
the Samaritans were affected, and embraced the faith of the God of the universe, and of
the Lord Jesus, and were baptized into His name; nay, and that Simon himself, when he saw
the signs and wonders which were done without any magic ceremonies, fell into admiration,
and believed, and was baptized, and continued in fasting and prayer,-we heard of the grace
of God which was among the Samaritans by Philip, and came down to them; and enlarging much
upon the word of doctrine, we laid our hands upon all that were baptized, and we conferred
upon them the participation of the Spirit. But when Simon saw that the Spirit was given to
believers by the imposition of our hands, he took money, and offered it to us, saying,
"Give me also the power, that on whomsoever I also shall lay my hand, he may receive the
Holy Ghost;

12 " being desirous that as the devil deprived Adam by his tasting of the tree of that
immortality which was promised him, so also that Simon might entice us by the receiving of
money, and might thereby cut us off from the gift of God, that so by exchange we might
sell to him for money the inestimable gift of the Spirit. But as we were all troubled at
this offer, I Peter, with a fixed attention on that malicious serpent which was in him,
said to Simon: "Let thy money go with thee to perdition, because thou hast thought to
purchase the gift of God with money. Thou hast no part in this matter, nor lot in this
faith; for thy heart is not fight in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this thy
wickedness, and pray to the Lord, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven
thee. For I perceive thou art in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity. But then
Simon was terrified, and said: "I entreat you, pray ye to the Lord for me, that none of
those things which ye have spoken come upon me."

Who Were the Successors of Simon's Impiety, and What Heresies They Set Up.

13 VIII. But when we went forth among the Gentiles to preach the word of life, then the
devil wrought in the people to send after us false apostles to the corrupting of the word;
arid they sent forth one Cleobius, and joined him with Simon, and these became disciples
to one Dositheus, whom they despising, put him down from the principality. Afterwards also
others were the authors of absurd doctrines: Cerinthus, and Marcus, and Menander, and
Basilides, and Saturnilus. Of these some own the doctrine of many gods, some only of
three, but contrary to each other, without beginning, and ever with one another, and some
of an infinite number of them, and those unknown ones also. And some reject marriage; and
their doctrine is, that it is not the appointment of God; and others abhor some kinds of
food: some are impudent in uncleanness, such as those who are falsely called Nicolaitans.
And Simon meeting me Peter, first at Caesarea Stratonis (where the faithful Cornelius, a
Gentile, believed on the Lord Jesus by me), endeavoured to pervert the word of God; there
being with me the holy children, Zacchaeus, who was once a publican, and Barnabas; and
Nicetas and Aquila, brethren of Clement the bishop and citizen of Rome, who was the
disciple of Paul, our fellow-apostle and fellow-helper in the Gospel. I thrice discoursed
before them with him concerning the true Prophet, and concerning the monarchy of God; and
when I had overcome him by the power of the Lord, and had put him to silence, I drove him
away into Italy.

How Simon, Desiring to Fly by Some Magical Arts, Fell Down Headlong from on High at the
Prayers of Peter, and Brake His Feet, and Hands, and Ankle-Bones.

14 IX. Now when he was in Rome, he mightily disturbed the Church, and subverted many, and
brought them over to himself, and astonished the Gentiles with his skill in magic,
insomuch that once, in the middle of the day, he went into their theatre, and commanded
the people that they should bring me also by force into the theatre, and promised he would
fly in the air; and when all the people were in suspense at this, I prayed by myself. And
indeed he was carried up into the air by demons, and did fly on high in the air, saying
that he was returning into heaven, and that he would supply them with good things from
thence. And the people making acclamations to him, as to a god, I stretched out my hands
to heaven, with my mind, and besought God through the Lord Jesus to throw down this
pestilent fellow, and to destroy the power of those demons that made use of the same for
the seduction and perdition of men, to dash him against the ground, and bruise him, but
not to kill him. And then, fixing my eyes on Simon, I said to him:

15 "If I be a man of God, and a real apostle of Jesus Christ, and a teacher of piety, and
not of deceit, as thou art, Simon, I command the wicked powers of the apostate from piety,
by whom Simon the magician is carried, to let go their hold, that he may fall down
headlong from his height, that he may be exposed to the laughter of those that have been
seduced by him. When I had said these words, Simon was deprived of his powers, and fell
down headlong with a great noise, and was violently dashed against the ground, and had his
hip and ankle-bones broken; and the people cried out, saying, "There is one only God, whom
Peter rightly preaches in truth. And many left him; but some who were worthy of perdition
continued in his wicked doctrine. And after this manner the most atheistical heresy of the
Simonians was first established in Rome; and the devil wrought by the rest of the false
apostles also.

How the Heresies Differ from Each Other, and from the Truth.

16 X. Now all these had one and the same design of atheism, to blaspheme Almighty God, to
spread their doctrine that He is an unknown being, and not the Father of Christ, nor the
Creator of the world; but one who cannot be spoken of, ineffable, not to be named, and
begotten by Himself; that we are not to make use of the law and the prophets; that there
is no providence and no resurrection to be believed; that there is no judgment nor
retribution; that the soul is trot immortal; that we must only indulge our pleasures, and
turn to any sort of worship without distinction. Some of them say that there are many
gods, some that there are three gods without beginning, some that there are two unbegotten
gods, some that there are innumerable Aeons. Further, some of them teach that men are not
to marry, and must abstain from flesh and wine, affirming that marriage, and the begetting
of children, and the eating of certain foods, are abominable; that so, as sober persons,
they may make their wicked opinions to be received as worthy of belief. And some of them
absolutely prohibit the eating of flesh, as being the flesh not of brute animals, but of
creatures that have a rational soul, as though those that ventured to slay them would be
charged with the crime of murder. But others of them affirm that we must only abstain from
swine's flesh, but may eat such as are clean by the law;

17 and that we ought to be circumcised, according to the law, and to believe in Jesus as
in an holy man and a prophet. But others teach that men ought to be impudent in
uncleanness, and to abuse the flesh, and to go through all unholy practices, as if this
were the only way for the soul to avoid the rulers of this world. Now all these are the
instruments of the devil, and the children of wrath.

Sec. III.-The Heresies Attacked by the Apostles. — An Exposition of the Preaching of the
Apostles.

18 XI. But we, who are the children of God and the sons of peace, do preach the holy and
right word of piety, and declare one only God, the Lord of the law and of the prophets,
the Maker of the world, the Father of Christ; not a being that caused Himself, or begat
Himself, as they suppose, but eternal, and without original, and inhabiting light
inaccessible; not two or three, or manifold, but eternally one only; not a being that
cannot be known or spoken of, but who was preached by the law and the prophets; the
Almighty, the Supreme Governor of all things, the All-powerful Being; the God and Father
of the Only-begotten, and of the First-born of the whole creation; one God, the Father of
one Son, not of many; the Maker of one Comforter by Christ, the Maker of the other orders,
the one Creator of the several creatures by Christ, the same their Preserver and
Legislator by Him; the cause of the resurrection, and of the judgment, and of the
retribution which shall be made by Him: that this same Christ was pleased to become man,
and went through life without sin, and suffered, and rose from the dead, and, returned to
Him that sent Him. We also say that every creature of God is good, and nothing abominable;
that everything for the support of life, when it is partaken of righteously, is very good:
for, according to the Scripture, "all things were very good.

19 We believe that lawful marriage, and the begetting of children, is honourable and
undefiled; for difference of sexes was formed in Adam and Eve for the increase of mankind.
We acknowledge with us a soul that is incorporeal and immortal,-not corruptible as bodies
are, but immortal, as being rational and free. We abhor all unlawful mixtures, and that
which is practised by some against nature as wicked and impious. We profess there will be
a resurrection both of the just and unjust, and a retribution. We profess that Christ is
not a mere man, but God the Word, and man the Mediator between God and men, the High
Priest of the Father; nor are we circumcised with the Jews, as knowing that He is come "to
whom the inheritance was reserved," and on whose account the families were kept
distinct-"the expectation of the Gentiles," Jesus Christ, who sprang out of Judah, the Son
from the branch, the flower from Jesse, whose government is upon His shoulder.

For Those that Confess Christ, But are Desirous to Judaize.

20 XII. But because this heresy did then seem the more powerful to seduce men, and the
whole Church was in danger, we the twelve assembled together at Jerusalem (for Matthias
was chosen to be an apostle in the room of the betrayer, and took the lot of Judas; as it
is said, "His bishopric let another take"). We deliberated, together with James the Lord's
brother, what was to be done; and it seemed good to him and to the elders to speak to the
people words of doctrine. For certain men likewise went down from Judea to Antioch, and
taught the brethren who were there, saying: "Unless ye be circumcised after the manner of
Moses, and walk according to the other customs which he ordained, ye cannot be saved.
When, therefore, there had been no small dissension and disputation, the brethren which
were at Antioch, when they knew that we were all met together about this question, sent
out unto us men who were faithful and understanding in the Scriptures to learn concerning
this question. And they, when they were come to Jerusalem, declared to us what questions
were arisen in the church of Antioch,-namely, that some said men ought to be circumcised,
and to observe the other purifications. And when some said one thing, and some another, I
Peter stood up, and said unto them: "Men and brethren, ye know how that from ancient days
God made choice among you that the Gentiles should hear the word of the Gospel by my
mouth, and believe;

21 and God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness. For an angel of the Lord appeared
on a certain time to Cornelius, who was a centurion of the Roman government, and spake to
him concerning me, that he should send for me, and hear the word, of life from my mouth.
He therefore sent for me from Joppa to Caesarea Stratonis; and when I was ready to go to
him, I would have eaten. And while they made ready I was in the upper room praying; and I
saw heaven opened, and a vessel, knit at the four corners like a splendid sheet, let down
to the earth, wherein were all manner of four-looted beasts, and creeping things of the
earth, and fowls of the heaven. And there came a voice out of heaven to me, saying, Arise,
Peter; kill, and eat. And I said, By no means, Lord: for I have never eaten anything
common or unclean. And there came a voice a second time, saying, What God hath cleansed,
that call not thou common. And this was done thrice, and the vessel was received up again
into heaven. But as I doubted what this vision should mean, the Spirit said to me, Behold,
men seek thee; but rise up, and go thy way with them, nothing doubting, for I have sent
them.

22 These men were those which came from the centurion, and so by reasoning I understood
the word of the Lord which is written: `Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall
be saved.' And again: `All the ends of the earth shall remember, and turn unto the Lord,
and all the families of the heathen shall worship before Him: for the kingdom is in the
Lord's, and He is the governor of the nations.' And observing that there were expressions
everywhere concerning the calling of the Gentiles, I rose up, and went with them, and
entered into the man's house. And while I was preaching the word, the Holy 'Spirit fell
upon him, and upon those that were with him, as it did upon us at the beginning; and He
put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. And I perceived
that God is no respecter of persons; but that in every nation he that feareth Him, and
worketh righteousness, will be accepted with Him. But even the believers which were of the
circumcision were astonished at this. Now therefore why tempt ye God, to lay an heavy yoke
upon the neck of the disciples, which neither we nor our fathers were able to bear? But by
the grace of the Lord, we believe we shall be saved, even as they. For the Lord has loosed
us from our bonds, and has made our burden light, and has loosed the heavy yoke from us by
His clemency.

23 While I spake these things, the whole multitude kept silence. But James the Lord's
brother answered and said: "Men and brethren, hearken unto me; Simeon hath declared how
God at first visited to take out a people from the Gentiles for His name. And to this
agree the words of the prophets; as it is written: `Afterwards I will return, and will
raise again and rebuild the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will rebuild
its ruins, and will again set it up, that the residue of men may seek after the Lord, and
all the nations upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doth these things.' Known
unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world. Wherefore my sentence is, that
we do not trouble those who from among the Gentiles turn unto God: but to charge them that
they abstain from the pollutions of the Gentiles, and from what is sacrificed to idols,
and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication; which laws were given to
the ancients who lived before the law, under the law of nature, Enos, Enoch, Noah,
Melchizedek, Job, and if there be any other of the same sort.

24 Then it seemed good to us the apostles, and to James the bishop, and to the elders,
with the whole Church, to send men chosen from among our own selves, with Barnabas, and
Paul of Tarsus, the apostle of the Gentiles, and Judas who was called Barsabbas, and
Silas, chief men among the brethren, and wrote by their hand, as follows: "The apostles,
and elders, and brethren, to the brethren of Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia of the Gentiles,
send greeting: Since we have heard that some from us have troubled you with words,
subverting your souls, to whom we gave no such commandment, it has seemed good to us, when
we were met together with one accord, to send chosen men to you, with our beloved Barnabas
and Paul, men that have hazarded their lives for our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom ye sent
unto us. We have sent also with them Judas and Silas, who shall themselves declare the
same things by mouth. For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay no other
burden upon you than these necessary things; that ye abstain from things offered to idols,
and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which things if ye
keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well. We accordingly sent this epistle; but we
ourselves remained in Jerusalem many days, consulting together for the public benefit, for
the well ordering of all things.

That We Must Separate from Heretics.

25 XIII. But after a long time we visited the brethren, and confirmed them with the word
of piety, and charged them to avoid those who, under the name of Christ and Moses, war
against Christ and Moses, and in the clothing of sheep hide the wolf. For these are false
Christs, and false prophets, and false apostles, deceivers and corrupters, portions of
foxes, the destroyers of the herbs of the vineyards: "for whose sake the love of many will
wax cold. But he that endureth stedfast to the end, the same shall be saved. Concerning
whom, that He might secure us, the Lord declared, saying: "There will come to you men in
sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their
fruits; take care of them. For false Christs and false prophets shall arise and shall
deceive many."

Who Were the Preachers of the Catholic Doctrine, and Which are the Commandments Given by
Them.

26 XIV. On whose account also we, who are now assembled in one place,-Peter and Andrew;
James and John, sons of Zebedee; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew; James the son
of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus who is surnamed Thaddaeus; and Simon the Canaanite, and
Matthias, who instead of Judas was numbered with us; and James the brother of the Lord and
bishop of Jerusalem, and Paul the teacher of the Gentiles, the chosen vessel, having all
met together, have written to you this Catholic doctrine for the confirmation of you, to
whom the oversight of the universal Church is committed: wherein we declare unto you, that
there is only one God Almighty, besides whom there is no other, and that you must worship
and adore Him alone, through Jesus Christ our Lord, in the most holy Spirit; that you are
to make use of the sacred Scriptures, the law, and the prophets; to honour your parents;
to avoid all unlawful actions; to believe the resurrection and the judgment, and to expect
the retribution; and to use all His creatures with thankfulness, as the works of God, and
having no evil in them; to marry after a lawful manner, for such marriage is unblameable.
For "the woman is suited to the man by the Lord; " and the Lord says: "He that made them
from the beginning, made them male and female; and said, For this cause shall a man leave
his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they two shall be one
flesh.

27 Nor let it be esteemed lawful after marriage to put her away who is without blame. For
says He: "Thou shalt take care to thy spirit, and shalt not forsake the wife of thy youth;
for she is the partner of thy life, and the remains of thy spirit. I and no other have
made her. For the Lord says: "What God has joined together, let no man put asunder. For
the wife is the partner of life, united by God unto one body from two. But he that divides
that again into two which is become one, is the enemy of the creation of God, and the
adversary of His providence. In like manner, he that retains her that is corrupted is a
transgressor of the law of nature; since "he that retains an adulteress is foolish and
impious. For says He, "Cut her off from thy flesh; " for she is not an help, but a snare,
bending her mind from thee to another. Nor be ye circumcised in your flesh, but let the
circumcision which is of the heart by the Spirit suffice for the faithful; for He says,
"Be ye circumcised to your God, and be circumcised in the foreskin of your heart."

That We Ought Not to Rebaptize, Nor to Receive that Baptism Which is Given by the Ungodly,
Which is Not Baptism, But a Pollution.

28 XV. Be ye likewise contented with one baptism alone, that which is into the death of
the Lord; not that which is conferred by wicked heretics, but that which is conferred by
unblameable priests, "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: "
and let not that which comes from the ungodly be received by you, nor let that which is
done by the godly be disannulled by a second. For as there is one God, one Christ, and one
Comforter, and one death of the Lord in the body, so let that baptism which is unto Him be
but one. But those that receive polluted baptism from the ungodly will become partners in
their opinions. For they are not priests. For God says to them: "Because thou hast
rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee from the office of a priest to me. Nor indeed
are those that are baptized by them initiated, but are polluted, not receiving the
remission of sins, but the bond of impiety. And, besides, they that attempt to baptize
those already initiated crucify the Lord afresh, slay Him a second time, laugh at divine
and ridicule holy things, affront the Spirit, dishonour the sacred blood of Christ as
common blood, are impious against Him that sent, Him that suffered, and Him that
witnessed. Nay, he that, out of contempt, will not be baptized, shall be condemned as an
unbeliever, and shall be reproached as ungrateful and foolish. For the Lord says:

29 "Except a man be baptized of water and of the Spirit, he shall by no means enter into
the kingdom of heaven. And again: "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but
he that believeth not shall be damned. But he that says, When I am dying I will be
baptized, lest I should sin and defile my baptism, is ignorant of God, and forgetful of
his own nature. For "do not thou delay to turn unto the Lord, for thou knowest not what
the next day will bring forth. Do you also baptize your infants, and bring them up in the
nurture and admonition of God. For says He: "Suffer the little children to come unto me,
and forbid them not."

Concerning Books with False Inscriptions.

30 XVI. We have sent all these things to you, that ye may know our opinion, what it is;
and that ye may not receive those books which obtain in our name, but are written by the
ungodly. For you are not to attend to the names of the apostles, but to the nature of the
things, and their settled opinions. For we know that Simon and Cleobius, and their
followers, have compiled poisonous books under the name of Christ and of His disciples,
and do carry them about in order to deceive yon who love Christ, and us His servants. And
among the ancients also some have written apocryphal books of Moses, and Enoch, and Adam,
and Isaiah, and David, and Elijah, and of the three patriarchs, pernicious and repugnant
to the truth. The same things even now have the wicked heretics done, reproaching the
creation, marriage, providence, the begetting of children, the law, and the prophets;
inscribing certain barbarous names, and, as they think, of angels, but, to speak the
truth, of demons, which suggest things to them: whose doctrine eschew, that ye may not be
partakers of the punishment due to those that write such things for the seduction and
perdition of the faithful and unblameable disciples of the Lord Jesus.

Matrimonial Precepts Concerning Clergymen.

31 XVII. We have already said, that a bishop, a presbyter, and a deacon, when they are
constituted, must be but once married, whether their wives be alive or whether they be
dead; and that it is not lawful for them, if they are unmarried when they are ordained, to
be married afterwards; or if they be then married, to marry a second time, but to be
content with that wife. which they had when they came to ordination. We also appoint that
the ministers, and singers, and readers, and porters, shall be only once married. But if
they entered into the clergy before they were married, we permit them to many, if they
have an inclination thereto, lest they sin and incur punishment. But we do not permit any
one of the clergy to take to wife either a courtesan, or a servant, or a widow, or one
that is divorced, as also the law says. Let the deaconess be a pure virgin; or, at the
least, a widow who has been but once married, faithful, and well esteemed.

An Exhortation Commanding to Avoid the Communion of the Impious Heretics.

32 XVIII. Receive ye the penitent, for this is the will of God in Christ. Instruct the
catechumens in the elements of religion, and then baptize them. Eschew the antheistical
heretics, who are past repentance, and separate them from the faithful, and excommunicate
them from the Church of God, and charge the faithful to abstain entirely from them, and
not to partake with them either in sermons or prayers: for these are those that are
enemies to the Church, and lay snares for it; who corrupt the flock, and defile the
heritage of Christ, pretenders only to wisdom, and the vilest of men; concerning whom
Solomon the wise said: "The wicked doers pretend to act piously. For, says he, "there is a
way which seemeth right to some, but the ends thereof look to the bottom of hell. These
are they concerning whom the Lord declared His mind with bitterness and severity, saying
that "they are false Christs and false teachers; " who have blasphemed the Spirit of
grace, and done despite to the gift they had from Him after the grace of baptism, "to whom
forgiveness shall not be granted, neither in this world nor in that which is to come; "
who are both more wicked than the Jews and more atheistical than the Gentiles; who
blaspheme the God over all, and tread under foot His Son, and do despite to the doctrine
of the Spirit;

33 who deny the words of God, or pretend hypocritically to receive them, to the affronting
of God, and the deceiving of those that come among them; who abuse the Holy Scriptures,
and as for righteousness, they do not so much as know what it is; who spoil the Church of
God, as the "little foxes do the vineyard; " whom we exhort you to avoid, lest you lay
traps for your own souls. "For he that walketh with wise men shall be wise, but he that
walketh with the foolish shall be known. For we ought neither to run along with a thief,
nor put in our lot with an adulterer; since holy David says: "O Lord, I have hated them
that hate Thee, and I am withered away on account of Thy enemies. I hated them with a
perfect hatred: they were to me as enemies. And God reproaches Jehoshaphat with his
friendship towards Ahab, and his league with him and with Ahaziah, by Jonah the prophet:
"Art thou in friendship with a sinner? Or dost thou aid him that is hated by the Lord? "
"For this cause the wrath of the Lord would be upon thee suddenly, but that thy heart is
found perfect with the Lord. For this cause the Lord hath spared thee; yet are thy works
shattered, and thy ships broken to pieces. Eschew therefore their fellowship, and estrange
yourselves from their friendship. For concerning them did the prophet declare, and say:
"It is not lawful to rejoice with the ungodly," says the Lord.

34 For these are hidden wolves, dumb dogs, that cannot bark, who at present are but few,
but in process of time, when the end of the world draws nigh, will be more in number and
more troublesome, of whom said the Lord, "Will the Son of man, when He comes, find faith
on the earth? " and, "Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold;
"and, "There shall come false Christs and false prophets, and shall show signs in the
heaven, so as, if it were possible, to deceive the elect: " from whose deceit God, through
Jesus Christ, who is our hope, will deliver us. For we ourselves, as we passed through the
nations, and confirmed the churches. curing some with much exhortation and healing words,
restored them again when they were in the certain way to death. But those that were
incurable we cast out from the flock, that they might not infect the lambs, which were
found with their scabby disease, but might continue before the Lord God pure and
undefiled, sound and unspotted. And this we did in every city, everywhere through the
whole world, and have left to you the bishops and to the rest of the priests this very
Catholic doctrine worthily and righteously, as a memorial or confirmation to those who
have believed in God;

35 and we have sent it by our fellow-minister Clement, our most faithful and intimate son
in the Lord, together with Barnabas, and Timothy our most dearly beloved son, and the
genuine Mark, together with whom we recommend to you also Titus and Luke, and Jason and
Lucius, and Sosipater.

Sec. IV.-Of the Law.

36 By whom also we exhort you in the Lord to abstain from your old conversation, vain
bonds, separations, observances, distinction of meats, and daily washings: for "old things
are passed away; behold, all things are become new."

To Those that Speak Evil of the Law.

37 XIX. For since ye have known God through Jesus Christ, and all His dispensation, as it
has been from the beginning, that He gave a plain law to assist the law of nature, such a
one as is pure, saving, and holy, in which His own name was inscribed, perfect, which is
never to fail, being complete in ten commands, unspotted, converting souls; which, when
the Hebrews forgot, He put them in mind of it by the prophet Malachi, saying, "Remember ye
the law of Moses, the man of God, who gave you in charge commandments and ordinances."
Which law is so very holy and righteous, that even our Saviour, when on a certain time He
healed one leper, and afterwards nine, said to the first, "Go, show thyself to the high
priest, and offer the gift which Moses commanded for a testimony unto them; " and
afterwards to the nine, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." For He nowhere has dissolved
the law, as Simon pretends, bat fulfilled it; for He says: "One iota, or one tittle, shall
not pass from the law until all be fulfilled." For says He, "I come not to dissolve the
law, but to fulfil it." For Moses himself, who was at once the lawgiver, and the high
priest, and the prophet, and the king, and Elijah, the zealous follower of the prophets,
were present at our Lord's transfiguration in the mountain, and witnesses of His
incarnation and of His sufferings, as the intimate friends of Christ, but not as enemies
and strangers. Whence it is demonstrated that the law is good and holy, as also the
prophets.

Which is the Law of Nature, and Which is that Afterwards Introduced, and Why It Was
Introduced.

38 XX. Now the law is the decalogue, which the Lord promulgated to them with an audible
voice, before the people made that calf which represented the Egyptian Apis. And the law
is righteous, and therefore is it called the law, because judgments are thence made
according to the law of nature, which the followers of Simon abuse, supposing they shall
not be judged thereby, and so shall escape punishment. This law is good, holy, and such as
lays no compulsion in things positive. For He says: "If thou wilt make me an altar, thou
shalt make it of earth. It does not say, "Make one," but, "If thou wilt make. It does not
impose a necessity, but gives leave to their own free liberty. For God does not stand in
need of sacrifices, being by nature above all want. But knowing that, as of old, Abel,
beloved of God, and Noah and Abraham, and those that succeeded, without being required,
but only moved of themselves by the law of nature, did offer sacrifice to God out of a
grateful mind; so He did now permit the Hebrews, not commanding, but, if they had a mind,
permitting them; and if they offered from a right intention, showing Himself pleased with
their sacrifices. Therefore He says: "If thou desirest to offer, do not offer. to me as to
one that stands in need of it, for I stand in need of nothing; for the world is mine, and
the fulness thereof.

39 But when this people became forgetful of that, and called upon a calf as God, instead
of the true God, and to him did ascribe the cause of their coming out of Egypt, saying,
"These are thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt; " and
when these men had committed: wickedness with the "similitude of a calf that eateth hay;
"and denied God who had visited them by Moses in their afflictions, and had done signs
with his hand and rod, and had smitten the Egyptians with ten plagues; who bad divided the
waters of the Red Sea into two parts; who had led them in the midst of the water, asa
horse upon the ground; who had drowned their enemies, and those that laid wait for them;
who at Marah had made sweet the bitter fountain; who had brought water out of the sharp
rock till they were satisfied; who had overshadowed them with a pillar of a cloud on
account of the immoderate heat, and with a pillar of fire which enlightened and guided
them when they knew not which way they were to go; who gave them manna from heaven, and
gave them quails for flesh from the sea; who gave them the law in the mountain; whose
voice He had vouchsafed to let them hear; Him did they deny, and said to Aaron, "Make us
gods who shall go before us;

40 " and they made a molten calf, and sacrificed to an idol;-then was God angry, as being
ungratefully treated by them, and bound them with bonds which could not be loosed, with a
mortifying burden and a hard collar, and no longer said, "If thou makest," but, "Make an
altar," and sacrifice perpetually; for thou art forgetful and ungrateful. Offer burnt-
offerings therefore continually, that thou mayest be mindful of me. For since thou hast
wickedly abused thy power, I lay a necessity upon thee for the time to come, and I command
thee to abstain from certain meats; and I ordain thee the distinction of clean and unclean
creatures, although every creature is good, as being made by me; and I appoint thee
several separations, purgations, frequent washings and sprinklings, several purifications,
and several times of rest; and if thou neglectest any of them, I determine that punishment
which is proper to the disobedient, that being pressed and galled by thy collar, thou
mayest depart from the error of polytheism, and laying aside that, "These are thy gods, O
Israel," mayest be mindful of that, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord thy God is one Lord;

41 " and mayest run back again to that law which is inserted by me in the nature of all
men, "that there is only one God in heaven and on earth, and to love Him with all thy
heart, and all thy might, and all thy mind," and to fear none but Him, nor to admit the
names of other gods into thy mind, nor to let thy tongue utter them out of thy mouth. He
bound them for the hardness of their hearts, that by sacrificing, and resting, and
purifying themselves, and by similar observances, they might come to the knowledge of God,
who ordained these things for them.

That We Who Believe in Christ are Under Grace, and Not Under the Servitude of that
Additional Law.

42 XXI. "But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear." Yours, I
say, who have believed in the one God, not by necessity, but by a sound understanding, in
obedience to Him that called you. For you are released from the bonds, and freed from the
servitude. For says He: "I call you no longer servants, but friends; for all things that I
have heard of my Father have I made known unto you." For to them that would not see nor
hear, not for the want of those senses, but for the excess of their wickedness, "I gave
statutes that were not good, and judgments whereby they would not live; " they are looked
upon as not good, as burnings and a sword, and medicines are esteemed enemies by the sick,
and impossible to be observed on account of their obstinacy: whence also they brought
death upon them being not obeyed.

That the Law for Sacrifices is Additional, Which Christ When He Came Took Away.

43 XXII. You therefore are blessed who are delivered from the curse, For Christ, the Son
of God, by His coming has confirmed and completed the law, but has taken away the
additional precepts, although not all of them, yet at least the more grievous ones; having
confirmed the former, and abolished the latter, and has again set the free-will of man at
liberty, not subjecting him to the penalty of a temporal death, but giving laws to him
according to another constitution. Wherefore He says: "If any man will come after me, let
him come. And again: "Will ye also go away? " And besides, before His coining He refused
the sacrifices of the people, while they frequently offered them, when they sinned against
Him, and thought He was to be appeased by sacrifices, but not by repentance. For thus He
speaks: "Why dost thou bring to me frankincense from Saba, and cinnamon from a remote
land? Your burnt-offerings are not acceptable, and your sacrifices are not sweet to me.
And afterwards: "Gather your burnt-offerings, together with your sacrifices, and eat
flesh. For I did not command you, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt, concerning
burnt-offerings and sacrifices. And He says by Isaiah: "To what purpose do ye bring me a
multitude of sacrifices? saith the Lord. I am full of the burnt-offerings of rams, and I
will not accept the fat of lambs, and the blood of bulls and of goats. Nor do you come and
appear before me;

44 for who hath required these things at your hands? Do not go on to tread my courts any
more. If you bring me fine flour, it is vain: incense is an abomination unto me: your new
moons, and your Sabbaths, and your great day, I cannot bear them: your fasts, and your
rests, and your feasts, my soul hateth them; I am over-full of them. And He says by
another: "Depart from me; the sound of thine hymns, and the psalms of thy musical
instruments, I will not hear. And Samuel says to Saul, when he thought to sacrifice:
"Obedience is better than sacrifice, and hearkening than the fat of rams. For, behold, the
Lord does not so much delight in sacrifice, as in obeying Him. And He says by David: "I
will take no calves out of thine house, nor he-goats out of thy flock. If I should be
hungry, I would not tell thee; for the whole world is mine, and the fulness thereof. Shall
I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats? Sacrifice to God the sacrifice of
praise, and pay thy vows to the Most High. And in all the Scriptures in like manner He
refuses their sacrifices on account of their sinning against Him. For "the sacrifices of
the impious are an abomination with the Lord, since they offer them in an unlawful manner.
And again: "Their sacrifices are to them as bread of lamentation; all that eat of them
shall be defiled.

45 If, therefore, before His coining He sought for "a clean heart and a contrite spirit"
more than sacrifices, much rather would He abrogate those sacrifices, I mean those by
blood, when He came. Yet He so abrogated them as that He first fulfilled them. For He was
both circumcised, and sprinkled, and offered sacrifices and whole burnt-offerings, and
made use of the rest of their customs. And He that was the Lawgiver became Himself the
fulfilling of the law; not taking away the law of nature, but abrogating those additional
laws that were afterwards introduced, although not all of them neither.

How Christ Became a Fulfiller of the Law, and What Parts of It He Put a Period To, or
Changed, or Transferred.

46 XXIII. For He did not take away the law of nature, but confirmed it. For He that said
in the law, "The Lord thy God is one Lord; " the same says in the Gospel, "That they might
know Thee, the only true God. And He that said, "Thou shalt love thy neighhour as
thyself," says in the Gospel, renewing the same precept, "A new commandment I give unto
you, that ye love one another. He who then forbade murder, does now forbid causeless
anger. He that forbade adultery, does now forbid all unlawful lust. He that forbade
stealing, now pronounces him most happy who supplies those that are in want out of his own
labours. He that forbade hatred, now pronounces him blessed that loves his enemies. He
that forbade revenge, now commands long-suffering; not as if just revenge were an
unrighteous thing, but because long-suffering is more excellent. Nor did He make laws to
root out our natural passions, but only to forbid the excess of them. He who had commanded
to honour our parents, was Himself subject to them. He who had commanded to keep the
Sabbath, by resting thereon for the sake of meditating on the laws, has now commanded us
to consider of the law of creation, and of providence every day, and to return thanks to
God, He abrogated circumcision when He had Himself fulfilled it. For He it was "to whom
the inheritance was reserved, who was the expectation of the nations.

47 He who made a law for swearing rightly, and forbade perjury, has now charged us not to
swear at all. He has in several ways changed baptism, sacrifice, the priesthood, and the
divine service, which was confined to one place: for instead of daily baptisms, He has
given only one, which is that into His death. Instead of one tribe, He has appointed that
out of every nation the best should be ordained for the priesthood; and that not their
bodies should be examined for blemishes, but their religion and their lives. Instead of a
bloody sacrifice, He has appointed that reasonable and unbloody mystical one of His body
and blood, which is performed to represent the death of the Lord by symbols. Instead of
the divine service confined to one place, He has commanded and appointed that He should be
glorified from sunrising to sunsetting in every place of His dominion. He did not
therefore take away the law from us, but the bonds. For concerning the law Moses says:
"Thou shalt meditate on the word which I command thee, sitting in thine house, and rising
up, and walking in the way. And David says: "His delight is in the law of the Lord, and in
His law will he meditate day and night. For everywhere would he have us subject to His
laws, but not transgressors of them. For says He: "Blessed are the undefiled in the way,
who walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are they that search out His testimonies;

48 with their whole heart shall they seek Him. And again: "Blessed are we, O Israel,
because those things that are pleasing to God are known to us. And the Lord says: "If ye
know these things, happy are ye if ye do them."

That It Pleased the Lord that the Law of Righteousness Should Be Demonstrated by the
Romans.

49 XXIV. Nor does He desire that the law of righteousness should only be demonstrated by
us; but He is pleased that it should appear and shine by means of the Romans. For these
Romans, believing in the Lord, left off their polytheism and injustice, and entertain the
good, and punish the bad. But they hold the Jews under tribute, and do not suffer them to
make use of their own ordinances.

How God, on Account of Their Impiety Towards Christ, Made the Jews Captives, and Placed
Them Under Tribute.

50 XXV. Because, indeed, they drew servitude upon themselves voluntarily, when they said,
"We have no king but Caesar; " and, "If we do not slay Christ, all men will believe in
Him, and the Romans will come and will take away both our place and nation." And so they
prophesied unwittingly. For accordingly the nations believed on Him, and they themselves
were deprived by the Romans of their power, and of their legal worship; and they have been
forbidden to slay whom they please, and to sacrifice when they will. Wherefore they are
accursed, as not able to perform the things they are commanded to do. For says He: "Cursed
be he that does not continue in all things that are written in the book of the law to do
them." Now it is impossible in their dispersion, while they are among the heathen, for
them to perform all things in their law. For the divine Moses forbids both to rear an
altar out of Jerusalem, and to read the law out of the bounds of Judea. Let us therefore
follow Christ, that we may inherit His blessings. Let us walk after the law and the
prophets by the Gospel. Let us eschew the worshippers of many gods, and the murderers of
Christ, and the murderers of the prophets, and the wicked and atheistical heretics. Let us
be obedient to Christ as to our King, as having authority to change several constitutions,
and having, as a legislator, wisdom to make new constitutions in different circumstances;
yet so that everywhere the laws of nature be immutably preserved.

Sec. V.-The Teaching of the Apostles in Opposition to Jewish and Gentile Superstitions,
Especially in Regard to Marriage and Funerals. — That We Ought to Avoid the Heretics as
the Corrupters of Souls.

51 XXVI. Do you therefore, O bishops, and ye of the laity, avoid all heretics who abuse
the law and the prophets. For they are enemies to God Almighty, and disobey Him, and do
not confess Christ to be the Son of God. For they also deny His generation according to
the flesh; they are ashamed of the cross; they abuse His passion and His death; they know
not His resurrection; they take away His generation before all ages. Nay, some of them are
impious after another manner, imagining the Lord to be a mere man, supposing Him to
consist of a soul and body. But others of them suppose that Jesus Himself is the God over
all, and glorify Him as His own Father, and suppose Him to be both the Son and the
Comforter; than which doctrines what can be more detestable? Others, again, of them do
refuse certain meats, and say that marriage with the procreation of children is evil, and
the contrivance of the devil; and being ungodly themselves, they are not willing to rise
again from the dead on account of their wickedness. Wherefore also they ridicule the
resurrection, and say, We are holy people, unwilling to eat and to drink; and they fancy
that they shall rise again from the dead demons without flesh, who shall be condemned for
ever in eternal fire. Fly therefore from them, lest ye perish with them in their
impieties.

Of Some Jewish and Gentile Observances.

52 XXVII. Now if any persons keep to the Jewish customs and observances concerning the
natural emission and nocturnal pollutions, and the lawful conjugal acts, let them tell us
whether in those hours or days, when they undergo any such thing, they observe not to
pray, or to touch a Bible, or to partake of the Eucharist? And if they own it to be so, it
is plain they are void of the Holy Spirit, which always continues with the faithful. For
concerning holy persons Solomon says: "That every one may prepare himself, that so when he
sleeps it may keep him, and when he arises it may talk with him. For if thou thinkest, O
woman, when thou art seven days in thy separation, that thou art void of the Holy Spirit,
then if thou shouldest die suddenly thou wilt depart void of the Spirit, and without
assured hope in God; or else thou must imagine that the Spirit always is inseparable from
thee, as not being in a place. But thou standest in need of prayer and the Eucharist, and
the coming of the Holy Ghost, as having been guilty of no fault in this matter. For
neither lawful mixture, nor child-bearing, nor the menstrual purgation, nor nocturnal
pollution, can defile the nature of a man, or separate the Holy Spirit from him. Nothing
but impiety and unlawful practice can do that. For the Holy Spirit always abides with
those that are possessed of it, so long as they are worthy;

53 and those from whom it is departed, it leaves them desolate, and exposed to the wicked
spirit. Now every man is filled either with the holy or with the unclean spirit; and it is
not possible to avoid the one or the other, unless they can receive opposite spirits. For
the Comforter hates every lie, and the devil hates all truth. But every one that is
baptized agreeably to the truth is separated from the diabolical spirit, and is under the
Holy Spirit; and the Holy Spirit remains with him so long as he is doing good, and fills
him with wisdom and understanding, and suffers not the wicked spirit to approach him, but
watches over his goings. Thou therefore, O woman, if, as thou sayest, in the days of thy
separation thou art void of the Holy Spirit, thou art then filled with the unclean one;
for by neglecting to pray and to read thou wilt invite him to thee, though he were
unwilling. For this spirit, of all others, loves the ungrateful, the slothful, the
careless, and the drowsy, since he himself by ingratitude was distempered with evil mind,
and was thereby deprived by God his dignity; having rather chosen to be a devil than an
archangel. Wherefore, O woman, eschew such vain words, and be ever mindful of God that
created thee, and pray to Him. For He is thy Lord, and the Lord of the universe;

54 and meditate in His laws without observing any such things, such as the natural
purgation, lawful mixture, child-birth, a miscarriage, or a blemish of the body; since
such observations are the vain inventions of foolish men, and such inventions as have no
sense in them. Neither the burial of a man, nor a dead man's bone, nor a sepulchre, nor
any particular sort of food, nor the nocturnal pollution, can defile the soul of man; but
only impiety towards God, and transgression, and injustice towards one's neighbour; I mean
rapine, violence, or if there be anything contrary to His righteousness, adultery or
fornication. Wherefore, beloved, avoid and eschew such observations, for they are
heathenish. For we do not abominate a dead man, as do they, seeing we hope that he will
live again. Nor do we hate lawful mixture; for it is their practice to act impiously in
such instances. For the conjunction of man and wife, if it be with righteousness, is
agreeable to the mind of God. "For He that made them at the beginning made them male and
female; and He blessed them, and said, Increase and multiply, and fill the earth. If,
therefore, the difference of sexes was made by the will of God for the generation of
multitudes, then must the conjunction of male and female be also acceptable to His mind.

Of the Love of Boys, Adultery, and Fornication.

55 XXVIII. But we do not say so of that mixture that is contrary to nature, or of any
unlawful practice; for such are enmity to God. For the sin of Sodom is contrary to nature,
as is also that with brute beasts. But adultery and fornication are against the law; the
one whereof is impiety, the other injustice, and, in a word, no other than a great sin.
But neither sort of them is without its punishment in its own proper nature. For the
practisers of one sort attempt the dissolution of the world, and endeavour to make the
natural course of things to change for one that is unnatural; but those of the second son-
the adulterers-are unjust by corrupting others' marriages, and dividing into two what God
hath made one, rendering the children suspected, and exposing the true husband to the
snares of others. And fornication is the destruction of one's own flesh, not being made
use of for the procreation of children, but entirely for the sake of pleasure, which is a
mark of incontinency, and not a sign of virtue. All these things are forbidden by the
laws; for thus say the oracles: "Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind. "For
such a one is accursed, and ye shall stone them with stones: they have wrought
abomination. "Every one that lieth with a beast, slay ye him: he has wrought wickedness in
his people. "And if any one defile a married woman, slay ye them both: they have wrought
wickedness; they are guilty;

56 let them die. And afterwards: "There shall not be a fornicator among the children of
Israel, and there shall not be an whore among the daughters of Israel. Thou shalt not
offer the hire of an harlot to the Lord thy God upon the altar, nor the price of a dog.
"For the vows arising from the hire of an harlot are not clean. These things the laws have
forbidden, but they have honoured marriage, and have called it blessed, since God has
blessed it who joined male and female together. And wise Solomon somewhere says: "A wife
is suited to her husband by the Lord. And David says: "Thy wife is like a flourishing vine
in the sides of thine house; thy children like olive-branches round about thy table.
Behold, thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord. Wherefore "marriage is
honourable" and comely, and the begetting of children pure, for there is no evil in that
which is good. Therefore neither is the natural purgation abominable before God, who has
ordered it to happen to women within the space of thirty days for their advantage and
healthful state, who do less move about, and keep usually at home in the house. Nay,
moreover, even in the Gospel, when the woman with the perpetual purgation of blood touched
the saving border of the Lord's garment in hope of being healed, He was not angry at her,
nor did complain of her at all; but, on the contrary, He healed her, saying, "Thy faith
hath saved thee.

57 When the natural purgations do appear in the wives, let not their husbands approach
them, out of regard to the children to be begotten; for the law has forbidden it, for it
says: "Thou shalt not come near thy wife when she is in her separation. Nor, indeed, let
them frequent their wives' company when they are with child. For they do this not for the
begetting of children, but for the sake of pleasure. Now a lover of God ought not to be a
lover of pleasure.

How Wives Ought to Be Subject to Their Own Husbands, and Husbands Ought to Love Their Own
Wives.

58 XXXIX. Ye wives, be subject to your own husbands, and have them in esteem, and serve
them with fear and love, as holy Sarah honoured Abraham. For she could not endure to call
him by his name, but called him lord, when she said, "My lord is old." In like manner, ye
husbands, love your own wives as your own members, as partners in life, and fellow-helpers
for the procreation of children. For says He, "Rejoice with the wife of thy youth. Let her
conversation be to thee as a loving hind, and a pleasant foal; let her alone guide thee,
and be with thee at all times: for if thou beest every way encompassed with her
friendship, thou wilt be happy in her society." Love them therefore as your own members,
as your very bodies; for so it is written, "The Lord has testified between thee and
between the wife of thy youth; and she is thy partner, and another has not made her: and
she is the remains of thy spirit; "and, "Take heed to your spirit, and do not forsake the
wife of thy youth." An husband, therefore, and a wife, when they company together in
lawful marriage, and rise from one another, may pray without any observations, and without
washing are clean. But whosoever corrupts and defiles another man's wife, or is defiled
with an harlot, when he arises up from her, though he should wash himself in the entire
ocean and all the rivers, cannot be clean.

Sec. VI.-Conclusion of the Work. — That It is the Custom of Jews and Gentiles to Observe
Natural Purgations, and to Abominate the Remains of the Dead; But that All This is
Contrary to Christianity.

59 XXX. Do not therefore keep any such observances about legal and natural purgations, as
thinking you are defiled by them. Neither do you seek after Jewish separations, or
perpetual washings, or purifications upon the touch of a dead body. But without such
observations assemble in the dormitories, reading the holy books, and singing for the
martyrs which are fallen asleep, and for all the saints from the beginning of the world,
and for your brethren that are asleep in the Lord, and offer the acceptable Eucharist, the
representation of the royal body of Christ, both in your churches and in the dormitories;
and in the funerals of the departed, accompany them with singing, if they were faithful in
Christ. For "precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. And again: "O
my soul, return unto thy rest, for the Lord hath done thee good. And elsewhere: "The
memory of the just is with encomiums. And, "The souls of the righteous are in the hands of
God. For those that have believed in God, although they are asleep, are not dead. For our
Saviour says to the Sadducees: "But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have ye not
read that which is written, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of
Jacob? God, therefore, is not the God of the dead, but of the living; for all live to Him.
Wherefore, of those that live with God, even their very relics are not without honour.

60 For even Elisha the prophet, after he was fallen asleep, raised up a dead man who was
slain by the pirates of Syria. For his body touched the bones of Elisha, and he arose and
revived. Now this would not have happened unless the body of Elisha were holy. And chaste
Joseph embraced Jacob after he was dead upon his bed; and Moses and Joshua the son of Nun
carried away the relics of Joseph, and did not esteem it a defilement. Whence you also, O
bishops, and the rest, who without such observances touch the departed, ought not to think
yourselves defiled. Nor abhor the relics of such persons, but avoid such observances, for
they are foolish. And adorn yourselves with holiness and chastity, that ye may become
partakers of immortality, and partners of the kingdom of God, and may receive the promise
of God, and may rest for ever, through Jesus Christ our Saviour.

61 To Him, therefore, who is able to open the ears of your hearts to the receiving the
oracles of God administered to you both by the Gospel and by the teaching of Jesus Christ
of Nazareth; who was crucified under Pontius Pilate and Herod, and died, and rose again
from the dead, and will come again at the end of the world with power and great glory, and
will raise the dead, and put an end to this world, and distribute to every one according
to his deserts: to Him that has given us Himself for an earnest of the resurrection; who
was taken up into the heavens by the power of His God and Father in our sight, who ate and
drank with Him for forty days after He arose from the dead; who is sat down on the right
hand of the throne of the majesty of Almighty God upon the cherubim; to whom it was said,
"Sit Thou on my right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool; " whom the most
blessed Stephen saw standing at the right hand of power, and cried out, and said, "Behold,
I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God," as the
High Priest of all the rational orders,-through Him, worship, and majesty, and glory be
given to Almighty God, both now and for evermore. Amen.


CONSTITUTIONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES, BOOK 7
==========================================

CONSTITUTIONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES, BOOK 7 Apostolic Constitutions

c. AD 380

Book 7, on the way of life and the way of death, which is rewritten from the Didache, with
the prayers of thanksgiving, the order of baptism and the Lord’s Prayer.

Concerning the Christian Life, and the Eucharist, and the Initiation into Christ. — Sec.
I.-On the Two Ways, -The Way of Life and the Way of Death. — That There are Two Ways,-The
One Natural, of Life, and the Other Introduced Afterwards, of Death; And that the Former
is from God, and the Latter of Error, from the Snares of the Adversary.

1 I. The lawgiver Moses said to the Israelites, "Behold, I have set before your face the
way of life and the way of death; " and added, "Choose life, that thou mayest live."
Elijah the prophet also said to the people: "How long will you halt with both your legs?
If the Lord be God, follow Him." The Lord Jesus also said justly: "No one can serve two
masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the
one, and despise the other." We also, following our teacher Christ, "who is the Saviour of
all men, especially of those that believe," are obliged to say that there are two ways-the
one of life, the other of death; which have no comparison one with another, for they are
very different, or rather entirely separate; and the way of life is that of nature, but
that of death was afterwards introduced,-it not being according to the mind of God, but
from the snares of the adversary.

Moral Exhortations of the Lord's Constitutions Agreeing with the Ancient Prohibitions of
the Divine Laws. The Prohibition of Anger, Spite, Corruption, Adultery, and Every
Forbidden Action.

2 II. The first way, therefore, is that of life; and is this, which the law also does
appoint: "To love the Lord God with all thy mind, and with all thy soul, who is the one
and only God, besides whom there is no other; " "and thy neighbour as thyself. And
whatsoever thou wouldest not should be done to thee, that do not thou to another. "Bless
them that curse you; pray for them that despitefully use you. "Love your enemies; for what
thanks is it if ye love those that love you? for even the Gentiles do the same. "But do ye
love those that hate you, and ye shall have no enemy. For says He, "Thou shalt not hate
any man; no, not an Egyptian, nor an Edomite; " for they are all the workmanship of God.
Avoid not the persons, but the sentiments, of the wicked. "Abstain from fleshly and
worldly lusts. "If any one gives thee a stroke on thy right cheek, turn to him the other
also. Not that revenge is evil, but that patience is more honourable. For David says, "If
I have made returns to them that repaid me evil. "If any one compel thee to go a mile, go
with him twain. And, "He that will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him
have thy cloak also. "And from him that taketh thy goods, require them not again.

3 "Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee do not shut thy
hand. For "the righteous man is pitiful, and lendeth. For your Father would have you give
to all, who Himself "maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth His
rain on the just and on the unjust. It is therefore reasonable to give to all out of thine
own labours; for says He, "Honour the Lord out of thy righteous labours," but so that the
saints be preferred. "Thou shalt not kill; " that is, thou shalt not destroy a man like
thyself: for thou dissolvest what was well made. Not as if all killing were wicked, but
only that of the innocent: but the killing which is just is reserved to the magistrates
alone. "Thou shalt not commit adultery: "for thou dividest one flesh into two. "They two
shall be one flesh: " for the husband and wife are one in nature, in consent, in union, in
disposition, and the conduct of life; but they are separated in sex and number. "Thou
shall not corrupt boys: " for this wickedness is contrary to nature, and arose from Sodom,
which was therefore entirely consumed with fire sent from God. "Let such a one be
accursed: and all the people shall say, So be it. "Thou shall not commit fornication: "for
says He, "There shall not be a fornicator among the children of Israel. "Thou shalt not
steal:

4 "for Achan, whet he had stolen in Israel at Jericho, was stoned to death; and Gehazi,
who stole, and told a lie, inherited the leprosy of Naaman; and Judas, who stole the
poor's money, betrayed the Lord of glory to the Jews, and repented, and hanged himself,
and burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out; and Ananias, and Sapphira
his wife, who stole their own goods, and "tempted the Spirit of the Lord," were
immediately, at the sentence of Peter our fellow-apostle, struck dead.

The Prohibition of Conjuring, Murder of Infants, Perjury, and False Witness.

5 III. Thou shalt not use magic. Thou shalt not use witchcraft; for He says, "Ye shall not
suffer a witch to live." Thou shall not slay thy child by causing abortion, nor kill that
which is begotten; for "everything that is shaped, and has received a soul from God, if it
be slain, shall be avenged, as being unjustly destroyed." "Thou shalt not covet the things
that belong to thy neighbour, as his wife, or his servant, or his ox, or his field." "Thou
shalt not forswear thyself; for it is said, "Thou shalt not swear at all." But if that
cannot be avoided, thou shalt swear truly; for" every one that swears by Him shall be
commended." "Thou shalt not bear false witness; "for "he that falsely accuses the needy
provokes to anger Him that made him."

The Prohibition of Evil-Speaking and Passion, of Deceitful Conduct, or Idle Words, Lies,
Covetousness, and Hypocrisy.

6 IV. Thou shall not speak evil; for says He, "Love not to speak evil, lest thou beest
taken away." Nor shalt thou be mindful of injuries; for "the ways of those that remember
injuries are unto death." Thou shall not be double-minded nor double-tongued; for "a man's
own lips are a strong snare to him," and "a talkative person shall not be prospered upon
earth." Thy words shall not be vain; for "ye shall give an account of every idle word."
Thou shalt not tell lies: for says He, "Thou shalt destroy all those that speak lies."
Thou shalt not be covetous nor rapacious: for says He, "Woe to him that is covetous
towards his neighbour with an evil covetousness."

The Prohibition of Malignity, Acceptation of Persons, Wrath, Malice, and Envy.

7 V. Thou shalt not be an hypocrite, lest thy "portion be with them." Thou shalt not be
ill-natured nor proud: for "God resisteth the proud." "Thou shalt not accept persons in
judgment; for the judgment is the Lord's." "Thou shalt not hate any man; thou shalt surely
reprove thy brother, and not become guilty on his account; " and, "Reprove a wise man, and
he will love thee." Eschew all evil, and all that is like it: for says He, "Abstain from
injustice, and trembling shall not come nigh thee." Be not soon angry, nor spiteful, nor
passionate, nor furious, nor daring, lest thou undergo the fate of Cain, and of Saul, and
of Joab: for the first of these slew his brother Abel, because Abel was found to be
preferred before him with God, and because Abel's sacrifice was preferred; the second
persecuted holy David, who had slain Goliah the Philistine, being envious of the praises
of the women who danced; the third slew two generals of armies-Abner of Israel, and Amasa
of Judah.

Concerning Augury and Enchantments.

8 VI. Be not a diviner, for that leads to idolatry; for says Samuel, "Divination is sin; "
and, "There shall be no divination in Jacob, nor soothsaying in Israel." Thou shalt not
use enchantments or purgations for thy child. Thou shall not be a soothsayer nor a diviner
by great or little birds. Nor shalt thou learn wicked arts; for all these things has the
law forbidden. Be not one that wishes for evil, for thou wilt be led into intolerable
sins. Thou shalt not speak obscenely, nor use wanton glances, nor be a drunkard; for from
such causes arise whoredoms and adulteries. Be not a lover of money, lest thou "serve
mammon instead of God." Be not vainglorious, nor haughty, nor high-minded. For from all
these things arrogance does spring. Remember him who said: "Lord, my heart is not haughty,
nor mine eyes lofty: I have not exercised myself in great matters, nor in things too high
for me; but I was humble."

The Prohibition of Murmuring, Insolence, Pride, and Arrogance.

9 VII. Be not a murmurer, remembering the punishment which those underwent who murmured
against Moses. Be not self-willed, be not malicious, be not hard-hearted, be not
passionate, be not mean-spirited; for all these things lead to blasphemy. But be meek, as
were Moses and David, since "the meek shall inherit the earth."

Concerning Long-Suffering, Simplicity, Meekness, and Patience.

10 VIII. Be slow to wrath; for such a one is very prudent, since "he that is hasty of
spirit is a very fool." Be merciful; for "blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain
mercy." Be sincere, quiet, good, "trembling at the word of God." Thou shalt not exalt
thyself, as did the Pharisee; for "every one that exalteth himself shall be abased," and
"that which is of high esteem with man is abomination with God." Thou shalt not entertain
confidence in thy soul; for "a confident man shall fall into mischief." Thou shalt not go
along with the foolish, but with the wise and righteous; for "he that walketh with wise
men shall be wise, but he that walketh with the foolish shall be known." Receive the
afflictions that fall upon thee with an even mind, and the chances of life without over-
much sorrow, knowing that a reward shall be given to thee by God, as was given to Job and
to Lazarus.

That It is Our Duty to Esteem Our Christian Teachers Above Our Parents-The Former Being
the Means of Our Well-Being, the Other Only of Our Being.

11 IX. Thou shalt honour him that speaks to thee the word of God, and be mindful of him
day and night; and thou shalt reverence him, not as the author of thy birth, but as one
that is made the occasion of thy well-being. For where the doctrine concerning God is,
there God is present. Thou shalt every day seek the face of the saints, that thou mayest
acquiesce in their words.

That We Ought Not to Divide Ourselves from the Saints, But to Make Peace Between Those
that Quarrel, to Judge Righteously, and Not to Accept Persons.

12 X. Thou shalt not make schisms among the saints, but be mindful of the followers of
Corah. Thou shalt make peace between those that are at variance, as Moses did when he
persuaded them to be friends. Thou shalt judge righteously; for "the judgment is the
Lord's." Thou shalt not accept persons when thou reprovest for sins; but do as Elijah and
Micaiah did to Ahab, and Ebedmelech the Ethiopian to Zedekiah, and Nathan to David, and
John to Herod.

Concerning Him that is Double-Minded and Desponding.

13 XI. Be not of a doubtful mind in thy prayer, whether it shall be granted or no. For the
Lord said to me Peter upon the sea: "O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? "
"Be not thou ready to stretch out thy hand to receive, and to shut it when thou shouldst
give."

Concerning Doing Good.

14 XII. If thou hast by the work of thy hands, give, that thou mayest labour for the
redemption of thy sins; for "by alms and acts of faith sins are purged away." Thou shalt
not grudge to give to the poor, nor when thou hast given shalt thou murmur; for thou shalt
know who will repay thee thy reward. For says he: "He that hath mercy on the poor man
lendeth to the Lord; according to his gift, so shall it be repaid him again." Thou shalt
not turn away from him that is needy; for says he: "He that stoppeth his ears, that he may
not hear the cry of the needy, himself also shall call, and there shall be none to hear
him." Thou shall communicate in all things to thy brother, and shall not say thy goods are
thine own; for the common participation of the necessaries of life is appointed to all men
by God. Thou shalt not take off thine hand from thy son or from thy daughter, but shalt
teach them the fear of God from their youth; for says he: "Correct thy son, so shall he
afford thee good hope."

How Masters Ought to Behave Themselves to Their Servants, and How Servants Ought to Be
Subject.

15 XIII. Thou shall not command thy man-servant, or lily maid-servant, who trust in the
same God, with bitterness of soul, lest they groan against thee, and wrath be upon thee
from God. And, ye servants, "be subject to your masters," as to the representatives of
God, with attention and fear, "as to the Lord, and not to men."

Concerning Hypocrisy, and Obedience to the Laws, and Confession of Sins.

16 XIV. Thou shalt hate all hypocrisy; and whatsoever is pleasing to the Lord, that shalt
thou do. By no means forsake the commands of the Lord. But thou shalt observe what things
thou hast received from Him, neither adding to them nor taking away from them. "For thou
shalt not add unto His words, lest He convict thee, and thou becomest a liar." Thou shalt
confess thy sins unto the Lord thy God; and thou shalt not add unto them, that it may be
well with thee from the Lord thy God, who willeth not the death of a sinner, but his
repentance.

Concerning the Observance Due to Parents.

17 XV. Thou shalt be observant to thy father and mother as the causes of thy being born,
that thou mayest live long on the earth which the Lord thy God giveth thee. Do not
overlook thy brethren or thy kinsfolk; for "thou shalt not overlook those nearly related
to thee."

Concerning the Subjection Due to the King and to Rulers.

18 XVI. Thou shalt fear the king, knowing that his appointment is of the Lord. His rulers
thou shalt honour as the ministers of God, for they are the revengers of all
unrighteousness; to whom pay taxes, tribute, and every oblation with a willing mind.

Concerning the Pure Conscience of Those that Pray.

19 XVII. Thou shalt not proceed to thy prayer in the day of thy wickedness, before thou
hast laid aside thy bitterness. This is the way of life, in which may ye be found, through
Jesus Christ our Lord.

That the Way Which Was Afterward Introduced by the Snares of the Adversary is Full of
Impiety and Wickedness.

20 XVIII. But the way of death is known by its wicked practices: for therein is the
ignorance of God, and the introduction of many evils, and disorders, and disturbances;
whereby come murders, adulteries, fornications, perjuries, unlawful lusts, thefts,
idolatries, magic arts, witchcrafts, rapines, false-witnesses, hypocrisies, double-
heartedness, deceit, pride, malice, insolence, covetousness, obscene talk, jealousy,
confidence, haughtiness, arrogance, impudence, persecution of the good, enmity to truth,
love of lies, ignorance of righteousness. For they who do such things do not adhere to
goodness, or to righteous judgment: they watch not for good, but for evil; from whom
meekness and patience are far off, who love vain things, pursuing after reward, having no
pity on the poor, not labouring for him that is in misery, nor knowing Him that made them;
murderers of infants, destroyers of the workmanship of God, that turn away from the needy,
adding affliction to the afflicted, the flatterers of the rich, the despisers of the poor,
full of sin. May you, children, be delivered from all these.

That We Must Not Turn from the Way of Piety Either to the Right Hand or to the Left. An
Exhortation of the Lawgiver.

21 XIX. See that no one seduce thee from piety; for says He: "Thou mayst not turn aside
from it to the right hand, or to the left, that thou mayst have understanding in all that
thou doest." For if thou dost not turn out of the right way, thou wilt not be ungodly.

Sec. II.-On the Formation of the Character of Believers, and on Giving of Thanks to God. —
That We Ought Not to Despise Any of the Sorts of Food that are Set Before Us, But
Gratefully and Orderly to Partake of Them.

22 XX. Now concerning the several sorts of food, the Lord says to thee, "Ye shall eat the
good things of the earth; " and, "All sorts of flesh shall ye eat, as the green herb; "
but, "Thou shalt pour out the blood." For "not those things that go into the mouth, but
those that come out of it, defile a man; " I mean blasphemies, evil-speaking, and if there
be any other thing of the like nature. But "do thou eat the fat of the land with
righteousness." For "if there be anything pleasant, it is His; and if there be anything
good, it is His. Wheat for the young men, and wine to cheer the maids." For "who shall eat
or who shall drink without Him? " Wise Ezra does also admonish thee and say: "Go your way,
and eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and be not sorrowful."

That We Ought to Avoid the Eating of Things Offered to Idols.

23 XXI. But do ye abstain from things offered to idols; for they offer them in honour of
demons, that is, to the dishonour of the one God, that ye may not become partners with
demons.

A Constitution of Our Lord, How We Ought to Baptize, and into Whose Death.

24 XXII. Now concerning baptism, O bishop, or presbyter, we have already given direction,
and we now say, that thou shalt so baptize as the Lord commanded us, saying: "Go ye, and
teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost (teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you): " of the
Father who sent, of Christ who came, of the Comforter who testified. But thou shalt
beforehand anoint the person with the holy oil, and afterward baptize him with the water,
and in the conclusion shall seal him with the ointment; that the anointing with oil may be
the participation of the Holy Spirit, and the water the symbol of the death of Christ, and
the ointment the seal of the covenants. But if there be neither oil nor ointment, water is
sufficient both for the anointing, and for the seal, and for the confession of Him that is
dead, or indeed is dying together with Christ. But before baptism, let him that is to be
baptized fast; for even the Lord, when He was first baptized by John, and abode in the
wilderness, did afterward fast forty days and forty nights. But He was baptized, and then
fasted, not having Himself any need of cleansing, or of fasting, or of purgation, who was
by nature pure and holy; but that He might testify the truth to John, and afford an
example to us.

25 Wherefore our Lord was not baptized into His own passion, or death, or resurrection-for
none of those things had then happened-but for another purpose. Wherefore He by His own
authority fasted after His baptism, as being the Lord of John. But he who is to be
initiated into His death ought first to fast, and then to be baptized. For it is not
reasonable that he who has been buried with Christ, and is risen again with Him, should
appear dejected at His very resurrection. For man is not lord of our Saviour's
constitution, since one is the Master and the other the servant.

Which Days of the Week We are to Fast, and Which Not, and for What Reasons.

26 XXIII. But let not your fasts be with the hypocrites; for they fast on the second and
fifth days of the week. But do you either fast the entire five days, or on the fourth day
of the week, and on the day of the Preparation, because on the fourth day the condemnation
went out against the Lord, Judas then promising to betray Him for money; and you must fast
on the day of the Preparation, because on that day the Lord suffered the death of the
cross under Pontius Pilate. But keep the Sabbath, and the Lord's day festival; because the
former is the memorial of the creation, and the latter of the resurrection. But there is
one only Sabbath to be observed by you in the whole year, which is that of our Lord's
burial, on which men ought to keep a fast, but not a festival. For inasmuch as the Creator
was then under the earth, the sorrow for Him is more forcible than the joy for the
creation; for the Creator is more honourable by nature and dignity than His own creatures.

What Sort of People Ought to Pray that Prayer that Was Given by the Lord.

27 XXIV. Now, "when ye pray, be not ye as the hypocrites; " but as the Lord has appointed
us in the Gospel, so pray ye: "Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy
kingdom come; Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth; give us this day our daily
bread; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into
temptation, but deliver us from evil; for Thine is the kingdom for ever. Amen." Pray thus
thrice in a day, preparing yourselves beforehand, that ye may be worthy of the adoption of
the Father; lest, when you call Him Father unworthily, you be reproached by Him, as Israel
once His first-born son was told: "If I be a Father, where is my glory? And if I be a
Lord, where is my fear? " For the glory of fathers is the holiness of their children, and
the honour of masters is the fear of their servants, as the contrary is dishonour and
confusion. For says He: "Through you my name is blasphemed among the Gentiles."

A Mystical Thanksgiving.

28 XXXV. Be ye always thankful, as faithful and honest servants; and concerning the
eucharistical thanksgiving say thus: We thank Thee, our Father, for that life which Thou
hast made known to us by Jesus Thy Son, by whom Thou madest all things, and takest care of
the whole world; whom Thou hast sent to become man for our salvation; whom Thou hast
permitted to suffer and to die; whom Thou hast raised up, and been pleased to glorify, and
hast set Him down on Thy right band; by whom Thou hast promised us the resurrection of the
dead. Do thou, O Lord Almighty, everlasting God, so gather together Thy Church from the
ends of the earth into Thy kingdom, as this corn was once scattered, and is now become one
loaf. We also, our Father, thank Thee for the precious blood of Jesus Christ, which was
shed for us and for His precious body, whereof we celebrate this representation, as
Himself appointed us, "to show forth His death." For through Him glory is to be given to
Thee for ever. Amen. Let no one eat of these things that is not initiated; but those only
who have been baptized into the death of the Lord. But if any one that is not initiated
conceal himself, and partake of the same, "he eats eternal damnation; " because, being not
of the faith of Christ, he has partaken of such things as it is not lawful for him to
partake of, to his own punishment. But if any one is a partaker through ignorance,
instruct him quickly, and initiate him, that he may not go out and despise you.

A Thanksgiving at the Divine Participation.

29 XXVI. After the participation, give thanks in this manner: We thank thee, O God and
Father of Jesus our Saviour, for Thy holy name, which Thou hast made to inhabit among us;
and that knowledge, faith, love, and immortality which Thou hast given us through Thy Son
Jesus. Thou, O Almighty Lord, the God of the universe, hast created the world, and the
things that are therein, by Him; and hast planted a law in our souls, and beforehand didst
prepare things for the convenience of men. O God of our holy and blameless fathers,
Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, Thy faithful servants; Thou, O God, who art powerful,
faithful, and true, and without deceit in Thy promises; who didst send upon earth Jesus
Thy Christ to live with men, as a man, when He was God the Word, and man, to take away
error by the roots: do Thou even now, through Him, be mindful of this Thy holy Church,
which Thou hast purchased with the precious blood of Thy Christ, and deliver it from all
evil, and perfect it in Thy love and Thy truth, and gather us all together into Thy
kingdom which Thou hast prepared. Let this Thy kingdom come. "Hosanna to the Son of David.
Blessed be He that cometh in the name of the Lord" -God the Lord, who was manifested to us
in the flesh. If any one be holy, let him draw near; but if any one be not such, let him
become such by repentance.Permit also to your presbyters to give thanks.

A Thanksgiving About the Mystical Ointment.

30 XXVII. Concerning the ointment give thanks in this manner: We give Thee thanks, O God,
the Creator of the whole world, both for the flagrancy of the ointment, and for the
immortality which Thou hast made known to us by Thy Son Jesus. For Thine is the glory and
the power for ever. Amen. Whosoever comes to you, and gives thanks in this manner, receive
him as a disciple of Christ. But if he preach another doctrine, different from that which
Christ by us has delivered to you, such a one you must not permit to give thanks; for such
a one rather affronts God than glorifies Him.

That We Ought Not to Be Indifferent About Communicating.

31 XXVIII. But whosoever comes to you, let him be first examined, and then received: for
ye have understanding, and are able to know the right hand from the left, and to
distinguish false teachers from true teachers. But when a teacher comes to you, supply him
with what he wants with all readiness. And even when a false teacher comes, you shall give
him for his necessity, but shall not receive his error. Nor indeed may ye pray together
with him, lest ye be polluted as well as he. Every true prophet or teacher that comes to
you is worthy of his maintenance, as being a labourer in the word of righteousness.

A Constitution Concerning Oblations.

32 XXIX. All the first-fruits of the winepress, the threshing-floor, the oxen, and the
sheep, shalt thou give to the priests, that thy storehouses and garners and the products
of thy land may be blessed, and thou mayst be strengthened with corn and wine and oil, and
the herds of thy cattle and flocks of thy sheep may be increased. Thou shalt give the
tenth of thy increase to the orphan, and to the widow, and to the poor, and to the
stranger. All the first-fruits of thy hot bread of thy barrels of wine, or oil, or honey,
or nuts, or grapes, or the first-fruits of other things, shalt thou give to the priests;
but those of silver, and of garments, and of all sort of possessions, to the orphan and to
the widow.

How We Ought to Assemble Together, and to Celebrate the Festival Day of Our Saviour's
Resurrection.

33 XXX. On the day of the resurrection of the Lord, that is, the Lord's day, assemble
yourselves together, without fail, giving thanks to God, and praising Him for those
mercies God has bestowed upon you through Christ, and has delivered you from ignorance,
error, and bondage, that your sacrifice may be unspotted, and acceptable to God, who has
said concerning His universal Church: "In every place shall incense and a pure sacrifice
be offered unto me; for I am a great King, saith the Lord Almighty, and my name is
wonderful among the heathen."

What Qualifications They Ought to Have Who are to Be Ordained.

34 XXXI. Do you first ordain bishops worthy of the Lord, and presbyters and deacons, pious
men, righteous, meek, free from the love of money, lovers of truth, approved, holy, not
accepters of persons, who are able to teach the word of piety, and rightly dividing the
doctrines of the Lord. And do ye honour such as your fathers, as your lords, as your
benefactors, as the causes of your well-being. Reprove ye one another, not in anger, but
in mildness, with kindness and peace. Observe all things that are commanded you by the
Lord. Be watchful for your life. "Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning,
and ye like unto men who wait for their Lord, when He will come, at even, or in the
morning, or at cock-crowing, or at midnight. For at what hour they think not, the Lord
will come; and if they open to Him, blessed are those servants, because they were found
watching. For He will gird Himself, and will make them to sit down to meat, and will come
forth and serve them." Watch therefore, and pray, that ye do not sleep unto death. For
your former good deeds will not profit you, if at the last part of your life you go astray
from the true faith.

A Prediction Concerning Futurities.

35 XXXII. For in the last days false prophets shall be multiplied, and such as corrupt the
word; and the sheep shall be changed into wolves, and love into hatred: for through the
abounding of iniquity the love of many shall wax cold. For men shall hate, and persecute,
and betray one another. And then shall appear the deceiver of the world, the enemy of the
truth, the prince of lies, whom the Lord Jesus "shall destroy with the spirit of His
mouth, who takes away the wicked with His lips; and many shall be offended at Him. But
they that endure to the end, the same shall be saved. And then shall appear the sign of
the Son of man in heaven; " and afterwards shall be the voice of a trumpet by the
archangel; and in that interval shall be the revival of those that were asleep. And then
shall the Lord come, and all His saints with Him, with a great concussion above the
clouds, with the angels of His power, in the throne of His kingdom, to condemn the devil,
the deceiver of the world, and to render to every one according to his deeds. "Then shall
the wicked go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous shall go into life
eternal," to inherit those things "which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor have
entered into the heart of man, such things as God hath prepared for them that love Him; "
and they shall rejoice in the kingdom of God, which is in Christ Jesus. Since we are
vouchsafed such great blessings from Him, let us become His suppliants, and call upon Him
by continual prayer, and say:-

A Prayer Declarative of God's Various Providence.

36 XXXIII. Our eternal Saviour, the King of gods, who alone art almighty, and the Lord,
the God of all beings, and the God of our holy and blameless fathers, and of those before
us; the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob; who art merciful and compassionate,
long-suffering, and abundant in mercy; to whom every heart is naked, and by whom every
heart is seen, and to whom every secret thought is revealed: to Thee do the souls of the
righteous cry aloud, upon Thee do the hopes of the godly trust, Thou Father of the
blameless, Thou hearer of the supplication of those that call upon Thee with uprightness,
and who knowest the supplications that are not uttered: for Thy providence reaches as far
as the inmost parts of mankind; and by Thy knowledge Thou searchest the thoughts of every
one, and in every region of the whole earth the incense of prayer and supplication is sent
up to Thee. O Thou who hast appointed this present world as a place of combat to
righteousness, and hast opened to all the gate of mercy, and hast demonstrated to every
man by implanted knowledge, and natural judgment, and the admonitions of the law, how the
possession of riches is not everlasting, the ornament of beauty is not perpetual, our
strength and force are easily dissolved; and that all is vapour and vanity;

37 and that only the good conscience of faith unfeigned passes through the midst of the
heavens, and returning with truth, takes hold of the right hand of the joy which is to
come. And withal, before the promise of the restoration of all things is accomplished, the
soul itself exults in hope, and is joyful. For from that truth which was in our forefather
Abraham, when he changed his way Thou didst guide him by a vision, and didst teach him
what kind of state this world is; and knowledge went before his faith, and faith was the
consequence of his knowledge; and the covenant did follow after his faith. For Thou
saidst: "I will make thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand which is by the
seashore. Moreover, when Thou hadst given him Isaac, and knewest him to be like him in his
mode of life, Thou wast then called his God, saying: "I will be a God to thee, and to thy
seed after thee. And when our father Jacob was sent into Mesopotamia, Thou showedst him
Christ, and by him speakest, saying: "Behold, I am with thee, and I will increase thee,
and multiply thee exceedingly. And so spakest Thou to Moses, Thy faithful and holy
servant, at the vision of the bush: "I am He that is; this is my name for ever, and my
memorial for generations of generations. O Thou great protector of the posterity of
Abraham, Thou art blessed for ever.

A Prayer Declarative of God's Various Creation.

38 XXXIV. Thou art blessed, O Lord, the King of ages, who by Christ hast made the whole
world, and by Him in the beginning didst reduce into order the disordered parts; who
dividedst the waters from the waters by a firmament, and didst put into them a spirit of
life; who didst fix the earth, and stretch out the heaven, and didst dispose every
creature by an accurate constitution. For by Thy power, O Lord, the world is beautified,
the heaven is fixed as an arch over us, and is rendered illustrious with stars for our
comfort in the darkness. The light also and the sun were begotten for days and the
production of fruit, and the moon for the change of seasons, by its increase and
diminutions; and one was called Night, and the other Day. And the firmament was exhibited
in the midst of the abyss, and Thou commandedst the waters to be gathered together, and
the dry land to appear. But as for the sea itself, who can possibly describe it, which
comes with fury from the ocean, yet rims back again, being stopped by the sand at Thy
command? For Thou hast said: "Thereby shall her waves be broken. Thou hast also made it
capable of supporting little and great creatures, and made it navigable for ships. Then
did the earth become green, and was planted with all sorts of flowers, and the variety of
several trees;

39 and the shining luminaries, the nourishers of those plants, preserve their unchangeable
course, and in nothing depart from Thy command. But where Thou biddest them, there do they
rise and set for signs of the seasons and of the years, making a constant return of the
work of men. Afterwards the kinds of the several animals were created-those belonging to
the land, to the water, to the air, and both to air and water; and the artificial wisdom
of Thy providence does still impart to every one a suitable providence. For as He was not
unable to produce different kinds, so neither has He disdained to exercise a different
providence towards every one. And at the conclusion of the creation Thou gavest direction
to Thy Wisdom, and formedst a reasonable creature as the citizen of the world, saying,
"Let us make man after our image, and after our likeness; " and hast exhibited him as the
ornament of the world, and formed him a body out of the four elements, those primary
bodies, but hadst prepared a soul out of nothing, and bestowedst upon him his five senses,
and didst set over his sensations a mind as the conductor of the soul. And besides all
these things, O Lord God, who can worthily declare the motion of the rainy clouds, the
shining of the lightning, the noise of the thunder, in order to the supply of proper food,
and the most agreeable temperature of the air?

40 But when man was disobedient, Thou didst deprive him of the life which should have been
his reward. Yet didst Thou not destroy him for ever, but laidst him to sleep for a time;
and Thou didst by oath call him to a resurrection, and loosedst the bond of death, O Thou
reviver of the dead, through Jesus Christ, who is our hope.

A Prayer, with Thanksgiving, Declarative of God's Providence Over the Beings He Has Made.

41 XXXV. Great art thou, O Lord Almighty, and great is Thy power, and of Thy understanding
there is no number. Our Creator and Saviour, rich in benefits, long-suffering, and the
bestower of mercy, who dost not take away Thy salvation from Thy creatures: for Thou art
good by nature, and sparest sinners, and invitest them to repentance; for admonition is
the effect of Thy bowels of compassion. For how should we abide if we were required to
come to judgment immediately, when, after so much long-suffering, we hardly get clear of
our miserable condition? The heavens declare Thy dominion, and the earth shakes with
earthquakes, and, hanging upon nothing, declares Thy unshaken stedfastness. The sea raging
with waves, and feeding a flock of ten thousand creatures, is bounded with sand, as
standing in awe at Thy command, and compels all men to dry out: "How great are Thy works,
O Lord! in wisdom hast Thou made them all: the earth is full of Thy creation. And the
bright host of angels and the intellectual spirits say to Palmoni, "There is but one holy
Being; " and the holy seraphim, together with the six-winged cherubim, who sing to Thee
their triumphal song, cry out with never-ceasing voices, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of
hosts! heaven and earth are full of Thy glory; " and the other multitudes of the orders,
angels archangels, thrones, dominions, principalities, authorities, and powers cry aloud,
and say, "Blessed be the glory of the Lord out of His place.

42 But Israel, Thy Church on earth, taken out of the Gentiles, emulating the heavenly
powers night and day, with a full heart and a willing soul sings, "The chariot of God is
ten thousandfold thousands of them that rejoice: the Lord is among them in Sinai, in the
holy place. The heaven knows Him who fixed it as a cube of stone, in the form of an arch,
upon nothing, who united the land and water to one another, and scattered the vital air
all abroad, and conjoined fire therewith for warmth, and the comfort against darkness. The
choir of stars strikes us with admiration, declaring Him that numbers them, and showing
Him that names them; the animals declare Him that puts life into them; the trees show Him
that makes them grow: all which creatures, being made by Thy word, show forth the
greatness of Thy power. Wherefore every man ought to send up an hymn from his very soul to
Thee, through Christ, in the name of all the rest, since He has power over them all by Thy
appointment. For Thou art kind in Thy benefits, and beneficent in Thy bowels of
compassion, who alone art almighty: for when Thou willest, to be able is present with
Thee; for Thy eternal power both quenches flame, and stops the mouths of lions, and tames
whales, and raises up the sick, and overrules the power of all things, and over, turns the
host of enemies, and casts down a people numbered in their arrogance.

43 Thou art He who art in heaven, He who art on earth, He who art in the sea, He who art
in finite things, Thyself unconfined by anything. For of Thy majesty there is no boundary;
for it is not ours, O Lord, but the oracle of Thy servant, who said, "And thou shalt know
in thine heart that the Lord thy God He is God in heaven above, and on earth beneath, and
there is none other besides Thee: " for there is no God besides Thee alone, there is none
holy besides Thee, the Lord, the God of knowledge, the God of the saints, holy above all
holy beings; for they are sanctified by Thy hands. Thou art glorious, and highly exalted,
invisible by nature, and unsearchable in Thy judgments; whose life is without want, whose
duration can never alter or fail, whose operation is without toil, whose greatness is
unlimited, whose excellency is perpetual, whose habitation is inaccessible, whose dwelling
is unchangeable, whose knowledge is without beginning, whose truth is immutable, whose
work is without assistants, whose dominion cannot be taken away, whose monarchy is without
succession, whose kingdom is without end, whose strength is irresistible, whose army is
very numerous: for Thou art the Father of wisdom, the Creator of the creation, by a
Mediator, as the cause; the Bestower of providence, the Giver of laws, the Supplier of
want, the Punisher of the ungodly, and the Rewarder of the righteous;

44 the God and Father of Christ, and the Lord of those that are pious towards Him, whose
promise is infallible, whose judgment without bribes, whose sentiments are immutable,
whose piety is incessant, whose thanksgiving is everlasting, through whom adoration is
worthily due to Thee from every rational and holy nature.

A Prayer Commemorative of the Incarnation of Christ, and His Various Providence to the
Saints.

45 XXXVI. O Lord Almighty Thou hast created the world by Christ, and hast appointed the
Sabbath in memory thereof, because that on that day Thou hast made us rest from our works,
for the meditation upon Thy laws. Thou hast also appointed festivals for the rejoicing of
our souls, that we might come into the remembrance of that wisdom which was created by
Thee; how He submitted to be made of a woman on our account; He appeared in life, and
demonstrated Himself in His baptism; how He that appeared is both God and man; He suffered
for us by Thy permission, and died, and rose again by Thy power: on which account we
solemnly assemble to celebrate the feast of the resurrection on the Lord's day, and
rejoice on account of Him who has conquered death, and has brought life and immortality to
light. For by Him Thou hast brought home the Gentiles to Thyself for a peculiar people,
the true Israel beloved of God, and seeing God. For Thou O Lord, broughtest our fathers
out of the land of Egypt, and didst deliver them out of the iron furnace, from clay and
brick-making, and didst redeem them out of the hands of Pharaoh, and of those under him,
and didst lead them through the sea as through dry land, and didst bear their manners in
the wilderness, and bestow on them all sorts of good things. Thou didst give them the law
or decalogue, which was pronounced by Thy voice and written with Thy hand.

46 Thou didst enjoin the observation of the Sabbath, not affording them an occasion of
idleness, but an opportunity of piety, for their knowledge of Thy power, and the
prohibition of evils; having limited them as within an holy circuit for the sake of
doctrine, for the rejoicing upon the seventh period. On this account was there appointed
one week, and seven weeks, and the seventh month, and the seventh year, and the revolution
of these, the jubilee, which is the fiftieth year for remission, that men might have no
occasion to pretend ignorance. On this account He permitted men every Sabbath to rest,
that so no one might be willing to send one word out of his mouth in anger on the day of
the Sabbath. For the Sabbath is the ceasing of the creation, the completion of the world,
the inquiry after laws, and the grateful praise to God for the blessings He has bestowed
upon men. All which the Lord's day excels, and shows the Mediator Himself, the Provider,
the Lawgiver, the Cause of the resurrection, the First-born of the whole creation, God the
Word, and man, who was born of Mary alone, without a man, who lived holily, who was
crucified under Pontius Pilate, and died, and rose again from the dead. So that the Lord's
day commands us to offer unto Thee, O Lord, thanksgiving for all. For this is the grace
afforded by Thee, which on account of its greatness has obscured all other blessings.

A Prayer Containing the Memorial of His Providence, and an Enumeration of the Various
Benefits Afforded the Saints by the Providence of God Through Christ.

47 XXXVII. Thou who hast fulfilled Thy promises made by the prophets, and hast had mercy
on Zion, and compassion on Jerusalem, by exalting the throne of David, Thy servant, in the
midst of her, by the birth of Christ, who was born of his seed according to the flesh, of
a virgin alone; do Thou now, O Lord God, accept the prayers which proceed from the lips of
Thy people which are of the Gentiles, which call upon Thee in truth, as Thou didst accept
of the gifts of the righteous in their generations. In the first place Thou did respect
the sacrifice of Abel, and accept it as Thou didst accept of the sacrifice of Noah when he
went out of the ark; of Abraham, when he went out of the land of the Chaldeans; of Isaac
at the Well of the Oath; of Jacob in Bethel; of Moses in the desert; of Aaron between the
dead and the living; of Joshua the son of Nun in Gilgal; of Gideon at the rock, and the
fleeces, before his sin; of Manoah and his wife in the field; of Samson in his thirst
before the transgression; of Jephtha in the war before his rash vow; of Barak and Deborah
in the days of Sisera; of Samuel in Mizpeh; of David in the threshing-floor of Ornan the
Jebusite; of Solomon in Gibeon and in Jerusalem: of Elijah in Mount Carmel; of Elisha at
the barren fountain; of Jehoshaphat in war; of Hezekiah in his sickness, and concerning
Sennacherib;

48 of Manasseh in the land of the Chaldeans, after his transgression; of Josiah in Phassa;
of Ezra at the return; of Daniel in the den of lions; of Jonah in the whale's belly; of
the three children in the fiery furnace; of Hannah in the tabernacle before the ark; of
Nehemiah at the rebuilding of the walls; of Zerubbabel; of Mattathias and his sons in
their zeal; of Jael in blessings. Now also do Thou receive the prayers of Thy people which
are offered to Thee with knowledge, through Christ in the Spirit.

A Prayer for the Assistance of the Righteous.

49 XXXVIII. We give Thee thanks for all things, O Lord Almighty, that Thou hast not taken
away Thy mercies and Thy compassions from us; but in every succeeding generation Thou dost
save, and deliver, and assist, and protect for Thou didst assist in the days of Enos and
Enoch, in the days of Moses and Joshua, in the days of the judges, in the days of Samuel
and of Elijah and of the prophets, in the days of David and of the kings, in the days of
Esther and Mordecai, in the days of Judith, in the days of Judas Maccabeus and his
brethren, and in our days hast Thou assisted us by Thy great High Priest, Jesus Christ Thy
Son.For He has delivered us from the sword, and hath freed us from famine, and sustained
us; has delivered us from sickness, has preserved us from an evil tongue. For all which
things do we give Thee thanks through Christ, who has given us an articulate voice to
confess withal, and added to it a suitable tongue as an instrument to modulate withal, and
a proper taste, and a suitable touch, and a sight for contemplation, and the hearing of
sounds, and the smelling of vapours, and hands for work, and feet for walking. And all
these members dost Thou form from a little drop in the womb; and after the formation dost
Thou bestow on it an immortal soul, and producest it into the light as a rational
creature, even man.

50 Thou hast instructed him by Thy laws, improved him by Thy statutes; and when Thou
bringest on a dissolution for a while, Thou hast promised a resurrection. Wherefore what
life is sufficient, what length of ages will be long enough, for men to be thankful? To do
it worthily it is impossible, but to do it according to our ability is just and right. For
Thou hast delivered us from the impiety of polytheism, and from the heresy of the
murderers of Christ; Thou hast delivered us from error and ignorance; Thou hast sent
Christ among men as a man, being the only begotten God; Thou hast made the Comforter to
inhabit among us; Thou hast set angels over us; Thou hast put the devil to shame; Thou
hast brought us into being when we were not. Thou takest care of us when made; Thou
measurest out life to us; Thou affordest us food; Thou hast promised repentance. Glory and
worship be to Thee for all these things, through Jesus Christ, now and ever, and through
all ages. Amen. Meditate on these things, brethren; and the Lord be With you upon earth,
and in the kingdom of His Father, who both sent Him, and has "delivered us by Him from the
bondage of corruption into His glorious liberty; " and has promised life to those who
through Him have believed in the God of the whole world.

Sec. III.-On the Instruction of Catechumens, and Their Initiation into Baptism.

51 Now, after what manner those ought to live that are initiated into Christ, and what
thanksgivings they ought to send up to God through Christ, has been said in the foregoing
directions. But it is reasonable not to leave even those who are not yet initiated without
assistance.

How the Catechumens are to Be Instructed in the Elements.

52 XXXIX. Let him, therefore, who is to be taught the truth in regard to piety be
instructed before his baptism in the knowledge of the unbegotten God, in the understanding
of His only begotten Son, in the assured acknowledgment of the Holy Ghost. Let him learn
the order of the several parts of the creation, the series of providence, the different
dispensations of Thy laws. Let him be instructed why the world was made, and why man was
appointed to be a citizen therein; let him also know his own nature, of what sort it is;
let him be taught how God punished the wicked with water and fire, and did glorify the
saints in every generation-I mean Seth, and Enos, and Enoch, and Noah, and Abraham and his
posterity, and Melchizedek, and Job, and Moses, and Joshua, and Caleb, and Phineas the
priest, and those that were holy in every generation; and how God still took care of and
did not reject mankind, but called them from their error and vanity to the acknowledgment
of the truth at various seasons, reducing them from bondage and impiety unto liberty and
piety, from injustice to righteousness, from death eternal to everlasting life. Let him
that offers himself to baptism learn these and the like things during the time that he is
a catechumen;

53 and let him who lays his hands upon him adore God, the Lord of the whole world, and
thank Him for His creation, for His sending Christ His only begotten Son, that He might
save man by blot-ring out his transgressions, and that He might remit ungodliness and
sins, and might "purify him from all filthiness of flesh and spirit," and sanctify man
according to the good pleasure of His kindness, that He might inspire him with the
knowledge of His will, and enlighten the eyes of his heart to consider of His wonderful
works, and make known to him the judgments of righteousness, that so he might hate every
way of iniquity, and walk in the way of truth, that he might be thought worthy of the
layer of regeneration, to the adoption of sons, which is in Christ, that "being planted
together in the likeness of the death of Christ," in hopes of a glorious communication, he
may be mortified to sin, and may live to God, as to his mind, and word, and deed, and may
be numbered together in the book of the living. And after this thanksgiving, let him
instruct him in the doctrines concerning our Lord's incarnation, and in those concerning
His passion, and resurrection from the dead, and assumption.

A Constitution How the Catechumens are to Be Blessed by the Priests in Their Initiation,
and What Things are to Be Taught Them.

54 XL. And when it remains that the catechumen is to be baptized, let him learn what
concerns the renunciation of the devil, and the joining himself with Christ; for it is fit
that he should first abstain from things contrary, and then be admitted to the mysteries.
He must beforehand purify his heart from all wickedness of disposition, from all spot and
wrinkle, and then partake of the holy things; for as the skilfullest husbandman does first
purge his ground of the thorns which are grown up therein, and does then sow his wheat, so
ought you also to take away all impiety from them, and then to sow the seeds of piety in
them, and vouchsafe them baptism. For even our Lord did in this manner exhort us, saying
first, "Make disciples of all nations; " and then He adds this, "and baptize them into the
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." Let, therefore, the candidate
for baptism declare thus in his renunciation: -

The Renunciation of the Adversary, and the Dedication to the Christ of God.

55 XLI. I renounce Satan, and his works, and his pomps, and his worships, and his angels,
and his inventions, and all things that are under him. And after his renunciation let him
in his consociation say: And I associate myself to Christ, and believe, and am baptized
into one unbegotten Being, the only true God Almighty, the Father of Christ, the Creator
and Maker of all things, from whom are all things; and into the Lord Jesus Christ, His
only begotten Son, the First-born of the whole creation, who before the ages was begotten
by the good pleasure of the Father, by whom all things were made, both those in heaven and
those on earth, visible and invisible; who in the last days descended from heaven, and
took flesh, and was born of the holy Virgin Mary, and did converse holily according to the
laws of His God and Father, and was crucified under Pontius Pilate, and died for us, and
rose again from the dead after His passion the third day, and ascended into the heavens,
and sitteth at the right hand of the Father, and again is to come at the end of the world
with glory to judge the quick and the dead, of whose kingdom there shall be no end. And I
am baptized into the Holy Ghost, that is, the Comforter, who wrought in all the saints
from the beginning of the world, but was afterwards sent to the apostles by the Father,
according to the promise of our Saviour and Lord, Jesus Christ; and after the apostles, to
all those that believe in the Holy Catholic Church; into the resurrection of the flesh,
and into the remission of sins, and into the kingdom of heaven, and into the life of the
world to come. And after this vow, he comes in order to the anointing with oil.

A Thanksgiving Concerning the Anointing with the Mystical Oil.

56 XLII. Now this is blessed by the high priest for the remission of sins, and the first
preparation for baptism. For he calls thus upon the unbegotten God, the Father of Christ,
the King of all sensible and intelligible natures, that He would sanctify the oil in the
name of the Lord Jesus, and impart to it spiritual grace and efficacious strength, the
remission of sins, and the first preparation for the confession of baptism, that so the
candidate for baptism, when he is anointed may be freed from all ungodliness, and may
become worthy of initiation, according to the command of the Only-begotten.

A Thanksgiving Concerning the Mystical Water.

57 XLIII. After this he comes to the water, and blesses and glorifies the Lord God
Almighty, the Father of the only begotten God; and the priest returns thanks that He has
sent His Son to become man on our account, that He might save us; that He has permitted
that He should in all things become obedient to the laws of that incarnation, to preach
the kingdom of heaven, the remission of sins, and the resurrection of the dead. Moreover,
he adores the only begotten God Himself, after His Father, and for Him, giving Him thanks
that He undertook to die for all men by the cross, the type of which He has appointed to
be the baptism of regeneration. He glorifies Him also, for that God who is the Lord of the
whole world, in the name of Christ and by His Holy Spirit, has not cast off mankind but
has suited His providence to the difference of seasons: at first giving to Adam himself
paradise for an habitation of pleasure, and afterwards giving a command on account of
providence, and casting out the offender justly, but through His goodness not utterly
casting him off, but instructing his posterity in succeeding ages after various manners;
on whose account, in the conclusion of the world, He has sent His Son to become man for
man's sake, and to undergo all human passions without sin. Him, therefore, let the priest
even now call upon in baptism, and let him say:

58 Look down from heaven, and sanctify this water, and give it grace and power, that so he
that is to be baptized, according to the command of Thy Christ, may be crucified with Him,
and may die with Him, and may be buried with Him, and may rise with Him to the adoption
which is in Him, that he may be dead to sin and live to righteousness. And after this,
when he has baptized him in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,
he shall anoint him with ointment, and shall add as follows:-

A Thanksgiving Concerning the Mystical Ointment.

59 XLIV. O Lord God, who art without generation, and without a superior, the Lord of the
whole world, who hast scattered the sweet odour of the knowledge of the Gospel among all
nations, do Thou grant at this time that this ointment may be efficacious upon him that is
baptized, that so the sweet odour of Thy Christ may continue upon him firm and fixed; and
that now he has died with Him, he may arise and live with Him. Let him say these and the
like things, for this is the efficacy of the laying on of hands on every one; for unless
there be such a recital made by a pious priest over every one of these, the candidate for
baptism does only descend into the water as do the Jews, and he only puts off the filth of
the body, not the filth of the soul. After this let him stand up, and pray that prayer
which the Lord taught us. But, of necessity, he who is risen again ought to stand up and
pray, because he that is raised up stands upright. Let him, therefore, who has been dead
with Christ, and is raised up with Him, stand up. But let him pray towards the east. For
this also is written in the second book of the Chronicles, that after the temple of the
Lord was finished by King Solomon, in the very feast of dedication the priests and the
Levites and the singers stood up towards the east, praising and thanking God with cymbals
and psalteries, and saying, "Praise the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy endureth for
ever."

A Prayer for the New Fruits.

60 XLV. But let him pray thus after the foregoing prayer, and say: O God Almighty, the
Father of Thy Christ, Thy only begotten Son, give me a body undefiled, a heart pure, a
mind watchful, an unerring knowledge, the influence of the Holy Ghost for the obtaining
and assured enjoying of the truth, through Thy Christ, by whom glory be to Thee, in the
Holy Spirit, for ever. Amen. We have thought it reasonable to make these constitutions
concerning the catechumens.

Sec. IV.-Enumeration Ordained by Apostles. — Who Were They that the Holy Apostles Sent and
Ordained?

61 XLVI. Now concerning those bishops which have been ordained in our lifetime, we let you
know that they are these:-James the bishop of Jerusalem, the brother of our Lord; upon
whose death the second was Simeon the son of Cleopas; after whom the third was Judas the
son of James. Of Caesarea of Palestine, the first was Zacchaeus, who was once a publican;
after whom was Cornelius, and the third Theophilus. Of Antioch, Euodius, ordained by me
Peter; and Ignatius by Paul. Of Alexandria, Annianus was the first, ordained by Mark the
evangelist; the second Avilius by Luke, who was also an evangelist. Of the church of Rome,
Linus the son of Claudia was the first, ordained by Paul; and Clemens, after Linus' death,
the second, ordained by me Peter. Of Ephesus, Timotheus, ordained by Paul; and John, by me
John. Of Smyrna, Aristo the first; after whom Strataeas the son of Lois; and the third
Aristo. Of Pergamus, Gains. Of Philadelphia, Demetrius, by me. Of Cenchrea, Lucius, by
Paul. Of Crete, Titus. Of Athens, Dionysius. Of Tripoli in Phoenicia, Marathones. Of
Laodicea in Phrygia, Archippus. Of Colossae, Philemon. Of Borea in Macedonia, Onesimus,
once the servant of Philemon. Of the churches of Galatia, Crescens. Of the parishes of
Asia, Aquila and Nicetas. Of the church of Aeginae, Crispus. These are the bishops who are
entrusted by us with the parishes in the Lord; whose doctrine keep ye always in mind, and
observe our words. And may the Lord be with you now, and to endless ages, as Himself said
to us when He was about to be taken up to His own God and Father. For says He, "Lo, I am
with you all the days, until the end of the world. Amen."

Sec. V.-Daily Prayers. — A Morning Prayer.

62 XLVII. "Glory be to God in the highest, and upon earth peace, good-will among men." We
praise Thee, we sing hymns to Thee, we bless Thee; we glorify Thee, we worship Thee by Thy
great High Priest; Thee who art the true God, who art the One Unbegotten, the only
inaccessible Being. For Thy great glory, O Lord and heavenly King, O God the Father
Almighty, O Lord God, the Father of Christ the immaculate Lamb, who taketh away the sin of
the world, receive our prayer, Thou that sittest upon the cherubim. For Thou only art
holy, Thou only art the Lord Jesus, the Christ of the God of all created nature, and our
King, by whom glory, honour, and worship be to Thee.

An Evening Prayer.

63 XLVIII. "Ye children, praise the Lord: praise the name of the Lord." We praise Thee, we
sing hymns to Thee, we bless Thee for Thy great glory, O Lord our King, the Father of
Christ the immaculate Lamb, who taketh away the sin of the world. Praise becomes Thee,
hymns become Thee, glory becomes Thee, the God and Father, through the Son, in the most
holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen. "Now, O Lord, lettest Thou Thy servant depart in
peace, according to Thy word; for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou hast
prepared before the face of all people, a light for the revelation to the Gentiles, and
the glory of Thy people Israel."

A Prayer at Dinner.

64 XLIX. Thou art blessed, O Lord, who nourishest me from my youth, who givest food to all
flesh. Fill our hearts with joy and gladness, that having always what is sufficient for
us, we may abound to every good work, in Christ Jesus our Lord, through whom glory,
honour, and power be to Thee for ever. Amen.


CONSTITUTIONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES, BOOK 8
==========================================

CONSTITUTIONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES, BOOK 8 Apostolic Constitutions

c. AD 380

Book 8, on the gifts of the Spirit and on the ordination of bishops, presbyters, deacons
and others, with the prayers for each, and the liturgy known as the Liturgy of Clement.

Concerning Gifts, and Ordinations, and the Ecclesiastical Canons. — Sec. I.-On the
Diversity of Spiritual Gifts. — On Whose Account the Powers of Miracles are Performed.

1 I. Jesus Christ, our God and Saviour, delivered to us the great mystery of godliness,
and called both Jews and Gentiles to the acknowledgment of the one and only true God His
Father, as Himself somewhere says, when He was giving thanks for the salvation of those
that had believed, "I have manifested Thy name to men, I have finished the work Thou
gavest me; " and said concerning us to His Father, "Holy Father, although the world has
not known Thee, yet have I known Thee; and these have known Thee. With good reason did He
say to all of us together, when we were perfected concerning those gifts which were given
from Him by the Spirit: "Now these signs shall follow them that have believed in my name:
they shall cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up
serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall by no means hurt them: they shall
lay their hands on the sick, and they shall recover. These gifts were first bestowed on us
the apostles when we were about to preach the Gospel to every creature, and afterwards
were of necessity afforded to those who had by our means believed; not for the advantage
of those who perform them, but for the conviction of the unbelievers, that those whom the
word did not persuade, the power of signs might put to shame: for signs are not for us who
believe, but for the unbelievers, both for the Jews and Gentiles.

2 For neither is it any profit to us to cast out demons, but to those who are so cleansed
by the power of the Lord; as the Lord Himself somewhere instructs us, and shows, saying:
"Rejoice ye, not because the spirits are subject unto you; but rejoice, because your names
are written in heaven. Since the former is done by His power, but this by our good
disposition and diligence, yet (it is manifest) by His assistance. It is not therefore
necessary that every one of the faithful should cast out demons, or raise the dead, or
speak with tongues; but such a one only who is vouchsafed this gift, for some cause which
may be advantage to the salvation of the unbelievers, who are often put to shame, not with
the demonstration of the world, but by the power of the signs; that is, such as are worthy
of salvation: for all the ungodly are not affected by wonders; and hereof God Himself is a
witness, as when He says in the law: "With other tongues will I speak to this people, and
with other lips, and yet will they by no means believe. For neither did the Egyptians
believe in God, when Moses had done so many signs and wonders; nor did the multitude of
the Jews believe in Christ, as they believed Moses, who yet had healed every sickness and
every disease among them.

3 Nor were the former shamed by the rod which was turned into a living serpent, nor by the
hand which was made white with leprosy, nor by the river Nile turned into blood; nor the
latter by the blind who recovered their sight, nor by the lame who walked, nor by the dead
who were raised. The one was resisted by Jannes and Jambres, the other by Annas and
Caiaphas. Thus signs do not shame all into belief, but only those of a good disposition;
for whose sake also it is that God is pleased, as a wise steward of a family, to appoint
miracles to be wrought, not by the power of men, but by His own will. Now we say these
things, that those who have received such gifts may not exalt themselves against those who
have not received them; such gifts, we mean, as are for the working of miracles. For
otherwise there is no man who has believed in God through Christ, that has not received
some spiritual gift: for this very thing, having been delivered from the impiety of
polytheism, and having believed in God the Father through Christ, this is a gift of God.

4 And the having cast off the veil of Judaism, and having believed that, by the good
pleasure of God, His only begotten Son, who was before all ages, was in the last time born
of a virgin, ] without the company of a man, and that He lived as a man, yet without sin,
and fulfilled all that righteousness which is of the law; and that, by the permission of
God, He who was God the Word endured the cross, and despised the shame; and that He died,
and was buried, and rose within three days; and that after His resurrection, having
continued forty days with His apostles, and completed His whole constitutions, He was
taken up in their sight to His God and Father, who sent Him: he who has believed these
things, not at random and irrationally, but with judgment and full assurance, has received
the gift of God. So also has He who is delivered from every heresy. Let not, therefore,
any one that works signs and wonders judge any one of the faithful who is not vouchsafed
the same: for the gifts of God which are bestowed by Him through Christ are various; and
one man receives one gift, and another another. For perhaps one has the word of wisdom,
and another the word of knowledge; another, discerning of spirits; another, foreknowledge
of things to come; another, the word of teaching; another, long-suffering; another,
continence according to the law:

5 for even Moses, the man of God, when he wrought signs in Egypt, did not exalt himself
against his equals: and when he was called a god, he did not arrogantly despise his own
prophet Aaron. Nor did Joshua the son of Nun, who was the leader of the people after him,
though in the war with the Jebusites he had made the sun stand still over against Gibeon,
and the moon over against the valley of Ajalon because the day was not long enough for
their victory, insult over Phineas or Caleb. Nor did Samuel, who had done so many
surprising things, disregard David the beloved of God: yet they were both prophets, and
the one was high priest, and the other was king. And when there were only seven thousand
holy men in Israel who had not bowed the knee to Baal, Elijah alone among them, and his
disciple Elisha, were workers of miracles. Yet neither did Elijah despise Obadiah the
steward, who feared God, but wrought no signs; nor did Elisha despise his own disciple
when he trembled at the enemies. Moreover, neither did the wise Daniel who was twice
delivered from the mouths of the lions, nor the three children who were delivered from the
furnace of fire, despise the rest of their fellow-Israelites: for they knew that they had
not escaped these terrible miseries by their own might; but by the power of God did they
both work miracles, and were delivered from miseries.

6 Wherefore let none of you exalt himself against his brother, though he be a prophet, or
though he be a worker of miracles: for if it happens that there be no longer an
unbeliever, all the power of signs will thenceforwards be superfluous. For to be pious is
from any one's good disposition; but to work wonders is from the power of Him that works
them by us: the first of which respects ourselves; but the second respects God that works
them, for the reasons which we have already mentioned. Wherefore neither let a king
despise his officers that are under him, nor the rulers those who are subject. For where
there are none to be ruled over, rulers are superfluous; and where there are no officers,
the kingdom will not stand. Moreover, let not a bishop be exalted against his deacons and
presbyters, nor the presbyters against the people: for the subsistence of the congregation
depends on each other. For the bishops and the presbyters are the priests with relation to
the people; and the laity are the laity with relation to the clergy. And to be a Christian
is in our own power; but to be an apostle, or a bishop, or in any other such office, is
not in our own power, but at the disposal of God, who bestows the gifts. And thus much
concerning those who are vouchsafed gifts and dignities.

Concerning Unworthy Bishops and Presbyters.

7 II. We add, in the next place, that neither is every one that prophesies holy, nor every
one that casts out devils religious: for even Balaam the son of Beor the prophet did
prophesy, though he was himself ungodly; as also did Caiaphas, the falsely-named high
priest. Nay, the devil foretells many things, and the demons, about Him; and yet for all
that, there is not a spark of piety in them: for they are oppressed with ignorance, by
reason of their voluntary wickedness. It is manifest, therefore, that the ungodly,
although they prophesy, do not by their prophesying cover their own impiety; nor will
those who cast out demons be sanctified by the demons being made subject to them: for they
only mock one another, as they do who play childish tricks for mirth, and destroy those
who give heed to them. For neither is a wicked king any longer a king, but a tyrant; nor
is a bishop oppressed with ignorance or an evil disposition a bishop, but falsely so
called, being not one sent out by God, but by men, as Ananiah and Samoeah in Jerusalem,
and Zedekiah and Achiah the false prophets in Babylon. And indeed Balaam the prophet, when
he had corrupted Israel by Baalpeor, suffered punishment; and Caiaphas at last was his own
murderer; and the sons of Sceva, endeavouring to cast out demons, were wounded by them,
and fled away in an unseemly manner; and the kings of Israel and of Judah, when they
became impious, suffered all sorts of punishments.

8 It is therefore evident how bishops and presbyters, also falsely so called, will not
escape the judgment of God. For it will be said to them even now: "O ye priests that
despise my name, I will deliver you up to the slaughter, as I did Zedekiah and Achiah,
whom the king of Babylon fried in a frying-pan," as says Jeremiah the prophet. We say
these things, not in contempt of true prophecies, for we know that they are wrought in
holy men by the inspiration of God, but to put a stop to the boldness of vainglorious men;
and add this withal, that from such as these God takes away His grace: for "God resisteth
the proud, but giveth grace to the humble. Now Silas and Agabus prophesied in our times;
yet did they not equal themselves to the apostles, nor did they exceed their own measures
though they were beloved of God. Now women prophesied also. Of old, Miriam the sister of
Moses and Aaron, and after her Deborah, and after these Huldah and Judith "-the former
under Josiah, the latter under Darius. The mother of the Lord did also prophesy, and her
kinswoman Elisabeth, and Anna; and in our time the daughters of Philip: yet were not these
elated against their husbands, but preserved their own measures. Wherefore if among you
also there be a man or a woman, and such a one obtains any gift let him be humble that God
may be pleased with him. For says He:

9 Upon whom will I look, but upon him that is humble and quiet, and trembles at my words?
"

Sec. II.-Election and Ordination of Bishops: Form of Service on Sundays. — That to Make
Constitutions About the Offices to Be Performed in the Churches is of Great Consequence.

10 III. We have now finished the first part of this discourse concerning gifts, whatever
they be, which God has bestowed upon men according to His own will; and how He rebuked the
ways of those who either attempted to speak lies, or were moved by the spirit of the
adversary; and that God often employed the wicked For prophecy and the performance of
wonders. But now our discourse hastens as to the principal part, that is, the constitution
of ecclesiastical affairs, that so, when ye have learned this constitution from us, ye who
are ordained bishops by us at the command of Christ, may perform all things according to
the commands delivered you, knowing that he that heareth us heareth Christ, and he that
heareth Christ heareth His God and Father, to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

Concerning Ordinations.

11 IV. Wherefore we, the twelve apostles of the Lord, who are now together, give you in
charge those divine constitutions concerning every ecclesiastical form, there being
present with us Paul the chosen vessel, our fellow-apostle, and James the bishop, and the
rest of the presbyters, and the seven deacons. In the first place, therefore, I Peter say,
that a bishop to be ordained is to be, as we have already, all of us, appointed,
unblameable in all things, a select person, chosen by the whole people, who, when he is
named and approved, let the people assemble, with the presbytery and bishops that are
present, an the Lord's day, and let them give their consent. And let the principal of the
bishops ask the presbytery and people whether this be the person whom they desire for
their ruler. And if they give their consent, let him ask further whether he has a good
testimony from all men as to his worthiness for so great and glorious an authority;
whether all things relating to his piety towards God be right; whether justice towards men
has been observed by him; whether the affairs of his family have been well ordered by him;
whether he has been unblameable in the course of his life.

12 And if all the assembly together do according to truth, and not according to prejudice,
witness that he is such a one, let them the third time, as before God the Judge, and
Christ, the Holy Ghost being also present, as well as all the holy and ministering
spirits, ask again whether he be truly worthy of this ministry, that so "in the mouth of
two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if they agree the third time
that he is worthy, let them all be demanded their vote; and when they all give it
willingly, let them be heard. And silence being made, let one of the principal bishops,
together with two others, stand near to the altar, the rest of the bishops and presbyters
praying silently, and the deacons holding the divine Gospels open upon the head of him
that is to be ordained, and say to God thus: -

The Form of Prayer for the Ordination of a Bishop. — Oxford Ms.

13 V. O Thou the great Being, O Lord God Almighty, who alone art unbegotten, and ruled
over by none; who always art, and wast before the world; who standest in need of nothing,
and art above all cause and beginning; who only art true, who only art wise; who alone art
the most high; who art by nature invisible; whose knowledge is without beginning; who only
art good, and beyond compare; who knowest all things before they are; who art acquainted
with the most secret things; who art inaccessible, and without a superior; the God and
Father of Thy only begotten Son, of our God and Saviour; the Creator of the whole world by
Him; whose providence provides for and takes the care of all; the Father of mercies, and
God of all consolation; who dwellest in the highest heavens, and yet lookest down on
things below: Thou who didst appoint the rules of the Church, by the coming of Thy Christ
in the flesh; of which the Holy Ghost is the witness, by Thy apostles, and by us the
bishops, who by Thy grace are here present; who hast fore-ordained priests from the
beginning for the government of Thy people-Abel in the first place, Seth and Enos, and
Enoch and Noah, and Melchisedec and Job; who didst appoint Abraham, and the rest of the
patriarchs, with Thy faithful servants Moses and Aaron, and Eleazar and Phineas; who didst
choose from among them rulers and priests in the tabernacle of Thy testimony;

14 who didst choose Samuel for a priest and a prophet; who didst not leave Thy sanctuary
without ministers; who didst delight in those whom Thou chosest to be glorified in. Do
Thou, by us, pour down the influence of Thy free Spirit, through the mediation of Thy
Christ, which is committed to Thy beloved Son Jesus Christ; which He bestowed according to
Thy will on the holy apostles of Thee the eternal God. Grant by Thy name, O God, who
searchest the hearts, that this Thy servant, whom Thou hast chosen to be a bishop, may
feed Thy holy flock, and discharge the office of an high priest to Thee, and minister to
Thee, unblameably night and day; that he may appease Thee, and gather together the number
of those that shall be saved, and may offer to Thee the girls of Thy holy Church. Grant to
him, O Lord Almighty, through Thy Christ, the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, that so he
may have power to remit sins according to Thy command; to give forth lots according to Thy
command; to loose every bond, according to the power which Thou gavest the apostles; that
he may please Thee in meekness and a pure heart, with a sledfast, unblameable, and
unreprovable mind;

15 to offer to Thee a pure and unbloody sacrifice, which by Thy Christ Thou hast appointed
as the mystery of the new covenant, for a sweet savour, through Thy holy child Jesus
Christ, our God and Saviour, through whom glory, honour, and worship be to Thee in the
Holy Spirit, now and always, and for all ages. And when he has prayed for these things,
let the rest of the priests add, Amen; and together with them all the people. 16 V. God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation,
who knowest all things before they take place; Thou who didst appoint the rules of the
Church through the word of Thy grace who didst appoint beforehand the race righteous from
the beginning that came from Abraham to be rulers, and didst constitute them priests, not
leaving Thy sanctuary without ministers; who from the foundation of the world didst
delight in those whom Thou chosest to be glorified in; and now pour down the influence of
Thy free Spirit, which through Thy beloved Son Jesus Christ Thou hast bestowed on Thy holy
apostles, who set up the Church in the place of the sanctuary, to unending glory and
praise of Thy name: O Thou, who knowest the hearts of all, grant that this Thy servant
whom Thou hast chosen to the holy office of Thy bishop, may discharge the duty of a high
priest to Thee, and minister to Thee unblameably night and day; that he may appease Thee
unceasingly, and present to Thee the gifts of Thy holy Church, and in the spirit of the
high-priesthood have power to remit sins according to Thy commandment, to give lots
according to Thy injunction, to loose every bond according to the power which Thou hast
given to the apostles, and be well-pleasing to Thee, in meekness and a pure heart offering
a smell of sweet savour through Thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord, with whom to Thee be glory,
power, and honour, along with the Holy Spirit, now and for ever. Amen.

17 And after the prayer let one of the bishops elevate the sacrifice upon the hands of him
that is ordained, and early in the morning let him be placed in his throne, in a place set
apart far him among the rest of the bishops, they all giving him the kiss in the Lord. And
after the reading of the Law and the Prophets, and our Epistles, and Acts, and the
Gospels, let him that is ordained salute they Church, saying, The grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the love of God and the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with you
all; and let them all answer, and with Thy Spirit. And after these words let him speak to
the people the words of exhortation; and when he has ended his word of doctrine (I Andrew
the brother of Peter speak), all standing up, let the deacon ascend upon some high seat,
and proclaim, Let none of the hearers, let none of the unbelievers stay; and silence being
made, let him say

The Divine Liturgy, Wherein is the Bidding Prayer for the Catechumens.

18 VI. Ye catechumens, pray, and let all the faithful pray for them in their mind, saying:
Lord, have mercy upon them. And let the deacon bid prayers for them, saving: Let us all
pray unto God for the catechumens, that He that is good, He that is the lover of mankind,
will mercifully hear their prayers and their supplications, and so accept their petitions
as to assist them and give them those desires of their hearts which are for their
advantage, and reveal to them the Gospel of His Christ; give them illumination and
understanding, instruct them in the knowledge of God, teach them His commands and His
ordinances, implant in them His pure and saving fear, open the ears of their hearts, that
they may exercise themselves in His law day and night; strengthen them in piety, unite
them to and number them with His holy flock; vouchsafe them the layer of regeneration, and
the garment of incorruption, which is the true life; and deliver them from all
ungodliness, and give no place to the adversary against them; "and cleanse them from all
filthiness of flesh and spirit, and dwell in them, and walk in them, by His Christ; bless
their goings out and their comings in, and order their affairs for their good. Let us
still earnestly put up our supplications for them, that they may obtain the forgiveness of
their transgressions by their admission, and so may be thought worthy of the holy
mysteries, and of constant communion with the saints.

19 Rise up, ye catechumens, beg for yourselves the peace of God through His Christ, a
peaceable day, and free from sin, and the like for the whole time of your life, and your
Christian ends of it; a compassionate and merciful God; and the forgiveness of your
transgressions. Dedicate yourselves to the only unbegotten God, through His Christ. Bow
down your heads, and receive the blessing. But at the naming of every one by the deacon,
as we said before, let the people say, Lord, have mercy upon him; and let the children say
it first. And as they have bowed down their heads, let the bishop who is newly ordained
bless them with this blessing: O God Almighty, unbegotten and inaccessible, who only art
the true God, the God and Father of Thy Christ, Thy only begotten Son; the God of the
Comforter, and Lord of the whole world; who by Christ didst appoint Thy disciples to be
teachers for the teaching of piety; do Thou now also look down upon Thy servants, who are
receiving instruction in the Gospel of Thy Christ, and "give them a new heart, and renew a
right spirit in their inward parts, that they may both know and do Thy will with full
purpose of heart, and with a willing soul. Vouchsafe them an holy admission, and unite
them to Thy holy Church, and make them partakers of Thy divine mysteries, through Christ,
who is our hope, and who died for them;

20 by whom glory and worship be given to Thee in the Holy Spirit for ever. Amen. And after
this, let the deacon say: Go out, ye catechumens, in peace. And after they are gone out,
let him say: Ye energumens, afflicted with unclean spirits, pray, and let us all
earnestly, pray for them, that God, the lover of mankind, will by Christ rebuke the
unclean and wicked spirits, and deliver His supplicants from the dominion of the
adversary. May He that rebuked the legion of demons, and the devil, the prince of
wickedness, even now rebuke these apostates from piety, and deliver His own workmanship
from his power, and cleanse those creatures which He has made with great wisdom. Let us
still pray earnestly for them. Save them, O God, and raise them up by Thy power. Bow down
your heads, ye energumens, and receive the blessings. And let the bishop add this prayer,
and say:-

For the Energumens.

21 VII. Thou, who hast bound the strong man, and spoiled all that was in his house, who
hast given us power over serpents and scorpions to tread upon them, and upon all the power
of the enemy; who hast delivered the serpent, that murderer of men, bound to us, as a
sparrow to children, whom all things dread, and tremble before the face of Thy power; who
hast cast him down as lightning from heaven to earth, not with a fall from a place, but
from honour to dishonour, on account of his voluntary evil disposition; whose look dries
the abysses, and threatening melts the mountains, and whose truth remains for ever; whom
the infants praise, and sucking babes bless; whom angels sing hymns to, and adore; who
lookest upon the earth, and makest it tremble; who touchest the mountains, and they smoke;
who threatenest the sea, and driest it up, and makest all its rivers as desert, and the
clouds are the dust of His feet; who walkest upon the sea as upon the firm ground; Thou
only begotten God, the Son of the great Father, rebuke these wicked spirits, and deliver
the works of Thy hands from the power of the adverse spirit. For to Thee is due glory,
honour, and worship, and by Thee to Thy Father, in the Holy Spirit, for ever. Amen. And
let the deacon say: Go out, ye energumens. And after them, let him cry aloud: Ye that are
to be illuminated, pray.

22 Let all us, the faithful, earnestly pray for them, that the Lord will vouchsafe that,
being initiated into the death of Christ, they may rise with Him, and become partakers of
His kingdom, and may be admitted to the communion of His mysteries; unite them to, number
them among, those that are saved in His holy Church. Save them, and raise them up by Thy
grace. And being sealed to God through His Christ, let them bow down their heads, and
receive this blessing from the bishop:-

For the Baptized.

23 VIII. Thou who hast formerly said by Thy holy prophets to those that be initiated,
"Wash ye, become clean," and hast appointed spiritual regeneration by Christ, do Thou now
also look down upon these that are baptized, and bless them, and sanctify them, and
prepare them that they may become worthy of Thy spiritual gift, and of the true adoption
of Thy spiritual mysteries, of being gathered together with those that are saved through
Christ our Saviour; by whom glory, honour, and worship be to Thee, in the Holy Ghost, for
ever. Amen. And let the deacon say: Go out, ye that are preparing for illumination. And
after that let him proclaim: Ye penitents, pray; let us all earnestly pray for our
brethren in the state of penitence, that God, the lover of compassion, will show them the
way of repentance, and accept their return and their confession, and bruise Satan under
their feet suddenly, and redeem them from the snare of the devil, and the ill-usage of the
demons, and free them from every unlawful word, and every absurd practice and wicked
thought; forgive them all their offences, both voluntary and involuntary, and blot out
that handwriting which is against them, and write them in the book of life; cleanse them
from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, and restore and unite them to His holy flock. For
He knoweth our frame. For who can glory that he has a clean heart? And who can boldly say,
that he is pure from sin?

24 For we are all among the blameworthy. Let us still pray for them more earnestly, for
there is joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, that, being converted from every
evil work, they may be joined to all good practice; that God, the lover of mankind, will
suddenly accept their petitions, will restore to them the joy of His salvation, and
strengthen them with His free Spirit; that they may not be any more shaken, but be
admitted to the communion of His most holy things, and become partakers of His divine
mysteries, that appearing worthy of His adoption, they may obtain eternal life. Let us all
still earnestly say on their account: Lord, have mercy upon them. Save them, O God, and
raise them up by Thy mercy. Rise up, and bow your heads to God through His Christ, and
receive the blessings. Let the bishop then add this prayer:-

Imposition of Hands; Prayer for Penltents.

25 IX. Almighty, eternal God, Lord of the whole world, the Creator and Governor of all
things, who hast exhibited man as the ornament of the world through Christ, and didst give
him a law both naturally implanted and written, that he might live according to law, as a
rational creature; and when he had sinned, Thou gavest him Thy goodness as a pledge in
order to his repentance: Look down upon these persons who have bended the neck of their
soul and body to Thee; for Thou desirest not the death of a sinner, but his repentance,
that he turn from his wicked way, and live. Thou who didst accept the repentance of the
Ninevites, who willest that all men be saved, and come to the acknowledgment of the truth;
who didst accept of that son who had consumed his substance in riotous living, with the
bowels of a father, on account of his repentance; do Thou now accept of the repentance of
Thy supplicants: for there is no man that will not sin; for "if Thou, O Lord, markest
iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? For with Thee there is propitiation." And do Thou
restore them to Thy holy Church, into their former dignity and honour, through Christ our
God and Saviour, by whom glory and adoration be to Thee, in the Holy Ghost, for ever.
Amen. Then let the deacon say, Depart, ye penitents; and let him add, Let none of those
who ought not to come draw near. All we of the faithful, let us bend our knee: let us all
entreat God through His Christ; let us earnestly beseech God through His Christ.

The Bidding Prayer for the Faithful.

26 X. Let us pray for the peace and happy settlement of the world, and of the holy
churches; that the God of the whole world may afford us His everlasting peace, and such as
may not be taken away from us; that He may preserve us in a full prosecution of such
virtue as is according to godliness. Let us pray for the Holy Catholic and Apostolic
Church which is spread from one end of the earth to the other; that God would preserve and
keep it unshaken, and free from the waves of this life, until the end of the world, as
founded upon a rock; and for the holy parish in this place, that the Lord of the whole
world may vouchsafe us without failure to follow after His heavenly hope, and without
ceasing to pay Him the debt of our prayer. Let us pray for every episcopacy which is under
the whole heaven, of those that rightly divide the word of Thy truth. And let us pray for
our bishop James, and his parishes; let us pray for our bishop Clement, and his parishes;
let us pray for our bishop Euodius, and his parishes; let us pray for our bishop Annianus,
and his parishes: that the compassionate God may grant them to continue in His holy
churches in health, honour, and long life, and afford them an honourable old age in
godliness and righteousness.

27 And let us pray for our presbyters, that the Lord may deliver them from every
unreasonable and wicked action, and afford them a presbyterate in health and honour. Let
us pray for all the deacons and ministers in Christ, that the Lord may grant them an
unblameable ministration. Let us pray for the readers, singers, virgins, widows, and
orphans. Let us pray for those that are in marriage and in child-bearing, that the Lord
may have mercy upon them all. Let us pray for the eunuchs who walk holily. Let us pray for
those in a state of continence and piety. Let us pray for those that bear fruit in the
holy Church, and give alms to the needy. And let us pray for those who offer sacrifices
and oblations to the Lord our God, that God, the fountain of all goodness, may recompense
them with His heavenly gifts, and "give them in this world an hundredfold, and in the
world to come life everlasting; " and bestow upon them for their temporal things, those
that are eternal; for earthly things, those that are heavenly. Let us pray for our
brethren newly enlightened, that the Lord may strengthen and confirm them. Let us pray for
our brethren exercised with sickness, that the Lord may deliver them from every sickness
and every disease, and restore them sound into His holy Church. Let us pray for those that
travel by water or by land.

28 Let us pray for those that are in the mines, in banishments, in prisons, and in bonds,
for the name of the Lord. Let us pray for those that are afflicted with bitter servitude.
Let us pray for our enemies, and those that hate us. Let us pray for those that persecute
us for the name of the Lord, that the Lord may pacify their anger, and scatter their wrath
against us. Let us pray for those that are without, and are wandered out of the way, that
the Lord may convert them. Let us be mindful of the infants of the Church, that the Lord
may perfect them in His fear, and bring them to a complete age. Let us pray one for
another, that the Lord may keep us and preserve us by His grace to the end, and deliver us
from the evil one. and from all the scandals of those that work iniquity, and preserve us
unto His heavenly kingdom. Let us pray for every Christian soul. Save us, and raise us up,
O God, by Thy mercy. Let us rise up, and let us pray earnestly, and dedicate ourselves and
one another to the living God, through His Christ. And let the high priest add this
prayer, and say:-

The Form of Prayer for the Faithful.

29 XI. O Lord Almighty, the Most High, who dwellest on high, the Holy One, that restest
among the saints, without beginning, the Only Potentate, who hast given to us by Christ
the preaching of knowledge, to the acknowledgment of Thy glory and of Thy name, which He
has made known to us, for our comprehension, do Thou now also look down through Him upon
this Thy flock, and deliver it from all ignorance and wicked practice, and grant that we
may fear Thee in earnest, and love Thee with affection, and have a due reverence of Thy
glory. Be gracious and merciful to them, and hearken to them when they pray unto Thee; and
keep them, that they may be unmoveable, unblameable, and unreprovable, that they may be
holy in body and spirit, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that they may
be complete, and none of them may be defective or imperfect. O our support, our powerful
God, who dost not accept persons, be Thou the assister of this Thy people, which Thou hast
redeemed with the precious blood of Thy Christ; be Thou their protector, aider, provider,
and guardian, their strong wall of defence, their bulwark and security. For "none can
snatch out of Thy hand: " for there is no other God like Thee; for on Thee is our
reliance. "Sanctify them by Thy truth: for Thy word is truth.

30 Thou who dost nothing for favour, Thou whom none can deceive, deliver them from every
sickness, and every disease, and every offence, every injury and deceit, "from fear of the
enemy, from the dart that flieth in the day, from the mischief that walketh about in
darkness; " and vouchsafe them that everlasting life which is in Christ Thy only begotten
Son, our God and Saviour, through whom glory and worship be to Thee, in the Holy Spirit,
now and always, and for ever and ever. Amen. And after this let the deacon say, Let us
attend. And let the bishop salute the church, and say, The peace of God be with you all.
And let the people answer, And with thy spirit; and let the deacon say to all, Salute ye
one another with the holy kiss. And let the clergy salute the bishop, the men of the laity
salute the men, the women the women. And let the children stand at the reading-desk; and
let another deacon stand by them, that they may not be disorderly. And let other deacons
walk about and watch the men and women, that no tumult may be made, and that no one nod,
or whisper, or slumber; and let the deacons stand at the doors of the men, and the sub-
deacons at those of the women, that no one go out, nor a door be opened, although it be
for one of the faithful, at the the of the oblation.

31 But let one of the sub-deacons bring water to wash the hands of the priests, which is a
symbol of the purity of those souls that are devoted to God.

The Constitution of James the Brother of John, the Son of Zebedee.

32 XII. And I James, the brother of John, the son of Zebedee, say, that the deacon shall
immediately say, Let none of the catechumens, let none of the hearers, let none of the
unbelievers, let none of the heterodox, stay here. You who have prayed the foregoing
prayer, depart. Let the mothers receive their children; let no one have anything against
any one; let no one come in hypocrisy; let us stand upright before the Lord with fear and
trembling, to offer. When this is done, let the deacons bring the gifts to the bishop at
the altar; and let the presbyters stand on his right hand, and on his left, as disciples
stand before their Master. But let two of the deacons, on each side of the altar, hold a
fan, made up of thin membranes, or of the feathers of the peacock, or of fine cloth, and
let them silently drive away the small animals that fly about, that they may not come near
to the cups. Let the high priest, therefore, together with the priests, pray by himself;
and let him put on his shining garment, and stand at the altar, and make the sign of the
cross upon his forehead with his hand, and say: The grace of Almighty God, and the love of
our Lord Jesus Christ, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. And let all
with one voice say: And with thy spirit. The high priest: Lift up your mind. All the
people:

33 We lift it up unto the Lord. The high priest: Let us give thanks to the Lord. All the
people: It is meet and right so to do. Then let the high priest say: It is very meet and
fight before all things to sing an hymn to Thee, who art the true God, who art before all
beings, "from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named; " who only art
unbegotten, and without beginning, and without a ruler, and without a master; who standest
in need of nothing; who art the bestower of everything that is good; who art beyond all
cause and generation; who art alway and immutably the same; from whom all things came into
being, as from their proper original. For Thou art eternal knowledge, everlasting sight,
unbegotten hearing, untaught wisdom, the first by nature, and the measure of being, and
beyond all number; who didst bring all things out of nothing into being by Thy only
begotten Son, but didst beget Him before all ages by Thy will, Thy power, and Thy
goodness, without any instrument, the only begotten Son, God the Word, the living Wisdom,
"the First-born of every creature, the angel of Thy Great Counsel," and Thy High Priest,
but the King and Lord of every intellectual and sensible nature, who was before all
things, by whom were all things. For Thou, O eternal God, didst make all things by Him,
and through Him it is that Thou vouchsafest Thy suitable providence over the whole world;

34 for by the very same that Thou bestowedst being, didst Thou also bestow well-being: the
God and Father of Thy only begotten Son, who by Him didst make before all things the
cherubim and the seraphim, the aeons and hosts, the powers and authorities, the
principalities and thrones, the archangels and angels; and after all these, didst by Him
make this visible world, and all things that are therein. For Thou art He who didst frame
the heaven as an arch, and "stretch it out like the covering of a tent," and didst found
the earth upon nothing by Thy mere will; who didst fix the firmament, and prepare the
night and the day; who didst bring the light out of Thy treasures, and on its departure
didst bring on darkness, for the rest of the living creatures that move up and down in the
world; who didst appoint the sun in heaven to rule over the day, and the moon to rule over
the night, and didst inscribe in heaven the choir of stars to praise Thy glorious majesty;
who didst make the water for drink and for cleansing, the air in which we live for
respiration and the affording of sounds, by the means of the tongue, which strikes the
air, and the hearings which co-operates therewith, so as to perceive speech when it is
received by it, and falls upon it; who madest fire for our consolation in darkness, for
the supply of our want, and that we might be warmed and enlightened by it;

35 who didst separate the great sea from the land, and didst render the former navigable
and the latter fit for walking, and didst replenish the former with small and great living
creatures, and filledst the latter with the same, both tame and wild; didst furnish it
with various plants, and crown it with herbs, and beautify it with flowers, and enrich it
with seeds; who didst ordain the great deep, and on every side madest a mighty cavity for
it, which contains seas of salt waters heaped together, yet didst Thou every way bound
them with barriers of the smallest sand; who sometimes dost raise it to the height of
mountains by the winds, and sometimes dost smooth it into a plain; sometimes dost enrage
it with a tempest, and sometimes dost still it with a calm, that it may be easy to
seafaring men in their voyages; who didst encompass this world, which was made by Thee
through Christ, with rivers, and water it with currents, and moisten it with springs that
never fail, and didst bind it round with mountains for the immoveable and secure
consistence of the earth: for Thou hast replenished Thy world, and adorned it with sweet-
smelling and with healing herbs, with many and various living creatures, strong and weak,
for food and for labour, tame and wild; with the noises of creeping things, the sounds of
various sorts of flying creatures;

36 with the circuits of the years, the numbers of months and days, the order of the
seasons, the courses of the rainy clouds, for the production of the fruits and the support
of living creatures. Thou hast also appointed the station of the winds, which blow when
commanded by Thee, and the multitude of the plants and herbs. And Thou hast not only
created the world itself, but hast also made man for a citizen of the world, exhibiting
him as the ornament of the world; for Thou didst say to Thy Wisdom: "Let us make man
according to our image, and according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the
fish of the sea, and over the fowls of the heaven. Wherefore also Thou hast made him of an
immortal soul and of a body liable to dissolution-the former out of nothing, the latter
out of the four elements-and hast given him as to his soul rational knowledge, the
discerning of piety and impiety, and the observation of right and wrong; and as to his
body, Thou hast granted him five senses and progressive motion: for Thou, O God Almighty,
didst by Thy Christ plant a paradise in Eden, in the east, adorned with all plants fit for
food, and didst introduce him into it, as into a rich banquet. And when Thou madest him,
Thou gavest him a law implanted within him, that so he might have at home and within
himself the seeds of divine knowledge;

37 and when Thou hadst brought him into the paradise of pleasure, Thou allowedst him the
privilege of enjoying all things, only forbidding the tasting of one tree, in hopes of
greater blessings; that in case he would keep that command, he might receive the reward of
it, which was immortality. But when he neglected that command, and tasted of the forbidden
fruit, by the seduction of the serpent and the counsel of his wife, Thou didst justly cast
him out of paradise. 38 Yet of Thy goodness Thou didst not overlook him, nor suffer him to
perish utterly, for he was Thy creature; but Thou didst subject the whole creation to him,
and didst grant him liberty to procure himself food by his own sweat and labours, whilst
Thou didst cause all the fruits of the earth to spring up, to grow, and to ripen. But when
Thou hadst laid him asleep for a while, Thou didst with an oath call him to a restoration
again, didst loose the bond of death, and promise him life after the resurrection. And not
this only; but when Thou hadst increased his posterity to an innumerable multitude, those
that continued with Thee Thou didst glorify, and those who did apostatize from Thee Thou
didst punish. And while Thou didst accept of the sacrifice of Abel as of an holy person,
Thou didst reject the gift of Cain, the murderer of his brother, as of an abhorred wretch.
And besides these, Thou didst accept of Seth and Enos, and didst translate Enoch: for Thou
art the Creator of men, and the giver of life, and the supplier of want, and the giver of
laws, and the rewarder of those that observe them, and the avenger of those that
transgress them; who didst bring the great flood upon the world by reason of the multitude
of the ungodly, and didst deliver righteous Noah from that flood by an ark, with eight
souls, the end of the foregoing generations, and the beginning of those that were to come;

39 who didst kindle a fearful fire against the five cities of Sodom, and "didst turn a
fruitful land into a salt lake for the wickedness of them that dwelt therein," but didst
snatch holy Lot out of the conflagration. Thou art He who didst deliver Abraham from the
impiety of his fore-fathers, and didst appoint him to be the heir of the world, and didst
discover to him Thy Christ; who didst aforehand ordain Melchisedec an high priest for Thy
worship; who didst render Thy patient servant Job the conqueror of that serpent who is the
patron of wickedness; who madest Isaac the son of the promise, and Jacob the father of
twelve sons, and didst increase his posterity to a multitude, and bring him into Egypt
with seventy-five souls. Thou, O Lord, didst not overlook Joseph, but grantedst him, as a
reward of his chastity for Thy sake, the government over the Egyptians. Thou, O Lord,
didst not overlook the Hebrews when they were afflicted by the Egyptians, on account of
the promises made unto their fathers; but Thou didst deliver them and punish the
Egyptians.

40 And when men had corrupted the law of nature, and had sometimes esteemed the creation
the effect of chance, and sometimes honoured it more than they ought, and equalled it to
the God of the universe, Thou didst not, however, suffer them to go astray, but didst
raise up Thy holy servant Moses, and by him didst give the written law for the assistance
of the law of nature, and didst show that the creation was Thy work, and didst banish away
the error of polytheism. Thou didst adorn Aaron and his posterity with the priesthood, and
didst punish the Hebrews when they sinned, and receive them again when they returned to
Thee. Thou didst punish the Egyptians with a judgment of ten plagues, and didst divide the
sea, and bring the Israelites through it, and drown and destroy the Egyptians who pursued
after them. Thou didst sweeten the bitter water with wood; Thou didst bring water out of
the rock of stone; Thou didst rain manna from heaven, and quails, as meat out of the air;
Thou didst afford them a pillar of fire by night to give them light, and a pillar of a
cloud by day to overshadow them from the heat; Thou didst declare Joshua to be the general
of the army, and didst overthrow the seven nations of Canaan by him; Thou didst divide
Jordan, and dry up the rivers of Etham; Thou didst overthrow walls without instruments or
the hand of man. For all these things, glory be to Thee, O Lord Almighty.

41 Thee do the innumerable hosts of angels, archangels, thrones, dominions,
principalities, authorities, and powers, Thine everlasting armies, adore. The cherubim and
the six-winged seraphim, with twain covering their feet, with twain their heads, and with
twain flying, say, together with thousand thousands of archangels, and ten thousand times
ten thousand of angels, incessantly, and with constant and loud voices, and let all the
people say it with them: "Holy, holy, holy, Lord of hosts, heaven and earth are full of
His glory: be Thou blessed for ever. Amen. And afterwards let the high priest say: For
Thou art truly holy, and most holy, the highest and most highly exalted for ever. Holy
also is Thy only begotten Son our Lord and God, Jesus Christ, who in all things ministered
to His God and Father, both in Thy various creation and Thy suitable providence, and has
not overlooked lost mankind. But after the law of nature, after the exhortations in the
positive law, after the prophetical reproofs and the government of the angels, when men
had perverted both the positive law and that of nature, and had cast out of their mind the
memory of the flood, the burning of Sodom, the plagues of the Egyptians, and the
slaughters of the inhabitant of Palestine, and being just ready to perish universally
after an unparalleled manner, He was pleased by Thy good will to become man, who was man's
Creator; to be under the laws, who was the Legislator; to be a sacrifice, who was an High
Priest;

42 to be a sheep, who was the Shepherd. And He appeased Thee, His God and Father, and
reconciled Thee to the world, and freed all men from the wrath to come, and was made of a
virgin, and was in flesh, being God the Word, the beloved Son, the first-born of the whole
creation, and was, according to the prophecies which were foretold concerning Him by
Himself, of the seed of David and Abraham, of the tribe of Judah. And He was made in the
womb of a virgin, who formed all mankind that are born into the world; He took flesh, who
was without flesh; He who was begotten before time, was born in time; He lived holily, and
taught according to the law; He drove away every sickness and every disease from men, and
wrought signs and wonders among the people; and He was partaker of meat, and drink, and
sleep, who nourishes all that stand in need of food, and "fills every living creature with
His goodness; " "He manifested His name to those that knew it not; " He drave away
ignorance; He revived piety, and fulfilled Thy will; He finished the work which Thou
gavest Him to do; and when He had set all these things right, He was seized by the hands
of the ungodly, of the high priests and priests, falsely so called, and of the disobedient
people, by the betraying of him who was possessed of wickedness as with a confirmed
disease;

43 He suffered many things from them, and endured all sorts of ignominy by Thy permission;
He was delivered to Pilate the governor, and He that was the Judge was judged, and He that
was the Saviour was condemned; He that was impassible was nailed to the cross, and He who
was by nature immortal died, and He that is the giver of life was buried, that He might
loose those for whose sake He came from suffering and death, and might break the bonds of
the devil, and deliver mankind from his deceit. He arose from the dead the third day; and
when He had continued with His disciples forty days, He was taken up into the heavens, and
is sat down on the right hand of Thee, who art His God and Father. 44 Being mindful,
therefore, of those things that He endured for our sakes, we give Thee thanks, O God
Almighty, not in such a manner as we ought, but as we are able, and fulfil His
constitution: "For in the same night that He was betrayed, He took bread" in His holy and
undefiled hands, and, looking up to Thee His God and Father, "He brake it, and gave it to
His disciples, saying, This is the mystery of the new covenant: take of it, and eat. This
is my body, which is broken for many, for the remission of sins. In like manner also "He
took the cup," and mixed it of wine and water, and sanctified it, and delivered it to
them, saying: "Drink ye all of this; for this is my blood which is shed for many, for the
remission of sins: do this in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread and
drink this cup, ye do show forth my death until I come. Being mindful, therefore, of His
passion, and death, and resurrection from the dead, and return into the heavens, and His
future second appearing, wherein He is to come with glory and power to judge the quick and
the dead, and to recompense to every one according to his works, we offer to Thee, our
King and our God, according to His constitution, this bread and this cup, giving Thee
thanks, through Him, that Thou hast thought us worthy to stand before Thee, and to
sacrifice to Thee;

45 and we beseech Thee that Thou wilt mercifully look down upon these gifts which are here
set before Thee, O Thou God, who standest in need of none of our offerings. And do Thou
accept them, to the honour of Thy Christ, and send down upon this sacrifice Thine Holy
Spirit, the Witness of the Lord Jesus' sufferings, that He may show this bread to be the
body of Thy Christ, and the cup to be the blood of Thy Christ, that those who are
partakers thereof may be strengthened for piety, may obtain the remission of their sins,
may be delivered from the devil and his deceit, may be filled with the Holy Ghost, may be
made worthy of Thy Christ, and may obtain eternal, life upon Thy reconciliation to them, O
Lord Almighty. We further pray unto Thee, O Lord, for thy holy Church spread from one end
of the world to another, which Thou hast purchased with the precious blood of Thy Christ,
that Thou wilt preserve it unshaken and free from disturbance until the end of the world;
for every episcopate who rightly divides the word of truth. We further pray to Thee for
me, who am nothing, who offer to Thee, for the whole presbytery, for the deacons and all
the clergy, that Thou wilt make them wise, and replenish them with the Holy Spirit.

46 We further pray to Thee, O Lord, "for the king and all in authority," for the whole
army, that they may be peaceable towards us, that so, leading the whole time of our life
in quietness and unanimity, we may glorify Thee through Jesus Christ, who is our hope. We
further offer to Thee also for all those holy persons who have pleased Thee from the
beginning of the world-patriarch, prophets, righteous men, apostles, martyrs, confessors,
bishops, presbyters, deacons, sub-deacons, readers, singers, virgins, widows, and lay
persons, with all whose names Thou knowest. We further offer to Thee for this people, that
Thou wilt render them, to the praise of Thy Christ, "a royal priesthood and an holy
nation; " for those that are in virginity and purity; for the widows of the Church; for
those in honourable marriage and child-bearing; for the infants of Thy people, that Thou
wilt not permit any of us to "become castaways. We further beseech Thee also for this city
and its inhabitants; for those that are sick; for those in bitter servitude; for those in
banishments; for those in prison; for those that travel by water or by land; that Thou,
the helper and assister of all men, wilt be their supporter. We further also beseech Thee
for those that hate us and persecute us for Thy name's sake; for those that are without,
and wander out of the way; that Thou wilt convert them to goodness, and pacify their
anger.

47 We further also beseech Thee for the catechumens of the Church, and for those that are
vexed by the adversary, and for our brethren the penitents, that Thou wilt perfect the
first in the faith, that Thou wilt deliver the second from the energy of the evil one, and
that Thou wilt accept the repentance of the last, and forgive both them and us our
offences. We further offer to Thee also for the good temperature of the air, and the
fertility of the fruits, that so, partaking perpetually of the good things derived from
Thee, we may praise Thee without ceasing, "who gavest food to all flesh. We further
beseech Thee also for those who are absent on a just cause, that Thou wilt keep us all in
piety, and gather us together in the kingdom of Thy Christ, the God of all sensible and
intelligent nature, our King that Thou wouldst keep us immoveable, unblameable, and
unreprovable: for to Thee belongs all glory and worship, and thanksgiving, honour and
adoration, the Father, with the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, both now and always, and for
everlasting, and endless ages for ever. And let all the people say, Amen. And let the
bishop say, "The peace of God be with you all. And let all the people say, "And with thy
spirit. And let the deacon proclaim again:-

The Bidding Prayer for the Faithful After the Divine Oblation.

48 XIII. Let us still further beseech God through His Christ, and let us beseech Him on
account of the gift which is offered to the Lord God, that the good God will accept it,
through the mediation of His Christ, upon His heavenly altar, for a sweet-smelling savour.
Let us pray for this church and people. Let us pray for every episcopate, every
presbytery, all the deacons and ministers in Christ, for the whole congregation, that the
Lord will keep and preserve them all. Let us pray "for kings and those in authority," that
they may be peaceable toward us, "that so we may have and lead a quiet and peaceable life
in all godliness and honesty. Let us he mindful of the holy martyrs, that we may be
thought worthy to be partakers of their trial. Let us pray for those that are departed in
the faith. Let us pray for the good temperature of the air, and the perfect maturity of
the fruits. Let us pray for those that are newly enlightened, that they may be
strengthened in the faith, and all may be mutually comforted by one another. Raise us up,
O God, by Thy grace. Let us stand up, and dedicate ourselves to God, through His Christ.
And let the bishop say: O God, who art great, and whose name is great, who art great in
counsel and mighty in works, the God and Father of Thy holy child Jesus, our Saviour;

49 look down upon us, and upon this Thy flock, which Thou hast chosen by Him to the glory
of Thy name; and sanctify our body and soul, and grant us the favour to be "made pure from
all filthiness of flesh and spirit," and may obtain the good things laid up for us, and do
not account any of us unworthy; but be Thou our comforter, helper, and protector, through
Thy Christ, with whom glory, honour, praise, doxology, and thanksgiving be to Thee and to
the Holy Ghost for ever. Amen. And after that all have said Amen, let the deacon say: Let
us attend. And let the bishop speak thus to the people: Holy things for holy persons. And
let the people answer: There is One that is holy; there is one Lord, one Jesus Christ,
blessed for ever, to the glory of God the Father. Amen. "Glory to God in the highest, and
on earth peace, good-will among men. Hosanna to the son of David! Blessed be He that
cometh in the name of the Lord," being the Lord God who appeared to us, "Hosanna in the
highest. And after that, let the bishop partake, then the presbyters, and deacons, and
sub-deacons, and the readers, and the singers, and the ascetics; and then of the women,
the deaconesses, and the virgins, and the widows; then the children; and then all the
people in order, with reverence and godly fear, without tumult. And let the bishop give
the oblation, saying, The body of Christ;

50 and let him that receiveth say, Amen. And let the deacon take the cup; and when he
gives it, say, The blood of Christ, the cup of life; and let him that drinketh say, Amen.
And let the thirty-third psalm be said, while the rest are partaking; and when all, both
men and women, have partaken, let the deacons carry what remains into the vestry. And when
the singer has done, let the deacon say:-

The Bidding Prayer After the Participation.

51 XIV. Now we have received the precious body and the precious blood of Christ, let us
give thanks to Him who has thought us worthy to partake of these His holy mysteries; and
let us beseech Him that it may not be to us for condemnation, but for salvation, to the
advantage of soul and body, to the preservation of piety, to the remission of sins, and to
the life of the world to come. Let us arise, and by the grace of Christ let us dedicate
ourselves to God, to the only unbegotten God, and to His Christ. And let the bishop give
thanks:-

The Form of Prayer After the Participation.

52 XV. O Lord God Almighty, the Father of Thy Christ, Thy blessed Son, who hearest those
who call upon Thee with uprightness, who also knowest the supplications of those who are
silent; we thank Thee that Thou hast thought us worthy to partake of Thy holy mysteries,
which Thou hast bestowed upon us, for the entire confirmation of those things we have
rightly known, for the preservation of piety, for the remission of our offences; for the
name of thy Christ is called upon us, and we are joined To Thee. O Thou that hast
separated us from the communion of the ungodly, unite us with those that are consecrated
to Thee in holiness; confirm us in the truth, by the assistance of Thy Holy Spirit; reveal
to us what things we are ignorant of, supply what things we are defective in, confirm us
in what things we already know, preserve the priests blameless in Thy worship; keep the
kings in peace, and the rulers in righteousness, the air in a good temperature, the fruits
in fertility, the world in an all-powerful providence; pacify the warring nations, convert
those that are gone astray, sanctify Thy people, keep those that are in virginity,
preserve those in the faith that are in marriage, strengthen those that are in purity,
bring the infants to complete age, confirm the newly admitted; instruct the catechumens,
and render them worthy of admission;

53 and gather us all together into Thy kingdom of heaven, by Jesus Christ our Lord, with
whom glory, honour, and worship be to Thee, in the Holy Ghost, for ever. Amen. And let the
deacon say: Bow down to God through His Christ, and receive the blessing. And let the
bishop add this prayer, and say: O God Almighty, the true God, to whom nothing can be
compared, who art everywhere, and present in all things, and art in nothing as one of the
things themselves; who art not bounded by place, nor grown old by time; who art not
terminated by ages, nor deceived by words; who art not subject to generation, and wantest
no guardian; who art above all corruption, free from all change, and invariable by nature;
"who inhabitest light inaccessible; " who art by nature invisible, and yet art known to
all reasonable natures who seek Thee with a good mind, and art comprehended by those that
seek after Thee with a good mind; the God of Israel, Thy people which truly see, and which
have believed in Christ: Be gracious to me, and hear me, for Thy name's sake, and bless
those that bow down their necks unto Thee, and grant them the petitions of their hearts,
which are for their good, and do not reject any one of them from Thy kingdom; but
sanctify, guard, cover, and assist them; deliver them from the adversary and every enemy;
keep their houses, and guard "their comings in and their goings out.

54 For to Thee belongs the glory, praise, majesty, worship, and adoration, and to Thy Son
Jesus, Thy Christ, our Lord and God and King, and to the Holy Ghost, now and always, for
ever and ever. Amen. And the deacon shall say, Depart in peace. These constitutions
concerning this mystical worship, we, the apostles, do ordain for you, the bishops,
presbyters, and deacons.

Sec. III.-Ordination and Duties of the Clergy. — Concerning the Ordination of Presbyters-
The Constitution of John, Who Was Beloved by the Lord.

55 XVI. Concerning the ordination of presbyters, I who am loved by the Lord make this
constitution for you the bishops: When thou ordainest a presbyter, O bishop, lay thy hand
upon his head, in the presence of the presbyters and deacons, and pray, saying: O Lord
Almighty, our God, who hast created all things by Christ, and dost in like manner take
care of the whole world by Him; for He who had power to make different creatures, has also
power to take care of them, according to their different natures; on which account, O God,
Thou takest care of immortal beings by bare preservation, but of those that are mortal by
succession-of the soul by the provision of laws, of the body by the supply of its wants.
Do Thou therefore now also look down upon Thy holy Church, and increase the same, and
multiply those that preside in it, and grant them power, that they may labour both in word
and work for the edification of Thy people. Do Thou now also look down upon this Thy
servant, who is put into the presbytery by the vote and determination of the whole clergy;
and do Thou replenish him with the Spirit of grace and counsel, to assist and govern Thy
people with a pure heart, in the same manner as Thou didst look down upon Thy chosen
people, and didst command Moses to choose elders, whom Thou didst fill with Thy Spirit. Do
Thou also now, O Lord, grant this, and preserve in us the Spirit of Thy grace, that this
person, being filled with the gifts of healing and the word of teaching, may in meekness
instruct Thy people, and sincerely serve Thee with a pure mind and a willing soul, and may
fully discharge the holy ministrations for Thy people, through Thy Christ, with whom
glory, honour, and worship be to Thee, and to the Holy Ghost, for ever. Amen.

Concerning the Ordination of Deacons-The Constitution of Philip.

56 XVII. Concerning the ordination of deacons, I Philip make this constitution: Thou shalt
ordain a deacon, O bishop, by laying thy hands upon him in the presence of the whole
presbytery, and of the deacons, and shall pray, and say:-

The Form of Prayer for the Ordination of a Deacon.

57 XVIII. O God Almighty, the true and faithful God, who art rich unto all that call upon
Thee in truth, who art fearful in counsels, and wise in understanding, who art powerful
and great, hear our prayer, O Lord, and let Thine ears receive our supplication, and
"cause the light of Thy countenance to shine upon this Thy servant," who is to be ordained
for Thee to the office of a deacon; and replenish him with Thy Holy Spirit, and with
power, as Thou didst replenish Stephen, who was Thy martyr, and follower of the sufferings
of Thy Christ. Do Thou render him worthy to discharge acceptably the ministration of a
deacon, steadily, unblameably, and without reproof, that thereby he may attain an higher
degree, through the mediation of Thy only begotten Son, with whom glory, honour, and
worship be to Thee and the Holy Spirit for ever. Amen.

Concerning the Deaconess-The Constitution of Bartholomew.

58 XIX. Concerning a deaconess, I Bartholomew make this constitution: O bishop, thou shalt
lay thy hands upon her in the presence of the presbytery, and of the deacons and
deaconesses, and shall say:-

The Form of Prayer for the Ordination of a Deaconess.

59 XX. O Eternal God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Creator of man and of
woman, who didst replenish with the Spirit Miriam, and Deborah, and Anna, and Huldah; who
didst not disdain that Thy only begotten Son should be born of a woman; who also in the
tabernacle of the testimony, and in the temple, didst ordain women to be keepers of Thy
holy gates,-do Thou now also look down upon this Thy servant, who is to be ordained to the
office of a deaconess, and grant her Thy Holy Spirit, and "cleanse her from all filthiness
of flesh and spirit," that she may worthily discharge the work which is committed to her
to Thy glory, and the praise of Thy Christ, with whom glory and adoration be to Thee and
the Holy Spirit for ever. Amen.

Concerning the Sub-Deacons-The Constitution of Thomas.

60 XXI. Concerning the sub-deacons, I Thomas make this constitution for you the bishops:
When thou dost ordain a sub-deacon, O bishop, thou shalt lay thy hands upon him, and say:
O Lord God, the Creator of heaven and earth, and of all things that are therein; who also
in the tabernacle of the testimony didst appoint overseers and keepers of Thy holy
vessels; do Thou now look down upon this Thy servant, appointed a sub-deacon; and grant
him the Holy Spirit, that he may worthily handle the vessels of Thy ministry, and do Thy
will always, through Thy Christ, with whom glory, honour, and worship be to Thee and to
the Holy Spirit for ever. Amen.

Concerning the Readers-The Constitution of Matthew.

61 XXII. Concerning readers, I Matthew, also coiled Levi, who was once a tax-gatherer,
make a constitution: Ordain a reader by laying thy hands upon him, and pray unto God, and
say: O Eternal God, who art plenteous in mercy and compassions, who hast made manifest the
constitution of the world by Thy operations therein, and keepest the number of Thine
elect, do Thou also now look down upon Thy servant, who is to be entrusted to read Thy
Holy Scriptures to Thy people, and give him Thy Holy Spirit, the prophetic Spirit. Thou
who didst instruct Esdras Thy servant to read Thy laws to the people, do Thou now also at
our prayers instruct Thy servant, and grant that he may without blame perfect the work
committed to him, and thereby be declared worthy of an higher degree, through Christ, with
whom glory and worship be to Thee and to the Holy Ghost for ever. Amen.

Concerning the Confessors-The Constitution of James the Son of Alpheus.

62 XXIII. And I James, the son of Alphaeus, make a constitution in regard to confessors: A
confessor is not ordained; for he is so by choice and patience, and is worthy of great
honour, as having confessed the name of God, and of His Christ, before nations and kings.
But if there be occasion, he is to be ordained either a bishop, priest, or deacon. But if
any one of the confessors who is not ordained snatches to himself any such dignity upon
account of his confession, let the same person be deprived and rejected; for he is not in
such an office, since he has denied the constitution of Christ, and is "worse than an
infidel."

The Same Apostle's Constitution Concerning Virgins.

63 XXIV. I, the same, make a constitution in regard to virgins: A virgin is not ordained,
for we have no such command from the Lord; for this is a state of voluntary trial, not for
the reproach of marriage, but an account of leisure for piety.

The Constitution of Lebbaeus, Who Was Surnamed Thaddaeus, Concerning Widows.

64 XXV. And I Lebbaeus, surnamed Thaddaeus, make this constitution in regard to widows: A
widow is not ordained; yet if she has lost her husband a great while, and has lived
soberly and unblameably, and has taken extraordinary care of her family, as Judith and
Anna -those women of great reputation-let her be chosen into the order of widows. But if
she has lately lost her yoke fellow, let her not be believed, but let her youth be judged
of by the time; for the affections do sometimes grow aged with men, if they be not
restrained by a better bridle.

The Same Apostle Concerning the Exorcist.

65 XXVI. I the same make a constitution in regard to an exorcist. An exorcist is not
ordained. For it is a trial of voluntary goodness, and of the grace of God through Christ
by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. For he who has received the gift of healing is
declared by revelation from God, the grace which is in him being manifest to all. But if
there be occasion for him, he must be ordained a bishop, or a presbyter, or a deacon.

Simon the Canaanite Concerning the Number Necessary for the Ordination of a Bishop.

66 XXVII. And I Simon the Canaanite make a constitution to determine by how many a bishop
ought to be elected. Let a bishop be ordained by three or two bishops; but if any one be
ordained by one bishop, let him be deprived, both himself and he that ordained him. But if
there be a necessity that he have only one to ordain him, because more bishops cannot come
together, as in time of persecution, or for such like causes, let him bring the suffrage
of permission from more bishops.

The Same Apostle's Canons Concerning Bishops, Presbyters, Deacons, and the Rest of the
Clergy.

67 XXVIII. Concerning the canons I the same make a constitution. A bishop blesses, but
does not receive the blessing. He lays on hands, ordains, offers, receives the blessing
from bishops, but by no means from presbyters. A bishop deprives any clergyman who
deserves deprivation, excepting a bishop; for of himself he has not power to do that. A
presbyter blesses, but does not receive the blessing; yet does he receive the blessing
from the bishop or a fellow-presbyter. In like manner does he give it to a fellow-
presbyter. He lays on hands, but does not ordain; he does not deprive, yet does he
separate those that are under him, if they be liable to such a punishment. A deacon does
not bless, does not give the blessing, but receives it from the bishop and presbyter: he
does not baptize, he does not offer; but when a bishop or presbyter has offered, he
distributes to the people, not as a priest, but as one that ministers to the priests. But
it is not lawful for any one of the other clergy to do the work of a deacon. A deaconess
does not bless, nor perform anything belonging to the office of presbyters or deacons, but
only is to keep the doors, and to minister to the presbyters in the baptizing of women, on
account of decency. A deacon separates a sub-deacon, a reader, a singer, and a deaconess,
if there be any occasion, in the absence of a presbyter. It is not lawful for a sub-deacon
to separate either one of the clergy or laity; nor for a reader, nor for a singer, nor for
a deaconess, for they are the ministers to the deacons.

Sec. IV.-Certain Prayers and Laws. — Concerning the Blessing of Water and Oil-The
Constitution of Matthias.

68 XXIX. Concerning the water and the oil, I Matthias make a constitution. Let the bishop
bless the water, or the oil. But if he be not there, let the presbyter bless it, the
deacon standing by. But if the bishop be present, let the presbyter and deacon stand by,
and let him say thus: O Lord of hosts, the God of powers, the creator of the waters, and
the supplier of oil, who art compassionate, and a lover of mankind, who hast given water
for drink and for cleansing, and oil to give man a cheerful and joyful countenance; do
Thou now also sanctify this water and this oil through Thy Christ, in the name of him or
her that has offered them, and grant them a power to restore health, to drive away
diseases, to banish demons, and to disperse all snares through Christ our hope, with whom
glory, honour, and worship be to Thee, and to the Holy Ghost, for ever. Amen.

The Same Apostle's Constitution Concerning First-Fruits and Tithes.

69 XXX. I the same make a constitution in regard to first-fruits and tithes. Let all
first-fruits be brought to the bishop, and to the presbyters. and to the deacons, for
their maintenance; but let all the tithe be for the maintenance of the rest of the clergy,
and of the virgins and widows, and of those under the trial of poverty. For the first-
fruits belong to the priests, and to those deacons that minister to them.

The Same Apostle's Constitutions Concerning the Remaining Oblations.

70 XXXI. I the same make a constitution in regard to remainders. Those eulogies which
remain at the mysteries, let the deacons distribute them among the clergy, according to
the mind of the bishop or the presbyters: to a bishop; four parts; to a presbyter, three
parts; to a deacon, two parts; and to the rest of the sub-deacons, or readers, or singers,
or deaconesses, one part. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God, that every
one be honoured according to his dignity; for the Church is the school, not of confusion,
but of good order.

Various Canons of Paul the Apostle Concerning Those that Offer Themselves to Be Baptized-
Whom We are to Receive, and Whom to Reject.

71 XXXII. I also, Paul, the least of the apostles, do make the following constitutions for
you, the bishops, and presbyters, and deacons, concerning canons. Those, that first come
to the mystery of godliness, let them be brought to the bishop or to the presbyters by the
deacons, and let them be examined as to the causes wherefore they come to the word of the
Lord; and let those that bring them exactly inquire about their character, and give them
their testimony. Let their manners and their life be inquired into, and whether they he
slaves or freemen. And if any one be a slave, let him be asked who is his master. If he be
slave to one of the faithful, let his master be asked if he can give him a good character.
If he cannot, let him be rejected, until he show himself to be worthy to his master. But
if he does give him a good character, let him be admitted. But if he be household slave to
an heathen, let him be taught to please his master, that the word be not blasphemed. If,
then, he have a wife, or a woman hath an husband, let them be taught to be content with
each other; but if they be unmarried, let them learn not to commit fornication, but to
enter into lawful marriage.

72 But if his master be one of the faithful, and knows that he is guilty of fornication,
and yet does not give him a wife, or to the woman an husband, let him be separated; but if
anyone hath a demon, let him indeed be taught piety, but not received into communion
before he be cleansed; yet if death be near, let him be received. If any one be a
maintainer of harlots, let him either leave off to prostitute women, or else let him be
rejected. If a harlot come, let her leave off whoredom, or else let her be rejected. If a
maker of idols come, let him either leave off his employment, or let him be rejected. If
one belonging to the theatre come, whether it be man or woman, or charioteer, or dueller,
or racer, or player of prizes, or Olympic gamester, or one that plays on the pipe, on the
lute, or on the harp at those games, or a dancing-master or an huckster, either let them
leave off their employments, or let them be rejected. If a soldier come, let him be taught
to "do no injustice, to accuse no man falsely, and to be content with his allotted wages:
" if he submit to those rules, let him be received; but if he refuse them, let him be
rejected.

73 He that is guilty of sins not to be named, a sodomite, an effeminate person, a
magician, an enchanter, an astrologer, a diviner, an user of magic verses, a juggler, a
mountebank, one that makes amulets, a charmer, a soothsayer, a fortune-teller, an observer
of palmistry; he that, when he meets you, observes defects in the eyes or feet of the
birds or cats, or noises, or symbolical sounds: let these be proved for some time, for
this sort of wickedness is hard to be washed away; and if they leave off those practices,
let them be received; but if they will not agree to that, let them be rejected. Let a
concubine, who is slave to an unbeliever, and confines herself to her master alone, be
received; but if she be incontinent with others, let her be rejected. If one of the
faithful hath a concubine, if she be a bond-servant, let him leave off that way, and marry
in a legal manner: if she be a free woman, let him marry her in a lawful manner; if he
does not, let him be rejected. Let him that follows the Gentile customs, or Jewish fables,
either reform, or let him be rejected. If any one follows the sports of the theatre, their
huntings, or horse-races, or combats, either let him leave them off, or let him be
rejected. Let him who is to be a catechumen be a catechumen for three years; but if any
one be diligent, and has a good-will to his business, let him be admitted:

74 for it is not the length of time, but the course of life, that is judged. Let him that
teaches, although he be one of the laity, yet, if he be skilful in the word and grave in
his manners, teach; for "they shall be all taught of God. Let all the faithful, whether
men or women, when they rise from sleep, before they go to work, when they have washed
themselves, pray; but if any catechetic instruction be held, let the faithful person
prefer the word of piety before his work. Let the faithful person, whether man or woman,
treat servants kindly, as we have ordained in the foregoing books, and have taught in our
epistles.

Upon Which Days Servants are Not to Work.

75 XXXIII. I Peter and Paul do make the following constitutions. Let the slaves work five
days; but on the Sabbath-day and the Lord's day let them have leisure to go to church for
instruction in piety. We have said that the Sabbath is on account of the creation, and the
Lord's day of the resurrection. Let slaves rest from their work all the great week, and
that which follows it-for the one in memory of the passion, and the other of the
resurrection; and there is need they should be instructed who it is that suffered and rose
again, and who it is permitted Him to suffer, and raised Him again. Let them have rest
from their work on the Ascension, because it was the conclusion of the dispensation by
Christ. Let them rest at Pentecost, because of the coming of the Holy Spirit, which was
given to those that believed in Christ. Let them rest on the festival of His birth,
because on it the unexpected favour was granted to men, that Jesus Christ, the Logos of
God, should be born of the Virgin Mary, for the salvation of the world. Let them rest on
the festival of Epiphany, because on it a manifestation took place of the divinity of
Christ, for the Father bore testimony to Him at the baptism; and the Paraclete, in the
form of a dove, pointed out to the bystanders Him to whom testimony was borne. Let them
rest on the days of the apostles: for they were appointed your teachers to bring you to
Christ, and made you worthy of the Spirit. Let them rest on the day of the first martyr
Stephen, and of the other holy martyrs who preferred Christ to their own life.

At What Hours, and Why, We are to Pray.

76 XXXIV. Offer up your prayers in the morning, at the third hour, the sixth, the ninth,
the evening, and at cock-crowing: in the morning, returning thanks that the Lord has sent
you light, that He has brought you past the night, and brought on the day; at the third
hour, because at that hour the Lord received the sentence of condemnation from Pilate; at
the sixth, because at that hour He was crucified; at the ninth, because all things were in
commotion at the crucifixion of the Lord, as trembling at the bold attempt of the impious
Jews, and not bearing the injury offered to their Lord; in the evening, giving thanks that
He has given you the night to rest from the daily labours; at cock-crowing, because that
hour brings the good news of the coming on of the day for the operations proper for the
light. But if it be not possible to go to the church on account of the unbelievers, thou,
O bishop, shalt assemble them in a house, that a godly man may not enter into an assembly
of the ungodly. For it is not the place that sanctifies the man, but the man the place.
And if the ungodly possess the place, do thou avoid it, because it is profaned by them.
For as holy priests sanctify a place, so do the profane ones defile it.

77 If it be not possible to assemble either in the church or in a house, let every one by
himself sing, and read, and pray, or two or three together. For "where two or three are
gathered together in my name, there all I in the midst of them. Let not one of the
faithful pray with a catechumen, no, not in the house: for it is not reasonable that he
who is admitted should be polluted with one not admitted. Let not one of the godly pray
with an heretic, no, not in the house. For "what fellowship hath light with darkness? "
Let Christians, whether men or women, who have connections with slaves, either leave them
off, or let them be rejected.

The Constitution of James the Brother of Christ Concerning Evening Prayer.

78 XXXV. I James, the brother of Christ according to the flesh, but His servant as the
only be-begotten God, and one appointed bishop of Jerusalem by the Lord Himself, and the
Apostles, do ordain thus: When it is evening, thou, O bishop, shall assemble the church;
and after the repetition of the psalm at the lighting up the lights, the deacon shall bid
prayers for the catechumens, the energumens, the illuminated, and the penitents, as we
have formerly said. But after the dismission of these, the deacon shall say: So many as
are of the faithful, let us pray to the Lord. And after the bidding prayer, which is
formerly set down, he shall say:-

The Bidding Prayer for the Evening.

79 XXXVI. Save us, O God, and raise us up by Thy Christ. Let us stand up, and beg for the
mercies of the Lord, and His compassions, for the angel of peace, for what things are good
and profitable, for a Christian departure out of this life, an evening and a night of
peace, and free from sin; and let us beg that the whole course of our life may be
unblameable. Let us dedicate ourselves and one another to the living God through His
Christ. And let the bishop add this prayer, and say:-

The Thanksgiving for the Evening.

80 XXXVII. O God, who art without beginning and without end, the Maker of the whole world
by Christ, and the Provider for it, but before all His God and Father, the Lord of the
Spirit, and the King of intelligible and sensible beings; who hast made the day for the
works of light, and the night for the refreshment of our infirmity,-for "the day is Thine,
the night also is Thine: Thou hast prepared the light and the sun," -do Thou now, O Lord,
Thou lover of mankind, and Fountain of all good, mercifully accept of this our evening
thanksgiving. Thou who hast brought us through the length of the day, and hast brought us
to the beginnings of the night, preserve us by Thy Christ, afford usa peaceable evening,
and a night free from sin, and vouchsafe us everlasting life by Thy Christ, through whom
glory, honour, and worship be to Thee in the Holy Spirit for ever. Amen. And let the
deacon say: Bow down for the laying on of hands. And let the bishop say:

81 O God of our fathers, and Lord of mercy, who didst form man of Thy wisdom a rational
creature, and beloved of God more than the other beings upon this earth, and didst give
him authority to rule over the creatures upon the earth, and didst or dain by Thy will
rulers and priests-the former for the security of life, the latter for a regular
worship,-do Thou now also look down, O Lord Almighty, and cause Thy face to shine upon Thy
people, who bow down the neck of their heart, and bless them by Christ; through whom Thou
hast enlightened us with the light of knowledge, and hast revealed Thyself to us; with
whom worthy adoration is due from every rational and holy nature to Thee, and to the
Spirit, who is the Comforter, for ever. Amen. And let the deacon say: "Depart in peace. In
like manner, in the morning, after the repetition of the morning psalm, and his dismission
of the catechumens, the energumens, the candidates for baptism, and the penitents, and
after the usual bidding of prayers, that we may not again repeat the same things, let the
deacon add after the words, Save us, O God, and raise us up by Thy grace: Let us beg of
the Lord His mercies and His compassions, that this morning and this day may be with peace
and without sin, as also all the time of our sojourning;

82 that He will grant us His angel of peace, a Christian departure out of this life, and
that God will be merciful and gracious. Let us dedicate ourselves and one another to the
living God through His Only-begotten. And let the bishop add this prayer, and say:-

The Thanksgiving for the Morning.

83 XXXVIII. O God, the God of spirits and of all flesh, who art beyond compare, and
standest in need of nothing, who hast given the sun to have rule over the day, and the
moon and the stars to have rule over the night, do Thou now also look down upon us with
gracious eyes, and receive our morning thanksgivings, and have mercy upon us; for we have
not "spread out our hands unto a strange God; " for there is not among us any new God, but
Thou, the eternal God, who art without end, who hast given us our being through Christ,
and given us our well-being through Him. Do Thou vouchsafe us also, through Him, eternal
life; with whom glory, and honour, and worship be to Thee and to the Holy Spirit for ever.
Amen. And let the deacon say: Bow down for the laying on of hands. And let the bishop add
this prayer, saying:-

The Imposition of Hands for the Morning.

84 XXXIX. O God, who art faithful and true, who "hast mercy on thousands and ten thousands
of them that love Thee," the lover of the humble, and the protector of the needy, of whom
all things stand in need, for all things are subject to Thee; look down upon this Thy
people, who bow down their heads to Thee, and bless them with spiritual blessing. "Keep
them as the apple of an eye," preserve them in piety and righteousness, and vouchsafe them
eternal life in Christ Jesus Thy beloved Son, with whom glory, honour, and worship be to
Thee and to the Holy Spirit, now and always, and for ever and ever. Amen. And let the
deacon say: "Depart in peace." And when the first-fruits are offered, the bishop gives
thanks in this manner:-

The Form of Prayer for the First-Fruits.

85 XL. We give thanks to Thee, O Lord Almighty, the Creator of the whole world, and its
Preserver, through Thy only begotten Son Jesus Christ our Lord, for the first-fruits which
are offered to Thee, not in such a manner as we ought, but as we are able. For what man is
there that can worthily give Thee thanks for those things Thou hast given them to partake
of? The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, and of all the saints, who madest all
things fruitful by Thy word, and didst command the earth to bring forth various fruits for
our rejoicing and our food; who hast given to the duller and more sheepish sort of
creatures juices-herbs to them that feed on herbs, and to some flesh, to others seeds, but
to us corn, as advantageous and proper food, and many other things-some for our
necessities, some for our health, and some for our pleasure. On all these accounts,
therefore, art Thou worthy of exalted hymns of praise for Thy beneficence by Christ,
through whom glory, honour, and worship be to Thee. in the Holy Spirit, for ever. Amen.
Concerning those that are at rest in Christ: After the bidding prayer, that we may not
repeat it again, the deacon shall add as follows:-

The Bidding Prayer for Those Departed.

86 XLI. Let us pray for our brethren that are at rest in Christ, that God, the lover of
mankind, who has received his soul, may forgive him every sin, voluntary and involuntary,
and may be merciful and gracious to him, and give him his lot in the land of the pious
that are sent into the bosom of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, with all those that have
pleased Him and done His will from the beginning of the world, whence all sorrow, grief,
and lamentation are banished. Let us arise, let us dedicate ourselves and one another to
the eternal God, through that Word which was in the beginning. And let the bishop say: O
Thou who art by nature immortal, and hast no end of Thy being, from whom every creature,
whether immortal or mortal, is derived; who didst make man a rational creature, the
citizen of this world, in his constitution mortal, and didst add the promise of a
resurrection; who didst not suffer Enoch and Elijah to taste of death: "the God of
Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, who art the God of them, not as of dead,
but as of living persons: for the souls of all men live with Thee, and the spirits of the
righteous are in Thy hand, which no torment can touch; " for they are all sanctified under
Thy hand:

87 do Thou now also look upon this Thy servant, whom Thou hast selected and received into
another state, and forgive him if voluntarily or involuntarily he has sinned, and afford
him merciful angels, and place him in the bosom of the patriarchs, and prophets, and
apostles, and of all those that have pleased Thee from the beginning of the world, where
there is no grief, sorrow, nor lamentation; but the peaceable region of the godly, and the
undisturbed land of the upright, and of those that therein see, the glory of Thy Christ;
by whom glory, honour, and worship, thanksgiving, and adoration be to Thee, in the Holy
Spirit, for ever. Amen. And let the deacon say: Bow down, and receive the blessing. And
let the bishop give thanks for them, saying as follows: "O Lord, save Thy people, and
bless Thine inheritance," which Thou hast purchased with the precious blood of Thy Christ.
Feed them under Thy right hand, and cover them under Thy wings, and grant that they may
"fight the good fight, and finish their course, and keep the faith" immutably,
unblameably, and unreprovably, through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy beloved Son, with whom
glory, honour, and worship be to Thee and to the Holy Spirit for ever. Amen.

How and When We Ought to Celebrate the Memorials of the Faithful Departed, and that We
Ought Then to Give Somewhat Out of Their Goods to the Poor.

88 XLII. Let the third day of the departed be celebrated with psalms, and lessons, and
prayers, on account of Him who arose within the space of three days; and let the ninth day
be celebrated in remembrance of the living, and of the departed; and the fortieth day
according to the ancient pattern: for so did the people lament Moses, and the anniversary
day in memory of him. And let alms be given to the poor out of his goods for a memorial of
him.

That Memorials or Mandates Do Not at All Profit the Ungodly Who are Dead.

89 XLIII. These things we say concerning the pious; for as to the ungodly, if thou givest
all the world to the poor, thou wilt not benefit him at all. For to whom the Deity was an
enemy while he was alive, it is certain it will be so also when he is departed; for there
is no unrighteousness with Him. For "the Lord is righteous, and has loved righteousness."
And, "Behold the man and his work."

Concerning Drunkards.

90 XLIV. Now, when you are invited to their memorials, do you feast with good order, and
the fear of God, as disposed to intercede for those that are departed. For since you are
the presbyters and deacons of Christ, you ought always to be sober, both among yourselves
and among others, that so you may be able to warn the unruly. Now the Scripture says, "The
men in power are passionate. But let them not drink wine, lest by drinking they forget
wisdom, and are not able to judge aright." Wherefore both the presbyters and the deacons
are those of authority in the Church next to God Almighty and His beloved Son. We say
this, not they are not to drink at all, otherwise it would be to the reproach of what God
has made for cheerfulness, but that they be not disordered with wine. For the Scripture
does not say, Do not drink wine; but what says it? "Drink not wine to drunkenness; "and
again, "Thorns spring up in the hand of the drunkard." Nor do we say this only to those of
the clergy, but also to every lay Christian, upon whom the name of our Lord jesus Christ
is called. For to them also it is said, "Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath
uneasiness? who hath babbling? who hath red eyes? who hath wounds without cause? Do not
these things belong to those that tarry long at the wine, and that go to seek where
drinking meetings are? "

Concerning the Receiving Such as are Persecuted for Christ's Sake.

91 XLV. Receive ye those that are persecuted on account of the faith, and who fly from
city to city, as mindful of the words of the Lord. For, knowing that though "the spirit be
willing, the flesh is weak," they fly away, and prefer the spoiling of their goods, that
they may preserve the name of Christ in themselves without denying it. Supply them
therefore with what they want, and thereby fulfil the commandment of the Lord.

Sec. V.-All the Apostles Urge the Observance of the Order of the Church. — That Every One
Ought to Remain in that Rank Wherein He is Placed, But Not Snatch Such Offices to Himself
Which are Not Entrusted to Him.

92 XLVI. Now this we all in common do charge you, that every one remain in that rank which
is appointed him, and do not transgress his proper bounds; for they are not ours, but
God's. For says the Lord: "He that heareth you, heareth me; and he that heareth me,
heareth Him that sent me. And, "He that despiseth you, despiseth me; and he that despiseth
me, despiseth Him that sent me. For if those things that are without life do observe good
order, as the night, the day, the sun, the moon, the stars, the elements, the seasons, the
months, the weeks, the days, and the hours, and are subservient to the uses appointed
them, according to that which is said, "Thou hast set them a bound which they shall not
pass; " and again, concerning the sea, "I have set bounds thereto, and have encompassed it
with bars and gates; and I said to it, Hitherto shalt thou come, and thou shalt go no
farther; " how much more ought ye not to venture to remove those things which we,
according to God's will, have determined for you!

93 But because many think this a small matter, and venture to confound the orders, and to
remove the ordination which belongs to them severally, snatching to themselves dignities
which were never given them, and allowing themselves to bestow that authority in a
tyrannical manner which they have not themselves, and thereby provoke God to anger (as did
the followers of Corah and King Uzziah, who, having no authority, usurped the high-
priesthood without commission from God; and the former were burnt with fire, and the
latter was struck with a leprosy in his forehead); and provoke Christ Jesus to anger, who
has made this constitution; and also grieve the Holy Spirit, and make void His testimony:
therefore, foreknowing the danger that hangs over those who do such things, and the
neglect about the sacrifices and eucharistical offices which will arise from their being
impiously offered by those who ought not to offer them; who think the honour of the high-
priesthood, which is an imitation of the great High Priest Jesus Christ our King, to be a
matter of sport; we have found it necessary to give you warning in this matter also. For
some are already turned aside after their own vanity. We say that Moses the servant of God
(" to whom God spake face to face, as if a man spake to his friend; " to whom He said, "I
know thee above all men;

94 "to whom He spake directly, and not by obscure methods, or dreams, or angels, or
riddles),-this person, when he made constitutions and divine laws, distinguished what
things were to be performed by the high priests, what by the priests, and what by the
Levites; distributing to every one his proper and suitable office in the divine service.
And those things which are allotted for the high priests to do, those might not be meddled
with by the priests; and what things were allotted to the priests, the Levites might not
meddle with; but every one observed those ministrations which were written down and
appointed for them. And if any would meddle beyond the tradition, death was his
punishment. And Saul's example does show this most plainly, who, thinking he might offer
sacrifice without the prophet and high priest Samuel, drew upon himself a sin and a curse
without remedy. Nor did even his having anointed him king discourage the prophet. But God
showed the same by a more visible effect in the case of Uzziah, when He without delay
exacted the punishment due to this transgression, and he that madly coveted after the
high-priesthood was rejected from his kingdom also. As to those things that have happened
amongst us, you yourselves are not ignorant of them. For ye know undoubtedly that those
that are by us named bishops, and presbyters, and deacons, were made by prayer, and by the
laying on of hands; and that by the difference of their names is showed the difference of
their employments.

95 For not every one that will is ordained, as the case was in that spurious and
counterfeit priesthood of the calves under Jeroboam; but he only who is called of God. For
if there were no rule or distinction of orders, it would suffice to perform all the
offices under one name. But being taught by the Lord the series of things, we distributed
the functions of the high-priesthood to the bishops, those of the priesthood to the
presbyters, and the ministration under them both to the deacons; that the divine worship
might be performed in purity. For it is not lawful for a deacon to offer the sacrifice, or
to baptize, or to give either the greater or the lesser blessing. Nor may a presbyter
perform ordination; for it is not agreeable to holiness to have this order perverted. For
"God is not the God of confusion," that the subordinate persons should tyrannically assume
to themselves the functions belonging to their superiors, forming a new scheme of laws to
their own mischief, not knowing that "it is hard for them to kick against the pricks; "
for such as these do not fight against us, or against the bishops, but against the
universal Bishop and the High Priest of the Father, Jesus Christ our Lord. High priests,
priests, and Levites were ordained by Moses, the most beloved of God. By our Saviour were
we apostles, thirteen in number, ordained;

96 and by the apostles I James, and I Clement, and others with us, were ordained, that we
may not make the catalogue of all those bishops over again. And in common, presbyters, and
deacons, and sub-deacons, and readers, were ordained by all of us. The great High Priest
therefore, who is so by nature, is Christ the only begotten; not having snatched that
honour to Himself, but having been appointed such by the Father; who being made man for
our sake, and offering the spiritual sacrifice to His God and Father, before His suffering
gave it us alone in charge to do this, although there were others with us who had believed
in Him. But he that believes is not presently appointed a priest, or obtains the dignity
of the high-priesthood. But after His ascension we offered, according to His constitution,
the pure and unbloody sacrifice; and ordained bishops, and presbyters, and deacons, seven
in number: one of which was Stephen, that blessed martyr, who was not inferior to us as to
his pious disposition of mind towards God; who showed so great piety towards God, by his
faith and love towards our Lord Jesus Christ, as to give his life for Him, and was stoned
to death by the Jews, the murderers of the Lord.

97 Yet still this so great and good a man, who was fervent in spirit, who saw Christ on
the right hand of God, and the gates of heaven opened, does nowhere appear to have
exercised functions which did not appertain to his office of a deacon, nor to have offered
the sacrifices, nor to have laid hands upon any, but kept his order of a deacon unto the
end. For so it became him, who was a martyr for Christ, to preserve good order. But if
some do blame Philip our deacon, and Ananias our faithful brother, that the one did
baptize the eunuch, and the other me Paul, these men do not understand what we say. For we
have affirmed only that no one snatches the sacerdotal dignity to himself, but either
receives it from God, as Melchisedec and Job, or from the high priest, as Aaron from
Moses. Wherefore Philip and Ananias did not constitute themselves, but were appointed by
Christ, the High Priest of that God to whom no being is to be compared.


THE ECCLESIASTICAL CANONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES
==============================================

THE ECCLESIASTICAL CANONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES Apostolic Constitutions

c. AD 380

A short set of rules for bishops, presbyters, deacons and the people, put under the names
of the apostles and printed after the Apostolic Constitutions. It belongs to the same
family of church orders.

XLVII.1. Let a bishop be ordained by two or three bishops. 2. A presbyter by one bishop,
as also a deacon, and the rest of the clergy. 3. If any bishop or presbyter, otherwise
than our Lord has ordained concerning the sacrifice, offer other things at the altar of
God, as honey, milk, or strong beer instead of wine, any necessaries, or birds, or
animals, or pulse, otherwise than is ordained, let him be deprived; excepting grains of
new corn, or ears of wheat, or bunches of grapes in their season. 4. For it is not lawful
to offer anything besides these at the altar, and oil for the holy lamp, and incense in
the time of the divine oblation. 5. But let all other fruits be sent to the house of the
bishop, as first-fruits to him and to the presbyters, but not to the altar. Now it is
plain that the bishop and presbyters are to divide them to the deacons and to the rest of
the clergy.

6. Let not a bishop, a priest, or a deacon cast off his own wife under pretence of piety;
but if he does cast her off, let him be suspended. If he go on in it, let him be deprived.
7. Let not a bishop, a priest, or deacon undertake the cares of this world; but if he do,
let him be deprived. 8. If any bishop, or presbyter, or deacon shall celebrate the holiday
of the passover before the vernal equinox with the Jews, let him be deprived. 9. If any
bishop, or presbyter, or deacon, or any one of the catalogue of the priesthood, when the
oblation is over, does not communicate, let him give his reason; and if it be just, let
him be forgiven; but if he does not do it, let him be suspended, as becoming the cause of
damage to the people, and occasioning a suspicion against him that offered, as of one that
did not rightly offer.

10. All those of the faithful that enter into the holy church of God, and hear the sacred
Scriptures, but do not stay during prayer and the holy communion, must be suspended, as
causing disorder in the church. 11. If any one, even in the house, prays with a person
excommunicate, let him also be suspended. 12. If any clergyman prays with one deprived as
with a clergyman, let himself also be deprived. 13. If any clergyman or layman who is
suspended, or ought not to be received, goes away, and is received in another city without
commendatory letters, let both those who received him and he that was received be
suspended. But if he be already suspended, let his suspension be lengthened, as lying to
and deceiving the Church of God. 14. A bishop ought not to leave his own parish and leap
to another, although the multitude should compel him, unless there be some good reason
forcing him to do this, as that he can contribute much greater profit to the people of the
new parish by the word of piety; but this is not to be settled by himself, but by the
judgment of many bishops, and very great supplication.

15. If any presbyter or deacon, or any one of the catalogue of the clergy, leaves his own
parish and goes to another, and, entirely removing himself, continues in that other parish
without the consent of his own bishop, him we command no longer to go on in his ministry,
especially in case his bishop calls upon him to return, and he does not obey, but
continues in his disorder. However, let him communicate there as a layman. 16. But if the
bishop with whom they are undervalues the deprivation decreed against them, and receives
them as clergymen, let him be suspended as a teacher of disorder. 17. He who has been
twice married after his baptism, or has had a concubine, cannot be made a bishop, or
presbyter, or deacon, or indeed any one of the sacerdotal catalogue. 18. He who has taken
a widow, or a divorced woman, or an harlot, or a servant, or one belonging to the theatre,
cannot be either a bishop, priest, or deacon, or indeed any one of the sacerdotal
catalogue. 19. He who has married two sisters, or his brother's or sister's daughter,
cannot be a clergyman.

20. Let a clergyman who becomes a surety be deprived. 21. Let an eunuch, if he be such by
the injury of men, or his virilia were taken away in the persecution, or he was born such,
and yet is worthy of episcopacy, be made a bishop. 22. Let not him who has disabled
himself be made a clergyman; for he is a self-murderer, and an enemy to the creation of
God. 23. If any one who is of the clergy disables himself, let him be deprived, for he is
a murderer of himself. 24. Let a layman who disables himself be separated for three years,
for he lays a snare for his own life. 25. Let a bishop, or presbyter, or deacon who is
taken in fornication, or perjury, or stealing, be deprived, but not suspended; for the
Scripture says: "Thou shall not avenge twice far the same crime by affliction."

26. In like manner also as to the rest of the clergy. 27. Of those who come into the
clergy unmarried, we permit only the readers and singers, if they have a mind, to marry
afterward. 28. We command that a bishop, or presbyter, or deacon who strikes the faithful
that offend, or the unbelievers who do wickedly, and thinks to terrify them by such means,
be deprived, for our Lord has nowhere taught us such things. On the contrary, "when
Himself was stricken, He did not strike again; when He was reviled, He reviled not again;
when He suffered, He threatened not." 29. If any bishop, or presbyter, or deacon who is
deprived justly for manifest crimes, does venture to meddle with that ministration which
was once entrusted to him, let the same person be entirely cut off from the Church. 30. If
any bishop obtains that dignity by money, or even a presbyter or deacon, let him and the
person that ordained him be deprived; and let him be entirely cut off from communion, as
Simon Magus was by me Peter.

31. If any bishop makes use of the rulers of this world, and by their means obtains to be
a bishop of a church, let him be deprived and suspended, and all that communicate with
him. 32. If any presbyter despises his own bishop, and assembles separately, and fixes
another altar, when he has nothing to condemn in his bishop either as to piety or
righteousness, let him be deprived as an ambitious person; for he is a tyrant, and the
rest of the clergy, whoever join themselves to him. And let the laity be suspended. But
let these things be done after one and a second, or even a third admonition from the
bishop. 33. If any presbyter or deacon be put under suspension by his bishop, it is not
lawful for any other to receive him, but for him only who put him under suspension, unless
it happens that he who put him under suspension die.

34. Do not ye receive any stranger, whether bishop, or presbyter, or deacon, without
commendatory letters; and when such are offered, let them be examined. And if they be
preachers of piety, let them be received; but if not, supply their wants, but do not
receive them to communion: for many things are done by surprise. 35. The bishops of every
country ought to know who is the chief among them, and to esteem him as their head, and
not to do any great thing without his consent; but every one to manage only the affairs
that belong to his own parish, and the places subject to it. But let him not do anything
without the consent of all; for it is by this means there will be unanimity, and God will
be glorified by Christ, in the Holy Spirit. 36. A bishop must not venture to ordain out of
his own bounds for cities or countries that are not subject to him. But if he be convicted
of having done so without the consent of such as governed those cities or countries, let
him be deprived, both the bishop himself and those whom he has ordained.

37. If any bishop that is ordained does not undertake his office, nor take care of the
people committed to him, let him be suspended until he do undertake it; and in the like
manner a presbyter and a deacon. But if he goes, and is not received, not because of the
want of his own consent, but because of the ill temper of the people, let him continue
bishop; but let the clergy of that city be suspended, because they have not taught that
disobedient people better. 38. Let a synod of bishops be held twice in the year, and let
them ask one another the doctrines of piety; and let them determine the ecclesiastical
disputes that happen-once in the fourth week of Pentecost, and again on the twelfth of the
month Hyperberetaeus. 39. Let the bishop have the care of ecclesiastical revenues, and
administer them as in the presence of God. But it is not lawful for him to appropriate any
part of them to himself, or to give the things of God to his own kindred. But if they be
poor, let him support them as poor; but let him not, under such pretences, alienate the
revenues of the Church.

40. Let not the presbyters and deacons do anything without the consent of the bishop, for
it is he who is entrusted with the people of the Lord, and will be required to give an
account of their souls. Let the proper goods of the bishop, if he has any, and those
belonging to the Lord, be openly distinguished, that he may have power when he dies to
leave his own goods as he pleases, and to whom he pleases; that, under pretence of the
ecclesiastical revenues, the bishop's own may not come short, who sometimes has a wife and
children, or kinsfolk, or servants. For this is just before God and men, that neither the
Church suffer any loss by the not knowing which revenues are the bishop's own, nor his
kindred, under pretence of the Church, be undone, or his relations fall into lawsuits, and
so his death be liable to reproach.

41. We command that the bishop have power over the goods of the Church; for if he be
entrusted with the precious souls of men, much more ought he to give directions about
goods, that they all be distributed to those in want, according to his authority, by the
presbyters and deacons, and be used for their support with the fear of God, and with all
reverence. He is also to partake of those things he wants, if he does want them, for his
necessary occasions, and those of the brethren who live with him, that they may not by any
means be in straits: for the law of God appointed that those who waited at the altar
should be maintained by the altar; since not so much as a soldier does at any time bear
arms against the enemies at his own charges. 42. Let a bishop, or presbyter, or deacon who
indulges himself in dice or drinking, either leave off those practices, or let him be
deprived.

43. If a sub-deacon, a reader, or a singer does the like, either let him leave off, or let
him be suspended; and so for one of the laity. 44. Let a bishop, or presbyter, or deacon
who requires usury of those he lends to, either leave off to do so, or let him be
deprived. 45. Let a bishop, or presbyter, or deacon who only prays with heretics, be
suspended; but if he also permit them to perform any part of the office of a clergyman,
let him be deprived. 46. We command that a bishop, or presbyter, or deacon who receives
the baptism, or the sacrifice of heretics, be deprived: "For what agreement is there
between Christ and Belial? or what part hath a believer with an infidel? " 47. If a bishop
or presbyter rebaptizes him who has had true baptism, or does not baptize him who is
polluted by the ungodly, let him be deprived, as ridiculing the cross and the death of the
Lord, and not distinguishing between real priests and counterfeit ones.

48. If a layman divorces his own wife, and takes another, or one divorced by another, let
him be suspended. 49. If any bishop or presbyter does not baptize according to the Lord's
constitution, into the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, but into three beings without
beginning, or into three Sons, or three Comforters, let him be deprived. 50. If any bishop
or presbyter does not perform the three immersions of the one admission, but one
immersion, which is given into the death of Christ, let him be deprived; for the Lord did
not say, "Baptize into my death," but, "Go ye and make disciples of all nations, baptizing
them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." Do ye,
therefore, O bishops, baptize thrice into one Father, and Son, and Holy Ghost, according
to the will of Christ, and our constitution by the Spirit.

51. If any bishop, or presbyter, or deacon, or indeed any one of the sacerdotal catalogue,
abstains from marriage, flesh, and wine, not for his own exercise, but because he
abominates these things, forgetting that "all things were very good," and that "God made
man male and female," and blasphemously abuses the creation, either let him reform, or let
him be deprived, and be cast out of the Church; and the same for one of the laity. 52. If
any bishop or presbyter does not receive him that returns from his sin, but rejects him,
let him be deprived; because he grieves Christ, who says, "There is joy in heaven over one
sinner that repenteth." 53. If any bishop, or presbyter, or deacon does not on festival
days partake of flesh or wine, let him be deprived, as "having a seared conscience," and
becoming a cause of scandal to many.

54. If any one of the clergy be taken eating in a tavern, let him be suspended, excepting
when he is forced to bait at an inn upon the road. 55. If any one of the clergy abuses his
bishop unjustly, let him be deprived; for says the Scripture, "Thou shall not speak evil
of the ruler of thy people." 56. If any one of the clergy abuses a presbyter or a deacon,
let him be separated. 57. If any one of the clergy mocks at a lame, a deaf, or a blind
man, or at one maimed in his feet, let him be suspended; and the like for the laity. 58.
Let a bishop or presbyter who takes no care of the clergy or people, and does not instruct
them in piety, be separated; and if he continues in his negligence, let him be deprived.
59. If any bishop or presbyter, when any one of the clergy is in want, does not supply his
necessity, let him be suspended; and if he continues in it, let him be deprived, as having
killed his brother.

60. If any one publicly reads in the Church the spurious books of the ungodly, as if they
were holy, to the destruction of the people and of the clergy, let him be deprived. 61. If
there be an accusation against a Christian for fornication, or adultery, or any other
forbidden action, and he be convicted, let him not be promoted into the clergy. 62. If any
one of the clergy for fear of men, as of a Jew, or a Gentile, or an heretic, shall deny
the name of Christ, let him be suspended; but if he deny the name of a clergyman, let him
be deprived; but when he repents, let him be received as one of the laity. 63. If any
bishop, or presbyter, or deacon, or indeed any one of the sacerdotal catalogue, eats flesh
with the blood of its life, or that which is torn by beasts, or which died of itself, let
him be deprived; for this the law itself has forbidden. But if he be one of the laity, let
him be suspended.

64. If any one of the clergy be found to fast on the Lord's day, or on the Sabbath-day,
excepting one only, let him be deprived; but if he be one of the laity, let him be
suspended. 65. If any one, either of the clergy or laity, enters into a synagogue of the
Jews or heretics to pray, let him be deprived and suspended. 66. If any one of the clergy
strikes one in a quarrel, and kills him by that one stroke, let him be deprived, on
account of his rashness; but if he be one of the laity, let him be suspended. 67. If any
one has offered violence to a virgin not betrothed, and keeps her, let him be suspended.
But it is not lawful for him to take another to wife; but he must retain her whom he has
chosen, although she be poor. 68. If any bishop, or presbyter, or deacon, receives a
second ordination from any one, let him be deprived, and the person who ordained him,
unless he can show that his former ordination was from the heretics; for those that are
either baptized or ordained by such as these, can be neither Christians nor clergymen.

69. If any bishop, or presbyter, or deacon, or reader, or singer, does not fast the fast
of forty days, or the fourth day of the week, and the day of the Preparation, let him be
deprived, except he be hindered by weakness of body. But if he be one of the laity, let
him be suspended. 70. If any bishop, or any other of the clergy, fasts with the Jews, or
keeps the festivals with them, or accepts of the presents from their festivals, as
unleavened bread or some such thing, let him be deprived; but if he be one of the laity,
let him be suspended. 71. If any Christian carries oil into an heathen temple, or into a
synagogue of the Jews, or lights up lamps in their festivals, let him be suspended. 72. If
any one, either of the clergy or laity, takes away from the holy Church an honeycomb, or
oil, let him be suspended, and let him add the fifth part to that which he took away.

73. A vessel of silver, or gold, or linen, which is sanctified, let no one appropriate to
his own use, for it is unjust; but if any one be caught, let him be punished with
suspension. 74. If a bishop be accused of any crime by credible and faithful persons, it
is necessary that he be cited by the bishops; and if he comes and makes his apology, and
yet is convicted, let his punishment be determined. But if, when he is cited, he does not
obey, let him be cited a second time, by two bishops sent to him. But if even then he
despises them, and will not come, let the synod pass what sentence they please against
him, that he may not appear to gain advantage by avoiding their judgment. 75. Do not ye
receive an heretic in a testimony against a bishop; nor a Christian if he be single. For
the law says, "In the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established."

76. A bishop must not gratify his brother, or his son, or any other kinsman, with the
episcopal dignity, or ordain whom he pleases; for it is not just to make heirs to
episcopacy, and to gratify human affections in divine matters. For we must not put the
Church of God under the laws of inheritance; but if any one shall do so, let his
ordination be invalid, and let him be punished with suspension. 77. If any one be maimed
in an eye, or lame of his leg, but is worthy of the episcopal dignity, let him be made a
bishop; for it is not a blemish of the body that can defile him, but the pollution of the
soul. 78. But if he be deaf and blind, let him not be made a bishop; not as being a
defiled person, but that the ecclesiastical affairs may not be hindered.

79. If any one hath a demon, let him not be made one of the clergy. Nay, let him not pray
with the faithful; but when he is cleansed, let him be received; and if he be worthy, let
him be ordained. 80. It is not right to ordain him bishop presently who is just come in
from the Gentiles, and baptized; or from a wicked mode of life: for it is unjust that he
who has not yet afforded any trial of himself should be a teacher of others, unless it
anywhere happens by divine grace. 81. We have said that a bishop ought not to let himself
into public administrations, but to attend on all opportunities upon the necessary affairs
of the Church. Either therefore let him agree not to do so, or let him be deprived. For,
"no one can serve two masters," according to the Lord's admonition.

82. We do not permit servants to be ordained into the clergy without their masters'
consent; for this would grieve those that owned them. For such a practice would occasion
the subversion of families. But if at any time a servant appears worthy to be ordained
into an high office, such as our Onesimus appeared to be, and if his master allows of it,
and gives him his freedom, and dismisses him from his house, let him be ordained. 83. Let
a bishop, or presbyter, or deacon, who goes to the army, and desires to retain both the
Roman government and the sacerdotal administration, be deprived. For "the things of Caesar
belong to Caesar, and the things of God to God." 84. Whosoever shall abuse the king or the
governor unjustly, let him suffer punishment; and if he be a clergyman, let him be
deprived; but if he be a layman, let him be suspended.

85. Let the following books be esteemed venerable and holy by you, both of the clergy and
laity. Of the Old Covenant: the five books of Moses-Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers,
and Deuteronomy; one of Joshua the son of Nun, one of the Judges, one of Ruth, four of the
Kings, two of the Chronicles, two of Ezra, one of Esther, one of Judith, three of the
Maccabees, one of Job, one hundred and fifty psalms; three books of Solomon-Proverbs,
Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs; sixteen prophets. And besides these, take care that
your young persons learn the Wisdom of the very learned Sirach. But our sacred books, that
is, those of the New Covenant, are these: the four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and
John; the fourteen Epistles of Paul; two Epistles of Peter, three of John, one of James,
one of Jude; two Epistles of Clement; and the Constitutions dedicated to you the bishops
by me Clement, in eight books; which it is not fit to publish before all, because of the
mysteries contained in them; and the Acts of us the Apostles.

Let these canonical rules be established by us for you, O ye bishops; and if you continue
to observe them, ye shall be saved, and shall have peace; but if you be disobedient, you
shall be punished, and have everlasting war one with another, and undergo a penalty
suitable to your disobedience. Now, God who alone is unbegotten, and the Maker of the
whole world, unite you all through His peace, in the Holy Spirit; perfect you unto every
good work, immoveable, unblameable, and unreprovable; and vouchsafe to you eternal life
with us, through the mediation of His beloved Son Jesus Christ our God and Saviour; with
whom glory be to Thee, the God over all, and the Father, in the Holy Spirit the Comforter,
now and always, and for ever and ever. Amen. The end of the Constitutions of the Holy
Apostles by Clement, which are the Catholic doctrine.


COUNCIL OF CONSTANTINOPLE (AD 381): SHORTER WRITINGS
====================================================

COUNCIL OF CONSTANTINOPLE (AD 381) Shorter Writings

The shorter documents of the Second Ecumenical Council, which met at Constantinople in AD
381 under the emperor Theodosius: its canons, the creed, and the letters to Theodosius and
to the Western bishops. The synodical letter belongs to the synod that met there the year
after.

CANONS OF THE ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY FATHERS

Who Assembled at Constantinople During the Consulate of Those Illustrious Men, Flavius
Eucherius and Flavius Evagrius on the VII of the Ides of July.

1 The Bishops out of different provinces assembled by the grace of God in Constantinople,
on the summons of the most religious Emperor Theodosius, have decreed as follows:

Canon I.

2 The Faith of the Three Hundred and Eighteen Fathers assembled at Nice in Bithynia shall
not be set aside, but shall remain firm. And every heresy shall be anathematized,
particularly that of the Eunomians or [Anomoeans, the Arians or] Eudoxians, and that of
the Semi-Arians or Pneumatomachi, and that of the Sabellians, and that of the Marcellians,
and that of the Photinians, and that of the Apollinarians.

Notes.

3 Ancient Epitome of Canon I. Let the Nicene faith stand firm. Anathema to heresy. There
is a difference of reading in the list of the heretics. The reading I have followed in the
text is that given in Beveridge's Synodicon. The Greek text, however, in Labbe, and with
it agree the version of Hervetus and the text of Hefele, reads: "the Eunomians or
Anomaeans, the Arians or Eudoxians, the Semi-Arians or Pneumatomachi, the Sabellians,
Marcellians, Photinians and Apollinarians." From this Dionysius only varies by
substituting "Macedonians" for "Semi-Arians." It would seem that this was the correct
reading. I, however, have followed the other as being the more usual. Hefele. By the
Eudoxians, whom this canon identifies with the Arians [according to his text, vide supra,]
is meant that faction who, in contradistinction to the strict Arians or Anomaeans on one
side, and the Semi-Arians on the other side, followed the leadership of the Court Bishop
Eudoxius (Bishop of Constantinople under the Emperor Valens), and without being entirely
Anomaean, yet very decidedly inclined to the left of the Arian party-probably claiming to
represent the old and original Arianism. But this canon makes the Semi-Arians identical
with the Pneuma-tomachians, and so far rightly, that the lattersprang from the Semi-Arian
party, and applied the Arian principle to their doctrine of the Holy Ghost. Lastly, by the
Marcelliansare meant those pupils of Marcellus of Ancyra who remained in the errors
formerly propounded by him, while afterwards others, and indeed he himself, once more
acknowledged the truth.

THE SYNODICAL LETTER

1 a.d. 382. To the right honourable lords our right reverend brethren and colleagues,
Damasus, Ambrosius, Britton, Valerianus, Ascholius, Anemius, Basilius and the rest of the
holy bishops assembled in the great city of Rome, the holy synod of the orthodox bishops
assembled at the great city of Constantinople sends greeting in the Lord. 2 To recount all
the sufferings inflicted on us by the power of the Arians, and to attempt to give
information to your reverences, as though you were not already well acquainted with them,
might seem superfluous. For we do not suppose your piety to hold what is befalling us as
of such secondary importance as that you stand in any need of information on matters which
cannot but evoke your sympathy. Nor indeed were the storms which beset us such as to
escape notice from their insignificance. Our persecutions are but of yesterday. The sound
of them still rings in the ears alike of those who suffered them and of those whose love
made the sufferers' pain their own. It was but a day or two ago, so to speak, that some
released from chains in foreign lands returned to their own churches through manifold
afflictions; of others who had died in exile the relics were brought home; others again,
even after their return from exile, found the passion of the heretics still at the boiling
heat, and, slain by them with stones as was the blessed Stephen, met with a sadder fate in
their own than in a stranger's land. Others, worn away with various cruelties, still bear
in their bodies the scars of their wounds and the marks of Christ. Who could tell the tale
of fines, of disfranchisements, of individual confiscations, of intrigues, of outrages, of
prisons?

3 In truth all kinds of tribulation were wrought out beyond number in us, perhaps because
we were paying the penalty of sins, perhaps because the merciful God was trying us by
means of the multitude of our sufferings. For these all thanks to God, who by means of
Such afflictions trained his servants and, according to the multitude of his mercies,
brought us again to refreshment. We indeed needed long leisure, time, and toil to restore
the church once more, that so, like physicians healing the body after long sickness and
expelling its disease by gradual treatment, we might bring her back to her ancient health
of true religion. It is true that on the whole we seem to have been delivered from the
violence of our persecutions and to be just now recovering the churches which, have for a
long time been the prey of the heretics. But wolves are troublesome to us who, though they
have been driven from the fold, yet harry the flock up and down the glades, daring to hold
rival assemblies, stirring seditious among the people, and shrinking from nothing which
can do damage to the churches. So, as we have already said, we needs must labour all the
longer.

4 Since, however, you showed your brotherly love to us by inviting us (as though we were
your own members) by the letters of our most religious emperor to the synod which you are
gathering by divine permission at Rome, to the end that since we alone were then condemned
to suffer persecution, you should not now, when our emperors are at one with us as to true
religion, reign apart from us, but that we, to use the Apostle's phrase, should reign with
you, our prayer was, if it were possible, all in company to leave our churches, and rather
gratify our longing to see you than consult their needs. For who will give us wings as of
a dove, and we will fly and be at rest? But this course seemed likely to leave the
churches who were just recovering quite uncle-fended, and the undertaking was to most of
us impossible, for, in accordance witch the letters sent a year ago from your holiness
after the synod at Aquileia to the most pious emperor Theodosius, we had journeyed to
Constantinople, equipped only for travelling so far as Constantinople, and bringing the
consent of the bishops remaining in the provinces of this synod alone. We had been in no
expectation of any longer journey nor had heard a word about it, before our arrival at
Constantinople.

5 In addition to all this, and on account of the narrow limits of the appointed time which
allowed of no preparation for a longer journey, nor of communicating with the bishops of
our communion in the provinces and of obtaining their consent, the journey to Rome was for
the majority impossible. We have thereforeadopted the next best course open to us under
the circumstances, both for the better administration of the church, and for manifesting
our love towards you, by strongly urging our most venerated, and honoured colleagues and
brother bishops Cyriacus, Eusebius and Priscianus, to consent to travel to you. 6 Through
them we wish to make it plain that our disposition is all for peace with unity for its
sole object, and that we are full of zeal for the right faith. For we, whether we suffered
persecutions, or afflictions, or the threats of emperors, or the cruelties of prince, s,
or any other trial at the hands of heretics, have undergone all for the sake of the
evangelic faith, ratified by the three hundred and eighteen fathers at Nicaea in Bithynia.
This is the faith which ought to be sufficient for you, for us, for all who wrest not the
word of the true faith; for it is the ancient faith; it is the faith of our baptism; it is
the faith that teaches us to believe in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost. According to this faith there is one Godhead, Power and Substance of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost; the dignity being equal, and the majesty
being equal in three perfect hypostases, i.e. three perfect persons. Thus there is no room
for the heresy of Sabellius by the confusion of the hypostases, i.e. the destruction of
the personalities; thus the blasphemy of the Eunomians, of the Arians, and of the
Pneumatomachi is nullified, which divides the substance, the nature, dud the godhead, and
super-induces on the uncreated consubstantial and co-eternal Trinity a nature posterior,
created and of a different substance. We moreover preserve unperverted the doctrine of the
incarnation of the Lord, holding the tradition that the dispensation of the flesh is
neither soulless nor mindless nor imperfect; and knowing full well that God's Word was
perfect before the ages, and became perfect man in the last days for our salvation.

7 Let this suffice for a summary of the doctrine which is fearlessly and frankly preached
by us, and concerning which you will be able to be still further satisfied if you will
deign to read the tome of the synod of Antioch, and also that tome issued last year by the
Ecumenical Council held at Constantinople, in which we have set forth our confession of
the faith at greater length, and have appended an anathema against the heresies which
innovators have recently inscribed. 8 Now as to the particular administration of
individual churches, an ancient custom, as you know, has obtained, confirmed by the
enactment of the holy fathers of Nicaea, that in every province, the bishops of the
province, and, with their consent, the neighbouring bishops with them, should perform
ordinations as expediency may require. In conforming with these customs note that other
churches have been administered by us and the priests of the most famous, churches
publicly appointed. Accordingly over the new made (if the expression be allowable) church
at Constantinople, which, as through from a lion's mouth, we have lately snatched by God's
mercy from the blasphemy of the heretics, we have or-dained bishop the right reverend and
most religious Nectarius, in the presence of the Ecumenical Council, with common consent,
before the most religious emperor Theodosius, and with the assent of all the clergy and of
the whole city. And over the most ancient and truly apostolic church in Syria, where first
the noble name of Christians was given them, the bishops of the province and of the
eastern diocese have met together and canonically ordained bishop the right reverend and
most religious Flavianus, with the consent of all the church, who as though with one voice
joined in expressing their respect for him. This rightful ordination also received the
sanction of the General Council.

9 Of the church at Jerusalem, mother of all the churches, we make known that the right
reverend and most religious Cyril is bishop, who was some time ago canonically ordained by
the bishops of the province, and has in several places fought a good fight against the
Arians. We beseech your reverence to rejoice at what has thus been rightly and canonically
settled by us, by the intervention of spiritual love and by the influence of the fear of
the Lord, compelling the feelings of men, and making the edification of churches of more
importance than individual grace or favour. Thus since among us there is agreement in the
faith and Christian charity has been established, we shall cease to use the phrase
condemned by the apostles, I am of Paul and I of Apollos and I of Cephas, and all
appearing as Christ's, who in us is not divided, by God's grace we will keep the body of
the church unrent, and will boldly stand at the judgment seat of the Lord.

LETTER OF THE SYNOD TO THE EMPEROR THEODOSIUS THE GREAT

(Found in Labbe, Concilia, Tom. II., 945.) To the most religious Emperor Theodosius, the
Holy Synod of Bishops assembled in Constantinople out of different Provinces. We begin our
letter to your Piety with thanks to God, who has established the empireof your Piety for
the common peace of the Churches and for the support of the true Faith. And, after
rendering due thanks unto God, as in duty bound we lay before your Piety the things which
have been done in the Holy Synod. When, then, we had assembled in Constantinople,
according to the letter of your Piety, we first of all renewed our unity of heart each
with the other, and then we pronounced some concise definitions, ratifying the Faith of
the Nicene Fathers, and anathematizing the heresies which have sprung up, contrary
thereto. Besides these things, we also framed certain Canons for the better ordering of
the Churches, all which we have subjoined to this our letter. Wherefore we beseech your
Piety that the decree of the Synod may be ratified, to the end that, as you have honoured
the Church by your letter of citation, so you should set your seal to the conclusion of
what has been decreed. May the Lord establish your empire in peace and righteousness, and
prolong it from generation to generation; and may he add unto your earthly power the
fruition of the heavenly kingdom also. May God by the prayers (eukais ton hagion) of the
Saints, show favour to the world, that you may be strong and eminent in all good things as
an Emperor most truly pious and beloved of God.

THE HOLY CREED

1 The reader should know that Tillemont (Memoires, t. ix., art. 78 in the treatise on St.
Greg. Naz.) broached the theory that the Creed adopted at Constantinople was not a new
expansion of the Nicene but rather the adoption of a Creed already in use. Hefele is of
the same opinion (Hist. of the Councils, II., p. 349). and the learned Professor of
Divinity in the University of Jena, Dr. Lipsius, says, of St. Epiphanius: "Though not
himself present at the Ecumenical Council of Constantinople, a.d.: 381, which ensured the
triumph of the Nicene doctrine in the Oriental Churches, his shorter confession of faith,
which is found at the end of his Ancoratus, and seems to have been the baptismal creed of
the Church of Salamis, agrees almost word for word with the Constantinopolitan formula."
(Smith and Wace, Dict. Chr. Biog., s. v. Epiphanius). "The Ancoratus," St. Epiphanius
distinctly tells us, was written as early as a.d. 374, and toward the end of chapter
cxix., he writes as follows. "The children of the Church have received from the holy
fathers, that is from the holy Apostles, the faith to keep, and to hand down, and to teach
their children. To these children you belong, and I beg you to receive it and pass it on.
And whilst yon teach your children these things and such as these from the holy
Scriptures, cease not to confirm and strengthen them, and indeed all who hear you: tell
them that this is the holy faith of the Holy Catholic Church, as the one holy Virgin of
God received it from the holy Apostles of the Lord to keep: and thus every person who is
in preparation for the holy laver of baptism must learn it: they must learn it themselves,
and teach it expressly, as the one Mother of all, of you and of us, proclaims it, saying."
Then follows the Creed as on page 164.

2 We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth and of all things
visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God,
begotten of his Father before all worlds, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten
not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made. Who for us
men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost and
the Virgin Mary, and was made man, and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. He
suffered and was buried, and the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures, and
ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the Right Hand of the Father. And he shall come again
with glory to judge both the quick and the dead. Whose kingdom shall have no end. (I)

3 And [we believe] in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver-of-Life, who proceedeth from the
Father, who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified, who spake by
the prophets. And [we believe] in one, holy, (II) Catholic and Apostolic Church. We
acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins, [and] we look for the resurrection of
the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Note I.

4 This clause had already, so far as the meaning is concerned, been added to the Nicene
Creed, years before, in correction of the heresy of Marcellus of Ancyra, of whose heresy a
statement will be found in the notes on Canon I. of this Council. One of the creeds of the
Council of Antioch in Encaeniis (a.d. 341) reads: "and he sitteth at the right hand of the
Father, and he shah come again to judge both the quick and the dead, and he remaineth God
and King to all eternity."

Note II.

5 The word "Holy" is omitted in some texts of this Creed, notably in the Latin version in
the collection of Isidore Mercator. Vide Labbe, Conc., II., 960. Cf. Creed in English
Prayer-Book.

Notes.

6 The Creed Found IN Epiphanius's Ancoratus (Cap. cxx.) We believe in one God the Father
Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible: and in one
Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds,
that is of the substance of the Father, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten not
made, consubstantial with the Father: by whom all things were made, both in heaven and
earth who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate of the
Holy Ghost and the Virgin Mary, and was made man, was crucified also for us under Pontius
Pilate, and suffered, and was buried, and on the third day he rose again according to the
Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father, and
from thence he shall come again with glory to judge both the quick and the dead, whose
kingdom shall have no end. And in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of life, who
proceedeth from the Father; who, with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and
glorified, who spake by the prophets: in one holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. We
acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; we look for the resurrection of the
dead, and the life of the world to come. And those who say that there was a time when the
Son of God was not, and before he was begotten he was not, or that he was of things which
are not, or that he is of a different hypostasis or substance, or pretend that he is
effluent or changeable, these the Catholic and Apostolic Church anathematizes.

7 Epiphanius thus continues: "And this faith was delivered from the Holy Apostles and in
the Church, the Holy City, from all the Holy Bishops together more than three hundred and
ten in number." "In our generation, that is in the times of Valentinus and Valens, and the
ninetieth year from the succession of Diocletian the tyrant, you and we and all the
orthodox bishops of the whole Catholic Church together, make this address to those who
come to baptism, in order that they may proclaim and say as follows:" Epiphanius then
gives this creed: We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of all things,
invisible and visible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God, begotten of God the
Father, only begotten, that is of the substance of the Father, God of God, Light of Light,
very God of very God, begotten not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom
all things were made, both which be in heaven and in earth, whether they be visible or
invisible. Who for us men and for our salvation came down, and was incarnate, that is to
say was conceived perfectly through the Holy Ghost of the holy ever-virgin Mary, and was
made man, that is to say a perfect man, receiving a soul, and body, and intellect, and all
that make up a man, but without sin, not from human seed, nor [that he dwelt] in a man,
but taking flesh to himself into one holy entity; not as he inspired the prophets and
spake and worked [in them], but was perfectly made man, for the Word was made flesh;
neither did he experience any change, nor did he convert his divine nature into the nature
of man, but united it to his one holy perfection and Divinity.

8 For there is one Lord Jesus Christ, not two, the same is God, the same is Lord, the same
is King. He suffered in the flesh, and rose again, and ascended into heaven in the same
body, and with glory he sat down at the right hand of the Father, and in the same body he
will come in glory to judge both the quick and the dead, and of his kingdom there shall be
no end. And we believe in the Holy Ghost, who spake in the Law, and preached in the
Prophets, and descended at Jordan, and spake in the Apostles, and indwells the Saints. And
thus we believe in him, that he is the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, the perfect Spirit,
the Spirit the Comforter, uncreate, who proceedeth from the Father, receiving of the Son
(ek tou Patros ekporeuomenon, kai ek tou Huiou lambanomenon), and believed on. (kai
pisteuomenon, which the Latin version gives in quem credimus; and proceeds to insert,
Proeterea credimus in unam, etc. It certainly looks as if it had read pisteuomen, and had
belonged to the following phrase.)

9 [We believe] in one Catholic and Apostolic Church. And in one baptism of penitence, and
in the resurrection of the dead, and the just judgment of souls and bodies, and in the
Kingdom of heaven and in life everlasting. And those who say that there was a time when
the Son was not, or when the Holy Ghost was not, or that either was made of that which
previously had no being, or that he is of a different nature or substance, and affirm that
the Son of God and the Holy Spirit are subject to change and mutation; all such the
Catholic and Apostolic Church, the mother both of you and of us, anathematizes. And
further we anathematize such as do not confess the resurrection of the dead, as well as
all heresies which are not in accord with the true faith. Finally, you and your children
thus believing and keeping the commandments of this same faith, we trust that you will
always pray for us, that we may have a share and lot in that same faith and in the keeping
of these same commandments. For us make your intercessions you and all who believe thus,
and keep the commandments of the Lord in our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom and with
whom, glory be to the Father with the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen.


COUNCIL OF CONSTANTINOPLE (AD 394): THE CANONS
==============================================

COUNCIL OF CONSTANTINOPLE (AD 394): THE CANONS A short record of a council held at
Constantinople in AD 394 under Nectarius, with Theophilus of Alexandria present. It
decides that a bishop, in this case Bagadius of Bostra, may not be ordained or deposed by
two bishops alone.

1 The acts of this Council are found in Balsamon, page 761 of the Paris edition, with
Hervetus's translation. Labbe has taken Balsamon's text and inserted it into his
Collection, from which the following translation is made. There is another version extant
in Leunclavius, Jus Groeco-Roman. p. 247. On September the twenty-ninth of the year 394, a
magnificent church, dedicated to SS. Peter and Paul, built by the munificence of Rufinus
the Praetoreal prefect, and situated at a place called "the Oaks," a suburb of Chalcedon,
was consecrated. Most scholars have adopted Tillemont's suggestion that this was the
occasion which brought the patriarchs of Alexandria and Antioch to Constantinople, and
that occasion was taken advantage of to hold a synod with regard to the dispute as to the
see of Bostra. At this council, in accordance with the canon of the Second Ecumenical
Council, adopted only a dozen years before, Constantinople took the first place and its
bishop presided, but so strong was the hold of Alexandria that three centuries afterwards
the Quinisext Synod speaks of this council as held "under Nectarius and Theophilus." In
passing it may not be amiss to remark that St. Gregory of Nyssa and Theodore of
Mopsuestia, and Flavian were present at this council! Well may Tillemont exclaim, "It is
remarkable to see Theophilus there with Flavian, although they were not in communion with
each other."

Council of Constantinople Under Nectarius of Constantinople and Theophilus of Alexandria.

2 a.d. 394. ( Found in Beveridge, Synodicon. Tom. I., p. 678; Labbe and Cossart, Concilia,
Tom. II., col. 1151. Both taken from Balsamon.) In the consulate of our most religious and
beloved-of-God Emperors, Flavius Arcadius Augustus, for the third time, and Honorius for
the second time, on the third day before the calends of October, in the baptistery of the
mOst holy church of Constantinople, when the most holy bishops had taken their seats [here
follow the names], Nectarius, the bishop of Constantinople, said: Since by the grace of
God this synod has met in this holy place, if the synod of my holy brethren and fellow
ministers in holy things thinks good, since I see our brothers Bagadius and Agepius, who
contend between themselves about the bishopric of Bostra, are also present, let these
begin to set forth their mutual rights. And after some things had been done by them for
the sake of this cause, and it had been shewn that the afore-named Bagadius was deposed by
only two bishops, both of whom were dead, Arabianus, bishop of Ancyra, said: Not on
account of this judgment, but fearing henceforth for my whole life, I desire the holy
Synod to make a decree, whether or no, a bishop can be deposed by only two bishops, and
whether the Metropolitan is absent or not, without prejudice to the present cause. For I
fear that some, taking their power from these acts, may dare to attempt such things. I
wish therefore your response.

3 Nectarius, the bishop of Constantinople, said: The most religious bishop Arabianus hath
spoken most laudably. But since it is impossible to go backward in judgment, let us,
without condemning that which is past, establish things for the future. Arabianus, bishop
of Ancyra, said: The synod of blessed fathers who met at Nice condemns what has taken
place, for it orders that not less than three shall ordain, nor even so without the
metropolitan. But of the future I, full of fear, have made this question. I would wish
therefore that you would say clearly and without delay or doubt, that a bishop could not,
according to the decree of the Synod of Nice, lawfully be ordained or deposed by two men.
4 And, after some further debate, Theophilus, the bishop of Alexandria, said: Against
those who have gone forth, no sentence of indignation can be pronounced, since those to be
condemned were not present. But if any one were to consider those who are to be deposed in
future, it seems to me that not only these ought to assemble, but so far as possible all
the other provincials, that by the sentence of many there may be rendered a more accurate
condemnation of him who is present and is being judged, and who deserves deposition.
Nectarius, the bishop of Constantinople, said: Since, the controversy is concerning
legitimate institutions and decrees, it follows that nothing must be decreed on account of
personal causes. Wherefore as the most holy bishop Arabianus has said, wishing to make the
future certain, the sentence of the most holy bishop Theophilus hath consistently and
considerately decreed that for the future it shall be lawful not even for three, far less
for two bishops to depose him who is examined as a defendant: but by the sentence of the
greater synod and of the bishops of the province, according to the Apostolic Canons.
Flavian, the bishop of Antioch, said: What things the most holy bishop Nectarius, and the
most holy bishop Theophilus have set forth are clearly right. And all the ecclesiastics
agreed with these.

Notes.

5 Ancient Epitome. In future when a defendant is examined, he ought not to be deposed by
two or three bishops:but by the sentence of the greater Synod and of his own provincials,
as also the Apostolic Canons provide. Balsamon. As Bagadius, the bishop of Bostra, had
been deposed by only two bishops, the matter was considered in the synod at
Constantinople, whether that deposition had been rightly decreed. Agapius, the elect,
laying claim to it under the decision. And it was decreed that the deposition was not
canonical, since not two but a number should judge of those accusations which are made
against bishops. But know that this constitution hasno force to-day, for by the twelfth
canon of the synod of Carthage, which is much later, crimes charged against bishops are to
be judged of by twelve bishops. Read that canon, and know that this synod was held in the
time of the Emperor Arcadius, while that of Carthage was in the days of Theodosius the
younger.

6 Zonaras explains that by the words "have gone forth" in the speech of Theophilus of
Alexandria is to be understood have died.


COUNCIL OF CARTHAGE (AD 419): THE CANONS
========================================

COUNCIL OF CARTHAGE (AD 419): THE CANONS The code of canons of the African church, as the
bishops read and confirmed them at Carthage in AD 419. It gathers the decisions of earlier
African councils and the canons of Nicaea, and it includes the letters exchanged with the
bishop of Rome about appeals. Each canon is followed by the ancient epitome, where there
is one, and by notes.

INTRODUCTION

1 (Found in Dionysius Exiguus, Codex Can. Migne, Pat. Lat., Tom. lxvii., col. 182.) After
the consulate of the most glorious emperors, Honorus for the twelfth time and Theodosius
for the eighth time, Augustuses, on the VIII. before the Calends of June at Carthage, in
the Secretarium of the basilica of Faustus, when Pope Aurelius had sat down, together with
Valentine of the primatial see of the province of Numidia, and Faustinus of the Potentine
Church, of the Italian province Picenum, a legate of the Roman Church, and also with
legates of the different African provinces, that is to say, of the two Numidias, of
Byzacena, of Mauritania Caesariensis, as well as of Tripoli, and with Vincent Colositanus,
Fortunatian, and other bishops of the proconsular province, in all two hundred and
seventeen, also with Philip and Asellus, presbyters and legates of the Roman Church, and
while the deacons were standing by, Aurelius the bishop said, etc., ut infra.

The Canons

2 (Labbe and Cossart: Concilia, Tom. II. Col. 1041; Dionysius Ex. Codex Can.
Eccles.[Migne, Pat. Lat., Tom. LXVII.]; Beveridge, Synodicon in lot.) Aurelius The Bishop
said: You, most blessed brethren, remember that after the day fixed for the synod we
discussed many things while we were waiting for our brethren who now have been sent as
delegates and have arrived at the present synod, which must be placed in the acts.
Wherefore let us render thanks to our Lord for the gathering together of so great an
assembly. It remains that the acts of the Nicene Synod which we now have, and have been
determined by the fathers, as well as those things enacted by our predecessors here, who
confirmed that same Synod, or which according to the same form have been usefully enacted
by all grades of the clergy, from the highest even to the lowest, should be brought
forward. The whole Council said: Let them be brought forward.

3 Daniel the Notary read: The profession of faith or statutes of the Nicene Synod are as
follows. And while he was speaking, Faustinus, a bishop of the people of Potentia, of the
Italian province of Picenum, a legate of the Roman Church said: There have been entrusted
to us by the Apostolic See certain things in writings, and certain other things as in
ordinances to be treated of with your blessedness as we have called to memory in the acts
above, that is to say, concerning the canons made at Nice, that their decrees and customs
be observed; for some things are observed out of decree and canon, but some from custom.
Concerning these things therefore in the first place let us make enquiry, if it please
your blessedness; and afterwards let the other ordinances which have been adopted or
proposed be confirmed; so that you may be able to show by your rescripts to the Apostolic
See, and that you may declare to the same venerable Pope, that we have diligently
remembered these things; although the headings of action taken had been already inserted
in the acts. In this matter we should act, as I have said above, as shall please your
beloved blessedness. Let, therefore the commonitorium come into the midst, that ye may be
able to recognize what is contained in it, so that an answer can be given to each point.

4 Aurelius said: Let the commonitorium be brought forward, which our brethren and fellow-
ministers lately placed in the acts, and let the rest of the things done or to be done,
follow in order. Daniel the Notary read the Commonitorium. To our brother Faustinus and to
our sons, the presbyters Philip and Asellus, Zosimus, the bishop. You well remember that
we committed to you certain businesses, and now [we bid you] carry out all things as if we
ourselves were there (for), indeed, our presence is there with you; especially since ye
have this our commandment, and the words of the canons which for greater certainty we have
inserted in this our commonitory. For thus said our brethren in the Council of Nice when
they made these decrees concerning the appeals of bishops: "But it seemed good that if a
bishop had been accused, etc." [Here follows verbatim Canon v. of Sardica.]

5 Ancient Epitome. If bishops shall have deposed a bishop, and if he appeal to the Roman
bishop, he should be benignantly heard, the Roman bishop writing or ordering. And when
this had been read, Alypius, bishop of the Tagastine Church, and legate of the province of
Numidia, said: On this matter there has been some legislation in former sessions of our
council, and we profess that we shall ever observe what was decreed by the Nicene Council;
yet I remember that when we examined the Greek copies of this Nicene Synod, we did not
find these the words quoted-Why this was the case, I am sure I do not know. For this
reason we beg your reverence, holy Pope Aurelius, that, as the authentic record of the
decrees of the Council of Nice are said to be preserved in the city of Constantinople, you
would deign to send messengers with letters from your Holiness, and not only to our most
holy brother the bishop of Constantinople, but also to the venerable bishops of Alexandria
and Antioch, who shall send to us the decrees of that council with the authentification of
their signatures, so that hereafter all ambiguity should be taken away, for we failed to
find the words cited by our brother Faustinus; notwithstanding this however we promise to
be ruled by them for a short time, as I have already said, until reliable copies come to
hand. Moreover the venerable bishop of the Roman Church, Boniface, should be asked
likewise to be good enough to send messengers to the aforementioned churches, who should
have the same copies according to his rescript, but the copies of the aforementioned
Nicene Council which we have, we place in these Acts.

6 Faustinus the bishop, legate of the Roman Church, said: Let not your holiness do
dishonour to the Roman Church, either in this matter or in any other, by saying the canons
are doubtful, as our brother and fellow-bishop Alypius has vouchsafed to say: but do you
deign to write these things to our holy and most blessed pope, so that he seeking out the
genuine canons, can treat with your holiness on all matters decreed. But it suffices that
the most blessed bishop of the city of Rome should make enquiry just as your holiness
proposes doing on your part, that there may not seem to have arisen any contention between
the Churches, but that ye may the rather be enabled to deliberate with fraternal charity,
when he has been heard from, what is best should be observed. Aurelius the bishop said: In
addition to what is set down in the acts, we, by the letters from our insignificance, must
more fully inform our holy brother and fellow-bishop Boniface of everything which we have
considered. Therefore if our plan pleases all, let us be informed of this by the mouth of
all. And the whole council said: It seems good to us.

7 Novatus the bishop, legate of Mauritania Sitifensis, said: We now call to mind that
there is contained in this commonitory something about presbyters and deacons, how they
should be tried by their own bishops or by those adjoining, a provision which we find
nothing of in the Nicene Council. For this cause let your holiness order this part to be
read. Aurelius the bishop said: Let the place asked for be read. Daniel the notary read as
follows: Concerning the appeals of clergymen, that is of those of inferior rank, there is
a sure answer of this very synod, concerning which thing what ye should do, we think
should be inserted, as follows: "Hosius the bishop said: I should not conceal what has
come into my mind up to this time. If any bishop perchance has been quickly angered (a
thing what should not happen) and has acted quickly or sharply against a presbyter or a
deacon of his, and has wished to drive him out of the Church, provision should be made
that the innocent be not condemned, or be deprived of communion: he that has been ejected
should have the right of appeal to the bishops of the bordering dioceses, that his case
should be heard, and it should be carried on all the more diligently because to him who
asks a hearing it should not be denied. And the bishop who either justly or unjustly
rejected him, should patiently allow the affair to be, discussed, so that Iris sentence be
either approved or else emended, etc."

Notes.

8 Ancient Epitome. A presbyter or deacon who has been cut off, has the privilege of
appealing to the neighbouring bishops. Moreover, he who cut him off should bear with
equanimity the conclusion arrived at. This is the first part of Canon xiv. of Sardica, as
the canon previously quoted is Canon v. of the same synod. And when this had been read,
Augustine, the bishop of the Church of Hippo of the province of Numidia, said: We promise
that this shall be observed by us, provided that upon more careful examination it be found
to be of the Council of Nice. Aurelius the bishop said. If this also is pleasing to the
charity of you all, give it the confirmation of your vote. The whole Council said:
Everything that has been ordained by the Nicene Council pleases us all. Jocundus, the
bishop of the Church of Suffitula, legate of the province of Byzacena, said: What was
decreed by the Nicene Council cannot in any particular be violated.

9 Faustinus the bishop, legate of the Roman Church, said: So far as has developed by the
confession of your holiness as well as of the holy Alypius, and of our brother Jocundus, I
believe that some of the points have been made weak and others confirmed, which should not
be the case, since even the very canons themselves have been brought into question.
Therefore, that there may be harmony between us and your blessedness, let your holiness
deign to refer the matter to the holy and venerable bishop of the Roman Church, that he
may be able to consider whether what St. Augustine vouchsafed to enact, should be conceded
or not, I mean in the matter of appeals of the inferior grade. If therefore there still is
doubt, on this head it is right that the bishop of the most blessed see be informed, if
this can be found in the canons which have been approved.

10 Ancient Epitome. Since the written decrees of the Nicene Council have not been found,
let the Roman bishop deign to write to the bishop of Constantinople and to him of
Alexandria, and let us know what he receives from them. Aurelius the bishop said: As we
have suggested to your charity, pray allow the copies of the statutes of the Nicene
Council to be read and inserted in the acts, as well as those things what have been most
healthfully defined in this city by our predecessors, according to the rule of that
council, and those which now have been ordained by us. And the whole council said: The
copies of the Creed, and the statutes of the Nicene Synod which formerly were brought to
our council through Caecilean of blessed memory, the predecessor of your holiness (who was
present at it), as well as the copies of the decrees made by the Fathers in this city
following them, or which now we have decreed by our common consultation, shall remain
inserted in these ecclesiastical acts, so that (as has been already said) your blessedness
may vouchsafe to write to those most venerable men of the Church of Antioch, and of that
of Alexandria, and also of that of Constantinople, that they would send most accurate
copies of the decrees of the Council of Nice under the authentification of their
signatures, by which, the truth of the matter having become evident, those chapters which
in the commonitory our brother who is present, and fellow-bishop Faustinus, as well as our
fellow-presbyters Philip and Asellus brought with them, if they be found therein, may be
confirmed by us; or if they be not found, we will hold a synod and consider the matter
further. Daniel the notary read the profession of faith of the Council of Nice and its
statutes to the African Council.

11 The Profession of Faith of the Nicene Council. We believe in one God, etc., ... and in
the Holy Ghost. But those who say, etc., ... anathematize them. The statutes also of the
Nicene Council in twenty heads were likewise read, as are found written before. Then what
things were promulgated in the African Synods, were inserted in the present acts.

CANON I

That the statutes of the Nicene Council are to be scrupulously observed. Aurelius the
bishop said: Such are the statutes of the Nicene Council, which our fathers at that time
brought back with them: and preserving this form, let these things which follow, adopted
and confirmed by us, be kept firm.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon I. Let the copies of the decrees of the Nicene Council which our
fathers brought back with them from that synod, be observed. Johnson. It is certain that
Caecilian, then Bishop of Carthage, was present at the Council of Nice; that any other
African bishop was there does not appear; but probably he was attended with several
clergyman, who were afterwards ordained bishops.

CANON II

Of Preaching the Trinity. The whole Council said: By the favour of God, by a unanimous
confession the Church's faith which through us is handed down should be confessed in this
glorious assembly before anything else; then the ecclesiastical order of each is to be
built up and strengthened by the consent of all. That the minds of our brethren and fellow
bishops lately elevated may be strengthened, those things should be propounded which we
have certainly received from our fathers, as the unity of the Trinity, which we retain
consecrated in our senses, of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which has
no difference, as we say, so we shall instruct the people of God. Moreover by all the
bishops lately promoted it was said: So we openly confess, so we hold, so we teach,
following the Evangelic faith and your teaching.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon II. No difference is recognised or taught by the decrees of the
Council of Nice between the Persons of the Holy Trinity. This canon, or rather
introduction, is taken from Canon j., of the Council of Carthage held under Genethlius,
a.d. 387 or 390.

CANON III

Of Continence. Aurelius the bishop said: When at the past council the matter on continency
and chastity was considered, those three grades, which by a sort of bond are joined to
chastity by their consecration, to wit bishops, presbyters, and deacons, so it seemed that
it was becoming that the sacred rulers and priests of God as well as the Levites, or those
who served at the divine sacraments, should be continent altogether, by which they would
be able with singleness of heart to ask what they sought from the Lord: so that what the
apostles taught and antiquity kept, that we might also keep.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon III. Let a bishop, a presbyter, and a deacon be chaste and
continent. This canon is taken from Canon ij., of Carthage 387 or 390.

CANON IV

Of the different orders that should abstain from their wives. Faustinus, the bishop of the
Potentine Church, in the province of Picenum, a legate of the Roman Church, said: It seems
good that a bishop, a presbyter, and a deacon, or whoever perform the sacraments, should
be keepers of modesty and should abstain from their wives.By all the bishops it was said:
It is right that all who serve the altar should keep pudicity from all women.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon IV. Let those who pray abstain from their wives that they may
obtain their petitions. This canon is taken from Canon ij., of Carthage 387 or 390, last
mentioned. Johnson. See Canon XXV. "Abstain from their wives," i.e. Some time before and
after the Eucharist, as the old Scholiasts understand it. [i.e. the Greek scholiasts, but
see notes to Canon xii]. of Quinisext.]

CANON V

Of Avarice. Aurelius, the bishop, said: The cupidity of avarice (which, let no one doubt,
is the mother of all evil things), is to be henceforth prohibited, lest anyone should
usurp another's limits, or for gain should pass beyond the limits fixed by the fathers,
nor shall it be at all lawful for any of the clergy to receive usury of any kind. And
those new edicts (suggestiones) which are obscure and generally ambiguous, after they have
been examined by us, will have their value fixed (formam accipiunt); but with regard to
those upon which the Divine Scripture hath already most plainly given judgment, it is
unnecessary that further sentence should be pronounced, but what is already laid down is
to be carried out. And what is reprehensible in laymen is worthy of still more severe
censure in the clergy. The whole synod said: No one hath gone contrary to what is said in
the Prophets and in the Gospels with impunity.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon V. As the taking of any kind of usury is condemned in laymen,
much more is it condemned in clergymen. This canon is made up of Canons x. and xiij. of
the Synod of Carthage held under Grains in a.d. 345-348. This synod was held to return
thanks for the ending of the Donatist schism; and indeed for some time the evil did seem
to have been removed. Donatist worship was prohibited by the imperial law and it was not
until the times of Constans and Constantius that it again openly asserted itself. The
synod while in session also took advantage of the opportunity of passing some useful
general canons on discipline. Johnson. See Canon of the Apostles 36 (44); Nic., 17.

CANON VI

That the chrism should not be made by presbyters. Fortunatus the bishop, said: In former
councils we remember that it was decreed that the chrism or the reconciliation of
penitents, as also the consecration of virgins be not done by presbyters: but should
anyone be discovered to have done this, what ought we to decree with regard to him?
Aurelius the bishop said: Your worthiness has heard the suggestion of our brother and
fellow-bishop Fortunatus; What answer will you give? And all the bishops replied: Neither
the making of the chrism, nor the consecration of virgins, is to be done by presbyters,
nor is it permitted to a presbyter to reconcile anyone in the public mass (in publica
missa), this is the pleasure of all of us.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon VI. Let no presbyter make the chrism, nor prepare the unction,
nor consecrate virgins, nor publicly reconcile anyone to communion. This is Canon iij. of
the Carthaginian Synod under Genethlius, a.d. 387 or 390. Johnson. Not the chrism used
upon persons at their baptism, says the scholion in Bishop Beveridge's Annotation, but the
Mystical Chrism, viz., that used at Confirmation; though neither was the chrism used at
baptism to be consecrated by Priests. See Deer. of Gelasius 6. Du Pin observes, That this
is one of the first monuments where the name of "mass" occurs to signify the public
prayers, which the church made at offering the Eucharist. And let the reader observe, that
there is no mention of the "mass" in the copies which the Greeks made use of. And further,
he restrains the meaning of the word "mass" too much, when he supposes that it denoted the
Communion Office only.

CANON VII

Concerning those who are reconciled in peril of death. Aurelius the bishop said: If anyone
had fallen into peril of death during the absence of the bishop, and had sought to
reconcile himself to the divine altars, the presbyter should consult the bishop, and so
reconcile the sick man at his bidding, which thing we should strengthen with healthy
counsel. By all the bishops it was said: Whatever your holiness has taught us to be
necessary, that is our pleasure.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon VII. A priest desiring to reconcile anyone in peril to the sacred
altars must consult the bishop and do what seems good to him. This is Canon iv. of the
Synod of 387 or 390. Johnson. See Canon 43.

CANON VIII

Of those who make accusation against an elder; and that no criminal is to be suffered to
bring a charge against a bishop. Numidius, the bishop of Maxula, said: Moreover, there are
very many, not of good life, who think that their elders or bishops should be the butt for
accusation; ought such to be easily admitted or no? Aurelius the bishop said: Is it the
pleasure of your charity that he who is ensnared by divers wickednesses should have no
voice of accusation against these?All the bishops said: If he is criminous, Iris
accusation is not to be received.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon VIII. It has seemed good that they who are themselves defendants
for crimes should not bring accusations; nor should they be allowed to lay crimes to
anyone's charge. This is Canon vi. of Genethlius's Synod at Carthage, a.d. 387 or 390.
Johnson. See Canons 132 and 133 and Constantinople Canon 6. [The "elders" mentioned in
this canon are] probably the same with senes in other canons. viz., Metropolitans, as is
generally believed. The Latin here calls them Majores natu, the Greek pateraj. Bishop
Beveridge supposes that the word denotes bishop, though perhaps Majores natu may signify
presbyters. Justellus on the canon produces some seeming authorities for this.

CANON IX

Of those who on account of their deeds are justly cast forth from the congregation of the
Church. Augustine the bishop, the legate of the Numidian province, said: Deign to enact
that if any perchance have been rightly on account of their crimes cast forth from the
Church, and shall have been received into communion by some bishop or presbyter, such
shall be considered as guilty of an equal crime with them who flee away from the judgment
of their own bishop. And sit the bishops said: This is the pleasure of all of us.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon IX. Let him be excommunicated who communicates with one
excommunicated. This is Canon vii. of the same synod of 387 or 390.

CANON X

Of presbyters who are corrected by their own bishops. Alypius the bishop, a legate of the
province of Numidia, said: Nor should tiffs be passed over; if by chance any presbyter
when corrected by his bishop, inflamed by self-conceit or pride, has thought fit to offer
sacrifices to God separately [from the authority of the bishop] or has believed it right
to erect another altar, contrary to ecclesiastical faith and discipline, such should not
get off with impunity. Valentine, of the primatial see of the province of Numidia, said:
The propositions made by our brother Alypius are of necessity congruous to ecclesiastical
discipline and faith; therefore enact what seems good to your belovedness.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon X. If one condemned by his bishop shall separate himself and set
up an altar or make the offering he should be punished. Aristenus. Whoever has been cut
off by his own bishop and does not go to the synod to which his bishop is subject, that an
examination may be made of the grounds of his cutting off, and that whatever is contrary
to justice may be corrected; but, puffed up with pride and conceit, shall despise the
synod and separate himself from the Church, and shall set up another altar, and shall
offer to God the holy gifts; such an one shall not be allowed to go on with impunity,
since he is acting contrary to the faith and constitution of the Church; but he is to be
stricken with anathema. This and the following canon are Canon viii. of the so often
mentioned synod of 387 or 390.

Johnson. See Canon of the Apostles 24 (or 32) and that of Gangra 6.

CANON XI

If any presbyter, inflated against his bishop, makes a schism, let him be anathema. All
the bishops said: If any presbyter shall have been corrected by his superior, he should
ask the neighbouring bishops that his cause be heard by them and that through them he may
be reconciled to his bishop: but if he shall not have done this, but, puffed up with
pride, (which may God forbid!) he shall have thought it proper to separate himself from
the communion of his bishop, and separately shall have offered the sacrifice to God, and
made a schism with certain accomplices, let him be anathema, and let him lose his place;
and if the complaint which he brought against his bishop shall [not] have been found to be
well founded, an enquiry should be instituted.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XI. A Presbyter condemned by his bishop, is allowed to appeal to
the neighbouring bishops: but if he shall not make any appeal, but shall make a schism,
and be elated with conceit and shall offer the Holy Gifts to God, let him be anathema. See
note to last canon. The last clause is certainly corrupt; in the council of Carthage at
which it was first adopted there is no "non," making the meaning clear.

CANON XII

If any bishop out of Synod time shall have fallen under accusation, let his cause be heard
by 12 bishops. Felix the bishop, said: I suggest, according to the statutes of the ancient
councils, that if any bishop (which may God forbid!) shall have fallen under any
accusation, and there shall have been too great necessity to wait for the summoning of a
majority of the bishops, that he may not rest under accusation, let his cause be heard by
12 bishops; and let a presbyter be heard by six bishops with his own bishop, and a deacon
shall be heard by three.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XII. When a bishop is to be tried, if the whole synod does not
sit, let at least twelve bishops take up the matter; and for the case of a presbyter, six
and his own diocesan; and for the ease of a deacon, three. This is Canon x. of the Synod
of Genethlius. Johnson. Hereby must be meant African canons; that under Gratus [a.d. 348]
had decreed the same thing. Who was the bishop's judge at the first instance does not
appear by this canon; but it is natural to suppose it was the Primate. It is probable that
this canon is to be understood of hearing upon an appeal, because it is certain that a
priest's cause, at the first instance, was to be tried before the bishop (see Can. 10,
11). And therefore the latter part of the canon can be understood of no hearing but by way
of appeal, nor by consequence the former. And this seems more clear by Can. Afr. 29.

CANON XIII

That a bishop should not be ordained except by many bishops, but if there should be
necessity he may be ordained by three. Bishop Aurelius said: What says your holiness on
this matter? By all the bishops it was answered: The decrees of the ancients must be
observed by us, to wit, that without the consent of the Primate of any province even many
bishops assembled together should not lightly presume to ordain a bishop. But should there
be a necessity, at his bidding, three bishops should ordain him in any place they happen
to be, and if anyone contrary to his profession and subscription shall come into any place
he shall thereby deprive himself of his honour.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome OF XIII At the bidding of the Primate even three bishops can make a
bishop. But whoever goes counter to his profession, and subscription, is deprived of his
honour by his own judgment. This is Canon xij. of the before mentioned Synod of 387 or
390. Johnson. See Can. Ap. 1, Nic. 1. He that was called a Metropolitan in other Churches
was a Primate in Africa.

CANON XIV

That one of the bishops of Tripoli should come as legate, and that a presbyter might be
heard there by five bishops. IT also seemed good that one bishop from Tripoli, on account
of the poverty of the province, should come as a legation, and that there a presbyter
might be heard by five bishops, and a deacon by three, as has been noted above, his own
bishop presiding.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XIV. On account of the scarcity of bishops in Tripoli, one bishop
shall suffice for a legation. This canon is made up of two parts. The first part is Canon
v. of the synod of Hippo, a.d. 393, and was repeated at the Carthaginian synod of 397. The
second half is from Canon viij. of the same council.Johnson (See Canon 12). "Legate,"
i.e., to a Synod, there being few bishops in that province.

CANON XV

Of the divers orders who serve the Church, that if any one fall into a criminal business
and refused to be tried by the ecclesiastical court, he ought to be in danger therefor;
and that the sons of bishops (sacerdotum) are not to attend worldly shows. Moreover it
seemed good that if any bishop, presbyter, or deacon, who had a criminal charge brought
against him or who had a civil cause, refused to be tried by the ecclesiastical tribunal,
but wished to be judged by the secular courts, even if he won his suit, nevertheless he
should lose his office. This is the law in a criminal suit; but in a civil suit he shall
lose that for the recovery of which he instituted the proceedings, if he wishes to retain
his office. This also seemed good, that if from some ecclesiastical judges an appeal was
taken to other ecclesiastical judges who had a superior jurisdiction, this should in no
way injure the reputation of those from whom the appeal was taken, unless it could be
shown that they had given sentence moved by hatred or some other mental bias, or that they
had been in some way corrupted. But if by the consent of both parties judges had been
chosen, even if they were fewer in number than is specified, no appeal can be taken.

And [it seemed good] that the sons of bishops should not take part in nor witness secular
spectacles. For this has always been forbidden to all Christians, so let them abstain from
them, that they may not go where cursing and blasphemy are to be found.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XV. A bishop or cleric who has a criminal suit brought against
him, if he leaves the Church and betakes himself to secular judges even if he had been
unjustly used, shall lose his rank. And if he was successful in his political affairs, if
he follows this, he shall lose his own grade. No appeal can be taken from the
ecclesiastical judges, except they be proved to have given their decision beforehand moved
thereto by a bribe or by hatred. No appeal can be taken from the decision of judges chosen
by each side. This canon is made up of Canons ix., x., and xj. of the Council of Hippo,
a.d. 393. Johnson. In this canon the African bishops made bold with the Civil Courts. To
lay such restraints on bishops and clergymen is, I am sure, very proper, to say no more.

CANON XVI

That no bishop, presbyter or deacon should be a "conductor;" and that Readers should take
wives; and that the clergy should abstain from usury; and at what age they or virgins
should be consecrated. Likewise it seemed good that bishops, presbyters, and deacons
should not be "conductors" or "procurators;" nor seek their food by any base and vile
business, for they should remember how it is written, "No man fighting for God cumbereth
himself with worldly affairs." Also it seemed good that Readers when they come to years of
puberty, should be compelled either to take wives or else to profess continence. Likewise
it seemed good that if a clergyman had lent money he should get it back again, but if kind
(speciem) he should receive back the same kind as he gave. And that younger than twenty-
five years deacons should not be ordained, nor virgins consecrated. And that readers
should not salute the people.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of XVI. A bishop, presbyter, and deacon may not be a "conductor" or a
"procurator." A reader when he comes to puberty must contract marriage or profess
continence. A cleric who has lent to someone, what he gave let him receive, or as much.
Let not him be a deacons, who is made a deacon being under twenty-five. And let not
readers salute the people. This canon is made up of Canons xv., xviij., and xxj., and
added to these Canon j. of the same Second Series of the synod of Hippo, a.d. 393.
Johnson. Zonaras says this was never observed anywhere but in Africa. See Can. Afr. 19
(27). Du Pin turns the Latin, saluto, by "addressing his speech to the people."

CANON XVII

That any province on account of its distance, may have its own Primate. IT seemed good
that Mauretania Sitiphensis, as it asked, should have a Primate of its own, with the
consent of the Primate of Numidia from whose synod it had been separated. And with the
consent of all the primates of the African Provinces and of all the bishops permission was
given, by reason of the great distance between them.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XVII. Mauretania Sitiphensis, on account of the great distance,
is permitted to have its own Primate. This canon is Canon iij. of the first series of
canons enacted at Hippo in 393. Johnson. N.B. From this place forward the Latin and Greek
numeration varies; but Justellus's Edition in Greek and Latin follows the Latin division.

CANON XVIII

(Gk. xviii. The Latin caption is the canon of the Greek.) If any cleric is ordained he
ought to be admonished to observe the constitutions. And that neither the Eucharist nor
Baptism: should be given to the bodies of the dead. And that every year in every province
the Metropolitans come together in synod. (Gk. Canon xix.) It seemed good that before
bishops, or clerics were ordained, the provisions of the canons should be brought to their
notice, lest, they might afterwards repent of having through ignorance acted contrary to
law. Ancient Epitome of Greek Canon XIX. The things which have been adopted by the synods
should be made known to him who is to be ordained. (Gk. Canon xx.) It also seemed good
that the Eucharist should not be given to the bodies of the dead. For it is written:
"Take, Eat," but the bodies of the dead can neither "take" nor "eat." Nor let the
ignorance of the presbyters baptize those who are dead.

Ancient Epitome of Greek Canon XX The Eucharist is not to be given to the body of one dead
for it neither eats nor drinks. The ignorance of a presbyter shall not baptize a dead man.
(Gk. Canon xxi.) And therefore in this holy synod should be, confirmed in accordance with
the Nicene decrees, on account of Ecclesiastical causes, which often are delayed to the
injury of the people, that every year there should be a synod, to which all, who are
primates of the provinces, should send bishops as legates, from their own synods, two or
as many as they choose; so that when the synod meets it may have full power to act.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Greek Canon XXI. According to the decrees of the Nicene Fathers a
yearly synod shall be assembled, and two legates or as many as they shall choose, shall be
sent by the primates of every province. This is composed of Canons II., IV., and V. of the
second series of enactments of Hippo, a.d. 393. Johnson. The 18th canon in the Edition of
Tilius and Bishop Beveridge runs thus; viz. [If any clergyman be ordained he ought to be
reminded to keep the canons; and that the Eucharist or Baptism be not given to dead
corpses; and that the Metropolitans in every province meet in synod yearly.] They speak
their own language, and call him a Metropolitan, whom the Africans called a Primate; but
then they have also the entire 18th canon, as it here stands according to the Latin, which
they divide into three, and number them 19, 20, 21.

See Can. Nic. 5. It seems very odd that they should allege the authority of the Nicene
Synod upon this occasion; for that orders a synod twice a year, this but once; that
intends a provincial synod, this a diocesan or national one.

CANON XIX

(Greek xxii.) That if any bishop is accused the cause should be brought before the primate
of his own province. Aurelius, the bishop, said: Whatever bishop is accused the accuser
shall bring the case before the primates of the province to which the accused belongs, and
he shall not be suspended from communion by reason of the crime laid to Iris charge unless
he fails to put in an appearance on the appointed day for arguing his cause before the
chosen judges, having been duly summoned by the letters; that is, within the space of one
month from the day in which he, is found to have received the letters. But should he be
able to prove any true necessity which manifestly rendered it impossible for him to
appear, he shall have the opportunity of arguing his case within another full month; but
after the second month he shall not communicate until he is acquitted.

But if he is not willing to come to the annual general council, so that his cause may
there be terminated, he himself shall be judged to have pronounced the sentence of his own
condemnation at the time in which he does not communicate, nor shall he communicate either
in his own church or diocese. But his accuser, if he has not missed any of the days for
pleading the cause, shall not be shut out from communion; but if he has missed some of
them, withdrawing himself, then the bishop shall be restored to communion and the accuser
shall be removed from communion; so, nevertheless, that the possibility of going on with
the case be not taken from him, if he shall prove that his absence was caused by lack of
power and not by lack of will. And this is enacted, that if the accuser turn out to be
himself a criminal when the case against the bishop has come to argument, he shall not be
allowed to testify unless he asserts that the causes are personal and not ecclesiastical.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XIX. A bishop accused and baled to judgment shall have the space
of two months; if there is any excuse for his delay from the other side. But after this he
shall be excommunicated if he does not appear. But if when the accused is present the
accuser flees, then the accuser shall be deprived of communion. But the accuser who is
infamous shall not be an accuser at all. This canon is made up from Canons VI. and VII. of
the last mentioned second series of the enactments of Hippo, 393. Johnson. See Can. Afr.
28 and Can. Ap. 11 (14). By this ["Universal Synod"] is meant a National Synod of
Africa.See Can. Constantinople 6.

CANON XX

(Greek xxiii.) Of accused presbyters or clerks. But if presbyters or deacons shall have
been accused, there shall be joined together from the neighbouring places with the bishop
of tile diocese, the legitimate number of colleagues, whom the accused shall seek from the
same; that is together with himself six in the case against a presbyter, in that against a
deacon three. They shall discuss the causes, and the same form shall be kept with regard
to days and postponements and removals from communion, and in the discussion of persons
between the accusers and the accused. But the causes of the rest of the clergy, the bishop
of the place shall take cognizance of and determine alone.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XX. When a presbyter is accused, six of the neighbouring bishops
together with the bishop of that region shall judge the matter. But for a deacon, three.
What things concern the other clerics even one bishop shall examine. This is Canon viii.
of Hippo, 393. Johnson. See Canon 12.

CANON XXI

(Greek xxiv.) That the sons of clergymen are not to be joined in marriage with heretics.
Likewise it seemed good that the sons of clergymen should not be joined in matrimony with
gentiles and heretics.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XXI. [The same as the canon.] This is Canon xij. of Hippo, 393.

CANON XXII

(Greek xxv.) That bishops or other clergymen shall give nothing to those who are not
Catholics. And that to those who are not Catholic Christians, even if they be blood
relations, neither bishops nor clergymen shall give anything at all by way of donation of
their possessions.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XXII. Bishops and clergymen shall give nothing of their goods to
heretics, nor confer aught upon them even if they be their relatives. This is Canon xiv.
of Hippo, 393.

CANON XXIII

(Greek xxvi.) That bishops shall not go across seas. Item, That bishops shall not go
beyond seas without consulting the bishop of the primatial see of his own province: so
that from him they may be able to receive a formed or commendatory letter.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XXIII. A bishop is not to cross the seas unless he has received
from the Primate of his region a letter dimissory. This is Canon xxvij. of Hippo, 393.
Johnson. See note on Canons of the Apostles, 10 (13). [viz:] [The use of Letters
Commendatory was very early in the Church; St. Paul mentions them II. Cor. iij. 1. And it
is not easy to be conceived how discipline can be restored but by the reviving of this
practice. It is surely irregular to admit all chance comers to the Communion, who, for
aught we know, may stand excommunicated by their own bishop. Of the difference between
Commendatory and Pacific and Formal Letters, see Can. Chalc., 11; Apost., 25, 26; Ant., 6;
Sardic., 13].

CANON XXIV

(Greek xxvii.) That nothing be read in church besides the Canonical Scripture. Item, that
besides the Canonical Scriptures nothing be read in church under the name of divine
Scripture. But the Canonical Scriptures are as follows: Genesis. Exodus. Leviticus.
Numbers. Deuteronomy. Joshua the Son of Nun. The Judges. Ruth. The Kings, iv. books. The
Chronicles, ij. books. Job. The Psalter. The Five books of Solomon. The Twelve Books of
the Prophets. Isaiah. Jeremiah. Ezechiel. Daniel. Tobit. Judith. Esther. Ezra, ij. books.
Macchabees, ij. books.

The New Testament.

The Gospels, iv. books. The Acts of the Apostles, j. book. The Epistles of Paul, xiv. The
Epistles of Peter, the Apostle, ij. The Epistles of John the Apostle, iij. The Epistles of
James the Apostle, j. The Epistle of Jude the Apostle, j. The Revelation of John, j. book.
Let this be sent to our brother and fellow bishop, Boniface, and to the other bishops of
those parts, that they may confirm this canon, for these are the things which we have
received from our fathers to be read in church.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XXIV. Let nothing besides the canonical Scriptures be read in
church. This is Canon xxxvj. of Hippo., 393. The last phrase allowing the reading of the
"passions of the Martyrs" on their Anniversaries is omitted from the African code.
Johnson. These two books [i.e. the two Maccabees] are mentioned only in Dionysius
Exiguus's copy. See Can. Ap. ult., Can. Laod. ult. "Boniface," i.e., Bishop of Rome.

CANON XXV

(Greek xxviii.) Concerning bishops and the lower orders who wait upon the most holy
mysteries. It has seemed good that these abstain from their wives. Aurelius, the bishop,
said: We add, most dear brethren, moreover, since we have heard of the incontinency of
certain clerics, even of readers, towards their wives, it seemed good that what had been
enacted in divers councils should be confirmed, to wit, that subdeacons who wait upon the
holy mysteries, and deacons, and presbyters, as well as bishops according to former
statutes, should contain from their wives, so that they should be as though they had them
not and unless they so act, let them be removed from office. But the rest of the clergy
are not to be compelled to this, unless they be of mature age. And by the whole council it
was said: What your holiness has said is just, holy, and pleasing to God, and we confirm
it.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XXV. Those who handle holy things should abstain even from their
own wives at the times of their ministration. This is rounded upon Canon iv. of the
Council of Carthage, which met September 13th, 401, but the provisions are more stringent
here, subdeacons as well as deacons being constrained to continence. Johnson. "Times of
ministration," so it is explained, Can. Trull., 13, where there were several African
Bishops present, and allowed of that explication; yet Dion. Exig. is not clear, viz.,
Secundum propria statuta. By Can. Laod., 23. Ministers, i.e., sub-deacons, are forbid to
touch the Holy Vessels, yet here they are said to handle the Mysteries; I suppose they
might handle the Holy Vessels, etc. before and after the celebration, but not during the
solemnity; or else the customs of several ages and countries differed as to this
particular.

CANON XXVI

(Greek xxix.) That no one should take from the possessions of the Church. Likewise it
seemed good that no one should sell anything belonging to the Church: that if there was no
revenue, and other great necessity urged thereto, this might be brought before the
Metropolitan of the province that the might deliberate with the appointed number of
bishops whether this should be done: that if such urgent necessity lay upon any church
that it could not take counsel beforehand, at least let it call together the neighbouring
bishops as witnesses, taking care to refer all the necessities of his church to the
council: and that if he shall not do this, he shall be held as responsible toward God, and
as a seller in the eye of the council, and he shall have lost thereby his honour.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XXVI. Church goods must not be sold. If they bring in no revenue
they may be sold at the will of the bishops. If the necessity does not allow that
consultation should take place, he who sells shall call together the neighbouring bishops.
If he does not do so he shall be held responsible to God and to the Synod. This is Canon
v. of the Synod of Carthage, Sept. 13th, 401. Johnson. "Appointed number," i.e., Twelve,
see Canon 12.

CANON XXVII

(Greek xxx.) Presbyters and deacons convicted of the graver crimes shall not receive
laying on of hands, like layman. IT also was confirmed that if presbyters or deacons were
convicted of any of the greater crimes on account of which it was necessary that they
should be removed from the ministry, that hands should not be laid upon them as upon
penitents, or as upon faithful layman, nor should it be permitted that they be baptized
over again and then advanced to the clerical grade.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XXVII. A presbyter convicted and repenting, is not to be
rebaptized as one to be advanced, neither as a layman is he to be reordained. This is
Canon xij. of the before-mentioned Council of Carthage. Sept. 13th, 401. Johnson. This
canon seems to have been designed to preclude deposed clergymen from all possibility of
being restored, directly or indirectly.

CANON XXVIII

(Greek xxxi.) Presbyters, deacons, or clerics, who shall think good to carry appeals in
their causes across the water shall not at all be admitted to communion. IT also seemed
good that presbyters, deacons, and others of the inferior clergy in the causes which they
had, if they were dissatisfied with the judgments of their bishops, let the neighbouring
bishops with the consent of their own bishop hear them, and let the bishops who have been
called in judge between them: but if they think they have cause of appeal from these, they
shall not betake themselves to judgments from beyond seas, but to the primates of their
own provinces, or else to an universal council, as has also been decreed concerning
bishops. But whoso shall think good to carry an appeal across the water shall be received
to communion by no one within the boundaries of Africa.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XXVIII. Clerics who have been condemned, if they take exception
to the judgment, shall not appeal beyond seas, but to the neighbouring bishops, and to
their own; if they do otherwise let them be excommunicated in Africa. This canon is the
same as Canon xvij. of the Synod of Carthage of 418, but it has some words with regard to
appeals which that canon does not contain, viz.: "Aut ad universale conciliam, sicut et de
episcopis soepe constitutum est." This clause, affirming that bishops have often been
forbidden to appeal across the water from the decisions of the African bishops, has caused
great perplexity as no such decrees are extant. The Ballerini, to avoid this difficulty,
and possibly for other reasons, suggest an entirely different meaning to the passage, and
suppose that it means that "bishops have often been allowed to appeal to the Universal
Council and now this privilege is extended to priests." But this would seem to be a rather
unnatural interpretation and Van Espen in his Commentary shews good reason for adopting
the more evident view.

Johnson. See Can. Afr., 19. Clearly the See of Rome is here aimed at, as if Carthage were
the place designed by Providence to put a stop to the growth of power in Christian Rome,
as well as heathen. It is strange, that this canon should be received by the Church of
Rome in former ages.

CANON XXIX

(Greek xxxii.) If anyone who is excommunicated shall receive communion before his cause is
heard he brings damnation on himself. Likewise it pleased the whole Council that he who
shah have been excommunicated for any neglect, whether he be bishop, or any other cleric,
and shall have presumed while still under sentence, and his cause not yet heard, to
receive communion, he shall be considered by so doing to have given sentence against
himself.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XXIX. One excommunicate who shall communicate before absolution
sentences himself. This canon seems to be founded upon Canon iv. of Antioch. Johnson. See
Can. Ap., 21 (29), Antioch, 4. By this canon the criminous bishop is supposed to be
excommunicated before he comes to have his cause heard by a Synod, or by 12 neighbouring
bishops: and it is therefore most rational to believe that he was thus censured by his
Primate. See Can. Afr., 12.

CANON XXX

(Greek xxxiii.) Concerning the accused or accuser. Likewise it seemed good that the
accused, or the accusor, if (living in the same place as the accused) he fears some evil
may be done him by the tumultuous multitude, may choose for himself a place near by, where
the cause may be determined, and where there will be no difficulty in producing the
witnesses. Ancient Epitome of Canon XXX. Accuser or accused may select for himself a safe
place if he fears violence.

CANON XXXI

(Greek xxxiv.) If certain clerics advanced by their own bishops are supercilious, let them
not remain whence they are unwilling to come forth. IT also seemed good that whoever of
the clergy or of the deacons would not help the bishop in the necessities of the churches,
when he wished to lift them to a higher position in his diocese, should no longer be
allowed to exercise the functions of that grade from which they were not willing to be
removed.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XXXI. Who despises a greater honour shall lose what he hath.
Johnson. It is most probable that this canon is to be understood of deacons designed by
the bishop to be ordained priests, for the deacons, at least in some Churches, were
provided of a better maintenance than priests; or it may be understood of inferior
clergymen, who were permitted to marry in the degree they were now in, but would not
willingly take the order of priest or deacon, because then they were prohibited marriage.

CANON XXXII

(Greek xxxv.) If any poor cleric, no matter what his rank may be, shall acquire any
property, it shall be subject to the power of the bishop. IT also seemed good that
bishops, presbyters, deacons and any other of the clergy, who when they were ordained had
no possessions, and in the time of their episcopate or after they became clerics, shall
purchase in their own names lands or any other property, shall be held guilty of the crime
of intrenching upon the Lord's goods, unless, when they are admonished to do so, they
place the same at the disposal of the Church. But should anything come to them personally
by the liberality of anyone, or by succession from some relative, let them do what they
will with it; if, however, they demand it back again, contrary to what they proposed, they
shall be judged unworthy of ecclesiastical honour as back-sliders.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XXXII. Whoso after his ordination although he has nothing yet
buys a field, shall give it to the Church, unless he got it by succession from a relation
or by pure liberality. In this canon there is difficulty about the meaning of the phrase
"quod eorum proposito congruat." Hardouin suggests that "propositum" is the same as
"profession," or "calling," and the meaning, were this the case, would be that he must
employ it as befits his clerical calling. Van Espen follows Balsamon and Zonaras in
understanding it to mean that if he has proposed to employ a part for the Church or for
the poor, and changes his mind, he is to be deposed; and this meaning I have followed.

CANON XXXIII

(Greek xxxvi.) That presbyters should not sell the goods of the Church in which they are
constituted; and that no bishop can rightly use anything the title to which vests in the
ecclesiastical maternal centre (matrikoj). It also seemed good that presbyters should not
sell the ecclesiastical property where they are settled without their bishop's knowledge;
and it is not lawful for bishops to sell the goods of the Church without the council or
their presbyters being aware of it. Nor should the bishop without necessity usurp the
property of the maternal (matricis) Church [nor should a presbyter usurp the property of
his own cure (tituli)].

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XXXIII. A presbyter is not to sell ecclesiastical property
without the consent of the bishop. A bishop is not to sell without the approbation of his
synod a country property. Fuchs (Biblioth. der Kirchenvers., vol. iij., p. 5) thinks the
text is corrupt in the last sentence and should be corrected by Canon x. of the Council of
Carthage of 421, so as to read, "that which is left by will to a rural church in the
diocese must not be applied to the Mother Church through the usurpation of the
bishop."Johnson "Or title." So I turn the Lat. Titulus for want of a proper English word.
It denotes a lesser church in any city or diocese, served by a priest. "The Mother
Church," i.e., The cathedral, the Church in which the bishop resides. Moreover at this
Synod we read all the conciliar decrees of all the Province of Africa in the different
synods held in the time of Bishop Aurelius.

Concerning the Synod which assembled in Hippo Regio. Under the most illustrious consuls,
the most glorious Emperor Theodosius Augustus for the third time, mid Abundantius, on the
viij. Ides of October, at Hippo Regio, in the secretarium of the Church of Peace. And the
rest of the acts of this Synod have not been written down here because these constitutions
are found set forth above. Of the Council of Carthage at which the proconsular bishops
were appointed legates to the Council at Adrumetum. In the consulate of the most glorious
emperors-Arcadius for the third time and Honorius for the second time, Augustuses, on the
vith day before the Calends of July, at Carthage. In this council the proconsular bishops
were chosen as legates to the Council of Adrumetum. Of a Council of Carthage at which many
statutes were made. In the consulate of those most illustrious men, Caesarius and Atticus,
on the vth day before the Calends of September in the secretarium of the restored
basilica, when Aurelius the bishop, together with the bishops, had taken his seat, the
deacons also standing by, and Victor the old man of Puppiana, Tutus of Migirpa and Evangel
of Assuri.

The Allocution of Aurelius the bishop of Carthage to the bishops. Aurelius, the bishop,
said: After the day fixed for the council, as ye remember, most blessed brethren, we sat
and waited for the legations of all the African provinces to assemble upon the day, as I
have said, set by our missive; but when the letter of our Byzacene bishops had been read,
that was read to your charity, which they had discussed with me who had anticipated the
time and day of the council; also it was read by our brethren Honoratus and Urban, who are
to-day present with us in this council, sent as the legation of the Sitifensine Province.
For our brother Reginus of the Vege [t]selitane Church, the letters sent to my littleness
by Crescentian and Aurelius, our fellow-bishops, of the first sees of the [two] Numidias,
in which writings your charity will see with me how they promised that either they
themselves would be good enough to come or else that they would send legates according to
custom to this council; but this it seems they did not do at all, the legates of
Mauritania Sitifensis, who had come so great a distance gave notice that they could stay
no longer; and, therefore, brethren, if it seem good to your charity, let the letters of
our Byzacene brethren, as also the breviary, which they joined to the same letter, be read
to this assembly, so that if by any chance they are not entirely satisfactory to your
charity, such things in the breviary may be changed for the better after diligent
examination. For this very thing our brother and fellow-bishop of the primatial see, a man
justly conspicuous for his gravity and prudence, Mizonius, demanded in a letter he
addressed to my littleness. If therefore it meets with your approval, let there be read
the things which have been adopted and let each by itself be considered by your charity.

CANON XXXIV

(Greek xxxvii.) That nothing of those things enacted in the Synod of Hippo is to be
corrected. Bishop Epigonius said: In this summary (Breviarium) which was adopted at the
Synod of Hippo, we think nothing should be amended, nor anything added thereto except that
the day on which the holy Feast of Easter falls should be announced in Synod.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XXXIV. Nothing is to be corrected in the synod of Hippo, nor
anything added thereto, except that the time of celebrating Easter should be announced in
time of synod. The first of these introductions is that of the Synod of Hippo in a.d. 393;
the next that of Carthage in a.d. 394, and the third that of the same place, held August
28th, a.d. 397. This canon (number xxxiv. of the code) is the beginning of Canon v. of the
last named Synod. Johnson. See Canons 51 and 73.

CANON XXXV

(Greek xxxviii.) That bishops or clergymen should not easily set free their sons. That
bishops or clerics should not easily let their children pass out of their power; unless
they were secure of their morals and age, that their own sins may pertain to them.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XXXV. Bishops and clergy shall not set their children free until
their morals are established. This canon is Canon xiij. of the Synod of Hippo a.d. 393.

CANON XXXVI

(Greek xxxix.) That bishops or clergymen are not to be ordained unless they have made all
their family Christians. None shall be ordained bishop, presbyters, or deacons before all
the inmates of their houses shall have become Catholic Christians.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XXXVI. He shall not be ordained who hath not made all his
household orthodox. This canon is Canon xvij. of the Synod of Hippo, a.d. 393.

CANON XXXVII

(Greek xl.) It is not lawful to offer anything in the Holy Mysteries except bread and wine
mixed with water. IN the sacraments of the body and blood of the Lord nothing else shall
be offered than that which the Lord himself ordained, that is to say, bread and wine mixed
with water. But let the first-fruits, whether honey or milk, be offered on that one most
solemn day, as is wont, in the mystery of the infants. For although they are offered on
the altar, let them have nevertheless their own benediction, that they may be
distinguished from the sacraments of the Lord's body and blood; neither let there be
offered as first-fruits anything other than grapes and corns.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XXXVII. Let bread and wine mixed with water only be offered. The
text of the Greek here does not exactly agree with the Latin. The Greek reads as follows:
"That in the Holy Mysteries nothing else be offered than the body and blood of the Lord,
even as the Lord himself delivered, that is bread and wine mixed with water." Further down
with regard to the first-fruits I have followed the Greek text which seems decidedly
preferable, in fact the Latin is so corrupt that Van Espen notes that for the ordinary
"offerantur" some mss. read "non offerantur." This canon is Canon xxiij. of the Synod of
Hippo, a.d. 393. Johnson. See Can. Ap. 2 (3). "The Mystery of Infants" of this Quoere, all
that I have met with are in the dark as to this matter. Dionysius Exiguus's Latin is Lac,
etc. The Greek stands thus, Eite gala k. t. l.

CANON XXXVIII

(Greek xli.) That clerics or those who are continent shall not visit virgins or widows.
Neither clerics nor those who profess continence should enter the houses of widows or
virgins without the bidding or consent of the bishops or presbyters: and then let them not
go alone, but with some other of the clergy, or with those assigned by the bishop or
presbyter for this purpose; not even bishops and presbyters shall go alone to women of
this sort, except some of the clergy are present or some other grave Christian men.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XXXVIII. Clerics and those who are continent shall not go to
widows or virgins, unless at the bidding of the bishop and presbyter: and even then not
alone, but with those with whom presbyters and deacons visit them. This canon is canon
xxiv. of the Synod of Hippo, a.d. 393.

CANON XXXIX

(Greek xlii.) That a bishop should not be called the chief of the priests. That the bishop
of the first see shall not be called Prince of the Priests or High Priest (Summus
Sacerdos) or any other name of this kind, but only Bishop of the First See.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XXXIX. The first bishop shall not be called Prince of the Priests
nor High Priest but Bishop of the first see. This canon is Canon xxv. of the Synod of
Hippo, a.d. 393. Johnson. "The bishop of the Prime See," i.e., The primate. So Xantippus
is called bishop of the Prime. So in Numidia, Nicetius in Mauritania, in the original
Latin between Can. 85, and Can. 86, and see Can. 86. N.B. Justellus on this canon shews,
that Tertullian, Optatus, and Augustine, did apply these titles to their own African
bishops; and therefore supposes, that the meaning of the canon was to suppress the flame
of vain glory, which proceeded from these sparks of lofty titles.

CANON XL

(Greek xliii.) Concerning the non-frequenting of taverns by the clergy, except when
travelling. That the clergy are not to enter taverns for eating or drinking, nor unless
compelled to do so by the necessity of their journey.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XL. A cleric on a journey may enter a tavern, otherwise not. This
canon is Canon xxvj. of the Synod of Hippo, a.d. 393.

CANON XLI

(Greek xliv.) That by men who are fasting sacrifices are to be offered to God. That the
Sacraments of the Altar are not to be celebrated except by those who are fasting, except
on the one anniversary of the celebration of the Lord's Supper; for if the commemoration
of some of the dead, whether bishops or others, is to be made in the afternoon, let it be
only with prayers, if those who officiate have already breakfasted.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XLI. The holy mysteries are not offered except by those who are
fasting. This canon is Canon xxviij. of the Synod of Hippo, a.d. 393. Johnson. From this
canon and the 29th of Trullo, it is evident that by the Lord's Supper, the ancients
understood the supper going before the Eucharist, and not the Eucharist itself, and that
on Maunday-Thursday yearly, before the Eucharist, they had such a public entertainment in
imitation of our Saviour's last Paschal Supper. I refer it to the consideration of the
learned reader, whether St. Paul, by the Deipnon kuriakon, 1 Cor. xi. 20, does not mean
this entertainment. For the obvious translation of that verse is, "It is not your [duty or
business] when you meet together [in the church] to eat the Lord's Supper." He would not
have them to eat this supper in the public assembly: "For" (says he) "have ye not houses
to eat and drink in, or despise ye the Church of God?" From the 4th age forward, the
Eucharist was sometimes called the Lord's Supper; but from the beginning it was not so.
And even after it did sometimes pass by this name, yet at other times this name was
strictly used for the previous entertainment, as may be seen by this canon, which was made
in the 4th century. Further it seems probable, that the Lord's Supper and the Love-feast
was the same, though it was not usually called the Lord's Supper; but only (perhaps) that
love-feast, which was made on the day of the institution of the Eucharist, which we now
call Maundy-Thursday.

CANON XLII

(Greek xiv.) Concerning the not having feasts under any circumstances in churches. That no
bishops or clerics are to hold feasts in churches, unless perchance they are forced
thereto by the necessity of hospitality as they pass by.The people, too, as far as
possible, are to be prohibited from attending such feasts.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XLII. A cleric is not to feast in a church, unless perchance he
is driven thereto by the necessity of hospitality. This also is forbidden to the laity.
This canon is Canon xxix. of the Synod of Hippo, a.d. 393.

CANON XLIII

(Greek xlvi.) Concerning penitents. That to penitents the times of their penance shall be
assigned by the will of the bishop according to the difference of their sins; and that a
presbyter shall not reconcile a penitent without consulting the bishop, unless the absence
of the bishop urges him necessarily thereto. But when of any penitent the offence has been
public and commonly known, so as to have scandalized the whole Church, he shall receive
imposition of the hand before the altar (Lat. "before the apse").

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XLIII. The bishops shall fix the time of penance for those doing
penance according to their sins. A presbyter without his knowledge shall not reconcile one
doing penance, even when necessity impels him thereto. This canon is canon xxx. of the
Synod of Hippo, a.d. 393. Johnson. Here [i. e., in translating absidem church-porch] I
follow Zonoras; see Can. Nic., 11. Du Pin renders absidem, a high place near the bishop's
throne.

CANON XLIV

(Greek xlvii.) Concerning Virgins. That holy virgins when they are separated from their
parents by whom they have been wont to be guarded, are to be commended by the care of the
bishop, or presbyter where the bishop is absent, to women of graver age, so that living
with them they may take care of them, lest they hurt the reputation of the Church by
wandering about.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XLIV. She who leaves her father for the sake of virginity is to
be commended to grave women. This canon is Canon xxxj. of the Synod of Hippo, a.d. 393.

CANON XLV

(Greek xlviii.) Concerning those who are sick and cannot answer for themselves. That the
sick are to be baptized who cannot answer for themselves if their [servants] shall have
spoken at their own proper peril a testimony of the good will [of the sick man]. (Greek
Canon xlix.) Concerning players who are doing penance and are converted to the Lord. That
to players and actors and other persons of that kind, as also to apostates when they are
converted and return to God, grace or reconciliation is not to be denied.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XLV. That he who cannot answer for himself on account of illness
is to be baptized when he shall have given evidence of his desire. A repentant actor is to
be received to penance. This canon is made up of Canons xxxij. and xxxiij. of the Synod of
Hippo, a.d. 393. Johnson. "Apostates," i.e., those who elsewhere are called Lapsi; those
who had done sacrifice through the violence of torment in time of persecution, professing
in the meantime that their consciences did not consent to what their hands did.

CANON XLVI

(Greek I.) Concerning the passions of the martyrs. The passions of the Martyrs may be read
when their anniversary days are celebrated.

Note.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XLVI. The passions of the martyrs are to be read their
commemorations. This canon is the last part of Canon xxxvj. of the Synod of Hippo, a.d.
393.

CANON XLVII

(Greek li.) Concerning [the Donatists and ] the children baptized by the Donatists.
Concerning the Donatists it seemed good that we should hold counsel with our brethren and
fellow priests Siricius and Simplician concerning those infants alone who are baptized by
Donatists: lest what they did not do of their own will, when they should be converted to
the Church of God with a salutary determination, the error of their parents might prevent
their promotion to the ministry of the holy altar. But when these things had been begun,
Honoratus and Urbanus, bishops of Mauri- tania Sitifensis, said: When some time ago we
were sent to your holiness, we laid aside what things had been written on, this account,
that we might wait for the arrival of our brethren the legates from Numidia. But because
not a few days have passed in which they have been looked for and as yet they are not
arrived, it is not fitting that we should delay any longer the commands we received from
our brother-bishops; and therefore, brethren, receive our story with alacrity of mind. We
have heard concerning the faith of the Nicene tractate: True it is that sacrifices are to
be forbidden after breakfast, so that they may be offered as is right by those who are
fasting, and this has been confirmed then and now.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XLVII. When those in infancy baptized by Donatists are converted,
this shall be no impediment to them. And the Holy Mysteries, as is right, are to be
celebrated only by them fasting. This canon is made from Canon xxxvij. of the Synod of
Hippo, a.d. 393, and from Canon j. of the Synod of Carthage of August 28th, a.d. 397.
Johnson. See Can. 41. The pretence that the Donatists had for making a schism was, that
Caecilian, Bishop of Carthage, had, in the time of persecution, been a Traditor, i.e.,
given up the Bible to the heathen inquisitors; this was denied by the Orthodox, who
charged them with the same crime in effect, viz. of being too favourable to the Traditors,
and those that had lapsed. They likewise are charged with Arianism. I have omitted what is
here mentioned concerning the Council of Nice; because I do not find that any one has been
able to penetrate into the meaning of the Fathers as to that particular.

CANON XLVIII

(Greek lii.) Of rebaptisms, reordinations, and translations of bishops. But we suggest
that we decree what was set forth by the wisdom of the plenary synod at Capua, that no
rebaptisings, nor reordinations should take place, and that bishops should not be
translated. For Cresconius, bishop of Villa Regis, left his own people and invaded the
Church of Tubinia and having been admonished down to this very day, to leave, according to
the decree, the diocese he had invaded, he treated the admonition with disdain. We have
heard that the sentence pronounced against him has been confirmed; but we seek, according
to our decree, that ye deign to grant that being driven thereto by necessity, it be free
to us to address the rector of the province against him, according to the statutes of the
most glorious princes, so that whoever is not willing to acquiesce in the mild admonition
of your holiness and to amend his lawlessness, shall be immediately cast out by judicial
authority. Aurelius the bishop said: By the observance of the constituted form, let him
not be judged to be a member of (be synod, if he has been asked by you, dear brethren, to
depart and has refused: for out of his own contempt and contumacy he has fallen to the
power of the secular magistrate. Honoratus and Urban the bishops said: This pleases us
all, does it not? And all the bishops answered: It is just, it pleases us.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XLVIII. Let there be no rebaptisms, nor reordinations nor
translations of bishops. Therefore let Cresconius be forbidden by judicial authority, for
he has left his own people, and has taken possession of the diocese of Ceneum, although
ecclesiastically admonished that he was not to change. This canon is Canon j., of the
Synod of Carthage of August 28th. a.d. 397. The acts of this synod were first accurately
edited by the Ballerini (in their edition of the works of St. Leo) and were printed by
Mansi, in an amended form, in his Concilia.

CANON XLIX

(Greek liii.) How many bishops there should be to ordain a bishop. Honoratus and Urban,
the bishops, said: We have issued this command, that (because lately two of our brethren,
bishops of Numidia, presumed to ordain a pontiff,) only by the concurrence of twelve
bishops the ordination of bishops be celebrated. Aurelius, the bishop, said: The ancient
form shall be preserved, that not less than three suffice who shall have been designated
for ordaining the bishop. Moreover, because in Tripoli, and in Arzug the barbarians are so
near, for it is asserted that in Tripoli there are but five bishops, and out of that
number two may be occupied by some necessity; but it is difficult that all of the number
should come together at any place whatever; ought this circumstance to be an impediment to
the doing of what is of utility to the Church? For in this Church, to which your holiness
has deigned to assemble we frequently have ordinations and nearly every Lord's day; could
I frequently summon twelve, or ten, or about that number of bishops? But it is an easy
thing for me to join a couple of neighbours to my littleness. Wherefore your charity will
agree with me that this cannot be observed.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XLIX. Fewer than three bishops do not suffice for the ordination
of a bishop. This is Canon ij., of the Synod of Carthage, August 28th, 397. Johnson. See
Can. 13. The occasion of this canon was a complaint that two bishops in Numidia had
presumed to ordain a third; upon which it was proposed that not less than twelve should
perform this office: But Aurelius, Bishop of Carthage, desires that the old form might be
observed, and three bishops be sufficient; especially, because in Tripoli, where there
were but five bishops in all, it would be hard to get more than three together. And he
adds, that though it were no hard matter for him to get two bishops to assist him in his
ordinations at Carthage, yet it would not be practicable for him to get twelve: "For,"
says he, "we have frequently, and almost every Sunday, men to be ordained." He must mean
bishops for otherwise it had been nothing to his purpose, because he could ordain priests
or deacons by himself, without the assistance of other bishops: and yet it is very
strange, that ordinations of bishops should be so frequent as to bear that expression of
"almost every Sunday." There were indeed above one hundred bishoprics in his Province; but
these could not occasion above six or eight ordinations in a year; but it is probable that
the privilege belonging to him, Can. 55, brought very many ordinations to the church of
Carthage; for it is evident, there was a great scarcity of men fit for the Episcopal
office in Africa. It is further evident from this canon, that bishops were not ordained in
the church of their own see, but in that of the Primate. See Can. Ant., 19.

CANON L

(Greek liv.) How many bishops should be added to the number of those ordaining, if any
opposition had been made to the one to be ordained. But this should be decreed, that when
we shall have met together to choose a bishop, if any opposition shall arise, because such
things have been treated by us, the three shall not presume to purge him who was to be
ordained, but one or two more shall be asked to be added to the aforesaid number, and the
persons of those objecting shall first be discussed in the same place (plebe) for which he
was to be ordained. And last of all the objections shall be considered; and only after he
has been cleared in the public sight shall he at last be ordained. If this agrees with the
mind of your holiness, let it be confirmed by the answer of your worthiness.All the
bishops said, We are well pleased.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon L. If any controversy arise concerning a bishop who has been
elected by three bishops, let two others be coopted, and so let there be an examination
made of his affairs; and if it shall appear that he is pure, let him be ordained. This
canon is Canon iij., of the Synod of Carthage, Aug. 28th, 397. Johnson. Here the bishops
meet to choose a new one, and it is evident by the foregoing canon, that they met not in
the vacant church, but in that of the Primate; and that therefore not the people, but the
bishops had the chief share in the election. The people might make their objections, which
supposes they knew who their intended bishop was; but the bishops were the judges of the
cause. And it seems probable, that if there were any dispute, some of the bishops went to
the vacant church to hear the allegations against the person that was elected, or
proposed.

CANON LI

(Greek lv.) That the date of Easter is to be announced by the Church of Carthage.
Honoratus and Urban, the bishops, said: Since all things treated by our commonitory are
known, we add also what has been ordered concerning the day of Easter, that we be informed
of the date always by the Church of Carthage, as has been accustomed and that no short
time before. Aurelius, the bishop, said: If it seems good to your holiness, since we
remember that we pledged ourselves sometime ago that every year we would come together for
discussion, when we assemble, then let the date of the holy Easter be announced through
the legates present at the Council. Honoratus and Urban, the bishops, said: Now we seek of
the present assembly that ye deign to inform our province of that day by letters.
Aurelius, the bishop, said:It is necessary it should be so.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon LI. Let the day on which Easter is to be kept be announced by the
Church of Carthage in the annual synod. This canon is the first part of Canon iv. of the
Synod of Carthage, August 28th, 397. Johnson. The synod met in August. See Can. 73.

CANON LII

(Greek lvi.) Of visiting provinces. Honoratus and Urban, the bishops, said: This was
commanded to us in word, that because it had been decreed in the Council of Hippo that
each province should be visited in the time of the council, that ye also deign that this
year or next, according to the order ye have drawn up, you should visit the province of
Mauritania. Aurelius, the bishop, said: Of the province of Mauritania because it is
situated in the confines of Africa, we have made no decree, for they are neighbours of the
barbarians; but God grant (not however that I make any rash promise of doing so), we may
be able to come to your province. For ye should consider, brethren, that this same thing
our brethren of Tripoli and of the Arzuges region could demand also, if occasion offered

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon LII. As the Synod at Hippo decreed, every province should be
visited in an annual Synod. This canon is the last part of canon iv of the Council of
Carthage, August 28th, a.d. 397. Johnson. The manner of visiting provinces, and that
annually; and the persons by whom this visitation was performed, can scarce now be
discovered; only it appears, by the words of Aurelius, that the Bishop of Carthage was
one, if not the only visitor; but it was impossible that he could visit all the provinces
in Africa personally every year, he must use delegates.

CANON LIII

(Greek lvii.) That dioceses should not receive a bishop except by the consent of its own
bishop. Epigonius, the bishop, said: In many councils it has been decreed by the
sacerdotal assembly that such communities as are contained in other dioceses and ruled by
their bishops, and which never had any bishops of their own, should not receive rulers,
that is bishops, for themselves except with the consent of the bishop under whose
jurisdiction they have been. But because some who have attained a certain domination abhor
the communion of the brethren, or at least, having become depraved, claim for themselves
domination with what is really tyranny, for the most part tumid and stolid presbyters, who
lift up their heads against their own bishops or else win the people to themselves by
feasting them or by malignant persuasion, that they may by unlawful favour wish to place
themselves as rulers over them; we indeed hold fast that glorious desire of your mind,
most pious brother Aurelius, for thou hast often opposed these things, paying no heed to
such petitioners; but on account of their evil thoughts and basely conceived designs this
I say, that such a community, which has always been subject in a diocese, ought not to
receive a rector, nor should it ever have a bishop of its own. Therefore if this which I
have proposed seems good to the whole most holy council, let it be confirmed.

Aurelius, the bishop, said: I am not in opposition to the proposition of our brother and
fellow bishop: but I confess that this has been and shall be my practice concerning those
who were truly of one mind, not only with regard to the Church of Carthage, but concerning
every sacerdotal assemblage. For there are many who, as has been said, conspire with the
people whom they deceive, tickling their ears and blandly seducing them, men of vicious
lives, or at least puffed up and separated from this meeting, who think to watch over
their own people, and never come to our council for fear that their wickedness should be
discussed. I say, if it seems good, that not only should these not keep their dioceses,
but that every effort should be made to have them expelled by public authority from that
church of theirs which has evilly favoured them, and that they be removed even from the
chief sees. For it is right that he who cleaves to all the brethren and the whole council,
should possess with full right not only his church but also the dioceses. But they who
think that the people suffice them and spurn the love of the brethren, shall not only,
lose their dioceses, but (as I have said,) they shall be deprived by public authority of
their own cures as rebels. Honoratus and Urban, the bishops, said: The lofty provision of
your holiness obtains the adherence of the minds of all of us, and I think that by the
answer of all what you have deigned to propose will be confirmed. All the bishops said:
Placet, placet.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon LIII. Whoso shall neglect his call to a synod, and shall despise
the charity of his brethren, putting his trust in the multitude who are with him, let him
be deprived of them by the imperial authority. This canon is Canon v. of the Synod of
Carthage of August 28th, a.d. 397, beginning with the second clause. Johnson. It is very
evident that a diocese here signifies some town or village lying remote from the Bishop's
City, but belonging to his jurisdiction; and is to be understood to be a place distinct
from the bishop's church or cathedral. See also Can. 56 and Decr. Anast., 6.

CANON LIV

(Greek lviii.) That a strange cleric is under no circumstances to be received by another.
Epigonius, the bishop, said: This has been decreed in many councils, also just now it has
been confirmed by your prudence, most blessed brethren, that no bishop should receive a
strange cleric into his diocese without the consent of the bishop to whose jurisdiction
the cleric belongs. But I say that Julian, who is ungrateful for the layouts bestowed upon
him by God through my littleness, is so rash and audacious, that a certain man who was
baptized by me, when he was a most needy boy, commended to me by the same, and when for
many years he had been fed and reared by me, it is certain that this one, as I have said,
was baptized in my church, by my own unworthy hands; this same man began to exercise the
office of reader in the Mappalien diocese, and read there for nearly two years, with a
most incomprehensible contempt of my littleness, the aforenamed Julian took this man, whom
he declared to be a citizen of his own city Vazarita, and without consulting me ordained
him deacon. If, most blessed brethren, that is permissible, let it be declared to us; but
if not, let such an impudent one be restrained that he may in no way mix himself in
someone's communion.

Numidius, the bishop, said: If, as it seems, Julian did this without your worthiness being
asked for his consent, nor even consulted, we all judge that this was done iniquitously
and unworthily. Wherefore unless Julian shall correct his error, and shall return the
cleric to your people with proper satisfaction, since what he did was contrary to the
decrees of the council, let him be condemned and separated from us on account of his
contumacy. Epigonius, the bishop, said: Our father in age, and most ancient by his
promotion, that laudable man, our brother and colleague Victor wishes that this petition
should be made general to all.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon LIV. Since Julian has ordained a reader of Epigonius's to the
diaconate, unless he shall shew authority received from him to do so, he shall increase
the penalty of his contumacy. This canon is Canon vj. of the Synod of Carthage, August
28th, a.d. 397. Johnson. See Canon of the Apostles, 12 (15, 16), and Chalcedon, 10.

CANON LV

(Greek lix.) That it be lawful for the bishop of Carthage to ordain a cleric whenever he
wishes. Aurelius, the bishop, said: My brethren, pray allow me to speak. It often happens
that ecclesiastics who are in need seek deacons [proepositis in the Latin], or presbyters
or bishops from me: and I, bearing in mind what things have been ordained these I observe,
to wit, I summon the bishop of the cleric who is sought for, and I shew him the state of
affairs, how that they of a certain church ask for a certain one of his clergy. Perchance
then they make no objection, but lest it happen that afterwards they might object when in
this case they shall have been demanded (postulati) by me, who (as you know) have the care
of many churches and of the ordinands. It is fight therefore that I should summon a fellow
bishop with two or three witnesses from our number. But if he be found indevotus
[akaqosiwtoj], what does your charity think should be done? For I, as ye know, brethren,
by the condescension of God have the care of all the churches.

Numidius, the bishop, said: This see always had the power of ordaining a bishop according
to the desire of each Church as he wills and on whose name there was agreement (fuisset
conventus). Epigonius, the bishop, said: Your good nature makes small use of your powers,
for you make much less use of them than you might, since, my brother, you are good and
gentle to all; for you have the power, but it is far from your practice to satisfy the
person of each bishop in prima tantummodo conventione. But if it should be thought that
the rights of this see ought to be vindicated, you have the duty of supporting all the
churches, wherefore we do not give thee power, but we confirm that power thou hast, viz.:
that thou hast the right at thy will always to choose whom thou wilt, to constitute
prelates over peoples and churches who shall have asked thee to do so, and when thou so
desirest. Posthumianus, the bishop, said: Would it be right that he who had only one
presbyter should have that one taken away from him? Aurelius, the bishop, said: But there
may be one bishop by whom many presbyters can be made through the divine goodness, but one
fit to be made bishop is found with difficulty. Wherefore if any bishop has a presbyter
necessary for the episcopate and has one only, my brother, as you have said, even that one
he ought to give up for promotion. Posthumianus, the bishop, said: If some other bishop
has plenty of clergy, should that other diocese come to my help? Aurelius, the bishop,
said: Of course, when you have come to the help of another Church, he who has many clerics
should be persuaded to make one over to you for ordination.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon LV. It is lawful for the bishop of Carthage, whenever he wills,
to choose those who are to be set over the churches: even if there were only one presbyter
worth of rule. For one bishop can ordain many presbyters, but one fit for the episcopate
is hard to find. This canon is the first half of Canon vij. of the Council of Carthage
held August 28th a.d. 397. Johnson. It is evident, that this privilege of the Bishop of
Carthage extended to the whole African diocese or the six provinces of Africa, which
contained near five hundred bishoprics. This was what caused such frequent ordinations of
bishops in the Church of Carthage (See Can. Afr. 49, and the Note) And it is further
apparent, that the Bishop of Carthage had some power over the whole African church, and
was probably their visitor (See Can. 52). But that he had the sole power of ordaining
bishops for every church, with the assistance of any two bishops, does not appear, though
Justellus is of this opinion; nay, the 49th canon proves that he had it not.


COUNCIL OF CARTHAGE (AD 419): THE CANONS
========================================

COUNCIL OF CARTHAGE (AD 419): THE CANONS continued

CANON LVI

(Greek lx.) That bishops who were ordained for dioceses shall not choose for themselves
dioceses [in the Greek provinces]. Honoratus and Urban, the bishops, said: We have heard
that it has been decreed that dioceses should not be deemed fit to receive bishops, unless
with the consent of their founder: but in our province since some have been ordained
bishops in the diocese, by the consent of that bishop by whose power they were
established, have even seized dioceses for themselves, this should be corrected by the
judgment of your charity, and prohibited for the future. Epigonius, the bishop, said: To
every bishop should be reserved what is right, so that from the mass of dioceses no part
should be snatched away, so as to have its own bishop, without consent from the proper
authority. For it shall suffice, if the consent be given, that the diocese thus set apart
have its own bishop only, and let him not seize other dioceses, for only the one cut off
from the many merited the honour of receiving a bishop. Aurelius, the bishop, said: I do
not doubt that it is pleasing to the charity of you all, that he who was ordained for a
diocese by the consent of the bishop who held the mother see, should retain only the
people for whom he was ordained. Since therefore I think that everything has been treated
of, if all things are agreeable to your mind, pray confirm them all by your suffrage. All
the bishops said: We all are well pleased, and we have confirmed them with our
subscription. And they signed their names.

I, Aurelius, bishop of the Church of Carthage, have consented to this decree, and have
subscribed what has been read.So too did all the other bishops in like fashion sign.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon LVI. If any diocese has received consent to have a bishop of its
own from him who has the right, that one shall not invade the rest of the dioceses. This
is the last part of Canon vij. of the Synod of Carthage, August 28, a.d. 397. Johnson. It
had scarce been worth while to give so much of this canon in English if I had not thought
it proper, in order to confirm the sense of the word diocese, mentioned in note on Can.
53, viz., a town or village, where there is a church subject to the bishop of the city.
Between this canon and the following, there is a reference to a former council at Carthage
forbidding bishops to sail, without a formal letter from the Primate; and this said to be
done when Caesarius and Atticus were consuls, anno aerae vulg. 397, and there is mention
of an embassy of two bishops from a council of Carthage to the Emperors, to procure the
privilege of sanctuary to all impeached for any crime, if they fled to the Church. This is
said to be done when Honorius and Eutychianus were consuls, anno aerae vulg. 398. And
further, here is an account of a bishop sent legate to Anastasius, Bishop of the
Apostolical see, and Venerius of Milan, to supply the African Church with men fit to be
ordained. For Aurelius complains that many Churches have not so much as one man, not so
much as an illiterate one, in deacon's orders, much less had they a competent number of
men for the superior dignities. He speaks of the importunate clamours of many people, that
were themselves almost killed, I suppose, by some common pestilence.In this council it was
decreed that bishops should not travel by sea without formed letters.

During the consulate of those illustrious men, Caesar and Atticus, on the sixth before the
Calends of July, at Carthage, it seemed good that no bishop should travel by water without
"formed letters" from the Primate. The authentic acts will be found by him who seeks them.
In this council, bishops whose names are set down hereafter were sent as legates to the
Emperor. After the consulate of the most glorious Emperor Honorius Augustus for the fourth
time, and of the renowned Eutychian, on the fifth of the calends of May, at Carthage in
the secretarium of the restored basilica. In this council Epigonius and Vincent, the
bishops, received a legation, in order that they might obtain a law from the most glorious
princes in behalf of those taking refuge in the Church, whatever might be the crime of
which they were accused, that no one should dare to force them away.

In this council a legation was sent to the Bishops of Rome and Milan with regard to
children baptized by heretics, and to the Emperor with regard to having such idols as
still remained taken away, and also with regard to many other matters. After the consulate
of the renowned Flabius Stilico, on the sixteenth of the calends of July, at Carthage in
the secretarium of the restored basilica. When Aurelius, the Bishop, together with his
fellow-bishops had taken their seats, the deacons standing by, Aurelius, the Bishop, said:
Your charity, most holy brethren, knows fully as well as I do the necessities of the
churches of God throughout Africa. And since the Lord has vouchsafed that from a part of
your holy company this present assembly should be convened, it seems to me that these
necessities which in the discharge of our solicitude we have discovered, we ought to
consider together. And afterwards, that there should be chosen a bishop from our number
who may, with the help of the Lord and your prayers, assume the burden of these
necessities, and zealously accomplish whatever ought to be done in the premises, going to
the parts of Italy across seas, that he may acquaint our holy brethren and fellow-bishops,
the venerable and holy brother Anastasius, bishop of the Apostolic see, and also our holy
brother Venerius the Bishop of Milan, with our necessity and grief, and helplessness. For
there has been withheld from these sees the knowledge of what was necessary to provide
against the common peril, especially that the need of clergy is so great that many
churches are in such destitution as that not so much as a single deacon or even an
unlettered clerk is to be found. I say nothing of the superior orders and offices, because
if, as I have said, the ministry of a deacon is not easily to be had, it is certainly much
more difficult to find one of the superior orders. [And let them also tell these bishops]
that we can no longer bear to hear the daily lamentations of the different peoples almost
ready to die, and unless we do our best to help them, the grievous and inexcusable cause
of the destruction of innumerable souls will be laid at our door before God.

CANON LVII

(Greek lxi.) That persons baptized when children by the Donatists may be ordained
clergymen in the Catholic Church. Since in the former council it was decreed, as your
unanimity remembers as well as I do, that those who as children were baptized by the
Donatists, and not yet being able to know the pernicious character of their error, and
afterward when they had come to the Use of reason, had received the knowledge of the
truth, abhorred their former error, and were received, (in accordance with the ancient
order) by the imposition of the hand, into the Catholic Church of God spread throughout
the world, that to such the remembrance of the error ought to be no impediment to the
reception of the clerical office. For in coming to faith they thought the true Church to
be their own and there they believed in Christ, and received the sacraments of the
Trinity. And that all these sacraments are altogether true and holy and divine is most
certain, and in them the whole hope of the soul is placed, although the presumptuous
audacity of heretics, taking to itself the name of the truth, dares to administer them.
They are but one after all, as the blessed Apostle tells us, saying: "One God, one faith,
one baptism," and it is not lawful to reiterate what once only ought to be administered.
[Those therefore who have been so baptized] having anathematized their error may be
received by the imposition of the hand into the one Church, the pillar as it is called,
and the one mother of all Christians, where all these Sacraments are received unto
salvation and everlasting life;

even the same sacraments which obtain for those persevering in heresy the heavy penalty of
damnation. So that which to those who are in the truth lighteneth to the obtaining of
eternal life, the same to them who are in error tends but to darkness and damnation. With
regard then to those who, having fled from error, acknowledge the breasts of their mother
the Catholic Church, who believe and receive all these holy mysteries with the love of the
truth, and besides the Sacraments have the testimony of a good life, there is no one who
would not grant that without doubt such persons may be raised to the clerical office,
especially in such necessity as the present. But there are others of this sect, who being
already clergymen, desire to pass to us with their peoples and also with their honours,
such as for the sake of office are converts to life, and that they may retain them seek
for salvation [i.e., enter the Church]. I think that the question concerning such may be
left to the graver consideration of our afore- said brothers, and that when they have
considered by their more prudent counsel the matter referred to them, they may vouchsafe
to advise us what approves itself to them with regard to this question. Only concerning
those who as children were baptized by heretics we decree that they consent, if it seems
good, to our decision concerning the ordination of the same.

All things, therefore, which we have set forth above with the holy bishops, let your
honourable fraternity with me adjudge to be done.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon LVII. Such as have been while children baptized by the Donatists
may be ordained should they repent, anathematize their heresy, and be otherwise worthy. Of
the three Introductions to Carthaginian Councils which precede this canon, the first
refers to the synod held June 26, a.d. 397; the second to that held April 27, a.d. 399;
and the third to that of June 15 (or 16), a.d. 401. The canon is Canon j. of the Synod of
Carthage of June 15 (or 16), a.d. 401. The eight other canons of this synod follow in the
African Code in their own order. Johnson. See Can. 47, which was made in a former synod.

CANON LVIII

(Greek lxii.) Of the remaining idols or temples which should be done away by the Emperors.
Wherefore the most religious Emperors should be asked that they order the remaining idols
to be taken entirely away throughout all Africa; for in many maritime places and in divers
possessions the iniquity of this error still flourishes: that they command them to be
taken away and their temples, (such as are no ornament, being set up in fields or out of
the way places) be ordered to be altogether destroyed.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon LVIII. The remains of the idols should be abolished altogether.
This is Canon ij. of the Synod of Carthage of June 15 (16), a.d. 401.

CANON LIX

(Greek lxiii.) That clerics be not compelled to give testimony in public concerning the
cognizance of their own judgment. IT should be petitioned also that they deign to decree,
that if perchance any shall have been willing to plead their cause in any church according
to the Apostolic law imposed upon the Churches, and it happens that the decision of the
clergy does not satisfy one of the parties, it be not lawful to summon that clergyman who
had been cognitor or present, into judgment as a witness, and that no person attached to
any ecclesiastic be compelled to give testimony.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon LIX. A cleric who has decided a case shall not, if it be
displeasing, be summoned to a tribunal to give evidence concerning it; and no
ecclesiastical person shall be forced to give testimony. This is Canon iij. of the Synod
of Carthage, June 15 (or 16). a.d. 401. Johnson. "According to the Apostolic law," viz.,
that of St. Paul, 1 Cor. vi. 1, 2, etc. I follow the Greek scholia in rendering this
canon. In Latin cognitor is he that is solicitor, or advocate, rather than the judge who
takes cognizance.

CANON LX

(Greek lxiii.) Of heathen feasts. This also must be sought, that (since contrary to the
divine precepts feasts are held in many places, which have been induced by the heathen
error, so that now Christians are forced to celebrate these by heathens, from which state
of things it happens that in the times of the Christian Emperors a new persecution seems
to have secretly arisen:) they order such things to be forbidden and prohibit them from
cities and possessions under pain of punishment; especially should this be done since they
do not fear to commit such iniquities in some cities even upon the natal days of most
blessed martyrs, and in the very sacred places themselves. For upon these days, shame to
say, they perform the most wicked leapings throughout the fields and open places, so that
matronal honour and the modesty of innumerable women who have come out of devotion for the
most holy day are assaulted by lascivious injuries, so that all approach to holy religion
itself is almost fled from.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon LX. The Greek feasts must cease to be kept, because of their
impropriety, and because they seduce many Christians, moreover they are celebrated on the
commemorations of the martyrs. This is Canon iv. of the Synod of Carthage, Aug. 15 (or
16), a.d. 401. Johnson. Bishop Beveridge and Tilius's edition of these canons, in Greek
and Latin, number the two preceding canons as I have done in the margin, with the same
figures [viz: 63]. I follow them in this error because by this means the reader may more
readily be referred from the Latin original and from this English translation to the
Greek.

CANON LXI

(Greek lxiv.) Of spectacles, that they be not celebrated on Lord's days nor on the
festivals of the Saints. Furthermore, it must be sought that theatrical spectacles and the
exhibition of other plays be removed from the Lord's day and the other most sacred days of
the Christian religion, especially because on the octave day of the holy, Easter [i.e.,
Low Sunday] the people assemble rather at the circus than at church, and they should be
transferred to some other day when they happen to fall upon a day of devotion, nor shall
any Christian be compelled to witness these spectacles, especially because in the
performance of things contrary to the precepts of God there should be no persecution made
by anyone, but (as is right) a man should exercise the free will given him by God.
Especially also should be considered the peril of the cooperators who, contrary to the
precepts of God, are forced by great fear to attend the shews.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon LXI. There shall be no theatrical representations upon Lord's
days or feast days. This is Canon V. of the Synod of Carthage, June 15th (16), a.d. 401.

CANON LXII

(Greek lxv.) Of condemned clerics. And this should be sought, that they deign to decree
that if any clergyman of whatever rank shall have been condemned by the judgment of the
bishops for any crime, he may not be defended either by the churches over which he
presided, nor by anyone what- ever, under pain of loss both of money and office, and let
them order that neither age nor sex be received as an excuse.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon LXII. No one shall justify a clergyman condemned by his own
bishop. This is Canon vj. of the Synod of Carthage, June 15 (or 16), a.d. 401.

CANON LXIII

(Greek lxvi.) Of players who have become Christians. And of them also it must be sought
that if anyone wishes to come to the grace of Christianity from any ludicrous art (ludicra
arte) and to remain free of that stain, it be not lawful for anyone to induce him or
compel him to return to the performance of the same things again.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon LXIII. Whoever has turned away from the stage to adopt an honest
life, shall not be led back thereto This is Canon vii. of the Synod of Carthage, June 15
(or 16), a.d. 401. Johnson. This canon is probably to be understood of slaves bought by
their masters for the service of the Circ, or Theatre.

CANON LXIV

(Greek lxvii.) Of celebrating manumissions in church, that permission be asked from the
Emperor. Concerning the publishing of manumissions in church, if our fellow bishops
throughout Italy shall be found to do this, it will be a mark of our confidence to follow
their order [of proceedings], full power being given to the legate we send, that whatever
he can accomplish worthy of the faith, for the state of the Church and the salvation of
souls, we shall laudably accept in the sight of the Lord. All which things, if they please
your sanctity, pray set forth, that I may be assured that my suggestion has been ratified
by you and that their sincerity may freely accept our unanimous action. And all the
bishops said: The things which have been enjoined to be done and have been wisely set
forth by your holiness are pleasing to all.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon LXIV. The Emperor's permission should be sought to allow the
public manumission of slaves in church. This is Canon viij. of the Synod of Carthage, June
15 (or 16), a.d. 401. Johnson. It is certain, that in Italy, and some other parts of the
Empire, slaves were solemnly set at liberty by their masters, in the church and presence
of the bishop, from the time of Constantine, but it should seem this custom had not yet
obtained in Africa.

CANON LXV

(Greek lxviii.) Concerning the condemned bishop Equitius. Aurelius, the bishop, said: I do
not think that the case of Equitius should be passed over in the legation, who some time
ago for his crimes was condemned by an Episcopal sentence; that if by any chance our
legate should meet him in those parts, our brother should take care for the state of the
Church, as opportunity offered or where he could, to act against him. And all the bishops
said: This prosecution is exceedingly agreeable to us, especially as Equitius was
condemned some time ago, his impudent unrest ought to be repelled everywhere more and more
for the good estate and health of the Church. And they subscribed, I, Aurelius, the bishop
of the Church of Carthage, have consented to this decree, and after having read it have
signed my name.Likewise also signed all the other bishops.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon LXV. Equitius, who had been condemned by the judgment of the
bishops, and had behaved impudently against the ecclesiastical authority, ought to be
opposed. This is Canon ix. of the Synod of Carthage, June 15 (or 16), a.d. 401. Johnson.
See Can. Afr., 78. In this council the letters of Anastasius the Roman Pontiff were read,
admonishing the Catholic bishops concerning the Donatists. In the consulship of those most
illustrious men Vencentius and Flavius, on the Ides of September, at Carthage, in the
secretarium of the restored basilica. When we had been gathered together in council in the
church at Carthage and had taken our seats, bishops from all the African Provinces, that
is to say, Aurelius, the bishop of that see with his colleagues (just who they were is
made evident by their signatures) [the same bishop Aurelius said]: When the letters of our
most blessed brother and fellow priest, Anastasius, bishop of the Church of Rome, had been
read, in which he exhorted us out of the solicitude and sincerity of his paternal and
brotherly love, that we should in no way dissimulate with regard to the wiles and
wickednesses of the Donatist heretics and schismatics, by which they gravely vex the
Catholic Church of Africa, we thank our Lord that he hath vouchsafed to inspire that best
and holy archbishop with such a pious care for the members of Christ, although in divers
lands, yet builded together into the one body of Christ.

CANON LXVI

(Greek lxix.) That the Donatists are to be treated leniently. Then when all firings had
been considered and treated of which seem to conduce to the advantage of the church, the
Spirit of God suggesting and admonishing us, we determined to act leniently and
pacifically with the before-mentioned men, although they were cut off from the unity of
the Lord's body by an unruly dissent, so that (as much as in us lies) to all those who
have been caught in the net of their communion and society, it might be known throughout
all the provinces of Africa, how they have been overcome by miserable error, holding
different opinions, "that perchance," as the Apostle says, when we have corrected them
with gentleness, "God should grant them repentance for the acknowledging of the truth, and
that they might be snatched out of the snares of the devil, who are led captive of him at
his will."

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon LXVI. It seemed good that the Donatists should be treated kindly
and with leniency, even if they should separate themselves from the Church, so that
perchance through their respect f or our great gentleness they may be loosed from their
captivity. The introduction refers to the Synod of Carthage of September 13,401, and this
canon is part of Canon j. of that Synod. We are indebted to the Ballerini for collecting
the acts of this Synod by a comparison of the pseudo-Isidore, Dionysius, Ferrandus and the
quotations contained in the acts of the Synod of Carthage of 525.

CANON LXVII

(Greek lxx.) Of the letters to be sent to the judges, that they may take note of the
things done between the Donatists and the Maximianists. Therefore it seemed good that
letters should be given from our council to the African judges, from whom it would seem
suitable that this should be sought, that in this matter they would aid the common mother,
the Catholic Church, that the episcopal authority may be fortified in the cities; that is
to say that by their judicial power and with diligence out of their Christian faith, they
enquire and record in the public acts, that all may have a firm notion of it, what has
taken place in all those places in which the Maximianists, who made a schism from them,
have obtained basilicas.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon LXVII. The secular arm must be implored by synodal letters to
assist our common Mother the Catholic Church against those by whom the authority of the
bishop is despised. This canon is the other half of Canon j. of the Synod of Carthage,
September 13, a.d. 401. Johnson. Maximianists were a sect bred out of the Donatists, and
separating from them.

CANON LXVIII

(Greek lxxi.) That the Donatist clergy are to be received into the Catholic Church as
clergymen. IT moreover seemed good that letters be sent to our brethren and fellow-
bishops, and especially to the Apostolic See, over which our aforesaid venerable brother
and colleague Anastasius, presides, that [epeidh in the Greek, quo in the Latin] he may
know that Africa is in great need, for the peace and prosperity of the Church, that those
Donatists who were clergymen and who by good advice had desired to return to Catholic
unity, should be treated according to the will and judgment of each Catholic bishop who
governs the Church in that place; and, if it seem good for Christian peace, they be
received with their honours, as it is clear was done in the former times of this same
division. And that this was the case the example of the majority, yea, of nearly all the
African Churches in which this error had sprung up, testify; not that the Council which
met about this matter in foreign parts should be done away, but that it may remain in
force with regard to those who so will to come over to the Catholic Church that there be
procured by them no breaking of unity. But those through whom Catholic unity was seen to
have been altogether perfected or assisted by the manifest winning of the souls of their
brethren in the places where they live, there shall not be objected to them the decree
contrary to their honour adopted by a foreign council, for salvation is shut off to no
one, that is to say, that those ordained by the Donatist party, if having been corrected
they have been willing to return to the Catholic Church, are not to be received in their
grades, according to the foreign council; but they are to be excepted through whom they
received the advice to return to Catholic unity.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon LXVIII. Those ordained by the Donatists, even though their
reception has been forbidden by a foreign synod, since it is truly good that all should be
saved, if they correct themselves, let them be received. Balsamon. This canon is special,
for it seemed good to the fathers that such of the Donatists as came to the orthodox faith
should be so received as to hold the grade of their holy orders, even though a
transmarine, that is to say an Italian, council had decreed otherwise. Aristenus. Those
Donatists who are penitent and anathematize their heresy are to be allowed to remain in
their proper rank, and be numbered among the clergy of the Catholic Church, because Africa
was labouring under a great shortness of clergy. This canon is Canon ij. of Carthage,
Sept., a.d. 401. Johnson. Whether the Donatists' clergy should be re-ordained was only a
point of discipline; for the Donatists retained Episcopacy. Therefore the African fathers,
as they leave other churches to their liberty, so at the same time they declare that they
would continue their old practice, and leave every bishop to act according to his own
discretion in this matter. Probably, one great motive, besides that of peace, which they
had to this, was the great scarcity of clergymen in Africa, of which Aurelius complains in
his speech, inserted into the Acts before Canon 77 (61), and proposes that they send to
the bishops of Rome and Milan for a supply. And that this was the true reason, does in
some measure appear from the words of the Latin canon at large, in which the occasion of
this decree is said to be propter necessitatem. And this is the most probable reason why
it is left to the discretion of the bishop, whether to admit Donatist clergymen as such,
if he had occasion for their service. And after all it is clear from this very canon, that
other churches had determined this point the contrary way. Therefore Mr. Calamy exceeds
when he says: "As for the Donatists, all agree that their orders were acknowledged."
Further, he would have it thought probable that orders were not always conferred among the
Donatists by persons superior to presbyters. This he would infer from the great number of
the bishops of that faction in Africa, viz., 278, many of which (says he) could be no more
than parish ministers. But why so? Were there not above four hundred Catholic bishops? And
why not as many of one side as the other? If our dissenters of any sort had fallen into
the Episcopal form of government, no question but they would have had a bishop in every
city at least, and equalled our church in the number of prelates.

CANON LXIX

(Greek lxxii.) That a legation be sent to the Donatists for the sake of making peace. IT
further seemed good, that when these things were done, legates should be sent from our
number to those of the Donatists whom they hold as bishops, or to the people, for the sake
of preaching peace and unity, without which Christian salvation cannot be attained; and
that these legates should direct the attention of all to the fact that they have no just
objection to urge against the Catholic Church. And especially that this be made manifest
to all by the municipal acts (on account of the weight of their documents) what they
themselves had done in the case of the Maximianists, their own schismatics. For in this
case it is shown them by divine grace, if they will but heed it, that their separation
from the unity of the Church is as iniquitous as they now proclaim the schism of the
Maximianists from themselves to be. Nevertheless from the number, those whom they
condemned by the authority of their plenary council, they received back with their
honours, and accepted the baptism which they had given while condemned and cut off. And
thus let them see how with stupid heart they resist the peace of the Church scattered
throughout the whole world, when they do these things on the part of Donatus, neither do
they say that they are contaminated by communion with those whom they so receive for the
making of peace, and yet they despise us, that is the Catholic Church, which is
established even in the extreme parts of the earth, as being defiled by the communion of
those whom the accusers have not been able to win over to themselves.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon LXIX. It seemed good that legates be sent to preach peace and
unity to the Donatists who had been converted to the orthodox faith. This canon is Canon
iij. of Carthage, September, a.d. 401.

CANON LXX

(Greek lxxiii.) What clerics should abstain from their wives. Moreover since incontinence
has been charged against some clergymen with regard to their own wives it has seemed good
that bishops, presbyters, and deacons should according to the statutes already made
abstain even from their own wives; and unless they do so that they should be removed from
the clerical office. But the rest of the clergy shall not be forced to this but the custom
of each church in this matter shall be followed.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon LXX. Bishops, presbyters and deacons shall abstain for their
wives or else be removed from the ecclesiastical order. But the rest of the clergy shall
not be forced to the same: but let the custom be observed. This is Canon iv. of Carthage,
September, a.d. 401. Johnson. A repetition of Canon 25 (28).

CANON LXXI

(Greek lxxiv.) Of those who leave in neglect their own people. Moreover it seemed good
that no one should be allowed to leave his chief cathedral and go to another church built
in the diocese, or to neglect the care and frequent attendance upon his own cathedral by
reason of too great care for his own affairs.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon LXXI. It seemed good that no bishop shall translate himself to
another see, leaviny his own, nor that through a care for his own affairs he should
neglect his diocese. This is Canon vj. of Carthage, September, a.d. 401. Johnson. See
Canons 53 (57), 56 (60). "Principalis Cathedra," his own Cathedral.

CANON LXXII

(Greek lxxv.) Of the baptism of infants when there is some doubt of their being already
baptized. Item, it seemed good that whenever there were not found reliable witnesses who
could testify that without any doubt they were baptized and when the children themselves
were not, on account of their tender age, able to answer concerning the giving of the
sacraments to them, all such children should be baptized without scruple, lest a
hesitation should deprive them of the cleansing of the sacraments. This was urged by the
Moorish Legates, our brethren, since they redeem many such from the barbarians.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon LXXII. It seemed good that they should be baptized about whom
there was an ambiguity whether they had been baptized or no; test they might through that
doubt lose the divine ablution. This is Canon vij. of Carthage, September, a.d. 401.

CANON LXXIII

(Greek lxxvi.) The date of Easter and the date of the Council should be announced. Item,
it seemed good that the day of the venerable Easter should be intimated to all by the
subscription of formed letters; and that the same should be observed with regard to the
date of the Council, according to the decree of the Council of Hippo, that is to say the
X. Calends of September, and that it should be written to the primates of each province so
that when they summon their councils they do not impede this day.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon LXXIII. It seemed good that the day of the Holy Easter should be
announced on the day of the annual Synod, or on the tenth day before the calends of
September. This is Canon viii. of Carthage, September, a.d. 401. Johnson. See Can. 51
(55). "The time of council," i.e., of the national council at Carthage. The Greek canon
says h pro deka kalandwn, and Zonaras makes this the 21st of August, but he mistakes in
his calculation. Canon LXXIV. (Greek LXXVII.) That no bishop who is an intercessor is to
hold the see where he is intercessor. Item, it has been decreed that it is not lawful to
any intercessor to retain the see to which he has been appointed as intercessor, by any
popular movements and seditions; but let him take care that within a year tie provide them
with a bishop: but if he shall neglect to do so, when the year is done, another
intercessor shall be appointed.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon LXXIV. It seemed good that the bishop who had been called in as
an intercessor, by the zeal and dissensions of the people, should not be allowed to become
the occupant of its throne: but let a bishop be provided within a year, or else in the
next. year let another intercessor be appointed. This is Canon IX. of Carthage, September,
a.d. 401. Johnson. We here call this officer "Guardian of the spiritualities" in the
vacancy of the see.

CANON LXXV

(Greek lxxviii.) Of asking from the Emperors defenders of the Churches. ON account of the
afflictions of the poor by whose troubles the Church is worn out without any intermission,
it seemed good to all that the Emperors be asked to allow defenders for them against the
power of the rich to be chosen under the supervision of the bishops.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon LXXV. That the bishop be not annoyed, let Defensors be appointed.
This is Canon X. of Carthage, September, 401. Johnson. See note on Can. Chalcedon, 23.

CANON LXXVI

(Greek lxxix.) Of bishops who do not put in an appearance at Council. Item, it seemed good
that as often as the council is to be assembled, the bishops who are impeded neither by
age, sickness, or other grave necessity, come together, and that notice be given to the
primates of their several provinces, that from all the bishops there be made two or three
squads, and of each of these squads there be elected some who shall be promptly ready on
the council day: but should they not be able to attend, let them write their excuses in
the tractory, or if after the coming of the tractory certain necessities suddenly arise by
chance, unless they send to their own primate an account of their impediment, they ought
to be content with the communion of their own Church.

Notes.

Those who do not attend the annual synod, unless they be involuntarily prevented, must be
satisfied with the communion of their own churches. This is Canon xj., of Carthage,
September, 401. Johnson. "Tractory" has several significations; here it seems to denote
the written return made by the Primate of the province to the synodical letter sent by the
Bishop of Carthage. In the acts inserted between canon 90th and 91st "Tractoria" seems to
denote the letter of the Primate to the inferior bishops for choosing legates, if it do
not rather denote the Bishop of Carthage's circular-letter to all the primates, as it does
in the next paragraph. [The penalty in the last clause is] a very singular sort of
censure, and very moderate. See Can. 80 (83).

CANON LXXVII

(Greek lxxx.) Of Cresconius. Concerning Cresconius of Villa Regis this seemed good to all,
that the Primate of Numidia should be informed on this matter so that he should by his
letters summon the aforementioned Cresconius in order that at the next plenary Council of
Africa he should not put off making an appearance. But if he contemns the summons and does
not come, let him recognize the fact that sentence should be pronounced against him.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon LXXVII. Unless Cresconius who has been summoned by letter to the
Synod, shall appear, let him know that he will have sentence given against him. This canon
was probably formerly an appendix (so Hefele thinks) to Canon xj., of the Synod of
Carthage of September 13, 401.

CANON LXXVIII

(Greek lxxxi.) Of the Church of Hippo-Diarrhytus. IT further seemed good that since the
destitution of the Church of Hippo-Diarrhytus should no longer be neglected, and the
churches there are retained by those who have declined the infamous communion of Equitius,
that certain bishops be sent from the present council, viz.: Reginus, Alypius, Augustine,
Maternus, Theasius, Evodius, Placian, Urban, Valerius, Ambivius, Fortunatus, Quodvultdeus,
Honoratus, Januarius, Aptus, Honoratus, Ampelius, Victorian, Evangelus and Rogation; and
when those had been gathered together, and those had been corrected who with culpable
pertinacity were of opinion that this flight of the same Equitius should be waited for,
let a bishop be ordained for them by the vote of all. But if these should not be willing
to consider peace, let them not prevent the choosing for ordination of a bishop, for the
advantage of the church which has been so long destitute.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon LXXVIII. It seemed good that, after Equitius had been condemned
by the universal vote, a bishop of Hippo should be elected, and that they should in no way
impede the ordination of a prelate for that church. This canon was likewise probably an
appendix, to Canon xiij, of the Synod of Carthage of September 13th, 401, according to
Hefele. Johnson. See Can. Afr., 65. Here the place of election and consecration seems to
be the vacant see. Canon LXXIX. (Greek LXXXII.) Of clerics who do not take care to have
their causes argued within a year. IT was further decreed that as often as clergymen
convicted and confessed of any crime either on account of eorum, quorum verecundiae
parcitur, or on account of the opprobrium to the Church, and of the insolent glorying of
heretics and Gentiles, if perchance they are willing to be present at their cause and to
assert their innocence, let them do so within one year of their excommunication; if in
truth they neglect during a year to purge their cause, their voice shall not be heard
afterwards.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon LXXIX. When a cleric has been convicted of a crime, if he says
his cause should be heard upon appeal, let the appeal be made within a year; after that
the appeal shall not be admitted. This is Canon xiij. of Carthage, September, a.d. 401.
Johnson. Though the Latin syntax of this canon is very confused, and, I am apt to think,
corrupted, yet it is evident enough, that this is the intention of it.

CANON LXXX

(Greek lxxxiii.) That it is not permitted to make superiors of monasteries nor to ordain
as clerics those who are received from a monastery not one's own. Item, it seemed good
that if any bishop wished to advance to the clericature a monk received from a monastery
not under his jurisdiction, or shall have appointed him superior of a monastery of his
own, the bishop who shall have thus acted shall be separated from the communion of others
and shall rest content with the communion of his own people alone, but the monk shall
continue neither as cleric nor superior.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon LXXX. Whoever shall receive a monk from a monastery not subject
to his jurisdiction, and if he shall ordain him to the clerical estate or shall appoint
him prior of his monastery, such an one shall be cut off from communion. This is Canon
xiv. of Carthage, September, a.d. 401. Johnson. See Canons 76 (79) and 122 (123).

CANON LXXXI

(Greek lxxxiv.) Of bishops who appoint heretics or heathens as their heirs. Item, it was
ordained that if any bishop should prefer to his Church strangers to blood relationship
with him, or his heretical relatives, or pagans as his heirs, he shall be anathematized
even after his death, and his name shall by no means be recited among those of the priests
of God. Nor can he be excused if he die intestate, because being a bishop he was bound not
to postpone making such a disposition of his goods as was befitting his profession.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon LXXXI. Let a bishop be anathema if he make heretics and heathen
his heirs. This is Canon xv. of Carthage, September, a.d. 401. Johnson. There were in this
age two written tables kept in every church, whereof one contained the names of all
eminent bishops and clergymen now living, with whom that church held communion and
correspondence; the other, the names of all eminent bishops, and other men of their own or
other churches, now dead. The deacon rehearsed all the names, in both tables at the altar,
whenever the Eucharist was celebrated. These tables were by the Greeks called Diptuka, and
by some English writers "diptychs." See Can. of Peter of Alex., 14.

CANON LXXXII

(Greek lxxxv.) Of manumissions. Item, it seemed good that the Emperor be petitioned with
regard to announcing manumissions in church.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon LXXXII. The imperial permission must be asked for the making of
the manumission of slaves in churches. Aristenus. This is the same as the sixty-fourth
[Greek numbering] canon, and is there explained. This is Canon xvj. of Carthage,
September, a.d. 401. Johnson. A repetition of Canon 64 (67).

CANON LXXXIII

(Greek lxxxvi.) Of false Memories of Martyrs. Item, it seemed good that the altars which
have been set up here and there, in fields and by the wayside as Memories of Martyrs, in
which no body nor reliques of martyrs can be proved to have been laid up, should be
overturned by the bishops who rule over such places, if such a thing can be done. But
should this be impossible on account of the popular tumult it would arouse, the people
should none the less be admonished not to frequent such places, and that those who believe
rightly should be held bound by no superstition of the place. And no memory of martyrs
should at all be accepted, unless where there is found the body or some reliques, on which
is declared traditionally and by good authority to have been originally his habitation, or
possession, or the scene of his passion. For altars which have been erected anywhere on
account of dreams or inane quasi-revelations of certain people, should be in every way
disapproved of.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon LXXXIII. An altar in the fields or in a vineyard which lacks the
reliques of the martyrs should be thrown down unless it would cause a public tumult to do
so: and the same is the case with such as have been set up on account of dreams and false
revelations. This is Canon xvij. of Carthage, September, a.d. 401.

CANON LXXXIV

(Greek lxxxvii.) Of extirpating the remains of the idols. Item, it seemed good to petition
the most glorious Emperors that the remains of idolatry not only in images, but in any
places whatever or groves or trees, should altogether be taken away.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon LXXXIV. Let all remains of idolatry be abolished whether in
statues, or in places, or groves or trees. This is Canon xviij. of Carthage, September,
a.d. 401. Johnson. See Canon 58 (62.)

CANON LXXXV

(Greek lxxviii.) That by the bishop of Carthage, when there shall be need, letters shall
be written and subscribed in the name of all the bishops. IT was said by all the bishops:
If any letters are to be composed in the name of the council it seemed good that the
venerable bishop who presides over this See should vouchsafe to dictate and sign them in
the name of all, among which also are those to the episcopal legates, who are to be sent
throughout the African provinces, in the matter of the Donatists; and it seemed good that
the letters given them should contain the tenor of the mandate which they are not to go
beyond. And they subscribed: I, Aurelius, bishop of the church of Carthage have consented
to this decree and having read it have signed it. Likewise all the rest of the bishops
subscribed.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon LXXXV. It seemed good that whatever letters were to be sent from
the Synod should be written and subscribed by the bishop of Carthage in the name of all.
This is Canon xix. of Carthage, September, a.d. 401.In this Council previous decrees are
confirmed. In the fifth consulate of the most glorious Emperors Arcadius and Honorius,
Augusti, the VI Calends of September, in the City of Milevis, in the secretarium of the
basilica, when Aurelius the bishop of Carthage had taken his seat in plenary council, the
deacons standing by, Aurelius, the bishop, said: Since the body of the holy Church is one,
and there is one head of all the members, it has come to pass by the divine permission and
assistance given to our weakness, that we, invited out of brotherly love, have come to
this church. Wherefore I beg your charity to believe that our coming to you is neither
superfluous, nor unacceptable to all; and that the consent of all of us may make it
manifest that we agree with the decrees already confirmed by the Council at Hippo or which
were defined afterwards by a larger synod at Carthage, these shall now be read to us in
order. Then at last the agreement of your holiness will appear clearer than light, if they
know that the things lawfully defined by us in former councils, ye have set forth, not
only by your consent to these acts, but also by your subscriptions.

Xantippus, bishop of the first see of Numidia said: I believe what pleased all the
brethren and the statutes they confirmed with their hands; we by our subscribing our names
shew that it pleases us also, and have confirmed them with our superscription. Nicetius,
the bishop of the first see of Mauritania Sitifensis said: The decrees which have been
read, since they do not lack reason, and have been approved by all, these also are
pleasing to my littleness, and I will confirm them with my subscription.

CANON LXXXVI

(Greek lxxix.) Of the order of bishops, that those ordained more recently do not dare to
take precedence of those ordained before them. Valentine, the bishop, said: If your good
patience will permit, I follow the things which were done in time past in the Church of
Carthage, and which were illustrious having been confirmed by the subscriptions of the
brethren, and I profess that we intend to preserve this. For this we know, that
ecclesiastical discipline has always remained inviolate: therefore let none of the
brethren dare to place himself before those ordained earlier than himself; but by the
offices of charity this has always been shewn to those ordained earlier, which always
should be accepted joyfully by those ordained more recently. Let your holiness give
command that this order be strengthened by your interlocutions. Aurelius, the bishop,
said: It would not be fitting that we should repeat these things, were it not for the
existence of certain inconsiderate minds, which would induce us to making such statutes;
but this is a common cause about which our brother and fellow bishop has spoken, that each
one of us should recognize the order decreed to him by God, and that the more recent
should defer to the earlier ordained, and they should presume to do nothing when these
have not been consulted. Wherefore I say, now that I think of it, that they who think they
may presume to take precedence over those ordained before them, should be coerced suitably
by the great council. Xantippus, bishop of the first see of Numidia, said: All the
brethren present have heard what our brother and fellow bishop Aurelius has said, what
answer o we make?

Datian, the bishop, said: The decrees made by our ancestors should be strengthened by our
assent, so that the action taken by the Church of Carthage in past synods should hold
fast, being confirmed by the full assent of all of us. And all the bishops said: This
order has been preserved by our fathers and by our ancestors, and shall be preserved by us
through the help of God, the rights of the primacy of Numidia and of Mauritania being kept
intact.Of the archives and matricula of Numidia. Moreover it seemed good to all the
bishops who subscribed in this council that the matricula and the archives of Numidia
should be at the first see and in the Metropolis, that is Constantina.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon LXXXVI. Thou shalt not prefer thyself to thine elders, but shalt
follow them. For he that spurns those who were before him should be frowned down upon. The
introduction belongs to the Synod of Milevis, of August 27, a.d. 402. This canon (lxxxvj.)
is Canon j., of the above named Synod. Johnson. From this canon it appears that the
primacy in Africa was ambulatory, and belonged to the senior bishop of the province. If
the primacy had been fixed to the bishop of any certain city, as in other countries, there
would have been a salvo or exception for that bishop, as there is in the 24th canon of the
Synod of Bracara [Braga] in Spain, which orders that all bishops take place according to
their seniority, with a reserve to the bishop of the metropolis. The bishop of Carthage
was not included in this canon; for it is evident that he had a precedence annexed to his
see, and that he was in reality a sort of patriarch. The reason why Numidia and Mauritania
are particularly mentioned is, that some disputes had been started there on that subject.

CANON LXXXVII

(Greek xc.) Concerning Quodvultdeus, the bishop. IN the case of Quodvultdeus of Centuria,
it pleased all the bishops that no one should communicate with him until his cause should
be brought to a conclusion, for his accuser when he sought to bring the cause before our
council, upon being asked whether he was willing with him to be tried before the bishops,
at first said that he was, but on another day answered that he was not willing, and went
away. Under these circumstances to deprive him of his bishoprick, before the conclusion of
his cause was known, could commend itself to no Christian as a just act.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon LXXXVII. Since Quodvultdeus at first promised to come to our
synod when his opposer had asked that he be admitted, and afterwards withdrew, saying that
that was displeasing to him, he should be excommunicated, until the cause is finished. But
it is not just that he be deposed before sentence is given. This canon is part of Canon
ij. of Synod of Milevis, a.d. 402.

CANON LXXXVIII

(Greek xci.) Of Maximian, the bishop. BuT in the case of Maximian of Vagai it seemed good
that letters be sent from the council both to him and to his people; that he should vacate
the bishoprick, and that they should request another to be appointed for them.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon LXXXVIII. Let Maximian of Bagai be expelled from hischurch, and
another be set in his room. This canon is remaining part of Canon ij., of the Synod of
Milevis, a.d. 402.

CANON LXXXIX

(Greek xcii.) That bishops who are ordained shall receive letters from their ordainers
bearing the date and the name of the consul. IT further seemed good that whoever
thereafter should be ordained by the bishops throughout the African provinces, should
receive from their ordainers letters, written in their own hands, containing the name of
the consul and the date, that no altercation might arise concerning which were ordained
first and which afterwards.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon LXXXIX. Whoever is ordained in Africa let him have letters signed
by the proper hand of him that ordained him, containing the date and the name of the
Consul. This is Canon iij. of Milevis, a.d. 402. Johnson. It is evident from this canon
that the church in this age followed the date of the civil government, which was in the
consulship of Caius and Titius, as our civil date is in the 1st, 2d, 3d, etc., year of the
reign of our King or Queen.

CANON XC

(Greek xciii.) Of those who have once read in church, that they cannot be advanced by
others. Item, it seemed good that whoever in church even once had read should not be
admitted to the ministry (clericatum) by another church. And they subscribed: I, Aurelius,
bishop of the Church of Carthage, have consented to this decree, and, having read it, have
signed it. Likewise also the rest of the bishops signed. Ancient Epitome of Canon XC. He
who has only once read in a Church [i.e., diocese] shall not be admitted into the clergy
by another Church.This is Canon iv. of Milevis, 402. There is set forth in this council
what the bishops did who were sent as legates across seas. In the consulship of those most
illustrious men, the most glorious Emperor Theodosius Augustus, and Rumoridus, the VIII.
Calends of September, at Carthage, in the basilica of the second region, when Aurelius the
bishop had taken his seat in plenary council, the deacons standing by, Aurelius, the
bishop, said: From stress of circumstances, venerable brethren, I, although so small, have
been led to assemble you in council. For a while ago, as your holinesses will remember,
while holding a council we sent our brothers as legates to the regions beyond seas. It is
right that these should at this meeting of your holinesses narrate the course of their now
finished legation, and although yesterday when we were in session concerning this matter,
besides ecclesiastical matters, we paid some prolonged attention to what they had done,
nevertheless it is right that to-day the discussion of yesterday should be confirmed by
ecclesiastical action.Of the bishops of the African provinces who were not present at this
council.

The right order of things demands that first of all we should enquire concerning our
brethren and fellow bishops, who were to come to this council either from Byzacena or at
least from Mauritania, like as they decreed that they would be present in this council.
And when Philologius, Geta, Venustianus, and Felician, bishops of the province of Byzacena
had presented and read their letters of legation, and Lucian and Silvanus, legates of the
province of Mauritania. Sitiphensis, had done the same, the bishop Aurelius said: Let the
text of these writings be placed in the acts.Of the Byzacene bishops. Numidius, the
bishop, said: We observe that our brethren and fellow bishops of the province of Byzacena
and of the province of Mauritania Sitiphensis have sent legates to the council; we now
seek whether the legates of Numidia have come, or at least of the province of Tripoli or
of Mauritania-Caesariensis.Of the bishops of Mauritania Sitiphensis.

Lucian and Silvanus, the bishops, legates of the Province of Mauritania Sitiphensis said:
The tractory came late to our Caesarian brethren or they would have been here; and they
will certainly come, and we are confident of their attitude of mind that whatever shall be
determined by this council, they without doubt will assent unto.Of the bishops of Numidia.
Alypius, bishop of the church of Tagaste said: We have come from Numidia, I and the holy
brethren Augustine and Possidius, but a legation could not be sent from Numidia, because
by the tumult of the recruits the bishops have either been prevented from coming or fully
occupied by their own necessary affairs in their sees. For after I had brought to the holy
Senex Xantippus your holiness's tractory, this seemed good in the present business that a
council should be appointed, to which a delegation with instructions should be sent, but
when I reported to him in later letters the impediment of the recruits, of which I have
just spoken, he excused them by his own rescripts. Aurelius, the bishop, said: There is no
doubt that the aforesaid brethren and bishops of Numidia, when they shall have received
the acts of the council, will give their consent and will take pains to carry into effect
whatever shall have been adopted. It is therefore necessary that by the solicitude of this
see what we shall have determined be communicated to them. Of the bishops of Tripoli.

This is what I could learn concerning our brethren of Tripoli, that they appointed our
brother Dulcicius as a legate: but because he could not come, certain of our sons coming
from the aforesaid province asserted that the aforesaid had taken shipping, and that it
was thought that his arrival had been delayed by storms; nevertheless also concerning
these matters, if your charity is willing, this form shall be preserved, that the placets
of the council be sent to them. And all the bishops said: What your holiness has decreed
pleases us all.

CANON XCI

(Greek xciv.) Of holding meetings with the Donatists. Aurelius, the bishop, said: What has
come out in the handling of your charity, Ithink this should be confirmed by
ecclesiastical acts. For the profession of all of you shews that each one of us should
call together in his city the chiefs of the Donatists either alone and with one of his
neighbour bishops, so that in like manner in the different cities and places there should
be meetings of them assembled by the magistrates or seniors of the places. And let this be
made an edict if it seems good to all. And all the bishops said: It seems good to all, and
we all have confirmed this with our subscription. Also we desire that your holiness sign
the letters to be sent from the council to the judges. Aurelius, the bishop, said: If it
seems good to your charity, let the form of summoning them be read, in order that we all
may hold the same tenour of proceeding. All the bishops said: Let it be read. Laetus the
Notary read.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XCI. Let each of the bishops meet with the leaders of the
Donatists in his own city; or let him associate with himself a neighbouring bishop, that
they together may meet them. This introduction together with the propositions of the
different bishops belongs to the Synod of Carthage of August, 403.This canon (xcj.) is
Canon j. of that synod.

CANON XCII

(Greek xcv.) Form of convening the Donatists. That bishop of that church said: What by the
authority of that most ample see we shall have impetrated, we ask your gravity to have
read, and that you order it to be joined to the acts and carried into effect. When the
jussio had been read and joined to the acts, the bishop of the Catholic Church, said:
Vouchsafe to listen to the mandate to be sent through your gravity to the Donatists, and
to insert it in the acts, and to carry it to them, and informs us in your acts of their
answer. "We, sent by the authority of our Catholic Council, have called you together,
desiring to rejoice in your correction, bearing in mind the charity of the Lord who said:
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God; and moreover he
admonished through the prophet those who say they are not our brothers, that we ought to
say: Ye are our brethren. Therefore you ought not to despise this pacific commonitory
coming of love, so that if ye think we have any part of the truth, ye do not hesitate to
say so: that is, when your council is gathered together, ye delegate of your number
certain to whom you intrust the statement of your case; so that we may be able to do this
also, that there shall be delegated from our Council who with them delegated by you may
discuss peacefully, at a determined place and time, whatever question there is which
separates your communion from us;

and that at length the old error may receive an end through the assistance of our Lord
God, lest through the animosity of men, weak souls, and ignorant people should perish by
sacrilegious dissension. But if ye shall accept this proposition in a fraternal spirit,
the truth will easily shine forth, but if ye are not willing to do this, your distrust
will be easily known. And when this had been read, all the bishops said: This pleases us
well, so let it be. And they subscribed: I, Aurelius, bishop of the Carthaginian Church,
have consented to this decree, and having read it, have subscribed it. Likewise also the
rest of the bishops signed. This synod sent a legation to the Princes against tits
Donatists.The most glorious emperor Honorius Augustus, being consul for the sixth time, on
the Calends of July, at Carthage in the basilica of the second region. In this council
Theasius and Evodius received a legation against the Donatists.In this council was
inserted the commonitorium which follows.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XCII. What things should be said to the Donatists are these: "We
greatly desire to rejoice in your conversion; for we have been commanded to say even to
those not desiring to be our brethren, `Ye are our brothers.' We come therefore to you and
we exhort you that if you have any defence to make, ye should appoint certain persons to
whom thisshould be entrusted, who, at a fixed time and place, shall urge your case;
otherwise your distrust wilt be thenceforward patent."This canon is Canon ij of the Synod
of Carthage of August 25, a.d. 403.

CANON XCIII

(Greek xcvi.) The character of the Commonitory which the legates received against the
Donatists. The Commonitorium for our brothers Theasius and Evodius, sent as legates from
the Council of Carthage to the most glorious and most religious princes. When by the help
of the Lord they are come into the presence of the most pious princes, they shall declare
to them with what fulness of confidence, according to the direction of the council of the
year before, the prelates of the Donatists had been urged by the municipal authority to
assemble, in order that if they really meant their professions, they might by fit persons
chosen from their number, enter into a peaceful conference with us in Christian meekness,
and whatever they held as truth they might not hesitate to declare it frankly; so that
from such conference the sincerity of the Catholic position, which has been conspicuous
for so long a time, might be perceived even by those who from ignorance or obstinacy were
opposing themselves to it. But deterred by their want of confidence they scarcely ventured
to reply. And forsooth, because we had discharged toward them the offices which become
bishops and peacemakers, and they had no answer to make to the truth, they betook
themselves to unreasonable acts of brute force, and treacherously oppressed many of the
bishops and clergy, to say nothing of the laity. And some of the churches they actually
invaded, and tried to assault still others.

And now, it behoves the gracious clemency of their Majesties to take measures that the
Catholic Church, which has begotten them as worshippers of Christ in her womb, and has
nourished them with the strong meat of the faith, should by their forethought, be
defended, lest violent men, taking advantage of the times of religious excitement, should
by fear overcome a weak people, whom by argument they were not able to pervert. It is well
known how often the vile gatherings (detestabilis manus) of the Circumcelliones have been
forbidden by the laws, and also condemned by many decrees of the Emperors, their majesties
most religious predecessors. Against the madness of these people it is not unusual nor
contrary to the holy Scriptures to ask for secular [qeiaj] in the Greek] protection, since
Paul the Apostle, as is related in the authentic Acts of the Apostles, warded off a
conspiracy of certain lawless men by the help of the mili- tary. Now then we ask that
there be extended to the Catholic Churches, without any dissimulation, the protection of
the ordinum [i.e. companies of soldiers, stationed] in each city, and of the holders of
the suburban estates in the various places. At the same time it will be necessary to ask
that they give commandment that the law, set forth by their father Theodosius, of pious
memory, which imposed a fine of ten pounds of gold upon both the ordainers and the
ordained among heretics, and which was also directed against proprietors at whose houses
conventicles were held, be confirmed anew; so that it may be effective with persons of
this sort when Catholics, provoked by their wiles, shall lay complaint against them; so
that through fear at least, they may cease from making schisms and from the wickedness of
the heretics, since they refuse to be cleansed and corrected by the thought of the eternal
punishment.

Let request be also made that the law depriving heretics of the power of being able to
receive or bequeath by gift or by will, be straightway renewed by their Piety, so that all
right of giving or receiving may be taken away from those who, blinded by the madness of
obstinacy, are determined to continue in the error of the Donatists. With regard to those
who by considerations of unity and peace are willing to correct themselves, let permission
be granted to them to receive their inheritance, the law notwithstanding, even though the
bequest by gift or inheritance was made while they were yet living in the error of the
heretics; those of course being excepted, who under the stress of legal proceedings have
sought to enter the Catholic Church; for it may well be supposed, that persons of this
latter sort desired Catholic unity, not so much from fear of the judgment of heaven, as
from the greed of earthly gain.

For the furtherance of all these things the help of the Powers (Porestatum) of each one of
the provinces is needed. With regard to other matters, whatever they shall perceive is for
the Church's interests, this we have resolved that the legation have full authority to do
and to carry into effect. Moreover it seemed good to us all, that letters from our
assembly should be sent to the most glorious Emperors and most Excellent Worthinesses,
whereby they may be assured of the agreement of us all that the legates should be sent by
us to their most blessed court. Since it is a very slow business for us all to set our
names to these letters, and in order that they may not be burdened with the signature of
each one of us, we desire thee, brother Aurelius, that thy charity be good enough to sign
them in the name of us all. And to this they all agreed.

I, Aurelius, Bishop of the Church of Carthage have consented to this decree and have
subscribed my name. And so all the other bishops subscribed. Letters ought likewise to be
sent to the judges that, until the lord permit the legates to return to us, they give
protection through the soldiers of the cities, and through the holders of the farms of the
Catholic Church. It ought also to be added concerning the dishonest Equitius, which he had
shewn by laying claim to the jus sacerdotum, that he be rejected from the diocese of Hippo
according to the statutes of the Emperors. Letters ought also to be sent to the Bishop of
the Church of Rome in commendation of the legates, and to the other Bishops who may be
where the Emperor is. To this they assented. Likewise I, Aurelius, Bishop of the Church of
Carthage, have consented to this decree, and having read it, have set my name to it.And
all the other bishops likewise subscribed.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XCIII. The Emperors who were born in the true religion and were
educated in the faith, ought to stretch forth a helping hand to the Churches. For the
military band overthrew the dire conspiracy which was threatening Paul. Here follows a
brief declaration of what things were decreed in this Synod. When Stilico a second time
and Anthemius, those illustrious men, were consuls, on the tenth before the calends of
September, at Carthage in the basilica of the second region. I have not written out in
full the acts of this council because they treat of the necessities of the time rather
than of matters of general interest, but for the instruction of the studious I have added
a brief digest of the same council.

CANON XCIV

(Greek xcvii.) Summary of Chapters. That a free delegation be sent to the council from all
the provinces to Mizoneum. Legates and letters were ordered to be sent for the purpose of
directing the free legation: that became the unity had been made only at Carthage, letters
should also be given to the judges, that they might order in the other provinces and
cities the work of union to be proceeded with, and the thanksgivings of the Church of
Carthage for the whole of Africa concerning the exclusion of the Donatists should be sent
with the letters of the bishops to Court (ad Comitatum). The letters of Pope Innocent were
read: that bishops ought not readily to carry causes across seas, and this very thing was
confirmed by the judgment of the bishops themselves; that on account of thanksgiving and
the exclusion of the Donatists, two clerics of the Church of Carthage should be sent to
Court.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XCIV. It seemed good that letters be sent to the Magistrates that
the Donatists be expelled. This introduction is taken from the Synod of Carthage of August
23, 405. There is also added the introduction of the Synod of Carthage of June 13, 407.In
this synod certain things already decreed are corrected. Under the most illustrious
emperors Honorius for the VII time, and Theodosius for the second time, the consuls being
the Augusti, on the Ides of July in Carthage in the basilica of the second region, when
bishop Aurelius together with his other bishops had taken his seat, and while the deacons
stood by, he said: Since it was decreed in the council of Hippo, that each year there
should assemble a plenary council of Africa, not only here in Carthage but also in the
different provinces in their order, and this was reserved that we should determine its
place of meeting sometimes in Numidia and sometimes in Byzacium. But this seemed laborious
to all the brethren.

CANON XCV

(Greek xcviii.) An universal council to be held only when necessary. IT seemed good that
there should be no more the yearly necessity of fatiguing the brethren; but as often as
common cause, that is of the whole of Africa, demands, that letters shall be given on
every side to that see in this matter, that a synod should be gathered in that province,
where the desirability of it induces; but let the causes which are not of general interest
be judged in their own provinces.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XCV. When general necessity so urges, letters are to be sent to
the chief see, and a synod held in a convenient place. But let ordinary causes be settled
in their own provinces. This canon is Canon j. of the Synod of Carthage, a.d. 407.
Johnson. This canon is a tacit revocation of that clause for annual synods in the 18th
canon, which was made in a former council.

CANON XCVI

(Greek xcix.) That from judges who have been chosen, no appeals may be taken. IF an appeal
be taken, let him who makes it choose the judges, and with him he also against whom the
appeal is taken; and from their decision no appeal may be made.Concerning the delegates of
the different provinces. When all the delegates of the different provinces came together,
they have been most graciously received, that is those of the Numidians, Byzacenes,
Stifensian Moors, as well as Caesarians and Tripolitans.Concerning the executors of
Churches. It has seemed good moreover that the appointment of five executors should be
asked for in all matters pertaining to the necessities of the Church, who shall be
portioned off in the different provinces.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XCVI. If one party to a suit takes an appeal, and if both choose
together a judge, no further appeal shall be allowed. This canon is Canon ij. of Carthage,
a.d.407.

CANON XCVII

(Greek c.) That there be sought from the Emperor the protection of Advocates in causes
ecclesiastical. IT seemed good that the legates who were about leaving, viz., Vincent and
Fortunatian, should in the name of all the provinces ask from the most glorious Emperors
to give a faculty for the establishment of scholastic defensors, whose shall be the care
of this very kind of business: so that as the priests of the province, they who have
received the faculty as defensors of the Churches in ecclesiastical affairs, as often as
necessity arises, may be able to enter the private apartments of the judges, so as to
resist what is urged on the other side, or to make necessary explanations.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XCVII. That there be asked of the Emperor the appointment of
Patrons for ecclesiastical heads, whose care it should be to defend the Church in its
affairs, and who as priests could easily refer what things were urgent. (Greek ci.) That
the legation be free. IT seemed good that the chosen legates should have at the meeting
freedom of action (legationem liberam). The protest of the Mauritanian bishops against
Primosus. It is evident that those of Mauritania Caesariensis gave evidence in their own
writings that Primosus had been summoned by the chiefs of the Thiganensian city, that he
should present himself to the plenary council according to the imperial constitutions,
and, when sought for, as was right, Primosus was not found, at least so the deacons
reported. But since the same Mauritanians petitioned that letters be sent from the whole
synod to the venerable brother, the aged Innocent, it seemed good that they should be
sent, that he might know that Primosus had been sought at the council and not found at
all.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome. [Lacking.] Balsamon. The contents of this canon being special are
useless, therefore no explanation has been given. This Canon is Canon iij. of Carthage,
a.d. 407. Johnson. See can. 75 (78) and note on Can. Chalced., 23. These officers [i.e.
"defensors"] seem to be called "executores" in the acts of synod just before this canon.
The "priest of the province" was one chosen out of the body of advocates to be counsel to
the province, to act and plead in their behalf; and that he might do it more effectually
he was allowed to have privateconference with the judge.

CANON XCVIII

(Greek cii.) Of the peoples which never had bishops. IT seemed good that such peoples as
had never had bishops of their own should in no way receive such unless it had been
decreed in a plenary council of each province and by the primates, and with the consent of
the bishop of that diocese to which the church belonged.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XCVIII. Whoso never heretofore had a bishop of theirown, unless
the general synod of the Province shall agree to it, and the Primate, in agreement with
him to whom the province in which theChurch is, is subject, shall not have bishops of
their own.This canon is Canon iv. of the Synod ofCarthage, a.d. 407.

CANON XCIX

(Greek ciii.) Of people or dioceses returned from the Donatists. Such communities as have
returned from the Donatists and have had bishops, without doubt may continue to have them
even without any action of the councils, but such a community as had a bishop and when he
dies wish no longer to have a bishop of their own, but to belong to the diocese of some
other bishop, this is not to be denied them. Also such bishops as before the promulgation
of the imperial law concerning unity as brought back their people to the Catholic Church,
they ought to be allowed still to rule them: but from the time of that law of unity, all
the Churches, and their dioceses, and if perchance there be any instruments of the Church
or things pertaining to its rights should belong to the Catholic bishops of those places
to whom the places pertained while under the heretics, whether they be converted to the
Catholic Church or remain unconverted heretics. Whoever after this law shall make any such
usurpation, shall restore as is meet the usurped possessions.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XCIX. Whoever are converted from the Donatists may retain their
own bishops, although they had them without the consent of the synod; and when the bishop
is dead, if they do not wish another to be substituted in his room, but desire to place
themselves under some other bishop, they shall be allowed to do so. And such bishops as
before the union have brought back the people they ruled, let them still rule them. After
the imperial Edict on Unity every church must defend its own rights. This canon is Canon
v. of Carthage, a.d. 407. Johnson. "An imperial law concerning unity" i.e. For uniting all
in the catholic faith, and ejecting the donatistical bishops.

CANON C

(Greek civ.) Of the suggestion of Bishop Maurentius. [Hefele says "The text of this canon
is much corrupted and very difficult to be understood." He gives as a synopsis, "The
council appoints judges in the affair of Bishop Maurentius." (Hefele, Vol. II, p.
443.)]Johnson thus condenses and translates. Bishop Maurentius having an information
against him, lying before the council, moves for a hearing; but the informers don't appear
upon three calls made by the deacons on the day appointed. The cause is referred to Senex
Xantippus, Augustinus, and five more summoned by the council, the informers were to make
up the number twelve.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon C. It is right that sentence be given on the subdeacons who are
said to be present from Nova Germania, who have thrice been sought and not found. But out
of regard to ecclesiastical gentleness, let some be sent to look into the matter.
Balsamon. The contents of this canon are of a privatecharacter, and therefore have not
been commented on. This canon is Canon vj. of Carthage, a.d. 407. Johnson. "Senex" i.e.
Primate Xantippus, as is commonly believed. He and others have this title frequently given
them in the acts of these councils. See can. 8.

CANON CI

(Greek civ. bis) Of making peace between the Churches of Rome and Alexandria. IT seemed
good that a letter be written to the holy Pope Innocent concerning the dissension between
the Churches of Rome and Alexandria, so that each Church might keep peace with the other
as the Lord commanded.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon CI. It seemed good to write to Innocent that the Roman and
Alexandrian churches might be at peace between themselves. This canon is Canon vii. of
Carthage, a.d. 407.

CANON CII

(Greek cv.) Of those who put away their wives or husbands, that so they remain. IT seemed
good that according to evangelical and apostolical discipline a man who had been put away
from his wife, and a woman put away from her husband should not be married to another, but
so should remain, or else be reconciled the one to the other; but if they spurn this law,
they shall be forced to do penance, covering which case we must petition that an imperial
law be promulgated.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon CII. Married people who are loosed must remain unmarried or else
be reconciled, otherwise they shall be forced to do penance. This canon is Canon viii. of
Carthage, a.d. 407, and is found in the Corpus Juris Canonici, Gratian's Decretum, P. II.,
Causa xxxij., Quaest. vij., can. v.

CANON CIII

(Greek cvi.) Of the prayers to be said at the Altar. This also seemed good, that the
prayers which had been approved in synod should be used by all, whether prefaces,
commendations, or laying on of the hand, and that others contrary to the faith should not
be used by any means, but that those only should be said which had been collected by the
learned.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon CIII. [The same as the canon, but omits the last phrase.] This
canon is Canon ix. of Carthage, a.d. 407. Johnson. That is, such forms fitted for the
presenttime or occasion, as our Church uses in her Communion Office before the trisagium,
on Christmas, Easter, etc. These prefaces were very ancient in the Christian church.
Prayers used to recommend the catechumens, penitents, and dying souls to God's protection
were styled "Commendations."

CANON CIV

(Greek cvii.) Of these who ask from the Emperor that secular judges may take cognizance of
theircauses. IT seemed good that whoever should seek from the Emperor, that secular judges
should take cognizance of his business, should be deprived of his office; if however, he
had asked from the Emperor an episcopal trial, no objection should be made.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon CIV. Let not him be a bishop who from the Emperor seeks a public
judgment. This canon is Canon X. of Carthage, a.d. 407. Johnson. See Canon Ant., 12.

CANON CV

(Greek cviii.) Of those who do not communicate in Africa and would go across seas. Whoever
does not communicate in Africa, and goes to communicate across seas, let him be cast out
of the clergy.

Notes.

Ancient Epiome OF Canon CV. Whoever is cut off from communion in Africa,and goes to parts
across seas that he may there communicate, is to be cast out of the clergy. This canon is
Canon j. of Carthage, a.d. 407.

CANON CVI

(Greek cix.) That those who are going to carry their case to court should be careful to
inform either the bishop of Carthage or the bishop ofRome. IT seemed good that whoever
wished to go to court, should give notice in the form which is sent to the Church of the
city of Rome, that from thence also he should receive a formed letter to court. But if
receiving only a formed letter to Rome, and saying nothing about the necessity which he
had of going to court, he willed immediately to go thither, let him be cut off from
communion. But if while at Rome the necessity of going to court suddenly arose, let him
state his necessity to the bishop of Rome and let him carry with him a rescript of the
same Roman bishop. But let the formed letters which are issued by primates and by certain
bishops to their own clergy have the date of Easter; but if it be yet uncertain what is
the date of Easter of that year, let the preceding Easter's date be set down, as it is
customary to date public acts after the consulship.

It further seemed good that those who were sent as delegates from this glorious council
should ask of the most glorious princes whatever they saw would be useful against the
Donatists and Pagans, and their superstitions. It also seemed good to all the bishops that
all conciliar letters be signed by your holiness alone. And they subscribed: I, Aurelius,
Bishop of Carthage, have consented to this decree, and having read it, now subscribe my
name. Likewise also the rest of the bishops subscribed. Ancient Epitome of Canon CVI.
Whoever from any necessity was going tocourt, must declare his intention to the bishop of
Carthage and to the bishop of Rome, and receive a letter dimissory, and otherwise he shall
be excommunicated. Whatever shall seem to the legates useful against the Donatists and
Greeks, and their superstitions, that shall be sought from the Emperor. (Greek cx.) Synod
against the pagans and heretics.

In the consulship of those most illustrious men Bassus and Philip, the xvith Calends of
July, at Carthage, in the secretarium of the restored basilica. In this council the bishop
Fortunatian received a second appointment as legate against the pagans and heretics.Item,
a council against the pagans and heretics. In the consulship of those most illustrious men
Bassus and Philip, the iii. Ides of October at Carthage, in the Secretarium of the
restored basilica*. In this council the bishops Restitutus and Florentius received a
legation against the pagans and heretics, at the time Severus and Macarius were slain, and
on their account the bishops Euodius, Theasius and Victor were put to death.

Notes.

This canon is Canon xij. of Carthage, a.d. 407. Johnson. Of "Formal Letters" see Can. Ap.,
10 (13).

CANON CVII

(Greek cx. continued.) A Council concerning a bishop taking cognizance. IN the consulate
of the most glorious Emperors Honorius for the VII time and Theodosius for the IIID,
Augusti, xvii. Calends of July, a synod was held at Carthage in the basilica of the second
region. In this council it seemed good that no one bishop should claim the right to take
cognizance of a cause. The acts of this council I have not here written down, because it
was only provincial and not general. Ancient Epitome of Canon CVII. One bishop shall not
claim for himself to take cognizance of a cause alone. (Greek cxi.) Synod against the
Donatists. After the consulate of the most illustrious Emperors Honorius for the VIII time
and Theodosius for the IV time, Augusti, xviii. Calends of July, at Carthage in the
basilica of the second region. In this council the bishops, Florentius, Possidius,
Praesidius and Benenatus received legation against the Donatists, at that time at which a
law was given that anyone might practice the Christian worship at his own will.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon CVII. Let each one receive the practice of piety of his own free
will. The two first introductions belong respectively to the Synods of Carthage of June 16
and of October 13, a.d. 408.Canon cvij. of the African code and that which follows it are
the introductions to the Synods of Carthage of June 15, a.d. 409, and of June 14, a.d.
410. Johnson. See can. 10, 11, 12, 28 (31), 79 (80). Recognises, a law of the Empire, that
everyone receive christianity at his own free choice.

CANON CVIII

(Greek cxii.) Synod against the heresy of Pelagius and Celestius. IN the consulate of the
most glorious Emperors, Honorius for the XII time and Theodosius for the VIII, Augusti
most exalted, on the Calends of May, at Carthage in the secretarium of the Basilica of
Faustus. When Aurelius the bishop presided over the whole council, the deacons standing
by, it pleased all the bishops, whose names and subscriptions are indicated, met together
in the holy synod of the Church of Carthage to define-

CANON CIX

(Greek cxij. continued.) That Adam was not created by God subject to death. That whosoever
says that Adam, the first man, was created mortal, so that whether he had sinned or not,
he would have died in body-that is, he would have gone forth of the body, not because his
sin merited this, but by natural necessity, let him be anathema.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon CIX. Whoso shall assert that the protoplast would have died
without sin and through natural necessity, let him be anathema. Canon CVIII. is the
introduction to the Synod of Carthage of May 1, a.d. 418; and Canon CIX. is Canon j. of
that synod.

CANON CX

(Greek cxii. bis) That infants are baptized for the remission of sins. Likewise it seemed
good that whosoever denies that infants newly from their mother's wombs should be
baptized, or says that baptism is for remission of sins, but that they derive from Adam no
original sin, which needs to be removed by the layer of regeneration, from whence the
conclusion follows, that in them the form of baptism for the remission of sins, is to be
understood as false and not true, let him be anathema. For no otherwise can be understood
what the Apostle says, "By one man sin is come into the world, and death through sin, and
so death passed upon all men in that all have "sinned," than the Catholic Church
everywhere diffused has always understood it. For on account of this rule of faith
(regulam fidei) even infants, who could have committed as yet no sin themselves, therefore
are truly baptized for the remission of sins, in order that what in them is the result of
generation may be cleansed by regeneration.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon CX. Whoso affirms that those newly born and baptized contract
nothing from Adam's transgression, which needs to be washed away by baptism, is to be
execrated: for through one both death and sin invaded the whole world. This is Canon ij.
of Carthage, a.d. 418 [Greek Canon 112]. Johnson. See Can. 63, 104, both which are double,
as this likewise is in the old Greek scholiasts. [Also it seemed good, that if anyone
should say that the saying of the Lord, "In my Father's house are many mansions "is to be
understood as meaning that in the kingdom of heaven there will be a certain middle place,
or some place somewhere, in which infants live in happiness who have gone forth from tiffs
life without baptism, without which they cannot enter the kingdom of heaven, which is
eternal life, let him be anathema. For after our Lord has said: "Except a man be born
again of water and of the Holy Spirit he shall not enter the kingdom of heaven," what
Catholic can doubt that he who has not merited to be coheir with Christ shall become a
sharer with the devil: for he who fails of the right hand without doubt shall receive the
left hand portion.]

Notes.

The foregoing, says Surius, is found in this place in a very ancient codex. It does not
occur in the Greek, nor in Dionysius. Bruns relegates it to a foot-note.

CANON CXI

(Greek cxiij.) That the grace of God not only gives remission of sins, but also affords
aid that we sin no more. Likewise it seemed good, that whoever should say that the grace
of God, by which a man is justified through Jesus Christ our Lord, avails only for the
remission of past sins, and not for assistance against committing sins in the future, let
him be anathema. Ancient Epitome of Canon CXI. Whoever is of opinion that the grace of God
only gives remission of those sins we have already committed, and does not afford aid
against sin in the future, is to be twice execrated. Canon CXII. (Greek cxiij. continued.)
That the grace of Christ gives not only the knowledge of our duty, but also inspires us
with a desire that we may be able to accomplish what we know. Also, whoever shall say that
the same grace of God through Jesus Christ our Lord helps us only in not sinning by
revealing to us and opening to our understanding the commandments, so that we may know
what to seek, what we ought to avoid, and also that we should love to do so, but that
through it we are not helped so that we are able to do what we know we should do, let him
be anathema. For when the Apostle says: "Wisdom puffeth up, but charity edifieth" it were
truly infamous were we to believe that we have the grace of Christ for that which puffeth
us up, but have it not for that which edifieth, since in each case it is the gift of God,
both to know what we ought to do, and to love to do it; so that wisdom cannot puff us up
while charity is edifying us. For as of God it is written, "Who teacheth man knowledge,"
so also it is written, "Love is of God."

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon CXII. Whoever says that the grace of God is given to us only that
we may know what we ought to do and what to flee from, but not also that we may love the
thing known, and be able to accomplish it, let him be anathema. Canon cxi. is Canon iij.
of Carthage, a.d. 418, and Canon cxii. is Canon iv. of the same synod.

CANON CXIII

(Greek cxiiii.) That without the grace ofGod we can do no good thing. IT seemed good that
whosoever should say that the grace of justification was given to us only that we might be
able more readily by grace to perform what we were ordered to do through our free will; as
if though grace was not given, although not easily, yet nevertheless we could even without
grace fulfil the divine commandments, let him be anathema. For the Lord spake concerning
the fruits of the commandments, when he said: "Without me ye can do nothing," and not
"Without me ye could do it but with difficulty."

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon CXIII. Whoso preaches that without grace we could keep the
commandments although with difficulty, is to be thrice execrated. For the Lordsays,
"Without me ye can do nothing." This is Canon V. of Carthage, a.d. 418.


COUNCIL OF CARTHAGE (AD 419): THE CANONS
========================================

COUNCIL OF CARTHAGE (AD 419): THE CANONS continued

CANON CXIV

(Greek cxv.) That not only humble but also true is that voice of the Saints: "If we say
that we have no sin we deceive ourselves." IT also seemed good that as St. John the
Apostle says, "If we shall say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is
not in us," whosoever thinks that this should be so understood as to mean that out of
humility, we ought to say that we have sin, and not because it is really so, let him be
anathema. For the Apostle goes on to add, "But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and
just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all iniquity," where it is sufficiently
clear that this is said not only of humility but also truly. For the Apostle might have
said, "If we shall say we have no sins we shall extoll ourselves, and humility shall have
no place in us;" but when he says, "we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us" he
sufficiently intimates that he who affirmed that he had no sin would speak not that which
is true but that which is false.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon CXIV. Whosoever shall interpret the saying of the Divine [i.e.
St. John]: "If we shall say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves" as not being really
true but as spoken out of humility, let him be anathema.This is Canon vj. of Carthage,
a.d. 418.

CANON CXV

(Greek cxvi.) That in the Lord's Prayer the Saints say for themselves: "Forgive us our
trespasses." IT has seemed good that whoever should say that when in the Lord's prayer,
the saints say, "forgive us our trespasses," they say this not for themselves, because
they have no need of this petition, but for the rest who are sinners of the people; and
that therefore no one of the saints can say, "Forgive me my trespasses," but "Forgive us
our trespasses;" so that the just is understood to seek this for others rather than for
himself; let him be anathema. For holy and just was the Apostle James, when he said, "For
in many things we offend all." For why was it added "all," unless that this sentence might
agree also with the psalm, where we read, "Enter not into judgment with thy servant, O
Lord, for in thy sight shall no man living be justified;" and in the prayer of the most
wise Solomon: "There is no man that sinneth not;" and in the book of the holy Job: "He
sealeth in the hand of every man, that every man may know his own infirmity;" wherefore
even the holy and just Daniel when in prayer said several times: "We have sinned, we have
done iniquity," and other things which there truly and humbly he confessed; nor let it be
thought (as some have thought) that this was said not of his own but rather of the
people's sins, for he said further on: "When I shall pray and confess my sins and the sins
of my people to the Lord my God;" he did not wish to say our sins, but he said the sins of
his people and his own sins, since he as a prophet foresaw that those who were to come
would thus misunderstand his words.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon CXV. Whoso expounds this, "forgive us our trespasses" as speaking
only of the multitude and not of individuals let him be anathema: Since Daniel even he can
behold saying with the multitude "I confessed my sins and the sins of my people."This is
Canon vii. of Carthage, a.d. 418.

CANON CXVI

(Greek cxvii.) That the Saints say with accuracy, "Forgive us our trespasses." Likewise
also it seemed good, that whoever wished that these words of the Lord's prayer, when we
say, "Forgive us our trespasses" are said by the saints out of humility and not in truth
let them be anathema. For who would make a lying prayer, not to men but to God? Who would
say with his lips that he wished his sins forgiven him, but in his heart that he had no
sins to be forgiven.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon CXVI. (Lacking.) This is Canon viii. of Carthage, a.d. 418.

CANON CXVII

(Greek cxviii.) Of peoples converted from the Donatists. Item, it seemed good, since it
was so decreed some years ago by a plenary council, that whatever churches were erected in
a diocese before the laws were made concerning Donatists when they became Catholic, should
pertain to the sees of those bishops through whom their return to Catholic unity was
brought about; but after the laws whatever churches communicated were to belong there
where they belonged when they were Donatists. But because many controversies afterward
arose and are still springing up between bishops concerning dioceses, which were not then
at all in prospect, now it has seemed good to this council, that wherever there was a
Catholic and a Donatist party, pertaining to different sees, at whatever time unity has
been or shall be made, whether before or after the laws, the churches shall belong to that
see to which the Catholic church which was already there belonged.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon CXVII. Whenever conversions and unions of Donatists are effected,
let them be subject to that throne towhich the Catholic Church which was formerly there
was subject.This is Canon ix. of Carthage, a.d. 418.

CANON CXVIII

(Greek cxix.) How bishops as well Catholic as those who have been converted from the
Donatists are to divide between themselves the dioceses. So, too, it has seemed good that
if a bishop has been converted from the Donatists to Catholic unity, that equally there
should be divided what shall have been so found where there were two parties; that is,
that some places should pertain to one and some to the other; and let the division be made
by him who has been the longest time in the episcopate, and let the younger choose. But
should there be only one place let it belong to him who is found to be the nearer. But
should the distance be equal to each of the two cathedrals let it belong to the one the
people may choose. But should the old Catholics wish their own bishop, and if the same be
the case with the converted Donatists, let the will of the greater number prevail, but
should the parties be equal, let it belong to him who has been longest bishop. But if so
many places be found in which there were both parties, that an equal division is
impossible, as for example, if they are unequal in number, after those places have been
distributed which have an equal number, the place that remains over shall be disposed of
as is provided above in the case where there is but one place to be treated.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon CXVIII. Those who have been converted from Donatus, let them
divide the dioceses; and let the senior bishop make the division, and the junior choose
which he will.This is Canon x. of Carthage, a.d. 418.

CANON CXIX

(Greek cxx.) That if a bishop shall possess a diocese which he has snatched from heresy
for three years, no one may take it from him. Item, it seemed good that if anyone after
the laws should convert any place to Catholic unity and retain it for three years without
opposition, it should not be taken away from him afterwards. If however there was during
those three years a bishop who could claim it and was silent, he shall lose the
opportunity. But if there was no bishop, no prejudice shall happen to the see, but it
shall be lawful when the place that had none shall receive a bishop, to make the claim
within three years of that day. Item, if a Donatist bishop shall be converted to the
Catholic party, the time that has elapsed shall not count against him, but from the day of
his conversion for three years he shall have the right of making a claim on the places
which belonged to his See.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon CXIX. Whosoever shall convert a region to Orthodoxy and shall
keep it converted for three years, let him be without blame. But if the bishop converted
from Donatus within three years of its conversion seeks his diocese again, let it be
returned to him (ei enagei, enagetw.) This is Canon xj. of Carthage, a.d. 418.

CANON CXX

(Greek cxxi.) Of those who intrude uponpeoples which they think belong to them, without
the consent of those by whom they are held. Item, it seemed good that whatever bishops
seek the peoples whom they consider to pertain to their see, not by bringing their causes
before the episcopal judges, but rush in while another is holding the place, all such,
(whether said people are willing to receive them or no) shall lose their case. And whoever
have done this, if the contention between the two bishops is not yet finished but still
going on, let him depart who intruded without the decree of the ecclesiastical judges; nor
let anyone flatter himself that he will retain [what he has seized] if he shall obtain
letters from the primate, but whether he has such letters or has them not, it is suitable
that he who holds and receives his letters should make it appear then that he has held the
church pertaining to him peaceably. But if he has referred any question, let the cause be
decided by the episcopal judges, whether those whom the primates have appointed for them,
or the neighbouring bishops whom they have chosen by common consent.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon CXX. Let no one seize for himself what he thinks belongs to him:
but let the bishops judge or where the Primate will give, or whom the neighbouring bishops
shall give with his consent. But whosoever has received letters from the primate
concerning the keeping [of such regions and churches] merely deceives himself.This is
Canon xij. of Carthage, a.d. 418.

CANON CXXI

(Greek cxxii.) Of those who neglect the peoples belonging to them. Item, it seemed good
that whoever neglect to bring the places belonging to their see into Catholic unity should
be admonished by the neighbouring diligent bishops, that they delay no longer to do this;
but if within six months from the day of the convention they do nothing, let them pertain
to him who can win them: but with this proviso however, that if he to whom it seemed they
naturally belonged can prove that this neglect was intentional and more efficacious in
winning them than the greater apparent diligence of others; when the episcopal judges
shall be convinced that this is the case, they shall restore the places to his see. If the
bishops between whom the cause lies are of different provinces, let the Primate in whose
province the place is situated about which there is the dispute, appoint judges; but if by
mutual consent they have chosen as judges the neighbouring bishops, let one or three be
chosen: so that if they choose three they may follow the sentence of all or of two.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon CXXI. If any neglect what belongs to their jurisdiction, let them
be admonished ; and if they shall do nothing within a six month, let them be adjudged to
him who can win them. But if they have committed the neglect out of policy so as not to
irritate the heretics, and this shall appear to have been the case, their sees shall be
restored to them, by the judgment of the bishops either appointed or elected.This is Canon
xiij. of Carthage, a.d. 418.

CANON CXXII

(Greek cxxiii.) The sentence of the elected judges ought not to be spurned. From the
judges chosen by common consent of the parties, no appeal can be taken; and whoever shall
be found to have carried such an appeal and contumaciously to be unwilling to submit to
the judges, when this has been proved to the primate, let him give letters, that no one of
the bishops should communicate with him until he yield.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon CXXII. A judge chosen by both parties cannot be repudiated.This
is Canon xiv. of Carthage, a.d. 418.Johnson,See Canons 76 (79) and 80 (83).

CANON CXXIII

(Greek cxxiv.) That if a bishop neglects his diocese he is to be deprived of communion. IF
in the mother cathedrals a bishop should have been negligent against the heretics, let a
meeting be held of the neighbouring diligent bishops, and let his negligence be pointed
out to him, so that he can have no excuse. But if within six months after this meeting, if
an execution was in his own province, and he had taken no care to convert them to Catholic
unity, no one shall communicate with him till he does his duty. But if no executor shah
have come to the places, then the fault shall not be laid to the bishop.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon CXXIII. A bishop who spurns the care of heretics, and if after
being warned he continues for six months in his contempt, and has no care for their
conversion, is to be excommunicated.This is Canon xv. of Carthage, a.d. 418. Johnson. So
[i.e. "Metropoles"] I turn matrices cathedrae. I know indeed there were no fixed
ecclesiastical metropoles, in Africa; but they had civil metropoles called by that name,
can. 86, (89) which see. Of these officers [i.e. "Executors "] see can. 97 (100).

CANON CXXIV

(Greek cxxv.) Of bishops who shall lie with regard to Donatists' communions. IF it shall
be proven that any bishop has lied concerning the communion of those [who had been
Donatists], and had said that they had communicated when he knew it was an established
fact that they had not done so, let him lose his bishoprick.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon CXXIV. Whoso says that a man, whom he knows does not communicate,
does communicate is to be deprived of his episcopate.This is Canon xvj. of Carthage, a.d.
418.

CANON CXXV

(Greek cxxvi.) That presbyters and clerics are not to appeal except to African Synods.
Item, it seemed good that presbyters, deacons, or other of the lower clergy who are to be
tried, if they question the decision of their bishops, the neighbouring bishops having
been invited by them with the consent of their bishops, shall hear them and determine
whatever separates them. But should they think an appeal should be carried from them, let
them not carry the appeal except to African councils or to the primates of their
provinces. But whoso shall think of carrying an appeal across seas he shall be admitted to
communion by no one in Africa.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon CXXV. A presbyter and deacons, who has been condemned by his own
bishop, let him appeal to the neighbouring bishops: but let them not cross the sea. In
Africa they shall be excommunicated.This is Canon xvij. of Carthage, a.d. 418. Johnson. A
repetition of Canon 28 (31).

CANON CXXVI

(Greek cxxvii.) That Virgins, even when minors, should be given the veil. Item, it seemed
good that whatever bishop, by the necessity of the dangers of virginal purity, when either
a powerful suitor or some ravisher is feared, or if she shall be pricked with some scruple
of death that she might die unveiled, at the demand either of her parents or of those to
whose care she has been entrusted, shall give the veil to a virgin, or shall have given it
while she was under twenty-five years of age, the council which has appointed that number
of years shall not oppose him.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon CXXVI. Whosoever has veiled or shall veil a virgin before she is
twenty-five years of age (that is give her the habit, or clothe her), being forced thereto
on account of a powerful lover, or a ravisher, or deadly disease, provided those ,who have
the charge of her so exhort, shall receive no damage from the synod concerning that age.
This is Canon xviij. of Carthage, a.d. 418. The reference to a former canon is to Canon j.
of the second series of the canons of the Synod of Hippo in a.d. 393.

CANON CXXVII

(Greek cxxviii.) That bishops be not detained too long in council, let them choose three
judges from themselves of the singular provinces. Item, it seemed good, lest all the
bishops who are assembled at a council be kept too long, that the whole synod should
choose three judges of the several provinces; and they elected for the province of
Carthage Vincent, Fortunatian, and Clarus; for the province of Numidia Alypius, Augustine,
and Restitutus; for the province of Byzacena, with the holy Senex Donatian the Primate,
Cresconius, Jocundus, and Aemilian; for Mauritania Sitephensis Severian, Asiaticus, and
Donatus; for the Tripolitan province Plautius, who alone was sent as legate according to
custom; all these were to take cognizance of all things with the holy senex Aurelius, from
whom the whole council sought that he should subscribe all things done by the council
whether acts or letters. And they subscribed: I, Aurelius, bishop of the church of
Carthage consent to this decree and having read it sign my name. Likewise also signed they
all.

Ancient Epitome of Canon CXXVII. Whenever the bishops who come to synod can remain no
longer in attendance, let three be chosen from each province.This is Canon xix. of
Carthage, a.d. 418. Johnson. Two Sancti Senes mentioned, who we aresure were both
primates. See can. 100 (104). See can. 14. And here we have an ancient precedent for
synods delegating their authority to a committee, with the primate of all Africa at the
head of it.Item, at this council there was present a legation from the Roman Church. After
the consulate of the most glorious emperors Honorius for the XII. time and Theodosius for
the VIII., Augusti, on the III. Calends of June, at Carthage, in the Secretarium of the
restored basilica, when Aurelius the bishop together with Faustinus of the church of
Potentia in the Italian province of Picenum, a legate of the Roman Church, Vincent of
Calvita (Culositanus), Fortunatian of Naples, Marianus Uzipparen- sis, Adeodatus of
Simidica, Pentadius of Carpi, Rufinian of Muzuba, Praetextatus of Sicily, Quodvultdeus of
Veri (Verensis), Candidus of Abbirita, Gallonian of Utica, legates of the proconsular
province; Alypius of Tagaste, Augustine of Hippo Regia and Posidonius of Calama, legates
of the province of Numidia; Maximian of Aquae, Jocundus of Sufetula, and Hilary of Horrea-
Cascilia, legates of the province of Byzacena; Novatus of Sitifi and Leo of Mocta, legates
of the province of Mauritania Sitiphensis; Ninellus of Rusucarrum, Laurence of Icosium and
Numerian of Rusgunium, legates of the Province of Mauritania Caesariensis, the judges
chosen by the plenary council, had taken their seats, the deacons standing by, and when,
after certain things had been accomplished, many bishops complained that it was not
possible for them to wait for the completion of the rest of the business to be treated of,
and that they must hasten to their own churches; it seemed good to the whole council, that
by all some should be chosen from each province who should remain to finish up what was
left to be done. And it came about that those were present whose subscriptions testify
that they were present.

CANON CXXVIII

(Greek cxxix.) That those out of communion should not be allowed to bring accusation. IT
seemed good to all, as it had been decreed by the former councils, concerning what persons
were to be admitted to bring accusations against clerics; and since it had not been
expressed what persons should not be admitted, therefore we define, that he cannot
properly be admitted to bring an accusation, who had been already excommunicated, and was
still lying under that censure, whether he that wished to be the accuser were cleric or
layman.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome OF Canon CXXVIII. One excommunicated is not to give witness. The Council
of Carthage of 419 had at its first session on May 25th done thus much.But when it met
again on the 30th of the same month, it continued the code. The introduction in regard to
this new session is this introduction. The Canons then enacted were original, viz. numbers
128, 129, 130, 131, 132 and 133.

CANON CXXIX

(Greek cxxx.) That slaves and freedmen and all infamous persons ought not to bring
accusation. To all it seemed good that no slaves or freedmen, properly so called, be
admitted to accusation nor any of those who by the public laws are debarred from bringing
accusation in criminal proceedings. This also is the case with all those who have the
stain of infamy, that is actors, and persons subject to turpitudes, also heretics, or
heathen, or Jews; but even all those to whom the right of bringing accusation is denied,
are not forbidden to bring accusation in their own suits.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon CXXIX. A slave, and a freedman, and he who before was accused of
any of these crimes on account ofwhich he is not admitted in court, and a player,and a
heathen, and a heretic, and a Jew[There is no verb to finish the sentence.However, this is
intended as a continuation of the epitome of the former canon, the words to be supplied
being "are not to give witness."] Johnson. See Can., Const., 6.

CANON CXXX

(Greek cxxxi.) That he who has failed to prove one charge shall not be allowed to give
evidence to another. So, too, it seemed good that as often as many crimes were laid to
clerics by their accusers, and one of the first examined could not be proved, they should
not be allowed to go on giving evidence on the other counts. Ancient Epitome of Canon
CXXX. He who makes many accusations and proves nothing [is not to give witness].

CANON CXXXI. (GREEK CXXXII.)

Who should be allowed to give evidence. They who are forbidden to be admitted as accusers
are not to be allowed to appear as witnesses, nor any that the accuser may bring from his
own household. And none shall be admitted to give witness under fourteen years of age.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon CXXXI. And whoso is not past fourteen years of age [is not to
give witness]. An accuser is not to produce witnesses from his own house. Johnson. See
Can. 129.

CANON CXXXII

(Greek cxxxiii.) Concerning a bishop who removes a man from communion who says he has
confessed to the bishop alone his crime. IT also seemed good that if on any occasion a
bishop said that someone had confessed to him alone a personal crime, and that the man now
denies it; let not the bishop think that any slight is laid upon him if he is not believed
on his own word alone, although he says he is not willing to communicate with the man so
denying through a scruple of his own conscience.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon CXXXII. If a bishop says "someone has confessed to me alone a
crime," if the someone denies it, he [i.e. the bishop] is not easily to be believed.N.B.
The word used for "someone" inthe Epitome is pelaj, which ordinarily means a "neighbour"
but may mean "any one."Vide Liddell and Scott.

CANON CXXXIII

(Greek cxxxiv.) That a bishop should not rashly deprive anyone of communion. As long as
his own bishop will not communicate with one excommunicated, the other bishops should have
no communion with that bishop, that the bishop may be more careful not to charge anyone
with what he cannot prove by documentary evidence to others. (Greek cxxxv.) Bishop
Aurelius said: According to the statutes of this whole assembled council, and the opinion
of my littleness, it seems good to make an end of all the matters of the whole of the
before-manifested title, and let the ecclesiastical acts receive the discussion of the
present day's constitution. And what things have not yet been expressed (" treated of" in
the Greek) we shall write on the next day through our brethren, Bishop Faustinus and the
Presbyters Philip and Asellus to our venerable brother and fellow-bishop Boniface; and
they gave their assent in writing.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon CXXXIII. If a bishop deprives of communion an unconvicted man, he
shall likewise be deprived of communion with his fellows.Johnson, Never was a more
impartial law made, especially when all the legislators were bishops except two. There
were 217 bishops, and two priests, being legates from the bishop of Rome. The Greeks make
a canon of the ratifications, and reckon no more than 135. Aurelius, Bishop of Carthage,
subscribes first, and after him 217 bishops, then Asellus and Philippus, priests, legates
of the church of Rome. And it does not appear that any other priests were present in any
of the councils, mentioned in the body of this code; but there is several times notice
taken of the deacons who stood by.

CANON CXXXIV

(Continuation of cxxxv. in the Greek.) Here beginneth the letter directed from the whole
African Council to Boniface, bishop of the City of Rome, by Faustinus the bishop, and
Philip and Asellus the presbyters, legates of the Roman Church. To the most blessed lord,
and our honourable brother Boniface, Aurelius, Valentine of the primatial See of Numidia,
and others present with us to the number of 217 from the whole council in Africa. Since it
has pleased the Lord that our humility should write concerning those things which with us
our holy brethren, Faustinus a fellow-bishop and Philip and Asellus, fellow presbyters,
have done, not to the bishop Zosimus of blessed memory, from whom they brought commands
and letters to us, but to your holiness, who art constituted in his room by divine
authority, we ought briefly to set forth what has been determined upon by mutual consent;
not indeed those things which are contained in the prolix volumes of the acts, in which,
while charity was preserved, yet we loitered not without some little labour of
altercation, deliberating those things in the acts which now pertain to the cause. However
the more gratefully would he have received this news as he would have seen a more peaceful
ending of the matter, my lord and brother, had he been still in the body! Apiarius the
presbyter, concerning whose ordination, excommunication, and appeal no small scandal arose
not only at Sicca but also in the whole African Church, has been restored to communion
upon his seeking pardon for all his sins. First our fellow bishop Urban of Sicca doubtless
corrected whatever in him seemed to need correction. For there should have been kept in
mind the peace and quiet of the Church not only in the present but also in the future,
since so many evils of such a kind had gone before, that it was incumbent to take care
that like or even graver evils should be prevented thereafter.

It seemed good to us that the presbyter Apiarius should be removed from the church of
Sicca, retaining only the honour of his grade, and that he should exercise the office of
the presbyterate wherever else he wished and could, having received a letter to this
effect. This we granted without difficulty at his own petition made in a letter. But truly
before this case should be thus closed, among other things which we were treating of in
daily discussions, the nature of the case demanded that we should ask our brothers,
Faustinus our fellow bishop, and Philip and Asellus our fellow presbyters, to set forth
what they had been enjoined to treat of with us that they might be inserted in the
ecclesiastical acts. And they proceeded to make a verbal statement, but when we earnestly
asked that they would present it rather in writing, then they produced the Commonitory.
This was read to us and also set down in the acts, which they are bringing with them to
you. In this they were bidden to treat of four things with us, first concerning the appeal
of bishops to the Pontiff of the Roman Church, second that bishops should not unbecomingly
be sailing to court, thirdly concerning the treating the causes of presbyters and deacons
by contiguous bishops, if they had been wrongly excommunicated by their own, and fourthly
concerning the bishop Urban who should be excommunicated or even sent to Rome, unless he
should have corrected what seemed to need correction.

Of all which things concerning the first and third, that is that it is allowed to bishops
to appeal to Rome and that the causes of clerics should be settled by the bishops of their
own provinces, already last year we have taken pains to insinuate, in our letter to tile
same bishop Zosimus of venerable memory, that we were willing to observe these provisions
for a little while without any injury to him, until the search for the statutes of the
Council of Nice had been finished. And now we ask of your holiness that you would cause to
be observed by us the acts and constitutions of our fathers at the Council of Nice, and
flint you cause to be exercised by you there, those things which they brought in the
commonitory: that is to say, If a bishop shall have been accused, etc. [Here follows Canon
vii. of Sardica.]Item concerning presbyters and deacons.If any bishop has been quickly
angered,etc. [ Here follows Canon xvii. of Sardica.]These are the things which have been
inserted in the acts until the arrival of the most accurate copies of the Nicene Council,
which things, if they are contained there (asin the Commonitory, which our brethren
directed to us from the Apostolic See alleged) and be even kept according to that order by
you in Italy, in no way could we be compelled either to endure such treatment as we are
unwilling to mention or could suffer what is unbearable:

but we believe, through tile mercy of our Lord God, while your holiness presides over the
Roman Church, we shall not have to suffer that pride (istum typhum passuri). And there
will be kept toward us, what should be kept with brotherly love to us who are making no
dispute. You will also perceive according to the wisdom and the justice which the most
Highest has given thee, what should be observed, if perchance the canons of the Council of
Nice are other [than you suppose]. For although we have read very many copies, yet never
have we read in the Latin copies that there were any such decrees as are contained in the
commonitory before mentioned. So too, because we can find them in no Greek text here, we
have desired that there should be brought to us from the Eastern Churches copies of the
decrees, for it is said that there correct copies of the decrees are to be found. For
which end we beg your reverence, that you would design yourself also to write to the
pontiffs of these parts, that is of the churches of Antioch, Alexandria, and
Constantinople, and to any others also if it shall please your holiness, that thence there
may come to us the same canons decreed by the Fathers in the city of Nice, and thus you
would confer by the help of the Lord this most great benefit upon all the churches of the
West.

For who can doubt that the copies of the Nicene Council gathered in the Greek empire are
most accurate, which although brought together from so diverse and from such noble Greek
churches are found to agree when compared together? And until this be done, the provisions
laid down to us in the Commonitory aforesaid, concerning the appeals of bishops to the
pontiff of the Roman Church and concerning the causes of clerics which should be
terminated by the bishops of their own provinces, we are willing to allow to be observed
until the proof arrives and we trust your blessedness will help us in this according to
the will of God. The rest of the matters treated and defined in our synod, since the
aforesaid brethren, our fellow bishop Faustinus, and the presbyters Philip and Asellus are
carrying the acts with them, if you deign to receive them, will make known to your
holiness. And they signed. Our Lord keep thee to us for many years, most blessed brother.
Alypius, Augustine, Possidius, Marinus and the rest of the bishops (217) also signed.

Ancient Epitome of Canon CXXXXV. Urban, the bishop of Siccas, is either to be
excommunicated or else summoned to Rome unless he corrects what should be corrected by
him.

CANON CXXXV

(Not numbered in the Greek.) Here begin the rescripts to the African Council from Cyril
bishop of Alexandria in which he sends the authentic proceedings of the Nicene Council,
translated from the Greek by Innocent the presbyter: these letters with the same Nicene
council were also sent through the aforementioned presbyter Innocent and by Marcellus a
subdeacon of the Church of Carthage, to the holy Boniface, bishop of the Roman Church, on
the sixth day before the calends of December in the year 419. To the most honourable
lords, our holy brethren and fellow bishops, Aurelius, Valentinus, as well as to the whole
holy synod met in Carthage, Cyril salutes your holiness in God. I have received with all
joy at the hands of our son, the presbyter Innocent, the letters of your reverence so full
of piety, in which you express the hope that we will send you most accurate copies of the
decrees of the holy Fathers at the Synod held at Nice the metropolis of Bithynia from the
archives of our church; with our own certificate of accuracy attached thereto. In answer
to which request, most honourable lords and brethren, I have thought it necessary to send
to you, with our compliments, by our son, Innocent the presbyter, the bearer of these,
most faithful copies of the decisions of the synod held at Nice in Bithynia. And when ye
have sought in the history of the church, you will find them there also. Concerning
Easter, as you have written, we announce to you that we shall celebrate it on the xviiith
before the calends of May of the next indiction. The subscription. May God and our Lord
preserve your holy synod as we desire, dear brethren.

Ancient Epitome of Canon CXXXV. According to your written request, we have sent to your
charity most faithful copies of the authentic decrees of the Synod which was held at Nice,
a city of Bithynia.

CANON CXXXVI

(Not numbered in the Greek but with a new heading.) Here beginneth the letter of Atticus,
bishop of Constantinople to the same. To our holy lords, and rightly most blessed brethren
and fellow bishops, Aurelius, Valentine, and to the other beloved ones met together in the
Synod held at Carthage, Atticus the bishop. By our son Marcellus the subdeacon, I have
received with all thanksgiving the writings of your holiness, praising the Lord that I
enjoyed the blessing of so many of my brethren. O my lords and most blessed brethren, ye
have written asking me to send you most accurate copies of the canons enacted at the city
of Nice, the metropolis of Bithynia, by the Fathers for the exposition of the faith. And
who is there that would deny to his brethren the common faith, or the statutes decreed by
the Fathers. Wherefore by the same son of mine, Marcellus, your subdeacon, who was in
great haste, I have sent to you the canons in full as they were adopted by the Fathers in
the city of Nice; and I ask of you that your holy synod would have me much in your
prayers. The subscription. May our God keep your sanctity, as we desire, most holy
brethren.

CANON CXXXVII

(Continuation of the last in the Greek.) Here begin the examples of the Nicene Council,
sent on the sixth day before the calends of December in the year 419, after the consulate
of the most glorious emperor Honorius for the XII time, and Theodosius for the IX time
Augustuses, to Boniface thebishop of the City of Rome. WE believe in one God etc. . . .
the Catholic and Apostolic Church anathematizes them. To this symbol of the faith there
were also annexed copies of the statutes of the same Nicene Councils from the aforenamed
pontiffs, in all respects as are contained above; which we do not think it necessary to
write out here again.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon CXXXVII. The Canons of the Synod of Nice are sent, as they were
decreed by the Fathers, in accordance with your letters.[Here follows the Nicene Creed in
full.]

CANON CXXXVIII

(Not numbered in the Greek.) Here beginneth the epistle of the African synod to Pope
Celestine, bishop of the City of Rome. To the lord and most beloved and our honourable
brother Celestine, Aurelius, Palatinus, Antony, Totus, Servusdei, Terentius, Fortunatus,
Martin, Januarius, Optatus, Ceticius, Donatus, Theasius, Vincent, Fortunatian, and the
rest of us, assembled at Carthage in the General Council of Africa. We could wish that,
like as your Holiness intimated to us, in your letter sent by our fellow presbyter Leo,
your pleasure at the arrival of Apiarius, so we also could send to you these writings with
pleasure respecting his clearing. Then in truth both our own satisfaction, and yours of
late would be more reasonable; nor would that lately expressed by you concerning the
hearing of him then to come, as well as that already past, seem hasty and inconsiderate.
Upon the arrival, then, of our holy Brother and fellow-Bishop Faustinus, we assembled a
council, and believed that he was sent with that man, in order that, as he [Apiarius] had
before been restored to the presbyterate by his assistance, so now he might with his
exertions be cleared of the very great crimes charged against him by the inhabitants of
Tabraca. But the due course of examination in our council discovered in him such great and
monstrous crimes as to overhear even Faustinus, who acted rather as an advocate of the
aforementioned person than as a judge, and to prevail against what was more the zeal of a
defender, than the justice of an inquirer. For first he vehemently opposed the whole
assembly, inflicting on us many injuries, under pretence of asserting the privileges of
the Roman Church, and wishing that he should be received into communion by us, on the
ground that your Holiness, believing him to have appealed, though unable to prove it, had
restored him to communion.

But this we by no means allowed, as you will also better see by reading the acts. After
however, a most laborious inquiry carried on for three days, during which in the greatest
affliction we took cognizance of various charges against him, God the just Judge, strong
and long suffering, cut short by a sudden stroke both the delays of our fellow-bishop
Faustinus and the evasions of Apiarius himself, by which he was endeavouring to veil his
foul enormities. For his strong and shameless obstinacy was overcome, by which he
endeavoured to cover, through an impudent denial, the mire of his lusts, and God so
wrought upon his conscience and published, even to the eyes of men, the secret crimes
which he was already condemning in that man's heart, a very sty of wickedness, that, after
his false denial he suddenly burst forth into a confession of all the crimes he was
charged with, and at length convicted himself of his own accord of all infamies beyond
belief, and changed to groans even the hope we had entertained, believing and desiring
that he might be cleared from such shameful blots, except indeed that it was so far a
relief to our sorrow, that he had delivered us from the labour of a longer inquiry, and by
confession had applied some sort of remedy to his own wounds, though, lord and brother, it
was unwilling, and done with a struggling conscience.

Premising, therefore, our due regards to you, we earnestly conjure you, that for the
future you do not readily admit to a hearing persons coming hence, nor choose to receive
to your communion those who have been excommunicated by us, because you, venerable Sir,
will readily perceive that this has been prescribed even by the Nicene council. For though
this seems to be there forbidden in respect of the inferior clergy, or the laity, how much
more did it will this to be observed in the case of bishops, lest those who had been
suspended from communion in their own Province might seem to be restored to communion
hastily or unfitly by your Holiness. Let your Holiness reject, as is worthy of you, that
unprincipled taking shelter with you of presbyters likewise, and the inferior clergy, both
because by no ordinance of the Fathers hath the Church of Africa been deprived of this
authority, and the Nicene decrees have most plainly committed not only the clergy of
inferior rank, but the bishops themselves to their own Metropolitans. For they have
ordained with great wisdom and justice, that all matters should be terminated in the
places where they arise; and did not think that the grace of the Holy Spirit would be
wanting to any Province, for the bishopsof Christ (Sacerdotibus) wisely to discern, and
firmly to maintain the right: especially since whosoever thinks himself wronged by any
judgment may appeal to the council of his Province, or even to a General Council [i.e.

of Africa] unless it be imagined that God can inspire a single individual with justice,
and refuse it to an innumerable multi-rude of bishops (sacerdotum) assembled in council.
And how shall we be able to rely on a sentence passed beyond the sea, since it will not be
possible to send thither the necessary witnesses, whether from the weakness of sex, or
advanced age, or any other impediment? For that your Holiness should send ally on your
part we can find ordained by no council of Fathers. Because with regard to what you have
sent us by file same our brother bishop Faustinus, as being contained in the Nicene
Council, we can find nothing of the kind in the more authentic copies of that council,
which we have received from the holy Cyril our brother, Bishop of the Alexandrine Church,
and from the venerable Atticus the Prelate of Constantinople, and which we formerly sent
by Innocent the presbyter, and MarcelIus the subdeacon through whom we received them, to
Boniface the Bishop, your predecessor of venerable memory. Moreover whoever desires you to
delegate any of your clergy to execute your orders, do not comply, lest it seem that we
are introducing the pride of secular dominion into the Church of Christ which exhibiteth
to all that desire to see God the light of simplicity and the day of humility.

For now that the miserable Apiarius has been removed out of the Church of Christ for his
horrible crimes, we feel confident respecting our brother Faustinus, that through the
uprightness and moderation of your Holiness, Africa, without violating brotherly charity,
will by no means have to endure him any longer. Lord and brother, may our Lord long
preserve your Holiness to pray for us. Ancient Epitome of Canon CXXXVIII. Those
excommunicated by us, ye are not be willing to admit afterwards to communion, according to
the decree of the Nicene Synod. For Apiarius, who restored by you, has resisted the Synod,
and treated it with scorn, and at length has been converted and confessed himself guilty
with sighs and tears.


COUNCIL OF EPHESUS (AD 431): SHORTER WRITINGS
=============================================

COUNCIL OF EPHESUS (AD 431) Shorter Writings

The shorter documents of the Third Ecumenical Council, which met at Ephesus in AD 431 and
condemned Nestorius: its decrees, extracts from the proceedings, the twelve anathematisms
of Cyril, the canons and some letters.

DECREE OF THE COUNCIL AGAINST NESTORIUS

1 As, in addition to other things, the impious Nestorius has not obeyed our citation, and
did not receive the holy bishops who were sent by us to him, we were compelled to examine
his ungodly doctrines. We discovered that he had held and published impious doctrines in
his letters and treatises, as well as in discourses which he delivered in this city, and
which have been testified to. Compelled thereto by the canons and by the letter (anankaios
katepeichthentes apo te ton kanono, kai ek tes epistoles, k.t.l.) of our most holy father
and fellow-servant Coelestine, the Roman bishop, we have come, with many tears, to this
sorrowful sentence against him, namely, that our Lord Jesus Christ, whom he has
blasphemed, decrees by the holy Synod that Nestorius be excluded from the episcopal
dignity, and from all priestly communion.

Notes.

2 The words for which I have given the original Greek, are not mentioned by Canon Bright
in his Article on St. Cyril in Smith and Wace's Dictionary of Christian Biography; nor by
Ffoulkes in his article on the Council of Ephesus in Smith and Cheetham's Dictionary of
Christian Antiquities. They do not appear in Canon Robertsons History of the Church. And
strangest of all, Dean Milman cites the Sentence in English in the text and in Greek in a
note but in each case omits all mention of the letter of the Pope, marking however in the
Greek that there is an omission. (Lat. Chr., Bk. II., Chap. III.) I also note that the
translation in the English edition of Hefele's History of the Councils (Vol. III., p. 51)
is misleading and inaccurate, "Urged by the canons, and in accordance with the letter
etc." The participle by itself might mean nothing more than "urged" (vide Liddell and
Scott on this verb and also epeigo) but the adverb which precedes it, anankaios, certainly
is sufficient to necessitate the coacti of the old Latin version which I have followed,
translating "compelled thereto." It will also be noticed that while the prepositions used
with regard to the "canons" and the "letter" are different, yet that their grammatical
relation to the verb is identical is shewn by the te-kai;, which proves the translation
cited above to be utterly incorrect.

3 Hefele for the "canons" refers to canon number lxxiv. of the Apostolic Canons; which
orders an absent bishop to be summoned thrice before sentence be given against him.

DECREE OF THE SYNOD IN THE MATTER OF EUPREPIUS AND CYRIL

1 (Found in Latin only. Labbe and Cossart, Concilia, Tom. III., col. 810.) The petition of
the most pious bishops Euprepius and Cyril, which is set forth in the papers they offered,
is honest. Therefore from the holy canons and the external laws, which have from ancient
custom the force of law, let no innovation be made in the cities of Europa, but according
to the ancient custom they shall be governed by the bishops by whom they have been
formerly governed. For since there never was a metropolitan who had power otherwise, so
neither hereafter shall there be any departure from the ancient custom.

Note.

2 (Hist. of the Councils, Vol. III., p. 77.) Two Thracian bishops, Euprepius of Biza
(Bizya) and Cyril of Coele, gave occasion for a decree, praying for protection against
their Metropolitan, Fritilas of Heraclea, who had gone over to the party of John of
Antioch, and at the same time for the confirmation of the previous practice of holding two
bishoprics at the same time. The Synod granted both.

EXTRACTS FROM THE ACTS: SESSION 1, PART 1

[Before the arrival of the Papal Legates.] (Labbe and Cossart, Concilia Tom. III., col.
459 et seqq.) The Nicene Synod set forth this faith: We believe in one God, etc. When this
creed had been recited, Peter the Presbyter of Alexandria, and primicerius of the notaries
said: We have in our hands the letter of the most holy and most reverend archbishop Cyril,
which he wrote to the most reverend Nestorius, filled with counsel and advice, on account
of his aberration from the right faith. I will read this if your holiness [i.e., the holy
Synod] so orders. The letter began as follows:Kataphluarousi men, hos akouo,
k.t.l.Intelligo quosdam meae, etc.

EXTRACTS FROM THE ACTS: SESSION 1, PART 2

1 (Labbe and Cossart, Concilia, Tom. III., col. 462.) And after the letter was read,
Cyril, the bishop of Alexandria, said: This holy and great Synod has heard what I wrote to
the most religious Nestorius, defending the right faith. I think that I have in no respect
departed from the true statement of the faith, that is from the creed set forth by the
holy and great synod formerly assembled at Nice. Wherefore I desire your holiness [i.e.
the Council] to say whether rightly and blamelessly and in accordance with that holy synod
I have written these things or no. [A number of bishops then gave their opinion, all
favourable to Cyril; after these individual opinions the Acts continue (col. 491):] And
all the rest of the bishops in the order of their rank deposed to the same things, and so
believed, according as the Fathers had set forth, and as the Epistle of the most holy
Archbishop Cyril to Nestorius the bishop declared.

2 Palladius, the bishop of Amused, said, The next thing to be done is to read the letter
of the most reverend Nestorius, of which the most religious presbyter Peter made mention;
so that we may understand whether or no it agrees with the exposition of the Nicene
fathers. ... And after this letter was read, Cyril, the bishop of Alexandria, said, What
seems good to this holy and great synod with regard to the letter just read? Does it also
seem to be consonant to the faith set forth by the holy Synod assembled in the city of
Nice? [The bishops, then as before, individually express their opinion, and at last the
Acts continue (col. 502):] All the bishops cried out together: Whoever does not
anathematize Nestorius let him be anathema. Such an one the right faith anathematizes;
such an one the holy Synod anathematizes. Whoever communicates with Nestorius let him be
anathema! We anathematize all the apostles of Nestorius: we all anathematize Nestorius as
a heretic: let all such as communicate with Nestorius be anathema, etc., etc.

3 Juvenal, the bishop of Jerusalem said: Let the letter of the most holy and reverend
Coelestine, archbishop of the Church of Rome, be read, which he wrote concerning the
faith. [The letter of Coelestine was read and no opinion expressed.] Peter the presbyter
of Alexandria, and primicerius of the notaries said: Altogether in agreement with the
things just read are those which his holiness Cyril our most pious bishop wrote, which I
now have at hand, and will read if your piety so shall order. [The letter was read which
begins thus:] Tou Soteros hemon legontos enargos, k.t.l.Cum Salvator noster, etc.

EXTRACTS FROM THE ACTS: SESSION 1, PART 3

1 (L. and C., Cone., Tom. III., Col. 503.) [No action is recorded in the Acts as having
been taken. A verbal report was made by certain who had seen Nestorius during the past
three days, that they were hopeless of any repentance on his part. On the motion of
Flavian, bishop of Philippi, a number of passages from the Fathers were read; and after
that some selections from the writings of Nestorius. A letter from Capreolus, Archbishop
of Carthage, was next read, excusing his absence; after the reading of the letter, which
makes no direct reference to Nestorius whatever, but prays the Synod to see to it that no
novelties be tolerated, the Acts proceed. (Col. 534).] Cyril, the bishop of the Church of
Alexandria, said: As this letter of the most reverend and pious Capreolus, bishop of
Carthage, which has been read, contains a most lucid expression of opinion, let it
beinserted in the Acts. For it wishes thatthe ancient dogmas of the faith should be
confirmed, and that novelties, absurdly conceived and impiously brought forth, shouldbe
reprobated and proscribed.

2 All the bishops at the same time cried out: These are the sentiments (phonai) of all of
us, these are the things we all say-the accomplishment of this is the desire of us all.
[Immediately follows the sentence of deposition and the subscriptions. It seems almost
certain that something has dropped out here, most probably the whole discussion of Cyril's
XII. Anathematisms.]

EXTRACTS FROM THE ACTS: SESSION 2, PART 1

1 (Labbe and Cossart, Concilia, Tom. III., col. 609.) The most pious and God-beloved
bishops, Arcadius and Projectus, as also the most beloved-of-God Philip, a presbyter and
legate of the Apostolic See, then entered and took their seats. Philip the presbyter and
legate of the Apostolic See said: We bless the holy and adorable Trinity that our
lowliness has been deemed worthy to attend your holy Synod. For a long time ago (palai)
our most holy and blessed pope Coelestine, bishop of the Apostolic See, through his
letters to that holy and most pious man Cyril, bishop of Alexandria, gave judgment
concerning the present cause and affair (orisen) which letters have been shown to your
holy assembly. And now again for the corroboration of the Catholic (katholikes) faith, he
has sent through us letters to all your holinesses, which you will bid (kelousate) to be
read with becoming reverence (prepontos) and to be entered on the ecclesiastical minutes.

2 Arcadius, a bishop and legate of the Roman Church said: May it please your blessedness
to give order that the letters l of the holy and ever-to-be-mentioned-with-veneration Pope
Coelestine, bishop of the Apostolic See, which have been brought byus, be read, from which
your reverence will be able to see what care he has for all the Churches. Projectus, a
bishop and legate of the Roman Church said, May it please, etc. [The same as Arcadius had
said verbatim> And afterwards the most holy and beloved-of-God Cyril, bishop of the Church
of Alexandria, spoke as is next in order contained; Siricius, notary of the holy Catholic
(katholikes) Church of Rome read it. Cyril, the bishop of Alexandria said: Let the letter
received from the most holy and altogether most blessed Coelestine, bishop of the
Apostolic See of Rome be read to the holy Synod with fitting honour. Siricius, notary of
the holy Catholic (katholikes) Church of the city of Rome read it.

3 And after it was read in Latin, Juvenal, the bishop of Jerusalem said: Let the writings
of the most holy and blessed bishop of great Rome which have just been Toad, be entered on
the minutes. And all the most reverend bishops prayedthat the letter might be translated
and read. Philip, the presbyter of the Apostolic See and Legate said: The custom has been
sufficiently complied with, that the writingsof the Apostolic See should first be read
inLatin. But now since your holiness has demanded that they be read in Greek also, it is
necessary that your holiness's desire should be satisfied; We have taken care that this be
done, and that the Latin be turned into Greek. Give order therefore that it be received
and read in your holy hearing. Arcadius and Projectus, bishops and legates said, As your
blessedness ordered that the writings which we brought should be brought to the knowledge
of all, for of our holy brethren bishops there are not a few who do not understand Latin,
therefore the letter has been translated into Greek and if you so command let it be read.

4 Flavian, the bishop of Philippi said: Let the translation of the letter of the most holy
and beloved of God, bishop of the Roman Church be received and read. Peter, the presbyter
of Alexandria and primicerius of the notaries read as follows:

EXTRACTS FROM THE ACTS: SESSION 2, PART 2

1 (Labbe and Cossart, Concilia, Tom. III., col. 617.) And all the most reverend bishops at
the same time cried out. This is a just judgment. To Coelestine, a new Paul To Cyril a new
Paul! To Coelestine the guardian of the faith! To Coelestine of one mind with the synod!
To Coelestine the whole Synod offers its thanks! One Coelestine! One Cyril! One faith of
the Synod! One faith of the world! Projectus, the most reverend bishop and legate, said:
Let your holiness consider the form (tupon) of the writings of the holy and venerable pope
Coelestine, the bishop, who has exhorted your holiness (not as if teaching the ignorant,
but as reminding them that know) that those things which he had long ago defined, and now
thoughtit right to remind you of, ye might give command to be carried out to the
uttermost, according to the canon of the common faith, and according to the use of the
Catholic Church.

2 Firmus, the bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia said: The Apostolic and holy see of the
most holy bishop Coelestine, hath previously given a decision and type (tupon) in this
matter, through the writings which were sent to the most God beloved bishops, to wit to
Cyril of Alexandria, and to Juvenal of Jerusalem, and to Rufus of Thessalonica, and to the
holy churches, both of Constantinople and of Antioch. This we have also followed and
(since the limit set for Nestorius's emendation was long gone by, and much time has passed
since our arrival at the city of Ephesus in accordance with the decree of the most pious
emperor, and thereupon having delayed no little time sothat the day fixed by the emperor
was past; and since Nestorius although cited had not appeared) we carried into effect the
type (tupon) having pronounced against him acanonical and apostolical judgment.Arcadius
the most reverend bishop and legate, said: Although our sailing was slow, and contrary
winds hindered us especially, so that we did not know whether we should arrive at the
destined place, as we had hoped, nevertheless by God's good providence ... Wherefore we
desire to ask your blessedness, that you command that we be taught what has been already
decreed by your holiness.

3 Philip, presbyter and legate of the Apostolic See said: We offer our thanks to the holy
and venerable Synod, that when the writings of our holy and blessed pope had been read to
you, the holy members by our [or your] holy voices, ye joined yourselves to the holy head
also by your holy acclamations. For your blessedness is not ignorant that the head of the
whole faith, the head of the Apostles, is blessed Peter the Apostle. And since now our
mediocrity, after having been tempest-tossed and much vexed, has arrived, we ask that ye
give order that there be laid before us what things were done in this holy Synod before
our arrival; in order that according to the opinion of our blessed pope and of this
present holy assembly, we likewise may ratify their determination. Theodotus, the bishop
of Ancyra said: The God of the whole world has made manifest the justice of the judgment
pronounced by the holy Synod by the writings of the most religious bishop Coelestine, and
by the coming of your holiness. For ye have made manifest the zeal of the most holy and
reverend bishop Coelestine, and his care for the pious faith. And since very reasonably
your reverence is desirous of learning what has been done from the minutes of the acts
concerning the deposition of Nestorius your reverence will be fully convinced of the
justice of the sentence, and of the zeal of the holy Synod, and the symphony of the faith
which the most pious and holy bishop Coelestine has proclaimed with a great voice, of
course after your full conviction, the rest shall be added to the present action.[In the
Acts follow two short letters from Coelestine, one to the Emperor and the other to Cyril,
but nothing is said about them, or how they got there, and thus abruptly ends the account
of this session.]

EXTRACTS FROM THE ACTS: SESSION 3

1 (Labbe and Cossart, Concilia, Tom. III., col. 621.) Juvenal the bishop of Jerusalem said
to Arcadius and Projectus the most reverend bishops, and to Philip the most reverend
presbyter; Yesterday while this holy and great synod was in session, when your holiness
was present, you demanded after the reading of the letter of the most holy and blessed
bishop of Great Rome, Coelestine, that the minutes made in the Acts with regard to the
deposition of Nestorius the heretic should be read. And thereupon the Synod ordered this
to be done. Your holiness will be good enough to inform us whether you have read them and
understand their power. Philip the presbyter and legate of the Apostolic See said: From
reading the Acts we have found what things have been done in your holy synod with regard
to Nestorius. We have found from the minutes that all things have been decided in
accordance with the canons and with ecclesiastical discipline. And now also we seek from
your honour, although it may be useless, that what things have been read in your synod,
the same should now again be read to us also; so that we may follow the formula (tupo) of
the most holy pope Coelestine (who committed this same care to us), and of your holiness
also, and may be able to confirm (bobaiosai) the judgment.

2 [Arcadius having seconded Philip's motion, Memnon directed the acts to be read which was
done by the primicerius of the notaries.] Philip the presbyter and legate of the Apostolic
See said: There is no doubt, and in fact it has been known in all ages, that the holy and
most blessed Peter, prince (exarkos) and head of the Apostles, pillar of the faith, and
foundation (themelios) of the Catholic Church, received the keys of the kingdom from our
Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour and Redeemer of the human race, and that to him was given
the power of loosing and binding sins: who down even to to-day and forever both lives and
judges in his successors. The holy and most blessed pope Coelestine, according to due
order, is his successor and holds his place, and us he sent to supply his place in this
holy synod, which the most humane and Christian Emperors have commanded to assemble,
bearing in mind and continually watching over the Catholic faith. For they both have kept
and are now keeping intact the apostolic doctrine handed down to them from their most
pious and humane grandfathers and fathers of holy memory down to the present time, etc.

3 [There is no further reference in the speech to the papal prerogatives.] Arcadius the
most reverend bishop and legate of the Apostolic See said: Nestorius hath brought us great
sorrow.. . . And since of his own accord he hath made himself an alien and an exile from
us, we following the sanctions handed down from the beginning by the holy Apostles, and by
the Catholic Church (for they taught what they had received from our Lord Jesus Christ),
also following the types (tupois) of Coelestine, most holy pope of the Apostolic See, who
has condescended to send us as his executors of this business, and also following the
decrees of the holy Synod [we give this as our conclusion]: Let Nestorius know that he is
deprived of all episcopal dignity, and is an alien from the whole Church and from the
communion of all its priests. Projectus, bishop and legate of the Roman Church said: Most
clearly from the reading, etc, . . . Moreover I also, by my authority as legate of the
holy Apostolic See, define, being with my brethren an executor (ekbibastes) of the
aforesaid sentence, that the beforenamed Nestorius is an enemy of the truth, a corrupter
of the faith, and as guilty of the things of which he was accused, has been removed from
the grade of Episcopal honour, and moreover from the communion of all orthodox priests.

4 Cyril, the bishop of Alexandria said: The professions which have been made by Arcadius
and Projectus, the most holy and pious bishops, as also by Philip, the most religious
presbyter of the Roman Church, stand manifest to the holy Synod. For they have made their
profession in the place of the Apostolic See, and of the whole of the holy synod of the
God-beloved and most holy bishops of the West. Wherefore let those things which were
defined by the most holy Coelestine, the God-beloved bishop, be carried into effect, and
the vote east against Nestorius the heretic, by the holy Synod, which met in the
metropolis of Ephesus be agreed to universally; for this purpose let there be added to the
already prepared acts the proceedings of yesterday and today, and let them be shewn to
their holiness, so that by their subscription according to custom, their canonical
agreement with all of us may be manifest.

5 Arcadius the most reverend bishop and legate of the Roman Church, said: According to the
acts of this holy Synod, we necessarily confirm with our subscriptions their doctrines.
The Holy Synod said: Since Arcadius and Projectus the most reverend and most religious
bishops and legates and Philip, the presbyter and legate of the Apostolic See, have said
that they are of the same mind with us, it only remains, that they redeem their promises
and confirm the acts with their signatures, and then let the minutes of the acts be shewn
to them.[The three then signed.]

THE TWELVE ANATHEMATISMS OF SAINT CYRIL AGAINST NESTORIUS

1 (Found in St. Cyril's Opera. Migne, Pat. Graec, Tom. LXXVII., Col. 119; and the
Concilia.)

I.

2 IF anyone will not confess that the Emmanuel is very God, and that therefore the Holy
Virgin is the Mother of God (Theotokos), inasmuch as in the flesh she bore the Word of God
made flesh [as it is written, "The Word was made flesh": let him be anathema.

Notes.

3 The Anathematisms of the Heretic Nestorius Against Cyril. (Found best in Migne's edition
of Marius Mercator.) I. If anyone says that the Emmanuel is true God, and not rather God
with us, that is, that he has united himself to a like nature with ours, which he assumed
from the Virgin Mary, and dwelt in it; and if anyone calls Mary the mother of God the
Word, and not rather mother of him who is Emmanuel; and if he maintains that God the Word
has changed himself into the flesh, which he only assumed in order to make his Godhead
visible, and to be found in form as a man, let him be anathema. Petavius. (De
Incarnatione, Lib. vj. cap. xvij.) In this anathematism certain words are found in the
Greek copy of Dionysius which are lacking in the ordinary copies, viz. "according as it is
written, `And the Word was made flesh';" unless forsooth Dionysius supplied them of his
own authority. For in the Lateran Synod in the time of Martin I.this anathematism was
quoted without theappended words.

4 This anathematism breaks to pieces the chief strength of the Nestorian impiety Forit
sets forth two facts. The one that the Emmanuel, that is he who was born of a woman and
dwelt with us, is God: the other, that Mary who bare such an one is Mother of God. That
Christ is God is clearly proved from the Nicene Creed, and he shews that the same that was
in the beginning the Son of God, afterwards took flesh and was born of Mary, without any
change or confusion of natures. St. Cyril explains that by sarkikos, carnaliter, he meant
nothing else than kata sarka, secundum carnem, "according to the flesh." And it was
necessary to use this expression to overthrow the perfidy of Nestorius; so that we may
understand that the most holy Virgin was the parent not of a simple and bare man, but of
God the Word, not in that he was God, but in that he had taken flesh. For God the Father
was the parent of the same Son qei>\kos (divinely) as his mother was sarkikos (after the
flesh). And the word (sarkikos) in no degree lessens the dignity of his begetting and
bringing forth; for it shews that his flesh was not simulated or shadowed forth; but true
and like to ours. Amphilochius distinctly uses the word, saying "Except he had been born
carnally (sarkikos), never wouldest thou have been born spiritually (pneumatikos)." Cf.
St. Gregory Nazianzen (Orat. 51).

5 Theodoret misunderstood St. Cyril to teach in this first anathematism that the Word was
changed into the flesh he assumed. But Cyril rightly treated this whole accusation as a
foolish calumny.

THE CANONS

1 (Critical Annotations on the text will be found in Dr. Routh's Scriptorum Eccl.
Opusc.Tom. II. [Ed. III.] p. 85.) The holy and ecumenical Synod, gathered together in
Ephesus by the decree of our most religious Emperors, to the bishops, presbyters, deacons,
and all the people in every province and city: When we had assembled, according to the
religious decree [of the Emperors], in the Metropolis of Ephesus, certain persons, a
little more than thirty in number, withdrew from amongst us, having for the leader of
their schism John, Bishop of Antioch. Their names are as follows: first, the said John of
Antioch in Syria, John of Damascus, Alexander of Apamea, Alexander of Hierapolis, Himerius
of Nicomedia, Fritilas of Heraclea, Helladius of Tarsus, Maximin of Anazarbus, Theodore of
Marcianopolis, Peter of Trajanopolis, Paul of Emissa, Polychronius of Heracleopolis,
Euthyrius of Tyana, Meletius of NeoCaesarea, Theodoret of Cyrus, Apringius of Chalcedon,
Macarius of Laodicea Magna, Zosys of Esbus, Sallust of Corycus in Cilicia, Hesychius of
Castabala in Cilicia, Valentine of Mutloblaca, Eustathius of Parnassus, Philip of
Theodosia, and Daniel, and Dexianus, and Julian, and Cyril, and Olympius, and Diegenes,
Polius, Theophanes of Philadelphia, Trajan of Augusta, Aurelius of Irenepolis, Mysaeus of
Aradus, Helladius of Ptolemais. These men, having no privilege of ecclesiastical communion
on the ground of a priestly authority, by which they could injure or benefit any persons;
since some of them had already been deposed; and since from their refusing to join in our
decree against Nestorius, it was manifestly evident to all men that they were all
promoting the opinions of Nestorius and Celestius; the Holy Synod, by one common decree,
deposed them from all ecclesiastical communion, and deprived them of all their priestly
power by which they might injure or profit any persons.

Canon I.

2 Whereas it is needful that they who were detained from the holy Synod and remained in
their own district or city, for any reason, ecclesiastical or personal, should not be
ignorant of the matters which were thereby decreed; we, therefore, notify your holiness
and charity that if any Metropolitan of a Province, forsaking the holy and Ecumenical
Synod, has joined the assembly of the apostates, or shall join the same hereafter; or, if
he has adopted, or shall hereafter adopt, the doctrines of Celestius, he has no power in
any way to do anything in opposition to the bishops of the province, since he is already
cast forth from all ecclesiastical communion and made incapable of exercising his
ministry; but he shall himself be subject in all things to those very bishops of the
province and to the neighbouring orthodox metropolitans, and shah be degraded from his
episcopal rank.

Notes.

3 Ancient Epitome of Canon I. If a metropolitan, having deserted his synod, adheres or
shall adhere to Celestine, let him be cast out. Nicholas Hydruntinus. Scholion concerning
Celestine and Celestius. Whose finds at the end of the fourth canon of the Holy Synod of
Ephesus [and thesame is true of this first canon. Ed.] "Clerics who shall have consented
to Celestine or Nestorius, should be deposed," let him not read "Celestine" with an "n,"
but "Celestius" without the "n." For Celestine was the holy and orthodox Pope of Rome,
Celestius was the heretic.It is perfectly certain that this was no ac cident on the part
of Aristenus, for in his commentary on Canon V., he expressly says that "Celestine was
Bishop of Rome" and goes on to affirm that, "The Holy Synod decreed that they who embraced
the opinions of Nestorius and Celestine," etc. What perhaps is equally astonishing is that
Nicholas Hydruntinus, while correcting the name, still is of opinion that Celestius was a
pope of Rome and begins his scholion with the title. peri Kelestinou kai kelestiou Papon
Romes. Beveridge well points out that this confusion is all the more remarkable as in the
Kalendar of the Saints observed at that very time by the Greeks, on the eighth day of
April was kept the memory of "Celestine, Pope of Rome, as a Saint and Champion against the
Nestorian heretics." (Bev., Annot, in C. v.).

4 Simeon the Logothete adds to this epitome the words, kai to exes adioiketos which are
necessary to make the sense complete.

THE DEFINITION AGAINST THE MESSALIANS

Who are Also Called Euchetae and Enthusiasts.

1 (Found in Latin only. Labbe and Cossart, Concilia, Tom. III., col. 809.) When the most
pious and religious bishops, Valerian and Amphilochius had come to us, they proposed that
we should consider in common the case of the Messalians, that is the Euchetes or
Enthusiasts, who were flourishing in Pamphylia, or by what other name this most
contaminating heresy is called. And when we were considering the question, the most pious
and religious bishop Valerian, presented to us a synodical schedule which had been drawn
up concerning them in the great city of Constantinople, under Sisinnius of blessed memory:
What we read therein was ap-proved by all, as well composed and as a due presentation of
the case. And it seemed good to us all, and to the most pious bishops Valerian and
Amphilochius and to all the most pious bishops of the provinces of Pamphylia and Lycaonia,
that all things contained in that Synodical chart should be confirmed and in no way
rescinded; also that the action taken at Alexandria might also be made firm, so that all,
those who throughout the whole province are of the Messalian or Enthusiastic heresy, or
suspected of being tainted with that heresy, whether clerics or laymen, may come together;
and if they shall anathematize in writing, according to the decrees pronounced in the
aforesaid synod [their errors], if they are clergymen they may remain such; and if laymen
they may be admitted to communion. But if they refuse to anathematize, if they were
presbyters or deacons or in any other ecclesiastical grade, let them be cast out of the
clergy and from their grade, and also from communion; if they be lay-men let them be
anathematized.

2 Furthermore those convicted of this heresy are no more to be permitted to have the rule
of our monasteries, lest tares be sown and increase. And we give command that the most
pious bishops Valerian and Amphilochius, and the rest of the most reverend bishops of the
whole province shall pay attention that this decree be carried into effect. In addition to
this it seemed good that the filthy book of this heresy, which is called the "Asceticon,"
should be anathematized, as composed by heretics, a copy of which the most religious and
pious Valerian brought with him. Likewise anything savouring of their impiety which may be
found among the people, let it be anathema. Moreover when they come together, let there be
commended by them in writing such things as are useful and necessary for concord, and
communion, and arrangement (dispositionem vel dispensationem). But should any question
arise in connexion with the present business, and if it should prove to be difficult and
ambiguous, what is not approved by the most pious bishops Valerian and Amphilochius, and
the other bishops throughout the province, they ought to discuss all things by reference
to what is written. And if the most pious bishops of the Lycians or of the Lycaonians
shall have been passed over; nevertheless let not a Metropolitan be left out of whatever
province he may be. And let these things be inserted in the Acts so that if any have need
of them they would find how also to expound these things morediligently to others.

Note on the Messalians or Massalians.

3 (Tillemont, Memoires, Tom. VIII., Seconde Partie. Condensed.) St. Epiphanius
distinguishes two sorts of persons who were called by the name of Messalians, the one and
the more ancient were heathen, the other were Christian in name. The Messalians who bore
the Christian name had no beginning, nor end, nor chief, nor fixed faith. Their first
writers were Dadoes, Sabas, Adelphus, Hermes, Simeon and some others. Adelphus was neither
monk nor clerk, but a layman. Sabas had taken the habit of an anchorite and was surnamed
"the Eunuch," because he had mutilated himself. Adelphus was of Mesopotamia and was
considered their leader, so that they are sometimes called "Adelphians." They are also
called "Eustathians." "Euchites" is the Greek equivalent of "Messalians" in Hebrew. They
were also called "Enthusiasts" or "Corentes" because of the agitation the devils caused
them, which they attributed to the Holy Spirit. St. Epiphanius thought that these heretics
sprang up in the time of Constance, although Theodoret does not put them down until the
days of Valentinian. They came from Mesopotamia, but spread as far as Antioch by the year
376.

4 They pretended to renounce the world, and to give up their possessions, and under the
habit of monks they taught Manichaean impieties, and others still more detestable. Their
principal tenet was that everyone inherited from his ancestors a demon, who had possession
of his soul from the moment of his birth, and always led it to evil. That baptism cut away
the outside branches of sin, but could not free the soul of this demon, and that therefore
its reception was useless. That only constant prayer could drive out this demon. That when
it was expelled, the Holy Spirit descended and gave visible and sensible marks of his
presence, and delivered the body from all the uprisings of passion, and the soul from the
inclination to evil, so that afterwards there was no need of fasting, nor of controlling
lust by the precepts of the Gospel. Besides this chief dogma, gross errors, contrary to
the first principles of religion, were attributed to them. That the divinity changed
itself in different manners to unite itself to their souls. They held that the body of
Christ was infinite like his divine nature; they did not hesitate to say that his body was
at first full of devils which were driven out when the Word took it upon him. They claimed
that they possessed clear knowledge of the state of souls after death, read the hearts and
desires of man, the secrets of the future and saw the Holy Trinity with their bodily eyes.
They affirmed that man could not only attain perfection but equal the deity in virtue and
knowledge.

5 They never fasted, slept men and women together, in warm weather in the open streets.
But certain say that before attaining to this liberty of license three years of
mortification were required, The most well-known point of their discipline is that they
forbade all manual labour as evil, and unworthy of the spiritual. Harmenopulus in his
Basilicoe (Tom. I. Lib. ix.) says that they held the Cross in horror, that they refused to
honour the Holy Virgin, or St. John the Baptist, or any of the Saints unless they were
Martyrs; that they mutilated themselves at will, that they dissolved marriages, that they
foreswore and perjured themselves without scruple, that women were appointed as mistresses
of the sect to instruct and govern men, even priests. Although so opposed to the faith of
the Church, yet for all this the Messalians did not separate themselves from her
communion. They did not believe in the Communion as a mystery which sanctifies us, which
must be approached with fear and faith, but only came to the holy Table to hide themselves
and to pass for Catholics, for this was one of their artifices. When asked, they had no
hesitation in denying all that they believed, and were willing to anathematize those who
thought with them. And all this they did without fear, because they were taught they had
attained perfection, that is impassibility.Vide Theodoret, H. E., Lib. iv., cap.
xi.Photius tells us that John of Antioch wrote against these heretics.

6 St. Maximus the Abbot speaks of this heresy as still existing in the VII Century, and as
practising the most abominable infamies. Photius bears witness of its resuscitation in his
days in Cappadocia with its wonted corruptions. Harmenopulus remarks that a certain
Eleutherius of Paphlagonia had added to it new crimes, and that in part it became the
source of the sect of the Bogomiles, so well known in the decadence of the Greek empire.

THE EPISTLE OF CYRIL TO NESTORIUS

1 (Labbe and Cossart, Concilia, Tom. III., col. 315; Migne, Patr. Groec., Tom. LXXVII.
[Cyril., Opera, Tom. X.]; Epist. iv., co]. 43.) To the most religious and beloved of God,
fellow minister Nestorius, Cyril sends greeting in the Lord. I hear that some are rashly
talking of the estimation in which I hold your holiness, and that this is frequently the
case especially at the times that meetings are held of those in authority. And perchance
they think in so doing to say something agreeable to you, but they speak senselessly, for
they have suffered no injustice at my hands, but have been exposed by me only to their
profit; this man as an oppressor of the blind and needy, and that as one who wounded his
mother with a sword. Another because he stole, in collusion with his waiting maid,
another's money, and had always laboured under the imputation of such like crimes as no
one would wish even one of his bitterest enemies to be laden with. I take little reckoning
of the words of such people, for the disciple is not above his Master, nor would I stretch
the measure of my narrow brain above the Fathers, for no matter what path of life one
pursues it is hardly possible to escape the smirching of the wicked, whose months are full
of cursing and bitterness, and who at the last must give an account to the Judge of all.

2 But I return to the point which especially I had in mind. And now I urge you, as a
brother in the Lord, to propose the word of teaching and the doctrine of the faith with
all accuracy to the people, and to consider that the giving of scandal to one even of the
least of those who believe in Christ, exposes a body to the unbearable indignation of God.
And of how great diligence and skill there is need when the multitude of those grieved is
so great, so that we may administer the healing word of truth to them that seek it. But
this we shall accomplish most excellently if we shall turn over the words of the holy
Fathers, and are zealous to obey their commands, proving ourselves, whether we be in the
faith according to that which is written, and conform our thoughts to their upright and
it-reprehensible teaching.

3 The holy and great Synod therefore says, that the only begotten Son, born according to
nature of God the Father, very God of very God, Light of Light, by whom the Father made
all things, came down, and was incarnate, and was made man, suffered, and rose again the
third day, and ascended into heaven. These words and these decrees we ought to follow,
considering what is me. ant by the Word of God being incarnate and made man. For we do not
say that the nature of the Word was changed and became flesh, or that it was converted
into a whole man consisting of soul and body; but rather that the Word having personally
united to himself flesh animated by a rational soul, did in an ineffable and inconceivable
manner become man, and was called the Son of Man, not merely as willing or being pleased
to be so called, neither on account of taking to himself a person, but because the two
natures being brought together in a true union, there is of both one Christ and one Son;
for the difference of the natures is not taken away by the union, but rather the divinity
and the humanity make perfect for us the one Lord Jesus Christ by their ineffable and
inexpressible union.

4 So then he who had an existence before all ages and was born of the Father, is said to
have been born according to the flesh of a woman, not as though his divine nature received
its beginning of existence in the holy Virgin, for it needed not any second generation
after that of the Father (for it would be absurd and foolish to say that he who existed
before all ages, coeternal with the Father, needed any second beginning of existence), but
since, for us and for our salvation, he personally united to himself an human body, and
came forth of a woman, he is in this way said to be born after the flesh; for the was not
first born a common man of the holy Virgin, and then the Word came down and entered into
him, but the union being made in the womb itself, he is said to endure a birth after the
flesh, ascribing to himself the birth of his own flesh. On this account we say that he
suffered and rose again; not as if God the Word suffered in his own nature stripes, or the
piercing of the nails, or any other wounds, for the Divine nature is incapable of
suffering, inasmuch as it is incorporeal, but since that which had become his own body
suffered in this way, lie is also said to suffer for us; for he who is in himself
incapable of suffering was in a suffering body. In the same manner also we conceive
respecting his dying;

5 for the Word of God is by nature immortal and incorruptible, and life and life-giving;
since, however, his own body did, as Paul says, by the grace of God taste death for every
man, he himself is said to have suffered death for us, not as if he had any experience of
death in his own nature (for it would be madness to say or think this), but because, as I
have just said, his flesh tasted death. In like manner his flesh being raised again, it is
spoken of as his resurrection, not as if tie had fallen into corruption (God forbid), but
because his own body was raised again. We, therefore, confess one Christ and Lord, not as
worshipping. a man with the Word (lest this expression "with the Word" should suggest to
the mind the idea of division), but worshipping him as one and the same, forasmuch as the
body of the Word, with which he sits with the Father, is not separated from the Word
himself, not as if two sons were sitting with him, but one by the union with the flesh.
If, however, we reject the personal union as impossible or unbecoming, we fall into the
error of speaking of two sons, for it will be necessary to distinguish, and to say, that
he who was properly man was honoured with the appellation of Son, and that he who is
properly the Word of God, has by nature both the name and the reality of Sonship.

6 We must not, therefore, divide the one Lord Jesus Christ into two Sons. Neither will it
at all avail to a sound faith to hold, as some do, an union of persons; for the Scripture
has not said that the Word united to himself the person of man, butthat he was made flesh.
This expression, however, "the Word was made flesh," can mean nothing else but that he
partook of flesh and blood like to us; he made our body his own, and came forth man from a
woman, not casting off his existence as God, or his generation of God the Father, but even
in taking to himself flesh remaining what he was. This the declaration of the correct
faith proclaims everywhere. This was the sentiment of the holy Fathers; therefore they
ventured to call the holy Virgin, the Mother of God, not as if the nature of the Word or
his divinity had its beginning from the holy Virgin, but because of her was born that holy
body with a rational soul, to which the Word being personally united is said to be born
according to the flesh. These things, therefore, I now write unto you for the love of
Christ, beseeching you as a brother, and testifying to you before Christ and the elect
angels, that you would both think and teach these things with us, that the peace of the
Churches may be preserved and the bond of concord and love continue unbroken amongst the
Priests of God.

THE LETTER OF POPE COELESTINE TO THE SYNOD OF EPHESUS

1 (Labbe and Cossart, Concilia, Tom. III., col. 613. Also Migne, Pat. Lat., Tom. L, col.
505. ) Coelestine the bishop to the holy Synod assembled at Ephesus, brethren beloved and
most longed for, greeting in the Lord. 2 A Synod of priests gives witness to the presence
of the Holy Spirit. For true is that which we read, since the Truth cannot lie, to wit,
the promise of the Gospel; "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am
I in the midst of them. And since tiffs is so, if the Holy Spirit is not absent from so
small a number how much more may we believe he is present when so great a multitude of
holy ones are assembled together! Every council is holy on account of a peculiar
veneration which is its due; for in every such council the reverence which should be paid
to that most famous council of the Apostles of which we read is to be had regard to. Never
was the Master, whom they had received to preach, lacking to this, but ever was present as
Lord and Master; and never were those who taught deserted by their teacher. For he that
had sent them was their teacher; he who had commanded what was to be taught, was their
teacher; he who affirms that he himself is heard in his Apostles, was their teacher. This
duty of preaching has been entrusted to all the Lord's priests in common, for by right of
inheritance we are bound to undertake this solicitude, whoever of us preach the name of
the Lord in divers lands in their stead for he said tothem, "Go, teach all nations. You,
dearbrethren, should observe that we have received a general command:

3 for he wills that all of us should perform that office, which he titus entrusted in
common to all the Apostles. We must needs follow our predecessors. Let us all, then,
undertake their labours, since we are the successors in their honour. And we shew forth
our diligence in preaching the same doctrines that they taught, beside which, according to
the admonition of the Apostle, we are forbidden to add aught. For the office of keeping
what is committed to our trust is no less dignified than that of handing it down. 4 They
sowed the seed of the faith. This shall be our care that the coming of our great father of
the family, to whom alone assuredly this fulness of the Apostles is assigned, may find
fruit uncorrupt and many fold. For the vase of election tells us that it is not sufficient
to plant and to water unless God gives the increase. We must strive therefore in common to
keep the faith which has come down to us to-day, through the Apostolic Succession. For we
are expected to walk according to the Apostle. For now not our appearance (species) but
our faith is called in question. Spiritual weapons are those we must take, because the war
is one of minds, and the weapons are words; so shall we be strong in the faith of our
King. Now the Blessed Apostle Paul admonishes that all should remain in that place in
which he bid Timothy remain. The same place therefore, the same cause, lays upon us the
same duty. Let us now also do and study that which he then commanded him to do. And let no
one think otherwise, and let no one pay heed to over strange fables, as he himself
ordered. Let us be unanimous thinking the same thing, for this is expedient: let us do
nothing out of contention, nothing out of vain glory: let us be in all things of one mind,
of one heart, when the faith which is one, is attacked. Let the whole body grieve and
mourn in common with us.

5 He who is to judge the world is called into judgment; he who is to criticise all, is
himself made the object of criticism, he who redeemed us is made to suffer calumny. Dear
Brethren, gird ye with the armour of God. Ye know what helmet must protect our head, what
breast-plate our breast. For this is not the first time the ecclesiastical camps have
received you as their rulers. Let no one doubt that by the favour of the Lord who maketh
twain to be one, there will be peace, and that arms will be laid aside since the very
cause defends itself. 6 Let us look once again at these words of our Doctor, which he uses
with express reference to bishops, saying, "Take heed to yourselves and to the whole
flock, over which the Holy Ghost has placed you as bishop, that ye rule the church of God,
which he hath purchased with his blood." We read that they who heard this at Ephesus, the
same place at which your holiness is come together, were called thence. To them therefore
to whom this preaching of the faith was known, to them also let your defence of the same
faith also be known. Let us shew them the constancy of our mind with that reverence which
is due to matters of great importance; which things peace has guarded for a long time with
pious understanding.

7 Let there be announced by you what things have been preserved intact from the Apostles;
for the words of tyrannical opposition are never admitted against the King of Kings, nor
can the business of truth be oppressed by falsehood.I exhort you, most blessed brethren,
that love alone be regarded in which we ought to remain, according to the voice of John
the Apostle whose reliques we venerate in this city. Let common prayer be offered to the
Lord. For we can form some idea of what will be the power of the divine presence at the
united intercession of such a multitude of priests, by considering how the very place was
moved where, as we read, the Twelve made together their supplication. And what was the
purport of that prayer of the Apostles? It was that they might receive grace to speak the
word of God with confidence, and to act through its power, both of which they received
bythe favour of Christ our God. And now what else is to be asked for by your holycouncil,
except that ye may speak the Word of the Lord with confidence? What else than that he
would give you grace to preserve that which he has given you to preach? that being filled
with the Holy Ghost, as it is written, ye may set forth that one truth which the Spirit
himself has taught you, although with divers voices.

8 Animated, in brief, by all these considerations (for, as the Apostle says: "I speak to
them that know the law, and I speak wisdom among them that are perfect"), stand fast by
the Catholic faith, and defend the peace of the Churches, for so it is said, both to those
past, present, and future, asking and preserving "those things which belong to the peace
of Jerusalem." Out of our solicitude, we have sent our holy brethren and fellow priests,
who are at one with us and are most approved men, Arcedius, and Projectus, the bishops,
and our presbyter, Philip, that they may be present at what is done and may carry out what
things have been already decreed be us (quoe a nobis anted statuta sunt, exequa tur). To
the performing of which we have no doubt that your holiness will assent when it is seen
that what has been decreed is for the security of the whole church. Given the viij of the
Ides of May, in the consulate of Bassus and Antiochus.

THE LETTER OF THE SYNOD OF EPHESUS TO THE SYNOD IN PAMPHYLIA

1 (Labbe and Cossart, Concilia, Tome III., col. 806.) 2 Forasmuch as the divinely inspired
Scripture says, "Do all things with vice," it is especially their duty who have had the
priestly ministry allotted to them to examine with all diligence whatever matters are to
be transacted. For to those who will so spend their lives, it comes to pass both that they
are established in [the enjoyment of] an honest hope concerning what belongs to them, and
that they are borne along, as by a favouring breeze, in things that they desire: so that,
in truth, the saying [of the Scripture] has much reason [to commend it]. But there are
times when bitter and intolerable grief swoops down upon the mind, and has the effect of
cruelly beclouding it, so as to carry it away from the pursuit of what is needful, and
persuade it to consider that to be of service which is in its [very] nature mischievous.
Something of this kind we have seen endured by that most excellent and most religious
Bishop Eustathius. For it is in evidence that he has been ordained canonically; but having
been much disturbed, as he declares, by certain parties, and having entered upon
circumstances he had not foreseen, therefore, though fully able to repel the slanders of
his persecutors, he nevertheless, through an extraordinary inexperience of affairs,
declined to battle with the difficulties which beset him, and in some way that we know not
set forth an act of resignation.

3 Yet it behooved him, when he had been once en-trusted with the priestly care, to cling
to it with spiritual energy, and, as it were, to strip himself to strive against the
troubles and gladly to endure the sweat for which he had bargained. But inasmuch as he
proved himself to be deficient in practical capacity, having met with this misfortune
rather from inexperience than from cowardice and sloth, your holiness has of necessity
ordained our most excellent and most religious brother and fellow-bishop, Theodore, as the
overseer of the Church; for it was not reasonable that it should remain in widowhood, and
that the Saviour's sheep should pass their time without a shepherd. But when he came to us
weeping, not contending with the aforenamed most religious Bishop Theodore for his See or
Church, but in the meantime seeking only for his rank and title as a bishop, we all
suffered with the old man in his grief, and considering his weeping as our own, we
hastened to discover whether the aforenamed [Eustathius] had been subjected to a legal
deposition, or whether, forsooth, he had been convicted on any of the absurd charges
alleged by certain parties who had poured forth idle gossip against his reputation. And
indeed we learned that nothing of such a kind had taken place, but rather that his
resignation had been counted against the said Eustathins instead of a [regular]
indictment. Wherefore, we did by no means blame your holiness for being compelled to
ordain into his place the aforenamed most excellent Bishop Theodore.

4 But forasmuch as it was not seemly to contend much against the unpractical character of
the man, while it was rather necessary to have pity on the eider who, at so advanced an
age, was now so far away from the city which had given him birth, and from the dwelling-
places of his fathers, we have judicially pronounced and decreed without any opposition,
that he shall have both the name, and the rank, and the communion of the episcopate. On
this condition, however, only, that he shall not ordain, and that he shall not take and
minister to a Church of his own individual authority; but that [he shall do so only] if
taken as an assistant, or when appointed, if it should so chance, by a brother and fellow-
bishop, in accordance with the ordinance and the love which is in Christ. If, however, ye
shall determine anything more favourable towards him, either now or hereafter, this also
will be pleasing to the Holy Synod.


COUNCIL OF EPHESUS (AD 431): CYRIL’S EPISTLE TO NESTORIUS, WITH THE TWELVE ANATHEMATISMS
============================================================

COUNCIL OF EPHESUS (AD 431): CYRIL’S EPISTLE TO NESTORIUS, WITH THE TWELVE ANATHEMATISMS
Cyril of Alexandria’s third letter to Nestorius, written on behalf of a synod at
Alexandria after the bishop of Rome had condemned his teaching. It ends with twelve
anathematisms, and it was the centre of the dispute at Ephesus.

1 (Labbe and Cossart, Concilia, Tom. III., col. 395; Migne, Parr. Groec., Tom. LXXVII.
[Cyril, Opera, Tom. X.], col. 105 et seqq.) To the most reverend and God-loving fellow-
minister Nestorius, Cyril and the synod assembled in Alexandria, of the Egyptian Province,
Greeting in the Lord. When our Saviour says clearly: "He that loveth father or mother more
than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy
of me," what is to become of us, from whom your Holiness requires that we love you more
than Christ the Saviour of us all? Who can help us in the day of judgment, or what kind of
excuse shall we find for thus keeping silence so long, with regard to the blasphemies made
by you against him? If you injured yourself alone, by teaching and holding such things,
perhaps it would be less matter; but you have greatly scandalized the whole Church, and
have cast among the people the leaven of a strange and new heresy. And not to those there
[i.e. at Constantinople] on]y; but also to those everywhere [the books of your explanation
were sent]. How can we any longer, under these circumstances, make a defence for our
silence, or how shall we not be forced to remember that Christ said: "Think not that I am
come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a
man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother." For if faith be
injured, let there be lost the honour due to parents, as stale and tottering, let even the
law of tender love towards children and brothers be silenced, let death be better to the
pious than living; "that they might obtain a better resurrection," as it is written.

2 Behold, therefore, how we, together with the holy synod which met in great Rome,
presided over by the most holy and most reverend brother and fellow-minister, Celestine
the Bishop, also testify by this third letter to you, and counsel you to abstain from
these mischievous and distorted dogmas, which you hold arid teach, and to receive the
right faith, handed down to the churches from the beginning through the holy Apostles and
Evangelists, who "were eye-witnesses, and ministers of the Word." And if your holiness
have not a mind to this according to the limits defined in the writings of our brother of
blessed memory and most reverend fellow-minister Celestine, Bishop of the Church of Rome,
be well assured then that you have no lot with us, nor place or standing (logon) among the
priests and bishops of God. For it is not possible for us to overlook the churches thus
troubled, and the people scandalized, and the right faith set aside, and the sheep
scattered by you, who ought to save them, if indeed we are ourselves adherents of the
right faith, and followers of the devotion of the holy fathers. And we are in communion
with all those laymen and clergymen cast out or deposed by your holiness onaccount of the
faith; for it is not right that those, who resolved to believe rightly, should suffer by
your choice; for they do well in opposing you. This very thing you have mentioned in your
epistle written to our most holy and fellow-bishop Celestine of great Rome.

3 But it would not be sufficient for your reverence to confess with us only tile sym- bol
of the faith set out some time ago by the Holy Ghost at the great and holy synod convened
in Nice: for you have not held and interpreted it rightly, but rather perversely; even
though you confess with your voice the form of words. But in addition, in writing and by
oath, you must confess that you also anathematize those polluted and unholy dogmas of
yours, and that you will hold and teach that which we all, bishops, teachers, and leaders
of the people both East and West, hold. The holy synod of Rome and we all agreed on the
epistle written to your Holiness from the Alexandrian Church as being right and blameless.
We have added to these our own letters and that which it is necessary for you to hold and
teach, and what you should be careful to avoid. Now this is the Faith of the Catholic and
Apostolic Church to which all Orthodox Bishops, both East and West, agree:

4 "We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible,
and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only-begotten Son of God, begotten of his Father, that
is, of the substance of the Father; God of God, Light of Light, Very God of very God,
begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made,
both those in heaven and those in the earth. Who for us men and for our salvation, came
down, and was incarnate, and was made man. He suffered, and rose again the third day. He
ascended into the heavens, from thence he shall come to judge both the quick and tile
dead. And in the Holy Ghost: But those that say, There was a time when he was not, and,
before he was begotten he was not, and that he was made of that which previously was not,
or that he was of some other substance or essence; and that the Son of God was capable of
change or alteration; those the Catholic and Apostolic Church anathematizes."

5 Following in all points the confessions of the Holy Fathers which they made (the Holy
Ghost speaking in them), and following the scope of their opinions, and going, as it were,
in the royal way, we confess that the Only begotten Word of God, begotten of the same
substance of the Father, True God from True God, Light from Light, through Whom all things
were made, the things in heaven and the things in the earth, coming down for our
salvation, making himself of no reputation (katheis heauton eis kenosin), was incarnate
and made man; that is, taking flesh of the holy Virgin, and having made it his own from
the womb, he subjected himself to birth for us, and came forth man from a woman, without
casting off that which he was; but although he assumed flesh and blood, he remained what
he was, God in essence and in truth. Neither do we say that his flesh was changed into the
nature of divinity, nor that the ineffable nature of the Word of God has laid aside for
the nature of flesh; for he is unchanged and absolutely unchangeable, being the same
always, according to the Scriptures. For although visible and a child in swaddling
clothes, and even in the bosom of his Virgin Mother, he filled all creation as God, and
was a fellow-ruler with him who begat him, for the Godhead is without quantity and
dimension, and cannot have limits.

6 Confessing the Word to be made one with the flesh according to substance, we adore one
Son and Lord Jesus Christ: we do not divide the God from the man, nor separate him into
parts, as though the two natures were mutually united in him only through a sharing of
dignity and authority (for that is a novelty and nothing else), neither do we give
separately to the Word of God the name Christ and the same name separately to a different
one born of a woman; but we know only one Christ, the Word from God the Father with his
own Flesh. For as man he was anointed with us, although it is he himself who gives the
Spirit to those who are worthy and not in measure, according to the saying of the blessed
Evangelist John. But we do not say that the Word of God dwelt in him as in a common man
born of the holy Virgin, lest Christ be thought of as a God-bearing man; for although the
Word tabernacled among us, it is also said that in Christ "dwelt all the fulness of the
Godhead bodily"; but we understand that be became flesh, not just as he is said to dwell
in the saints, but we define that that tabernacling in him was according to equality (kata
ton ison en auto tropon). But being made one kata phusin, and not converted into flesh, he
made his indwell- ing in such a way, as we may say that the soul of man does in his own
body.

7 One therefore is Christ both Son and Lord, not as if a man had attained only such a
conjunction with God as consists in a unity of dignity alone or of authority. For it is
not equality of honour which unites natures; for then Peter and John, who were of equal
honour with each other, being both Apostles and holy disciples [would have been one, and],
yet the two are not one. Neither do we understand the manner of conjunction to be
apposition, for this does not suffice for natural oneness (pros enoson phusiken). Nor yet
according to relative participation, as we are also joined to the Lord, as it is written
"we are one Spirit in him." Rather we deprecate the term of "junction" (sunapheias) as not
having sufficiently signified the oneness. But we do not call the Word of God the Father,
the God nor the Lord of Christ, lest we openly cut in two the one Christ, the Son and
Lord, and fall under the charge of blasphemy, making him the God and Lord of himself. For
the Word of God, as we have said already, was made hypostatically one in flesh, yet he is
God of all and he rules all; but he is not the slave of himself, nor his own Lord. For it
is foolish, or rather impious, to think or teach thus. For he said that God was his
Father, although he was God by nature, and of his substance. Yet we are not ignorant that
while he remained God, he also became man and subject to God, according to the law
suitable to the nature of the manhood. But how could he become the God or Lord of himself?
Consequently as man, and with regard to the measure of his humiliation, it is said that he
is equally with us subject to God; thus he became under the Law, although as God he spake
the Law and was the Law-giver.

8 We are careful also how we say about Christ: "I worship the One clothed on account of
the One clothing him, and on account of the Unseen, I worship the Seen." It is horrible to
say in this connexion as follows: "The assumed as well as the assuming have the name of
God."For the saying of this divides again Christ into two, and puts the man separately
byhimself and God also by himself. For this saying denies openly the Unity according to
which one is not worshipped in the other, nor does God exist together with the other; but
Jesus Christ is considered as One, the Only-begotten Son, to be honoured with one
adoration together with his own flesh. 9 We confess that he is the Son, begotten of God
the Father, and Only-begotten God; and although according to his own nature he was not
subject to suffering, yet he suffered for us in the flesh according to the Scriptures, and
although impassible, yet in his Crucified Body he made his own the sufferings of his own
flesh; and by the grace of God he tasted death for all: he gave his own Body thereto,
although he was by nature himself the life and the resurrection, in order that, having
trodden down death by his unspeakable power, first in his own flesh, he might become the
first born from the dead, and the first-fruits of them that slept. And that he might make
a way for the nature of man to attain incorruption, by the grace of God (as we just now
said), he tasted death for every man, and after three days rose again, having despoiled
hell. So although it is said that the resurrection of the dead was through man, yet we
understand that man to have been the Word of God, and the power of death was loosed
through him, and he shall come in the fulness of time as the One Son and Lord, in the
glory of the Father, in order to judge the world in righteousness, as it is written.

10 We will necessarily add this also. Proclaiming the death, according to the flesh, of
the Only-begotten Son of God, that is Jesus Christ, confessing his resurrection from the
dead, and his ascension into heaven, we offer the Unbloody Sacrifice in the churches, and
so go on to the mystical thanksgivings, and are sanctified, having received his Holy Flesh
and the Precious Blood of Christ the Saviour of us all. Andnot as common flesh do we
receive it; God forbid: nor as of a man sanctified and as sociated with the Word according
to the unity of worth, or as having a divine indwelling, but as truly the Life-giving and
very flesh of the Word himself. For he is the Life according to his nature as God, and
when he became united to his Flesh, he made it also to be Life-giving, as also he said to
us: Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink
his Blood. For we must not think that it is flesh of a man like us (for how can the flesh
of man be life-giving by its own nature?) but as having become truly the very own of him
who for us both became and was called Son of Man. Besides, what the Gospels say our
Saviour said of himself, we do not divide between two hypostases or persons. For neither
is he, the one and only Christ, to be thought of as double, although of two (ek duo) and
they diverse, yet he has joined them in an indivisible union, just as everyone knows a man
is not double although made up of soul and body, but is one of both. Wherefore when
thinking rightly, we transfer the human and the divine to the same person (par' henos
eiresthai).

11 For when as God he speaks about himself: "He who hath seen me hath seen the Father,"
and "I and my Father are one," we consider his ineffable divine nature according to which
he is One with his Father through the identity of essence- "The image and impress and
brightness of his glory. But when not scorning the measure of his humanity, he said to the
Jews: "But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth. Again no less than
before we recognize that he is the Word of God from his identity and likeness to the
Father and from the circumstances of his humanity. For if it is necessary to believe that
being by nature God, he became flesh, that is, a man endowed with a reasonable soul, what
reason can certain ones have to be ashamed of this language about him, which is suitable
to him as man? For if he should reject the words suitable to him as man, who compelled him
to become man like us? And as he humbled himself to a voluntary abasement (kenosin) for
us, for what cause can any one reject the words suitable to such abasement? Therefore all
the words which are read in the Gospels are to be applied to One Person, to One hypostasis
of the Word Incarnate.

12 For the Lord Jesus Christ is One, according to the Scriptures, although he is called
"the Apostle and High Priest of our profession," as offering to God and the Father the
confession of faith which we make to him, and through him to God even the Father and also
to the Holy Spirit; yet we say he is, according to nature, the Only-begotten of God. And
not to any man different from him do we assign the name of priesthood, and the thing, for
be became "the Mediator between God and men," and a Reconciler unto peace, having offered
himself as a sweet smelling savour to God and the Father. Therefore also he said:
"Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not; but a body hast thou prepared me: In burnt
offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in
the volume of the book it is written of me) to do thy will, O God. For on account of us he
offered his body as a sweet smelling savour, and not for himself; for what offering or
sacrifice was needed for himself, who as God existed above all sins? For "all have sinned
and come short of the glory of God," so that we became prone to fall, and the nature of
man has fallen into sin, yet not so he (and therefore we fall short of his glory). How
then can there be further doubt that the true Lamb diedfor us and on our account?

13 And to say that he offered himself for himself and us,could in no way escape the charge
of impiety. For he never committed a fault at all, neither did he sin. What offering then
did he need, not having sin for which sacrifices are rightly offered? But when he spoke
about the Spirit, he said: "He shall glorify me. If we think rightly, we do not say that
the One Christ and Son as needing glory from another received glory from the Holy Spirit;
for neither greater than he nor above him is his Spirit, but because he used the Holy
Spirit to show forth Iris own divinity in his mighty works, therefore he is said to have
been glorified by him just as if any one of us should say concerning his inherent strength
for example, or Iris knowledge of anything, "They glorified me."For although the Spirit is
thesame essence, yet we think of him by himself, as he is the Spirit and not the Son; but
he is not different from him; for he is called the Spirit of truth and Christ is the
Truth,and he is sent by him, just as, moreover, he is from God and the Father. When then
the Spirit worked miracles through the hands of the holy apostles after the Ascension of
Our Lord Jesus Christ into heaven, he glorified him. For it is believed that he who works
through his own Spirit is God according to nature. Therefore he said: "He shall receive of
mine, and shall shew it unto you.

14 But we do not say this as if the Spirit is wise and powerful through some sharing with
another; for he is all perfect and inneed of no good thing. Since, therefore, he is the
Spirit of the Power and Wisdom of the Father (that is, of the Son), he is evidently Wisdom
and Power. 15 And since the holy Virgin brought forth corporally God made one with flesh
according to nature, for this reason we also call her Mother of God, not as if the nature
of the Word had the beginning of its existence from the flesh. For "In the beginning was
the Word, and the Word was God, and the Word was with God," and he is the Maker of the
ages, coeternal with the Father, and Creator of all; but, as we have already said, since
he united to himself hypostatically human nature from her womb, also he subjected himself
to birth as man, not as needing necessarily in his own nature birth in time and in these
last times of the world, but in order that he might bless the beginning of our existence,
and that that which sent the earthly bodies of our whole race to death, might lose its
power for the future by his being born of a woman in the flesh. And this: "In sorrow thou
shalt bring forth children,"being removed through him, he showed the truth of that spoken
by the prophet, "Strong death swallowed them up, and again God hath wiped away every tear
from off all faces." For this cause also we say that he attended, having been called, and
also blessed, the marriage in Cana of Galilee, with his holy Apostles in accordance with
the economy. We have been taught to hold these things by the holy Apostles and
Evangelists, and all the God-inspired Scriptures, and in the true confessions of the
blessed Fathers.

16 To all these your reverence also should agree, and give heed, without any guile. And
what it is necessary your reverence should anathematize we have subjoined to our epistle.


COUNCIL OF EPHESUS (AD 431): THE LETTER OF THE SYNOD TO POPE CELESTINE
============================================================

COUNCIL OF EPHESUS (AD 431): THE LETTER OF THE SYNOD TO POPE CELESTINE The letter in which
the council of Ephesus tells Pope Celestine what has been done in the council.

1 (Labbe and Cossart, Concilia, Tom. III., col. 659; also in Migne, Pat. Lat. [reprinted
from Galland., Vett. Patr., Tom. ix.], Tom. L., Ep. xx., col. 511.) The relation which the
holy council of Ephesus sent to Pope Celestine; In which are explained what things were
done in that Holy and Great Council. 2 The Holy Synod which by the grace of God was
assembled at Ephesus the Metropolis to the most holy and our fellow-minister Coelestine,
health in the Lord. The zeal of your holiness for piety, and your care for the right
faith, so grateful and highly pleasing to God the Saviour of us all, are worthy of all
admiration. For it is your custom in such great matters to make trial of all things, and
the confirmation of the Churches you have made your own care. But since it is right that
all things which have taken place should be brought to the knowledge of your holiness, we
are writing of necessity [to inform you] that, by the will of Christ the Saviour of us
all, and in accordance with the orders of the most pious and Christ-loving Emperors, we
assembled together in the Metropolis of the Ephesians from many and far scattered regions,
being in all over two hundred bishops. Then, in accordance with the decrees of the Christ-
loving Emperors by whom we were assembled, we fixed the date of the meeting of the holy
Synod as the Feast of the Holy Pentecost, all agreeing thereto, especially as it was
contained in the letters of the Emperors that if anyone did not arrive at the appointed
time, he was absent with no good conscience, and was inexcusable both before God and man.
The most reverend John bishop of Antioch stopped behind;

3 not in singleness of heart, nor because the length of the journey made the impediment,
but hiding in his mind his plan and his thought (which was so displeasing to God,) [a plan
and thought] which he made clear when not long afterwards he arrived at Ephesus.Therefore
we put off the assembling [of the council] after the appointed day of theHoly Pentecost
for sixteen whole days; inthe meanwhile many of the bishops and clerics were overtaken
with illness, and much burdened by the expense, and some even died. A great injury was
thus being done to the great Synod, as your holiness easily perceives. For he used
perversely such long delay that many from much greater distances arrived before him. 4
Nevertheless after sixteen days had passed, certain of the bishops who were with him, to
wit, two Metropolitans, the one Alexander of Apamea, and the other Alexander of
Hierapolis, arrived before him. And when we complained of the tardy coming of the most
reverend bishop John, not once, but often, we were told, "He gave us command to announce
to your reverence, that if anything should happen to delay him, not to put off the Synod,
but to do what was right." After having received this message,-and as it was manifest, as
well from his delay as from the announcements just made to us, that he refused to attend
the Council, whether out of friendship to Nestorius, or because he had been a cleric of a
church under his sway, orout of regard to petitions made by some inhis favour,-the Holy
Council sat in the great church of Ephesus, which bears the name of Mary.

5 But when all with zeal had come together, Nestorius alone was found missing from the
council, thereupon the holy Synod sent him admonition in accordance with the canons by
bishops, a first, second, and third time. But he surrounding his house with soldiers, set
himself up against the ecclesiastical laws, neither did he shew himself, nor give any
satisfaction for his iniquitous blasphemies. After this the letters were read which were
written to him by the most holy and most reverend bishop of the Church of Alexandria,
Cyril, which the Holy Synod approved as being orthodox and without fault (horthos kai
aleptos ekein), and in no point out of agreement either with the divinely inspired
Scriptures, or with the faith banded down and set forth in the great synod of holy
Fathers, which assembled sometime ago at Nice in Bithynia, as your holiness also rightly
having examined this has given witness.

6 On the other hand there was read the letter of Nestorius, which was written to the
already mentioned most holy and reverend brother of ours and fellow-minister, Cyril, and
the Holy Synod was of opinion that those things which were taught in it were wholly alien
from the Apostolic and Evangelical faith, sick with many and strange blasphemies. His most
impious expositions were likewise read, and also the letter written to him by your
holiness, in which he was properly condemned as one who had written blasphemy and had
inserted irreligious views (phonas) in his private exegesis, and after this a just
sentence of deposition was pronounced against him; especially is this sentence just,
because he is so far removed from being penitent, or from a confession of the matters in
which he blasphemed, while yet he had the Church of Constantinople, that even in the very
metropolis of the Ephesians, he delivered a sermon to certain of the Metropolitical
bishops, men who were not ignorant, but learned and God-fearing, in which he was bold
enough to say, "I do not confess a two or three months old God," and he said other things
more outrageous than this.

7 Therefore as an impious and most pestilent heresy, which perverts our most pure religion
(threskeian) and which overthrows from the foundation the whole economy of the mystery
[i.e. the Incarnation], we cast it down, as we have said above. But it was not possible,
as it seemed, that those who had the sincere love of Christ, and were zealous in the Lord
should not experience many trials. For we had hoped that the most reverend John, bishop of
Antioch would have praised the sedulous care and piety of the Synod, and that perchance he
would have blamed the slowness of Nestorius's deposition. But all things turned out
contrary to our hope. For he was found to be an enemy, and a most warlike one, to the holy
Synod, and even to the orthodox faith of the churches, as these things indicate. 8 For as
soon as he was come to Ephesus, before he had even shaken off the dust of the journey, or
changed his travelling dress, he assembled those who had sided with Nestorius and who had
uttered blasphemies against their head, and only not derided the glory of Christ, and
gathering as a college to himself, I suppose, thirty men, having the name of bishops (some
of whom were without sees, wandering about and having no dioceses, others others again had
for many years been deposed for serious causes from their metropolises, and with these
were Pelagians and the followers of Celestius, and some of those who were turned out of
Thessaly),he had the presumption to commit a piece of iniquity no man had ever done
before. For all by himself he drew up a paper which he called a deposition, and reviled
and reproached the most holy and reverend Cyril, bishop of Alexandria, and the most
reverend Memnon, bishop of Ephesus, our brother, and fellow-minister, none of us knowing
anything about it, and not even those who were thus reviling knew what was being done, nor
for what reason they had presumed to do this. But ignoring the anger of God for such
behaviour, and unheeding the ecclesiastical canons, and forgetting that they were
hastening to destruction by such a course of action, under the name of an excommunication,
they then reviled the whole Synod.

9 And placing these acts of theirs on the public bulletin boards, they exposed them to be
read by such as chose to do so, having posted them on the outside of the theatres, that
they might make a spectacle of their impiety. But not even was this the limit of their
audacity; but as if they had done something in accordance with the canons, they dared to
bring what they had done to the ears of the most pious and Christ-loving Emperors. Things
being in this condition, the most holy and reverend Cyril, bishop of Alexandria and the
most reverend Memnon bishop of the city of Ephesus, offered some books composed by
themselves and accusing themost reverend Bishop John and those who with him had done this
thing, and conjuring our holy Synod that John and those with him should be summoned
according to the canons, so that they might apologize for their dating acts, and if they
had any complaints to make they might speak and prove them, for in their written
deposition, or rather sheet of abuse, they made this statement as a pretext, "They are
Apollinarians, and Arians, and Eunomians, and therefore they have been deposed by us.

10 When, therefore, those who had endured their reviling were present, we again
necessarily assembled in the great church, being more than two hundred bishops, and by a
first, second, and third call on two days, we summoned John and his companions to the
Synod, in order that they might examine those who had been reviled, and might make
explanations, and tell the causes which led them to draw up the sentence of deposition;
but he did not dare tocome. 11 But it was right that he, if he could truly prove the
before-mentioned holy men to be heretics, both should come and prove the truth of that
which, accepted as a true and indubitable crime, induced the temerarious sentence against
them. But being condemned by his own conscience he did not come. Now what he had planned
was this. For he thought that when that foundation-less and most unjust reviling was done
away, the just vote of the Synod which it cast against the heretic Nestorius would
likewise be dissolved. Being justly vexed, therefore, we determined to inflict according
to law the same penalty upon him and those who were with him, which he contrary to law had
pronounced against those who had been convicted of no fault. But although most justly and
in accordance with law he would have suffered this punishment yet in the hope that by our
patience his temerity might be conquered, we have reserved this to the decision of your
holiness. In the meanwhile, we have deprived them of communion and have taken from them
all priestly power, so that they may not be able to do any harm by their opinions. For
those who thus ferociously, and cruelly, and uncanonically are wont to rush to such
frightful and most wicked things, how was it not necessary that they should be stripped of
the powers which [as a matter of fact] they did not possess, of being able to do harm.

12 With our brethren and fellow-ministers, both Cyril the bishop and Memnon, who had
endured reproval at their hands, we are all in communion, and after the rashness [of their
accusers] we both have and do per-form the liturgy in common, all together celebrating the
Synaxis, having made of none effect their play in writing, and having thus shewn that it
lacked all validity and effect. For it was mere reviling and nothing else. For what kind
of a synod could thirty men hold, some of whom were marked with the stamp of heresy, and
some without sees and ejected [from their dioceses]? Or what strength could it have in
opposition to a synod gathered from all the whole world? For there were sitting with us
the most reverend bishops Arcadius and Projectus, and with them the most holy presbyter
Philip, all of whom were sent by your holiness, who gave to us your presence and filled
the place of the Apostolic See (tes apostolikes kathedras). Let then your holiness be
angered at what took place. But if license were granted to such as wished to pour reproval
upon the greater sees, and thus unlawfully and uncanonically to give sentence or rather to
utter revilings against those over whom they have no power, against those who for religion
have endured such great conflicts, by reason of which now also piety shines forth
throughthe prayers of your holiness [if, I say, all this should be tolerated], the affairs
of the Church would fall into the greatest confusion.

13 But when those who dare to do such things shall have been chastised aright, all
disturbance will cease, and the reverence due to the canons will be observed by all.When
there had been read in the holy Synod what had been done touching the deposition of the
most irreligious Pelagiansand Coelestines, of Coelestius, and Pelagius,and Julian, and
Praesidius, and Florus, and Marcellian, and Orontius, and those inclined to like errors,
we also deemed it right (edikaiosamen) that the determinations of your holiness concerning
them should stand strong and firm. And we all were of the same mind, holding them deposed.
And that you may know in full all things that have been done, we have sent you a copy of
the Acts, and of the subscriptions of the Synod. We pray that you, dearly beloved t and
most longed for, may be strong andmindful of us in the Lord.


COUNCIL OF CHALCEDON (AD 451): SHORTER WRITINGS
===============================================

COUNCIL OF CHALCEDON (AD 451) Shorter Writings

Extracts from the proceedings and some shorter documents of the Fourth Ecumenical Council,
which met at Chalcedon in AD 451 and set out the faith concerning the two natures of
Christ.

SESSION 1 EXTRACTS

1 (Labbe and Cossart, Concilia, Tom. IV., col. 93.) Paschasinus, the most reverend bishop
and legate of the Apostolic See, stood up in the midst with his most reverend colleagues
and said: We received directions at the hands of the most blessed and apostolic bishop of
the Roman city, which is the head of all the churches, which directions say that Dioscorus
is not to be allowed a seat in this assembly, but that if he should attempt to take his
seat he is to be cast out.This instruction we must carry out; if now your holiness so
commands let him be expelled or else we leave. The most glorious judges and the full
senate said: What special charge do you prefer against the most reverend bishop Dioscorus?
Paschasinus, the most reverend bishop and legate of the Apostolic See, said: Sincehe has
come, it is necessary that objection be made to him.

2 The most glorious judges and the whole senate said: In accordance with what has been
said, let the charge under which he lies, be specifically made. Lucentius, the most
reverend bishop having the place of the Apostolic See, said: Let him give a reason for his
judgment. For he undertook to give sentence against one over whom he had no jurisdiction.
And he dared to hold a synod without the authority of the Apostolic See, a thing which had
never taken place nor can take place. Paschasinus the most reverend bishop, holding the
place of the Apostolic See, said: We cannot go counter to the decrees of the most blessed
and apostolic bishop ["Pope" for "bishop" in the Latin], who governs the Apostolic See,
nor against the ecclesiastical canons nor the patristic traditions. The most glorious
judges and the full senate, said: It is proper that you shouldset forth specifically in
what he hath goneastray. Lucentius, the venerable bishop and holding the place of the
Apostolic See, said: We will not suffer so great a wrong to be done us and you, as that he
who is come to be judged should sit down [as one to give judgment].The glorious judges and
the whole senate said: If you hold the office of judge, you ought not to defend yourself
as if you were to be judged.

3 And when Dioscorus the most religious bishop of Alexandria at the bidding of the most
glorious judges and of the sacred assembly (tes hieras sunkletou ) had sat down in the
midst, and the most reverend Roman bishops also had sat down in their proper places, and
kept silence, Eusebius, the most reverend bishop of the city of Dorylaeum, stepping into
the midst, said: He then presented a petition, and the Acts of the Latrocinium were read.
Also the Acts of the council of Constantinople under Flavian against Eutyches (col. 175).]
And when they were read, the most glorious judges and immense assembly (huperphues
sunkletos) said: What do the most reverend bishops of the present holy synod say? When he
thus expounded the faith did Flavian, of holy memory, preserve, the orthodox and catholic
religion, or did he in any respect err concerning it? Paschasinus the most reverend
bishop, representing the Apostolic See, said; Flavian of blessed memory hath most holily
and perfectly expounded the faith. His faith and exposition agrees with the epistle of the
most blessed and apostolic man, the bishop of Rome.

4 Anatolius the most reverend archbishop of Constantinople said; The blessed Fla- vian
hath beautifully and orthodoxly set forth the faith of our fathers. Lucentius, the most
reverend bishop, and legate of the Apostolic See, said; Since the faith of Flavian of
blessed memory agreeswith the Apostolic See and the tradition of the fathers it is just
that the sentence by which he was condemned by the heretics should be turned back upon
them by this most holy synod. Maximus the most reverend bishop of Antioch in Syria, said:
Archbishop Flavian of blessed memory hath set forth the faith orthodoxly and in accordance
with the most beloved-of-God and most holy Archbishop Leo. And this we all receive with
zeal. Thalassius, the most reverend bishop ofCaesarea in Cappadocia said; Flavian of
blessed memory hath spoken in accordance with Cyril of blessed memory. [And so, one after
another, the bishops expressed their opinions. The reading of the acts of the Council of
Constantinople was then continued.]

5 And at this point of the reading, Dioscorus, the most reverend Archbishop of Alexandria
said, I receive "the of two;" "the two" I do not receive (to ek duo dechomai : to duo, hou
dechomai). I am forced to be impudent, but the matter is one which touches my soul. [After
a few remarks the reading was continued and the rest of the acts of the Latrocinium of
Ephesus completed. The judgesthen postponed to the morrow the setting forth a decree on
the faith but intimated that Dioscorus and his associates should suffer the punishment to
which they unjustly sentenced Flavian. This met with the approval of all the bishops
except those of Illyrica who said: "We all have erred, let us all be pardoned." (col.
323.) ] The most glorious judges and the whole senate said; Let each one of the most
reverend bishops of the present synod, hasten to set forth how he believes, writing
without any fear, but placing the fear of God before his eyes; knowing that our most
divine and pious lord believes according to the ecthesis of the three hundred and eighteen
holy fathers at Nice, and according to the ecthesis of the one hundred and fifty after
them, and according to the Canonical epistles and ectheses of the holy fathers Gregory,
Basil, Athanasius, Hilary, Ambrose, and according to the two canonical epistles of Cyril,
which were confirmed and published in the first Council of Ephesus, nor does he in any
point depart from the faith of the same. For the most reverend archbishop of Old Rome,
Leo, appears to have sent a letter to Flavian of blessed memory, with reference to
Eutyches's unbelieving doubt which was springing up against the Catholic Church.End of the
first Actio.

SESSION 2 EXTRACTS, PART 1

1 (L. and C., Concilia, Tom. IV., col. 338.) When all were seated before the rails of the
most holy altar, the most superb and glorious judges and the great (huperphues) senate
said; At a former meeting the question was examined of the condemnation of the most
reverend bishop Flavian of blessed memory and Eusebius, and it was patent to you all with
what justice and accuracy the examination was conducted: and it was proved that they had
been cruelly and improperly condemned. What course we should pursue in this matter became
clear after your deliberations. Now however the question to be enquired into, studied,
anddecided, is how the true faith is to be established, which is the chief end for which
this Council has been assembled. As we know that ye are to render to God a strict account
not only for your own souls in particular, but as well for the souls of all of us who
desire rightly to be taught all things that pertain to religion, and that all ambiguity be
taken away, by the agreement and consent of all the holy fathers, and by their united
exposition and doctrine; hasten therefore without any fear of pleasing or displeasing, to
set forth (ekthesthai) the pure faith, so that they who do not seem to believe with all
the rest, may be brought to unity through the acknowledging of the truth. For we wish you
to know that the most divine and pious lord of the whole world and ourselves hold the
orthodox faith set forth by the 318 and by the 150 holy fathers, and what also has been
taught by the rest of the most holy and glorious fathers, and in accordance with this is
our belief.

2 The most reverend bishops cried; Any other setting forth (ekthesin allen) no one makes,
neither will we attempt it, neither will we dare to set forth [anything new] (ekthesthai).
For the fathers taught, and in their writings are preserved, what things were set forth by
them, and further than this we can say nothing. Cecropius, the most reverend bishop of
Sebastopol said: The matters concerning Eutyches have been examined, and the most holy
archbishop of Rome has given a form (tupon) which we follow and to his letter we all [i.
e. those in his neighbourhood] have subscribed. The most reverend bishops cried: These are
the opinions of all of us. The expositions (ektethenta) already made are quite sufficient:
it is not lawful to make any other. The most glorious judges and great senate said, If it
pleases your reverence, let the most holy patriarch of each province, choosing one or two
of his own province and going into the midst, and together considering the faith, make
known to all what is agreed upon. So that if, as we desire, all be of one mind, all
ambiguity may be removed: But if some entertain contrary opinions (which we do not believe
to be the case) we may know what their opinions are.

3 The most reverend bishops cried out, we make no new exposition in writing. This is the
law, [i. e. of the Third Synod] which teaches that what has been set forth is sufficient.
The law wills that no other exposition should be made. Let the sayings of the Fathers
remain fast. Florentius, the most reverend bishop of Sardis, said, since it is not
possible for those who follow the teaching of the holy Synod of Nice, which was confirmed
rightly and piously at Ephesus, to draw up suddenly a declaration of faith in accordance
with the faith of the holy fathers Cyril and Celestine, and of the letter of the most holy
Leo, we therefore pray your magnificence to give us thee, so that we may be able to arrive
at the truth of the matter with a fitting document, although so far as we are concerned,
who have subscribed the letter of the most holy Leo, nothing further is needed.

4 Cecropius, the most reverend bishop of Sebastopol, said, The faith has been well defined
by the 318 holy fathers and confirmed by the holy fathers Athanasius, Cyril, Celestine,
Hilary, Basil, Gregory, and now once again by the most holy Leo: and we pray that those
things which were decreed by the 318 holy fathers, and by the most holy Leo be read. The
most glorious judges and great Senate said: Let there be read the expositions (ektethenta)
of the 318 fathers gathered together at Nice. Eunomius, the most reverend bishop of
Nicomedia read from a book [the Exposition of faith of the 318 fathers. ] The Exposition
of faith of the Council held at Nice. "In the consulate of Paul and Julian"etc."We believe
in one God," etc. "But those who say," etc. The most reverend bishops cried out; This is
the orthodox faith; this we all believe: into this we were baptized; into this we baptize:
Blessed Cyril so taught: tiffs is the true faith: this is the holy faith: this is the
everlasting faith: into this we were baptized: into this we baptize: we all so believe: so
believes Leo, the Pope (ho papas): Cyril thus believed: Pope Leo so interpreted it.

5 The most glorious judges and great senate said, Let there be read what was set forth by
the 150 holy fathers. Aetius, the reverend deacon of Constantinople read from a book [the
creed of the 150 fathers. ] The holy faith which the 150 fathers set forth as consonant to
the holy and great Synod of Nice."We believe in one God," etc. All the most reverend
bishops cried out: This is the faith of all of us: we all so believe. The reverend
archdeacon Aetius said, There remains the letter of Cyril of holy and blessed memory,
sometime bishop of the great city Alexandria, which he wrote to Nestorius, which was
approved by all the most holy bishops assembled in the first Council at Ephesus, called to
condemn the same Nestorius, and which was confirmed by the subscription of all. There is
also another letter of the same Cyril, of blessed memory, which he wrote to John, of
blessed memory, sometime bishop of the great city of Antioch, which likewise was
confirmed. If it be so ordered, I shall read these.

6 The most glorious judges and great senate said, Let the letters of Cyril of blessed
memory be read.Aetius, the Archdeacon of the imperial city Constantinople read. To the
most reverend and most religious fellow-priest Nestorius, Cyril sends greeting in the
Lord. [Kataphluarousi men k.t.l. Lat. Obloquuntur quidem, etc. This letter is found among
the acts of the Council of Ephesus.] Likewise the same Archdeacon Aetius read [the letter
of the same holy Cyril of blessed memory to John of Antioch, on the peace]. [This letter
begins, Euphrainethosan hoi ouranoi k.t.l.; and in the Latin Laetentur caeli.]

SESSION 2 EXTRACTS, PART 2

(L. and C., Conc., Tom. IV., col. 343.) And when these letters [i.e. Cyril's letter to
Nestorius Kataphluarousi and his letter to John of Antioch Euphraineothosan] had been
read, the most reverend bishops cried out: We all so believe: Pope Leo thus believes:
anathema to him who divides and to him who confounds: this is the faith of Archbishop Leo:
Leo thus believes: Leo and Anatolius so believe: we all thus believe. As Cyril so believe
we, all of us: eternal be the memory of Cyril: as the epistles of Cyril teach such is our
mind, such has been our faith: such is our faith: thisis the mind of Archbishop Leo, so he
believes, so he has written. The most glorious judges and the great senate said: Let there
be read also the epistle of the most worthy Leo, Archbishop of Old Rome, the Imperial
City. Beronician, the most devout clerk of the sacred consistory, read from a book handed
him by Aetius, Archdeacon of the holy Church of Constantinople, the encyclical or
synodical letter of the most holy Leo, the Archbishop, written to Flavian, Archbishop of
Constantinople.

SESSION 2 EXTRACTS, PART 3

(Labbe and Cossart, Concilia, Tom. IV., col. 368.) After the reading of the foregoing
epistle, the most reverend bishops cried out: This is the faith of the fathers, this is
the faith of the Apostles. So we all believe, thus the orthodox believe. Anathema to him
who does not thus believe. Peter has spoken thus through Leo. So taught the Apostles.
Piously and truly did Leo teach, so taught Cyril. Everlasting be thememory of Cyril. Leo
and Cyril taught the same thing, anathema to him who doesnot so believe. This is the true
faith. Thoseof us who are orthodox thus believe. Thisis the faith of the fathers. Why were
not these things read at Ephesus [i.e. at the heretical synod held there]? These are the
things Dioscorus hid away. [Some explanations were asked by the Illyrian bishops and the
answers were found satisfactory, but yet a delay of a few days was asked for, and some
bishops petitioned for a general pardon of all who had been kept out. This proposition
made great confusion, in the midst of which the session was dissolved by the judges. (Col.
371.)]

SESSION 3

1 [The imperial representatives do not seem to have been present, and after Aetius the
Archdeacon of Constantinoplehad opened the Session,] Paschasinus the bishop of Lilybaeum,
in the province of Silicia, and holding the place of the most holy Leo, archbishop of the
Apostolic see of old Rome, said in Latin what being interpreted is as follows: It is well
known to this beloved of God synod, that divine letters were sent to the blessed and
apostolic pope Leo, inviting him to deign to be present at the holy synod. But since
ancient custom did not sanction this, nor the general necessity of the time seemed to
permit it, our littleness in the place of himself he [ta tes hagias sunodou, and therefore
it is necessary that whatever things are brought into discussion should be examined by our
interference (dialalias). [The Latin reads where I haveplaced the Greek of the ordinary
text, thus,"commanded our littleness to preside inhis place over this holy council."]
Therefore let the book presented by our most beloved-of-God brother, and fellow-bishop
Eusebius be received, and read by the beloved of God archdeacon and primicerius of the
notaries, Aetius.

2 And Aetius, the archdeacon and primicerius of the notaries, took the book and read as
follows. [Next follows the petition of Eusebius et post nonnulla four petitions each
addressed to "The most holy and beloved-of-God ecumenical archbishop and patriarch of
great Rome Leo, and to the holy and ecumenical Synod assembled at Chalcedon, etc., etc. ;"
The first two by deacons of Alexandria, the third by a quondam presbyter of the diocese,
and the fourth by a layman also of Alexandria. After this Dioscorus was again summoned
and, as he did not come, sentence was given against him, which was communicated to him in
a letter contained in the acts. (L. and C., Conc., Tom IV., col. 418.) The Bishops
expressed their opinions for the most part one by one, but the Roman Legates spoke
together, and in their speech occurs the following (Col. 426:)] Wherefore the most holy
and blessed Leo, archbishop of the great and elder Rome, through us, and through this
present most holy synod together with the thrice blessed and all-glorious Peter the
Apostle, who is the rock and foundation of the Catholic Church, and the foundation of the
orthodox faith, hath stripped him of the episcopate, and hath alienated from him all
hieratic worthiness. Therefore let this most holy and great synod sentence the before
mentioned Dioscorus to the canonical penalties.[ The bishops then, one by one, spoke in
favour of the deposition of Dioscorus, but usually on the ground of his refusal to appear
when thrice summoned.]

3 And when all the most holy bishops had spoken on the subject, they signed this which
follows.

SESSION 4 EXTRACTS

1 (Labbe and Cossart, Concilia, Tom. IV., col. 469.) The most magnificent and glorious
judges and the great Senate said: Let the reverend council now declare what seems good
concerning the faith, since those things which have already been disposed of have been
made manifest. Paschasinus and Lucentius, the most reverend bishops, and Boniface the most
reverend presbyter, legates of the Apostolic See through that most reverend man, bishop
Paschasinus said: As the holy and blessed and Ecumenical Synod holds fast and follows the
rule of faith (fidei regulam in the Latin Acts) which was set forth by the fathers at
Nice, it also confirms the faith set forth by the Synod of 150 fathers gathered at
Constantinople at the bidding of the great Theodosius of blessed memory. Moreover the
exposition of their faith, of the illustrious Cyril of blessed memory set forth at the
Council of Ephesus (in which Nestorius was condemned) is received. And in the third place
the writings of that blessed man, Leo, Archbishop of all the churches, who condemned the
heresy of Nestorius and Eutyches, shew what the true faith is. Likewise the holy Synod
holds this faith, this it follows-nothing further can it add nor can it take aught away.

2 When this had been translated into Greek by Beronician, the devout secretary of the
divine consistory, the most reverend bishops tried out: So we all believe, so we were
baptized, so we baptize, so we have believed, so we now believe. The most glorious judges
and the great senate said: Since we see that the Holy Gospels have been placed alongside
of your holiness, let each one of the bishops here assembled declare whether the epistle
of most blessed archbishop Leo is in accordance with the exposition of the 318 fathers
assembled at Nice and with the decrees of the 150 fathers afterwards assembled in the
royal city. [To this question the bishops answered one by one, until 161 separate opinions
had been given, when the rest of the bishops were asked by the imperial judges to give
their votes in a body (col. 508). ] All the most reverend bishops cried out: We all
acquiesce, we all believe thus; we are all of the same mind. So are we minded, so we
believe, etc., etc.

SESSION 5

1 (Labbe and Cossart, Concilia, Tom. IV., col. 555.) Paschasinus and Lucentius the most
reverend bishops and Boniface a presbyter, vicars of the Apostolic See of Rome, said: If
they do not agree to the letter of that apostolic and blessed man, Pope Leo, give
directions that we be given our letters of dismission, and let a synod be held there [i.
e. in the West]. [A long debate then followed as to whether the decree drawn up and
presented should be accepted. This seems to have been the mind of most of the bishops. At
last the commissioners proposed a committee of twenty-two to meet with them and report to
the council, and the Emperor imposed this with the threat that otherwise they all should
be sent home and a new council called in the West. Even this did not make them yield (col.
560.)] The most reverend bishops cried out: Many years to the Emperor! Either let the
definition [i.e. the one presented at this session] stand or we go. Many years to the
Emperor!

2 Cecropius, the most reverend bishop of Sebastopol, said: We ask that the definition be
read again and that those who dissent from it, and will not sign, may go about their
business; for we give our consent to these things which have been so beautifully drafted,
and make no criticisms. The most blessed bishops of Illyria said: Let those who contradict
be made manifest. Those who contradict are Nestorians. Those who contradict, let them go
to Rome. The most magnificent and most glorious judges said: Dioscorus acknowledged that
he accepted the expression "of two natures," but not that there were two natures. But the
most holy archbishop Leo says that there are two natures in Christ unchangeably,
inseparably, unconfusedly united in the one only-begotten Son our Saviour. Which would you
follow, the most holy Leo or Dioscorus? The most reverend bishops cried out: We believe as
Leo. Those who contradict are Eutychians. Leo hath rightly expounded the faith.

3 The most magnificent and glorious judges said: Add then to the definition, according to
the judgment of our most holy father Leo, that there are two natures in Christ united
unchangeably, inseparably, unconfusedly. [The Committee then sat in the oratory of the
most holy martyr Euphemis and afterward,s reported a definition of faith which while
teaching the same doctrine was not the Tome of Leo (col. 562).]

SESSION 6 EXTRACTS

1 (Labbe and Cossart, Concilia, Tom. IV., col. 611.) [The Emperor was present in person
and addressed the Council and afterwards suggested legislation under three heads, the
drafts for which were read.] After this reading, the capitulas were handed by our most
sacred and pious prince to the most beloved of God Anatolius, archbishop of royal
Constantinople, which is New Rome, and all the most God-beloved bishops cried out: Many
years to our Emperor and Empress, the pious, the Christian. May Christ whom thou servest
keep thee. These things are worthy of the faith. To the Priest, the Emperor. Thou hast
straightened out the churches, victor of thine enemies, teacher of the faith. Manyyears to
the pious Empress, the lover of Christ. Many years to her that is orthodox. May God save
your kingdom. Ye have put down the heretics, ye have kept the faith. May hatred be far
removed from your empire, and may your kingdom endure for ever!

2 Our most sacred and pious prince said to the holy synod: To the honour of the holy
martyr Euphemia, and of your holiness, we decree that the city of Chalcedon, in which the
synod of the holy faith has been held, shall have the honours of a metropolis, in name
only giving it this honour, the proper dignity of the city of Nicomedia being
preserved.All cried out, etc., etc.

SESSION 7: DECREE ON THE JURISDICTION OF JERUSALEM AND ANTIOCH

1 (Labbe and Cossart, Concilia, Tom. IV., col. 618.) The most magnificent and glorious
judges said: . . . The arrangement arrived at through the agreement of the most holy
Maximus, the bishop of the city of Antioch, and of the most holy Juvenal, the bishop of
Jerusalem, as the attestation of each of them declares, shall remain firm for ever,
through our decree and the sentence of the holy synod; to wit, that the most holy bishop
Maximus, or rather the most holy church of Antioch, shall have under its own jurisdiction
the two Phoenicias and Arabia; but the most holy Juvenal, bishop of Jerusalem, or rather
the most holy Church which is under him, shall have under his own power the three
Palestines, all imperial pragmatics and letters and penalties being done away according to
the bidding of our most sacred and pious prince.

Note.

2 The Ballerini, in their notes to the Works of St. Leo (Migne, Pat. Lat., LV., col. 733
et seqq.), cite fragments of the Acts of this council, which if they can be trusted, shew
that this matter of the rights of Antioch and Jerusalem was treated of again at a
subsequent session (on Oct. 31) and determined in the same fashion. These fragments have
generally been received as genuine, and have been inserted by Mansi (Toni. vii., 722 C.)
in his Concilia. The notes of the Ballerini may also be read with profit, in the same
volume of Migne's Latin Patrology, col. 737 et seq.

SESSION 12: THE DECREE WITH REGARD TO THE BISHOP OF EPHESUS

1 (Labbe and Cossart, Concilia, Tom. IV., col. 706.) The most glorious judges said: Since
the proposition of the God-beloved archbishop of royal Constantinople, Anatolius, and of
the most reverend bishop Paschasinus, holding the place of Leo, the most God-beloved
archbishop of old Rome, which orders that because both of them [i.e., Bassianus and
Stephen] acted uncanonically, neither of them should rule, nor be called bishop of the
most holy church off Ephesus, and since the whole holy synod taught that uncanonically
they had performed these ordinations, and had agreed with the speeches of the most
reverend bishops; the most reverend Bassianus and the most reverend Stephen will be
removed from the holy church of Ephesus; but they shall enjoy the episcopal dignity, and
from the revenues of the before-mentioned most holy church, for theirnourishment and
consolation, they shall receive each year two hundred gold pieces; and another bishop
shall be ordained according to the canons for the most holy church.

2 And the whole holy synod cried out: This is a just sentence. This is a pious scheme.
These things are fair to look upon. The most reverend bishop Bassianus said: Pray give
order that what was stolen from me be restored. The most glorious judges said: If
anytiring belonging to the most reverend bishop Bassianus personally has been taken from
him, either by the most reverend bishop Stephen, or by any other persons whatsoever, this
shall be restored, after judicial proof, by them who took it away or caused it to be
taken.

SESSION 13: DECREE WITH REGARD TO NICOMEDIA

1 (Labbe and Cossart, Concilia, Tom. IV., col. 715.) The most glorious judges said [after
the reading of the imperial letters was finished]: These divine letters say nothing
whatever with regard to the episcopate, but both refer to honour belonging to metropolitan
cities. But the sacred letters of Valentinian and Valens of divine memory, which then
bestowed metropolitan rights upon the city of Nice, carefully provided that nothing should
be taken away from other cities. And the canon of the holy fathers decreed that there
should be one metropolis in each province. What therefore is the pleasure of the holy
synod in this matter? The holy synod cried out: Let the canons be kept. Let the canons be
sufficient. Atticus the most reverend bishop of old Nicepolis in Epirus said: The canon
thus defines, that a metropolitan should have jurisdiction in each province, and he should
constitute all the bishops who are in that province. And this is the meaning of the canon.
Now the bishop of Nicomedia, since from the beginning this was a metropolis, ought to
ordain all the bishops who are in that province.

2 The holy synod said: This is what we all wish, this we all pray for, let this everywhere
be observed, this is pleasing to all ofus. John, Constantine, Patrick [Peter] and the rest
of the most reverend bishops of the Pentic diocese [through John who was one of them]
said: The canons recognize the one more ancient as the metropolitan. And it is manifest
that the most religious bishop of Nicemedia has the right of the ordination, and since the
laws (as your magnificence has seen) have honoured Nice with the name only of metropolis,
and so made its bishop superior to the rest of the bishops of the province in honour only.
The holy synod said: They have taught in accordance with the canons, beautifully have they
taught. We all say the same things.[Aetius, Archdeacon of Constantinople, thenput in a
plea to save the rights of the throne of the royal city.]

3 The most glorious judges said: The most reverend the bishop of Nicomedia shall have the
authority of metropolitan over the churches of the province of Bithynia, and Nice shall
have the honour only of Metropolitical rank, submitting itself according to the example of
the other bishops of the province of Nicomedia. For such is thepleasure of the Holy Synod.

THE CONDEMNATION SENT BY THE HOLY AND ECUMENICAL SYNOD TO DIOSCORUS

(Labbe and Cossart, Concilia, Tom. IV., col. 459.) The holy and great and ecumenical
Synod, which by the grace of God according to the constitution of our most pious and
beloved of God emperors assembled together at Chalcedon the city of Bithynia, in the
martyry of the most holy and victorious Martyr Euphemia to Dioscorus. We do you to wit
that on the thirteenth day of the month of October you were deposed from the episcopate
and made astranger to all ecclesiastical order (thesmou ) by the holy and ecumenical
synod, on account of your disregard of the divine canons, and of your disobedience to this
holy and ecumenical synod and on account of the other crimes of which you have been found
guilty, for even when called to answer your accusers three times by this holy and great
synod according to the divine canons you did not come.

THE LETTER OF CYRIL TO JOHN OF ANTIOCH

1 (Found in Labbe and Cossart, Concilia, Tom. IV., col. 343 and col. 164; and in Migne,
Pat. Graece., Tom. LXXVII. [Cyrilli Opera, Tom. X.], col. 173. This is the letter which is
often styled "the Ephesine Creed.") Cyril to my lord, beloved brother, and fellow minister
John, greeting in the Lord. "Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad" for the
middle wall of partition has been taken away, and grief has been silenced, and all kind of
difference of opinion has been removed; Christ the Saviour of us all having awarded peace
tohis churches, through our being called to this by our most devout and beloved of God
kings, who are the best imitators of the piety of their ancestors in keeping the right
faith in their souls firm and immovable, for they chiefly give their mind to the affairs
of the holy Churches, in order that they may have the noted glory forever and show forth
their most renowned kingdom, to whom also Christ himself the Lord of powers distributes
good things with plenteous hand and gives to prevail over their enemies and grants them
victory. For he does not liein saying: "As I live saith the Lord, them that honour me, I
will honour." For when my lord, my most-beloved-of-God, fellow-minister and brother Paul,
had arrived in Alexandria, we were filled with gladness, and most naturally at the coming
of such a man as a mediator, who was ready to work beyond measure that he might overcome
the envy of the devil and heal our divisions, and who by removing the offences scattered
between us, would crown your Church and ours with harmony and peace.

2 Of the reason of the disagreement it issuperfluous to speak. I deem it more useful both
to think and speak of things suitable to the time of peace. We were therefore delighted at
meeting with that distinguished and most pious man, who expected perhaps to have no small
struggle, persuading us that it is necessary to form a an alliance for the peace of the
Church, andto drive away the laughter of the heterodox, and for this end to blunt the
goads of the stubbornness of the devil. He found us ready for this, so as absolutely to
need no labour to be bestowed upon us. For we remembered the Saviour's saying; "Mypeace I
give unto you, my peace I leave with you. We have been taught also to say in prayers: "O
Lord our God give us peace, for thou hast given us all things. So that if anyone should be
in the participation of the peace furnished from God, he is not lacking in any good. That
as a matter of fact, the disagreement of the Churches happened altogether unnecessarily
and in-opportunely, we now have been fully satisfied by the document brought by my lord,
the most pious bishop Paul, which contains an unimpeachable confession of faith, and this
he asserted to have been prepared, by your holiness and by the God-beloved Bishops there.
The document is as follows, and is set down verbatim in this our epistle.Concerning the
Virgin Mother of God, we thus think and speak;

3 and of the man-net of the Incarnation of the Only Begotten Son of God, necessarily, not
by way of addition but for the sake of certainty, as we have received from the beginning
from the divine Scriptures and from the tradition of the holy fathers, we will speak
briefly, adding nothing whatever to the Faith set forth by the holy Fathers in Nice. For,
as we said before, it suffices for all knowledge of piety and the refutation of all false
doctrine of heretics. But we speak, not presuming on the impossible; but with the
confession of our own weakness, excluding those who wish us to cling to those things which
transcend human consideration. 4 We confess, therefore, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Only
Begotten Son of God, perfect God, and perfect Man of a reasonable soul and flesh
consisting; begotten before the ages of the Father according to his Divinity, and in the
last days, for us and for our salvation, of Mary the Virgin according to his humanity, of
the same substance with his Father according to his Divinity, and of the same substance
with us according to his humanity; for there became a union of two natures. Wherefore we
confess one Christ, one Son, one Lord.According to this understanding of this unmixed
union, we confess the holy Virgin to be Mother of God; because God the Word was incarnate
and became Man, and from this conception he united the temple taken from her with himself.
For we know the theologians make some things of the Evangelical and Apostolic teaching
about the Lord common as per-raining to the one person, and other flyings they divide as
to the two natures, and attribute the worthy ones to God on account of the Divinity of
Christ, and the lowly ones on account of his humanity [to his humanity].

5 These being your holy voices, and finding ourselves thinking the same with them ("One
Lord, One Faith, One Baptism,") we glorified God the Saviour of all, congratulating one
another that our churches and yours have the Faith which agrees with the God-inspired
Scriptures and the traditions of our holy Fathers. Since I learned that certain of those
accustomed to find fault were humming around like vicious wasps, and vomiting out wretched
words against me, as that I say the holy Body of Christ was brought from heaven, and not
of the holy Virgin, I thought it necessary to say a few words concerning this to them: O
fools, and only knowing how to misrepresent, how have ye been led to such a judgment, how
have ye fallen into so foolish a sickness? For it is necessary, it is undoubtedly
necessary, to understand that almost all the opposition to us concerningthe faith, arose
from our affirming that the holy Virgin is Mother of God. But if from heaven and not from
her the holy Body of the Saviour of all was born, how then is she understood to be Mother
of God? What then did she bring forth except it be true that she brought forth the
Emmanuel according to the flesh? They are to be laughed at who babble such things about
me. For the blessed prophet Isaiah does not lie in saying "Behold the Virgin shall
conceive and bear a Son, and shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God
with us." Truly also the holy Gabriel said to the Blessed Virgin:"Fear not, Mary, for thou
hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shall conceive in thy womb, and bring forth
a Son, and shall call his name Jesus. He shall save his people from their sins."

6 For when we say our Lord Jesus Christ descended from heaven, and from above, we do not
so say this as if from above and from heaven was his Holy Flesh taken, but rather by way
of following the divine Paul, who distinctly declares: "the first man is of the earth,
earthy; the Second Man is the Lord from heaven." We remember too, the Saviour himself
saying, "And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even
the Son of Man." Although he was born according to his flesh, as just said, of the holy
Virgin, yet God the Word came down from above and from heaven. He "made himself of no
reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant," and was called the Son of Man, yet
remaining what he was, that is to say God. For he is unchanging and unchangeable according
to nature; considered already as one with his own Flesh, he is said to have come down from
heaven.

7 He is also called the Man from heaven, being perfect in his Divinity and perfect in his
Humanity, and considered as in one Person. For one is the Lord Jesus Christ, although the
difference of his natures is not unknown, from which we say the ineffable union was made.
Will your holiness vouchsafe to silence those who say that a crasis, or mingling or
mixture took place between the Word of God and flesh. For it is likely that certain also
gossip about me as having thought or said such things. But I am far from any such thought
as that, and I also consider them wholly to rave who think a shadow of change could occur
concerning the Nature of the Word of God. For he remains that which he always was, and has
not been changed, nor can he ever be changed, nor is he capable of change. For we all
confess in addition to this, that the Word of God is impassible, even though when he
dispenses most wisely this mystery, he appears to ascribe to himself the sufferings
endured in his own flesh. To the same purpose the all-wise Peter also said when he wrote
of Christ as having "suffered in the flesh," and not in the nature of his ineffable
godhead. In order that he should be believed to be the Saviour of all, by an economic
appropriation to himself, as just said, he assumed the sufferings of his own Flesh.

8 Like to this is the prophecy through the voice of the prophet, as from him, "I gave my
back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face
from shame and spitting." Let your holiness be convinced nor let anyone else be doubtful
that we altogether follow the teachings of the holy fathers, especially of our blessed and
celebrated Father Athanasius, deprecating the least departure from it. I might have added
many quotations from them also establishing my words, but that it would have added to the
length of my letter and it might become wearisome. And we will allow the defined Faith,
the symbol of the Faith set forth by our holy Fathers who assembled some time ago at Nice,
to be shaken by no one. Nor would we permit ourselves or others, to alter a single word of
those set forth, or to add one syllable, remembering the saying: "Remove not the ancient
landmark which thy fathers have set," for it was not they who spoke but the Spirit himself
of God and the Father, who proceedeth also from him, and is not alien from the Son,
according to his essence. And this the words of the holy initiators into mysteries confirm
to us. For in the Acts of the Apostles it is written: "And after they were come to Mysia,
they assayed to go into Bithynia; but the Spirit of Jesus suffered them not." And the
divine Paul wrote: "So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not
in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any
man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his."

9 When some of those who are accustomed to turn from the right, twist my speech to their
views, I pray your holiness not to wonder; but be well assured that the followers of every
heresy gather the occasions of their error from the God-inspired Scriptures, corrupting in
their evil minds the things rightly said through the Holy Spirit, and drawing down upon
their own heads the unquenchable flame. Since we have leaned that certain, after having
corrupted it, have set forth the orthodox epistle of our most distinguished Father
Athanasius to the Blessed Epictetus, so as thereby to injure many; therefore it appeared
to the brethren to be useful and necessary that we should send to your holiness a copy of
it from some correct ancient transcripts which exist among us. Farewell.


COUNCIL OF CHALCEDON (AD 451): THE TOME OF ST. LEO
==================================================

COUNCIL OF CHALCEDON (AD 451): THE TOME OF ST. LEO The letter of Pope Leo to Flavian,
bishop of Constantinople, written in AD 449 on the two natures of Christ. It was read at
Chalcedon and accepted there as a statement of the faith.

1 (Labbe and Cossart, Concilia, Tom. IV., col. 343; also Migne, Pat. Lat., Tom. LIV. [Leo.
M. Opera, Tom. I.] col. 756.) Leo [the bishop] to his [most] dear brother Flavian. 2
Having read your Affection's letter, the late arrival of which is matter of surprise to
us, and having gone through the record of the proceedings of the bishops, we have now, at
last, gained a clear view of the scandal which has risen up among you, against the
integrity of the faith; and what at first seemed obscure has now been elucidated and
explained. By this means Eutyches, who seemed to be deserving of honour under the title of
Presbyter, is nowshown to be exceedingly thoughtless and sadly inexperienced, so that to
him also we may apply the prophet's words, "He refused to understand in order to act well:
he meditated unrighteousness on his bed. What, indeed, is more unrighteous than
toentertain ungodly thoughts, and not to yield to persons wiser and more learned? But into
this folly do they fall who, when hindered by some obscurity from apprehending the truth,
have recourse, not to the words of the Prophets, not to the letters of the Apostles, nor
to the authority of the Gospels, but to themselves; and become teachers of error, just
because they have not been disciples of the truth. For what learning has he received from
the sacred pages of the New and the Old Testament, who does not so much as understand the
very beginning of the Creed? And that which, all the world over, is uttered by the voices
of all applicants for regeneration, is still not grasped by the mind of this aged man.

3 If, then, he knew not what he ought to think about the Incarnation of the Word of God,
and was not willing, for the sake of obtaining the light of intelligence, to make
laborious search through the whole extent of the Holy Scriptures, he should at least have
received with heedful attention that general Confession common to all, whereby the whole
body of the faithful profess that they "believe in God the Father Almighty, and in Jesus
Christ Iris only Son our Lord, who was born of the Holy Ghost and the Virgin Mary. By
which three clauses the engines of almost all heretics are shattered. For when God is
believed to be both "Almighty" and "Father," it is proved that the Son is everlasting
together with himself, differing in nothing from the Father, because he was born as "God
from God," Almighty from Almighty, Coeternal from Eternal; not later in time, not inferior
in power, not unlike him in glory, not divided from him in essence, but the same Only-
begotten and Everlasting Son of an Everlasting Parent was "born of the Holy Ghost and the
Virgin Mary. This birth in time in no way detracted from, in no way added to, that divine
and everlasting birth; but expended itself wholly in the work of restoring man, who had
been deceived; so that it might both overcome death, and by its power "destroy the devil
who had the power of death.

4 For we could not have overcome the author of sin and of death, unless he who could
neither be contaminated by sin, nor detained by death, had taken upon himself our nature,
and made it his own. For, in fact, he was "conceived of the Holy Ghost" within the womb of
a Virgin Mother, who bore him as she hadconceived him, without loss of virginity. But if
he (Eutyches) was not able to obtain a true conception from this pure fountain of
Christian faith because by his own blindness he had darkened for himself the brightness of
a truth so clear, he should have submitted himself to the Evangelist's teaching; and after
reading what Matthew says, "The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the Son of David,
the Son of Abraham," he should also have sought instruction from the Apostle's preaching;
and after reading in the Epistle to the Romans, "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called
an Apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, which he had promised before by theprophets
in the Holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was made unto him of the seed of David
according to the flesh," he should have bestowed some devout study on the pages of the
Prophets; and finding that God's promise said to Abraham, "in thy seedshall all nations be
blessed," in order to avoid all doubt as to the proper meaning of this "seed," he should
have at-tended to the Apostle's words, "To Abraham and to his seed were the promises made.

5 He saith not, `and to seeds,' as in the case of many, but as in the case of one, `and to
thy seed,' which is Christ. He should also have apprehended with his inward ear the
declaration of Isaiah, "Behold, a Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and they shall
call his name Emmanuel, which is, being interpreted, God with us; and should have read
with faith the words of the same prophet, "Unto us a Child has been born, unto us a Son
has been given, whose power is on his shoulder; and they shall call his name Angel of
great counsel, Wonderful, Counsellor, Strong God, Prince of Peace, Father of the age to
come. And he should not have spoken idly to the effect that the Word was in such a sense
made flesh, that the Christ who was brought forth from the Virgin's womb had the form of a
man, and had not a body really derived from his Mother's body. Possibly his reason for
thinking that our Lord Jesus Christ was not of our nature was this-that the Angel who was
sent to the blessed and ever Virgin Mary said, "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and
the power of rite Highest shall overshadow thee, and therefore also that holy thing which
shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God; as if, because the Virgin's
conception was caused by a divine act, therefore the flesh of him whom she conceived was
not of the nature of her who conceived him.

6 But we are not to understand that "generation," peerlessly wonderful, and wonderfully
peerless, in such a sense as that the newness of the mode of production did away with the
proper character of the kind. For it was the Holy Ghost who gave fecundity to the Virgin,
but it was from a body that a real body was derived; and "when Wisdom was building herself
a house," the "Word wasmade flesh, and dwelt among us,that is, in that flesh which he
assumed from a human being, and which he animated withthe spirit of rational life. 7
Accordingly while the distinctness of both natures and substances was preserved, and both
met in one Person, lowliness was assumed by majesty, weakness by power, mortality by
eternity; and, in order to pay the debt of our condition, the inviolable nature was united
to the passible, so that as the appropriate remedy for our ills, one and the same
"Mediator between God and man, the Man Christ Jesus," might from one element be capable of
dying and also from the other be incapable. Therefore in the entire and perfect nature of
very man was born very God, whole in what was his, whole in what was ours. By "ours" we
mean what the Creator formed in us at the beginning and what he assumed in order to
restore; for of that which the deceiver brought in, and man, thus deceived, admitted,
there was not a trace in the Saviour; and the fact that he took on himself a share in our
infirmities did not make him a par-taker in our transgressions. He assumed "the form of a
servant" without the defilement of sin, enriching what was human, not impairing what was
divine: because that "emptying of himself," whereby the Invisible made himself visible,
and the Creator and Lord of all things willed to be one among mortals, was a stooping down
in compassion, not a failure of power. Accordingly, the same who, remaining in the form of
God, made man, was made man inthe form of a servant. For each of the natures retains its
proper character without defect;

8 and as the form of God does not take away the form of a servant, so the form of a
servant does not impair the form of God. For since the devil was glorying in the fact that
man, deceived by his craft, was bereft of divine gifts and, being stripped of his
endowment of immortality, had come under the grievous sentence of death, and that he
himself, amid his miseries, had found a sort of consolation in having a transgressor as
his companion, and that God, according to the requirements of the principle of justice,
had changed his own resolution in regard to man, whom he had created in so high a position
of honour; there was need of a dispensation of secret counsel, in order that the
unchangeable God, whose will could not be deprived of its own benignity, should fulfil by
a more secret mystery his original plan of loving kindness toward us, and that man, who
had been led into fault by the wicked subtlety of the devil, should not perish contrary to
God's purpose. Accordingly, the Son of God, descending from his seat in heaven, and not
departing from the glory of the Father, enters this lower world, born after a new order,
by a new mode of birth. After a new order; because he who in his own sphere is invisible,
became visible in ours; He who could not be enclosed in space, willed to be enclosed;
continuing to be before times, he began to exist in time;

9 the Lord of the universe allowed his infinite majesty to be overshadowed, and took upon
him the form of a servant; the impassible God did not disdain to be passible Man and the
immortal One to be subjected to the laws of death. And born by a new mode of birth;
because inviolate virginity, while ignorant of concupiscence, supplied the matter of his
flesh. What was assumed from the Lord's mother was nature, not fault; nor does the
wondrousness of the nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, as born of a Virgin's womb, imply
that his nature is unlike ours. For the selfsame who is very God, is also very man; and
there is no illusion in this union, while the lowliness of man and the loftiness of
Godhead meet together. For as "God" is not changed by the compassion [exhibited], so "Man"
is not consumed by the dignity [bestowed]. For each "form" does the acts which belong to
it, in communion with the other; the Word, that is, performing what belongs to the Word,
and the flesh carrying out what belongs to the flesh; the one of these shines out in
miracles, the other succumbs' to injuries. And as the Word does not withdraw from equality
with the Father in glory, so the flesh does not abandon the nature of our kind.For, as we
must often be saying, he is one and the same, truly Son of God, and truly Son of Man.

10 God, inasmuch as "in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the
Word was God. Man, inasmuch as "the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. God, inasmuch
as "all things were made by him, and without him nothing was made. Man, inasmuch as he
was"made of a woman, made under the law. The nativity of the flesh is a manifestation of
human nature; the Virgin's child-bearing is an indication of Divine power. Theinfancy of
the Babe is exhibited by the humiliation of swaddling clothes: the greatness of the
Highest is declared by the voices of angels. He whom Herod impiously designs to slay is
like humanity in its beginnings; but he whom the Magi rejoice to adore on their knees is
Lord of all. Now when he came to the baptism of John his forerunner, lest the fact that
the Godhead was covered with a veil of flesh should be concealed, the voice of the Father
spake in thunder from heaven, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
Accordingly, he who, as man, is tempted by the devil's subtlety, is the same to whom, as
God, angels pay duteous service. To hunger, to thirst, to be weary, and to sleep, is
evidently human. But to satisfy five thousand men with five loaves, and give to the
Samaritan woman that living water, to draw which can secure him that drinks of it from
ever thirsting again;

11 to walk on the surface of the sea with feet that sink not, and by rebuking the storm to
bring down the "uplifted waves," is unquestionably Divine. As then-to pass by many points
-it does not belong to the same nature to weep with feelings of pity over a dead friend
and, after the mass of stone had been removed from the grave where he had lain four days,
by a voice of command to raise him up to life again; or to hang on the wood, and to make
all the elements tremble after daylight had been turned into night; or to be transfixed
with nails, and to open the gates of paradise to the faith of the robber; so it does not
belong to the same nature to say, "I and the Father are one," and to say, "the Father is
greater than I. For although in the Lord Jesus Christ there is one Person of God and man,
yet that whereby contumely attaches to both is one thing, and that whereby glory attaches
to both is another; for from what belongs to us he has that manhood which is inferior to
the Father; while from the Father he has equal Godhead with the Father. Accordingly, on
account of this unity of Person which is to be understood as existing in both the natures,
we read, on the one hand, that "the Son of Man came down from heaven," inasmuch as the Son
of God took flesh from that Virgin of whom he was born;

12 and on the other hand, the Son of God is said to have been crucified and buried,
inasmuch as he underwent this, not in his actual Godhead; wherein the Only-begotten is
coeternal and consubstantial with the Father, but in the weakness of human nature.
Wherefore we all, in the very Creed, confess that" the only-begotten Son of God was
crucified and buried," according to that saying of the Apostle, "for if they had known it,
they would not have crucified the Lord of Majesty." 13 But when our Lord and Saviour
himself was by his questions instructing the faith of the disciples, he said, "Whom do men
say that I the Son of Man am? And when they had mentioned various opinions held by others,
he said, "But whom say ye that I am? that is, "I who am Son of Man, and whom you see in
the form of a servant, and in reality of flesh, whom say ye that I am? Whereupon the
blessed Peter, as inspired by God, and about to benefit all nations by his confession,
said, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. Not undeservedly, therefore, was he
pronounced blessed by the Lord, and derived from the original Rock that solidity which
belonged both to his virtue and to his name, who through revelation from the Father
confessed the selfsame to be both the Son of God and the Christ; because one of these
truths, accepted without the other, would not profit unto salvation, and it was equally
dangerous to believe the Lord Jesus Christ to be merely God and not man, or merely man and
not God. But after the resurrection of the Lord-which was in truth the resurrection of a
real body, for no other person was raised again than he who had been crucified and had
died-what else was accomplished during that interval of forty days than to make our faith
entire and clear of all darkness?

14 For while he conversed with his disciples, and dwelt with them, and ate withthem, and
allowed himself to be handled with careful and inquisitive touch by those who were under
the influence of doubt, for this end he came in to the disciples when the doors were shut,
and by his breath gave them the Holy Ghost, and opened the secrets of Holy Scripture after
bestowing on them the light of intelligence, and again in his selfsame person showed to
them the wound in the side, the prints of the nails, and all the flesh tokens of the
Passion, saying, "Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle me and see, for
a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see mehave: that the properties of the Divine and
the human nature might be acknowledged to remain in him without causing a division, and
that we might in such sort know that the Word is not what the flesh is, as to confess that
the one Son of God is both Word and flesh. On which mystery of the faith this Eutyches
must be regarded as unhappily having no hold, who does not recognise our nature to exist
in the Only-begotten Son of God, either by way of the lowliness of mortality, or of the
glory of resurrection. Nor has he been overawed by the declaration of the blessed Apostle
and Evangelist John, saying, "Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ has comein
the flesh is of God;

15 and every spirit which dissolveth Jesus is not of God, and this is Antichrist. Now what
is to dissolve Jesus, but to separate the human nature from him, and to make void by
shameless inventions that mystery by which alone we have been saved? Moreover, being in
the dark as to the nature of Christ's body, he must needs be involved in the like
senseless blindness with regard to his Passion also. For if he does not think the Lord's
crucifixion to be unreal, and does not doubt that he really accepted suffering, even unto
death, for the sake of the world's salvation; as he believes in his death, let him
acknowledge his flesh also, and not doubt that he whom he recognises as having been
capable of suffering is also Man with a body like ours; since to deny his true flesh is
also to deny Iris bodily sufferings. If then he accepts the Christian faith, and does not
turn away his ear from the preaching of the Gospel, let him see what nature it was that
was transfixed with nails and hung on the wood of the cross; and let him understand whence
it was that, after the side of the Crucified had been pierced by the soldier's spear,
blood and water flowed out, that the Church of God might be refreshed both with a Laver
and with a Cup.

16 Let him listen also to the blessed Apostle Peter when he declares, that "sanctification
by the Spirit" takes place through the "sprinkling ofthe blood of Christ," and let him not
give a mere cursory reading to the words of the same Apostle, "Knowing that ye were not
redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain way of life received
by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Jesus Christ as of a Lamb
without blemish and without spot. Let him also not resist the testimony of Blessed John
the Apostle, "And the blood of Jesus the Son of God cleanseth us from all sin. And again,
"This is the victory which overcometh the world, even our faith; and, "who is he that
overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? This is he that
came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not in water only, but in water and blood; and
it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three
that bear witness-the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and the three are one. That is,
the Spirit of sanctification, and the blood of redemption, and the water of baptism; which
three things are one, and remain undivided, and not one of them is disjoined from
connection with the others; because the Catholic Church lives and advances by this faith,
that Christ Jesus we should believe neither manhood to exist without true Godhead, nor
Godhead without true manhood.

17 But when Eutyches, on being questioned in your examination of him, answered, "I confess
that our Lord was of two natures before the union, but after the union I confess one
nature; I am astonished that so absurd and perverse a profession as this of his was not
rebuked by a censure on the part of any of his judges, and that an utterance extremely
foolish and extremely blasphemous was passed over, just as if nothing had been heard which
could give offence: seeing that it is as impious to say that the Only-begotten Son of God
was of two natures before the Incarnation as it is shocking to affirm that, since the Word
became flesh, there has been in him one nature only. But lest Eutyches should think that
what he said was correct, or was tolerable, because it was not confuted by any assertion
of yours, we exhort your earnest solicitude, dearly beloved brother, to see that, if by
God's merciful inspiration the case is brought to a satisfactory issue, the inconsiderate
and inexperienced man be cleansed also from this pestilent notion of his; seeing that, as
the record of the proceedings has clearly shown, he had fairlybegun to abandon his own
opinion when on being driven into a corner by authoritative words of yours, he professed
himself i ready to say what he had not said before,and to give his adhesion to that faith
from which he had previously stood aloof.

18 Butwhen he would not consent to anathematize the impious dogma you understood, brother,
that he continued in his own misbelief, and deserved to receive sentence of condemnation.
For which if he grieves sincerely andto good purpose, and understands, eventhough too
late, how properly the Episcopal authority has been put in motion, or if, in order to make
full satisfaction, he shallcondemn viva voce, and under his own hand, all that he has held
amiss, no compassion, to whatever extent, which can be shown himwhen he has been set
right, will be worthy of blame, for our Lord, the true and good Shepherd, who laid down
his life for his sheep, and who came to save men's souls and not to destroy them, wills us
to imitate his own loving kindness; so that justice should indeed constrain those who sin,
but mercy should not reject those who are converted. For then indeed is the truefaith
defended with the best results, when a false opinion is condemned even by those who have
followed it. But in order that the whole matter may be piously and faithfully carried out,
we have appointed our brethren, Julius, Bishop, and Reatus, Presbyter (of the title of St.
Clement) and also my son Hilarus, Deacon, to represent us; and with them we have
associated Dulcitius, our Notary, of whose fidelity we have had good proof: trusting that
the Divine assistance will bewith you, so that he who has gone astray may be saved by
condemning his own unsound opinion.

19 May God keep you in good health, dearly beloved brother. Given on the Ides of June, in
the Consulate of the illustrious men, Asterius and Protogenes. 20 [Next was read a long
catena of quotations from the Fathers sustaining the teaching of the Tome. (L. and C.,
Conc., Tom. IV., cols. 357-368.)]


COUNCIL OF CHALCEDON (AD 451): THE DEFINITION OF FAITH
======================================================

COUNCIL OF CHALCEDON (AD 451): THE DEFINITION OF FAITH The definition of faith adopted at
Chalcedon, which confesses one Christ in two natures, and sets the creeds of Nicaea and
Constantinople and the letters of Cyril and Leo as its witnesses.

1 (Labbe and Cossart, Concilia, Tom. IV., col. 562.) The holy, great, and ecumenical
synod, assembled by the grace of God and the command of our most religious and Christian
Emperors, Marcian and Valentinan, Augusti, at Chalcedon, the metropolis of the Bithynian
Province, in the martyry of the holy and victorious martyr Euphemia, has decreed as
follows: 2 Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, when strengthening the knowledge of the
Faith in his disciples, to the end that no one might disagree with his neighbour
concerning the doctrines of religion, and that the proclamation of the truth might be set
forth equally to all men, said, "My peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you."
But, since the evil one does not desist from sowing tares among the seeds of godliness,
but ever invents some new device against the truth; therefore the Lord, providing, as he
ever does, for the human race, has raised up this pious, faithful, and zealous Sovereign,
and has called together unto him from all parts the chief rulers of the priesthood; so
that, the grace of Christ our common Lord inspiring us, we may cast off every plague of
falsehood from the sheep of Christ, and feed them with the tender leaves of truth. And
this have we done with one unanimous consent, driving away erroneous doctrines and
renewing the unerring faith of the Fathers, publishing to all men the Creed of the Three
Hundred and Eighteen, and to their number adding, as their peers, the Fathers who have
received the same summary of religion. Such are the One Hundred and Fifty holy Fathers who
afterwards assembled in the great Constantinople and ratified the same faith. Moreover,
observing the order and every form relating to the faith, which was observed by the holy
synod formerly held in Ephesus, of which Celestine of Rome and Cyril of Alexandria, of
holy memory, were the leaders, we do declare that the exposition of the right and
blameless faith made by the Three Hundred and Eighteen holy and blessed Fathers, assembled
at Nice in the reign of Constantine of pious memory, shall be pre-eminent: and that those
things shall be of force also,

Notes. Anatolius of Constantinople

3 (Ep. to St. Leo. Migne, Pat. Lat., Tom. LIV. [Leo. M., Opera, Tom. I.] col. 978.) 4
Since after judgment had been delivered concerning him, there was need that all should
agree in the right faith (for which purpose the most pious emperor had with the greatest
pains assembled the holy Synod) with prayer and tears, your holiness being present with us
in spirit and co-operating with us through those most God-beloved men whom you had sent to
us, having as our protector the most holy and most comely Martyr Euphemia, we gave
ourselves up entirely to this salutary work, all other matters being laid aside. And when
the crisis demanded that all the most holy bishops gathered together should set forth an
unanimous definition (sumphonon oron) for the explanation and clearer understanding of our
confession of our Lord Jesus Christ, our Lord God was found appearing to them that sought
him not, and even to them that asked not for him. And although some from the beginning
contentiously made opposition, he shewed forth nevertheless his truth and so disposed
flyings that an unanimous and uncontradicted writing was published by us all, which
confirmed the souls of the stable, and inviting to the way of truth all who had declined
therefrom. And when we had subscribed with unanimous consent.

5 the chart, we all with one consent, that is our whole synod, entered the martyry of the
most holy and triumphant martyr Euphemia, and when at the prayer of our most pious and
beloved of Christ Emperor Marcian, and of our most pious and in all respects faithful
Empress, our daughter and Augusta Pulcheria, with joy, and hilarity we placed upon the
holy altar the decision which we had written for the confirmation of the faith of our
fathers in accordance with that holy letter you sent us; and then handed it to their
piety, that they might receive it as they had asked for it. And when they had received it
they gave glory with us to Christ the Lord, who had driven away the darkness of wicked
opinion, and had illustrated with the greatest unanimity the word of truth, etc. which
were decreed by the One Hundred and Fifty holy Fathers at Constantinople, for the
uprooting of the heresies which had then sprung up, and for the confirmation of the same
Catholic and Apostolic Faith of ours.

6 The Creed of the three hundred and eighteen Fathers at Nice.We believe in one God, etc.
Item, the Creed of the one hundred and fifty holy Fathers who were assembled at
Constantinople.We believe in one God, etc. 7 This wise and salutary formula of divine
grace sufficed for the perfect knowledge and confirmation of religion; for it teaches the
perfect [doctrine] concerning Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and sets forth the Incarnation
of the Lord to them that faithfully receive it. But, forasmuch as persons undertaking to
make void the preaching of the truth have through their individual heresies given rise to
empty babblings; some of them daring to corrupt the mystery of the Lord's incarnation for
us and refusing [to use] the name Mother of God (Theotokos) in reference to the Virgin,
while others, bringing in a confusion and mixture, and idly conceiving that the nature of
the flesh and of the Godhead is all one, maintaining that the divine Nature of the Only
Begotten is, by mixture, capable of suffering; therefore this present holy, great, and
ecumenical synod, desiring to exclude every device against the Truth, and teaching that
which is unchanged from the beginning, has at the very outset decreed that the faith of
the Three Hundred and Eighteen Fathers shall be preserved inviolate. And on account of
them that contend against the HolyGhost, it confirms the doctrine afterwards delivered
concerning the substance of theSpirit by the One Hundred and Fifty holy Fathers who
assembled in the imperial City; which doctrine they declared unto all men, not as though
they were introducing anything that had been lacking in their predecessors, but in order
to explain through written documents their faith concerning the Holy Ghost against those
who were seeking to destroy his sovereignty. And, From this passage can easily be
understoodthe very obscure passage in the letter of the Council to Leo, where it says that
the definition was delivered by St. Euphemia as her own confession of faith. Vide note of
the Ballerini on this epistle of Anatolius.

8 Hefele. (Hist. of the Councils. Vol. III., p. 348.) 9 The present Greek text has ek duo
phuseon while the old Latin translation has, in duabus naturis. After what had been
repeatedly said in this session on the difference between "in two natures" and "of two
natures," and in opposition to the latter formula, there can be no doubt whatever that the
old Latin translator had the more accurate text before him, and that it was originally en
duo phusesin. This, however, is not mere supposition, but is expressly testified by
antiquity: (1) by the famous Abbot Euthymius of Palestine, a contemporary of the Council
of Chalcedon, of whose disciples several were present as bishops at our Council (cf.
Baron. ad. ann. 451, n. 152 sq.). We still have a judgment of his which he gave respecting
the decree of Chalcedon concerning the faith, and in which he repeats the leading doctrine
in the words of the Synod itself. At our passage he remarks: en duo phusesi gnorizesthai
homologei ton enachriston k.t.l. The fragment of his writings on the subject is found in
the Vita S. Euthymii Abbatis, written by his pupil Cyril in the Analecta Groeca of the
monks of St. Maur, t. i., p. 57, printed in Mansi, t. vii., p. 774 sq. (2) The second
ancient witness is Severus, from a.d. 513 Monophysite patriarch of Antioch, who represents
it as a great reproach and an unpardonable offence in the fathers of Chalcedon that they
had declared: en duo phusesin adiairetois gnorizesthai tonchriston (see the Sententioe
Severi in Mansi, t. vii., p. 839).

10 (3) Somewhat more than a hundred years after the Council of Chalcedon, Evagrius copied
its decree concerning the faith in extenso into his Church History (Lib. ii., 4), and, in
fact, with the words: en duo phusesin asunchutos k.t.l. (ed. Mog., p. 294). (4) In the
conference on religion held between the Severians and the orthodox at Constantinople, a.d.
553, the former reproached the Synod of Chalcedon with having put in duabus naturis,
instead of ex duabus naturis, as Cyril and the old fathers had taught (Mansi, t. viii., p.
892; Hardouin, t. ii., p. 1162). (5) Leontius of Byzantium maintains quite on account of
those who have taken in hand to corrupt the mystery of the dispensation [i.e. the
Incarnation] and who shamelessly pretend that he who was born of the holy Virgin Mary was
a mere man, it receives the synodical letters of the Blessed Cyril, Pastor of the Church
of Alexandria, addressed to Nestorius and the Easterns, judging them suitable, for the
refutation of the frenzied folly of Nestorius, and for the instruction of those who long
with holy ardour for a knowledge of the saving symbol. And, for the confirmation of the
orthodox doctrines, it has rightly added to these the letter of the President of the great
and old Rome, the most blessed and holy Archbishop Leo,which was addressed to Archbishop
Flavian of blessed memory, for the removal of the false doctrines of Eutyches, judging
them to be agreeable to the confession of the great Peter, and as it were a common pillar
against misbelievers.

11 For it opposes those who would rend the mystery of the dispensation into a Duad of
Sons; it repels from the sacred assembly those who dare to say that the Godhead of the
Only Begotten is capable of suffering; it resists those who imagine a mixture or confusion
of the two natures of Christ; it drives away those who fancy his form of a servant is of
an heavenly or some substance other than that which was taken of us, and it anathematizes
those who foolishly talk of two natures of our Lord before the union, conceiving that
after the union there was only one. 12 Following the holy Fathers we teach with one voice
that the Son [of God] and our Lord Jesus Christ is to be confessed as oneand the same
[Person], that he is perfect in Godhead and perfect in manhood, very God and very man, of
a reasonable soul and [human] body consisting, consubstantial with the Father as touching
his Godhead, and consubstantial with us as touching his manhood; made in all things like
unto us, sin only excepted; begotten of his Father before the worlds according to his
Godhead; but in these last days for us men and for our salvation born [into the world] of
the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God according to his manhood. This one and the same Jesus
Christ, the only-begotten Son [of God] must be confessed to be in two natures,
unconfusedly, immutably, indivisibly, distinctly, in the year 610, in his work De Sectis,
that the Synod taught ena Christon en duo phutesin asunchutos k.t.l.

13 It is clear that if any doubt had then existed as to the correct reading, Leontius
could not have opposed the Monophysites with such certainty. The passage adduced by him is
Actio iv., c. 7., in Galland. Bibliotheca PP., t. xii., p. 633. Gieseler (Kirchengesch.
i., S. 465), and after him Hahn (Biblioth. der Symbole, S. 118, note 6), cites incorrectly
the fourth instead of the fifth Actio. Perhaps neither of them had consulted the passage
itself. (6) No less weight is to be attached to the fact that all the Latin translations,
that of Rusticus and those before him, have in duabus naturis; and (7) that the Lateran
Synod, a.d. 649, had the same reading in their Acts (Hardouin, t. iii., p. 835). (8) Pope
Agatho, also, in his letter to the Emperor Constans II., which was read in the sixth
Ecumenical Synod, adduced the creed of Chalcedon with the words in duabus naturis (in the
Acts of the sixth Ecumenical Council, Actio iv.; in Mansi, t. xi., p. 256; Hardouin, t.
iii., p. 1091). In consequence of this, most scholars of recent times, e.g., Tillemont,
Walch (Bibloth. symbol veter., p. 106), Hahn (1. c.), Gieseler (1. c.), Neander (Abthl
ii., 2 of Bd. iv., S. 988), have declared en duo phusesin to be the original and correct
reading. Neander adds: "The whole process of the transactions of the Council shows this
(that en duo is the correct reading).

14 Evidently the earlier creed, which was more favourable to the Egyptian doctrine,
contained the ek duo phuseon and the favour shown to the other party came out chiefly in
the change of the ek into en. The expression ek duo phuseon besides, does not fit the
place, the verb gnorizomenon points rather to the original en. The en duo phusesin or ek
duo phuseon was the turning-point of the whole controversy between Monophysitism and
Dyophysitism. Cf., on the other side, Baur, Trinitatslehre, Bd. i., S. 820, and Dorner
(Lehre v. der Person Christi, Thl. ii., S. 129), where it is maintained that ek is the
correct and original reading, but that it was from the beginning purposely altered by the
Westerns into in; moreover, that ek fits better than en with gnorizomenon, and therefore
that it had been allowed as a concession to the Monophysites. The meaning, moreover, they
say, of ek and en is essentially the same, and the one and the other alike excluded
Monophysitism. inseparably [united], and that without the distinction of natures being
taken away by such union, but rather the peculiar property of each nature being preserved
and being united in one Person and subsistence, not separated or divided into two persons,
but one and the same Son and only-begotten, God the Word, our Lord Jesus Christ, as the
Prophets of old time have spoken concerning him, and as the Lord Jesus Christ hath taught
us, and as the Creed of the Fathers hath delivered to us.

15 These things, therefore, having been expressed by us with the greatest accuracy and
attention, the holy Ecumenical Synod defines that no one shall be suffered to bring
forward a different faith (heteran pistin), nor to write, nor to put together, nor to
excogitate, nor to teach it to others. But suchas dare either to put together another
faith, or to bring forward or to teach or to deliver a different Creed (eteron sumbolon)
to as wish to be converted to the knowledge of the truth, from the Gentiles, or Jews or
any heresy whatever, if they be Bishops or clerics let them be deposed, the Bishops from
the Episcopate, and the clerics from the clergy; but if they be monks or laics: let them
be anathematized. After the reading of the definition, all the most religious Bishops
cried out: This is the faith of the fathers: let the metropolitans forthwith subscribe it:
let them forthwith, in the presence of the judges, subscribe it: let that which has been
well defined have no delay: this is the faith of the Apostles: by this we all stand: thus
we all believe.


COUNCIL OF CHALCEDON (AD 451): THE CANONS
=========================================

COUNCIL OF CHALCEDON (AD 451): THE CANONS The canons of the council of Chalcedon, on the
clergy, on monks and monasteries, on ordinations and on the rank of the great sees. Each
canon is followed by the ancient epitome and by notes.

CANON I

WE have judged it fight that the canons of the Holy Fathers made in every synod even until
now, should remain in force.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon I. The canons of every Synod of the holy Fathers shall be
observed. Hefele. Before the holding of the Council of Chalcedon, in the Greek Church, the
canons ofseveral synods, which were held previously, were gathered into one collection and
provided with continuous numbers, and such a collection of canons, as we have seen, lay
before the Synod of Chalcedon. As, however, most of the synods whose canons were received
into the collection, e.g. those of Neo- Caesarea, Ancyra, Gangra, Antioch, were certainly
not Ecumenical Councils, and were even to some extent of doubtful authority, such as the
Antiochene Synod of 341, the confirmation of the Ecumenical Synod was now given to them,
in order to raise them to the position of universally and unconditionally valid
ecclesiastical rules. It is admirably remarked by the Emperor Justinian, in his 131st
Novel, cap.j.; "We honour the doctrinal decrees of the first four Councilsas we do Holy
Scripture, but the canons given or approved by them as we do the laws."

It seems quite impossible to determine just what councils are included in this list, the
Council in Trullo has entirely removed this ambiguity in its second canon. This canon is
found in the Corpus, Juris Canonici, Gratian's Decretum, Pars II., Causa XXV., Qusest. 1,
can. xiv.

CANON II

IF any Bishop should ordain for money, and put to sale a grace which cannot be sold, and
for money ordain a bishop, or chorepiscopus, or presbyters, or deacons, or any other of
those who are counted among the clergy; or if through lust of gain he should nominate for
money a steward, or advocate, or prosmonarius, or any one whatever who is on the roll of
the Church, let him who is convicted of this forfeit his own rank; and let him who is
ordained be nothing profited by the purchased ordination or promotion; but let him be
removed from the dignity or charge he has obtained for money. And if any one should be
found negotiating such shameful and unlawful transactions, let him also, if he is a
clergyman, be deposed from his rank, and if he is a layman or monk, let him be
anathematized.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XIX. Whoso buys or sells an ordination, down to a Prosmonarius,
shall be in danger of losing his grade. Such shall also be the case with go-betweens, if
they be clerics they shall be cut off from their rank, if laymen or monks, they shall be
anathematized. Bright. A great scandal in the "Asian diocese" had led to St. Chrysostom's
intervention. Antoninus, bishop of Ephesus, was charged, with "making it a rule to sell
ordinations of bishops at rates proportionate to the value of their sees" (Palladius,
Dial. de vita Chrysost, p. 50). Chrysostom held a synod at Ephesus, at which six bishops
were deposed for having obtained their sees in this manner. Isidore of Pelasium repeatedly
remonstrated with his bishop Eusebius on the heinousness of "selling the gift" of
ordinations (Epist. I., 26, 30, 37); and names Zosimus, a priest, and Maron, a deacon, as
thus ordained (ib. 111,119). A few years before the council, a court of three bishops sat
at Berytus to hear charges brought against Ibas, bishop of Edessa, by clerics of his
diocese. The third charge was thus curtly worded: "Moreover he receives for laying on
hands" (Mansi, vii. 224). The xxvijth Trullan canon repeated this canon of Chalcedon
against persons ordained for money, doubtless in view of such a state of things asGregory
the Great had heard of nearly a century earlier, "that in the Eastern Churches no one
comes to holy order except by the payment of premiums" (Epist. xi. 46, to the bishop of
Jerusalem; compare Evagrius's assertion that Justin II. openly sold bishoprics, V. 1). It
is easy to understand how the scruples of ecclesiastics could be abated by the courtly
fashion of calling bribes "eulogiae" (Fleury, XXVI, 20), just as the six prelates above
referred to had regarded their payments as an equivalent for that "making over of property
to the Curia," which was required by a law of 399 (Cod. Theod., xii. 1, 163, see notes in
Transl. of Fleury, i. 163, ij. 16).

The ekdikos, "defensor," was an official Advocate or counsel for the Church. The legal
force of the term "defensor" is indicated by a law of Valentinian I. "Nec idem in codera
negotio defensor sit et quaesitor" (Cod. Theod., ii. 10, 2). In the East the office was
held by ecclesiastics; thus, John, presbyter and "advocate" was employed, at the Council
of Constantinople in 448, to summon Eutyches (Mansi, vii. 697). About 496, Paul the
"Advocate" of Constantinople saved his archbishop from the sword of a murderer at the cost
of his own life (Theodor., Lect. ii. 11). In the list of the functionaries of St. Sophia,
given by Goat in his Euchologion (p. 270), the Protecdicos is discribed as adjudicating,
with twelve assessors, in smaller causes, on which he afterwards reports to the bishop. In
Africa, on the other hand, from a.d. 407 (see Cod. Theod., xvi. 2, 38), the office was
held by barristers, in accordance with a request of the African bishops (Cod. Afric., 97;
Mansi, iii., 802), who, six years earlier, had asked for "defensores," with special
reference to the oppression of the poor by the rich (Cod. Afric., 75; Mansi, iii. 778,
970). The "defensores" mentioned by Gregory the Great had primarily to take care of the
poor (Epist., v. 29), and of the church property (ib, i. 36), but also to be advocates of
injured clerics (ib., ix. 64) and act as assessors (ib., x. 1), etc.

The next office is that of the Prosmonarius or, according to a various reading adopted by
many (e.g. Justellus, Hervetus, Beveridge, Bingham), the Paramonarius. Opinions differ as
to the functions intended. Isidore gives simply "paramonarius:" Dionysius (see Justellus,
Biblioth., i., 134) omits the word; but in the "interpretario Dionysii," as given in the
Concilia, freedom has been taken to insert "vel mansionarium" in a parenthesis (vii. 373;
see Beveridge, in loc.). Mansionarius is a literal rendering; but what was the function of
a mansionarius? In Gregory the Great's time he was a sacristan who had the duty of
lighting the church (Dial., i. 5); and "ostiarium" in the Prisca implies the same idea.
Tillemont, without deciding between the two Greek readings, thinks that the person
intended had "some charge of what pertained to the church itself, perhaps like our present
bedells" (xv. 694). So Fleury renders, "concierge" (xxviij. 29); and Newman, reading
"paramonarion," takes a like view (note in Transl. of Fleury, vol. iii., p. 392). But
Justellus (i. 91) derives "paramonarius" from mone "mansio," a halting-place, so that the
sense would be a manager of one of the church's farms, a "villicus," or, as Bingham
expresses it, "a bailiff" (iii. 3, 1). Beveridge agrees with Justellus, except in giving
to mone the sense of "monastery" (compare the use of mone in Athan., Apol. c. Arion, 67,
where Valesius understands it as "a station" on a road, but others as "a monastery," see
Historical Writings of St. Athanasius, Introd., p. xliv.). Bingham also prefers this
interpretation. Suitor takes it as required by "paramonarios" which he treats as the true
reading: "prosmonarios" he thinks would have the sense of "sacristan."

Hefele. According to Van Espen, however, who here supports himself upon Du Cange, by
"prosmonarios" or "mansionarius," in the same way as by "oiconomos," a steward of church
property was to be understood. The canon is found in the Corpus Juris Canonici, Gratian's
Decretum, Pars II., Causa I., Quaest. i., can. viii.

CANON III

IT has come to [the knowledge of] the holy Synod that certain of those who are enrolled
among the clergy have, through lust of gain, become hirers of other men's possessions, and
make contracts pertaining to secular affairs, lightly esteeming the service of God, and
slip into the houses of secular persons, whose property they undertake through
covetousness to manage. Wherefore the great and holy Synod decrees that henceforth no
bishop, clergyman, nor monk shall hire possessions, or engage in business, or occupy
himself in worldly engagements, unless he shall be called by the law to the guardianship
of minors, from which there is no escape; or unless the bishop of the city shall commit to
him the care of ecclesiastical business, or of unprovided orphans or widows and of persons
who stand especially in need of the Church's help, through the fear of God. And if any one
shall hereafter transgress these decrees, he shall be subjected to ecclesiastical
penalties.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon III. Those who assume the care of secular houses should be
corrected, unless perchance the law called them to the administration of those not yet
come of age, from which there is no exemption. Unless further their Bishop permits them to
take care of orphans and widows. Bright. These two cases excepted, the undertaking of
secular business was made ecclesiastically penal. Yet this is not to be construed as
forbidding clerics to work at trades either (1) when the church-funds were insufficient to
maintain them, or (2) in order to have more to bestow in alms, or (3) as an example of
industry or humility. Thus, most of the clergy of Caesarea in Cappadocia practised
sedentary trades for a livelihood (Basil, Epist., cxcviii., 1); and some African canons
allow, or even direct, a cleric to live by a trade, provided that his clerical duties are
not neglected (Mansi, iii., 955). At an earlier time Spyridion, the famous Cypriot bishop,
still one of the most popular saints in the Levant (Stanley's East. Church, p. 126),
retained, out of humility (atuphian pollen, Soc. i. 12), his occupation as a shepherd; and
in the latter part of the fourth century Zeno, bishop of Maiuma, wove linen, partly to
supply his own wants, and partly to obtain means of helping the poor (Soz., vii. 28).
Sidonius mentions a "reader" who maintained himself by commercial transactions (Epist.,
vi. 8), and in the Anglo-Saxon Church, although presbyters were forbidden to become
"negotiorum saecularium dispositores" (X. of Clovesho in 747, c. 8), or to be "mongers and
covetous merchants" (Elfric's canons, xxx.), yet the canons of King Edgar's reign ordered
every priest "diligently to learn a handicraft" (No. 11; Wilkins, i. 225). In short, it
was not the mere fact of secular employment, but secularity of motive and of tone that was
condemned.This canon was the second of these proposed by the Emperor, and is found in the
Corpus Juris Canonici, Gratian's Decretum,Pars I. Dist. lxxxvi., C. xxvj.

CANON IV

Let those who truly and sincerely lead the monastic life be counted worthy of becoming
honour; but, forasmuch as certain persons using the pretext of monasticism bring confusion
both upon the churches and into political affairs by going about promiscuously in the
cities, and at the same time seeking to establish Monasteries for themselves; it is
decreed that no one anywhere build or found a monastery or oratory contrary to the will of
the bishop of the city; and that the monks in every city and district shall be subject to
the bishop, and embrace a quiet course of life, and give themselves only to fasting and
prayer, remaining permanently in the places in which they were set apart; and they shall
meddle neither in ecclesiastical nor in secular affairs, nor leave their own monasteries
to take part in such; unless, indeed, they should at any time through urgent necessity be
appointed thereto by the bishop of the city. And no slave shall be received into any
monastery to become a monk against the will of his master. And if any one shall transgress
this our judgment, we have decreed that he shall be excommunicated, that the name of God
be not blasphemed. But the bishop of the city must make the needful provision for the
monasteries.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome OF Canon Domestic oratories and monasteries are not to be erected contrary
to the judgment of the bishop. Every monk must be subject to his bishop, and must not
leave his house except at his suggestion. A slave, however, can not enter the monastic
life without the consent of his master. Hefele. Like the previous canon, this one was
brought forward by the Emperor Marcian in the sixth session, and then as number one, and
the synod accepted the Emperor's proposed canon almost verbally. Occasion for this canon
seems to have been given by monks of Eutychian tendencies, and especially by the Syrian
Barsumas, as appears from the fourth session. He and his monks had, asEutychians,
withdrawn themselves from the jurisdiction of their bishops, whom they suspected of
Nestorianism. Bright. Here observe (1) the definite assertion of episcopal authority over
monks, as it is repeated for greater clearness in the last words of the canon, which are
not found in Marcian's draft, "It is the duty of the bishop of the city to make due
provision for the monasteries." and compare canons 8, 24. Isidore says that the bishop
must "keep an eye on the negligences of monks" (Epist., i. 149). The Western Church
followed in this track (see Council of Agde, canon xxvii., that "no new monastery is to be
rounded without the bishop's approval," and 1st of Orleans, canon xix., "Let abbots be
under the bishop's power," and also Vth of Paris, canon xij., Mansi, viii., 329, 354, 542,
etc.), until a reaction set in against the oppressiveness of bishops, was encouraged by
Gregory the Great (Epist., i. 12; ii. 41), the IV Council of Toledo (canon li.), and the
English Council of Hertford (canon iij., Bede, iv. 5, and Bright's Chapters of Early Engl.
Ch. Hist., p. 244), and culminated in the system of monastic exemptions, of which Monte
Cassino, St. Martin's of Tours, Fulda, Westminster, Battle (see Freeman, Norm. Conquest,
iv. 409), and St Alban's were eminent instances.This canon, cut up and mutilated, is
foundin the Corpus Juris Canonici, Gratian's Decreturn, Pars II., Causa XVI., Quest. L,
can. xij., and Causa XVIII., Quest. II., Canon X.

I have followed the reading of the Prisca, and of Dionysius, of Routh, and of Balsamon,
"they were set apart," i.e. (as Balsamon explains) where they received the monastic
tonsure. This reading substitutes apetaxanto for epetaxanto, which would mean "over which
they had been put in authority," or possibly (as Johnson) "where they are appointed," or
as Hammond, "in which they have been settled." Isidore reads "ordinati sunt."

CANON V

Concerning bishops or clergymen who go about from city to city, it is decreed that the
canons enacted by the Holy Fathers shall still retain their force.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon V. Those who go from city to city shall be subject to the canon
law on the subject. Clerical adventurers and brief pastorates are not the peculiar
characteristics of any one century. Bright. It is supposed by Hefele that the bishops were
thinking of the case of Bassian, who, in the eleventh session (Oct. 29), pleaded that he
had been violently ejected from the see of Ephesus. Stephen the actual bishop, answered
that Bassian had not been "ordained"for that see, but had invaded it and been justly
expelled. Bassian rejoined that his original consecration for the see of Evasa had been
forcible even to brutality; that he had never even visited Evasa, that therefore his
appointment to Ephesus was not a translation. Ultimately, the Council cut the knot by
ordering that a new bishop should be elected, Basalan and Stephen retaining the episcopal
title and receiving allowances from the revenues of the see (Mansi, vii. 273 et seqq.)

This canon is found in the Corpus Juris Canonici, Gratian's Decretum, Pars II., Causa
VII., Quaest. I., can. xxij.

CANON VI

Neither presbyter, deacon, nor any of the ecclesiastical order shall be ordained at large,
nor unless the person ordained is particularly appointed to a church in a city or village,
or to a martyry, or to a monastery. And if any have been ordained without a charge, the
holy Synod decrees, to the reproach of the ordainer, that such an ordination shall be
inoperative, and that such shall nowhere be suffered to officiate.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon VI. In Martyries and Monasteries ordinations are strictly
forbidden. Should any one be ordained therein, his ordination shall be reputed of no
effect. Van Espen. The wording of the canon seems to intimatethat the synod of Chalcedon
held ordinations of this sort to be not only illicit but also invalid, irritis and cassis.
Nor is this to be wondered at, if we take into account the pristine and ancient discipline
of the church and the opinion of many of the Scholastics (Morinus, De SS. Ordinat., Parte
III., Exercit. V., cap Hefele. It is clear that our canon forbids the so-called absolute
ordinations, and requires that every cleric must at the time of his ordination be
designated to a definite church. The only titulus which is here recognized is that which
was later known as titulus beneficii. As various kinds of this title we find here (a) the
appointment to a church in the city; (b) to a village church; (c) that to the chapel of a
martyr; (d) the appointment as chaplain of a monastery. For the right understanding of the
last point, it must be remembered thatthe earliest monks were in no wise clerics, butthat
soon the custom was introduced in every larger convent, of having at least one monk
ordained presbyter, that he might provide for divine service in the monastery.

Similar prohibitions of ordinationes absolutoe were also put forth in after times.
According to existing law, absolute ordinations, as is well known, are still illicitoe,
but yet validoe, and even the Council of Chalcedon has not declared them to be properly
invalidoe,but only as without effect (by permanent suspension). Cf Kober, Suspension, S.
220, and Hergenrother, Photius, etc., Bd. ii., S. 324. Bright. By the word marturio
("martyry") is meant a church or chapel raised over a martyr's grave. So the Laodicene
Council forbids Churchmen to visit the "martyries of heretics" (can. ix.). So Gregory of
Nyssa speaks of "the martyry" of the Holy Martyrs (Op. ii., 212); Chrysostom of a
"martyry," and Palladius of "martyries" near Antioch (In Act. Apost. Hom., xxxviii. 5;
Dial., p. 17), and Palladius of "the martyry of St. John" at Constantinople (Dial., p.
25). See Socrates, iv. 18, 23, on the "martyry" of St. Thomas at Edessa, and that of SS.
Peter and Paul at Rome; and vi. 6, on the "martyry" of St. Euphenia at Chalcedon in which
the Council actually met. In the distinct sense of a visible testimony, the word was
applied to the church of the Resurrection at Jerusalem (Eusebius, Vit. Con., iii. 40, iv.
40; Mansi, vi. 564; Cyril, Catech., xiv. 3), and to the Holy Sepulchre itself (Vit. Con.,
iii. 28), Churches raised over martyrs' totals were called in the West "memorioe
martyrum," see Cod. Afric., lxxxiii. (compare Augustine, De Cura pro Mortuis, VI.).

This canon is found in the Corpus Juris Canonici, Gratian's Decretum, Pars I., Dist. lxx.,
can. j.

CANON VII

WE have decreed that those who have once been enrolled among the clergy, or have been made
monks, shall accept neither a military charge nor any secular dignity; and if they shall
presume to do so and not repent in such wise as to turn again to that which they had first
chosen for the love of God, they shall be anathematized.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon VII. If any cleric or monk arrogantly affects the military or any
other dignity, let him be cursed. Hefele. Something similar was ordered by the lxxxiii.
(lxxxii.) Apostolic Canon, only that it threatens the cleric who takes military service
merely with deposition from his clerical office, while our canon subjects him to
excommunication.The Greek commentators, Balsamon and Zonaras, think that our canon selects
a more severe punishment, that of excommunication, because it has in view those clerics
who have not merely taken military service, etc., but at the same time have laid aside
their clerical dress and put on secular clothing. Bright. By strateian [which I have
translated (or, as Canon Bright thinks, mistranslated) "military charge"], "militiam," is
here meant, not military employment as such, but the public service in general. This use
of the term is a relic and token of the military basis of the Roman monarchy. The court of
the Imperator was called his camp, stratopedon (Cod. Theod., tom. ii.,, p. 22), as in
Constantine's letter's to John Archaph and the Council of Tyre (Athan., Apol. c. Ari.,
lxx. 86), and in the VII canon of Sardica, so Athanasius speaks of the "camp" of Constans
(Apol. ad Constant, iv. ), and of that of Constantius at Milan (Hist. Ari., xxxvij.); so
Hosius uses the same phrase in his letter to Constantius (ib. xliv.); so the Semi-Arian
bishops, when addressing Jovian (Soz., vi. 4); so Chrysostom in the reign of Theodosius I.
(Hom. ad Pop. Antioch, vi. 2). Similarly, there were officers of the palace called
Castrensians (Tertull. De Cor., 12), as being "milites alius generis-de imperatoria
familia" (Gothofred, Cod. Theod., tom. ii., p. 526). So strateusthai is used for holding
aplace at court, as in Soc., iv. 9; Soz., vi. 9, on Marcian's case, and a very clear
passage in Soc., v. 25, where the verb is applied to an imperial secretary. It occurs in
combination with strateia in a petition of an Alexandrian deacon named Theodore, which was
read in the third session of Chalcedon: he says, "'Estrateusamen for about twenty-two
years in the Schola of the magistrians" (under the Magister officionum, or chief
magistrate of the palace), "but I disregarded strateias tosouton chronau in order to enter
the ministry" (Mansi, vi. 1008). See also Theodoret, Relig. Hist., xij., on the emperor's
letter-carriers. In the same sense Honorius, by a law oph, forbids non-Catholics "intra
palatium militare" (Cod Theod., xvi., 5, 42); and theVandal king Hunneric speaks of
"domusnostrae militiae" (Vic 4 r Vitens, iv. 2).

This canon is found in the Corpus Juris Canonici, Gratian's Decretum, Pars IL,Causa xx.,
Quaest. iii., Can. iij.

CANON VIII

Let the clergy of the poor-houses, monasteries, and martyries remain under the authority
of the bishops in every city according to the tradition of the holy Fathers; and let no
one arrogantly cast off the rule of his own bishop; and if any shall contravene this canon
in any way whatever, and will not be subject to their own bishop, if they be clergy, let
them be subjected to canonical censure, and if they be monks or laymen, let them be
excommunicated.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon VIII. Any clergyman is an almshouse or monastery must submit
himself to the authority of the bishop of the city. But he who rebels against this let him
pay the penalty. Van Espen. From this canon we learn that the synod of Chalcedon willed
that all who were in charge of such pious institutions should be subject to the bishop,
and in making this decree the synod only followed the tradition of the Fathers and Canons.
Although in its first part the canon only mentions "clergymen,"yet in the second part
monks are named, and, as Balsamon and Zonoras point out, both are included. Bright. What a
ptocheion was may be seen from what Gibbon calls the "noble and charitable foundation,
almost a new city" (iii. 252), established by St. Basil at a little distance from
Caesarea, and called in consequence the Basiliad. Gregory Nazianzen describes it as a
large set of buildings with rooms for the sick, especially for lepers, and also for house-
less travellers; "a storehouse of piety, where disease was borne philosophically, and
sympathy was tested" (Orat., xliii., 63, compare Basil himself, Epist., xciv., on its
staff of nurses and physicians and cl., 3). Sozomen calls it "a most celebrated resting-
place for the poor," and names Prapidius as having been its warden while acting as "bishop
over many villages" (vi. 34, see on Nic., viii.). Another ptochotropheion is mentioned by
Basil (Epist., cxliij.) as governed by a chorepiscopus.

St. Chrysostom, on coming to the see of Constantinople, ordered the excess of episcopal
expenditure to be transferred to the hospital for the sick (nosokomeion), and "founded
other such hospitals setting over them two pious presbyters, with physicians and cooks. .
. .so that foreigners arriving in the city, on being attacked by disease, might receive
aid,both because it was a good work in itself, and for the glory of the Saviour"
(Palladius, Dial., p. 19). At Ephesus Bassian founded a ptocheiton with seventy pallets
for the sick (Mansi, vii., 277), and there were several such houses in Egypt (ib., vi.,
1013; in the next century there was a hospital for the sick at Daphne near Antioch
(Evagr., iv., 35). "The tradition of the holy fathers" is here cited as barring any claim
on the part of clerics officiating in these institutions, or in monasteries or martyries,
to be exempt from the jurisdiction of the ordinary. They are to "abide under it," and not
to indulge selfwill by"turning restive" against their bishop's authority" (apheniazo is
literally to get the bit between the teeth, and is used by Aetius for "not choosing to
obey," Mansi, vii., 72). Those who dare to violate this clearly defined rule (diatupwsin,
comp. tupoj in Nic., xix.), and to refuse subjection to their own bishop, are, if clerics,
to incur canonical censure, if monks or laics, to be excommunicated. The allusion to laics
points to laymen as founders or benefactors of such institutions.

This canon is found in the Corpus JurisCanonici, Gratian's Decretum, Pars II.,
CausaXVIII., Q. II., canon x.,3.

CANON IX

IF any Clergyman have a matter against another clergyman, he shall not forsake his bishop
and run to secular courts; but let him first lay open the matter before his own Bishop, or
let the matter be submitted to any person whom each of the parties may, with the Bishop's
consent, select. And if any one shall contravene these decrees, let him be subjected to
canonical penalties. And if a clergyman have a complaint against his own or any other
bishop, let it be decided by the synod of the province. And if a bishop or clergyman
should have a difference with the metropolitan of the province, let him have recourse to
the Exarch of the Diocese, or to the throne of the Imperial City of Constantinople, and
there let it be tried.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon IX. Litigious clerics shall be punished according to canon, if
they despise the episcopal and resort to the secular tribunal. When a cleric has a
contention with a bishop let him wait till the synod sits, and if a bishop have a
contention with his metropolitan let him carry the case toConstantinople. Johnson. Let the
reader observe that here is a greater privilege given by a General Council to the see of
Constantinople than ever was given by any council, even that of Sardica, to the bishop of
Rome, viz., that any bishop or clergyman might at the first instance bring his cause
before the bishop of Constantinople if the defendant were a metropolitan. Hefele. That our
canon would refer not merely the ecclesiastical, but the civil differences of the clergy,
in the first case, to the bishop, is beyond a doubt. And it comes out as clearly from the
word proteron (= at first) that it does not absolutely exclude a reference to the secular
judges, but regards it as allowable only when the first attempt at an adjustment of the
controversy by the bishop has miscarried. Thiswas quite clearly recognized by Justinian in
his 123d Novel, c. 21: "If any one has a case against a cleric, or a monk, or a deaconess,
or a nun, or an ascetic, he shall first make application to the bishop of his opponent,
and he shall decide. If both parties are satisfied with his decision, it shall then
becarried into effect by the imperial judge of the locality. If, however, one of the
contending parties lodges an appeal against the bishop's judgment within ten days, then
the imperial judge of the locality shall decide the matter. There is no doubt that the
expression "Exarch" employed in our canon, and alsoin canon 17, means, in the first place,
those superior metropolitans who have several ecclesiastical provinces under them.
Whether, however, the great patriarchs, properly so called, are to be included under it,
may be doubted. The Emperor Justinian, in c. 22 of his Novel just quoted (l. c.

in our text has, without further explanation, substituted the expression Patriarch for
Exarch, and in the same way the commentator Aristenus has declared both terms to be
identical adding that only the Patriarch of Constantinople has the privilege of having a
metropolitan tried before him who does not belong to his patriarchate, but is subject to
another patriarch. In the same way our canon was understood by Beveridge. Van Espen, on
the contrary, thinks that the Synod had here in view only the exarchs in file narrower
sense (of Ephesus, Caesarea), but not the Patriarchs, properly so called, of Rome,
Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, as it would be too great a violation of the ancient
canons, particularly of the 6thof Nicaea, to have set aside the proper patriarch and have
allowed an appeal to the Bishop of Constantinople (with this Zonaras also agrees in his
explanation of canon 17). Least of all, however, would the Synod have made such a rule for
the West, i.e., have allowed that any one should set aside the Patriarch of Rome and
appeal to the Patriarch of Constantinople, since they themselves, in canon 28, assigned
the first place in rank to Rome.

It appears to me that neither Beveridge, etc., nor Van Espen are fully in the right, while
each is partially so. With Van Espen we must assume that our Synod, in drawing up this
canon, had in view only the Greek Church, and not the Latin as well, particularly as
neither the papal legates nor any Latin bishop whatever was present at the drawing up of
these canons. On the other hand, Beveridge is also right in maintaining that the Synod
made no distinction between the patriarchs proper and the exarchs (such a distinction must
otherwise have been indicated in the text), and allowed that quarrels which should arise
among the bishops of other patriarchates might be tried at Constantinople. Only that
Beveridge ought to have excepted the West and Rome.The strange part of our canon may be
explained in the following manner. There were always many bishops at Constantinople
fromthe most different places, who came there to lay their contentions and the like before
the Emperor. The latter frequently referred the decision to the bishop of Constantinople,
who then, in union with the then present bishops from the most different provinces, held a
"Home Synod" and gave the sentence required at this. Thus gradually the practicewas formed
of controversies being decided by bishops of other patriarchates or exarchates at
Constantinople, to the setting aside of the proper superior metropolitan, an example of
which we have seen in that famous Synod of Constantinople, a.d. 448, at which the case of
Eutyches was the first time brought forward.

This canon is found in the Corpus Juris Canonici, Gratian's Decretum, Pars II., Causa XI.,
Q.I., canon xlvj.

CANON X

IT shall not be lawful for a clergyman to be at the same time enrolled in the churches of
two cities, that is, in the church in which he was at first ordained, and in another to
which, because it is greater, he has removed from lust of empty honour. And those who do
so shall be returned to their own church in which they were originally ordained, and there
only shall they minister. But if any one has heretofore been removed from one church to
another, he shall not intermeddle with the affairs of his former church, nor with the
martyries, almshouses, and hostels belonging to it. And if, after the decree of this great
and ecumenical Synod, any shall dare to do any of these things now forbidden, the synod
decrees that he shall be degraded from his rank.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon X. No cleric shall be recorded on the clergy-list ofthe churches
of two cities. But if he shall have strayed forth, let him be returned to his former
place. But if he has been transferred, let him have no share in the affairs of his former
church. Van Espen, following Christian Lupus, remarks that this canon is opposed to
pluralities.For if a clergyman has by presentation and institution obtained two churches,
he is enrolled in two churches at the same time, contrary to this canon; but surely that
this be the case, the two churches must needs be in two cities, and that, in the days of
Chalcedon, meant in two dioceses. Bright. Here a new institution comes into view, of which
there were many instances. Julian had directed Pagan hospices (cenodokeia) to be
established on the Christian model (Epist. xlix.). The Basiliad at Caesarea was a
cenodkeion as well as a ptwkeion; it contained katagwggia toij cenoij, as well as for
wayfayers, and those who needed assistance on account of illness, and Basil distinguished
various classes of persons engaged in charitable ministrations, including those who
escorted the traveller on his way (touj parapempontaj, Epist. xciv.). Jerome writes to
Pammachius: "I hear that you have made a `xenodochion' in the port of Rome," and adds that
he himself had built a "diversorium "for pilgrims to Bethlehem (Epist. xvi., 11, 14).
Chrysostom reminds his auditors at Constantinople that "there is a common dwelling set
apart by the Church," and "called a xenon" (in Act. Hom., xlv. 4). His friend Olympias was
munificent to "xenotrophia" (Hint. Lausiac, 144). There was a xenodochion near the church
of the monastic settlement at Nitria (ib., 7). Ischyrion, in his memorial read in the 3d
session of Chalcedon, complains of his patriarch Dioscorus for having misapplied funds
bequeathed by a charitable lady cenewsi kai ptwkeioij in Egypt, and says that he himself
had been confined by Dioscorus in a "xenon" for lepers (Mansi, vi. 1013, 1017). Justinian
mentions xenodochia in Cod., i. 3, 49, and their wardens in Novell., 134, 16. Gregory the
Great orders that the accounts of xenodochia should be audited by the bishop (Epist. iv.,
27). Charles the Great provides for the restoration of decayed "senodochia" (Capitul. of
803; Pertz, Leg., i. 110); and Alcuin exhorts his pupil, archbishop Eanbald, to think
where in the diocese of York he could establish "xenodochia, id est, hospitalia" (Epist.
L.).

This canon is found in the Corpus Juris Canonici, Gratian's Decretum, Pars II., Causa
XXI., Q. L., canon jj., and again Causa XXI.,Q. II., canon iij.

CANON XI

WE have decreed that the poor and those needing assistance shall travel, after
examination, with letters merely pacifical from the church, and not with letters
commendatory, inasmuch as letters commendatory ought to be given only to persons who are
open to suspicion·

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XL. Let the poor who stand in need of help make their journey
with letters pacificatory and not commendatory : For letters commendatory should only be
given to those who are open to suspicion. Aristenus. . . . The poor who need help should
journey with letters pacificatory from the bishop, so that those who have the ability to
help them may be moved with pity. These need no letters commendatory, such letters should
be shown, however, by presbyters and deacons, and by the rest of the clergy. See notes on
canons vii., viii., and xj. of Antioch; and on canon xlij. of Laodicea. Hefele. The
mediaeval commentators, Balsamon, Zonaras, and Aristenus, understand this canon to mean
that letters of commendation,sustatikai, commendatitioe litteroe were given to those
laymen and clerics who were previously subject to ecclesiastical censure, and therefore
were suspected by other bishops, and for this reason needed a special recommendation, in
order to be received in another church into the number of the faithful. The letters of
peace (eirhnikai) on the contrary, were given to those who were in undisturbed communion
with their bishop, and had not the least evil reputation abroad.

Our canon was understood quite differently by the old Latin writers, Dionysius Exiguus and
Isidore, who translate the words en upolhyeiby personoe honoratiores and clariores, and
the learned Bishop Gabriel Aubespine of Orleans has endeavored to prove, in his notes to
our canon, that the litteroe pacificoe were given to ordinary believers, and the
commendatitioe (sutatikai) on the contrary, only to clerics and to distinguished laymen;
and in favour of this view is the xiii. canon of Chalcedon. With regard to this much-vexed
point, authorities are so divided that no absolute judgment can be arrived at. The
interpretation I have followed is that of the Greeks and of Hervetus, which seems to be
supported by Apostolic Canon XIII., and was that adopted by Johnson and Hammond. On the
other hand are the Prisca, Dionysius, Isidore, Tillemont, Routh, and to these Bright seems
to unite himself by sating that this "sense is the more natural."

CANON XII

IT has come to our knowledge that certain persons, contrary to the laws of the Church,
having had recourse to secular powers, have by means of imperial rescripts divided one
Province into two, so that there are consequently two metropolitans in one province;
therefore the holy Synod has decreed that for the future no such thing shall be at-
tempted by a bishop, since he who shall undertake it shall be degraded from his rank. But
the cities which have already been honoured by means of imperial letters with the name of
metropolis, and the bishops in charge of them, shall take the bare title, all metropolitan
rights being preserved to the true Metropolis.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XII. One province shall not be cut into two. Whoever shall do
this shall be cast out of the episcopate. Such cities as are cut off by imperial rescript
shall enjoy only the honour of having a bishop settled in them: but all the rights
pertaining to the true metropolis shall be preserved. Bright. We learn from this canon,
there were cases in which an ambitious prelate, "by making application to the government"
("secular powers") had obtained what are called "pragmatic letters," and employed them for
the purpose of "dividing one province into two," and exalting himself as a metropolitan.
The name of a "pragmatic sanction" is more familiar in regard to medieval and modern
history; it recalls the name of St. Louis, and, still more, that of the Emperor Charles
VI. the father of Maria Theresa. Properly a "pragmatic" was a deliberate order promulgated
by the Emperor after full hearing of advice, on some public affair. We find "pragmatici
nostri statuta" in a law of a.d. 431. (Cod. Theod., xi. 1, 36); and pragmatici
prioris,""sub hac pragmatica jussione," in ordinances in Append. to Cod. Theod., pp. 95,
162; and the empress Pulcheria, about a year before the Council, had informed Leo that her
husband Marcian had recalled some exiled orthodox bishops "robore pragmatici sui" (Leon.,
Epist. lxxvij.). Justinian speaks of "pragmaticas nostras formas" and "pragmaticum typum"
(Novel., 7, 9, etc.). The phrase was adopted from his legislation by Louis the Pious and
his colleague-son Lothar (compare Novel. 7, 2 with Pertz, Mon. Germ, Hist. Leg., i., 254),
and hence it came to be used both by later German emperors (see, e.g., Bryce's Holy Roman
Empire, p. 212), and by the French kings (Kitchin, Hist. France, i. 343, 544). Augustine
explains it by "praeceptum imperatoris" (Brev. Collat. cum Donatist. iii., 2), and
Balsamon in his comment uses an equivalent phrase;

and so in the record of the fourth session of Chalcedon we have theia grammata ("divine"
being practically, equivalent to "imperial") explained by pragmatikous tupous (Mansi,
vii., 89). We must observe that the imperial order, in the cases contemplated by the
canon, had only conferred the title of "metropolis" on the city, and had not professed to
divide the province for civil, much less for ecclesiastical, purposes. Valens, indeed, had
divided the province of Cappadocia, when in 371 he made Tyana a metropolis: and therefore
Anthimus, bishop of Tyana, when he claimed the position of a metropolitan, with authority
over suffragans, was making a not unnatural inference in regard to ecclesiastical limits
from political rearrangements of territory, as Gregory of Nazianzus says (Orat. xliii.,
58), whereas Basil "held to the old custom," i.e., to the traditional unity of his
provincial church, although after a while he submitted to what he could not hinder (see
Tillemont, ix., 175, 182, 670). But in the case of Eustathius of Berytus, which was
clearly in the Council's mind, the Phoenician province had not been divided; it was in
reliance on a mere title bestowed upon his city, and also on an alleged synodical
ordinance which issued in fact from the so-called "Home Synod" that he declared himself
independent of his metropolitan, Photius of Tyre, and brought six bishoprics under his
assumed jurisdiction. Thus while the province remained politically one, he had de facto
divided it ecclesiastically into two.

Photius petitioned Marcian, who referred the case to the Council of Chalcedon, and it was
taken up in the fourth session. The imperial commissioners announced that it was to be
settled not according to "pragmatic forms," but according to those which had been enacted
by the Fathers (Mansi, vii., 89). This encouraged the Council to say, "A pragmatic can
have no force against the canons. The commissioners asked whether it was lawful for
bishops, on the ground of a pragmatic, to steal away the rights of other churches? The
answer was explicit: "No, it is against the canon. The Council proceeded to cancel the
resolution of the Home Synod in favour of the elevation of Berytus, ordered the 4th Nicene
canon to be read, and upheld the metropolitical rights of Tyre. The commissioners
alsopronounced against Eustathius. Cecropius, bishop of Sebastopolis, requested them to
put an end to the issue of pragmatics made to the detriment of the canons; the Council
echoed this request; and the commissioners granted it by declaring that the canons should
everywhere stand good (Mansi, vii., 89-97). We may connect with this incident a law of
Martian dated in 454, by which "all pragmatic sanctions, obtained by means of favour or
ambition in opposition to the canon of the Church, are declared to be deprived of effect"
(Cod. Justin, i., 2, 12).

To this decision the present canon looks back, when it forbids any bishop, on pain of
deposition, to presume to do as Eustathius had done, since it decrees that "he who
attempts to do so shall fall from his own rank (baqmou) in the Church. And cities which
have already obtained the honorary title of a metropolis from the emperor are to enjoy the
honour only, and their bishops to be but honorary metropolitans, so that all the rights of
the real metropolis are to be reserved to it." So, at the end of the 6th session the
emperor had announced that Chalcedon was to be a titular metropolis, saving all the rights
of Nicemedia; and the Council had expressed its assent (Mansi, xii., 177; cf. Le Quien,
i., 602). Another case was discussed in the 13th session of the Council. Anastasius of
Nicaea had claimed to be independent of his metropolitan Eunomius of Nicemedia, on the
ground of an ordinance of Valens, recognising the city of Nicaea as by old custom a
"metropolis." Eunomius, who complained of Anastasius's encroachments, appealed to a later
ordinance, guaranteeing to the capital of Bithynia its rights as unaffected by the honour
conferred on Nicaea: the Council expressed its mind in favour of Eunomius, and the dispute
was settled by a decision "that the bishop of Nicomedia should have metropolitical
authority over the Bithynian churches, while the bishop of Nicaea should have merely the
honour of a metropolitan, being subjected, like the other comprovincials, to the bishop of
Nicomedia (Mansi, vii., 313). Zonaras says that this canon was in his time no longer
observed; and Balsamon says that when the primates of Heraclea and Ancyra cited it as
upholding their claim to perform the consecration of two "honorary metropolitans," they
were overruled by a decree of Alexius Comnenus, "in presence and with consent" of a synod
(on Trullan, canon xxxviij.).

The first part of this canon is found in the Corpus Juris Canonici, Grat Decretum, Pars
I., Dist. ci., canon j.

CANON XIII

Strange and unknown clergymen without letters commendatory from their own Bishop, are
absolutely prohibited from officiating in another city.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XIII. No cleric shall be received to communion in another city
without a letter commendatory. "Unknown clergymen." I have here followed the reading of
the Greek commentators. But the translators of the Prisca, and Dionysius, and Isidore must
have all read anagnwstaj (i.e., Readers) instead of agnwstouj. Justellus, Hervetus, and
Beveridge, as also Johnson and Hammond, follow the reading of the text. Hefele suggests
that if "Readers" is the correct reading perhaps it means, "all clergymen even readers."

CANON XIV

Since in certain provinces it is permitted to the readers and singers to marry, the holy
Synod has decreed that it shall not be lawful for any of them to take a wife that is
heterodox. But those who have already begotten children of such a marriage, if they have
already had their children baptized among the heretics, must bring them into the communion
of the Catholic Church; but if they have not had them baptized, they may not hereafter
baptize them among heretics, nor give them in marriage to a heretic, or a Jew, or a
heathen, unless the person marrying the orthodox child shall promise to come over to the
orthodox faith. And if any one shah transgress this decree of the holy synod, let him be
subjected to canonical censure.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XIV. A Cantor or Lector alien to the sound faith, if being then
married, he shall have begotten children let him bring them to communion, if they had
there been baptized. But if they had not yet been baptized they shall not be baptized
afterwards by the heretics. Aristenus. The tenth and thirty-first canons of the Synod of
Laodicea and the second of the Sixth Synod in Trullo, and this present canon forbid one of
the orthodox to be joined in marriage with a woman who is a heretic, or vice versa. But if
any of the Cantors or Lectors had taken a wife of another sect before these canons were
set forth, and had had children by her, and had had them baptized while yet he remained
among the heretics, l these he should bring to the communion of the Catholic Church. But
if they had not yet been baptized, he must not turn back and have them baptized among
heretics. But departing thence let him lead them to the Catholic Church and enrich them
with divine baptism.

Hefele. According to the Latin translation of Dionysius Exiguus, who speaks only of the
daughters of the lectors, etc., the meaning may be understood, with Christian Lupus, as
being that only their daughters must not be married to heretics or Jews or heathen, but
that the sons of readers may take wives who are heretics, etc., because that men are less
easily led to fall away from the faith than women. But the Greek text makes here no
distinction between sons and daughters. Bright. It is to Victor that we owe the most
striking of all anecdotes about readers. During the former persecution under Genseric (or
Gaiseric), the Arians attacked a Catholic congregation on Easter Sunday; and while a
reader was standing alone in the pulpit, and chanting the "Alleluia melody" (cf. Hammond,
Liturgies, p. 95), an arrow pierced his throat, the "codex" dropped from his hands, and he
fell down dead (De Persec. Vand., i., 13). Five years before the Council, a boy of eight
named Epiphanius was made a reader in the church of Pavia, and in process of time became
famous as its bishop. Justinian forbade readers to be appointed under eighteen (Novel.,
134, 13). The office is described in the Greek Euchologion as "the first step to the
priesthood," and is conferred with delivery of the book containing the Epistles. Isidore
of Seville, in the seventh century, tells us that the bishop ordained a reader by
delivering to him "coram plebe," the "codex" of Scripture: and after giving precise
directions as to pronunciation and accentuation, says that the readers were of old called
"heralds" (De Eccl. Offic., ii., 11). (b) The Singers are placed by the xliijrd. Apostolic
canon between subdeacons and readers, but they rank below readers in Laodic., c. 23, in
the Liturgy of St. Mark (Hammond, p. 173), and in the canons wrongly ascribed to a IV
Council of Carthage, which permit a presbyter to appoint a "psalmist" without the bishop's
knowledge, and rank him even below the doorkeepers (Mansi, iii., 952). The chief passage
respecting the ancient "singers" is Laodic., xv.

The first part of this canon is found in the Corpus Juris Canonici, Gratian's Decretum,
Pars I, Dist. xxxii. c. xv.

CANON XV

A Woman shall not receive the laying on of hands as a deaconess under forty years of age,
and then only after searching examination. And if, after she has had hands laid on her and
has continued for a time to minister, she shall despise the grace of God and give herself
in marriage, she shall be anathematized and the man united to her.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XV. No person shall be ordained deaconess except she be forty
years of age. If she shall dishonour her ministry by contracting a marriage, let her be
anathema. This canon should be read carefully in connexion with what is said in the
Excursus on deaconesses to canon Nix. of Nice. This canon is found in the Corpus Juris
Canonici, Gratian's Decretum, Pars II., Causa XXVII, Quaest. I., Canon xxiij.

CANON XVI

It is not lawful for a virgin who has dedicated herself to the Lord God, nor for monks, to
marry; and if they are found to have done this, let them be excommunicated. But we decree
that in every place the bishop shall have the power of indulgence towards them.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XVI. Monks or nuns shall not contract marriage, and if they do so
let them be excommunicated. Van Espen. Since this canon says nothing at all of separation
in connexion with a marriage made contrary to a vow, but only orders separation from
communion, it seems very likely that vows of this kind at the time of the synod were not
considered diriment but only impedient impediments from which the bishop of the diocese
could dispense at least as far as the canonical punishment was concerned. Hefele. The last
part of the canon gives the bishop authority in certain circumstances not to inflict the
excommunication which is threatened in the first part, or again to remove it. Thus all the
old Latin translators understood our text; but Dionysius Exiguus and the Prisca added
confitentibus, meaning, "if such a virgin or monk confess and repent their fault, then the
bishop may be kind to them." That the marriage of a monk is invalid, as was ruled by later
ecclesiastical law, our canon does not say; on the contrary, it assumes its validity, as
also the marriages contracted by priests until the beginning of the twelfth century were
regarded as valid.

This canon is found in the Corpus Juris Canonici, Gratian's Decretum, Pars II., Causa
xxvii., Quaest. I., canon xxii., from Isidore's version; it is also found in Dionysius's
version as canon xij. of the same Quaestio, Causa, and Part, where it is said to be taken
"ex Concilio Triburiensi."

CANON XVII

Outlying or rural parishes shall in every province remain subject to the bishops who now
have jurisdiction over them, particularly if the bishops have peaceably and continuously
governed them for the space of thirty years. But if within thirty years there has been, or
is, any dispute concerning them, it is lawful for those who hold themselves aggrieved to
bring their cause before the synod of the province. And if any one be wronged by his
metropolitan, let the matter be decided by the exarch of the diocese or by the throne of
Constantinople, as aforesaid. And if any city has been, or shall hereafter be newly
erected by imperial authority, let the order of the ecclesiastical parishes follow the
political and municipal example.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XVII. Village and rural parishes if they have been possessed f or
thirty years, they shall so continue. But if within that time, the matter shall be subject
to adjudication. But if by the command of the Emperor a city be renewed, the order of
ecclesiastical parishes shall follow the civil and public forms. Bright. The adjective
egkwriouj is probably synonymous with agroikikaj (" rusticas," Prisca), although Dionysius
and Isidorian take in as "situated on estates," cf. Routh, Scr. Opusc., ii., 109. It was
conceivable that some such outlying districts might form, ecclesiastically, a border-land,
it might not be easy to assign them definitively to this or that bishopric. In such a
case, says the Council, if the bishop who is now in possession of these rural churches can
show a prescription of thirty years in favour of his see, let them remain undisturbed in
his obedience. (Here abiastwj may be illustrated from biasamenoj in Eph. viii. and for the
use of oikonomein see I. Const., ij.) But the border-land might be the "debate-able" land:
the two neighbour bishops might dispute as to the right to tend these "sheep in the
wilderness ;" as we read in Cod. Afric., 117, "multae controversiae postea inter episcopos
de dioecesibus ortae aunt, et oriuntur" (see on I. Const., ij.); as archbishop Thomas of
York, and Remigius of Dorchester, were at issue for years "with reference to Lindsey"
(Raine, Fasti Eborac., i. 150). Accordingly, the canon provides that if such a contest had
arisen within the thirty years, or should thereafter arise, the prelate who considered
himself wronged might appeal to the provincial synod. If he should be aggrieved at the
decision of his metropolitan in synod, he might apply for redress to the eparch (or
prefect, a substitute for exarch) of the "diocese," or to the see of Constantinople (in
the manner provided by canon ix.). It is curious "that in Russia all the sees are divided
into eparchies of the first, second, and third class" (Neale, Essays on Liturgiology, p.
302).

This canon is found in the Corpus Juris Canonici, Gratian's Decretum, Pars II., Causa
XVI., Quaest. iii., can. j., in Isidore Mercator's version.

CANON XVIII

The crime of conspiracy or banding together is utterly prohibited even by the secular law,
and much more ought it to be forbidden in the Church of God. Therefore, if any, whether
clergymen or monks, should be detected in conspiring or banding together, or hatching
plots against their bishops or fellow-clergy, they shall by all means be deposed from
their own rank.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XVIII. Clerics and Monks, if they shall have dared to hold
conventicles and to conspire against the bishop, shall be cast out of their rank. Bright.
In order to appreciate this canon, we must consider the case of Ibas bishop of Edessa. He
had been attached to the Nestorians, but after the reunion between Cyril and John of
Antioch had re-entered into communion with Cyril on the ground that Cyril had explained
his anathemas (Mansi, vii., 240), or, as he wrote to Maria (in a letter famous as one of
the "Three Chapters") that God had "softened the Egyptian's heart" (ib., 248). Four of his
priests (Samuel, Cyrus, Maras, and Eulegius), stimulated, says Fleury (xxvij. 19) by
Uranius bishop of Himeria, accused Ibas of Nestorianism before his patriarch Domnus of
Antioch, who held a synod, but, as Samuel and Cyrus failed to appear, pronounced them
defaulters and set aside the case (Mansi, vii. 217). They went up to Constantinople, and
persuaded Theodosius and archbishop Flavian to appoint a commission for inquiring into the
matter. Two sessions, so to speak were held by the three prelates thus appointed, one at
Berytus the other at Tyre. At Berytus, according to the extant minutes (Mansi, vii., 212
ff.), five new accusers joined the original four, and charges were brought which affected
the moral character of Ibas as well as his orthodoxy. The charge of having used a
"blasphemous" speech implying that Christ was but a man deified, was rebutted by a
statement signed by some sixty clerics of Edessa, who according to the accusers, had been
present when Ibas uttered it.

At Tyre the episcopal judges succeeded in making peace, and accusers and accused partook
of the communion together (ib., vii., 209). The sequence of these proceedings cannot be
thoroughly ascertained, but Hefele (sect. 169) agrees with Tillemont (xv., 474 et seqq. in
dating the trial at Berytus slightly earlier than that at Tyre, and assigning both to the
February of 448 or 449. Fleury inverts this order, and thinks that, "notwithstanding the
reconciliation" at Tyre, the four accusers renewed their prosecution of Ibas (xxvij. 20);
but he has to suppose two applications on their part to Theodosius and Flavian, which
seems improbable. "The Council is believed," says Tillemont (xv., 698), "to have had this
case in mind when drawing up the present canon: and one can hardly help thinking that, on
a spot within sight of Constantinople, they must have recalled the protracted sufferings
which malignant plotters had inflicted on St. Chrysostom.

This canon is found in part in the CorpusJuris Canonici, Gratian's Decretum, Pars II., I
Causa XI., Quaest. I., canons xxj. and xxiij.

CANON XIX

Whereas it has come to our ears that in the provinces the Canonical Synods of Bishops are
not held, and that on this account many ecclesiastical matters which need reformation are
neglected; therefore, according to the canons of the holy Fathers, the holy Synod decrees
that the bishops of every province shall twice in the year assemble together where the
bishop of the Metropolis shall approve, and shall then settle whatever matters may have
arisen. And bishops, who do not attend, but remain in their own cities, though they are in
good health and free from any unavoidable and necessary business, shall receive a
brotherly admonition.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XIX. Twice each year the Synod shall be held where-ever the
bishop of the Metropolis shall designate, and all matters of pressing interest shall be
determined. See notes on Canon V. of Nice, and on Canon XX. of Antioch, and compare canon
VIII. of the council in Trullo. Bright. Hilary of Arles and his suffragans, assembled at
Riez, had already, in 439 qualified the provision for two by adding significantly "if the
times are quiet" (Mansi, v., 1194). The words were written at the close of ten years' war,
during which the Visigoths of Septimania "were endeavouring to take Arles and Narbonne"
(Hodgkin, Italy and her Invaders, ii., 121). This canon is found in the Corpus Juris
Canonici, Gratian's Decretum, Pars I., Dist. XVIII., canon vj.

CANON XX

It shall not be lawful, as we have already decreed, for clergymen officiating in one
church to be appointed to the church of another city, but they shall cleave to that in
which they were first thought worthy to minister; those, however, being excepted, who have
been driven by necessity from their own country, and have therefore removed to another
church. And if, after this decree, any bishop shall receive a clergyman belonging to
another bishop, it is decreed that both the received and the receiver shall be
excommunicated until such time as the clergyman who has removed shall have returned to his
own church.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XX. A clergyman of one city shall not be given a cure in another.
But if he has been driven from his native place and shall go into another he shall be
without blame. If any bishop receives clergymen from without his diocese he shall be
excommunicated as well as the cleric he receives. It is quite doubtful as to what
"excommunication" means in this canon, probably not anathematism (so think the
commentators) but separation from the communion of the other bishops, and suspension from
the performance of clerical functions. Bright. This canon is the third of those which were
originally proposed by Marcian in the end of the sixth session, as certain articles for
which synodical sanction was desirable (see above Canons iij. and iv.). It was after they
had been delivered by the Emperor's own hand to Anatolius of Constantinople that the
Council broke out into plaudits, one of which is sufficiently startling, tw ierei, tw
basilei (Mansi, vii., 177). The imperial draft is in this case very slightly altered. A
reference is made to a previous determination (i.e., canon x. against clerical
pluralities, and it is ordered that "clerics registered as belonging to one church shall
not be ranked as belonging to the church of another city, but must be content with the one
in which they were originally admitted to minister, excepting those who, having lost their
own country, have been compelled to migrate to another church,"-an exception intelligible
enough at such a period. Eleven years before, the Vandal Gaiseric had expelled the
Catholic bishops and priests of Western Africa from their churches: Quodvultdeus, bishop
of Carthage with many of his clergy, had been "placed on board some unseaworthy vessels,"
and yet, "by the Divine mercy, had been carried safe to Naples" (Vict. Vitens., De Persec.
Vandal., i., 5: he mentions other bishops as driven into exile).

Somewhat later, the surge of the Hunnish invasion had frightened the bishop of Sirmium
into sending his church vessels to Attila's Gaulish secretary and had swept onward in 447
to within a short distance of the "New Rome" (Hodgkin, Italy and her Invaders, ii.,
54-56). And the very year of the Council was the most momentous in the whole history of
the "Barbaric" movement. The bishops who assembled in October at Chalcedon must have heard
by that time of the massacre of the Metz clergy on Easter Eve, of a bishop of Rheims slain
at his own altar, of the deliverance of Orleans at the prayer of St. Anianus, of "the
supreme battle" in the plain of Chalons, which turned back Attila and rescued Christian
Gaul (Hodgkin, ii., 129-152; Kitchin, Hist. France, i. 61). This canon is found in the
Corpus Juris Canonici, Gratian's Decretum, Pars I., Dist. lxxi, c. iv.

CANON XXI

Clergymen and laymen bringing charges against bishops or clergymen are not to be received
loosely and without examination, as accusers, but their own character shall first be
investigated.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XXI. A cleric or layman making charges rashly against his bishop
shall not be received. Compare with this canon the VI Canon of those credited to the First
Synod at Constantinople, the second ecumenical. This canon is found in the Corpus Juris
Canonici, Gratian's Decretum, Pars II., Causa II., Quest. VII., canon xlix., in Isidore's
first version.

CANON XXII

IT is not lawful for clergymen, after the death of their bishop, to seize what belongs to
him, as has been forbidden also by the ancient canons; and those who do so shall be in
danger of degradation from their own rank.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XXII. Whoever seizes the goods of his deceased bishop shall be
cast forth from his rank. It is curious that the Greek text which Zonaras and Balsamon
produce, and which Hervetus translated, had instead of toij palai kanosi, toij
paralambanousin. Van Espen thinks that the Greek commentators have tried without success
to attach any meaning to these words, accepting the arguments of Bp. Beveridge (which
see). The reading adopted in the text does not lack ms. authority, and is the one printed
by Justellus in his "Codex of the Canons of the Universal Church." This canon is found in
the Corpus Juris Canonici, Gratian's Decretum, Pars II., Causa XII., Quest. II., canon
xliii., in Isidore's version.

CANON XXIII

IT has come to the hearing of the holy Synod that certain clergymen and monks, having no
authority from their own bishop, and sometimes, indeed, while under sentence of
excommunication by him, betake themselves to the imperial Constantinople, and remain there
for a long time, raising disturbances and troubling the ecclesiastical state, and turning
men's houses upside down. Therefore the holy Synod has determined that such persons be
first notified by the Advocate of the most holy Church of Constantinople to depart from
the imperial city; and if they shall shamelessly continue in the same practices, that they
shall be expelled by the same Advocate even against their will, and return to their own
places.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XXIII. Clerics or monks who spend much time at Constantinople
contrary to the will of their bishop, and stir up seditions, shall be cast out of the
city. This canon is found in the Corpus Juris Canonici, Gratian's Decretum, Pars II.,
Causa XVI, Quaest. I., canon xvij. but with the last part epitomized, as the Roman
correctors point out.

CANON XXIV

Monasteries, which have once been consecrated with the consent of the bishop, shall remain
monasteries for ever, and the property belonging to them shall be preserved, and they
shall never again become secular dwellings.And they who shall permit this to be done shall
be liable to ecclesiastical penalties.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XXIV. A monastery erected with the consent of the bishop shall be
immovable. And whatever pertains to it shall not be alienated. Whoever shall take upon him
to do otherwise, shall not be held guiltless. Joseph Aegyptius, in turning this into
Arabic, reads: "And whoever shall turn any monastery into a dwelling house for himself ...
let him be cursed and anathema." The curious reader is referred on this whole subject to
Sir Henry Spelman's History and Fate of Sacrilege, or to the more handy book on the
subject by James Wayland Joyce, The Doom of Sacrilege. Bright. The secularization of
monasteries was an evil which grew with their wealth and influence. At a Council held by
the patriarch Photius in the Apostles' church at Constantinople, it is complained that
some persons attach the name of "monastery" to property of their own, and while professing
to dedicate it to God, write themselves down as lords of what has been thus consecrated,
and are not ashamed to claim after such consecration the same power over it which they had
before. In the West, we find this abuse attracting the attention of Gregory the Great, who
writes to a bishop that "rationalis ordo" would not allow a layman to pervert a monastic
foundation at will to his own uses (Epist. viii., 31). In ancient Scotland, the occasional
dispersion of religious communities, and, still more, the clan-principle which assigned
chieftain-rights over monasteries to the descendants of the founder, left at Dunkeld,
Brechin, Abernethy, and elsewhere, "nothing but the mere name of abbacy applied to the
lands, and of abbot borne by the secular lord for the time" (Skene's Celtic Scotland, ii.,
365; cf. Anderson's Scotland in Early Christian Times, p. 235). So, after the great Irish
monastery of Bangor in Down was destroyed by the Northmen, "non defuit,"says St. Bernard,
"qui illud teneret cure possessionibus suis; ham et constituebantur per electionem etiam,
et abbates appellabantur, servantes nomine, etsi non re, quod olim exstiterat" (De Vita S.
Malachioe, vj.). So in 1188 Giraldus Cambrensis found a lay abbot in possession of the
venerable church of Llanbadarn Vawr;

a "bad custom," he says, "had grown up, whereby powerful laymen, at first chosen by the
clergy to be "oeconomi" or "patroni et defensores," had usurped "forum jus," appropriated
the lands, and left to the clergy nothing but the altars, with tithes and offerings (Itin.
Camb. ii., 4). This abuse must be distinguished from the corrupt device whereby, in Bede's
later years, Northumbrian nobles contrived to gain for their estates the immunities of
abbey-lands by professing to found monasteries, which they filled with disorderly monks,
who lived there in contempt of all rule (Bede, Ep. to Egbert, vij.). In the year of his
birth, the first English synod had forbidden bishops to despoil consecrated monasteries
(Bede, iv., 5). This canon is found in the Corpus Juris Canonici, Gratian's Decretum, Pars
II., Causa XIX., Quaest. III., canon iv.

CANON XXV

Forasmuch as certain of the metropolitans, as we have heard, neglect the flocks committed
to them, and delay the ordinations of bishops the holy Synod has decided that the
ordinations of bishops shall take place within three months, unless an inevitable
necessity should some time require the term of delay to be prolonged. And if he shall not
do this, he shall be liable to ecclesiastical penalties, and the income of the widowed
church shall be kept safe by the steward of the same Church.Notes Ancient Epitome of Canon
XXV. Let the ordination of bishops be within three months: necessity however may make the
time longer. But if anyone shall ordain counter to this decree, he shall be liable to
punishment. The revenue shall remain with the oeconomus. Bright. The "Steward of the
Church" was to "take care of the revenues of the church widowed" by the death of its
bishop, who was regarded as representing Him to whom the whole Church was espoused (see
Eph. v. 23 ff.). So in the "order of the holy and great church" of St. Sophia, the" Great
Steward is described as "taking the oversight of the widowed church" (Goar, Eucholog., p.
269); so Hincmar says: "Si fuerit defunctus episcopus, ego ... visitaterem ipsi viduatae
designabo ecclesiae; "and the phrase, "viduata per mortem N. nuper episcopi" became common
in the West (F. G. Lee, Validity of English Orders, p. 373). The episcopal ring was a
symbol of the same idea. So at St. Chrysostom's restoration Eudoxia claimed to have "given
back the bridegroom" (Serm. post redit., iv.). So Bishop Wilson told Queen Caroline that
he "would not leave his wife in his old age because she was poor" (Keble's Life of Wilson,
ii., 767); and Peter Mongus, having invaded the Alexandrian see while its legitimate
occupant, Timothy Salophaciolus, was alive, was expelled as an "adulterer" (Liberatus,
Breviar., xviij.).

This canon is found in the Corpus Juris Canonici, Gratian's Decretum, Pars I., Dist.
LXXV., C. ij.

CANON XXVI

Forasmuch as we have heard that in certain churches the bishops managed the church-
business without stewards, it has seemed good that every church having a bishop shall have
also a steward from among its own clergy, who shall manage the church business under the
sanction of his own bishop; that so the administration of the church may not be without a
witness; and that thus the goods of the church may not be squandered, nor reproach be
brought upon the priesthood; and if he [i.e., the Bishop] will not do this, he shall be
subjected to the divine canons.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XXVI. The (Economus in all churches must be chosen from the
clergy. And the bishop who neglects to do this is not without blame. Bright. As the stream
of offerings became fuller, the work of dispensing them became more complex, until the
archdeacons could no longer find time for it, and it was committed to a special officer
called "oeconomus" or steward (Bingham, iii, 12, 1; Transl. of Fleury, iii., 120). So the
Council of Gangra, in the middle of the fourth century, forbids the church offerings to be
disposed of without consent of the bishop or of the person appointed, eij oikonomian
eupoiiaj (canon viij.); and St Basil mentions the oeconomi of his own church (Epist.,
xxiij. 1), and the "tamiai of the sacred goods" of his brother's at Nyssa (ib., 225). And
although Gregory Nazianzen took credit to himself for declining to appoint a "stranger" to
make an estimate of the property which of right belonged to the church of Constantinople,
and in fact, with a strange confusion between personal and official obligations, gave the
go-by to the whole question (Carm. de Vita sua, 1479 ff.), his successor, Nectarius, being
a man of business, took care to appoint a "church-steward"; and Chrysostom, on coming to
the see, examined his accounts, and found much superfluous expenditure (Palladius, Dial,
p. 19). Theophilus of Alexandria compelled two of the Tall Brothers to undertake the
oikonomia of the Alexandrian church (Soc., vi. 7); and in one of his extant directions
observes that the clergy of Lyco wish for another "oeconomus," and that the bishop has
consented, in order that the church-funds may be properly spent (Mansi, iii., 1257). At
Hippo St.

Augustine had a "praepositus domus" who acted as Church-steward (Possidius, Vit. August.,
xxiv.). Isidore of Pelusium denounces Martinianus as a fraudulent "oeconomus," and
requests Cyril to appoint an upright one (Epist. ii., 127), and in another letter urges
him to put a stop to the dishonest greed of those who acted as stewards of the same church
(ib., v. 79). The records of the Council of Ephesus mention the "oeconomus" of
Constantinople, the "oeconomus" of Ephesus (Mansi, iv., 1228-1398), and, the "oeconomus"
of Philadelphia. According to an extant letter of Cyril, the "oeconomi" of Perrha in Syria
were mistrusted by the clergy, who wished to get rid of them "and appoint others by their
own authority" (ib., vii., 321). Ibas of Edessa had been complained of for his
administration of church property; he was accused, e.g., of secreting a jewelled chalice,
and bestowing the church revenues, and gold and silver crosses, on his brother and
cousins; he ultimately undertook to appoint "oeconomi" after the model of Antioch (Mansi,
vii., 201). Proterius, afterwards patriarch of Alexandria and a martyr for Chalcedonian
orthodoxy, was "oeconomus" under Dioscorus (ib., iv., 1017), as was John Talaia, a man
accused of bribery, under his successor (Evag., iii., 12). There may have been many cases
in which there was no "oeconomus," or in which the management was in the hands of private
agents of the bishop, in whom the Church could put no confidence; and the Council, having
alluded to the office of "oeconomus" in canons ij.

and xxv., now observes that some bishops had been managing their church property without
"oeconomi," and thereupon resolves "that every church which has a bishop shall also have
an oeconomus" from among its own clergy, to administer the property of the church under
the direction of its own bishop; so that the administration of the church property may not
be unattested, and thereby waste ensue, and the episcopate incur reproach. Any bishop who
should neglect to appoint such an officer should be punishable under "the divine" (or
sacred) "canons." Nearly three years after the Council, Leo saw reason for requesting
Marcian not to allow civil judges, "novo exemplo," to audit the accounts of "the oeconomi
of the church of Constantinople," which ought, "secundumtraditum morem," to be examined by
the bishop alone (Epist. cxxxvij. 2). In after days the "great steward" of St. Sophia was
always a deacon; he was a conspicuous figure at the Patriarch's celebrations, standing on
the right of the altar, vested in alb and stole, and holding the sacred fan (ripidion);
his duty was to enter all incomings and outgoings of the church's revenue in a
charterlary, and exhibit it quarterly, or half yearly, to the patriarchs; and he governed
the church during a vacancy of the see (Eucholog., pp. 268, 275). In the West, Isidore of
Seville describes the duties of the "oeconomus"; he has to see to the repair and building
of churches, the care of church lands, the cultivation of vineyards, the payment of
clerical stipends, of doles to the widows and the poor, and of food and clothing to church
servants, and even the carrying on of church law suits,-all "cure jussu et arbitrio sui
episcopi" (Ep. to Leudefred, Op. ii., 520); and before Isidore's death the IV Council of
Toledo refers to this canon, and orders the bishops to appoint "from their own clergy
those whom the Greeks call oeconomi, hoc est, qui vici episcoporum res ecclesiasticas
tractant (canon xlviij., Mansi, x, 631). There was an officer named "oeconomus" in the old
Irish monasteries; see Reeves' edition of Adamnan, p. 47.

This Canon is found twice in the Corpus Juris Canonici, Gratian's Decretum, Pars II.,
Causa XVI., Q. VII, Canon xxi., and again in Pars I., Dist. LXXXIX., c. iv.

CANON XXVII

The holy Synod has decreed that those who forcibly carry off women under pretence of
marriage, and the alders or abettors of such ravishers, shall be degraded if clergymen,
and if laymen be anathematized.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XXVII. If a clergyman elope with a woman, let him be expelled
from the Church. If a layman, let him be anathema. The same shall be the lot of any that
assist him. This canon is found in the Corpus Juris Canonici, Gratian's Decretum, Pars
II., Causa XXXVI., Q. II., canon j. In many old collections this is the last canon of this
Council, e.g., Dionysius Exiguus, Isidore, the Prisca, the Greek by John of Antioch, and
the Arabic by Joseph Aegyptius. The reader familiar with the subject will have but little
difficulty in explaining to his own satisfaction the omission of canon xxviij. in these
instances.

CANON XXVIII

Following in all things the decisions of the holy Fathers, and acknowledging the canon,
which has been just read, of the One Hundred and Fifty Bishops beloved-of-God (who
assembled in the imperial city of Constantinople, which is New Rome, in the time of the
Emperor Theodosius of happy memory), we also do enact and decree the same things
concerning the privileges of the most holy Church of Constantinople, which is New Rome.
For the Fathers rightly granted privileges to the throne of old Rome, because it was the
royal city. And the One Hundred and Fifty most religious Bishops, actuated by the same
consideration, gave equal privileges (isa presbeia) to the most holy throne of New Rome,
justly judging that the city which is honoured with the Sovereignty and the Senate, and
enjoys equal privileges with the old imperial Rome, should in ecclesiastical matters also
be magnified as she is, and rank next after her; so that, in the Pontic, the Asian, and
the Thracian dioceses, the metropolitans only and such bishops also of the Dioceses
aforesaid as are among the barbarians, should be ordained by the aforesaid most holy
throne of the most holy Church of Constantinople; every metropolitan of the aforesaid
dioceses, together with the bishops of his province, ordaining his own provincial bishops,
as has been declared by the divine canons; but that, as has been above said, the
metropolitans of the aforesaid Dioceses should be ordained by the archbishop of
Constantinople, after the proper elections have been held according to custom and have
been reported to him.

Note.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XXVIII. The bishop of New Rome shall enjoy the same honour as the
bishop of Old Rome, on account of the removal of the Empire. For this reason the
[metropolitans] of Pontus, of Asia, and of Thrace, as well as the Barbarian bishops shall
be ordained by the bishop of Constantinople. Van Espen. It is certain that this canon was
expressly renewed by canon xxxvi. of the Council of Trullo and from that time has been
numbered by the Greeks among the canons; and at last it was acknowledged by some Latin
collectors also, and was placed by Gratian in his Decretum, although clearly with a
different sense. (Pars I., Dist. xxii., C. vj.) Bright. Here is a great addition to the
canon of 381, so ingeniously linked on to it as to seem at first sight a part of it. The
words kai wste are meant to suggest that what follows is in fact involved in what has
preceded: whereas a new point of departure is here taken, and instead of a mere "honorary
pre-eminence" the bishop of Constantinople acquires a vast jurisdiction, the independent
authority of three exarchs being annulled in order to make him patriarch. Previously he
had proedria now he gains prostasia. As we have seen, a series of aggrandizements in fact
had prepared for this aggrandizement in law; and various metropolitans of Asia Minor
expressed their contentment at seeing it effected. "It is, indeed, more than probable that
the self-assertion of Rome excited the jealousy of her rival of the East," and thus
"Eastern bishops secretly felt that the cause of Constantinople was theirs" (Gore's Leo
the Great. p. 120); but the gratification of Constantinople ambition was not the less, in
a canonical sense, a novelty, and the attempt to enfold it in the authority of the Council
of 381 was rather astute than candid. The true plea, whatever might be its value, was that
the Council had to deal with a fait accompli, which it was wise at once to legalize and to
regulate; that the "boundaries of the respective exarchates ...

were ecclesiastical arrangements made with a view to the general good and peace of the
Church, and liable to vary with the dispensations to which the Church was providentially
subjected," so that "by confirming the ek pollou krathsan eqoj" in regard to the
ordination of certain metropolitans (see Ep. of Council to Leo, Leon. Epist. xcviij., 4),
"they were acting in the spirit, while violating the letter, of the ever-famous rule of
Nicaea, ta arkeia eqh krateito (cp. Newman, Transl. of Fleury, iii., 407). It is
observable that Aristenus and Symeon, Logothetes reckon this decree as a XXIX canon
(Justellus, ii., 694, 720). After the renewal of this canon by the Council of Trullo,
Gratian adds "The VIII Synod held under Pope Hadrian II., canon xxj." (Decretum Pars I.,
Diet. xxij., C. vii.) "We define that no secular power shall hereafter dishonour anyone of
these who rule our patriarchal sees, or attempt to move them from their proper throne, but
shall judge them worthy of all reverence and honour; chiefly the most holy Pope of Old
Rome, and then the Patriarch of Constantinople, and then those of Alexandria, and Antioch,
and Jerusalem." Some Greek codices have the following heading to this canon. "Decree of
the same holy Synod published on account of the privileges of the throne of the most holy
Church of Constantinople." Tillemont. This canon seems to recognise no particular
authority in the Church of Rome, save what the Fathers had granted it, as the seat of the
empire. And it attributes in plain words as much to Constantinople as to Rome, with the
exception of the first place. Nevertheless I do not observe that the Popes took up a thing
so injurious to their dignity, and of so dangerous a consequence to the whole Church. For
what Lupus quotes of St. Leo's lxxviij. (civ) letter, refers rather to Alexandria and to
Antioch, than to Rome. St. Leo is contented to destroy the foundation on which they built
the elevation of Constantinople, maintaining that a thing so entirely ecclesiastical as
the episcopate ought not to be regulated by the temporal dignity of cities, which,
nevertheless, has been almost always followed in the establishment of the metropolis,
according to the Council of Nicea.

St. Leo also complains that the Council of Chalcedon broke the decrees of the Council of
Nice, the practice of antiquity, and the rights of Metropolitans. Certainly it was an
odious innovation to see a Bishop made the chief, not of one department but of three; for
which no example could be found save in the authority which the Popes took over Illyricum,
where, however, they did not claim the power to ordain any Bishop.


COUNCIL OF CHALCEDON (AD 451): SESSION 16 EXTRACTS
==================================================

COUNCIL OF CHALCEDON (AD 451): SESSION 16 EXTRACTS Extracts from the sixteenth session of
Chalcedon, in which the legates of the bishop of Rome object to the twenty-eighth canon,
which gave the see of Constantinople the second place of honour after Rome.

1 (Labbe and Cossart, Concilia, Tom. IV., col. 794.) Paschasinus and Lucentius, the most
reverend bishops, holding file place of the Apostolic See, said: If your magnificence so
orders, we have something to lay before you. The most glorious judges, said: Say what you
wish. The most holy Paschasinus the bishop, holding the place of Rome, said: The rulers of
the world, taking care of the holy Catholic faith, by which their kingdom and glory is
increased, have deigned to define this, in order that unity through a holy peace may be
preserved through all the churches. But with still greater care their clemency has
vouchsafed to provide for the future, so that no contention may spring up again between
God's bishops, nor any schisms, nor any scandal. But yesterday after your excellencies and
our humility had left, it is said that certain decrees were made, which we esteem to have
been done contrary to the canons, and contrary to ecclesiastical discipline. We request
that your magnificence order these things to be read, that all the brethren may know
whether the things done are just or unjust.

2 The most glorious judges said: If anything was done after our levering let it be read.
And before the reading, Aetius, the Archdeacon of the Church of Constantinople said: It is
certain that the matters touching the faith received a suitable form. But it is customary
at synods, after those things which are chiefest of all shall have been defined, that
other flyings also which are necessary should be examined and put into shape. We have, I
mean the most holy Church of Constantinople has, manifestly things to be attended to. We
asked the lord bishops (knrioij toij episkopoij) fromRome, to join with us in these
matters, but they declined, saying they had received no instructions on the subject. We
referred the matter to your magnificence and you bid the holy Synod to consider this very
point. And when your magnificence had gone forth, as the affair was one of common
interest, the most holy bishops, standing up, prayed that this thing might be done. And
they were present here, and this was done in no hidden nor secret fashion, but in due
course and in accordance with file canons.

3 The most glorious judges said: Let the acts be read. [ The canon (number XXVIII.), was
then read, and the signatures, in all 192, including the bishops of Antioch, Jerusalem,
and Heraclea, but not Thaiassius of Caesarea who afterwards assented. Only a week before
350 had signed the Definition of faith. When the last name was read a debate arose as
follows. (Col. 810.).] Lucentius, the most reverend bishop and legate of the Apostolic
See, said: In the first place let your excellency notice that it was brought to pass by
circumventing the holy bishops so that they were forced to sign the as yet unwritten
canons, of which they made mention. [The Greek reads a little differently (I have followed
the Latin as it is supposed by the critics to be more pure than the Greek we now have):
Your excellency has perceived how many firings were done in the presence of the bishops,
in order that no one might be forced to sign the aforementioned canons; defining by
necessity.]

4 The most reverend bishops cried out: No one was forced. Lucentius the most reverend
bishop and legate of the Apostolic See, said: It is manifest that the decrees of the 318
have been put aside, and that mention only has been made of those of the 150, which are
not found to have any place in the synodical canons, and which were made as they
acknowledge eighty years ago. If therefore they enjoyed this privilege during these years,
what do they seek for now? If they never used it, why seek it? [The Greek reads: "It is
manifest that the present decrees have been added to the decrees of the 318 and to those
of the 150 after them, decrees not received into the synodical canons, these things they
pretend to be defined. If therefore in these times they used this benefit what now do they
seek which according to the canons they had not used?]

5 Aetius, the archdeacon of the most holy Church of Constantinople, said: If on this
subject they had received any commands, let them be brought forward. Bonifacius, a
presbyter and vicar of the Apostolic See, said: The most blessed and Apostolic Pope, among
other things, gave us this commandment. And he read from the chart, "The rulings of the
holy fathers shall with no rashness be violated or diminished. Let the dignity of our
person in all ways be guarded by you. And if any, influenced by the power of his own city,
should undertake to make usurpations, withstand this with suitable firmness." The most
glorious judges said: Let each party quote the canons. 6 Paschasinus, the most reverend
bishop and representative, read: Canon Six of the 318 holy fathers, "The Roman Church hath
always had the primacy. Let Egypt therefore so hold itself that the bishop of Alexandria
have the authority over all, for this is also the custom as regards the bishop of Rome. So
too at Antioch and in the other provinces let the churches of the larger cities have the
primacy. [In the Greek `let the primacy be kept to the churches;' a sentence which I do
not understand, unless it means that for the advantage of the churches the primatial
rights of Antioch must be upheld. But such a sentiment one would expect to find rather in
the Latin than in the Greek.] And one thing is abundantly clear, that if any one shall
have been ordained bishop contrary to the will of the metropolitan, this great synod has
decreed that such an one ought not to be bishop. If however the judgment of all his own
[fellows] is reasonable and according to the canons, and if two or three dissent through
their own obstinacy, then let the vote of the majority prevail. For a custom has
prevailed, and it is an ancient tradition, that the bishop of Jerusalem be honoured, let
him have his consequent honour, but the rights of his own metropolis must be preserved."

7 Constantine, the secretary, read from a, book handed him by Aetius, the archdeacon;
Canon Six of the 318 holy Fathers. "Let the ancient customs prevail, those of Egypt,

Notes.

8 An attempt has been made to shew that this statement of the acts is a mere blunder. That
no correct copy of the Nicene canons was read, and that the council accepted the version
produced by the Roman legate as genuine. The proposition appears to me in itself
ridiculous, and taken in connexion with the fact that the acts shew that the true canon of
Nice was read immediately afterwards I cannot think the hypothesis really worthy of
serious consideration. But it is most ably defended by the Ballerini in their edition of
St. Leo's works (Tom. iii., p. xxxvij. et seqq ). and Hefele seems to have accepted their
conclusions (Vol. III., p. 435). Bright, however, I think, takes a most just view of the
case, whom I therefore quote. Bright. 9 If we place ourselves for a moment in the position
of the ecclesiastics of Constantinople when they heard Pasehasinus read his "version,"
which the Ballerini gently describe as "differing a little" from the Greek text, we shall
see that it was simply impossible for them not to quote that text as it was preserved in
their archives, and had been correctly translated by Philo and Evarestus in their version
beginning "Antiqui mores obtineant." No comment on the difference between it and the Roman
"version" is recorded to have been made: and, in truth, none was necessary. Simply to
confront the two, and pass on to the next point, was to confute so that the bishop of
Alexandria shall have jurisdiction over all, since this also is the custom at Rome.
Likewise at Antioch and in the rest of the provinces, let the rank (presbeia) be preserved
to the churches. For this is absolutely clear that if anyone contrary to the will of the
metropolitan be ordained bishop, such an one the great synod decreed should not be a
bishop. If however by the common vote of all, rounded upon reason, and according to the
canons, two or three moved by their own obstinacy, make opposition, let the vote of the
majority stand."

10 The same secretary read from the same codex the determination of the Second Synod.
"These things the bishops decreed who assembled by the grace of God in Constantinople from
far separated provinces, ... and bishops are not to go to churches which are outside the
bounds of their dioceses, nor to confound the churches, but according to the canons the
bishop of Alexandria shall take the charge of the affairs of Egypt only, and the bishops
of Orient shall govern the Oriental diocese only, the honours due to the Church of Antioch
being guarded according to the Nicene canons, and the Asiatic bishops shall care for the
diocese of Asia only, and those of Pontus the affairs of Pontus only, and those of Thrace
the affairs of Thrace only. But bishops shall not enter uncalled another diocese for
ordination, or any other ecclesiastical function. And the aforesaid canon concerning
dioceses being observed, it is evident that the synod of every province will administer
the affairs of that particular province as was decreed at Nice. But the churches of God in
heathen nations must be governed according to the custom which has prevailed from the
times of the Fathers. The bishop of Constantinople however shall have the prerogative of
honour next after the bishop of Rome, because Constantinople is new Rome."Paschasinus at
once most respectfully and most expressively.

11 It should be added that the Ballerini ground their theory chiefly upon the authority of
a Latin ms., the Codex Julianus, now called Parisiensis, in which this reading of the true
text of the canon of Nice is not contained, as Baluzius was the first to point out. The
most glorious judges said: Let the most holy Asiatic and Pontic bishops who have signed
the tome just read say whether they gave their signatures of their own judgment or
compelled by any necessity. And when these were come into the midst, the most reverend
Diogenes, the bishop of Cyzicum, said: I call God to witness that I signed of my own
judgment. [And so on, one after the other.] The rest cried out: We signed willingly. The
most glorious judges said: As it is manifest that the subscription of each one of the
bishops was given without any necessity but of his own will, let the most holy bishops who
have not signed say something.

12 Eusebius, the bishop of Ancyra, said: I am about to speak but for myself alone. [His
speech is a personal explanation of his own action with regard to consecrating a bishop
for Gangra.] The most glorious judges said: From what has been done and brought forward on
each side, we perceive that the primacy of all (pro pantwn ta prwteia) and the chief
honour (thn ecaireton timhn) according to the canons, is to be kept for the most God-
beloved archbishop of Old Rome, but that the most reverend archbishop of the royal city
Constantinople, which is new Rome, is to enjoy the honour of the same primacy, and to have
the power to ordain the metropolitans in the Asiatic, Pontic, and Thracian dioceses, in
this manner: that there be elected by the clergy, and substantial (kthtorwn) and most
distinguished men of each metropolis and moreover by all the most reverend bishops of the
province, or a majority of them, and that he be elected whom those afore mentioned shall
deem worthy of the metropolitan episcopate and that he should be presented by all those
who had elected him to the most holy archbishop of royal Constantinople, that he might be
asked whether he [i.e., the Patriarch of Constantinople] willed that he should there be
ordained, or by his commission in the province where he received the vote to the
episcopate. The most reverend bishops of the ordinary towns should be ordained by all the
most reverend bishops of the province or by a majority of them, the metropolitan having
his power according to the established canon of the fathers, and making with regard to
such ordinations no communications to the most holy archbishop of royal Constantinople.
Thus the matter appears to us to stand. Let the holy Synod vouchsafe to teach its view of
the case.

13 The most reverend bishops cried out: This is a just sentence. So we all say, These
things please us all. This is a just determination. Establish the proposed form of decree.
This is a just vote. All has been decreed as should be. We beg you to let us go. By the
safety of the Emperor let us go. We all will remain in this opinion, we all say the same
things. Lucentius, the bishop, said: The Apostolio See gave orders that all things should
be done in our presence [This sentence reads in the Latin: The Apostolic See ought not to
be humiliated in our presence. I do not know why Canon Bright in his notes on Canon XX
VIII. has followed this reading]; and therefore whatever yesterday was done to the
prejudice of the canons during our absence, we beseech your highness to command to be
rescinded. But if not, let our opposition be placed in the minutes, and pray let us know
clearly [Lat. that we may know] what we are to report to that most apostolic bishop who is
the ruler of the whole church, so that he may be able to take action with regard to the
indignity done to his See and to the setting at naught of the canons.

14 [John, the most reverend bishop of Sebaste, said: We all will remain of the opinion
expressed by your magnificence. ] The most glorious judges said: The whole synod has
approved what we proposed.

Notes.

15 Hefele. (Hist. Counc., Vol. III., p. 428.) That is, the prerogative assigned to the
Church of Constantinople is, in spite of the opposition of the Roman legate decreed by the
Synod. Thus ended the Council of Chalcedon after it had lasted three weeks. How it is
possible after reading the foregoing proceedings to imagine for an instant that the
bishops of this Council considered the rights they were discussing to be of Divine origin,
and that the occupant of the See of Rome was, jure divine, supreme over all pontiffs I
cannot understand. It is quite possible, of course, to affirm, as some have done, that the
acts, as we have them, have been mutilated, but the contention involves not only many
difficulties but also no few absurdities; and yet I cannot but think that even this
extreme hypothesis is to be preferred to any attempt to reconcile the acts as we now have
them with the acceptance on the part of the members of the council of the doctrine of a
jure divine Papal Supremacy as it is now held by the Latin Church.


COUNCIL OF CONSTANTINOPLE (AD 553): SHORTER WRITINGS
====================================================

COUNCIL OF CONSTANTINOPLE (AD 553) Shorter Writings

Shorter documents of the Fifth Ecumenical Council, which met at Constantinople in AD 553:
extracts from the proceedings, two sets of anathemas against the teaching of Origen, one
of fifteen and one of nine, and the decretal epistle of Pope Vigilius.

EXTRACTS FROM THE ACTS: SESSION 1

1 (Labbe and Cossart, Concilia, Tom. V., col. 419.) [The Emperor's Letter which was read
to the Fathers.] In the Name of our Lord God Jesus Christ. The Emperor Flavius Justinian,
German, Gothic, etc., and always Augustus, to the most blessed bishops and patriarchs,
Eutychius of Constantinople, Apollinarius of Alexandria, Domninus of Theopolis, Stephen,
George, and Damian, the most religious bishops taking the place of that man of singular
blessedness, Eustochius, the Archbishop and Patriarch of Jerusalem, and the other most
religious bishops stopping in this royal city from the different provinces. [The following
is the letter condensed, including Hefele's digest. History of the Councils, Vol. IV., p.
298.] 2 The effort of my predecessors, the orthodox Emperors, ever aimed at the settling
of controversies which had arisen respecting the faith by the calling of Synods. For this
cause Constantine assembled 318 Fathers at Nice, and was himself present at the Council,
and assisted those who confessed the Son to be consubstantial with the Father. Theodosius,
150 at Constantinople, Theodosius the younger, the Synod of Ephesus, the Emperor Marcian,
the bishops at Chalcedon. As, however, after Marcian's death, controversies respecting the
Synod of Chalcedon had broken out in several places, the Emperor Leo wrote to all bishops
of all places, in order that everyone might declare his opinion in writing with regard to
this holy Council. Soon afterwards, however, had arisen again the adherents of Nestorius
and Eutyches, and caused great divisions, so that many Churches had broken off communion
with one another. When, now, the grace of God raised us to the throne, we regarded it as
our chief business to unite the Churches again, and to bring the Synod of Chalcedon,
together with the three earlier, to universal acceptance. We have won many who previously
opposed that Synod; others, who persevered in their opposition, we banished, and so
restored the unity of the Church again. But the Nestorians want to impose their heresy
upon the Church; and, as they could not use Nestorius for that purpose, they made haste to
introduce their errors through Theodore of Mopsuestia, the teacher of Nestorius, who
taught still more grievous blasphemies than his.

3 He maintained, e.g., that God the Word was one, and Christ another. For the same purpose
they made use of those impious writings of Theodoret which were directed against the first
Synod of Ephesus, against Cyril and his Twelve Chapters, and also the shameful letter
which Ibas is said to have written. They maintain that this letter was accepted by the
Synod of Chalcedon, and so would free from condemnation Nestorius and Theodore who were
commended in the letter. If they were to succeed, the Logos could no longer be said to be
"made man," nor Mary called the Mother (genetrix) of God. We, therefore, following the
holy Fathers, have first asked you in writing to give your judgment on the three impious
chapters named, and you have answered, and have joyfully confessed the true faith.
Because, however, after the condemnation proceeding from you, there are still some who
defend the Three Chapters, therefore we have summoned you to the capital, that you may
here, in common assembly, place again your view in the light of day. When, for example,
Vigilius, Pope of Old Rome, came hither, he, in answer to our questions, repeatedly
anathematised in writing the Three Chapters, and confirmed his steadfastness in this view
by much, even by the condemnation of his deacons, Rusticus and Sebastian. We possess still
his declarations in his own hand. Then he issued his Judicatum, in which he anathematised
the Three Chapters, with the words, Et quoniam, etc.

4 You know that he not only deposed Rusti- cus and Sebastian because they defended the
Three Chapters, but also wrote to Valentinian, bishop of Scythia, and Aurelian, bishop of
Aries, that nothing might be undertaken against the Judicatum. When you afterwards came
hither at my invitation, letters were exchanged between you and Vigilius in order to a
common assembly. But now he had altered his view would no longer have a synod, but
required that only the three patriarchs and one other bishop (in communion with the Pope
and the three bishops about him) should decide the matter. In vain we sent several
commands to him to take part in the synod. He rejected also our two proposals, either to
call a tribunal for decision, or to hold a smaller assembly, at which, besides him and his
three bishops, every other patriarch should have place and voice, with from three to five
bishops of his diocese.* We further declare that we hold fast to the decrees of the four
Councils, and in every way follow the holy Fathers, Athanasius, Hilary,Basil, Gregory the
Theologian, Gregory of Nyssa, Ambrose, Theophilus, John (Chrysostom) of Constantinople,
Cyril, Augustine, Proclus, Leo and their writings on the true faith.

5 As, however, the heretics are resolved to defend Theodore of Mopsuestia and Nestorius
with their impieties, and maintain that that letter of Ibas was received by the Synod of
Chalcedon, so do we exhort you to direct your attention to the impious writings of
Theodore, and especially to his Jewish Creed which was brought forward at Ephesus and
Chalcedon, and anathematized by each synod with those who had so held or did so hold; and
we further exhort you to consider what the holy Fathers have written concerning him and
his blasphemies, as well as what our predecessors have promulgated, as also what the
Church historians have set forth concerning him. You will thence see that he and his
heresies have since been condemned and that therefore his name has long since been struck
from the diptychs of the Church of Mopsuestia. Consider the absurd assertion that heretics
ought not to be anathematized after their deaths; and we exhort you further to follow in
this matter the doctrine of the holy Fathers, who condemned not only living heretics but
also anathematized after their death those who had died in their iniquity, just as those
who had been unjustly condemned they restored after their death and wrote their names in
the sacred diptychs; which took place in the case of John and of Flavian of pious memory,
both of them bishops of Constantinople.

6 Moreover we exhort you to examine the writing of Theodoret and the supposed letter of
Ibas, in which the incarnation of the Word is denied, the expression "Mother of God" and
the holy Synod of Ephesus rejected, Cyril called a heretic, and Theodore and Nestorius
defended and praised. And as they say that the Council of Chalcedon has received this
letter, you must compare the declarations of this Council relating to the faith with the
contents of the impious letter. Finally, we entreat you to accelerate the matter. For he
who when asked concerning the right faith, puts off his answer for a long while, does
nothing else but deny the right faith. For in questioning and answering on things which
are of faith, it is not he who is found first or second, but he who is the more ready with
a right confession, that is acceptable to God. May God keep you, most holy and religious
fathers, for many years. Given IV. Nones of May, at Constantinople, in the xxviith year of
the reign of the imperial lord Justinian, the perpetual Augustus, and in the xiith year
after the consulate of the most illustrious Basil.

EXTRACTS FROM THE ACTS: SESSION 7

1 (From the Paris manuscript found in Hardouin Concilia, Tom. III., 171 et seqq.; Mansi,
Tom. ix., 346 et seqq. This speech is not found in full in any other ms. The Ballerini [
Hefele notes] raise objections to the genuineness of the additions [in Noris. Opp., Tom.
IV., 1037], but Hefele does not consider the objections of serious moment. [Hist. of the
Councils, Vol. IV., p. 323, note 2.] All the mss. agree that The most glorious quaester of
the sacred palace, Constantine, was sent by the most pious Emperor, and when he had
entered the Council spake as follows: "Certum est vestrae beatitudini, quantum, etc." The
rest of the speech differs in the different manuscripts. I follow that of Paris.) You know
how much care the most invincible Emperor has always had that the contention raised up by
certain persons with regard to the Three Chapters should have a termination. ... For this
intent he has required themost religious Vigilius to assemble withyou and draw up a decree
on this matter in accordance with the Orthodox faith. Although therefore, Vigilius has
already frequently condemned the Three Chapters in writing, and has done this also by word
of mouth in the presence of the Emperor, and of the most glorious judges and of many
members of this synod, and has always been ready to smite with anathema the defenders of
Theodore of Mopsuestia, and the letter which was attributed to Ibas, and the writings of
Theodoret which be set forth against the orthodox faith and against the twelve capitula of
the holy Cyril: yet he has refused to do this in communion with you and your synod.

2 Yesterday Vigilius sent Servus Dei, a most reverend Subdeacon of the Roman Church, and
invited Belisarius, Cethegus, as also Justinus and Constantine the most glorious consuls,
as well as bishops Theodore,Ascidas, Benignus, and Phocas, to come to him as he wished to
give through them an answer to the Emperor. They came, but speedily returned and informed
the most pious lord, that we had visited Vigilius, the most religious bishop, and that he
had said to us: "We have called you for this reason, that you may know what things have
been done in the past days. To this end I have written a document about the disputed Three
Chapters, addressed to the most pious Emperor, pray be good enough to read it, and to
carry it to his Serenity. But when we had heard this and had seen the document written to
your serenity, we said to him that we could not by any means receive any document written
to the most pious Emperor without his bidding. "But you have deacons for running with
messages, by whom you can send it. He, however, said to us: "You now know that I have made
the document. But we, bishops, answered him:

3 "If your blessedness is willing to meet together with us and the most holy Patriarchs,
and the most religious bishops, and to treat of the Three Chapters and to give, in unison
with us all, a suitable form of the orthodox faith, as the Holy Apostles and the holy
Fathers and the four Councils have done, we will hold thee as our head, as a farmer and
primate. But if your holiness has drawn up a document for the Emperor, you have errand-
runners, as we have said; send it by them. And when he had heard these things from us, he
sent Servus Dei the Subdeacon, who now awaits the answer of your serenity. And when his
Piety had heard this, he commanded through the aforesaid most religious and glorious men,
the before-named subdeacon to carry back this message to the most religious Vigilius: "We
invited him (you) to meet together with the most blessed patriarchs and other religious
bishops, and with them in common to examine and judge the Three Chapters. But since you
have refused to do this, and you say that you alone have written by yourself somewhat on
the Three Chapters; if you have condemned them, in accordance with those things which you
did before, we have already many such statements and need no more; but if you have written
now something contrary to these things which were done by you before, you have condemned
yourself by your own writing, since you have departed from orthodox doctrine and have
defended impiety.

4 And how can you expect us to receive such a document from you?" 5 And when this answer
was given by the most pious Emperor, he did not send through the same deacon any document
in writing from himself. And all this was done without writing as also to your
blessedness. [He then, according to all the mss., presented certain documents to be read,
in the ms. printed by Labbe and Cossart, Tom. V., col. 549 et seqq. These are fewer than
in the Paris ms., which last also contains the following just after the reading of the
documents and after the Council had declared that they proved the Emperor's zeal for the
faith.] Constantine, the most glorious Quaestor, said: While I am still present at your
holy council by reason of the reading of the documents which have been presented to you, I
would say that the most pious Emperor has sent a minute (formam), to your Holy Synod,
concerning the name of Vigilius, that it be no more inserted in the holy diptychs of the
Church, on account of the impiety which he defended. Neither let it be recited by you, nor
retained, either in the church of the royal city, or in other churches which are intrusted
to you and to the other bishops in the State committed by God to his rule. And when you
hear this minute, again you will perceive by it how much the most serene Emperor cares for
the unity of the holy churches and for the purity of the holy mysteries.[The letter was
then read.]

6 The holy Synod said: What has seemed good to the most pious Emperor is congruous to the
labours which he bears for the unity of the churches. Let us preserve unity to (ad) the
Apostolic See of the most holy Church of ancient Rome, carrying out all things according
to the tenor of what has been read. De proposita vero quaestione quod jam promisimus
procedat.

Notes.

7 Hefele understands that the Council heard and approved this letter of the Emperor's, but
that the "Emperor did not mean entirely to break off communion with the Apostolic see,
neither did he wish the Synod to do so" (Hist. Councils, Vol. IV., p. 326), as indeed he
says in his letter. The Ballerini consider this letter of the Emperor's to be spurious,
but (says Hefele) "on insufficient grounds" (l. c., p. 326, note 3). The expressions used
by the Emperor may not unnaturally be somewhat startling to those holding the theological
position of the Ballerini: "We will not endure to receive the spotless communion from him
nor from any one else who does not condemn this impiety ... lest we be found thus
communicating with the impiety of Nestorius and Theodore." It is noteworthy that the Fifth
Ecumenical Council should strike the name of the reigning Pope from the diptychs as a
father of heresy; and that the Sixth Ecumenical Synod should anathematize another Pope as
a heretic!

FIRST SERIES, ANATHEMA I

IF anyone asserts the fabulous pre-existence of souls, and shall assert the monstrous
restoration which follows from it: let him be anathema.

FIRST SERIES, ANATHEMA II

IF anyone shall say that the creation (thu paragwghn) of all reasonable things includes
only intelligences (noaj) without bodies and altogether immaterial, having neither number
nor name, so that there is unity between them all by identity of substance, force and
energy, and by their union with and knowledge of God the Word; but that no longer desiring
the sight of God, they gave themselves over to worse things, each one following his own
inclinations, and that they have taken bodies more or less subtile, and have received
names, for among the heavenly Powers there is a difference of names as there is also a
difference of bodies; and thence some became and are called Cherubims, others Seraphims,
and Principalities, and Powers, and Dominations, and Thrones, and Angels, and as many
other heavenly orders as there may be: let him be anathema.

FIRST SERIES, ANATHEMA III

IF anyone shall say that the sun, the moon and the stars are also reasonable beings, and
that they have only become what they are because they turned towards evil: let him be
anathema.

FIRST SERIES, ANATHEMA IV

IF anyone shall say that the reasonable creatures in whom the divine love had grown cold
have been hidden in gross bodies such as ours, and have been called men, while those who
have attained the lowest degree of wickedness have shared cold and obscure bodies and are
become and called demons and evil spirits: let him be anathema,.

FIRST SERIES, ANATHEMA V

IF anyone shall say that a psychic (yukikhn) condition has come from an angelic or
archangelic state, and moreover that a demoniac and a human condition has come from a
psychic condition, and that from a human state they may become again angels and demons,
and that each order of heavenly virtues is either all from those below or from those
above, or from those above and below: let him be anathema.

FIRST SERIES, ANATHEMA VI

IF anyone shall say that there is a twofold race of demons, of which the one includes the
souls of men and the other the superior spirits who fell to this, and that of all the
number of reasonable beings there is but one which has remained unshaken in the love and
contemplation of God, and that that spirit is become Christ and the king of all reasonable
beings, and that he has created all the bodies which exist in heaven, on earth, and
between heaven and earth; and that the world which has in itself elements more ancient
than itself, and which exists by themselves, viz.: dryness, damp, heat and cold, and the
image (idean) to which it was formed, was so formed, and that the most holy and
consubstantial Trinity did not create the world, but that it was created by the working
intelligence (Nouj dhmiourgoj) which is more ancient than the world, and which
communicates to it its being: let him be anathema.

FIRST SERIES, ANATHEMA VII

IF anyone shah say that Christ, of whom it is said that he appeared in the form of God,
and that he was united before all time with God the Word, and humbled himself in these
last days even to humanity, had (according to their expression) pity upon the divers falls
which had appeared in the spirits united in the same unity (of which he himself is part),
and that to restore them he passed through divers classes, had different bodies and
different names, became all to all, an Angel amongAngels, a Power among Powers, has
clothed I himself in the different classes of reasonable beings with a form corresponding
to that class, and finally has taken flesh and blood like ours and is become man for men;
[if anyone says all this] and does not profess that God the Word humbled himself and
became man: let him be anathema.

FIRST SERIES, ANATHEMA VIII

IF anyone shall not acknowledge that God the Word, of the same substance with the Father
and the Holy Ghost, and who was made flesh and became man, one of the Trinity, is Christ
in every sense of the word, but [shall affirm] that he is so only in an inaccurate manner,
and because of the abasement (kenwsanta), as they call it, of the intelligence (nouj); if
anyone shall affirm that this intelligence united (sunhmmenon) to God the Word, is the
Christ in the true sense of the word, while the Logos is only called Christ because of
this union with the intelligence, and e converse thatthe intelligence is only called God
because of the Logos: let him be anathema.

FIRST SERIES, ANATHEMA IX

IF anyone shall say that it was not the Divine Loges made man by taking an animated body
with a yukh logikh and noera, that he descended into hell and ascended into heaven, but
shall pretend that it is the Nouj which has done this, that Nouj of which they say (in an
impious fashion) he is Christ properly so called, and that he is become so by the
knowledge of the Monad: let him be anathema.

FIRST SERIES, ANATHEMA X

IF anyone shall say that after the resurrection the body of the Lord was ethereal, having
the form of a sphere, and that such shall be the bodies of all after the resurrection; and
that after the Lord himself shall have rejected his true body and after the others who
rise shall have rejected theirs, the nature of their bodies shall be annihilated: let him
be anathema.

FIRST SERIES, ANATHEMA XI

IF anyone shall say that the future judgment signifies the destruction of the body and
that the end of the story will be an immaterial yusij, and that thereafter there will no
longer be any matter, but only spirit nouj): let him be anathema.

FIRST SERIES, ANATHEMA XII

IF anyone shall say that the heavenly Powers and all men and the Devil and evil spirits
are united with the Word of God in all respects, as the Nouj which is by them called
Christ and which is in the form of God, and which humbled itself as they say; and [if
anyone shall say] that the Kingdom of Christ shall have an end: let him be anathema.

FIRST SERIES, ANATHEMA XIII

IF anyone shall say that Christ [i.e., the Nouj is in no wise different from other
reasonable beings, neither substantially nor by wisdom nor by his power and might over all
things but that all will be placed at the right hand of God, as well as he that is called
by them Christ [the Nouj, as also they were in the reigned pre-existence of all things:
let him be anathema.

FIRST SERIES, ANATHEMA XIV

IF anyone shall say that all reasonable beings will one day be united in one, when the
hypostases as well as the numbers and the bodies shall have disappeared, and that the
knowledge of the world to come will carry with it the ruin of the worlds, and the
rejection of bodies as also the abolition of [all] names, and that there shall be finally
an identity of the gnpsij and of the hypostasis; moreover, that in this pretended
apocatastasis, spirits only will continue to exist, as it was in the reigned pre-
existence: let him be anathema.

FIRST SERIES, ANATHEMA XV

IF anyone shall say that the life of the spirits (nopn) shall be like to the life which
was in the beginning while as yet thespirits had not come down or fallen, so that the end
and the beginning shall be alike, and that the end shall be the true measure of the
beginning: let him be anathema.

SECOND SERIES: INTRODUCTION

(Labbe and Cossart, Concilia, Tom. v., col. 677.)

SECOND SERIES, ANATHEMA I

Whoever says or thinks that human souls pre-existed, i.e., that they had previously been
spirits and holy powers, but that, satiated with the vision of God, they had turned to
evil, and in this way the divine love in them had died out (apyugeisaj) and they had
therefore become souls (yukaj) and had been condemned to punishment in bodies, shall be
anathema.

SECOND SERIES, ANATHEMA II

If anyone says or thinks that the soul of the Lord pre-existed and was united with God the
Word before the Incarnation and Conception of the Virgin, let him be anathema.

SECOND SERIES, ANATHEMA III

If anyone says or thinks that the body of our Lord Jesus Christ was first formed in the
womb of the holy Virgin and that afterwards there was united with it God the Word and the
pre-existing soul, let him be anathema.

SECOND SERIES, ANATHEMA IV

If anyone says or thinks that the Word of God has become like to all heavenly orders, so
that for the cherubim he was a cherub, for the seraphim a seraph: in short, like all the
superior powers, let him be anathema.

SECOND SERIES, ANATHEMA V

If anyone says or thinks that, at the resurrection, human bodies will rise spherical in
form and unlike our present form, let him be anathema.

SECOND SERIES, ANATHEMA VI

If anyone says that the heaven, the sun, the moon, the stars, and the waters that are
above heavens, have souls, and are reasonable beings, let him be anathema.

SECOND SERIES, ANATHEMA VII

If anyone says or thinks that Christ the Lord in a future time will be crucified for
demons as he was for men, let him be anathema.

SECOND SERIES, ANATHEMA VIII

If anyone says or thinks that the power of God is limited, and that he created as much as
he was able to compass, let him be anathema.

SECOND SERIES, ANATHEMA IX

If anyone says or thinks that the punishment of demons and of impious men is only
temporary, and will one day have an end, and that a restoration (apokatastasij) will take
place of demons and of impious men, let him be anathema. Anathema to Origen and to that
Adamantius, who set forth these opinions together with his nefarious and execrable and
wicked doctrine and to whomsoever there is who thinks thus, or defends these opinions, or
in any way hereafter at any time shall presume to protect them.

THE DECRETAL EPISTLE OF POPE VIGILIUS

1 (Fleury. Hist. Eccl., Liv. xxxiii. 52.) At last the Pope Vigilius resigned himself to
the advice of the Council, and six months afterwards wrote a letter to the Patriarch
Eutychius, wherein he confesses that he has been wanting in charity in dividing from his
brethren. He adds, that one ought not to be ashamed to retract, when one recognises the
truth, and brings forward the example of Augustine. He says, that, after having better
examined the matter of the Three Chapters, he finds them worthy of condemnation. "We
recognize for our brethren and colleagues all those who have condemned them, and annul by
this writing all that has been done by us or by others for the defence of the three
chapters." (The manuscript from which this letter was printed was found in the Royal
Library of Paris by Peter de Marca and by him first published, with a Latin translation
and with a dissertation. Both of these with the Greektext are found in Labbe and Cossart's
Concilia, Tom. V., col. 596 et seqq.; also in Migne's Patr. Lat., Tom. LXIX., col. 121 et
seqq. Some doubts have been expressed about its genuineness and Harduin is of opinion that
the learned Jesuit, Garnerius, in his notes on the Deacon Leberatus's Breviary, has proved
its supposititious character. But the learned have not generally been of this mind but
have accepted the letter as genuine.)

2 Vigilius to his beloved brother Eutychius. No one is ignorant of the scandals which the
enemy of the human race has stirred up in all the world: so that he made each one with a
wicked object in view, striving in some way to fulfil his wish to destroy the Church of
God spread over the whole world, not only in his own name but even in ours and in those of
others to compose diverse things as well in words as in writing; in so much that he
attempted to divide us who, together with our brethren and fellow bishops, are stopping in
this royal city, and who defend with equal reverence the four synods, and sincerely
persist in the one and the same faith of those four synods, by his sophistries and
machinations he tried to part from them; so that we ourselves who were and are of the same
opinion as they touching the faith, went apart into discord, brotherly love being
despised.

3 But since Christ our God, who is the true light, whom the darkness comprehendeth not,
hath removed all confusion from our minds, and hath so recalled peace to the whole world
and to the Church, so that what things should be defined by us have been healthfully
fulfilled through the revelation of the Lord and through the investigation of the truth.
Therefore, my dear brothers, I do you to wit, that in common with all of you, our
brethren, we receive in all respects the four synods, that is to say the Nicene, the
Constantinopolitan, the first Ephesian, and the Chalcedonian; and we venerate them with
devout mind, and watch over them with all our mind. And should there be any who do not
follow these holy synods in all things which they have defined concerning the faith, we
judge them to be aliens to the communion of the holy and Catholic Church.

4 Wherefore on account of our desire that you, my brothers, should know what we have done
in this matter, we make it known to you by this letter. For no one can doubt how many were
the discussions raised on account of the Three Chapters, that is, concerning Theodore,
sometime bishop of Mopsuestia, and his writings, as well as concerning the writings of
Theodoret, and concerning that letter which is said to have been written by Ibas to Maris
the Persian: and how diverse were the things spoken and written concerning these Three
Chapters. Now if in every busi- ness sound wisdom demands that there should be a
retractation of what was propounded after examination, there ought to be no shame when
what was at first omitted is made public after it is discovered by a further study of the
truth. [And if this is the case in ordinary affairs] how much more in ecclesiastical
strifes should the same dictate of sound reason be observed? Especially since it is
manifest that our Fathers, and especially the blessed Augustine, who was in very sooth
illustrious in the Divine Scriptures, and a master in Roman eloquence, retracted some of
his own writings, and corrected some of his own sayings, and added what he had omitted and
afterward found out. We, led by their example never gave over the study of the questions
raised by the controversy with regard to the before-mentioned Three Chapters, nor our
search for passages in the writings of our Fathers which were applicable to the matter.

5 As a result of this investigation it became evident that in the sayings of Theodore of
Mopsuestia (which are spoken against on all hands) there are contained very many things
contrary to the right faith and to the teachings of the holy Fathers; and for this very
reason these same holy Fathers have left for the instruction of tile Church treatises
which they had written against him. For among other blasphemies of his we find that he
openly said that God the Word was one [Person] and Christ another [Person], vexed with the
passions of the soul and with the desires of the flesh, and that he little by little
advanced from a lower to a higher stage of excellence by the improvement (prokiph, per
profectum operum) of his works, and became irreprehensible in his manner of life. And
further he taught that it was a mere man who was baptized in the Name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Ghost, and that he received through ilia baptism the grace of the
Holy Spirit, and merited his adoption; and therefore that Christ could be venerated in the
same way that the image of the Emperor is venerated as being the persona (eij proswpon) of
God the Word. And he also taught that [only] after his resurrection he became immutable in
his thoughts and altogether impeccable.

6 Moreover he said that the union of the Word of God was made with Christ as the Apostle
says the union is made between a man and his wife: They twain shall be one flesh; and that
after his resurrection, when the Lord breathed upon his disciples and said, Receive tile
Holy Ghost, he did not give to them the Holy Spirit. In like strain of profanity he dared
to say that the confession which Thomas made, when he touched the hands and side of the
Lord after his resurrection, saying, My Lord and my God, did not apply to Christ (for
Theodore did not acknowledge Christ to be God); but that Thomas gave glory to God being
filled with wonder at the miracle of the resurrection, and so said these words. But what
is still worse is this, that in interpreting the Acts of the Apostles, Theodore makes
Christ like to Plato, and Manichaeus, and Epicurus, and Marcian, saying: Just as each of
these were the authors of their own peculiar teachings, and called their disciples after
their own names, Platonists, and Munichaeans, and Epicureans, and Marcionites, just so
Christ invented dogmas and called his followers Christians after himself.

7 Let therefore the whole Catholic Church know that justly and irreproachably we have
arrived at the conclusions contained in this our constitution. Wherefore we condemn and
anathematize Theodore, formerly bishop of Mopsuestia, and his impious writings, together
with all other heretics, who (as is manifest) have been condemned and anathematized by the
four holy Synods aforesaid, and by the Catholic Church: also the writings of Theodoret
which are opposed to the right faith, and are against the Twelve Chapters of St. Cyril,
and against the first Council of Ephesus, which were written by him in defence of Theodore
and Nestorius. 8 Moreover we anathematize and condemn the letter to the Persian heretic
Maris, which is said to have been written by Ibas, which denies that Christ the Word was
incarnate of the holy Mother of God and ever-virgin Mary, and was made man, but declares
that a mere man was born of her, and this man it styles a temple, so from this we are
given to understand that God the Word is one [Person] and Christ another [Person].
Moreover it calumniates Saint Cyril, the master and herald of the orthodox faith, calling
him a heretic, and charging him with writing things similar to Apollinaris; and it reviles
the first Synod of Ephesus, as having condemned Nestorius without deliberation or
investigation; it likewise declares the twelve chapters of St. Cyril to be impious and
contrary to the right faith; and further still it defends Theodore and Nestorius, and
their impious teachings and writings.Therefore we anathematize and condemn the aforesaid
impious Three Chapters, to-wit, the impious Theodore of Mopsuestia and his impious
writings; And all that Theodoret impiously wrote, as well as the letter said to have been
written by Ibas, in which are contained the above mentioned profane blasphemies. We
likewise subject to anathema whoever shall at any time believe that these chapters should
be received or defended; or shall attempt to subvert this present condemnation.

9 And further we define that they are our brethren and fellow-priests who ever keep the
right faith set forth by those afore-mentioned synods, and shall have condemned the above-
named Three Chapters, or even do now condemn them. And further we annul and evacuate by
this present written definition of ours whatever has been said by me (a me) or by others
in defence of the aforesaid Three Chapters. Far be it from the Catholic Church that anyone
should say that all the blasphemies above related or they who held and followed such
things, were received by the before-mentioned four synods or by any one of them. For it is
most clear, that no one was admittedby the before-mentioned holy Fathers and especially by
the Council of Chalcedon, about whom there was any suspicion, unless he hadfirst repelled
the above-named blasphemies and all like to them, or else had denied and condemned the
heresy or blasphemies of which he was suspected.

Subscription.

10 May God preserve thee in health, most honourable brother. Dated VI. Id. Dec. in the
xxijd year of our lord the Emperor Justinian, eternal Augustus, the xijth year after the
consulate of the illustrious Basil.


COUNCIL OF CONSTANTINOPLE (AD 553): THE CAPITULA OF THE COUNCIL
============================================================

COUNCIL OF CONSTANTINOPLE (AD 553): THE CAPITULA OF THE COUNCIL The fourteen anathemas of
the council. The first eleven state the faith about the Trinity and the person of Christ,
and the last three condemn the Three Chapters: Theodore of Mopsuestia, certain writings of
Theodoret against Cyril, and the letter of Ibas to Maris.

INTRODUCTION

(Labbe and Cossart, Concilia, Tom. V., col. 568.)

ANATHEMA I

If anyone shall not confess that the nature or essence of the Father, of the Son, and of
the Holy Ghost is one, as also the force and the power; [if anyone does not confess] a
consubstantial Trinity, one Godhead to be worshipped in three subsistences or Persons: let
him be anathema. For there is but one God even the Father of whom are all things, and one
Lord Jesus Christ through whom are all things, and one Holy Spirit in whom are all things.

ANATHEMA II

If anyone shall not confess that the Word of God has two nativities, the one from all
eternity of the Father, without time and without body; the other in these last days,
coming down from heaven and being made flesh of the holy and glorious Mary, Mother of God
and always a virgin, and born of her: let him be anathema.

ANATHEMA III

IF anyone shall say that the wonder-working Word of God is one [Person] and the Christ
that suffered another; or shall say that God the Word was with the woman-born Christ, or
was in him as one person in another, but that he was not one and the same our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Word of God, incarnate and made man, and that his miracles and the sufferings
which of his own will he endured in the flesh were not of the same [Person]: let him be
anathema.

ANATHEMA IV

If anyone shall say that the union of the Word of God to man was only according to grace
or energy, or dignity, or equality of honour, or authority, or relation, or effect, or
power, or according to good pleasure in this sense that God the Word was pleased with a
man, that is to say, that he loved him for his own sake, as says the senseless Theodorus,
or [if anyone pretends that this union exists only] so far as likeness of name is
concerned, as the Nestorians understand, who call also the Word of God Jesus and Christ,
and even accord to the man the names of Christ and of Son, speaking thus clearly of two
persons, and only designating disingenuously one Person and one Christ when the reference
is to his honour, or his dignity, or his worship; if anyone shall not acknowledge as the
Holy Fathers teach, that the union of God the Word is made with the flesh animated by a
reasonable and living soul, and that such union is made synthetically and hypostatically,
and that therefore there is only one Person, to wit: our Lord Jesus Christ, one of the
Holy Trinity: let him be anathema. As a matter of fact the word "union" (thj enwsewj) has
many meanings, and the partisans of Apollinaris and Eutyches have affirmed that these
natures are confounded inter se, and have asserted a union produced by the mixture of
both. On the other hand the followers of Theodorus and of Nestorius rejoicing in the
division of the natures, have taught only a relative union. Meanwhile the Holy Church of
God, condemning equally the impiety of both sorts of heresies, recognises the union of God
the Word with the flesh synthetically, that is to say, hypostatically. For in the mystery
of Christ the synthetical union not only preserves unconfusedly the natures which are
united, but also allows no separation.

ANATHEMA V

If anyone understands the expression "one only Person of our Lord Jesus Christ" in this
sense, that it is the union of many hypostases, and if he attempts thus to introduce into
the mystery of Christ two hypostases, or two Persons, and, after having intro- duced two
persons, speaks of one Person only out of dignity, honour or worship, as both Theodorus
and Nestorius insanely have written; if anyone shall calumniate the holy Council of
Chalcedon, pretending that it made use of this expression [one hypostasis] in this impious
sense, and if he will not recognize rather that the Word of God is united with the flesh
hypostatically, and that therefore there is but one hypostasis or one only Person, and
that the holy Council of Chalcedon has professed in this sense the one Person of our Lord
Jesus Christ: let him be anathema. For since one of the Holy Trinity has been made man,
viz.: God the Word, the Holy Trinity has not been increased by the addition of another
person or hypostasis.

ANATHEMA VI

IF anyone shall not call in a true acceptation, but only in a false acceptation, the holy,
glorious, and ever-virgin Mary, the Mother of God, or shall call her so only in a relative
sense, believing that she bare only a simple man and that God the word was not incarnate
of her, but that the incarnation of God the Word resulted only from the fact that he
united himself to that man who was born [of her]; if he shall calumniate the Holy Synod of
Chalcedon as though it had asserted the Virgin to be Mother of God according to the
impious sense of Theodore; or if anyone shall call her the mother of a man anqrwpotokon or
the Mother of Christ (Xristotokon), as if Christ were not God, and shall not confess that
she is exactly and truly the Mother of God, because that God the Word who before all ages
was begotten of the Father was in these last days made flesh and born of her, and if
anyone shall not confess that in this sense the holy Synod of Chalcedon acknowledged her
to be the Mother of God: let him be anathema.

ANATHEMA VII

IF anyone using the expression, "in two natures," does not confess that our one Lord Jesus
Christ has been revealed in the divinity and in the humanity, so as to designate by that
expression a difference of the natures of which an ineffable union is unconfusedly made,
[a union] in which neither the nature of the Word was changed into that of the flesh, nor
that of the flesh into that of the Word, for each remained that it was by nature, the
union being hypostatic; but shall take the expression with regard to the mystery of Christ
in a sense so as to divide the parties, or recognising the two natures in the only Lord
Jesus, God the Word made man, does not content himself with taking in a theoretical manner
the difference of the natures which compose him, which difference is not destroyed by the
union between them, for one is composed of the two and the two are in one, but shall make
use of the number [two] to divide the natures or to make of them Persons properly so
called: let him be anathema.

ANATHEMA VIII

IF anyone uses the expression "of two natures," confessing that a union was made of the
Godhead and of the humanity, or the expression "the one nature made flesh of God the
Word," and shall not so understand those expressions as the holy Fathers have taught, to
wit: that of the divine and human nature there was made an hypostatic union, whereof is
one Christ; but from these expressions shall try to introduce one nature or substance
[made by a mixture] of the Godhead and manhood of Christ; let him be anathema. For in
teaching that the only-begotten Word was united hypostatically [to humanity] we do not
mean to say that there was made a mutual confusion of natures, but rather each [nature]
remaining what it was, we understand that the Word was united to the flesh. Wherefore
there is one Christ, both God and man, consubstantial with the Father as touching his
Godhead, and consubstantial with us as touching his manhood. Therefore they are equally
condemned and anathematized by the Church of God, who divide or part the mystery of the
divine dispensation of Christ, or who introduce confusion into that mystery.

ANATHEMA IX

IF anyone shall take the expression, Christ ought to be worshipped in his two natures, in
the sense that he wishes to introduce thus two adorations, the one in special relation to
God the Word and the other as pertaining to the man; or if anyone to get rid of the flesh,
[that is of the humanity of Christ,] or to mix together the divinity and the humanity,
shall speak monstrously of one only nature or essence (fusin hgoun ousian) of the united
(natures), and so worship Christ, and does not venerate, by one adoration, God the Word
made man, together with his flesh, as the Holy Church has taught from the beginning: let
him be anathema.

ANATHEMA X

IF anyone does not confess that our Lord Jesus Christ who was crucified in the flesh is
true God and the Lord of Glory and one of the Holy Trinity: let him be anathema.

ANATHEMA XI

IF anyone does not anathematize Arius, Eunomius, Macedonius, Apollinaris, Nestorius,
Eutyches and Origen, as well as their impious writings, as also all other heretics already
condemned and anathematized by the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, and by the
aforesaid four Holy Synods and [if anyone does not equally anathematize] all those who
have held and hold or who in their impiety persist in holding to the end the same opinion
as those heretics just mentioned: let him be anathema.

Notes.

Hefele. (Hist. Councils, Vol. iv., p. 336.) Halloix, Garnier, Basnage, Walch and others
suppose, and Vincenzi maintains with great zeal, that the name of Origen is a later
insertion in this anathematism, because (a) Theodore Ascidas, the Origenist, was one of
the most influential members of the Synod, and would certainly have prevented a
condemnation of Origen; further, (b) because in this anathematism only such heretics would
be named as had been condemned by one of the first four Ecumenical Synods, which was not
the case with Origen; (c) because this anathematism is identical with the tenth in the
omologia of the Emperor, but in the latter the name of Origen is lacking; and, finally,
(d) because Origen does not belong to the group of heretics to whom this anathematism
refers. His errors were quite different. All these considerations scent to me of
insufficient strength, or mere conjecture, to make an alteration in the text, and
arbitrarily to remove the name of Origen. As regards the objection in connection with
Theodore Ascidas, it is known that the latter had already pronounced a formal anathema on
Origen, and certainly he did the same this time, if the Emperor wished it or if it seemed
advisable. The second and fourth objections have little weight. In regard to the third (c)
it is quite possible that either the Emperor subsequently went further than in his
omologia, or that the bishops at the fifth Synod, of their own accord, added Origen, led
on perhaps by one or another anti-Origenist of their number. What, however, chiefly
determines us to the retention of the text is: (a) that the copy of the synodal Acts
extant in the Roman archives, which has the highest credibility, and was probably prepared
for Vigilius himself, contains the name of Origen in the eleventh anathematism; and (b)
that the monks of the new Lama in Palestine, who are known to have been zealous
Origenists, withdrew Church communion from the bishops of Palestine after these had
subscribed the Acts of the fifth Synod. In the anathema on the Three Chapters these
Origenists could find as little ground for such a rupture as their friends and former
colleague Ascidas; it could only be by the synod attacking their darling Origen. (c)
Finally, only on the ground that the name of Origen really stood in the eleventh
anathematism, can we explain the widely-circulated ancient rumour that our Synod
anathematized Origen and the Origenists.

ANATHEMA XII

IF anyone defends the impious Theodore of Mopsuestia, who has said that the Word of God is
one person, but that another person is Christ, vexed by the sufferings of the soul and the
desires of the flesh, and separated little by little above that which is inferior, and
become better by the progress in good works and irreproachable in Iris manner of life, as
a mere man was baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,
and obtained by this baptism the grace of the Holy Spirit, and became worthy of Sonship,
and to be worshipped out of regard to the Person of God the Word (just as one worships the
image of an emperor) and that he is become, after the resurrection, unchangeable in his
thoughts and altogether without sin. And, again, this same impious Theodore has also said
that the union of God the Word with Christ is like to that which, according to the
doctrine of the Apostle, exists between a man and his wife, "They twain shall be in one
flesh. The same [Theodore] has dared, among numerous other blasphemies, to say that when
after the resurrection the Lord breathed upon his disciples, saying, "Receive the Holy
Ghost," he did not really give them the Holy Spirit, but that he breathed upon them only
as a sign. He likewise has said that the profession of faith made by Thomas when he had,
after the resurrection, touched the hands and the side of the Lord, viz.:

"My Lord and my God," was not said in reference to Christ, but that Thomas, filled with
wonder at the miracle of the resurrection, thus thanked God who had raised up Christ. And
moreover (which is still more scandalous) this same Theodore in his Commentary on the Acts
of the Apostles compares Christ to Plato, Manichaeus, Epicurus and Marcion, and says that
as each of these men having discovered his own doctrine, had given his name to his
disciples, who were called Platonists, Manicheans, Epicureans and Marcionites, just so
Christ, having discovered his doctrine, had given the name Christians to his disciples.
If, then, anyone shall defend this most impious Theodore and his impious writings, in
which he vomits the blasphemies mentioned above, and countless others besides against our
Great God and Saviour Jesus Christ, and if anyone does not anathematize him or his impious
writings, as well as all those who protect or defend him, or who assert that his exegesis
is orthodox, or who write in favour of him and of his impious works, or those who share
the same opinions, or those who have shared them and still continue unto the end in this
heresy: let him be anathema.

ANATHEMA XIII

IF anyone shall defend the impious writings of Theodoret, directed against the true faith
and against the first holy Synod of Ephesus and against St. Cyril and his XII. Anathemas,
and [defends] that which he has written in defence of the impious Theodore and Nestorius,
and of others having the same opinions as the aforesaid Theodore and Nestorius, if anyone
admits them or their impiety, or shall give the name of impious to the doctors of the
Church who profess the hypostatic union of God the Word; and if anyone does not
anathematize these impious writings and those who have held or who hold these sentiments,
and all those who have written contrary to the true faith or against St. Cyril and his
XII. Chapters, and who die in their impiety: let him be anathema.

ANATHEMA XIV

IF anyone shall defend that letter which Ibas is said to have written to Maris the
Persian, in which he denies that the Word of God incarnate of Mary, the Holy Mother of God
and ever-virgin, was made man, but says that a mere man was born of her, whom he styles a
Temple, as though the Word of God was one Person and the man another person; in which
letter also he reprehends St. Cyril as a heretic, when he teaches the right faith of
Christians, and charges him with writing things like to the wicked Apollinaris. In
addition to this he vituperates the First Holy Council of Ephesus, affirming that it
deposed Nestorius without discrimination and without examination. The aforesaid impious
epistle styles the XII. Chapters of Cyril of blessed memory, impious and contrary to the
right faith and defends Theodore and Nestorius and their impious teachings and writings.
If anyone therefore shall defend the aforementioned epistle and shall not anathematize it
and those who defend it and say that it is right or that a part of it is right, or if
anyone shall defend those who have written or shall write in its favour, or in defence of
the impieties which are contained in it, as well as those who shall presume to defend it
or the impieties which it contains in the name of the Holy Fathers or of the Holy Synod of
Chalcedon, and shall remain in these offences unto the end: let him be anathema.


COUNCIL OF CONSTANTINOPLE (AD 553): THE SENTENCE OF THE SYNOD
============================================================

COUNCIL OF CONSTANTINOPLE (AD 553): THE SENTENCE OF THE SYNOD The sentence of the council
on the dispute over the Three Chapters, in which the bishops recall the history of the
quarrel and give their judgement.

1 (From the Acts. Collation VIII., L. and C., Conc., Tom. V., col. 562.) Our Great God and
Saviour Jesus Christ, as we learn from the parable in the Gospel, distributes talents to
each man according to his ability, and at the fitting time demands an account of the work
done by every man. And if he to whom but one talent has been committed is condemned
because he has not worked with it but only kept it without loss, to how much greater and
more horrible judgment must he be subject who not only is negligent concerning himself,
but even places a stumbling-block and cause of offence in the way of others? Since it is
manifest to all the faithful that whenever any question arises concerning the faith, not
only the impious man himself is condemned, but also he who when he has the power to
correct impiety in others, neglects to do so.

2 We therefore, to whom it has been committed to rule the church of the Lord, fearing the
curse which hangs over those who negligently perform the Lord's work, hasten to preserve
the good seed of faith pure from the tares of impiety which are being sown by the enemy.
When, therefore, we saw that the followers of Nestorius were attempting to introduce their
impiety into the church of God through the impious Theodore, who was bishop of Mopsuestia,
and through his impious writings; and moreover through those things which Theodoret
impiously wrote, and through the wicked epistle which is said to have been written by Ibas
to Maris the Persian, moved by all these sights we rose up for the correction of what was
going on, and assembled in this royal city called thither by the will of God and the
bidding of the most religious Emperor. 3 And because it happened that the most religious
Vigilius stopping in this royal city, was present at all the discussions with regard to
the Three Chapters, and had often condemned them orally and in writing, nevertheless
afterwards he gave his consent in writing to be present at the Council and examine
together with us the Three Chapters, that a suitable definition of the right faith might
be set forth by us all. Moreover the most pious Emperor, according to what had seemed good
between us, exhorted both him and us to meet together, because it is comely that the
priesthood should after common discussion impose a common faith. On this account we
besought his reverence to fulfil his written promises; for it was not right that tile
scandal with regard to these Three Chapters should go any further, and the Church of God
be disturbed thereby. And to this end we brought to his remembrance the great examples
left us by the Apostles, and the traditions of the Fathers. For although the grace of the
Holy Spirit abounded in each one of the Apostles, so that no one of them needed the
counsel of another in the execution of his work, yet they were not willing to define on
the question then raised touching the circumcision of the Gentiles, until being gathered
together they had confirmed their own several sayings by the testimony of the divine
Scriptures.

4 And thus they arrived unanimously at this sentence, which they wrote to the Gentiles:
"It has seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us, to lay upon you no other burden than
these necessary things, that ye abstain from things offered to idols, and from blood, and
from things strangled, and from fornication." But also the Holy Fathers, who from time to
time have met in the four holy councils, following the example of tile ancients, have by a
common discussion, disposed of by a fixed decree the heresies and questions which had
sprung up, as it was certainly known, that by common discussion when the matter in dispute
was presented by each side, the light of truth expels the darkness of falsehood. Nor is
there any other way in which the truth can be made manifest when there are discussions
concerning the faith, since each one needs the help of his neighbour, as we read in the
Proverbs of Solomon: "A brother helping his brother shall be exalted like a walled city;
and he shall be strong as a well-founded kingdom;" and again in Ecclesiastes he says: "Two
are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour."

5 So also the Lord himself says: "Verily I say unto you that if two of you shall agree
upon earth as touching anything they shall seek for, they shall have it from my Father
which is in heaven. For wheresoever two or three are gathered together in my name, there
am I in the midst of them." But when often he had been invited by us all, and when the
most glorious judges had been sent to him by the most religious Emperor, he promised to
give sentence himself on the Three Chapters (sententiam proferre): And when we heard this
answer, having the Apostle's admonition in mind, that "each one must, give an account of
himself to God" and fearing the judgment that hangs over those who scandalize one, even of
the least important, and knowing how much sorer it must be to give offence to so entirely
Christian an Emperor, and to the people, and to all the Churches; and further recalling
what was said by God to Paul: "Fear not, but speak, and be not silent, for I am with thee,
and no one can harm thee." Therefore, being gathered together, before all things we have
briefly confessed that we hold that faith which our Lord Jesus Christ, the true God,
delivered to his holy Apostles, and through them to the holy churches, and which they who
after thorn were holy fathers and doctors, handed down to the people credited to them.

6 We confessed that we hold, preserve, and declare to the holy churches that confession of
faith which the 318 holy Fathers more at length set forth, who were gathered together at
Nice, who handed down the holy mathema or creed. Moreover, the 150 gathered together at
Constantinople set forth our faith, who followed that same confession of faith and
explained it. And the consent of fire 200 holy fathers gathered for the same faith in the
first Council of Ephesus. And what things were defined by the 630 gathered at Chalcedon
for the one and the same faith, which they both followed and taught. And all those wile
from time to time have been condemned or anathematized by the Catholic Church, and by the
aforesaid four Councils, we confessed that we hold them condemned and anathematized. And
when we had thus made profession of our faith we began the examination of the Three
Chapters, and first we brought into review the matter of Theodore of Mopsuestia; and when
all the blasphemies contained in his writings were made manifest, we marvelled at the
long-suffering of God, that the tongue and mind which had framed such blasphemies were not
immediately consumed by the divine fire; and we never would have suffered the reader of
the aforenamed blasphemies to proceed, fearing [as we did] the indignation of God for
their record alone (as each blasphemy surpassed its predecessor in the magnitude of its
impiety and moved from its foundation the mind of the hearer) had it not been that we saw
they who gloried in such blasphemies stood in need of the confusion which would come upon
them through their manifestation. So that all of us, moved with indignation by these
blasphemies against God, both during and after the reading, broke forth into denunciations
and anathematisms against Theodore, as if he had been living and present. O Lord be
merciful, we cried, not even devils have dared to utter such things against thee.

7 O intolerable tongue! O the depravity of the man! O that high hand he lifted up against
his Creator! For the wretched man who had promised to know the Scriptures, had no
recollection of the words of the Prophet Hosea, "Woe unto them! for they have fled from
me: they are become famous because they were impious as touching me; they spake iniquities
against me, and when they had thought them out, they spake the violent things against me.
Therefore shall they fall in the snare by reason of the wickedness of their own tongues.
Their contempt shall turn into their own bosom: because they have transgressed my covenant
and have acted impiously against my laws." To these curses the impious Theodore is justly
subject. For the prophecies concerning Christ he rejected and hastened to destroy, so far
as he had the power, the great mystery of the dispensation for our salvation; attempting
in many ways to show the divine words to be nothing but fables, for the mirth of the
gentiles, and spurned the other prophetic announcements made against the impious,
especially that which the divine Habacuc said of those who teach falsely, "Woe unto him
that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him and makest him drunken
that thou mayest look on their nakedness," that is, their doctrines full of darkness and
altogether foreign to the light.

8 And why should we add anything further? For anyone can take in his hands the writings of
the impious Theodore or the impious chapters which from his impious writings were inserted
by us in our acts, and find the incredible foolishness and the detestable things which he
said. For we are afraid to proceed further and again to remember these infamies. There was
also read to us what had been written by the holy Fathers against him, and his foolishness
which exceeded that of all heretics, and moreover the histories and the imperial laws,
setting forth his impiety from the beginning, and since after all these things the
defenders of his impiety, glorying in the injuries uttered by him against his Creator,
said that it was not right to anathematize him after death, although we knew the
ecclesiastical tradition concerning the impious, that even after death, heretics are
anathematized; nevertheless we thought it necessary concerning this also to make
examination, and there were found in the acts how divers heretics had been anathematized
after death; and in many ways it was manifest to us that those who were saying this cared
nothing for the judgment of God, nor for the Apostolic announcements, nor for the
tradition of the Fathers. And we would like to ask them what they have to say to the
Lord's having said of himself: "Whosoever should have believed in him, is not judged: but
who should not have believed in him is judged already, because he hath not believed in the
name of the only begotten Son of God," and of that exclamation of the Apostle: Although we
or an angel from heaven were to preach to you another gospel than that we have preached
unto you, let him be anathema: as we have said, so now I say again, If anyone preach to
you another gospel than that you have received, let him be anathema."

9 For when the Lord says: "he is judged already," and when the Apostle anathematizes even
angels, if they teach anything different from what we have preached, how can even those
who dare all things, presume to say that these words refer only to the living? or are they
ignorant, or is it not rather that they feign to be ignorant, that the judgment of
anathema is nothing else than that of separation from God? For the impious person,
although he may not have been verbally anathematized by anyone, nevertheless he really is
anathematized, having separated himself from the true life by his impiety. For what have
they to answer to the Apostle again when he says, "A man that is an heretic reject after
the first and second corrections. Knowing that such a man is perverse, and sins, and is
condemned by himself." 10 In accordance with which words Cyril of blessed memory, in the
books which he wrote against Theodore, says as follows: They are to be avoided who are in
the grasp of such awful crimes whether they be among the quick or not. For it is necessary
always to flee from that which is hurtful, and not to have respect of persons, but to
consider what is pleasing to God. And again the same Cyril of holy memory, writing to
John, bishop of Antioch, and to the synod assembled in that city concerning Theodore who
was anathematized together with Nestorius, says thus: It was therefore necessary to keep a
brilliant festival, since every voice which agreed with the blasphemies of Nestorius had
been cast out no matter whose. For it proceeded against all those who held these same
opinions or had at one time held them, which is exactly what we and your holiness have
said: We anathematize those who say that there are two Sons and two Christs. For one is he
who is preached by us and you, as we have said, Christ, the Son and Lord, only begotten as
man, according to the saying of the most learned Paul. And also in his letter to Alexander
and Martinian and John and Paregorius and Maximus, presbyters and monastic fathers, and
those who with them were leading the solitary life, he so says:

11 The holy synod of Ephesus, gathered together according to the will of God against the
Nestorian perfidy with a just and keen sentence condemned together with him the empty
words of those who afterwards should embrace or who had in time past embraced the same
opinions with him, and who presumed to say or write any such thing, laying upon them an
equal condemnation. For it fol- lowed naturally that when one was condemned for such
profane emptiness of speech, the sentence should not come against one only, but (so to
speak) against every one of their heresies or calumnies, which they utter against the
pious doctrines of the Christ, worshipping two Sons, and dividing the indivisible, and
bringing in the crime of man-worship (anthropolatry), both into heaven and earth. For with
us the holy multitude of the supernal spirits adore one Lord Jesus Christ. Moreover
several letters of Augustine, of most religious memory, who shone forth resplendent among
the African bishops, were read, shewing that it was quite right that heretics should be
anathematized after death. And this ecclesiastical tradition, the other most reverend
bishops of Africa have preserved: and the holy Roman Church as well had anathematized
certain bishops after their death, although they had not been accused of any falling from
the faith during their lives: and of each we have the evidence in our hands.

12 But since the disciples of Theodore and of his impiety, who are so manifestly enemies
of the truth, have attempted to bring forward certain passages of Cyril of holy memory and
of Proclus, as though they had been written in favour of Theodore, it is opportune to fit
to them the words of the prophet when he says: "The ways of the Lord are right and the
just walk therein; but the wicked shall be weak in them. For these, evilly receiving the
fixings which have been well and opportunely written by the holy Fathers, and making
excuses in their sins, quote these words. The fathers do not appear as delivering Theodore
from anathema, but rather as economically using certain expressions on account of those
who defended Nestorius and his impiety, in order to draw them away from this error, and to
lead them to perfection and to teach them to condemn not only Nestorius, the disciple of
the impiety, but also his teacher Theodore. So in these very words of economy the Fathers
shew their intention on tiffs point, that Theodore should be anathematized, as has been
abundantly demonstrated by us in our acts from the writings of Cyril and Proclus of holy
memory with regard to the condemnation of Theodore and his impiety. And such economy is
found in divine Scripture:

13 and it is evident that Paul the Apostle made use of this in the beginning of his
ministry, in relation to those who had been brought up as Jews, and circumcised Timothy,
that by this economy and condescension he might lead them on to perfection. But afterwards
he forbade circumcision, writing thus to the Galatians: "Behold, I Paul say to you, that
if ye be circumcised Christ profiteth you nothing. But we found that that which heretics
were wont to do, the defenders of Theodore had done also. For cutting out certain of the
things which the holy Fathers had written, and placing with them and mixing up certain
false things of their own, they have tried by a letter of Cyril of holy memory as though
from a testimony of the Fathers, to free from anathema the aforesaid impious Theodore: in
which very passages the truth was demonstrated, when the parts which had been cut off were
read in their proper order, and the falsehood was thoroughly evinced by the collation of
the true. But in all these things, they who spake such vanities, "trusted in falsehood,"
as it is written, "they trust in falsehood, and speak vanity; they conceive grief and
bring forth iniquity, weaving the spider's web. When we had thus considered Theodore and
his impiety, we took care to have re cited and inserted in our acts a few of these things
which had been impiously written by Theodoret against the right faith and against the
Twelve Chapters of St.

14 Cyril and against the First Council of Ephesus, also certain things written by him in
defence of those impious ones Theodore and Nestorius, for the satisfaction of the reader;
that all might know that these had been justly cast out and anathematized. In the third
place the letter which is said to have been written by Ibas to Maris the Persian, was
brought forward for examination, and we found that it, too, should be read. When it was
read immediately its impiety was manifest to all. And it was right to make the
condemnation and anathematism of the aforesaid Three Chapters, as even to this time there
had been some question on the subject. But because the defenders of these impious ones,
Theodore and Nestorius, were scheming in some way or other to confirm these persons and
their impiety, and were saving that this impious letter, which praised and defended
Theodore and Nestorius and their impiety, had been received by the holy Council of
Chalcedon we thought it necessary to shew that the holy synod was free of the impiety
which was contained in that letter, that it might be clear that they who say such things
do not do so with the favour of this holy council, but that through its name they may
confirm their own impiety. And it was shewn in the acts that in former times Ibas had been
accused because of the very impiety which iscontained in this letter;

15 at first by Proclus, of holy memory, the bishop of Constantinople, and afterwards by
Theodosius, of pious memory, and by Flavian, who was ordained bishop in succession to
Proclus, who delegated the examination of the matter to Photius, bishop of Tyre, and to
Eustathius, bishop of the city of Beyroot. Afterwards the same Ibas, being found guilty,
was cast out of his bishopric. Such was the state of the case, how could anyone presume to
say that that impious letter was received by the holy council of Chalcedon and that the
holy council of Chalcedon agreed with it throughout? Nevertheless in order that they who
thus calumniate the holy council of Chalcedon may have no further opportunity of doing so,
we ordered to be recited the decisions of the holy Synods, to wit, of first Ephesus, and
of Chalcedon, with regard to the Epistles of Cyril of blessed memory and of Leo, of pious
memory, sometime Pope of Old Rome. And since we had learned from these that nothing
written by anyone else ought to be received unless it had been proved to agree with the
orthodox faith of the holy Fathers, we interrupted our proceedings so as to recite also
the definition of the faith which was set forth by the holy council of Chalcedon, so that
we might compare the things in the epistle with this decree. And when this was done it was
perfectly clear that the contents of the epistle were wholly opposite to those of the
definition.

16 For the definition agreed with the one and unchanging faith set forth as well by the
318 holy Fathers as by the 150 and by those who assembled at the first synod at Ephesus.
But that impious letter, on the other hand, contained the blasphemies of the heretics
Theodore and Nestorius, and defended them, and calls them doctors, while it calls the holy
Fathers heretics. And this we made manifest to all, that we did not have any intention of
omitting the Fathers of the first and second interlocutions, which the followers of
Theodore and Nestorius cited on their side, but these and all the others having been read
and their contents examined, we found that the aforesaid Ibas was not allowed to be
received without being compelled to anathematize Nestorius and his impious teachings,
which were defended in that epistle. And this the rest of the religious bishops of the
aforesaid holy Council did as well as those two whose interlocutions certain tried to use.

17 For this they observed in the case of Theodoret, and required him to anathematize those
things of which he was accused. If therefore they were willing to allow the reception of
Ibas in no other manner unless he condemned the impiety which was contained in his
letters, and subscribed the definition of faith adopted by the Council, how can they
attempt to make out that this impious letter was received by the same holy council? For we
are taught, "What fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion
hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath he
that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols." 18
Having thus detailed all that has been done by us, we again confess that we receive the
four holy Synods, that is, the Nicene, the Constantinopolitan, the first of Ephesus, and
that of Chalcedon, and we have taught, and do teach all that they defined respecting the
one faith. And we account those who do not receive these things aliens from the Catholic
Church. Moreover we condemn and anathematize, together with all the other heretics who
have been condemned and anathematized by the before-mentioned four holy Synods, and by the
holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, Theodore who was Bishop of Mopsuestia, and his impious
writings, and also those things which Theodoret impiously wrote against the right faith,
and against the Twelve Chapters of the holy Cyril, and against the first Synod of Ephesus,
and also those which he wrote in defence of Theodore and Nestorius. In addition to these
we also anathematize the impious Epistle which Ibas is said to have written to Maris, the
Persian, which denies that God the Word was incarnate of the holy Mother of God, and ever
Virgin Mary, and accuses Cyril of holy memory, who taught the truth, as an heretic, and of
the same sentiments with Apollinaris, and blames the first Synod of Ephesus as deposing
Nestorius without examination and inquiry, and calls the Twelve Chapters of the holy Cyril
impious, and contrary to the right faith, and defends Theodorus and Nestorius, and their
impious dogmas and writings.

19 We therefore anathematize the Three Chapters before-mentioned, that is, the impious
Theodore of Mopsuestia, with his execrable writings, and those things which Theodoret
impiously wrote, and the impious letter which is said to be of Ibas, and their defenders,
and those who have written or do write in defence of them, or who dare to say that they
are correct, and who have defended or attempt to defend their impiety with the names of
the holy Fathers, or of the holy Council of Chalcedon. These things therefore being
settled with all accuracy, we, bearing in remembrance the promises made respecting the
holy Church, and who it was that said that the gates of hell should not prevail against
her, that is, the deadly tongues of heretics; remembering also what was prophesied
respecting it by Hosea, saying, "I will betroth thee unto me in faithfulness, and thou
shalt know the Lord," and numbering together with the devil, the father of lies, the
unbridled tongues of heretics who persevered in their impiety unto death, and their most
impious writings, will say to them, "Behold, all ye kindle a fire, and cause the flame of
the fire to grow strong, ye shall walk in the light of your fire, and the flame which ye
kindle. But we, having a commandment to exhort the people with right doctrine, and to
speak to the heart of Jerusalem, that is, the Church of God, do rightly make haste to sow
in righteousness, and to reap the fruit of life;

20 and kindling for ourselves the light of knowledge from the holy Scriptures, and the
doctrine of the Fathers, we have considered it necessary to comprehend in certain
Capitula, both the declaration of the truth, and the condemnation of heretics, and of
their wickedness.


COUNCIL OF CONSTANTINOPLE (AD 681): SHORTER WRITINGS
====================================================

COUNCIL OF CONSTANTINOPLE (AD 681) Shorter Writings

Shorter documents of the Sixth Ecumenical Council, which met at Constantinople in AD
680–681 and condemned the teaching that Christ has only one will: extracts from the
proceedings, letters, the definition of faith and the imperial edict.

EXTRACTS FROM THE ACTS: SESSION 1

1 (Labbe and Cossart, Concilia, Tom. VI., col. 609 et seqq.) [After a history of the
assembly of the Council, the Acts begin with the Speech of the Papal Legatee, as follows:]
Most benign lord, in accordance with the Sacra to our most holy Pope from your God-
instructed majesty, we have been sent by him to the most holy footsteps of your God-
confirmed serenity, bearing with us his suggestion (anaphoras, suggestione) as well as the
other suggestion of his Synod equally addressed to your divinely preserved Piety by the
venerable bishops subject to it, which also we offered to your God-crowned Fortitude.
Since, then, during the past forty-six years, more or less, certain novelties in
expression, contrary to the Orthodox faith, have been introduced by those who were at
several times bishops of this, your royal and God-preserved city, to wit: Sergius, Paul,
Pyrrhus, and Peter, as also by Cyrus, at one time archbishop of the city of Alexandria, as
well also as by Theodore, who was bishop of a city called Pharan, and by certain others
their followers, and since these things have in no small degree brought confusion into the
Church throughout the whole world, for they taught dogmatically that there was but one
will in the dispensation of the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ, one of the Holy
Trinity, and one operation; and since many times your servant, our apostolic see, has
fought against this, and then prayed against it, and by no means been able, even up to
now, to draw away from such a depraved opinion its advocates, we beseech your God-crowned
fortitude, that such as share these views of the most holy church of Constantinople may
tell us, what is the source of this new-fangled language.

2 [Answer of the Monothelites made at the Emperor's bidding:]We have brought out no new
method of speech, but have taught whatever we havereceived from the holy Ecumenical
Synods, and from the holy approved Fathers, as well as from the archbishops of this
imperial city, to wit: Sergius, Paul, Pyrrhus, and Peter, as also from Honorius who was
Pope of Old Rome, and from Cyrus who was Pope of Alexandria, that is to say with reference
to will and operation, and so we have believed, and so we believe, so we preach; and
further we are ready to stand by, and defend this faith.

EXTRACTS FROM THE ACTS: SESSION 8

1 (Labbe and Cossart, Concilia, Tom. VI., col. 730.) [ The Emperor said] Let George, the
most holy archbishop of this our God-preserved city, and let Macarius, the venerable
archbishop of Antioch, and let the synod subject to them [i.e., their suffragans] say, if
they submit to the force (ei stoikousi dunamei) of the suggestions sent by the most holy
Agatho Pope of Old Rome and by his Synod. [The answer of George, with which all his
bishops, many of them, speaking one by one, agreed except Theodore of Metilene (who handed
in his assent at the end of the Tenth Session).] I have diligently examined the whole
force of the suggestions sent to your most pious Fortitude, as well by Agatho, the most
holy Pope of Old Rome, as by his synod, and I have scrutinized the works of the holy and
approved Fathers, which are laid up in my venerable patriarchate, and I have found that
all the testimonies of the holy and accepted Fathers, which are contained in those
suggestions agree with, and in no particular differ from, the holy and accepted Fathers.
Therefore I give my submission to them and thus I profess and believe.

2 [The answer of all the rest of the Bishops subject to the See of Constantinople. (Col.
735.)] And we, most pious Lord, accepting the teaching of the suggestion sent to your most
gentle Fortitude by the most holy and blessed Agatho, Pope of Old Rome, and of that other
suggestion which was adopted by the council subject to him, and following the sense
therein contained, so we are minded, so we profess, and so we believe that in our one Lord
Jesus Christ, our true God, there are two natures unconfusedly, unchangeably, undividedly,
and two natural wills and two natural operations; and all who have taught, and who now
say, that there is but one will and one operation in the two natures of our one Lord Jesus
Christ our true God, we anathematize. [The Emperor's demand to Macarius. (Col. 739.)] Let
Macarius, the Venerable Archbishop of Antioch, who has now heard what has been said by
this holy and Ecumenical Synod [demanding the expression of his faith], answer what
seemeth him good.

3 [The answer of Macarius.] I do not say that there are two wills or two operations in the
dispensation of the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ, but one will and one theandric
operation.

LETTER OF THE COUNCIL TO ST. AGATHO

1 (Found in Migne, Pat. Lat., Tom. LXXXVII., col. 1247 et seqq.; and Labbe and Cossart,
Concilia, Tom. VI., col. 1071 et seqq.) A copy of the letter sent by the holy and
Ecumenical Sixth Council to Agatho, the most blessed and most holy pope of Old Rome. The
holy and ecumenical council which by the grace of God and the pious sanction of the most
pious and faithful Constantine, the great Emperor, has been gathered together in this God-
preserved and royal city, Constantinople, the new Rome, in the Secretum of the imperial
(qeiou, sacri) palace called Trullus, to the most holy and most blessed pope of Old Rome,
Agatho, health in the Lord. 2 Serious illnesses call for greater helps, as you know, most
blessed [father]; and therefore Christ our true God, who is the creator and governing
power of all things, gave a wise physician, namely your God-honoured sanctity, to drive
away by force the contagion of heretical pestilence by the remedies of orthodoxy, and to
give the strength of health to the members of the church. Therefore to thee, as to the
bishop of the first see of the Universal Church, we leave what must be done, since you
willingly take for your standing ground the firm rock of the faith, as we know from having
read your true confession in the letter sent by your fatherly beatitude to the most pious
emperor: and we acknowledge that this letter was divinely written (perscriptas) as by the
Chief of the Apostles, and through it we have cast out the heretical sect of many errors
which had recently sprung up, having been urged to making a decree by Constantine who
divinely reigns, and wields a most clement sceptre. And by his help we have overthrown the
error of impiety, having as it were laid siege to the nefarious doctrine of the heretics.
And then tearing to pieces the foundations of their execrable heresy, and attacking them
with spiritual and paternal arms, and confounding their tongues that they might not speak
consistently with each other, we overturned the tower built up by these followers of this
most impious heresy;

3 and we slew them with anathema, as lapsed concerning the faith and as sinners, in the
morning outside the camp of the tabernacle of God, that we may express ourselves after the
manner of David, in accordance with the sentence already given concerning them in your
letter, and their names are these: Theodore, bishop of Pharan, Sergius, Honorius, Cyrus,
Paul, Pyrrhus and Peter. Moreover, in addition to these, we justly subjected to the
anathema of heretics those also who live in their impiety which they have received, or, to
speak more accurately, in the impiety of these God-hated persons, Apollinaris, Severus and
Themestius, to wit, Macarius, who was the bishop of the great city of Antioch (and him we
also stripped deservedly of his pastor's robes on account of his impenitence concerning
the orthodox faith and his obstinate stubbornness), and Stephen, his disciple in craziness
and his teacher in impiety, also Polychronius, who was inveterate in his heretical
doctrines, thus answering to his name; and finally all those who impenitently have taught
or do teach, or now hold or have held similar doctrines.

4 Up to now grief, sorrow, and many tears have been our portion. For we cannot laugh at
the fall of our neighbours, nor exult with joy at their unbridled madness, nor have we
been elated that we might fall all the more grievously because of this thing; not thus, O
venerable and sacred head, have we been taught, we who hold Christ, the Lord of the
universe, to be both benign and man-loving in the highest degree; for he exhorts us to be
imitators of him in his priesthood so far as is possible, as becometh the good, and to
obtain the pattern of his pastoral and conciliatory government. But also to true
repentance the most Serene Emperor and ourselves have exhorted them in various ways, and
we have conducted the whole matter with great religiousness and care. Nor have we been
moved to do so for the sake of gain, nor by hatred, as you can easily see from what things
have been done in each session, and related in the minutes, which are herewith sent to
your blessedness: and you will understand from your holiness's vicars, Theodore and
George, presbyters beloved of God, and from John, the most religious deacon, and from
Constantine, the most venerable sub-deacon, all of them your spiritual children and our
well-loved brethren. So too you will hear the same things from those sent by your holy
synod, the holy bishops who rightly and uprightly, in accordance with your discipline,
decreed with us in the first chapter of the faith.

5 Thus, illuminated by the Holy Spirit, and instructed by your doctrine, we have cast
forth the vile doctrines of impiety, making smooth the right path of orthodoxy, being in
every way encouraged and helped in so doing by the wisdom and power of our most pious and
serene Emperor Constantine. And then one of our number, the most holy praesul of this
reigning Constantinople, in the first place assenting to the orthodox compositions sent by
you to the most pious emperor as in all respects agreeable to the teaching of the approved
Fathers and of the God-instructed Fathers, and of the holy five universal councils, we
all, by the help of Christ our God, easily accomplished what we were striving after. For
as God was the mover, so God also he crowned our council. 6 Thereupon, therefore, the
grace of the Holy Spirit shone upon us, displaying his power, through your assiduous
prayers, for the uprooting of all weeds and every tree which brought not forth good fruit,
and giving command that they should be consumed by fire. And we all agree both in heart
and tongue, and hand, and have put forth, by the assistance of the life-giving Spirit, a
definition, clean from all error, certain, and infallible; not `removing the ancient
landmarks, as it is written (God forbid!), but remaining steadfast in the testimonies and
authority of the holy and approved fathers, and defining that, as of two and in two
natures (to wit, the divinity and the humanity) of which he is composed and in which he
exists, Christ our true God is preached by us, and is glorified inseparably, unchangeably,
unconfusedly, and undividedly; just so also we predicate of him two natural operations,
undividedly, incontrovertibly, unconfusedly, inseparably, as has been declared in our
synodal definition. These decrees the majesty of our God-copying Emperor assented to, and
subscribed them with his own hand.

7 And, as has been said, we rejected and condemned that most impious and unsubstantial
heresy which affirmed but one will and one operation in the incarnate Christ our true God,
and by so doing we have pressed sore upon the crowd who confound and who divide, and have
extinguished the inflamed storm of other heresies, but we have set forth clearly with you
the shining light of the orthodox faith, and we pray your paternal sanctity to confirm our
decree by your honourable rescript; through which we confide in good hope in Christ that
his merciful kindness will grant freely to the Roman State, committed to the care of our
most clement Emperor, stability; and will adorn with daily yokes and victories his most
serene elemency; and that in addition to the good things he has here bestowed upon us, he
will set your God-honoured holiness before his tremendous tribunal as one who has
sincerely confessed the true faith, preserving it unsullied and keeping good ward over the
orthodox flocks committed to him by God.'

8 We and all who are with us salute all the brethren in Christ who are with your
blessedness.

SESSION 16

1 (Labbe and Cossart, Concilia, Tom. VI., col. 1010.)[The Acclamations of the Fathers.]
Many years to the Emperor! Many years to Constantine, our great Emperor! Many years to the
Orthodox King! Many years to our Emperor that maketh peace! Many years to Constantine, a
second Martian! Many years to Constantine, a new Theodosius! Many years to Constantine, a
new Justinian! Many years to the keeper of the orthodox faith! O Lord preserve the
foundation of the Xeurxeeso Lord preserve the keeper of the faith! Many years to Agatho,
Pope of Rome! Many years to George, Patriarch of Constantinople! Many years to Theophanus,
Patriarch of Antioch! Many years to the orthodox council! Many years to the orthodox
Senate! To Theodore of Pharan, the heretic, anathema! To Sergius, the heretic, anathema!
To Cyrus, the heretic, anathema! To Honorius, the heretic, anathema! To Pyrthus, the
heretic, anathema! To Paul To Peter To Macarius the heretic, anathema! To Stephen To
Polychronius To Apergius of Perga To all heretics, anathema! To all who side with
heretics, anathema!

2 May the faith of the Christians increase, and long years to the orthodox and Ecumenical
Council!

THE DEFINITION OF FAITH

1 (Found in the Acts, Session XVIII., L. and C., Concilia, Tom. VI., col. 1019.) The holy,
great, and Ecumenical Synod which has been assembled by the grace of God, and the
religious decree of the most religious and faithful and mighty Sovereign Constantine, in
this God-protected and royal city of Constantinople, New Rome, in the Hall of the imperial
Palace, called Trullus, has decreed as follows. 2 The only-begotten Son, and Word of God
the Father, who was made man in all things like unto us without sin, Christ our true God,
has declared expressly in the words of the Gospel, "I am the light of the world he that
followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. And again, "My
peace I leave with, you, my peace I give unto you. Our most gentle Sovereign, the champion
of orthodoxy, and opponent of evil doctrine, being reverentially led by this divinely
uttered doctrine of peace, and having convened this our holy and Ecumenical assembly, has
united the judgment of the whole Church. Wherefore this our holy and Ecumenical Synod
having driven away the impious error which had prevailed for a certain time until now, and
following closely the straight path of the holy and approved Fathers, has piously given
its full assent to the five holy and Ecumenical Synods (that is to say, to that of the 318
holy Fathers who assembled in Nice against the raging Arius; and the next in
Constantinople of the 150 God-inspired men against Macedonius the adversary of the Spirit,
and the impious Apollinaris; and also the first in Ephesus of 200 venerable men convened
against Nestorius the Judaizer; and that in Chalcedon of 630 God-inspired Fathers against
Eutyches and Dioscorus hated of God;

3 and in addition to these, to the last, that is the Fifth holy Synod assembled in this
place, against Theodore of Mopsuestia, Origen, Didymus, and Evagrius, and the writings of
Theodoret against the Twelve Chapters of the celebrated Cyril, and the Epistle which was
said to be written by Ibas to Maris the Persian), renewing in all things the ancient
decrees of religion, and chasing away the impious doctrines of irreligion. And thisour
holy and Ecumenical Synod inspired of God has set its seal to the Creed which was put
forth by the 318 Fathers, and again religiously confirmed by the 150, which also the other
holy synods cordially received and ratified for the taking away of every soul-destroying
heresy. 4 The Nicene Creed of the 318 holy Fathers. We believe, etc. The Creed of the 150
holy Fathers as-sembled at Constantinople. We believe, etc. 5 The holy and Ecumenical
Synod further says, this pious and orthodox Creed of the Divine grace would be sufficient
for the full knowledge and confirmation of the orthodox faith. But as the author of evil,
who, in the beginning, availed himself of the aid of the serpent, and by it brought the
poison of death upon the human race, has not desisted, but in like manner now, having
found suitable instruments for working out his will (we mean Theodorus, who was Bishop of
Pharan, Sergius, Pyrrhus, Paul and Peter, who were Archbishops of this royal city, and
moreover, Honorius who was Pope of the elder Rome, Cyrus Bishop of Alexandria, Macarius
who was lately bishop of Antioch, and Stephen his disciple), has actively employed them in
raising up for the whole Church the stumbling-blocks of one will and one operation in the
two natures of Christ our true God, one of the Holy Trinity; thus disseminating, in novel
terms, amongst the orthodox people, an heresy similar to the mad and wicked doctrine of
the impious Apollinaris, Severus, and Themistius, and endeavouring craftily to destroy the
perfection of the incarnation of the same our Lord Jesus Christ, our God, by blasphemously
representing his flesh endowed with a rational soul as devoid of will or operation.

6 Christ, therefore, our God, has raised up our faithful Sovereign, a new David, having
found him a man after his own heart, who as it is written, "has not suffered his eyes to
sleep nor his eyelids to slumber," until he has found a perfect declaration of orthodoxy
by this our God-collected and holy Synod; for, according to the sentence spoken of God,
"Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them,"
the present holy and Ecumenical Synod faithfully receiving and saluting with uplifted
hands as well the suggestion which by the most holy and blessed Agatho, Pope of ancient
Rome, was sent to our most pious and faithful Emperor Constantine, which rejected by name
those who taught or preached one will and one operation in the dispensation of the
incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ who is our very God, has likewise adopted that other
synodal suggestion which was sent by the Council holden under the same most holy Pope,
composed of 125 Bishops, beloved of God, to his God-instructed tranquillity, as consonant
to the holy Council of Chalcedon and to the Tome of the most holy and blessed Leo, Pope of
the same old Rome, which was directed to St. Flavian, which also this Council called the
Pillar of the right faith; and also agrees with the Synodal Epistles which were written by
Blessed Cyril against the impious Nestorius and addressed to the Oriental Bishops.

7 Following the five holy Ecumenical Councils and the holy and approved Fathers, with one
voice defining thatour Lord Jesus Christ must be confessed to be very God and very man,
one of the holy and consubstantial and life-giving Trinity, perfect in Deity and perfect
in humanity, very God and very man, of a reasonable soul and human body subsisting;
consubstantial with the Father as touching his Godhead and consubstantial with us as
touching his manhood; in all things like unto us, sin only excepted; begotten of his
Father before all ages according to his Godhead, but in these last days for us men and for
our salvation made man of the Holy Ghost and of the Virgin Mary, strictly and properly the
Mother of God according to the flesh; one and the same Christ our Lord the only-begotten
Son of two natures un-confusedly, unchangeably, inseparably indivisibly to be recognized,
the peculiarities of neither nature being lost by the union but rather the proprieties of
each nature being preserved, concurring in one Person and in one subsistence, not parted
or divided into two persons but one and the same only-begotten Son of God, the Word, our
Lord Jesus Christ, according as the Prophets of old have taught us and as our Lord Jesus
Christ himself hath instructed us, and the Creed of the holy Fathers hath delivered to us;
defining all this we likewise declare that in him are two naturalwills and two natural
operations indivisibly, inconvertibly, inseparably, inconfusedly, according to the
teaching of the holy Fathers.

8 And these two natural wills are not contrary the one to the other (God forbid! as the
impious heretics assert, but his human will follows and that not as resisting and
reluctant, but rather as subject to his divine and omnipotent will. For it was right that
the flesh should be moved but subject to the divine will, according to the most wise
Athanasius. For as his flesh is called and is the flesh of God the Word, so also the
natural will of his flesh is called and is the proper will of God the Word, as he himself
says: "I came down from heaven, not that I might do mine own will but the will of the
Father which sent me! where he calls his own will the will of his flesh, inasmuch as his
flesh was also his own. For as his most holy and immaculate animated flesh was not
destroyed because it was deified but continued in its own state and nature (orw te kai
logw), so also his human will,although deified, was not suppressed, but was rather
preserved according to the saying of Gregory Theologus: "His will [i.e., the Saviour's] is
not contrary to God but altogether deified."

9 We glorify two natural operations indivisibly, immutably, inconfusedly, inseparably in
the same our Lord Jesus Christ our true God, that is to say a divine operation and a human
operation, according to the divine preacher Leo, who most distinctly asserts as follows:
"For each form (morfh) does in communion with the other what pertains properly to it, the
Word, namely, doing that which pertains to the Word, and the flesh that which pertains to
the flesh." For we will not admit one natural operation in God and in the creature, as we
will not exalt into the divine essence what is created, nor will we bring down the glory
of the divine nature to the place suited to the creature. We recognize the miracles and
the sufferings as of one and the same [Person], but of one or of the other nature of which
he is and in which he exists, as Cyril admirably says. Preserving therefore the
inconfused- ness and indivisibility, we make briefly this whole confession, believing our
Lord Jesus Christ to be one of the Trinity and after the incarnation our true God, we say
that his two natures shone forth in his one subsistence in which he both performed the
miracles and endured the sufferings through the whole of his economic conversation (di
oolhj autou thj oikonomkhj anastrofhj), and that not in appearance only but in very deed,
and this by reason of the difference of nature which must be recognized in the same
Person, for although joined together yet each nature wills and does the things proper to
it and that indivisibly and inconfusedly. Wherefore we confess two wills and two
operations, concurring most fitly in him for the salvation of the human race.

10 These firings, therefore, with all diligence and care having been formulated by us, we
define that it be permitted to no one to bring forward, or to write, or to compose, or to
think, or to teach a different faith. Whosoever shall presume to compose a different
faith, or to propose, or teach, or hand to those wishing to be converted to the knowledge
of the truth, from the Gentiles or Jews, or from any heresy, any different Creed; or to
introduce a new voice or invention of speech to subvert these things which now have been
determined by us, all these, if they be Bishops or clerics let them be deposed, the
Bishops from the Episcopate, the clerics from the clergy; but if they be monks or laymen:
let them be anathematized.

THE IMPERIAL EDICT

In the name of our Lord and Master Jesus Christ, our God and Saviour, the most pious
Emperor, the peaceful and Christ-loving Constantine, an Emperor faithful to God in Jesus
Christ, to all our Christ-loving people living in this God-preserved and royal city. [The
document is very long, Hefele gives the following epitome, which is all sufficient for the
ordinary reader, who will remember that it is an Edict of the Emperor and not anything
proceeding from the council.] Hefele's Epitome (Hist. of the Councils, Vol.v., p. 178).
"The heresy of Apollinaris, etc., has been renewed by Theodore of Pharan and confirmed by
Honorius, sometime Pope of Old Rome, who also contradicted himself. Also Cyrus, Pyrrhus,
Paul, Peter; more recently. Macarius, Stephen, and Polychronius had diffused
Monothelitism. He, the Emperor, had therefore convoked this holy and Ecumenical Synod, and
published the present edict with the confession of faith, in order to confirm and
establish its decrees. (There follows here an extended confession of faith, with proofs
for the doctrine of two wills and operations.) As he recognized the five earlier
Ecumenical Synods, so he anathematized all heretics from Simon Magus, but especially the
originator and patrons of the new heresy, Theodore and Sergius; also Pope Honorius, who
was their adherent and patron in everything, and confirmed the heresy (ton kata panta
toutoij sunairethn kai bebaiwthn thj airesewj, further, Cyrus, etc., and ordained that no
one henceforth should hold a different faith, or venture to teach one will and one energy.
In no other than the orthodox faith could men be saved. Whoever did not obey the imperial
edict should, if he were a bishop or cleric be deposed; if an official, punished with
confiscation of property and loss of the girdle (zwnh); if a private person, banished from
the residence and all other cities."

THE LETTER OF AGATHO AND OF THE ROMAN SYNOD OF 125 BISHOPS

Which Was to Serve as an Instruction to the Legates Sent to Attend the Sixth Synod.

1 (Found in Labbe and Cossart, Concilia, Tom. VI., col. 677 et seqq., and in Migne, Pat.
Lat. Tom. LXXXVII., col. 1215 et seqq. [This last text, which is Mansi's, I have
followed].) To the most pious Lords and most serene victors and conquerors, our own sons
beloved of God and of our Lord Jesus Christ, Constantine, the great Emperor, and Heraclius
and Tiberius, Augustuses, Agatho, the bishop and servant of the servants of God, together
with all the synods subject to the council of the Apostolic See. [The Letter opens with a
number of compliments to the Emperor, much in style and matter like the introduction of
the preceding letter. I have not thought it worth while to translate this, but have begun
at the doctrinal part, which is given to the reader in full. (Labbe and Cossart, col.
682.)] 2 We believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all
things visible and invisible; and in his only-begotten Son, who was begotten of him before
all worlds; very God of Very God, Light of Light, begotten not made, being of one
substance with the Father, that is of the same substance as the Father; by him were all
things made which are in heaven and which are in earth; and in the Holy Ghost, the Lord
and giver of life, who proceedeth from the Father, and with the Father and the Son
together is worshipped and glorified; the Trinity in unity and Unity in trinity; a unity
so far as essence is concerned, but a trinity of persons or subsistences; and so we
confess God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost; not three gods, but one God,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost: not a subsistency of three names, but one
substance of three subsistences; and of these persons one is the essence, or substance or
nature, that is to say one is the godhead, one the eternity, one the power, one the
kingdom, one the glory, one the adoration, one the essential will and operation of the
same Holy and inseparable Trinity, which hath created all things, hath made disposition of
them, and still contains them.

3 Moreover we confess that one of the same holy consubstantial Trinity, God the Word, who
was begotten of the Father before the worlds, in the last days of the world for us and for
our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate of the Holy Ghost, and of our Lady,
the holy, immaculate, ever-virgin and glorious Mary, truly and properly the Mother of God,
that is to say according to the flesh which was born of her; and was truly made man, the
same being very God and very man. God of God his Father, but man of his Virgin Mother,
incarnate of her flesh with a reasonable and intelligent soul: of one substance with God
the Father, as touching his godhead, and consubstantial with us as touching his manhood,
and in all points like unto us, but without sin. He was crucified for us under Pontius
Pilate, he suffered, was buried and rose again; ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the
right hand of the Father, and he shall come again to judge both the quick and the dead,
and of his kingdom there shah be no end.

4 And this same one Lord of ours, Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, we
acknowledge to subsist of and in two substances unconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly,
inseparably, the difference of the natures being by no means taken away by the union, but
rather the proprieties of each nature being preserved and concurring in one Person and one
Subsistence, not scattered or divided into two Persons, nor confused into one composite
nature; but we confess one and the same only-begotten Son, God the Word, our Lord Jesus
Christ, not one in another, nor one added to another, but himself the same in two natures-
that is to say in the Godhead and in the man- hood even after the hypostatic union: for
neither was the Word changed into the nature of flesh, nor was the flesh transformed into
the nature of the Word, for each remained what it was by nature. We discern by
contemplation alone the distinction between the natures united in him of which
inconfusedly, inseparably and unchangeably he is composed; for one is of both, and through
one both, because there are together both the height of the deity and the humility of the
flesh, each nature preserving after the union its own proper character without any defect;
and each form acting in communion with the other what is proper to itself. The Word
working what is proper to the Word, and the flesh what is proper to the flesh; of which
the one shines with miracles, the other bows down beneath injuries.

5 Wherefore, as we confess that he truly has two natures or substances, viz.: the Godhead
and the manhood, inconfusedly, indivisibly and unchangeably [united], so also the rule of
piety instructs us that he has two natural wills and two natural operations, as perfect
God and perfect man, one and the same our Lord Jesus Christ. And this the apostolic and
evangelical tradition and the authority of the Holy Fathers (whom the Holy Apostolic and
Catholic Church and the venerable Synods receive), has plainly taught us. 6 [The letter
goes on to say that this is the traditional faith, and is that which was set forth in a
council over which Pope Martin presided, and that those opposed to this faith have erred
from the truth, some in one way, and some in another. It next apologizes for the delay in
sending the persons ordered by the imperial Sacra, and proceeds thus: (Labbe and Cossart,
col. 686; Migne, col. 1224).]

7 In the first place, a great number of us are spread over a vast extent of country even
to the sea coast, and the length of their journey necessarily took much time. Moreover we
were in hopes of being able to join to our humility our fellow-servant and brother bishop,
Theodore, the archbishop and philosopher of the island of Great Britain, with others who
have been kept there even till to-day; and to add to these divers i bishops of this
council who have their sees in different parts, that our humble suggestion [i.e., the
doctrinal definition contained in the letters] might proceed from a council of wide-spread
influence, lest if only a part were cognizant of what was being done, it might escape the
notice of a part; and especially because among the Gentiles, as the Longobards, and the
Sclavi, as also the Franks, the French, the Goths, and the Britains, there are known to be
very many of our fellow-servants who do not cease curiously to enquire on the subject,
that they may know what is being done in the cause of the Apostolic faith: who as they can
be of advantage so long as they hold the true faith with us, and think in unison with us,
so are they found troublesome and contrary, if (which may God forbid! they stumble at any
article of the faith.

8 But we, although most humble, yet strive with all our might that the commonwealth of
your Christian empire may be shown to be more sublime than all the nations, for in it has
been rounded the See of Blessed Peter, the prince of the Apostles, by the authority of
which, all Christian nations venerate and worship with us, through the reverence of the
blessed Apostle Peter himself. (This is the Latin, which appears to me to be corrupt, the
Greek reads as follows: "The authority of which for the truth, all the Christian nations
together with us worship and revere, according to the honour of the blessed Peter the
Apostle himself.") 9 [The letter ends with prayers for constancy, and blessings on the
State and Emperor, and hopes for the universal diffusion and acceptance of the truth.]

THE PROSPHONETICUS TO THE EMPEROR

1 (Labbe and Cossart, Concilia, Tom. VI., col. 1047 et seqq.)[This address begins with
many compliments to the Emperor, especially for his zeal for the true faith.] But because
the adversary Satan allows no rest, he has raised up the very ministers of Christ against
him, as if armed and carrying weapons, etc. [The various heretics are then named and how
they were condemned by the preceding five councils is set forth.] Things being so, it was
necessary that your beloved of Christ majesty should gather together this all holy, and
numerous assembly. Thereafter being inspired by the Holy Ghost, and all agreeing and
consenting together, and giving our approval to the doctrinal letter of our most blessed
and exalted pope, Agatho, which he sent to your mightiness, as also agreeing to the
suggestion of the holy synod of one hundred and twenty-five fathers held under him, we
teach that one of fire Holy Trinity, our Lord Jesus Christ, was incarnate, and must be
celebrated in two perfect natures without division and without confusion. For as the Word,
he is consubstantial and eternal with God his father; but as taking flesh of the
immaculate Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, he is perfect man, consubstantial with us and
made in time. We declare therefore that he is perfect in Godhead and that the same is
perfect likewise in manhood, according to the pristine tradition of the fathers and the
divine definition of Chalcedon.

2 And as we recognize two natures, so also we recognize two natural wills and two natural
operations. For we dare not say that either of the natures which are in Christ in his
incarnation is without a will and operation: lest in taking away the proprieties of those
natures, we likewise take away the natures of which they are the proprieties. For we
neither deny rite natural will of his humanity, or its naturaloperation: lest we also deny
what is the chief thing of the dispensation for our salvation, and lest we attribute
passions to the Godhead. For this they were attempting who have recently introduced the
detestable novelty that in him there is but one will and one operation, renewing the
malignancy of Arius, Apollinaris, Eutyches and Severus. For should we say that the human
nature of our Lord is without will and operation, how could we affirm in safety the
perfect humanity? For nothing else constitutes the integrity of human nature except the
essential will, through which the strength of free-will is marked in us; and this is also
the case with the substantial operation. For how shall we call him perfect in humanity if
he in no wise suffered and acted as a man? For like as the union of two natures preserves
for us one subsistence without confusion and without division; so this one subsistence,
shewing itself in twonatures, demonstratesas its own whatthings belong to each.

3 Therefore we declare that in him there are two natural wills and two natural operations,
proceeding commonly and without division: but we cast out of the Church and rightly
subject to anathema all superfluous novelties as well as their inventors: to wit, Theodore
of Pharan, Sergius and Paul, Pyrrhus, and Peter (who were archbishops of Constantinople),
moreover Cyrus, who bore the priesthood of Alexandria, and with them Honorius, who was the
ruler (proedron) of Rome, as he followed them in these things. Besides these, with the
best of cause we anathematize and depose Macarius, who was bishop of Antioch, and his
disciple Stephen (or rather we should say master), who tried to defend the impiety of
their predecessors, and in short stirred up the whole world, and by their pestilential
letters and by their fraudulent institutions devastated multitudes in every direction.
Likewise also that old man Polychronius, with an infantile intelligence, who promised he
would raise the dead and who when they did not rise, was laughed at; and all who have
taught, or do teach, or shall presume to teach one will and one operation in the incarnate
Christ. . . But the highest prince of the Apostles fought with us: for we had on our side
his imitator and the successor in his see, who also had set forth in his letter the
mystery of the divine word (qeolo giaj).

4 For the ancient city of Rome handed thee a confession of divine character, and a chart
from the sunsetting raised up the day of dogmas, and made the darkness manifest, and Peter
spoke through Agatho, and thou, O autocratic King, according to the divine decree, with
the Omnipotent Sharer of thy throne, didst judge.But, O benign and justice-loving Lord,do
thou in return do this favour to him who hath bestowed thy power upon thee; and give, as a
seal to what has been defined by us, thy imperial ratification in writing, and so confirm
them with the customary pious edicts and constitutions, that no one may contradict the
things which have been done, nor raise any fresh question. For rest assured, O serene
majesty, that we have not falsified anything defined by the Ecumenical Councils and by the
approved fathers, but we have confirmed them. And now we all cry out with one mind and one
voice, "O God, save the King! etc., etc."

5 [Then follow numerous compliments to the Emperor and prayers for his preservation.]

THE SENTENCE AGAINST THE MONOTHELITES (SESSION 13)

1 (L. and C., Concilia, Tom. VI., col. 943.) 2 The holy council said: After we had
reconsidered, according to our promise which we had made to your highness, the doctrinal
letters of Sergius, at one time patriarch of this royal god-protected city to Cyrus, who
was then bishop of Phasis and to Honorius some time Pope of Old Rome, as well as the
letter of the latter to the same Sergius, we find that these documents are quite foreign
to the apostolic dogmas, to the declarations of the holy Councils, and to all the accepted
Fathers, and that they follow the false teachings of the heretics; therefore we entirely
reject them, and execrate them as hurtful to the soul. But the names of those men whose
doctrines we execrate must also be thrust forth from the holy Church of God, namely, that
of Sergius some time bishop of this God-preserved royal city who was the first to write on
this impious doctrine; also that of Cyrus of Alexandria, of Pyrrhus, Paul, and Peter, who
died bishops of this God-preserved city, and were like-minded with them; and that of
Theodore sometime bishop of Pharan, all of whom the most holy and thrice blessed Agatho,
Pope of Old Rome, in his suggestion to our most pious and God-preserved lord and mighty
Emperor, rejected, because they were minded contrary to our orthodox faith, all of whom we
define are to be subjected to anathema.

3 And with these we define that there shall be expelled from the holy Church of God and
anathematized Honorius who was some time Pope of Old Rome, because of what we found
written by him to Sergius, that in all respects he followed his view and confirmed his
impious doctrines. We have also examined the synodal letter of Sophronius of holy memory,
some time Patriarch of the Holy City of Christ our God, Jerusalem, and have found it in
accordance with the true faith and with the Apostolic teachings, and with those of the
holy approved Fathers. Therefore we have received it as orthodox and as salutary to the
holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, and have decreed that it is right that his name be
inserted in the diptychs of the Holy Churches.


COUNCIL OF CONSTANTINOPLE (AD 681): THE LETTER OF AGATHO, POPE OF OLD ROME, TO THE EMPEROR
============================================================

COUNCIL OF CONSTANTINOPLE (AD 681): THE LETTER OF AGATHO, POPE OF OLD ROME, TO THE EMPEROR
The letter of Pope Agatho to the emperor, read at the council, which sets out the faith of
the Roman church on the two wills of Christ and quotes the Fathers in support.

Addressed to the Sixth Council

1 (Read at the Fourth Session, November 15, at the request of George, Patriarch of
Constantinople and his Suffragans.) Introductory Note. (Bossuet, Defensio Cler. Gal. Lib.
VII., cap. xxiv.) 2 All the fathers spoke one by one, and only after examination were the
letters of St. Agatho and the whole Western Council approved. Agatho, indeed, and the
Western Bishops put forth their decrees thus [ `We have directed persons from our humility
to your valour protected of God, which shall offer to you the report of us all, that is,
of all the Bishops in the Northern or Western Regions, in which too we have summed up the
confession of our Apostolic Faith, yet ] not as those who wished to contend about these
things as being uncertain, but, being certain and unchangeable to see them forth in a
brief definition, [suppliantly beseeching you that, by the favour of your sacred majesty,
you would command these same things to be preached to all, and to have force with all.' ]
Undoubtedly, therefore, so far as in them lay, they defined the matter. The question was,
whether the other Churches throughout the world would agree, and a matter so great was
only made clear after Episcopal examination. But the high, magnificent, yet true
expressions, which St. Agatho had used of his See, namely, that resting on the promise of
the Lord it had never turned aside from the path of truth, and that its Pontiffs, the
predecessors of Agatho, who were charged in the person of Peter to strengthen their
brethren, had ever discharged that office, this the Fathers of the Council hear and
receive.

3 But not the less they examine the matter, they inquire into the decrees of Roman
Pontiffs, and, after inquiry held, approve Agatho's decrees, condemn those of Honorius: a
certain proof that they did not understand Agatho's expressions as if it were necessary to
receive without discussion every decree of Roman Pontiffs even deride, inasmuch as they
are subjected to the supreme and final examination of a General Council: but as if these
expressions taken as a whole, in their total, hold good in the full and complete
succession of Peter, as we have often said, and in its proper place shall say at greater
length. 4 (Found in Migne, Pat. Lat., Tom. LXXXVII., col. 1161; L. and C., Tom. VI., col.
630.) Agatho a bishop and servant of the servants of God to the most devout and serene
victors and conquerors, our most beloved sons and lovers of God and of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Emperor Constantine the Great, and to Heraclius and Tiberius, Augustuses.

5 While contemplating the various anxieties of human life, and while groaning with
vehement weeping before the one true God, in prayer that he might impart to my wavering
soul the comfort of his divine mercy, and might lift me by his right hand out of the
depths of grief and anxiety, I most gratefully recognize, my most illustrious lords and
sons, that your purpose [i.e. of holding a Council] afforded me deep and wonderful
consolation. For it was most pious and emanated from your most meek tranquillity, taught
by the divine benignity for the benefit of the Christian commonwealth divinely entrusted
to your keeping, that your imperial power and clemency might have a care to enquire
diligently concerning the things of God (through whom Kings do reign, who is himself King
of Kings and Lord of Lords) and might seek after the truth of his spotless faith as it has
been handed down by the Apostles and by the Apostolic Fathers, and be zealously affected
to command that in all the churches the pure tradition be held. And that no one may be
ignorant of this pious intention of yours, or suspect that we have been compelled by
force, and have not freely consented to the carrying into effect of the imperial decrees
touching the preaching of our evangelical faith which was addressed to our predecessor
Donus, a pontiff of Apostolic memory, they have through our ministry been sent to and
entirely approved by all nations and peoples;

6 for these decrees Holy Spirit by his grace dictated to the tongue of the imperial pen,
out of the treasure of a pure heart, as the words of an adviser not of an oppressor,
defending himself, not looking with contempt upon others; not afflicting, but exhorting;
and inviting to those things which are of God in godly wise, because he, the Maker and
Redeemer of all men, who had he come in the majesty of his Godhead into the world, might
have terrified mortals, preferred to descend through his inestimable clemency and humility
to the estate of us whom he had created and thus to redeem us, who also expects from us a
willing confession of the true faith. 7 And this it is that the blessed Peter, the prince
of the Apostles, teaches: "Feed the flock of Christ which is among you, not by constraint,
but willingly, exhorting it according to God. Therefore, encouraged by these imperial
decrees, O most meek lords of all things, and relieved from the depths of affliction and
raised to the hope of consolation, I have begun, refreshed somewhat by a better
confidence, to comply with promptness with the flyings which were sometime ago bidden by
the Sacra of your gentlest fortitude, and am endeavouring in obedience therewith to find
persons, such as our deficient times and the quality of this obedient province permit, and
taking advice with my fellow-servant bishops, as well concerning the approaching synod of
this Apostolic See, as concerning our own clergy, the lovers of the Christian Empire, and,
afterwards concerning the religious servants of God, that I might exhort them to follow in
haste the footsteps of your most pious Tranquillity. And, were it not that the great
compass of the provinces, in which our humility's council is situated had caused so great
a loss of time, our servitude a while ago could have fulfilled with studious obedience
what even now has scarcely been done.

8 For while from the various provinces a council has been gathering about us, and while we
have been able to select some persons of those from this very Roman city immediately
subject to your most serene power, or from those near by, others again we have been
obliged to wait for from far distant provinces, in which the word of Christian faith was
preached by those sent by the predecessors of my littleness; and thus quite a space of
time has elapsed: and I pass over my bodily pains in consequence of which life to a
perpetually suffering person is neither possible nor pleasant. Therefore, most Christian
lords and sons, in accordance with the most pious jussio of your God-protected clemency,
we have had a care to send, with the devotion of a prayerful heart (from the obedience we
owe you, not because we relied on the [superabundant] knowledge of those whom we send to
you), our fellow-servants here present, Abundantius, John, and John, our most reverend
brother bishops, Theodore and George our most beloved sons and presbyters, with our most
beloved son John, a deacon, and with Constantine, a subdeacon of this holy spiritual
mother, the Apostolic See, as well as Theodore, the presbyter legate of the holy Church of
Ravenna and the religious servants of God the monks.

9 For, among men placed amid the Gentiles, and earning their daily bread by bodily labour
with considerable distraction, how could a knowledge of the Scriptures, in its fulness, be
found unless what has been canonically defined by our holy and apostolic predecessors, and
by the venerable five councils, we preserve in simplicity of heart, and without any
distorting keep the faith come to us from the Fathers, always desirous and endeavouring to
possess that one and chiefest good, viz.: that nothing be diminished from the things
canonically defined, and that nothing be changed nor added thereto, but that those same
things, both in words and sense, be guarded untouched? To these same commissioners we also
have given the witness of some of the holy Fathers, whom this Apostolic Church of Christ
receives, together with their books, so that, having obtained from the power of your most
benign Christianity the privilege of suggesting, they might out of these endeavour to give
satisfaction, (when your imperial Meekness shall have so commanded) as to what this
Apostolic Church of Christ, their spiritual mother and the mother of your God-sprung
empire, believes and preaches, not in words of worldly eloquence, which are not at the
command of ordinary men, but in the integrity of the apostolic fifth, in which having been
taught from the cradle, we pray that we may serve and obey the Lord of heaven, the
Propagator of your Christian empire, even unto the end.

10 Consequently, we have granted them faculty or authority with your most tranquil
mightiness, toafford satisfaction with simplicity whenever your clemency shall command, it
being enjoined on them as a limitation that they presume not to add to, take away, or to
change anything; but that they set forth this tradition of the Apostolic See in all
sincerity as it has been taught by the apostolic pontiffs, who were our predecessors. For
these delegates we most humbly implore with bent knees of the mind your clemency ever full
of condescension, that agreeably to the most benign and most august promise of the
imperial Sacra, your Christlike Tranquillity may deem them worthy of acceptance and may
deign to give a favourable hearing to their most humble suggestions. Thus may your meekest
Piety find the ears of Almighty God open to your prayers, and may you order that they
return to their own unharmed in their rectitude of our Apostolic faith, as well as in the
integrity of their bodies. And thus may the supernal Majesty restore to the benign rule of
your government through the most heroic and unconquerable labours of your God-strengthened
clemency, the whole Christian commonwealth, and may he subdue hostile nations to your
mighty sceptre, that there may be satisfaction from this time forth to every soul and to
all nations, because what you deigned to promise solemnly by your most august letters
about the immunity and safety of those who came to the Council, you have fulfilled in all
respects.

11 It is not their wisdom that gave us confidence to make bold to send them to your pious
presence; but our littleness obediently complied with what your imperial benignity, with a
gracious order, exhorted to. And briefly we shall intimate to your divinely instructed
Piety, what the strength of our Apostolic faith contains, which we have received through
Apostolic tradition and through the tradition of the Apostolical pontiffs, and that of the
five holy general synods, through which the foundations of Christ's Catholic Church have
been strengthened and established; this then is the status [and the regular tradition ] of
our Evangelical and Apostolic faith, to wit, that as we confess the holy and inseparable
Trinity, that is, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, to be of one deity, of one
nature and substance or essence, so we will profess also that it has one natural will,
power, operation, domination, majesty, potency, and glory. And whatever is said of the
same Holy Trinity essentially in singular number we understand to refer to the one nature
of the three consubstantial Persons, having been so taught by canonical logic.

12 But when we make a confession concerning one of the same three Persons of that Holy
Trinity, of the Son of God, or God the Word, and of the mystery of his adorable
dispensation according to the flesh, we assert that all things are double in the one arm
the same our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ according to the Evangelical tradition, that is
to say, we confess his two natures, to wit the divine and the human, of which and in which
he, even after the wonderful and inseparable union, subsists. And we confess that each of
his natures has its own natural propriety, and that the divine, has all filings that are
divine, without any sin. And we recognize that each one (of the two natures) of the one
and the same incarnated, that is, humanated (humanati) Word of God is in him unconfusedly,
inseparably and unchangeably, intelligence alone discerning a unity, to avoid the error of
confusion. For we equally detest the blasphemy of division and of commixture. For when we
confess two natures and two natural wills, and two natural operations in our one Lord
Jesus Christ, we do not assert that they are contrary or opposed one to the other (as
those who err from the path of truth and accuse the apostolic tradition of doing.

13 Far be this impiety from the hearts of the faithful!), nor as though separated (per se
separated) in two persons or subsistences, but we say that as the same our Lord Jesus
Christ has two natures so also he has two natural wills and operations, to wit, the divine
and the human:the divine will and operation he has in common with the coessential Father
from all eternity: the human, he has received from us, taken with our nature in time. This
is the apostolic and evangelic tradition, which the spiritual mother of your most
felicitous empire, the Apostolic Church of Christ, holds. 14 This is the pure expression
of piety. This is the true and immaculate profession of the Christian religion, not
invented by human cunning, but which was taught by the Holy Ghost through the princes of
the Apostles. This is the firm and irreprehensible doctrine of the holy Apostles, the
integrity of the sincere piety of which, so long as it is preached freely, defends the
empire of your Tranquillity in the Christian commonwealth, and exults [will defend it,
will render it stable; and exulting], and (as we firmly trust) will demonstrate it full of
happiness. Believe your most humble [servant], my most Christian lords and sons, that I am
pouring forth these prayers with my tears, or its stability and exultation [in Greek
exaltation]. And these things I (although unworthy and insignificant) dare advise through
my sincere love, because your God-granted victory is our salvation, the happiness of your
Tranquillity is our joy, the harmlessness of your kindness is the security of our
littleness. And therefore I beseech you with a contrite heart and rivers of tears, with
prostrated mind, deign to stretch forth your most clement right hand to the Apostolic
doctrine which the co-worker of your pious labours, the blessed apostle Peter, has
delivered, that it be not hidden under a bushel, but that it be preached in the whole
earth more shrilly than a bugle:

15 because the true confession thereof for which Peter was pronounced blessed by the Lord
of all things, was revealed by the Father of heaven, for he received from the Redeemer of
all himself, by three commendations, the duty of feeding the spiritual sheep of the
Church; under whose protecting shield, this Apostolic Church of his has never turned away
from the path of truth in any direction of error, whose authority, as that of the Prince
of all the Apostles, the whole Catholic Church, and the Ecumenical Synods have faithfully
embraced, and followed in all things; and all the venerable Fathers have embraced its
Apostolic doctrine, through which they as the most approved luminaries of the Church of
Christ have shone; and the holy orthodox doctors have venerated and followed it, while the
heretics have pursued it with false criminations and with derogatory hatred. This is the
living tradition of the Apostles of Christ, which his Church holds everywhere, which is
chiefly to be loved and fostered, and is to be preached with confidence, which conciliates
with God through its truthful confession, which also renders one commendable to Christ the
Lord, which keeps the Christian empire of your Clemency, which gives far-reaching
victories to your most pious Fortitude from the Lord of heaven, which accompanies you in
battle, and defeats your foes;

16 which protects on every side as an impregnable wall your God-sprung empire, which
throws terror into opposing nations, and smites them with the divine wrath, which also in
wars celestially gives triumphal palms over the downfall and subjection of the enemy, and
ever guards your most faithful sovereignty secure and joyful in peace. For this is the
rule of the true faith, which this spiritual mother of your most tranquil empire, the
Apostolic Church of Christ, has both in prosperity and in adversity always held and
defended with energy; which, it will be proved, by the grace of Almighty God, has never
erred from the path of the apostolic tradition, nor has she been depraved by yielding to
heretical innovations, but from the beginning she has received the Christian faith from
her founders, the princes of the Apostles of Christ, and remains undefiled unto the end,
according to the divine promise of the Lord and Saviour himself, which he uttered in the
holy Gospels to the prince of his disciples: saying, "Peter, Peter, behold, Satan hath
desired to have you, that he might sift you as wheat; but I have prayed for thee, that
(thy) faith fail not. And when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

17 Let your tranquil Clemency therefore consider, since it is the Lord and Saviour of all,
whose faith it is, that promised that Peter's faithshould not fail and exhorted him to
strengthen his brethren, how it is known to all that the Apostolic pontiffs, the
predecessors of my littleness, have always confidently done this very thing: of whom also
our littleness, since I have received this ministry by divine designation, wishes to be
the follower, although unequal to them and the least of all. For woe is me, if I neglect
to preach the truth of my Lord, which they have sincerely preached. Woe is me, if I cover
over with silence the truth which I am bidden to give to the exchangers, i.e., to teach to
the Christian people and imbue it therewith. What shall I say in the future examination by
Christ himself, if I blush (which God forbid! to preach here the truth of his words? What
satisfaction shall I be able to give for myself, what for the souls committed to me, when
he demands a strict account of the office I have received? Who, then, my most clement and
most pious lords and sons, (I speak trembling and prostrate in spirit) would not be
stirred by that admirable promise, which is made to the faithful: "Whoever shall confess
me before men, him also will I confess before my Father, who is in heaven"?

18 And which one even of the infidels shall not be terrified by that most severe threat,
in which he protests that he will be full of wrath, and declares that "Whoever shall deny
me before men, him also will I deny before my Father, who is in heaven"? Whence also
blessed Paul, the apostle of the Gentiles, gives warning and says: "But though we, or an
angel from the heaven should preach to you any other Gospel from what we have evangelized
to you, let him be anathema. Since, therefore, such an extremity of punishment overhangs
the corruptors, or suppressors of truth by silence, would not any one flee from an attempt
at curtailing the truth of the Lord's faith? Wherefore the predecessors of Apostolic
memory of my littleness, learned in the doctrine of the Lord, ever since the prelates of
the Church of Constantinople have been trying to introduce into the immaculate Church of
Christ an heretical innovation, have never ceased to exhort and warn them with many
prayers, that they should, at least by silence, desist from the heretical error of the
depraved dogma, lest from this they make the beginning of a split in the unity of the
Church, by asserting one will, and one operation of the two natures in the one Jesus
Christ our Lord:

19 a thing which the Arians and the Apollinarists, the Eutychians, the Timotheans, the
Acephali, the Theodosians and the Gaianitae taught, and every heretical madness, whether
of those who confound, or of those who divide the mystery of the Incarnation of Christ.
Those that confound the mystery of the holy Incarnation, inasmuch as they say that there
is one nature of the deity and humanity of Christ, contend that he has one will, as of
one, and (one) personal operation. But they who divide, on the other hand, the inseparable
union, unite the two natures which they acknowledge that the Saviour possesses, not
however in an union which is recognized to be hypostatic; but blasphemously join them by
concord, through the affection, of the will, like two subsistences, i.e., two somebodies.
Moreover, the Apostolic Church of Christ, the spiritual mother of your God-founded empire,
confesses one Jesus Christ our Lord existing of and in two natures, and she maintains that
his two natures, to wit, the divine and the human, exist in him unconfused even after
their inseparable union, and she acknowledges that each of these natures of Christ is
perfect in the proprieties of its nature, and she confesses that all things belonging to
the proprieties of the natures are double, because the same our Lord Jesus Christ himself
is both perfect God and perfect man, of two and in two natures: and after his wonderful
Incarnation, his deity cannot be thought of without his humanity, nor his humanity without
his deity.

20 Consequently, therefore, according to the rule of the holy Catholic and Apostolic
Church of Christ, she also confesses and preaches thatthere are in him two natural wills
and two natural operations. For if anybody should mean a personal will, when in the holy
Trinity there are said to be three Persons, it would be necessary that there should be
asserted three personal wills, and three personal operations (which is absurd and truly
profane). Since, as the truth of the Christian faith holds, the will is natural, where the
one nature of the holy and inseparable Trinity is spoken of, it must be consistently
understood that there is one natural will, and cue natural operation. 21 But when in truth
we confess that in the one person of our Lord Jesus Christ the mediator between God and
men, there are two natures (that is to say the divine and the human), even after his
admirable union, just as we canonically confess the two natures of one and the same
person, so too we confess his two natural wills and two natural operations. But that the
understanding of this truthful confession may become clear to your Piety's mind from the
God-inspired doctrine of the Old and the New Testament, (for your Clemency is incomparably
more able to penetrate the meaning of the sacred Scriptures, than our littleness to set it
forth in flowing words), our Lord Jesus Christ himself, who is true and perfect God, and
true and perfect man, in his holy Gospels shews forth in some instances human things, in
others, divine, and still in others both together, making a manifestation concerning
himself in order that he might instruct his faithful to believe and preach that he is both
true God and true man. Thus as man he prays to the Father to take away the cup of
suffering, because in him our human nature was complete, sin only excepted, "Father, if it
be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. And
in another passage: "Not my will, but thine be done.

22 If we wish to know the meaning of which testimony as explained by the holy and approved
Fathers, and truly to understand what "my will," what "thine" signify, the blessed Ambrose
in his second book to the Emperor Gratian, of blessed memory, teaches us the meaning of
this passage in these words, saying: "He then, receives my will, he takes my sorrow, I
confidently call it sorrow as I am speaking of the cross, mine is the will, which he calls
his, because he bears my sorrow as man, he spoke as a man, and therefore he says: `Not as
I will but as thou wilt.'" Mine is the sadness which he has received according to my
affection. See, most pious of princes, how clearly here this holy Father sets forth that
the words our Lord used in his prayer, "Not my will," pertain to his humanity; through
which also he is said, according to the teaching of Blessed Paul the Apostle of the
Gentiles, to have "become obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross. Wherefore also
it is taught us that he was obedient to his parents, which must piously be understood to
refer to his voluntary obedience, not according to his divinity (by which he governs all
things), but according to his humanity, by which he spontaneously submitted himself to his
parents. St.

23 Luke the Evangelist likewise bears witness to the same thing, telling how the same our
Lord Jesus Christ prayed according to his humanity to his Father, and said, "Father, if it
be possible let the cup pass from me; nevertheless not my will but thine be done,"-which
passage Athanasius, the Confessor of Christ, and Archbishop of the Church of Alexandria,
in his book against Apollinaris the heretic, concerning the Trinity and the Incarnation,
also understanding the wills to be two, thus explains: And when he says, "Father, if it be
possible, let this cup pass from me, nevertheless not my will but thine be done," and
again, "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak; he shews that there are two wills,
the one human which is the will of the flesh, but the other divine. For his human will,
out of the weakness of the flesh was fleeing away from the passion, but his divine will
was ready for it. What truer explanation could be found? For how is it possible not to
acknowledge in him two wills, to wit, a human and a divine, when in him, even after the
inseparable union, there are two natures according to the definitions of the synods? For
John also, who leaned upon the Lord's breast, his beloved disciple, shews forth the same
self-restraint in these words: "I came down from heaven not to do mine own will but the
will of the Father that sent me. And again:

24 "This is the will of him that sent me, thatof all that he gave me I should lose
nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. Again he introduces the Lord as
disputing with the Jews, and saying among other things: "I seek not mine own will, but the
will of him that sent me. On the meaning of which divine words blessed Augustine, a most
illustrious doctor, thus writes in his book against Maximinus the Arian. He says, "When
the Son says to the Father `Not what I will, but what thou wilt,' what doth it profit
thee, that thou broughtest thy words into subjection and sayest, It shews truly that his
will was subject to his Father, as though we would deny that the will of man should be
subject to the will of God? For that the Lord said this in his human nature, anyone will
quickly see who studies attentively this place of the Gospel. For therein he says, `My
soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto death.' Can this possibly be said of the nature of
the One Word? But, O man, who thinkest to make the nature of the Holy Ghost to groan, why
do you say that the nature of the Only-begotten Word of God cannot be sad?

25 But to prevent anyone arguing in this way, he does not say `I am sad;' (and even if he
had so said, it could properly only have been understood of his human nature) but he says
`My soul is sad,' which soul he has as man; however in this also which he said, `Not what
I will' he shewed that he willed something different from what the Father did, which he
could not have done except in his human nature, since he did not introduce our infirmity
into his divine nature, but would transfigure human affection. For had he not been made
man, the Only Word could in no way have said to the Father, `Not what I will.' For it
could never be possible for that immutable nature to will anything different from what the
Father willed. If you would but make this distinction, O ye Arians, ye would not be
heretics."

26 In this disputation this venerable Father shews that when the Lord says "his own" he
means the will of his humanity, and when he says not to do "his own will," he teaches us
not chiefly to seek our own wills but that through obedience we should submit our wills to
the Divine Will. From all which it is evident that he had a human will by which he obeyed
his Father, and that he had in himself this same human will immaculate from all sin, as
true God and man. Which thing St. Ambrose also thus treats of in his explanation of St.
Luke the Evangelist. [After this follows a catena of Patristic quotations which I have not
thought worth while to produce in full. After St. Ambrose he cites St. Leo, then St.
Gregory Nazianzen, then St. Augustine. (L. & C., col. 647.)] 27 From which testimonies it
is clear that each of those natures which the spiritual Doctor has here enumerated has its
own natural property, and that to each one a will ought to be assigned. For an angelic
nature cannot have a divine or a human will, neither can a human nature have a divine or
an angelic will. For no nature can have anything or any motion which pertains to another
nature but only that which is naturally given by creation. And as this is the truth of the
matter it is most certainly clear that we must needs confess that in our Lord Jesus Christ
there are two natures and substances, to wit, the Divine and human, united in his one
subsistence or person, and that we further confess that there are in him two natural
wills, viz.: the divine and the human, for his divinity so far as its nature is concerned
could not be said to possess a human will, nor should his humanity be believed to have
naturally a divine will: And again, neither of these two substances of Christ must be
confessed as being without a natural will; but his human will was lifted up by the
omnipotency of his divinity, and his divine will was revealed to men through his humanity.
Therefore it is necessary to refer to him as God such things as are divine, and as man
such things as are human;

28 and each must be truly recognized through the hypostatic union of the one and the same
our Lord Jesus Christ, which the most true decree of the Council of Chalcedon sets
forth-[Here follows citation. This same thing also the holy synod which was gathered
together in Constantinople in the time of the Emperor Justinian of august memory, teaches
in the viith. chapter of its definitions. [Here follows the citation,] Moreover it is
necessary that we should faithfully keep what those Venerable Synods taught, so that we
never take away the difference of natures as a result of the union, but confess one
Christ, true and perfect God and also true and perfect man, the propriety of each nature
being kept intact. Wherefore, if in no respect the difference of the natures of our Lord
Jesus Christ has been taken away, it is necessary that we preserve this same difference in
all its proprieties. For whoso teaches that the difference is in no respect to be taken
away, declares that it must be preserved in all things. But when the heretics and the
followers of heretics say that there is but one will and one operation, how is this
difference recognized? Or where is the difference which has been defined by this holy
Synod preserved?

29 While if it is asserted that there is but one will in him (which is absurd), those who
make this assertion must needs say that that will is either human or divine, or else
composite from both, mixed and confused, or (according to the teaching of all heretics)
that Christ has one will and one operation, proceeding from his one composite nature (as
they hold). And thus, without any doubt, the difference of nature is destroyed, which the
holy synods declared to be preserved in all respects even after the admirable union.
Because, though they taught that Christ was one, his person and substance one, yet on
account of the union of the natures which was made hypostatically, they likewise decreed
that we should clearly acknowledge and teach the difference of those natures which were
united in him, after the admirable union. Therefore if the proprieties of the natures in
the same our one Lord Jesus Christ were preserved on account of the difference [of the
natures], it is congruous that we should with full faith confess also the difference of
his natural wills and operations, in order that we may be shown to have followed in all
respects their doctrine, and may admit into the Church of Christ no heretical novelty.

30 And although there exist numerous works of the other holy Fathers, nevertheless we
subjoin to this our humble exposition a few testimonies out of the books which are in
Greek, for the sake of fastidiousness. [Here follows a catena of passages from the Greek
fathers, viz.: St. Gregory Theologus, St. Gregory Nyssen, St. John bishop of
Constantinople, St. Cyril, bishop of Alexandria. (L. & C., col. 654.)] From these truthful
testimonies it is also demonstrated that these venerable fathers predicated in the one and
the same Lord Jesus Christ two natural wills, viz.: a divine and a human, for when St.
Gregory Nazianzen says," The willing of that man who is understood to be the Saviour," he
shows that the human will of the Saviour was deified through its union with the Word, and
therefore it is not contrary to God. So likewise he proves that he had a human, although
deified will, and this same he had (as he teaches in what follows) as well as his divine
will, which was one and the same with that of the Father. If therefore he had a divine and
a deified will, he had also two wills. For what is divine by nature has no need of being
deified; and what is deified is not truly divine by nature. And when St. Gregory Nyssen, a
great bishop, says that the true confession of the mystery is, that there should be
understood one human will and another a divine will in Christ, what does he bid us
understand when he says one and another will, except that there are manifestly two wills?

31 [He next proceeds to comment upon the passage cited from St. John, then upon that from
St. Cyril of Alexandria. After this follow quotations from St. Hilary, St. Athanasius, St.
Denys the Areopagite, St. Ambrose, St. Leo, St. Gregory Nyssen, St. Cyril of Alexandria,
which are next commented on in their order. He then proceeds: (L. & C., col. 662.)] 32
There are not lacking most telling passages in other of the venerable fathers, who speak
clearly of the two natural operations in Christ, not to mention St. Cyril of Jerusalem,
St. John of Constantinople, or those who afterwards conducted the laborious conflicts in
defence of the venerable council of Chalcedon and of the Tome of St. Leo against the
heretics from whose error the assertion of this new dogma has arisen: that is to say,
John, bishop of Scythopolis, Eulogius, bishop of Alexandria, Euphraemius and Anastasius
the elder, most worthy rulers of the church of Theopolis, and above all that emulator of
the true and apostolic faith, the Emperor Justinian of pious memory, whose uprightness of
faith exalted the Christian State as much as his sincere confession pleased God. And his
pious memory is esteemed worthy of veneration by all nations, whose uprightness of faith
was disseminated with praise throughout the whole world by his most august edicts: one of
these, to wit, that addressed to Zoilus, the patriarch of Alexandria, against the heresy
of the Acephali to satisfy them of the rectitude of the apostolic faith, we offer to your
most tranquil Christianity, sending it together with this paper of our lowliness through
the same carriers.

33 But lest this declaration should be thought burdensome on account of its length, we
have inserted in this declaration of our humility only a few of the testimonies of the
Holy Fathers, especially [when writing to those] on whom the care and arrangement of the
whole world as on a firm foundation are recognized to rest; since this is altogether
incomparable and great, that the care of the whole Christian State being laid aside for a
little out of love and zeal for true religion, your august and most religious clemency
should desire to understand more clearly the doctrine of apostolical preaching. For from
the different approved fathers the truth of the Orthodox faith has become clear although
the treatment is short. For the approved fathers thought it to be superfluous to discourse
at length upon what was evident and clear to all; for who, even if he be dull of wit, does
not perceive what is evident to all? For it is impossible and contrary to the order of
nature that there should be a nature without a natural operation: and even the heretics
did not dare to say this, although they were, all of them, hunting for human craftiness
and cunning questions against the orthodoxy of the faith, and arguments agreeable to their
depravities.

34 How then can that now be asserted which never was said by the holy orthodox fathers,
nor even was presumptuously invented by the profane heretics, viz.: that of the two
natures of Christ, the divine and the human, the proprieties of each of which are
recognized as being preserved in Christ, that anyone in sound mind should declare there
was but one operation? Since if there is one, let them say whether it be temporal or
eternal, divine or human, uncreated or created: the same as that of the Father or
different from that of the Father. If therefore it is one, that one and the same must be
common to the divinity anti to the humanity (which is absurd), therefore while the Son of
God, who is both God and man, wrought human things on earth, likewise also the Father
worked with him according to his nature (naturaliter, fusikwj); for what things the Father
doeth these the Son also doeth likewise. But if (as is the truth) the human acts which
Christ did are to be referred to his person alone as the Son, which is not the same as
that of the Father; in one nature Christ worked one set of works, and in the other
another, so that according to his divinity the Son does the same things that the Father
does; and likewise according to his humanity, what things are proper to the manhood, those
same, he as man, did because he is truly both God and man.

35 For which reason we rightly believe that that same person, since he is one, has two
natural operations, to wit, the divine and the human, one uncreated, and the other
created, as true and perfect God and as true and perfect man, the one and the same, the
mediator between God and men, the Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore from the quality of the
operations there is recognized a difference void of offence (aproskopoj) of the natures
which are joined in Christ through the hypostatic union. We now proceed to cite some
passages from the execrable writings of the heretics hated of God, whose words and sayings
we equally abominate, for the demonstration of those things which our inventors of new
dogma have followed teaching that in Christ there is but one will and one operation. 36
[Then follow quotations from Apollinaris, Severus, Theodosius of Alexandria. (L. & C.,
col. 667.)] Behold, most pious lords and sons, by the testimonies of the holy Fathers, as
by spiritual rays, the doctrine of the Catholic and ApostolicChurch has been illustrated
and the darkness of heretical blindness, which is offering error to men for imitation, has
been revealed. Now it is necessary that the new doctrine should follow somebody, and by
whose authority it is supported, we shall note. [Here follow quotations from Cyrus of
Alexandria, Theodore of Pharon, Sergius of Constantinople, Pyrrhus, Paulus his succes-
sor, Peter his successor. (L. & C., col. 670.)] Let then your God-rounded clemency with
the internal eye of discrimination, which for the guidance of the Christian people you
have been deemed worthy to receive by the Grace of God, take heed which one of such
doctors you think the Christian people should follow, the doctrine of which one of these
they should embrace so as to be saved; for they condemn all, and each one of them the
other, according as the various and unstable definitions in their writings assert
sometimes that there is one will and one operation, sometimes that there is neither one
nor two operations, sometimes one will and operation, and again two wills and two
operations, likewise one will and one operation, and again neither one, nor two, and
somebody else one and two.

37 Who does not hate, and rage against, and avoid such blind errors, if he have any desire
to be saved and seek to offer to the Lord at his coming a right faith? Therefore the Holy
Church of God, the mother of your most Christian power, should be delivered and liberated
with all your might (through the help of God) from the errors of such teachers, and the
evangelical and apostolic uprightness of the orthodox faith, which has been established
upon the firm reek of this Church of blessed Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, which by
his grace and guardianship remains free from all error, [that faith I say] the whole
number of rulers and priests, of the clergy and of the people, unanimously should confess
and preach with us as the true declaration of the Apostolic tradition, in order to please
God and to save their own souls.

38 And these things we have taken pains to insert in the tractate of our humility, for we
have been afflicted and have groaned without ceasing that such grievous errors should be
entertained by bishops of the l Church, who are zealous to establish their own peculiar
views rather than the truth of the faith, and think that our sincere fraternal admonition
has its spring in a contempt for them. And indeed the apostolic predecessors of my
humility admonished, begged, upbraided, besought, reproved, and exercised every kind of
exhortation that the recent wound bright receive a remedy, moved thereto not by a mind
filled with hatred (God is my witness) nor through the elation of boasting, nor through
the opposition of contention, nor through an inane desire to find some fault with their
teachings, nor through anything akin to the love of arrogance, but out of zeal for the
uprightness of the truth, and for the rule of the confession of the pure Gospel, and for
the salvation of souls, and for the stability of the Christian state, and for the safety
of those who rule the Roman Empire. Nor did they cease from their admonitions after the
long duration of this domesticated error, but always exhorted and bore record, and that
with fraternal charity, not through malice or pertinacious hatred (far be it from the
Christian heart to rejoice at another's fall, when the Lord of all teaches, "I desire not
the death of a sinner, but that he be converted and live;

39 and who rejoiceth over one sinner that repenteth more than over ninety-and-nine just
persons: who came down from heaven to earth to deliver the lost sheep, inclining the power
of his majesty), but desiring them with outstretched spiritual arms, and exhorting to
embrace them returning to the unity of the orthodox faith, and awaiting their conversion
to the full rectitude of the orthodox faith: that they might not make themselves aliens
from our communion, that is from the communion of blessed Peter the Apostle, whose
ministry, we (though unworthy) exercise, and preach the faith he has handed down, but that
they should together with us pray Christ the Lord, the spotless sacrifice, for the
stability of your most strong and serene Empire. 40 We believe, most pious lords [singular
in the Latin] of all things, that there has been left no possible ambiguity which can
prevent therecognizing of those who have followed the inventors of new dogma. For the
sweetness of spiritual understanding with which the sayings of the Fathers are full has
become evident to the eyes of all; and the stench of the heretics, to be avoided by all
the faithful, has been made notorious. Nor has it remained unknown that the inventors of
new dogma have been shewn to be the followers of heretics, and not the walkers in the
footsteps of the holy Fathers: therefore whoever wishes to colour any error of his
whatever, is condemned by the light of truth, as the Apostle of the Gentiles says, "For
everything that doth make manifest is light," for the truth ever remains constant and the
same, but falsehood is ever varying, and in its wanderings adopting things mutually
contradictory. On this account the inventors of the new dogma have been shewn to have
taught things mutually contradictory, because they were not willing to be followers of the
Evangelical and Apostolic faith. Wherefore since the truth has shone forth by the
observations of your God-inspired piety, and falsity which has been exposed has attained
the contempt which it deserved, it remains that the crowned truth may shine forth
victoriously through the pious favours of your God-crowned clemency;

41 and that the error of novelty with it inventors and with those who follow their
doctrine, may receive the punishment due their presumption, and be cast forth from the
midst of the orthodox prelates for the heretical pravity of their innovation, which into
the holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church of Christ they have endeavoured to introduce, and
to stain with the contagion of heretical pravity the indivisible and unspotted body of the
Church [of Christ]. For it is not just that the injurious should injure the innocent, nor
that the offences of some should be visited upon the inoffensive, for even if in this
world to the condemned mercy is extended, yet they who are thus spared reap for that
sparing no benefit in the judgment of God, and by those thus sparing them there is
incurred no little danger for their unlawful compassion. 42 But we believe that Almighty
God has reserved for the happy days of your gentleness the amending of these things, that
filling on earth the place and zeal of our Lord Jesus Christ himself, who has vouchsafed
to crown your rule, ye may judge just judgment for his Evangelical and Apostolical truth:
for although he be the Redeemer and Saviour of the human race yet he suffered injury, and
bore it even until now, and inspired the empire of your fortitude, so that you should be
worthy to follow the cause of his faith (as equity demanded, and as the determination of
the Holy Fathers and of the Five General Synods decreed), and that you should avenge,
through his guardianship, on the spurners of his faith, the injury done your Redeemer and
Colleague in reigning, thus fulfilling magnanimously with imperial clemency that prophetic
utterance with which David the King and Prophet, spake to God, saying, "The zeal of thine
house hath eaten me up. Wherefore having been extolled for so God-pleasing a zeal, he was
deemed fit to hear that blessed word spoken by the Creator of all men, "I have found
David, a man after my heart, who will do all my will. And to him also it was promised in
the Psalms, "I have found David, my servant, with my holy oil have I anointed him:

43 My hand shall aid him and my arm shall comfort him," so that the most pious majesty of
your Christian clemency may work to further the cause of Christ with burning zeal for the
sake of remuneration, and may he make all the acts of your most powerful empire both happy
and prosperous, who hath stored up his promise in the Holy Gospels, saying," Seek ye first
the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you. For all, to whom has come
the knowledge of the sacred heads, have been offering innumerable thanksgivings and
unceasing praises to the defender of your most powerful dominion, being filled with
admiration for the greatness of your clemency, in that you have so benignly set forth the
kind intention of your august magnanimity; for in truth, as most pious and most just
princes, you have deigned to treat divine things with the fear of God, having promised
every immunity to those persons sent to you from our littleness.

44 And we are confident that what your pious clemency has promised, you are powerful to
carry out, in order that what has been vowed and promised to God by the religious
philanthropy beyond your Christian power, may nevertheless be fulfilled by the aid of his
omnipotency. Wherefore let praise by all Christian nations, and eternal memory, and
frequent prayer be poured forth before the Lord Christ, whose is the cause, for your
safety, and your triumphs, and your complete victory, that the nations of the Gentiles,
being impressed by the terror of the supernal majesty, may lay down most humbly their
necks beneath the sceptre of your most powerful rule, that the power of your most pious
kingdom may continue until the ceaseless joy of the eternal kingdom succeeds to this
temporal reign. Nor could anything be found more likely to commend the clemency of your
unconquerable fortitude to the divine majesty, than that those who err from the rule of
truth should be repelled and the integrity of our Evangelical and Apostolic faith should
be everywhere set forth and preached.

45 Moreover, most pious and God-instructed sons and lords, if the Archbishop of the Church
of Constantinople shall choose to hold and to preach with us this most unblameable rule of
Apostolic doctrine of the Sacred Scriptures, of the venerable synods, of the spiritual
Fathers, according to their evangelical understanding, through which the form of the truth
has been set forth by us through the assistance of the Spirit, there will ensue great
peace to them that love the name of God, and there will remain no scandal of dissension,
and that will come to pass which is recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, when through the
grace of the Holy Spirit the people had come to the acknowledging of Christianity, all of
us will be of one heart and of one mind. But if (which God forbid! he shall prefer to
embrace the novelty but lately introduced by others;

46 and shall ensnare himself with doctrines which are alien to the rule of orthodox truth
and of our Apostolic faith, to decline which as injurious to souls' these have put off,
despite the exhortation and admonitions of our predecessors in the Apostolic See, down to
this day, he himself should know what kind of an answer he will have to give for such
contempt in the divine examination of Christ before the judge of all, who is in heaven, to
whom when he cometh to judgment also we ourselves are about to give an account of the
ministry of preaching the truth which has been committed to us, or for the toleration of
things contrary to the Christian religion: and may we (as I humbly pray) preserve
unconfusedly and freely, with simplicity and purity, whole and undefiled, the Apostolic
and Evangelical rule of the right faith as we have received it from the beginning. And may
your most august serenity, for the affection and reverence which you bear to the Catholic
and Apostolic right faith, receive the perfect reward of your pious labours from our Lord
Jesus Christ himself, the ruler with you of your Christian empire, whose true confession
you desire to preserve undefiled, because nothing in any respect has been neglected or
omitted by your God-crowned clemency, which could minister to the peace of the churches,
provided always that the integrity of the true faith was maintained:

47 since God, the Judge of all, who disposes the ending of all matters as he deems most
expedient, seeks out the intent of the heart, and will accept a zeal for piety. Therefore
I exhort you, O most pious and clement Emperor, and together with my littleness every
Christian man exhorts you on bended knee with all humility, that to all the God-pleasing
goodnesses and admirable imperial benefits which the heavenly condescension has vouchsafed
to grant to the human race through your God-accepted care, this also you would order, for
the redintegration of perfect piety, to offer an acceptable sacrifice to Christ the Lord
your fellow-ruler, granting entire impunity, and free faculty of speech to each one
wishing to speak, and to urge a word in defence of the faith which he believes and holds,
so that it may most manifestly be recognized by all that by no terror, by no force, by no
threat or aversion any one wishing to speak for the truth of the Catholic and Apostolic
faith, has been prohibited or repulsed, and that all unanimously may glorify your imperial
(divinam) majesty, throughout the whole since of their lives for so great and so
inestimable a good, and may pour forth unceasing prayers to Christ the Lord that your most
strong empire may be preserved untouched and exalted. The Subscription. May the grace from
above keep your empire, most pious lords, and place beneath its feet the neck of all the
nations.


QUINISEXT COUNCIL (AD 692): THE CANONS
======================================

QUINISEXT COUNCIL (AD 692): THE CANONS The Quinisext Council, also called the Council in
Trullo, met at Constantinople in AD 692 to make disciplinary canons for the churches, as a
supplement to the fifth and sixth councils. Only the first six of its one hundred and two
canons are included here.

INTRODUCTION

(Labbe and Cossart, Concilia, Tom. VI., col. 1135 et seqq.)

CANON I

That order is best of all which makes every word and act begin and end in God. Wherefore
that piety may be clearly set forth by us and that the Church of which Christ is the
foundation may be continually increased and advanced, and that it may be exalted above the
cedars of Lebanon; now therefore we, by divine grace at the beginning of our decrees,
define that the faith set forth by the God-chosen Apostles who themselves had both seen
and were ministers of the Word, shall be preserved without any innovation, unchanged and
inviolate. Moreover the faith of the three hundred and eighteen holy and blessed fathers
who were assembled at Nice under Constantine our Emperor, against the impious Arius, and
the gentile diversity of deity or rather (to speak accurately) multitude of gods taught by
him, who by the unanimous acknowledgment of the faithful revealed and declared to us the
consubstantiality of the Three Persons comprehended in the Divine Nature, not suffering
this faith to lie hidden under the bushel of ignorance, but openly teaching the faithful
to adore with one worship the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, confuting and
scattering to the winds the opinion of different grades, and demolishing and overturning
the puerile toyings fabricated out of sand by the heretics against orthodoxy.

Likewise also we confirm that faith which was set forth by the one hundred and fifty
fathers who in the time of Theoriesins the Elder, our Emperor, assembled in this imperial
city, accepting their decisions with regard to the Holy Ghost in assertion of his godhead,
and expelling the profane Macedonius (together with all previous enemies of the truth) as
one who dared to judge Him to be a servant who is Lord, and who wished to divide, like a
robber, the inseparable unity, so that there might be no perfect mystery of our faith. And
together with this odious and detestable contender against the truth, we condemn
Apollinaris, priest of the same iniquity, who impiously belched forth that the Lord
assumed a body unendowed with a soul, thence also inferring that his salvation wrought for
us was imperfect. Moreover what things were set forth by the two hundred God-bearing
fathers in the city of Ephesus in the days of Theodosius our Emperor, the son of Arcadius;
these doctrines we assent to as the unbroken strength of piety, teaching that Christ the
incarnate Son of God is one; and declaring that she who bare him without human seed was
the immaculate Ever-Virgin, glorifying her as literally and in very truth the Mother of
God. We condemn as foreign to the divine scheme the absurd division of Nestorius, who
teaches that the one Christ consists of a man separately and of the Godhead separately and
renews the Jewish impiety.

Moreover we confirm that faith which at Chalcedon, the Metropolis, was set forth in
accordance with orthodoxy by the six hundred and thirty God-approved fathers in the time
of Marcian, who was our Emperor, which handed down with a great and mighty voice, even
unto the ends of the earth, that the one Christ, the son of God, is of two natures, and
must be glorified in these two natures, and which cast forth from the sacred precincts of
the Church as a black pestilence to be avoided, Eutyches, babbling stupidly and inanely,
and teaching that the great mystery of the incarnation (oikonwmiaj) was perfected in
thought only. And together with him also Nestorius and Dioseorus of whom the former was
the defender and champion of the division, the latter of the confusion [of the two natures
in the one Christ], both of whom fell away from the divergence of their impiety to a
common depth of perdition and denial of God.

Also we recognize as inspired by the Spirit the pious voices of the one hundred and sixty-
five God-beating fathers who assembled in this imperial city in the time of our Emperor
Justinian of blessed memory, and we teach them to those who come after us; for these
synodically anathematized and execrated Theodore of Mopsuestia (the teacher of Nestorius),
and Origen, and Didymus, and Evagrius, all of whom reintroduced feigned Greek myths, and
brought back again the circlings of certain bodies and souls, and deranged turnings [or
transmigrations] to the wanderings or dreamings of their minds, and impiously insulting
the resurrection of the dead. Moreover [they condemned] what things were written by
Theodoret against the right faith and against the Twelve Chapters of blessed Cyril, and
that letter which is said to have been written by Ibas. Also we agree to guard untouched
the faith of the Sixth Holy Synod, which first assembled in this imperial city in the time
of Constantine, our Emperor, of blessed memory, which faith received still greater
confirmation from the fact that the pious Emperor ratified with his own signet that which
was written for the security of future generations. This council taught that we should
openly profess our faith that in the incarnation of Jesus Christ, our true God, there are
two natural wills or volitions and two natural operations; and condemned by a just
sentence those who adulterated the true doctrine and taught the people that in the one
Lord Jesus Christ there is but one will and one operation; to wit, Theodore of Pharan,
Cyrus of Alexandria, Honorius of Rome, Sergius, Pyrrhus, Paul and Peter, who were bishops
of this God-preserved city; Macarius, who was bishop of Antioch; Stephen, who was his
disciple, and the insane Polychronius, depriving them henceforth from the communion of the
body of Christ our God.

And, to say so once for all, we decree that the faith shall stand firm and remain
unsullied until the end of the world as well as the writings divinely handed down and the
teachings of all those who have beautified and adorned the Church of God and were lights
in the world, having embraced the word of life. And we reject and anathematize those whom
they rejected and anathematized, as being enemies of the truth, and as insane ragers
against God, and as lifters up of iniquity. But if any one at all shall not observe and
embrace the aforesaid pious decrees, and teach and preach in accordance therewith, but
shall attempt to set himself in opposition thereto, let him be anathema, according to the
decree already promulgated by the up-proved holy and blessed Fathers, and let him be cast
out and stricken off as an alien from the number of Christians. For our decrees add
nothing to the things previously defined, nor do they take anything away, nor have we any
such power.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon I. No innovation upon the faith of the Apostles to be allowed.
The faith of the Nicene fathers is perfect, which overthrows through the homousionthe
doctrines of Arius who introduced degrees into the Godhead. The Synod held under
Theodosius the great shall be held inviolate, which deposed Macedonius who asserted that
the Holy Ghost was a servant. The two hundred who under Theodosius the Younger assembled
at Ephesus are to be reversedfor they expelled Nestorius who asserted that the Lord was
man and God separately (idikwj).Those who assembled at Chalcedon in the timeof Marcion are
to be celebrated with eternal remembrance, who deposed Eutyches. who dared to say that the
great mystery was accomplished only in image, as well as Nestorius and Dioscorus,
observing equal things in an opposite direction. One hundred and sixty-five were assembled
in the imperial city by Justinian, who anathematized Origen, for teaching periods
(periodouj) of bodies and souls, and Theodoret who dared to set himself up to oppose the
Twelve Chapters of Cyril.

At Constantinople a Synod was collected tinder Constantine which rejected Honorius of Rome
and Sergius, prelate of Constantinople, for teaching one will and one operation.
Aristenus. The fifth was held in the time of Justinian the Great at Constantinople against
the crazy (parafronj) Origen, Evagrius and Didymus, who remodelled the Greek figments, and
stupidly said that the same bodies they had joined with them would not rise again; and
that Paradise was not subject to the appreciation of the sense, and that it was not from
God, and that Adam was not formed in flesh, and that there would be an end of punishment,
and a restitution of the devils to their pristine state, and other innumerable insane
blasphemies.

CANON II

IT has also seemed good to this holy Council, that the eighty-five canons, received and
ratified by the holy and blessed Fathers before us, and also handed down to us in the name
of the holy and glorious Apostles should from this time forth remain firm and unshaken for
the cure of souls and the healing of disorders. And in these canons we are bidden to
receive the Constitutions of the Holy Apostles [written] by Clement. But formerly through
the agency of those who erred from the faith certain adulterous matter was introduced,
clean contrary to piety, for the polluting of the Church, which obscures the elegance and
beauty of the divine decrees in their present form. We therefore reject these
Constitutions so as the better to make sure of the edification and security of the most
Christian flock; by no means admitting the offspring of heretical error, and cleaving to
the pure and perfect doctrine of the Apostles. But we set our seal likewise upon all the
other holy canons set forth by our holy and blessed Fathers, that is, by the 318 holy God-
bearing Fathers assembled at Nice, and those at Ancyra, further those at NeoCaesarea and
likewise those at Gangra, and besides, those at Antioch in Syria: those too at Laodicea in
Phrygia: and likewise the 150 who assembled in this heaven-protected royal city: and the
200 who assembled the first time in the metropolis of the Ephesians, and the 630 holy and
blessed Fathers at Chalcedon. In like manner those of Sardica, and those of Carthage:

those also who again assembled in this heaven-protected royal city under its bishop
Nectarins and Theophilus Archbishop of Alexandria. Likewise too the Canons [i.e. the
decretal letters] of Dionysius, formerly Archbishop of the great city of Alexandria; and
of Peter, Archbishop of Alexandria and Martyr; of Gregory the Wonder-worker, Bishop of
NeoCaesarea; of Athanasius, Archbishop of Alexandria; of Basil, Archbishop of Caesarea in
Cappadocia; of Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa; of Gregory Theologus; of Amphilochius of Iconium;
of Timothy, Archbishop of Alexandria; of Theophilus, Archbishop of the same great city of
Alexandria; of Cyril, Archbishop of the same Alexandria; of Gennadius, Patriarch of this
heaven-protected royal city. Moreover the Canon set forth by Cyprian, Archbishop of the
country of the Africans and Martyr, and by the Synod under him, which has been kept only
in the country of the aforesaid Bishops, according to the custom delivered down to them.
And that no one be allowed to transgress or disregard the aforesaid canons, or to receive
others beside them, supposititiously set forth by certain who have attempted to make a
traffic of the truth. But should any one be convicted of innovating upon, or attempting to
overturn, any of the afore-mentioned canons, he shall be subject to receive the penalty
which that canon imposes, and to be cured by it of his transgression.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon II. Whatever additions have been made throughguile by the
heterodox in the Apostolic Constitu-tions edited by Clement, shall be cut out. This canon
defines what canons are to be understood as having received the sanction of ecumenical
authority, and since these canons of the Council in Trullo were received at the Seventh
Ecumenical Council in its first canon as the canons of the Sixth Ecumenical (of which the
Quinisext claimed to be a legitimate continuation) there can be no doubt that all these
canons enumerated in this canon are set forth for the guidance of the Church. With regard
to what councils are intended: there is difficulty only in two particulars, viz., the
"Council of Constantinople under Necta- rius and Theophilus," and the "Council under
Cyprian;" the former must be the Council of 394, and the latter is usually considered to
be the III. Synod of Carthage, a.d. 257.

Fleury. (H.E. Liv. xl., chap. xlix.) The Council of Constantinople under Nectarius and
Theophilus of Alexandria must be that held in 394, at the dedication of Ruffinus's Church;
but we have not its canons. ... "The canon published by St. Cyprian for the African Church
alone." It is difficult to understand what canon is referred to unless it is the preface
to the council of St. Cyprian where he says that no one should pretend to be bishop of
bishops, or to oblige his colleagues to obey him by tyrannical fear. It will be noticed
that while the canon is most careful to mention the exact number of Apostolic canons it
received, thus deciding in favour of the larger code, it is equally careful not to assign
them an Apostolic origin, but merely to say that they had come down to them "in the name
of" the Apostles. In the face of this it is strange to find Balsamon saying, "Through this
canon their mouth is stopped who say that 85 canons were not set forth by the holy
Apostles;" what the council did settle, so far as its authority went, was the number not
the authorship of the canons. This, I think, is all that Balsamon intended to assert, but
his words might easily be quoted as having a different meaning.

This canon is found, in part, in the Corpus Juris Canonici, Gratian's Decretum, Pars I.,
Dist. XVI, c. VII.

CANON III

Since our pious and Christian Emperor has addressed this holy and ecumenical council, in
order that it might provide for the purity of those who are in the list of the clergy, and
who transmit divine things to others, and that they may be blameless ministrants, and
worthy of the sacrifice of the great God, who is both Offering and High Priest, a
sacrifice apprehended by the intelligence: and that it might cleanse away the pollutions
wherewith these have been branded by unlawful marriages: now whereas they of the most holy
Roman Church purpose to keep the rule of exact perfection, but those who are under the
throne of this heaven-protected and royal city keep that of kindness and consideration, so
blending both together as our fathers have done, and as the love of God requires, that
neither gentleness fall into licence, nor severity into harshness; especially as the fault
of ignorance has reached no small number of men, we decree, that those who are involved in
a second marriage, and have been slaves to sin up to the fifteenth of the past month of
January, in the past fourth Indiction, the 6109th year, and have not resolved to repent of
it, be subjected to canonical deposition:

but that they who are involved in this disorder of a second marriage, but before our
decree have acknowledged what is fitting, and have cut off their sin, and have put far
from them this strange and illegitimate connexion, or they whose wives by second marriage
are already dead, or who have turned to repentance of their own accord, having learnt
continence, and having quickly forgotten their former iniquities, whether they be
presbyters or deacons, these we have determined should cease from all priestly
ministrations or exercise, being under punishment for a certain time, but should retain
the honour of their seat and station, being satisfied with their seat before the laity and
begging with tears from the Lord that the transgression of their ignorance be pardoned
them: for unfitting it were that he should bless another who has to tend his own wounds.
But those who have been married to one wife, if she was a widow, and likewise those who
after their ordination have unlawfully entered into one marriage that is, presbyters, and
deacons, and subdeacons, being debarred for some short time from sacred ministration, and
censured, shall be restored again to their proper rank, never advancing to any further
rank, their unlawful marriage being openly dissolved.

This we decree to hold good only in the case of those that are involved in the aforesaid
faults up to the fifteenth (as was said) of the month of January, of the fourth Indiction,
decreeing from the present time, and renewing the Canon which declares, that he who has
been joined in two marriages after his baptism, or has had a concubine, cannot be bishop,
or presbyter, or deacon, or at all on the sacerdotal list; in like manner, that he who has
taken a widow, or a divorced person, or a harlot, or a servant, or an actress, cannot be
bishop, or presbyter, or deacon, or at all on the sacerdotal list.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon III. Priests who shall have contracted second marriages and will
not give them up are to be deposed. But those who leave off the wickedness, let them cease
for a fixed period. For he that is himself wounded does not bless. But who are implicated
in nefarious marriage and who after ordination have contracted marriage, after a definite
time they shall be restored to their grade, provided they remain without offence, having
plainly brown off the marriage. But if after it shall have been prohibited by this decree
they attempt to do so they shall remain deposed. Zonaras. What things pertain to this
third canon are only adapted to the time in which the canon was passed; and afterwards are
of no force at all. But what things the Fathers wished to be binding on posterity are
contained in the seventeenth and eighteenth canons of the holy Apostles, which as having
been neglected during the course of time this synod wished to renew.

Van Espen. It is clear from this canon that the Emperor very especially intended that the
indulgence which the Church of Constantinople extended to its presbyters and deacons in
allowing them the use of marriage entered into before ordination, should not be allowed to
go any further, nor to be an occasion for the violation of that truly Apostolic canon,
"The bishop, the presbyter, and the deacon must be the husband of one wife." I. Tim. iii.
2. For never did the Constantinopolitan nor any other Eastern Church allow by canon a
digamist (or a man successively the husband of many wives) to be advanced to the order of
presbyter or deacon, or to use any second marriage. Antonio Pereira. (Tentativa
Theologica. [Eng. trans.] III. Principle, p. 79.) In the same manner a second marriage
always, and everywhere, incapacitated the clergy for Holy Orders and the Episcopate. This
appears from St. Paul, 1 Tim. Chap. iii., and Titus, Chap. i., and it was expressly
enactedby the sixteenth of the Apostolical Canons, renewed by the Popes Siricius, Innocent
and Leo the Great, and may be gathered from the ancient fathers and councils generally
received in the Church.

Nevertheless we know from Theodoret, Bishop of Cyrus, that many bishops remarkable for
their learning and sanctity, frequently dispensed with this Apostolical law; as Alexander
of Antioch, Acacius of Berea, Prayline of Jerusalem, Proclus of Constantinople, and
others, by whose example Theodoret defends his own conduct in the case of Irenaaeus, in
ordaining him Archbishop of Tyre, although he had been twice married. But what is more
surprising in this matter is that, notwithstanding the eleventh Decretal of Siricius, and
the twelfth of Innocentius the First, that they who had either been twice married, or had
married widows, were incapable of ordination, and ought to be deposed; the Council of
Toledo, Canon 3, and the First Council of Orange, Canon 25, both dispensed with these
Pontifical laws. The first, in order that those who had married widows might remain in
holy orders; the second, that such as had twice married might be promoted to the order of
subdeacon. Socrates also observes that although it was a general law not to admit
catechumens to orders, the bishops of Alexandria were in the habit of promoting such to
the order of readers and singers.

Fleury. (H. E., Liv. XL., chap. 1.) These canons of the Council of Trullo have served ever
since to the Greeks and to all the Christians of the East as the universal rule with
regard to clerical continence,and they have been now in full force for a thousand years.
That is to say, It is not permitted to men who are clerics in Holy Orders to marry after
their ordination. Bishops must keep perfect continence, whether before their consecration
they are married or not. Priests, deacons, and subdeacons already married can keep their
wives and live with them, except on the days they are to approach the holy mysteries.

CANON IV

IF any bishop, presbyter, deacon, sub-deacon, lector, cantor, or door-keeper has had
intercourse with a woman dedicated to God, let him be deposed, as one who has corrupted a
spouse of Christ, but if a layman let him be cut off.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon IV. A cleric coupled to a spouse of God shall be deposed In the
case of a layman he shall be cut off. This canon is found in the Corpus Juris Canonici,
Gratian's Decretum, Pars II., Causa XXVII., Q. I., c. vj. A layman ravishing a nun, by
secular law was punished by death. Balsamon gives the reference thus: V Cap. primi tit.
iiij. Lib. Basilic. or cxxiij. Novel.

CANON V

Let none of those who are on the priestly list possess any woman or maid servant, beyond
those who are enumerated in the canon as being persons free from suspicion, preserving
himself hereby from being implicated in any blame. But if anyone transgresses our decree
let him be deposed. And let eunuchs also observe the same rule, that by foresight they may
be free of censure. But those who transgress, let them be deposed, if indeed they are
clerics; but if laymen let them be excommunicated.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon V. A priest, even if a eunuch, shall not have in his house a maid
or other woman except those on whom no suspicion can light. See Canon III., of First
Ecumenical Council at Nice. This canon adds Eunuchs.

CANON VI

Since it is declared in the apostolic canons that of those who are advanced to the clergy
unmarried, only lectors and cantors are able to marry; we also, maintaining this,
determine that henceforth it is in nowise lawful for any subdeacon, deacon or presbyter
after his ordination to contract matrimony but if he shall have dared to do so, let him be
deposed. And if any of those who enter the clergy, wishes to be joined to a wife in lawful
marriage before he is ordained subdeacon, deacon, or presbyter, let it be done.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon VI. If any ordained person contracts matrimony, let him be
deposed. If he wishes to be married he should become so before his ordination. Aristenus
points out how this canon annuls the tenth canon of Ancyra, which allows a deacon and even
a presbyter to marry after ordination and continue in his ministry, provided at the time
of his ordination he had in the presence of witnesses declared his inability to remain
chaste or his desire to marry. This present canon follows the XXVI of the Apostolic
canons. The last clause of this canon, limited in its application to subdeacons, is found
in the Corpus Juris Canonici, Gratian's Decretum, Pars I., Dist. XXXII., c. vi.


COUNCIL OF NICAEA (AD 787): SHORTER WRITINGS
============================================

COUNCIL OF NICAEA (AD 787) Shorter Writings

Shorter documents of the Seventh Ecumenical Council, the second council of Nicaea, which
met in AD 787 and restored the veneration of images: extracts from the proceedings, the
decree of the council and the imperial letters.

EXTRACTS FROM THE ACTS: SESSION 1

1 (Labbe and Cossart, Concilia, Tom. VII., col. 53.) [Certain bishops who had been led
astray by the Iconoclasts came, asking to be received back. The first of these was Basil
of Ancyra.] The bishop Basil of Ancyra read as follows from a book; Inasmuch as
ecclesiastical legislation has canonically been handed down from past time, even from the
beginning from the holy Apostles, and from their successors, who were our holy fathersand
teachers, and also from the six holy and ecumenical synods, and from the local synods
which were gathered in the interests of orthodoxy, that those returning from any heresy
whatever to the orthodox faith and to the tradition of the Catholic Church, might deny
their own heresy, and confess the orthodox faith, Wherefore I, Basil, bishop of the city
of Ancyra, proposing to be united to the Catholic Church, and to Hadrian the most holy
Pope of Old Rome, and to Tarasius the most blessed Patriarch, and to the most holy
apostolic sees, to wit, Alexandria, Antioch, and the Holy City, as well as to all orthodox
high-priests and priests, make this written confession of my faith, and I offer it to you
as to those who have received power by apostolic authority. And in this also I beg pardon
from your divinely gathered holiness for my tardiness in this matter. For it was not right
that I should have fallen behind in the confession of orthodoxy, but it arose from my
entire lack of knowledge, and slothful and negligent mind in the matter. Wherefore the
rather Iask your blessedness to grant me indulgence in God's sight.

2 I believe, therefore, and make my confession in one God, the Father Almighty, and in one
Lord Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, and in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of
Life. The Trinity, one in essence and one in majesty, must be worshipped and glorified in
one godhead, power, and authority. I confess all things pertaining to the incarnation of
one of the Holy Trinity, our Lord and God, Jesus Christ, as the Saints and the six
Ecumenical Synods have handed down. And I reject and anathematize every heretical
babbling, as they also have rejected them. I ask for the intercessions (presbeiaj) of our
spotless Lady the Holy Mother of God, and those of the holy and heavenly powers, and those
of all the Saints. 3 And receiving their holy and honourable reliques with all honour
(timhj), I salute and venerate these with honour (timhtikwj proskunew), hoping to have a
share in their heliness. Likewise also the venerable images (eikonaj) of the incarnation
of our Lord Jesus Christ, in the humanity he assumed for our salvation; and of our
spotless Lady, the holy Mother of God; and of the angels like unto God; and of the holy
Apostles, Prophets, Martyrs, and of all the Saints-the sacred images of all these, I
salute and venerate -rejecting and anathematizing with my whole soul and mind the synod
which was gathered together out of stubbornness and madness, and which styled itself the
Seventh Synod, but which by those who think accurately was called lawfully and canonically
a pseudo-synod, as being contrary to all truth and piety, arm audaciously and
temerariously against the divinely handed down ecclesiastical legislation, yea, even
impiously baring yelped at and scoffed at the holy and venerable images, and having
ordered these to be taken away out of the holy churches of God; over which assembly
presided Theodosius with time pseudonym of Ephesius, Sisinnius of Perga, with the surname
Pastillas, Basilius of Pisidia, falsely called "tricaccabus;" with whom the wretched
Constantine, the then Patriarch, was led (emataiwqh) astray.

4 These things thus I confess and to these I assent, and therefore in simplicity of heart
and in uprightness of mind, in the presence of God, I have made the subjoined
anathematisms. Anathema to the calumniators of the Christians, that is to the image
breakers. Anathema to those who apply the words of Holy Scripture which were spoken
against idols, to the venerable images. Anathema to those who do not salute the holy and
venerable images. Anathema to those who say that Christians have recourse to the images as
to gods. Anathema to those who call the sacred images idols. Anathema to those who
knowingly communicate with those who revile and dishonour the venerable images. Anathema
to those who say that another than Christ our Lord hath delivered us from idols. Anathema
to those who spurn the teachings of the holy Fathers and the tradition of the Catholic
Church, taking as a pretext and making their own the arguments of Arius, Nestorius,
Eutyches, and Dioscorus, that unless we were evidently taught by the Old and New
Testaments, we should not follow the teachings of the holy Fathers and of the holy
Ecumenical Synods, and the tradition of the Catholic Church.

5 Anathema to those who dare to say that the Catholic Church hath at any time sanctioned
idols. Anathema to those who say that the making of images is a diabolical invention and
not a tradition of our holy Fathers. This is my confession [of faith] and to these
propositions I give my assent. And I pronounce this with my whole heart, and soul, and
mind. And if at any time by the fraud of the devil (which may God forbid!) I voluntarily
or involuntarily shall be opposed to what I have now professed, may I be anathema from the
Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, and from the Catholic Church and every hierarchical
order a stranger. I will keep myself from every acceptance of a bribe and from filthy
lucre in accordance with the divine canons of the holy Apostles and of the approved
Fathers. Tarasius, the most holy Patriarch, said: This whole sacred gathering yields glory
and thanks to God for this confession of yours, which you have made to the Catholic
Church.

6 The Holy Synod said: Glory to God which maketh one that which was severed. [Theodore,
bishop of Myra, then read the same confession, and was received. The next bishop who asked
to be received read as follows: (col. 60)] Theodosius, the humble Christian, to the holy
and Ecumenical Synod: I confess and I agree to (suntiqemai) and I receive and I salute and
I venerate in the first place the spotless image of our Lord Jesus Christ, our true God,
and the holy image of her who bore him without seed, the holy Mother of God, and her help
and protection and intercessions each day and night as a sinner to my aid I call for,
since she has confidence with Christ our God, as he was born of her. Likewise also I
receive and venerate the images of the holy and most laudable Apostles, prophets, and
martyrs and the fathers and cultivators of the desert. Not indeed as gods (God forbid!) do
I ask all these with my whole heart to pray for me to God, that he may grant me through
their intercessions to find mercy at his hands at the day of judgment, for in this I am
but showing forth more clearly the affection and love of my soul which I have borne them
from the first. Likewise also I venerate and honour and salute the reliques of the Saints
as of those who fought for Christ and who have received grace from him for the healing of
diseases and the curing of sicknesses and the casting out of devils, as the Christian
Church has received from the holy Apostles and Fathers even down to us to-day.

7 Moreover, I am well pleased that there should be images in the churches of the faithful,
especially the image of our Lord Jesus Christ and of the holy Mother of God, of every kind
of material, both gold and silver and of every colour, so that his incarnation may be set
forth to all men. Likewise there may be painted the lives of the Saints and Prophets and
Martyrs, so that their struggles and agonies may be set forth in brief, for the stirring
up and teaching of the people, especially of the unlearned. 8 For if the people go forth
with lights and incense to meet the "laurata" and images of the Emperors when they are
sent to cities or rural districts, they honour surely not the tablet covered over with
wax, but the Emperor himself. How much more is it necessary that in the churches of Christ
our God, the image of God our Saviour and of his spotless Mother and of all the holy and
blessed fathers and ascetics should be painted? Even as also St. Basil says: "Writers and
painters set forth the great deeds of war; the one by word, the other by their pencils;
and each stirs many to, courage. And again the same author "How much pains have you ever
takenthat you might find one of the Saints whowas willing to be your importunate
intercessor to the Lord? And Chrysostomsays, "The charity of the Saints is not diminished
by their death, nor does it come toan end with their exit from life, but after their death
they are still more powerful than when they were alive," and many otherthings without
measure. Therefore I askyou, O ye Saints! I call out to you. I have sinned against heaven
and in your sight.Receive me as God received the luxurious man, and the harlot, and the
thief. Seek me out, as Christ sought out the sheep that was lost, which he carried on his
shoulders; so that there may be joy in the presence of God and of his angels over my
salvation and repentance, through your intervention, O all-holy lords!

9 Let them who do not venerate the holy and venerable images be anathema! Anathema to
those who blaspheme against the honourable and venerable images! To those who dare to
attack and blaspheme the venerable images and call them idols, anathema! To the
calumniators of Christianity, that is to say the Iconoclasts, anathema! To those who do
not diligently teach all the Christ-loving people to venerate and salute the venerable and
sacred and honourable images of all the Saints who pleased God in their several
generations, anathema! To those who have a doubtful mind and do not confess with their
whole hearts that they venerate the sacred images, anathema! 10 Sabbas, the most reverend
hegumenus of the monastery of the Studium, said: According to the Apostolic precepts and
the Ecumenical Synods he is worthy to be received back. Tarasius, the most holy Patriarch,
said: Those who formerly were the calumniators of orthodoxy, now are become the advocates
of the truth.[Near the end of this session, (col. 77)] John, the most reverend bishop and
legate of the Eastern high priests said: This heresy is the worst of all heresies. Woe to
the iconoclasts! It is the worst of heresies, as it subverts the incarnation (oikonomian)
of our Saviour.

EXTRACTS FROM THE ACTS: SESSION 2

[The Papal Letters were presented by the Legates. First was read that to Constantine and
Irene, but not in its entirety, if we may trust Anastasius the Librarian, who gives what
he says is the original latin text. Here follows a translation of this and of the Greek,
also a translation of the Latin passage altogether omitted, (as we are told) with the
consent of the Roman Legates.]

EXTRACTS FROM THE ACTS: SESSION 3

1 (Labbe and Cossart, Concilia, Tom. VII., col. 188.) Constantine, the most holy bishop of
Constantia in Cyprus, said: Since I, unworthy that I am, find that the letter which has
just been read, which was sent from the East to Tarasius the most holy archbishop and
ecumenical patriarch, is in no sense changed from that confession of faith which he
himself had before made, to these I consent and become of one mind, receiving and saluting
with honour the holy and venerable images. But the worship of adoration I reserve alone to
the supersubstantial and life-giving Trinity. And those who are not so minded, and do not
so teach I cast out of the holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, and T smite them with
anathema, and I deliver them over to the lot of those who deny the incarnation and the
bodily economy of Christ our true God.

Notes.

2 Hefele. (Hist. Councils, Vol. V., p. 366.) By false translation and misunderstanding the
Frankish bishops subsequently at the Synod of Frankfort, a.d. 794, and also in the
Carolingian books (iii. 17), understood this to mean that a demand had been made at Nicaea
that the same devotion should be offered to the images as to the Most Holy Trinity. Under
these circumstances it is clear that the Franks could do nothing but reject the decrees. I
have treated of this whole matter elsewhere.

EXTRACTS FROM THE ACTS: SESSION 4

1 [Among numerous passages of the Fathers one was read from a sermon by St. Gregory Nyssen
in which he describes a painting representing the sacrifice of Isaac and tells how he
could not pass it "without tears."] The most glorious princes said: See how our father
grieved at the depicted history, even so that he wept. Basil, the most holy bishop of
Ancyra, said: Many times the father had read the story, but perchance he had not wept; but
when once he saw it painted, he wept. John the most reverend monk and presbyter and
representative of the Eastern high priests, said: If to such a doctor the picture was
helpful and drew forth tears, how much more in the case of the ignorant and simple will it
bring compunction and benefit. The holy Synod said: We have seen in several places the
history of Abraham painted as the father says.

2 Theodore the most holy bishop of Catanea, said: If the holy Gregory, vigilant in divine
cogitation, was moved to tears at the sight of the story of Abraham, how much more shall a
painting of the incarnation of our Lord Christ, who for us was made man, move the
beholders to their profit and to tears? Tarasius the most holy Patriarch said: Shall we
not weep when we see an image of our crucified Lord? The holy Synod said: We shall indeed-
for in that shall be found perfectly the, profundity of the abasement of the incarnateGod
for our sakes. [Post nonnulla a passage is read from St. Athanasius in which he describes
the miracles worked at Berytus, after which there is found the following (col. 224),]
Tarasius, the most holy Patriarch, said: But perhaps someone will say, Why do not the
images which we have work miracles? To which we answer, that as the Apostle has said,
signs are for those who do not believe, not for believers. For they who approached that
image were unbelievers. Therefore God gave them a sign through the image, to draw them to
our Christian faith. But "an evil and adulterous generation that seeketh after a sign and
no sign shall be given it."

3 [After a number of other quotations, was read the Canon of the Council in Trullo as a
canon of the Sixth Synod (col. 233).] Tarasius, the most holy Patriarch said: There are
certain affected with the sickness of ignorance who are scandalized by these canons [viz.
of the Trullan Synod] and say, And do you really think they were adopted at the Sixth
Synod? Now let all such know that the holy great Sixth Synod was assembled at
Constantinople concerning those who said that there was but one energy and will in Christ.
These anathematized the heretics, and having expounded the orthodox faith, they went to
their homes in the fourteenth year of Constantine. But after four or five years the same
fathers came together under Justinian, the son of Constantine, and set forth the before-
mentioned canons. And let no one doubt concerning them. For they who subscribed under
Constantine were the same as they who under Justinian signed the present chart, as can
manifestly be established from the unchangeable similarity of their own handwriting. For
it was right that they who had appeared at an ecumenical synod should also set forth
ecclesiastical canons. They said that we should be led as (by the hand) by the venerable
images to the recollection of the incarnation of Christ and of his saving death, and if by
them we are led to the realization of the incarnation of Christ our God, what sort of an
opinion shall we have of them who break down the venerable images?

4 At the close of the Session, after a number of anathematisms had been pronounced, the
following was read, to which all the bishops subscribed (col. 317).] 5 Fulfilling the
divine precept of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ, our holy Fathers did not hide the
light of the divine knowledge given by him to them under a bushel, but they set it upon
the candlestick of most useful teaching, so that it might give light to all in the house-
that is to say, to those who are born in the Catholic Church; lest perchance anyone of
those who piously confess the Lord might strike his foot against the stone of heretical
evil doctrine. For they expelled every error of heretics and they cut off the rotten
member if it was incurably sick. And with a fan they purged the floor. And the good wheat,
that is to say tire word which nourisheth and which maketh strong the heart of man, they
laid up in the granary of the Catholic Church; but throwing outside the chaff of heretical
evil opinion they burned it with unquenchable fire. Therefore also this holy and
ecumenical Synod, met together for the second time in this illustrious metropolis of Nice,
by the will of God and at the bidding of our pious and most faithful Emperors, Irene a new
Helena, and a new Constantine, her God-protected offspring, having considered by their
perusal the teachings of our approved and blessed Fathers, hath glorified God himself,
from whom there was given to them wisdom for our instruction, and for the perfecting of
the Catholic and Apostolic Church:

6 and against those who do not believe as they did, but have attempted to overshadow the
truth through their novelty, they have chanted the words of the psalm: "Oh how much evil
have thine enemies done in thy sanctuary; and have glorified themselves, saying, There is
not a teacher any more, and they shall not know that we treated with guile the word of
truth. But we, in all things holding the doctrines and precepts of the same our God-
bearing Fathers, make proclamation with one mouth and one heart, neither adding anything,
nor taking anything away from those things which have been delivered to us by them. But in
these things we are strengthened, in these things we are confirmed. Thus we confess, thus
we teach, just as the holy and ecumenical six Synods have decreed and ratified. We believe
in one God the Father Almighty, maker of all things visible and invisible; and in one Lord
Jesus Christ, his only-begotten Son and Word, through whom all things were made, and in
the Holy Ghost, the Lord and giver of life, consubstantial and coeternal with the same
Father and with his Son who hath had no beginning. The unbuilt-up, indivisible,
incomprehensible, and non-circumscribed Trinity; he, wholly and alone, is to be worshipped
and revered with adoration; one Godhead, one Lordship, one dominion, one realm and
dynasty, which without division is apportioned to the Persons, and is fitted to the
essence severally.

7 For we confess that one of the same holy and consubstantial Trinity, our Lord Jesus
Christ the true God, in these last days was incarnate and made man for our salvation, and
having saved our race through his saving incarnation, and passion, and resurrection, and
ascension into heaven; and having delivered us from the error of idols; as also the
prophet says, Not an ambassador, not an angel, but the Lord himself hath saved us. Him we
also follow, and adopt his voice, and cry aloud; No Synod, no power of kings, no God-hated
agreement hath delivered the Church from the error of the idols, as the Jewdaizing
conciliabulum hath madly dreamed, which raved against the venerable images; but the Lord
of glory himself, the incarnate God, hath saved us and hath snatched us from idolatrous
deceit. To him therefore be glory, to him be thanks, to him be eucharists, to him be
praise, to him be magnificence. For his redemption and his salvation alone can perfectly
save, and not that of other men who come of the earth. For he himself hath fulfilled for
us, upon whom the ends of the earth are come through the economy of his incarnation, the
words spoken beforehand by his prophets, for he dwelt among us, and went in and out among
us, and cast out the namesof idols from the earth, as it was written.

8 But wesalute the voices of the Lord and of hisApostles through which we have been taught
to honour in the first place her who is properly and truly the Mother of God and exalted
above all the heavenly powers; also the holy and angelic powers; and the blessed and
altogether landed Apostles, and the glorious Prophets and the triumphant Martyrs which
fought for Christ, and the holy and God-bearing Doctors, and all holy men; and to seek for
their intercessions, as able to render us at home with the all-royal God of all, so long
as we keep his commandments, and strive to live virtuously. Moreover we salute the image
of the honourable and life-giving Cross, and the holy reliques of the Saints; and we
receive the holy and venerable images: and we salute them, and we embrace them, according
to the ancient traditions of the holy Catholic Church of God, that is to say of our holy
Fathers, who also received these things and established them in all the most holy Churches
of God, and in every place of his dominion. These honourable and venerable images, as has
been said, we honour and salute and reverently venerate: to wit, the image of the
incarnation of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ, and that of our spotless Lady the
all-holy Mother of God, from whom he pleased to take flesh, and to save and deliver us
from all impious idolatry; also the images of the holy and incorporeal Angels, who as men
appeared to the just.

9 Likewise also the figures and effigies of the divine and all-landed Apostles, also of
the God-speaking Prophets, and of the struggling Martyrs and of holy men. So that through
their representations we may be able to be led back in memory and recollection to the
prototype, and have a share in the holiness of some one of them. 10 Thus we have learned
to think of these things, and we have been strengthened by our holy Fathers, and we have
been strengthened by their divinely handed down teaching. And thanks be to God for his
ineffable gift, that he hath not deserted us at the end nor hath the rod of the ungodly
come into the lot of the righteous, lest the righteous put their hands, that is to say
their actual deeds, unto wickedness. But he doeth well unto those who are good and true of
heart, as the psalmist David melodiously has sung; with whom also we stag the rest of the
psalm: As for such as turn back unto their own wickedness, the Lord shah lead them forth
with the evil doers; and peace shall be upon the lsrael of God. [The subscriptions follow
immediately and close the acts of this session (col. 321-346).]

EXTRACTS FROM THE ACTS: SESSION 6

1 (Labbe and Cossart, Concilia, Tom. VII., col. 389.) Leo the most renowned secretary
said: The holy and blessed Synod know how at the last session we examined divers sayings
of the God-forsaken heretics, who had brought charges against the holy and spotless Church
of the Christians for the setting up of the holy images. But to-day we have in our hands
the written blasphemy of those calumniators of the Christians, that is to say, the absurd,
and easily answered, and self-convicting definition (oron) of the pseudosyllogus, in all
respects agreeing with the impious opinion of the God-hated heretics. But not only have we
this, but also the artful and most drastic refutation thereof, which the Holy Spirit had
supervised. For it was right that this definition should be made a triumph by wise
contradictions, and should be torn to pieces with strong refutations. This also we submit
so as to know your pleasure with regard to it.

2 The holy Synod said: Let it be read. John, the deacon and chancellor [of the most holy
great Church of Constantinople, in Lat. only] read. [John, the deacon, then read the
orthodox refutation, and Gregory, the bishop of Neocoesarea, the Definition of the Mock
Council,the one reading the heretical statement and the other the orthodox answer.]

THE DECREE OF THE HOLY, GREAT, ECUMENICAL SYNOD, THE SECOND OF NICE

1 (Found in Labbe and Cossart, Concilia. Tom. VII., col. 552.) The holy, great, and
Ecumenical Synod which by the grace of God and the will of the pious and Christ-loving
Emperors, Constantine and Irene, his mother, was gathered together for the second time at
Nice, the illustrious metropolis of Bithynia, in the holy church of God which is named
Sophia, having followed the tradition of the Catholic Church, hath defined as follows:
Christ our Lord, who hath bestowed upon us the light of the knowledge of himself, and hath
redeemed us from the darkness of idolatrous madness, having espoused to himself the Holy
Catholic Church without spot or defect, promised that he would so preserve her: and gave
his word to this effect to his holy disciples when he said: "Lo! I am with you always,
even unto the end of the world," which promise he made, not only to them, but to us also
who should believe in his name through their word. But some, not considering of this gift,
and having become fickle through the temptation of the wily enemy, have fallen from the
right faith; for, withdrawing from the traditions of the Catholic Church, they have erred
from the truth and as the proverb saith: "The husbandmen have gone astray in their own
husbandry and have gathered in their hands nothingness," because certain priests, priests
in name only, not in fact, had dared to speak against the God-approved ornament of the
sacred monuments, of whom God cries aloud through the prophet, "Many pastors have
corrupted my vineyard, they have polluted my portion."

2 And, forsooth, following profane men, led astray by their carnal sense, they have
calumniated the Church of Christ our God, which he hath espoused to himself, and have
failed to distinguish between holy andprofane, styling the images of our Lord andof his
Saints by the same name as the statues of diabolical idols. Seeing whichthings, our Lord
God (not willing to behold his people corrupted by such manner of plague) hath of his good
pleasure called us together, the chief of his priests, from every quarter, moved with a
divine zeal andbrought hither by the will of our princes, Constantine and Irene, to the
end that the traditions of the Catholic Church may receive stability by our common decree.
Therefore, with all diligence, making a thorough examination and analysis, and following
the trend of the truth, we diminish nought, we add nought, but we preserve unchanged all
things which pertain to the Catholic Church, and following the Six Ecumenical Synods,
especially that which met in this illustrious metropolis of Nice, as also that which was
afterwards gathered together in the God-protected Royal City.

3 We believe ...life of the world to come. Amen. We detest and anathematize Arius and all
the sharers of his absurd opinion; also Macedonius and those who following him are well
styled "Foes of the Spirit" (Pneumatomachi). We confess that our Lady, St. Mary, is
properly and truly the Mother of God, because she was the Mother after the flesh of One
Person of the Holy Trinity, to wit, Christ our God, as the Council of Ephesus has already
defined when it cast out of the Church the impious Nestorius with his colleagues, because
he taught that there were two Persons [in Christ]. With the Fathers of this synod we
confess that he who was incarnate of the immaculate Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary has
two natures, recognizing him as perfect God and perfect man, as also the Council of
Chalcedon hath promulgated, expelling from the divine Atrium [aulhj] as blasphemers,
Eutyches and Dioscorus; and placing in the same category Severus, Peter and a number of
others, blaspheming in divers fashions. Moreover, with these we anathematize the fables of
Origen, Evagrius, and Didymus, in accordance with the decision of the Fifth Council held
at Constantinople. We affirm that in Christ there be two wills and two operations
according to the reality of each nature, as also the Sixth Synod, held at Constantinople,
taught, casting out Sergius, Honorius, Cyrus, Pyrrhus, Macarius, and those who agree with
them, and all those who are unwilling to be reverent.

4 To make our confession short, we keep unchanged all the ecclesiastical traditions handed
down to us, whether in writing or verbally, one of which is the making of pictorial
representations, agreeable to the history of the preaching of the Gospel, a tradition
useful in many respects, but especially in this, that so the incarnation of the Word of
God is shown forth as real and not merely phantastic, for these have mutual indications
and without doubt have also mutual significations. 5 We, therefore, following the royal
pathway and the divinely inspired authority of our Holy Fathers and the traditions of the
Catholic Church (for, as we all know, the Holy Spirit indwells her), define with all
certitude and accuracy that just as the figure of the precious and life-giving Cross, so
also the venerable and holy images, as well in painting and mosaic as of other fit
materials, should be set forth in the holy churches of God, and on the sacred vessels and
on the vestments and on hangings and in pictures both in houses and by the wayside, to
wit, the figure of our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ, of our spotless Lady, the Mother
of God, of the honourable Angels, of all Saints and of all pious people. For by so much
more frequently as they are seen in artistic representation, by so much more readily are
men lifted up to the memory of their prototypes, and to a longing after them; and to these
should be given due salutation and honourable reverence (aspasmon kai timhtikhn proskunh-
sin), not indeed that true worship of faith (latreian) which pertains alone to the divine
nature; but to these, as to the figure of the precious and life-giving Cross and to the
Book of the Gospels and to the other holy objects, incense and lights may be offered
according to ancient pious custom.

6 For the honour which is paid to the image passes on to that which the image represents,
and he who reveres the image reveres in it the subject represented. For thus the teaching
of our holy Fathers, that is the tradition of the Catholic Church, which from one end of
the earth to the other hath received the Gospel, is strengthened. Thus we follow Paul, who
spake in Christ, and the whole divine Apostolic company and the holy Fathers, holding fast
the traditions which we have received. So we sing prophetically the triumphal hymns of the
Church, "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Sion; Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem. Rejoice and
be glad with all thy heart. The Lord hath taken away from thee the oppression of thy
adversaries; thou art redeemed from the hand of thine enemies. The Lord is a King in the
midst of thee; thou shalt not see evil any more, and peace be unto thee forever."

7 Those, therefore who dare to think or teach otherwise, or as wicked heretics to spurn
the traditions of the Church and to invent some novelty, or else to reject some of those
things which the Church hath received (e.g., the Book of the Gospels, or the image of the
cross, or the pictorial icons, or the holy reliques of a martyr), or evilly and sharply to
devise anything subversive of the lawful traditions of the Catholic Church or to turn to
common uses the sacred vessels or the venerable monasteries, if they be Bishops or
Clerics, we command that they be deposed; if religious or laics, that they be cut off from
communion. [After all had signed, the acclamations began (col. 576).] 8 The holy Synod
cried out: So we all believe, we all are so minded, we all give our consent and have
signed. This is the faith of the Apostles, this is the faith of the orthodox, this is the
faith which hath made firm the whole world. Believing in one God, to be celebrated in
Trinity, we salute the honourable images! Those who do not so hold, let them be anathema.
Those who do not thus think, let them be driven far away from the Church. For we follow
the most ancient legislation of the Catholic Church. We keep the laws of the Fathers. We
anathematize those who add anything to or take anything away from the Catholic Church. We
anathematize the introduced novelty of the revilers of Christians. We salute the venerable
images. We place under anathema those who do not do this. Anathema to them who presume to
apply to the venerable images the things said in Holy Scripture about. idols. Anathema to
those who do not salute the holy and venerable images. Anathema to those who call the
sacred images idols. Anathema to those who say that Christians resort to the sacred images
as to gods. Anathema to those who say that any other delivered us from idols except Christ
our God. Anathema to those who dare to say that at any time the Catholic Church received
idols.

9 Many years to the Emperors, etc., etc.

THE DIVINE SACRA SENT BY THE EMPERORS CONSTANTINE AND IRENE

1 (Found in Zabbe and Cossart, Concilia, Tom. VII., col. 32.) They who receive the dignity
of the empire, or the honour of the principal priesthood from our Lord Jesus Christ, ought
to provide and to care for those things which please him, and rule and govern the people
committed to their care according to his will and good pleasure. Therefore, O most holy
Head (Caput), it is incumbent upon us and you, that irrepre-hensibly we know the things
which be his, and that in these we exercise ourselves, since from him we have received the
im-peratorial dignity, and you the dignity of the chief priesthood. 2 But now to speak
more to the point. Your paternal blessedness knows what hath been done in times past in
this our royal city against the venerable images, how those who reigned immediately before
us destroyed them and subjected them to disgrace and injury: (O may it not be imputed to
them, for it had been better for them had they not laid their hands upon the 'l Church!)-
and how they seduced andbrought over to their own opinion all the people who live in these
parts-yea, even the whole of the East, in like manner, up to the time in which God hath
exalted us to this kingdom, who seek his glory in truth, and hold that which has been
handed down by his Apostles together with all other teachers. Whence now with pure heart
and unfeigned religion we have, together with all our subjects and our most learned
divines, had constant conferences respecting the things which relate to God, and by their
advice have determined to summon a General Council. And we entreat your paternal
blessedness, or rather the Lord God entreats, "who will have all men to be saved and to
come to the knowledge of the truth," that you will give yourself to us and make no delay,
but come up hither to aid us in the confirmation and establishment of the ancient
tradition of yen-erable images.

3 It is, indeed, incumbent on your holiness to do this, since you know how it is written-
"Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people, ye priests, saith the Lord," and "the lips of the
priest shall keep knowledge, and the law shall go forth out of his mouth, for he is the
angel of the Lord of Hosts. And again, the divine Apostle, the preacher of the truth, who,
"from Jerusalem and round about unto Il-lyricum, preached the Gospel," hath thus
commanded- "Feed with discipline the flock of Christ which he purchased with his own
blood. As then you are the veritable chief priest (primus sacerdos) who presides in the
place and in the see of the holy and superlaudable Apostle Peter, let your paternal
blessedness come to us, as we have said before, and add your presence to all those other
priests who shall be assembled together here, that thus the will of the Lord may be
accomplished. For as we are taught in the Gospels our Lord saith- "When two or three are
met together in my name, there am I in the midst of them" -let your paternal and sacred
blessedness be certified and confirmed by the great God and King of all, our Lord Jesus
Christ, and by us his servants, that if you come up hither you shall be received with all
honour and glory, and that everything necessary for you shall be granted.

4 And again, when the definition (capitulum) shall be completed, which by the good
pleasure of Christ our God we hope shall be done, we take upon us to provide for you every
facility of returning with honour and distinction. If, however, your blessedness cannot
attend upon us (which we can scarcely imagine, knowing what is your zeal about divine
things), at least, pray select for us men of understanding, having with them letters from
your holiness, that they may be present here in the person of your sacred and paternal
blessedness. So, when they meet with the other priests who are here, the ancient tradition
of our holy fathers may be synodically confirmed, and every evil plant of tares may be
rooted out, and the words of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ may be fulfilled, that "the
gates of hell shall not prevail against her. And after this, may there be no further
schism and separation in the one holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, of which Christ our
true God is the Head.

5 We have had Constantine, beloved in Christ, most holy Bishop of Leontina in our beloved
Sicily, with whom your paternal blessedness is well acquainted, into our presence; and,
having spoken with him face to face, have sent him with this our present venerable jussio
to you. Whom, after that he hath seen you, forthwith dismiss, that he may come back to us,
and write us by him concerning your coming-what time we may expect will be spent in your
journeying thence and coming to us. Moreover, he can retain with him the most holy Bishop
of Naples, and come up hither together with him. And, as your journey will be by way of
Naples and Sicily we have given orders to the Governor of Sicily about this, that he take
due care to have every needful preparation made for your honour and rest, which is
necessary in order that your paternal blessedness may come to us. Given on the with before
the calends of September, the seventh indic-tion, from the Royal City.

THE IMPERIAL SACRA, READ AT THE FIRST SESSION

1 (Found in Labbe and Cossart, Concilia, Tom. VII, col. 49.) Constantine and Irene-
Sovereigns of the Romans in the Faith, to the most holy Bishops, who, by the grace of God
and by the command of our pious Sovereignty, have met together in the Council of Nice. The
Wisdom which is truly according to the nature of God and the Father-our Lord Jesus Christ,
our true God-who, by his most divine and wonderful dispensation in the flesh, hath
delivered us from all idolatrous error: and, by taking on him our nature, hath renewed the
same by the co-operation of the Spirit, which is of the same nature with himself; and
having himself become the first High Priest, hathcounted you holy men, worthy of the same
dignity. 2 He is that good Shepherd who, bearing on his own shoulders that wandering sheep
-fallen man, hath brought him back to his own peculiar folds-that is, theparty of angelic
and ministering powers (Eph. if. 14, 15), and hath reconciled us in himself and having
taken away the wall of partition, hath broken down the enmity through his flesh, and hath
bestowed upon us a rule of conduct tending to peace; wherefore, preaching to all, he saith
in the Gospel, Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God
(Matt. v. 9). Of which blessedness, confirming as it does the exaltation of the adoption
of sons, our pious Sovereignty desiring above all things to be made partakers, hath ever
applied the utmost diligence to direct all our Roman Commonwealth into the ways of unity
and concord; and more especially have we been solicitous concerning the right regulation
of the Church of God, and most anxious in every way to promote the unity of the
priesthood. For which cause the Chiefs of the Sacerdotal Order of the East and of the
North, of the West and of the South, are present in the person of their Representative
Bishops, who have with them respectively the replies written in answers to the Synodical
Epistle sent from the most holy Patriarch; for such was from the beginning the synodical
regulation of the Church Catholic, which, from the one end of the earth to the other, hath
received the Gospel.

3 On this account we have, by the good will and permission of God, caused you, his most
holy Priests, to meet together -you who are accustomed to dispense his Testimony in the
unbloody sacrifice-that your decision may be in accordance with the definitions of former
councils who decreed rightly, and that the splendour of the Spirit may illumine you in all
things, for, as our Lord teaches, No man lighteth a candle and putteth it under a bushel,
but on acandlestick, that it may give light to allthat are in tim house; even so, should
ye make such use of the various regulations which have been piously handed down to us of
old by our Fathers, that all the Holy Churches of God may remain in peaceful order. 4 As
for us, such was our zeal for the truth-such our earnest desire for the interests of
religion, our care for ecclesiastical order, our anxiety that the ancient rules and orders
should maintain their ground-that though fully engaged in military councils-though all our
attention was occupied in political cares-yet, treating all these affairs as but of minor
importance, we would allow nothing whatever to interfere with the convocation of your most
holy council. To every one is given the utmost freedom of expressing his sentiments
without the least hesitation, that thus the subject under enquiry may be most fully
discussed and truth may be the more boldly spoken, that so all dissensions may be banished
from the Church and we all may be united in the bonds of peace.

5 For, when the most holy Patriarch Paul, by the divine will, was about to be liberated
from the bands of mortality and to exchange his earthly pilgrimage for a heavenly home
with his Master Christ, he abdicated the Patriarchate and took upon him the monastic life,
and when we asked him, Why hast thou done this? he answered, Because I fear that, if death
should surprise me still in the episcopate of this royal and heaven-defended city, I
should have to carry with me the anathema of the whole Catholic Church, which consigns me
to that outer darkness which is prepared for the devil and his angels; for they say that a
certain synod hath been held here in order to the subversion of pictures and images which
the Catholic Church holds, embraces, and receives, in memory of the persons whom they
represent. This is that which distracts my soul-this is that which makes me anxiously to
enquire how I may escape the judgment of God-since among such men I have been brought up
and with such am I numbered. No sooner had he thus spoken in the presence of some of our
most illustrious nobles than he expired.When our Pious Sovereignty reflected on this awful
declaration (and truly, even before this event, we had heard of similarquestionings from
many around), we took counsel with ourselves as to what ought to be done; and we
determined, after mature deliberation, that when a new Patriarch had been elected, we
should endeavour to bring this subject to some decisiveconclusion.

6 Wherefore, having summoned those whom we knew to be most experienced in ecclesiastical
matters, and having called upon Christ our God, we consulted with them who was worthy to
be exalted to the chair of the Priesthood of this Royal and God-preserved city; and they
all with one heart and soul gave their vote in favour of Tarasius-he who now occupies the
Pontifical Presidency. Having, therefore, sent for him, we laid before him our
deliberations and our vote; but he would by no means consent, nor at all yield to that
which had been determined. And when we enquired, Wherefore he thus refused his consent?-at
first he answered evasively, That theyoke of the Chief Priesthood was too much for him.
But we, knowing this to be a mere pretext coveting his unwillingness to obey us, would not
desist from our importunity, but persisted in pressing the acceptance of the dignity of
the Chief Priesthood upon him. When he found how urgent we were with him, he told us the
cause of his refusal. It is (said he) because I perceive that the Church which has been
founded on the rock, Christ our God, is rent and torn asunder by schisms, and that we are
unstable in our confession, and that Christians in the East, of the same faith with
ourselves, decline communion with us, and unite them with those of the West; and so we are
estranged from all, and each day are anathematized by all:

7 and, moreover, I should demand that an Ecumenical Council should be held, at which
should be found Legates from the Pope of Rome and from the Chief Priests of the East. We,
therefore, fully understanding these things, introduced him to the assembled company of
the Priests -of our most illustrious Princes-and of all our Christian people; and then, in
their presence, he repeated to them all that he had before said to us; which, when they
heard, they received him joyfully, and earnestly entreated our peace-making and pious
Sovereignty that an Ecumenical Council might be assembled. To this their request, we gave
our hearty consent; for, to speak the truth, it is by the good will and under the
direction of our God that we have assembled you together. Wherefore as God, willing to
establish his own counsel, hath for this purpose brought you together from all parts of
the world, behold the Gospels now lying before you, and plainly crying aloud, "Judge
justly; stand firm as champions of religion, and be ready with unsparing hand to cut away
all innovations and new fangled inventions.

8 And, as Peter the Chief of the Apostolic College, struck the mad slave and cut off his
Jewish ear with the sword, so inlike manner do ye wield the axe of the Spirit, and every
tree which bears the fruit of contention, of strife, or newly-imported innovation, either
renew by transplanting through the words of sound doctrine, or lay it low with canonical
censure, and send it to file fires of the future Gehenna, so that thepeace of the Spirit
may evermore protect the whole body of the Church, compacted and united in one, and
confirmed by the traditions of the Fathers; and so may all our Roman State enjoy peace as
well as the Church. 9 We have received letters from Hadrian, most Holy Pope of old Rome,
by his Legates-namely, Peter, the God-beloved Archpresbyter, and Peter, the God-beloved
Presbyter and Abbot-who will be present in council with you; and we command that,
according to synodical custom, these be read in the hearing of you all; and that, having
heard these with becoming silence, and moreover the Epistles contained in two octavos sent
by the Chief Priest and other Priests of the Eastern dioceses by John, most pious Monk and
Chancellor of the Patriarchal throne of Antioch, and Thomas, Priest and Abbot, who also
are present together with you, ye may by these understand what are the sentiments of the
Church Catholic on this point.


COUNCIL OF NICAEA (AD 787): EPITOME OF THE DEFINITION OF THE ICONOCLASTIC CONCILIABULUM
============================================================

COUNCIL OF NICAEA (AD 787): EPITOME OF THE DEFINITION OF THE ICONOCLASTIC CONCILIABULUM A
summary of the decree of the iconoclast council held at Constantinople in AD 754, which
the council of Nicaea read and answered.

Held in Constantinople, a.d. 754. The Definition of the Holy, Great, and Ecumenical
Seventh Synod.

1 The holy and Ecumenical synod, which by the grace of God and most pious command of the
God-beloved and orthodox Emperors, Constantine and Leo, now assembled in the imperial
residence city, in the temple of the holy and inviolate Mother of God and Virgin Mary,
surnamed in Blachernae, have decreed as follows. Satan misguided men, so that they
worshipped the creature instead of the Creator. The Mosaic law and the prophets cooperated
to undo this ruin; but in order to save mankind thoroughly, God sent his own Son, who
turned us away from error and the worshipping of idols, and taught us the worshipping of
God in spirit and in truth. As messengers of his saving doctrine, he left us his Apostles
and disciples, and these adorned the Church, his Bride, with his glorious doctrines. This
ornament of the Church the holy Fathers and the six Ecumenical Councils have preserved
inviolate. But the before-mentioned demi-urgos of wickedness could not endure the sight of
this adornment, and gradually brought back idolatry under the appearance of Christianity.
As then Christ armed his Apostles against the ancient idolatry with the power of the Holy
Spirit, and sent them out into all the world, so has he awakened against the new idolatry
his servants our faithful Emperors, and endowed them with the same wisdom of the Holy
Spirit. Impelled by the Holy Spirit they could no longer be witnesses of the Church being
laid waste by the deception of demons, and summoned the sanctified assembly of the God-
beloved bishops, that they might institute at a synod a scriptural examination into the
deceitful colouring of the pictures (omoiwmatwn) which draws down the spirit of man from
the lofty adoration (latreiaj) of God to the low and material adoration (latreian) of the
creature, and that they, under divine guidance, might express their view on the subject.

2 Our holy synod therefore assembled, and we, its 338 members, follow the older synodal
decrees, and accept and proclaim joyfully the dogmas handed down, principally those of the
six holy Ecumenical Synods. In the first place the holy and ecumenical great synod
assembled at Nice, etc. After we had carefully examined their decrees under the guidance
of the Holy Spirit, we found that the unlawful art of painting living creatures blasphemed
the fundamental doctrine of our salvation-namely, the Incarnation of Christ, and
contradicted the six holy synods. These condemned Nestorius because he divided the one Son
and Word of God into two sons, and on the other side, Arius, Dioscorus, Eutyches, and
Severus, because they maintained a mingling of the two natures of the one Christ. 3
Wherefore we thought it right, to shew forth with all accuracy, in our present definition
the error of such as make and venerate these, for it is the unanimous doctrine of all the
holy Fathers and of the six Ecumenical Synods, that no one may imagine any kind of
separation or mingling in opposition to the unsearchable, unspeakable, and
incomprehensible union of the two natures in the one hypostasis or person. What avails,
then, the folly of the painter, who from sinful love of gain depicts that which should not
be depicted-that is, with his polluted hands he tries to fashion that which should only be
believed in the heart and confessed with the mouth? He makes an image and calls it Christ.
The name Christ signifies God and man. Consequently it is an image of God and man, and
consequently he has in his foolish mind, in his representation of the created flesh,
depicted the Godhead which cannot be represented, and thus mingled what should not be
mingled. Thus he is guilty of a double blasphemy-the one in making an image of the
Godhead, and the other by mingling the Godhead and manhood. Those fall into the same
blasphemy who venerate the image, and the same woe rests upon both, because they err with
Arius, Dioscorus, and Eutyches, and with the heresy of the Acephali. When, however, they
are blamed for undertaking to depict the divine nature of Christ, which should not be
depicted, they take refuge in the excuse:

4 We represent only the flesh of Christ which we have seen and handled. But that is a
Nestorian error. For it should be considered that that flesh was also the flesh of God the
Word, without any separation, perfectly assumed by the divine nature and made wholly
divine. How could it now be separated and represented apart? So is it wish the human soul
of Christ which mediates between the Godhead of the Son and the dulness of the flesh. As
the human flesh is at the same time flesh of God the Word, so is the human soul also soul
of God the Word, and both at the same time, the soul being deified as well as the body,
and the Godhead remained undivided even in the separation of the soul from the body in his
voluntary passion. For where the soul of Christ is, there is also his Godhead; and where
the body of Christ is, there too is his Godhead. If then in his passion the divinity
remained inseparable from these, how do the fools venture to separate the flesh from the
Godhead, and represent it by itself as the image of a mere man? They fall into the abyss
of impiety, since they separate the flesh from the Godhead, ascribe to it a subsistence of
its own, a personality of its own, which they depict, and thus introduce a fourth person
into the Trinity. Moreover, they represent as not being made divine, that which has been
made divine by being assumed by the Godhead.

5 Whoever, then, makes an image of Christ, either depicts the Godhead which cannot be
depicted, and mingles it with the manhood (like the Monophysites), or he represents the
body of Christ as not made divine and separate and as a person apart, like the Nestorians.
6 The only admissible figure of the humanity of Christ, however, is bread and wine inthe
holy Supper. This and no other form, this and no other type, has he chosen to represent
his incarnation. Bread he ordered to be brought, but not a representation of the human
form, so that idolatrymight not arise. And as the body of Christis made divine, so also
this figure of the body of Christ, the bread, is made divine by the descent of the Holy
Spirit; it becomes the divine body of Christ by the mediation of the priest who,
separating the oblation from that which is common, sanctifies it. The evil custom of
assigning names to the images does not come down from Christ and the Apostles and the holy
Fathers; nor have these left behind then, any prayer by which an image should be hallowed
or made anything else than ordinary matter.

7 If, however, some say, we might be right in regard to the images of Christ, on account
of the mysterious union of the two natures, but it is not right for us to forbid also the
images of the altogether spotless and ever-glorious Mother of God, of the prophets,
apostles, and martyrs, who were mere men and did not consist of two natures; we may reply,
first of all: If those fall away, there is no longer need of these. But we will also
consider what may be saidagainst these in particular. Christianity has rejected the whole
of heathenism, andso not merely heathen sacrifices, but alsothe heathen worship of images.
The Saints live on eternally with God, although they have died. If anyone thinks to call
them back again to life by a dead art, discovered by the heathen, he makes himself guilty
of blasphemy. Who dares attempt with heathenish art to paint the Mother of God, who is
exalted above all heavens and the Saints? It is not permitted to Christians, who have the
hope of the resurrection, to imitate the customs of demon-worshippers, and to insult the
Saints, who shine in so great glory, by common dead matter.

8 Moreover, we can prove our view by Holy ScriptUre and the Fathers. In the former it is
said: "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in
truth;" and: "Thou shall not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that
is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath;" on which account God spoke to the
Israelites on the Mount, from the midst of the fire, but showed them no image. Further:
"They changed theglory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible
man,... and served the creature more than the Creator." [Several other passages, even less
to the point, are cited.] The same is taught also by the holy Fathers. [The Synod appeals
to a spurious passagefrom Epiphanius and to one inserted into the writings of Theodotus of
Ancyra, a friend of St. Cyril's; to utterances-in no way striking-of Gregory ofNazianzum,
of SS. Chrysostom, Basil, Athanasiusof Amphilochius and of Eusebius Pamphili, from his
Letter to the Empress Constantia, who had asked him for a picture of Christ.]

9 Supported by the Holy Scriptures and the Fathers, we declare unanimously, in the name of
the Holy Trinity, that there shall be rejected and removed and cursed one of the Christian
Church every likeness which is made out of any material and colour whatever by the evil
art of painters. Whoever in future dares to make such a thing, or to venerate it, or set
it up in a church, or in a private house, or possesses it in secret, shall, if bishop,
presbyter, or deacon, be deposed; if monk or layman, be anathematised, and become liable
to be tried by the secular laws as an adversary of God and an enemy of the doctrines
handed down by the Fathers. At the same time we ordain that no incumbent of a church shall
venture, under pretext of destroying the error in regard to images, to lay his hands on
the holy vessels in order to have them altered, because they are adorned with figures. The
same is provided in regard to the vestments of churches, cloths, and all that is dedicated
to divine service. If, however, the incumbent of a church wishes to have such church
vessels and vestments altered, he must do this only with the assent of the holy Ecumenical
patriarch and at the bidding of our pious Emperors. So also no prince or secular official
shall rob the churches, as some have done in former times, under the pretext of destroying
images. All this we ordain, believing that we speak as doth the Apostle, for we also
believe that we have the spirit of Christ; and as our predecessors who believed the same
thing spake what they had synodically defined, so we believe and therefore do we speak,
and set forth a definition of what has seemed good to us following and in accordance with
the definitions of our Fathers.

10 (1) If anyone shall not confess, according to the tradition of the Apostles and
Fathers, in the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost one godhead, nature and substance, will
and operation, virtue and dominion, kingdom and power in three subsistences, that is in
their most glorious Persons, let him be anathema. (2) If anyone does not confess that one
of the Trinity was made flesh, let him beanathema. (3) If anyone does not confess that
theholy Virgin is truly the Mother of God, etc. (4) If anyone does not confess one Christ
both God and man, etc. (5) If anyone does not confess that the flesh of the Lord is life-
giving because it is the flesh of the Word of God, etc. (6) If anyone does not confess two
natures in Christ, etc. (7) If anyone does not confess that Christ is seated with God the
Father in body and soul, and so will come to judge, and that he will remain God forever
without any grossness, etc.

11 (8) If anyone ventures to represent the divine image (karakthr) of the Word afterthe
Incarnation with material colours, let him be anathema! (9) If anyone ventures to
represent in human figures, by means of material colours,by reason of the incarnation, the
substance or person (ousia or hypostasis) of the Word, which cannot be depicted, and does
not rather confess that even after the Incarnation he [i.e., the Word] cannot be depicted,
let him be anathema! (10) If anyone ventures to represent the hypostatic union of the two
natures in a picture, and calls it Christ, and fires falsely represents a union of the two
natures, etc.! (11) If anyone separates the flesh united with the person of the Word from
it, and endeavours to represent it separately in a picture, etc.! (12) If anyone separates
the one Christ into two persons, and endeavours to represent Him who was born of the
Virgin separately, and thus accepts only a relative (sketikh) union of the natures, etc.

12 (13) If anyone represents in a picture the flesh deified by its union with the Word,
and thus separates it from the Godhead, etc. (14) If anyone endeavours to represent by
material colours, God the Word as a mere man, who, although bearing the form of God, yet
has assumed the form of a servant in his own person, and thus endeavours to separate him
from his inseparable Godhead, so that he thereby introduces a quaternity into the Holy
Trinity, etc. (15) If anyone shall not confess the holy ever-virgin Mary, truly and
properly the Mother of God, to be higher than every creature whether visible or invisible,
anddoes not with sincere faith seek her intercessions as of one having confidence in her
access to our God, since she bare him, etc. (16) If anyone shall endeavour to represent
the forms of the Saints in lifeless pictures with material colours which are of no value
(for this notion is vain and introduced by the devil), and does not rather represent their
virtues as living images in himself, etc.

13 (17) If anyone denies the profit of the invocation of Saints, etc. (18) If anyone
denies the resurrection of the dead, and the judgment, and the condign retribution to
everyone, endless torment and endless bliss, etc. (19) If anyone does not accept this our
Holy and Ecumenical Seventh Synod, lethim be anathema from the Father and theSon and the
Holy Ghost, and from theseven holy Ecumenical Synods! [Then follows the prohibition of the
making or teaching any other faith, and the penalties for disobedience. After this follow
the acclamations.] The divine Kings Constantine and Leo said: Let the holy and ecumenical
synod say, if with the consent of all the most holy bishops the definition just read has
been set forth.The holy synod cried out: Thus we all believe, we all are of the same mind.
We have all with one voice and voluntarily subscribed. This is the faith of the Apostles.
Many years to the Emperors! They are the light of orthodoxy! Many years to the orthodox
Emperors! God preserve your Empire! You have now more firmly proclaimed the inseparability
of the two natures of Christ! You have banished all idolatry! You have destroyed the
heresies of Germanus [of Constantinople], George and Mansur [mansour, John Damascene].
Anathema to Germanus, the double-minded, and worshipper of wood! Anathema to George, his
associate, to the falsifier of the doctrine of the Fathers! Anathema to Mansur, who has an
evil name and Saracen opinions! To the betrayer of Christ and the enemy of the Empire, to
the teacher of impiety, the perverter of Scripture, Mansur, anathema! The Trinity has
deposed these three!


COUNCIL OF NICAEA (AD 787): PART OF POPE HADRIAN’S LETTER
=========================================================

COUNCIL OF NICAEA (AD 787): PART OF POPE HADRIAN’S LETTER Part of Pope Hadrian’s letter to
the emperor and empress, Constantine and Irene, in which he asks that the sacred images be
restored.

1 [As written by the Pope.] (Migne, Pat. Lat., Tom. XCVI., col. 1217.) If you persevere in
that orthodox Faith in which you have begun, and the sacred and venerable images be by
your means erected again in those parts, as by the lord, the Emperor Constantine of pious
memory, and the blessed Helen, who promulgated the orthodox Faith, and exalted the holy
Catholic and Apostolic Roman Church your spiritual mother, and with the other orthodox
Emperors venerated it as the head of all Churches, so will your Clemency, that is
protected of God, receive the name of another Constantine, and another Helen, through whom
at the beginning the holy Catholic and Apostolic Church derived strength, and like whom
your own imperialfame is spread abroad by triumphs, so as to be brilliant and deeply fixed
in the whole world. But the more, if following the traditions of the orthodox Faith, you
embrace the judgment of the Church of blessed Peter, chief of the Apostles, and, as of old
your predecessors the holy Emperors acted, so you, too, venerating it with honour, love
with all your heart his Vicar, and if your sacredmajesty follow by preference their
orthodox Faith, according to our holy Roman

2 Church. May the chief of the Apostleshimself, to whom the power was given byour Lord God
to bind and remit sins in heaven and earth, be often your protector,and trample all
barbarous nations underyour feet, and everywhere make you conquerors.For let sacred
authority lay open the marks of his dignity, and how great veneration ought to be shewn to
his, the highest See, by all the faithful in the world. For the Lord set him who bears the
keys[As read in Greek to the Council.] (Migne, Pat. Lat., Tom. XCVI., col. 1218.) 3 If the
ancient orthodoxy be perfected and restored by your means in those regions, and the
venerable icons be placed in their original state, you will be partakers with the Lord
Constantine, Emperor of old, now in the Divine keeping, and the Empress Helena, who made
conspicuous and confirmed the orthodox Faith, and exalted still more your holy mother, the
Catholic and Roman and spiritual Church, and with the orthodox Emperors who ruled after
them, and so your most pious and heaven-protected name likewise will be set forth as that
of another Constantine and another Helena, being renowned and praised through the whole
world, by whom theholy Catholic and Apostolic Church is restored. And especially if you
follow the tradition of the orthodox Faith of the Church of the holy Peter and Paul, the
chief Apostles, and embrace their Vicar, asthe Emperors who reigned before you ofold both
honoured their Vicar, and loved him with all their heart: and if your sacred majesty
honour the most holy Roman Church of the chief Apostles, to whom was given power by God
the Word himself to loose and to bind sins in heaven and earth. For they will extend their
shield over your power, and all barbarous nations shall be put under your feet: and
wherever you go they will make you conquerors.

4 For the holy and chief Apostles themselves, who set up the Catholic and orthodox Faith,
have laid it down as a written law that all who after them are to be successors of their
seats, should hold their Faith and remain in it to the end. of the kingdom of heaven as
chief over all, and by Him is he honoured with this privilege, by which the keys of the
kingdom of heaven are entrusted to him. He, therefore, that was preferred with so exalted
an honour was thought worthy to confess that Faith on which the Church of Christ is
rounded. A blessed reward followed that blessed confession, by the preaching of which the
holy universal Church was illumined, and from it the other Churches of God have derived
the proofs of Faith. For the blessed Peter himself, the chief of the Apostles, who first
sat in the Apostolic See, left the chiefship of his Apostolate, and pastoral care, to his
successors, who are to sit in his most holy seat for ever. And that power of authority,
which he received from the Lord God our Saviour, he too bestowed and delivered by divine
command to the Pontiffs, his successors, etc.[The part which was never read to the Council
at all. (Found in L. and C., Concilia, Tom. VII., col. 117.)

5 We greatly wondered that in your imperial commands, directed for the Patriarch of the
royal city, Tarasius, we find him there called Universal: but we know not whether this was
written through ignorance or schism, or the heresy of the wicked. But henceforth we advise
your most merciful and imperial majesty, that he be by no means called Universal in your
writings, because it appears to be contrary to the institutions of the holy Canons and the
decrees of the traditions of the holy Fathers. For he never could have ranked second, save
for the authority of our holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, as is plain to all. Because
if he be named Universal, above the holy Roman Church which has a prior rank, which is the
head of all the Churches of God, it is certain that he shews himself as a rebel against
the holy Councils, and a heretic. For, if he is Universal, he is recognized to have the
Primacy even over the (Church of our See, which appears ridiculous to all faithful
Christians: because in the whole world the chief rank and power was given to the blessed
Apostle Peter by the Redeemer of the world himself; and through the same Apostle, whose
place we unworthily hold, the holy Catholic and Apostolic Roman Church holds the first
rank, and the authority of power, now and for ever, so that if any one, which we believe
not, has called him, or assents to his being called Universal, let him know that he is
estranged from the orthodox Faith, and a rebel against our holy Catholic and Apostolic
Church.

6 [After the reading was ended (col. 120)] Tarasius the most holy patriarch said: Did you
yourselves receive these letters from the most holy Pope, and did you carry them to our
pious Emperor? Peter and Peter the most beloved-of-God presbyters who held the place of
Hadrian, the most holy pope of Rome, said: We ourselves received such letters from our
apostolic father and delivered them to the pious lords. John, the most magnificent
Logothete, said: That this is the case is also known to the Sicilians, the beloved of God
Theodore, the bishop of Catanea, and the most revered deacon Epiphanius who is with him,
who holds the place of the archbishop of Sardinia. For both of these at the bidding of our
pious Emperors, went to Rome with the most reverend apocrisarius of our most holy
patriarch. Theodore the God-beloved bishop of Catanea, standing in the midst, said: The
pious emperor, by his honourable jussio, bid send Leo, the most god-beloved presbyter (who
together with myself is a slave of your holiness), with the precious letter of his most
sacred majesty; and he who reveres our [sic in Greek, "your," in Latin] holiness, being
the governor (strathgoj) of my province of Sicily, sent me to Rome with the pious jussio
of our orthodox Emperors.

7 And when we were gone, we announced file orthodox faith of the pious emperors. And when
the most blessed Pope heard it, he said: Since this has come to pass in the days of their
reign, God has magnified their pious rule above all former reigns. And this suggestion
(anaforan) which has been read he sent to our most pious kings together with a letter to
your holiness and with his vicars who are here present and presiding. Cosmas, the deacon,
notary, and chamberlain (Cubuclesius) said: And another letter was sent by the most holy
Pope of Old Rome to Tarasius, our most holy and oecumenical Patriarch. Let it be disposed
of as your holy assembly shall direct. The Holy Synod said, Let it be read. [Then was read
Hadrian's letter to Tarasius of Constantinople, which ends by saying that. "our dearly-
loved proto-presbyter of the Holy Church of Rome, and Peter, a monk, a presbyter, and an
abbot, who have been sent by us to the most tranquil and pious emperors, we beg you will
deem them worthy of all kindness and humane amenity for the sake of St. Peter, coropheus
of the Apostles, and for our sakes, so that for this we may be able to offer you our
sincere thanks." The letter being ended (col. 128),]

8 Peter and Peter, the most reverend presbyters and representatives of the most holy Pope
of Old Rome said: Let the most holy Tarasius, Patriarch of the royal city, say whether he
agrees (stoikei) with the letters of the most holy Pope of Old Rome or not. Tarasius the
most holy patriarch said: The divine Apostle Paul, who was filled with the light of
Christ, and who hath begotten us through the gospel, in writing to the Romans, commending
their zeal for the true faith which they had in Christ our true God, thus said: "Your
faith is gone forth into all the world." It is necessary to follow out this witness, and
he that would contradict it is without good sense. Wherefore Hadrian, the ruler of Old
Rome, since he was a sharer of these things, thus borne witness to, wrote expressly and
truly to our religious Emperors, and to our humility, confirming admirably and beautifully
the ancient tradition of the Catholic Church. And we also ourselves, having examined both
in writing, and by inquisition, and syllogistically and by demonstration, and having been
taught by the teachings of the Fathers, so have confessed, so do confess, and so will
confess; and shall be fast, and shall remain, and shall stand firm in the sense of the
letters which have just been read, receiving the imaged representations according to the
ancient tradition of our holy fathers; and these we venerate with firmly-attached
affection, as made in the name of Christ our God, and of our Spotless Lady the Holy Mother
of God, and of the Holy Angels, and of all the Saints, most clearly giving our adoration
and faith to the one only true God.

9 And the holy Synod said: The whole holySynod thus teaches. Peter and Peter, the God-
loved presbyters and legates of the Apostolic See, said: Let the holy Synod say whether it
receives the letters of the most holy Pope of Old Rome. The holy Synod said: We follow, we
receive, we admit them. [The bishops then give one by one their votes all in the same
sense.]


COUNCIL OF NICAEA (AD 787): THE LETTER OF THE SYNOD TO THE EMPEROR AND EMPRESS
============================================================

COUNCIL OF NICAEA (AD 787): THE LETTER OF THE SYNOD TO THE EMPEROR AND EMPRESS The letter
in which the council tells the emperor Constantine and his mother Irene what it has
decided.

1 (Labbe and Cossart, Concilia, Tom. VII., col. 577.) To our most religious and most
serene princes, Constantine and Irene his mother. Tarasius, the unworthy bishop of your
God-protected royal city, new Rome, and all the holy Council which met at the good
pleasure of God and upon the command of your Christ-loving majesty in the renowned
metropolis of Nice, the second council to assemble in this city. Christ our God (who is
the head of the Church) was glorified, most noble princes, when your heart, which he holds
in his hands, gave forth that good word bidding us to assemble in his name, in order that
we might strengthen our hold on the sure, immovable, and God-given truth contained in the
Church's dogmas. As your heads were crowned with gold and most brilliant stones, so
likewise were your minds adorned with the precepts of the Gospel and the teachings of the
Fathers. And being the disciples and companions, as it were, of those whose sounds went
forth into all the earth, ye became the leaders in the way of piety of all who bore the
name of Christ, setting forth clearly the word of truth, and giving a brilliant example of
orthodoxy and piety; so that ye were to the faithful as so many burning lamps. The Church
which was ready to fall, ye upheld with your hands, strengthening it with sound doctrine,
and bringing into the unity of a right judgment those who were at variance. We may
therefore well say with boldness that it was through you that the good pleasure of God
brought about the triumph of godliness, and filled our mouth with joy and our tongue with
gladness. And these things our lips utter with a formal decree. For what is more glorious
than to maintain the Church's interests; and what else is more calculated to provoke our
gladness?

2 Certain men rose up, having the form of godliness, inasmuch as they were clothed with
the dignity of the priesthood, but denying the power thereof; and thus deserving for
themselves the charge of being but priests of Babylon. Of such the word of prophecy had
before declared that "lawlessness went forth from the priests of Babylon. Nay more, they
banded themselves together in a sanhedrim, like to that which Caiaphas held, and became
the propagators of ungodly doctrines. And having a mouth full of cursing and bitterness,
they thought to win the mastery by means of abusive words. With a slanderous tongue and a
pen of a like character, and objecting to the very terms used by God himself, they devised
marvellous tales, and then proceeded to stigmatise as idolaters the royal priesthood and
the holy nation, even those who had put on Christ, and by his grace had been kept safe
from the folly of idols. And having a mind set upon evil, they took in hand unlawful
deeds, thinking to suppress altogether the depicting of the venerable images. Accordingly,
as many icons as were set in mosaic work they dug out, and those which were in painted
waxwork, they scraped away; thus turning the comely beauty of the sacred temples into
complete disorder. Among doings of this sort, it is to be specially noted that the
pictures set up on tablets in memory of Christ our God and of his Saints, they gave over
to the flames.

3 Finally, in a word, having desecrated our churches, they reduced them to utter
confusion. Then some bishops became the leaders of this heresy and where before was peace,
they fomented strife among the people; and instead of wheat sowed tares in the Church's
fields. They mingled wine with water, and gave the foul draught to those about them.
Although but Arabian wolves, they hid themselves under sheeps' clothing, and by specious
reasoning against the truth sought to commend their lie. But all the while "they hatched
asps' eggs and wove a spider's web," as says the prophet; and "he that would eat of their
eggs, having crushed one, found it to be addled, with a basilisk within it," and giving
forth a deadly stench. 4 In such a state of affairs, with a lie busy destroying the truth,
ye, most gracious and most noble princes, did not idly allow so grave a plague, and such
soul-destroying error long to continue in your day. But moved by the divine Spirit which
abideth in you, ye set yourselves with all your strength utterly to exterminate it, and
thus preserve the stability of the Church's government, and likewise concord among your
subjects; so that your whole empire might be established in peace agreeably with the name
[Irene] you bear. Ye rightly reasoned, that it was not to be patiently endured, that while
in other matters we could be of one mind and live in concord, yet in what ought to be the
chief concern of our life, the peace of the Churches, there was amongst us strife and
division. And that too, when Christ being our head, we ought to be members one of another,
and one body, by our mutual agreement and faith. Accordingly, ye commanded our holy and
numerously-attended council to assemble in the metropolis of Nice, in order that after
having rid the Church of division, we might restore to unity the separated members, and
might be careful to rend and utterly destroy the coarse cloak of false doctrine, which
they had woven of thorn fibre, and unfold again the fair robe of orthodoxy.

5 And now having carefully traced the traditions of the Apostles and Fathers, we are bold
to speak. Having but one mind by the inbreathing of the most Holy Spirit, and being all
knit together in one, and understanding the harmonious tradition of the Catholic Church,
we are in perfect harmony with the symphonies set forth by the six, holy and ecumenical
councils; and accordingly we have anathematised the madness of Arius, the frenzy of
Macedonius, the senseless understanding of Appolinarius, the man-worship of Nestorius, the
irreverent mingling of the natures devised by Eutyches and Dioscorus, and the many-headed
hydra which is their companion. We have also anathematised the idle tales of Origen,
Didymus, and Evagrius; and the doctrine of one will held by Sergius, Honorius, Cyrus, and
Pyrrhus, or rather, we have anathematised their own evil will. Finally, taught by the
Spirit, from whom we have drawn pure water, we have with one accord and one soul,
altogether wiped out with the sponge of the divine dogmas the newly devised heresy, well-
worthy to be classed with those just mentioned, which springing up after them, uttered
such empty nonsense about the sacred icons. And the contrivers of this vain, but
revolutionary babbling we have cast forth far from the Church's precincts.

6 And as the hands and feet are moved in accordance with the directions of the mind, so
likewise, we, having received the grace and strength of the Spirit, and having also the
assistance and co-operation of your royal authority, have with one voice declared as piety
and proclaimed as truth: that the sacred icons of our Lord Jesus Christ are to be had and
retained, inasmuch as he was very man; also those which set forth what is historically
narrated in the Gospels; and those which represent our undefiled Lady, the holy Mother of
God; and likewise those of the Holy Angels (for they have manifested themselves in human
form to those who were counted worthy of the vision of them), or of any of the Saints.[We
have also decreed] that the brave deeds of the Saints be pourtrayed on tablets and on the
walls, and upon the sacred vessels and vestments, as hath been the custom of the holy
Catholic Church of God from ancient times; which custom was regarded as having the force
of law in the teaching both of those holy leaders who lived in the first ages of the
Church, and also of their successors our reverend Fathers. [We have likewise decreed] that
these images are to be reverenced (proskunein), that is, salutations are to be offered to
them. The reason for using the word is, that it has a two-fold signification. For kunein
in the old Greek tongue signifies both "to salute" and "to kiss.

7 And the preposition proj gives to it the additional idea of strong desire towards the
subject; as for example, we have ferw and prosferw, kurw and proskurw, and so also we
havekunew and proskunew. Which last word implies salutation and strong love; for that
which one loves he also reverences (proskunei) and what he reverences that he greatly
loves, as the everyday custom, which we observe towards those we love, bears witness, and
in which both ideas are practically illustrated when two friends meet together. The word
is not only made use of by us, but we also find it set down in the Divine Scriptures by
the ancients. For it is written in the histories of the Kings, "And David rose up and fell
upon his face and did reverence to (prosekunhse) Jonathan three times and kissed him" (1
Kings xx., 41). And what is it that the Lord in the Gospel says concerning the Pharisees?
"They love the uppermost rooms at feasts and greetings (aspasmouj) in the markets. It is
evident that by "greetings" here, he means reverence (prosekunhsin) for the Pharisees
being very high-minded and thinking themselves to be righteous were eager to be reverenced
by all, but not [merely] to be kissed. For to receive salutations of this latter sort
savoured too much of lowly humility, and this was not to the Pharisees' liking. We have
also the example of Paul the divine Apostle, as Luke in the Acts of the Apostles relates:

8 "When we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly, and the day following
Paul went in with us unto James, and all the presbyters were present. And when he had
saluted (aspasamenoj) them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the
Gentiles by his ministry" (Acts xxi., 17, 18, 19). By the salutation here mentioned, the
Apostle evidently intended to render that reverence of honour (timhtikhn proskunhsin)
which we shew to one another, and of which he speaks when he says concerning Jacob, that
"he reverenced (prosekunhsen) the top of his staff" (Heb. xi., 21). With these examples
agrees what Gregory surnamed Theologus says: "Honour Bethlehem, and reverence
(proskunhson) the manger." 9 Now who of those rightly and sincerely understanding the
Divine Scriptures, has ever supposed that these examples which we have cited speak of the
worship in spirit (thj en pneumati latreiaj)? [Certainly no one has ever thought so]
except perhaps some persons utterly bereft of sense and ignorant of all knowledge of the
Scriptures and of the teaching of the Fathers. Surely Jacob did not adore (elatreusen) the
top of his staff;and surely Gregory Theologus does not bid us to adore (latreuein) the
manger? By no means.

10 Again, when offering salutations to the life-giving Cross, we together sing: "We
reverence (proskunwmen), thy cross, O Lord, and we also reverence (proskunwmen) the spear
which opened the life-giving side of thy goodness." This is clearly but a salutation, and
is so called, and its character is evinced by our touching the things mentioned with our
lips. We grant that the word proskunhsij is frequently found in the Divine Scriptures and
in the writings of our learned and holy Fathers for the worship in spirit (epi thj en
pneumati latreiaj), since, being a word of many significations, it may be used to express
that kind of reverence which is service. As there is also the veneration of honour, love
and fear. In this sense it is, that we venerate your glorious and most noble majesty. So
also there is another veneration which comes of fear alone, thus Jacob venerated Esau.
Then there is the veneration of gratitude, as Abraham reverenced the sons of Heth, for the
field which he received from them for a burying place for Sarah his wife. And finally,
those looking to obtain some gift, venerate those who are above them, as Jacob venerated
Pharaoh. Therefore because this term has these many significations, the Divine Scriptures
teaching us, "Thou shalt venerate the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve," says
simply that veneration is to be given to God, but does not add the word "only;" for
veneration being a word of wide meaning is an ambiguous term; but it goes on to say "thou
shalt serve (latreuseij) him only," for to God alone do we render latria.

11 The things which we have decreed, being thus well supported, it is confessedly and
beyond all question acceptable and well-pleasing before God, that the images of our Lord
Jesus Christ as man, and those of the undefiled Mother of God, the ever-virgin Mary, and
of the honourable Angels and of all Saints, should be venerated and saluted. And if anyone
does not so believe, but undertakes to debate the matter further and is evil affected with
regard to the veneration due the sacred images, such an one our holy ecumenical council
(fortified by the inward working of the Spirit of God, and by the traditions of the
Fathers and of the Church) anathematises. Now anathema is nothing less than complete
separation from God. For if any are quarrelsome and will not obediently accept what has
now been decreed, they but kick against the pricks, and injure their own souls in their
fighting against Christ. And in taking pleasure at the insults which are offered to the
Church, they clearly shew themselves to be of those who madly make war upon piety, and are
therefore to be regarded as in the same category with the heretics of old times, and their
companions and brethren in ungodliness.

12 We have sent our brethren and fellow priests, God-beloved Bishops, together with
certain of the Hegumenoi and clergy, that they may give a full report of our proceedings
to your godly-hearing ears. In proof and confirmation of what we have decreed,and also for
the assurance of your most religious majesty, we have submitted proofs from the Fathers, a
few of the many wehave gathered together in illustration of the brightly shining truth.
And now may the Saviour of us all, who reigns with you (sumbasileuwn umin) and who was
pleased to vouchsafe his peace to the Churches through you, preserve your kingdom for many
years, and also your council, princes, and faithful army, and the whole estate of the
empire; and may he also give you victory over all your enemies. For he it is, who says:
"As I live, saith the Lord, they that glorify me, I will glorify." He it is also who hath
girded you with strength, and will smite all your enemies, and make your people to
rejoice.

13 And do thou, O city, the new Sion, rejoice and be glad; thou that art the wonder of the
whole world. For although David hath not reigned in thee, nevertheless thy pious princes
here preside over thy affairs as David would have done. The Lord is in the midst of thee;
may his name be blessed forever and even Amen.


COUNCIL OF NICAEA (AD 787): THE CANONS
======================================

COUNCIL OF NICAEA (AD 787): THE CANONS The twenty-two canons of the second council of
Nicaea. Each canon is followed by the ancient epitome and by notes.

CANON I

That the sacred Canons are in all things to be observed. The pattern for those who have
received the sacerdotal dignity is found in the testimonies and instructions laid down in
the canonical constitutions, which we receiving with a glad mind, sing unto the Lord God
in the words of the God-inspired David, saying: "I have had as great delight in the way of
thy testimonies as in all manner of riches. "Thou hast commanded righteousness as thy
testimonies for ever. "Grant me understanding and I shall live. Now if the word of
prophesy bids us keep the testimonies of God forever and to live by them, it is evident
that they must abide unshaken and without change. Therefore Moses, the prophet of God,
speaketh after this manner: "To them nothing is to be added, and from them nothing is to
be taken away. And the divine Apostle glorying in them cries out, "which things the angels
desire to look into," and, "if an angel preach to you anything besides that which ye have
received, let him be anathema. Seeing these things are so, being thus well-testified unto
us, we rejoice over them as he that hath found great spoil, and press to our bosom with
gladness the divine canons, holding fast all the precepts of the same, complete and
without change, whether they have been set forth by the holy trumpets of the Spirit, the
renowned Apostles, or by the Six Ecumenical Councils, or by Councils locally assembled for
promulgating the decrees of the said Ecumenical Councils, or by our holy Fathers.

For all these, being illumined by the same Spirit, defined such things as were expedient.
Accordingly those whom they placed under anathema, we likewise anathematize; those whom
they deposed, we also depose; those whom they excommunicated, we also excommunicate; and
those whom they delivered over to punishment, we subject to the same penalty. And now "let
your conversation be without covetousness," crieth out Paul the divine Apostle, who was
caught up into the third heaven and heard unspeakable words.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon I. We gladly embrace the Divine Canons, viz.: those of the Holy
Apostles, of the Six Ecumenical Synods, as also of the local synods and of our Holy
Fathers, as inspired by one and the same Holy Spirit. Whom they anathematize we also
anathematize; whom they depose, we depose; whom they cut off, we cut off ; and whom they
subject to penalties, we also so subject.Harnack (Hist. of Dogma [Eng. Trans.], Vol. V.,
p. 327). Just as at Trent, in addition to the restoration of mediaeval doctrine, a series
of reforming decrees was published, so this Synod promulgated twenty-two canons which can
be similarly described. The attack on monachism and the constitution of the Church had
been of some use. They are the best canons drawn up by an Ecumenical Synod. The bishops
were enjoined to study, to live simply, and be unselfish, and to attend to the cure of
souls; the monks to observe order, decorum, and also to be unselfish. With the State and
the Emperor no compromise was made; on the contrary, the demands of Maximus Confessor and
John of Damascus are heard, though in muffled tones, from thecanons.

Van Espen. From the wording of this canon it is clearly seen that by the Fathers of this
Council the canons commonly called "Apostolical" are attributed to the Apostles themselves
as to their true authors, conformably to the Trullan Synod and to the opinion then
prevalent among the Greeks. For since the Fathers were well persuaded that the discipline
and doctrine contained in these canons could be received and confirmed, they cared but
little to enquire anxiously who were their true authors, being content in this question to
follow and embrace the then commonly received opinion, and to ascribe these canons to
them, just as, the other day, the Tridentine Synod (Sess. XXV., cap. j., De Reform) calls
these, without any explanation, the "Canons of the Apostles," because then as now they
were commonly called by that name.Beveridge (Annotat., p. 166, at end of Vol.II.). Here
are recognized and confirmed the canons set forth by the Six Ecumenical Councils. And
although all agree that the fifth and sixth Synods adopted no canons, unless that those of
the Council in Trullo be attributed to them, yet when Tarasius the Patriarch of
Constantinople claimed Canon 82 of the Trullan Canons as having been set forth by the
sixth synod (as is evident from the annotations on that canon), all the canons of Trullo
seem to be confirmed as having issued from the Sixth Synod. Or else, perchance, as is
supposed by Balsamon and Zonaras, as also by this present synod, the Trullan was held to
be Quinisext (penqekth), and the canons decreed by it to belong to both the fifth and the
sixth council. Otherwise I do not see what meaning these words ["of the Six Ecumenical
Synods"] can have, for it will be remembered that the reference is to the ecclesiastical
canons of the Six Ecumenical Synods, and not to their dogmatic decrees.

CANON II

That he who is to be ordained a Bishop must be steadfastly resolved to observe the canons,
otherwise he shall not be ordained. When we recite the psalter, we promise God: "I will
meditate upon thy statutes, and will not forget thy words." It is a salutary thing for all
Christians to observe this, but it is especially incumbent upon those who have received
the sacerdotal dignity. Therefore we decree, that every one who is raised to the rank of
the episcopate shall know the psalter by heart, so that from it he may admonish and
instruct all the clergy who are subject to him. And diligent examination shall be made by
the metropolitan whether he be zealously inclined to read diligently, and not merely now
and then, the sacred canons, the holy Gospel, and the book of the divine Apostle, and all
other divine Scripture; and whether he lives according to God's commandments, and also
teaches the same to his people. For the special treasure (ousia) of our high priesthood is
the oracles which have been divinely delivered to us, that is the true science of the
Divine Scriptures, as says Dionysius the Great. And if his mind be not set, and even glad,
so to do and teach, let him not be ordained. For says God by the prophet, "Thou hast
rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me."

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon II. Whoever is to be a bishop must know the Psalter by heart: he
must thoroughly understand what he reads, and not merely superficially, but with diligent
care, that is to say the Sacred Canons, the Holy Gospel, the book of the Apostle, and the
whole of the Divine Scripture. And should he not have such knowledge, he is not to be
ordained. Aristenus. Whoso is to be elevated to the grade of the episcopate should know...
the book of the Apostle Paul, and the whole divine scripture and search out its meaning
and understand the things that are written. For the very foundation and essence of the
high priesthood is the true knowledge of holy Scripture, according to Dionysius the Great.
And if he has this knowledge let him be ordained, but if not, not. For God hath said by
the prophet: "Thou hast put away from thee knowledge, therefore I have also put thee away
from me, that thou mayest not be my priest."

Fleury. The persecution of the Iconoclasts had driven all the best Christians into hiding,
or into far distant exile; this had made them rustic, and had taken from them their taste
for study. The council therefore is forced to be content with a knowledge of only what is
absolutely necessary, provided it was united with a willingness to learn. The examination
with which the ceremony of the ordination of bishops begins seems to be a remains of this
discipline. Van Espen. The Synod teaches in this canon that "all Christians" will find it
most profitable to meditate upon God's justifyings and to keep his words in remembrance,
and especially is this the ease with bishops. And it should be noted that formerly not
only the clergy, but also the lay people, learned the Psalms, that is the whole Psalter,
by heart, and made a most sweet sound by chanting them while about their work.

But as time went on, little by little this pious custom of reciting the Psalter and of
imposing its recitation and a meditation thereon at certain intervals, slipped away to the
clergy only and to monks and nuns, as to those specially consecrated to the service of God
and to meditation upon the divine words, as Lupus points out. And from this discipline and
practice the appointment of the Ecclesiastical or Canonical Office had its rise, which
imposes the necessity of reciting the Psalms at certain intervals of time. This canon is
found in the Corpus Juris Canonici, Gratian's Decretum, Pars I., Dist. xxxviij., C. vj.,
in Anastasius's translation.

CANON III

That it does not pertain to princes to choose a Bishop. Let every election of a bishop,
presbyter, or deacon, made by princes stand null, according to the canon which says: If
any bishop making use of the secular powers shall by their means obtain jurisdiction over
any church, he shall be deposed, and also excommunicated, together with all who remain in
communion with him. For he who is raised to the episcopate must be chosen by bishops, as
was decreed by the holy fathers of Nice in the canon which says: It is most fitting that a
bishop be ordained by all the bishops in the province; but if this is difficult to
arrange, either on account of urgent necessity, or because of the length of the journey,
three bishops at least having met together and given their votes, those also who are
absent having signified their assent by letters, the ordination shall take place. The
confirmation of what is thus done, shall in each province be given by the metropolitan
thereof.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon III. Every election made by a secular magistrate is null. This is
a canon of a synod recognized by East and West as ecumenical! The reader can hardly resist
the reflection that in this case there have been and are a great many intruding clergymen
in the world, whose appointment to their several offices is "null." Van Espen, however,
suggests an ingenious way out of the difficulty, which is followed with great approval by
Hefele. Van Espen. Canon xxix. of those commonly called Apostolic, and canon iv. of Nice
are renewed in this canon. From the words of this canon it is sufficiently clear that in
this canon the synod is treating of the choice and intrusion of persons into
ecclesiastical offices which the magistrates and Princes had arrogated to themselves under
the title of Domination (Dominatio); and by no means of that choice or rather nomination
which Catholic princes and kings have everywhere and always used.

This canon is found in the Corpus Juris Canonici, Gratian's Decretum, Pars I., Dist.
xciii., C. vij.

CANON IV

That Bishops are to abstain from all receiving of gifts. The Church's herald, Paul the
divine Apostle, laying down a rule (kanona) not only for the presbyters of Ephesus but for
the whole company of the priesthood, speaks thus explicitly, saying, "I have coveted no
man's silver or gold, or apparel. I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye
ought to support the weak;" for he accounted it more blessed to give. Therefore we being
taught by him do decree, that under no circumstances, shall a Bishop for the sake of
filthy lucre invent feigned excuses for sins, and exact gold or silver or other gifts from
the bishops, clergy, or monks who are subject to him. For says the Apostle, "The
unrighteous shall not possess the kingdom of God," and, "The children ought not to lay up
for the parents, but the parents for the children." If then any is found, who for the sake
of exacting gold or any other gift, or who from personal feeling, has suspended from the
ministry, or even excommunicated, any of the clergy subject to his jurisdiction, or who
has closed any of the venerable temples, so that the service of God may not be celebrated
in it, pouring out his madness even upon things insensible, and thus shewing himself to be
without understanding, he shall be subjected to the same punishment he devised for others,
and his trouble shall return on his own head, as a transgressor of God's commandment and
of the apostolic precepts. For Peter the supreme head (h kerufaia akrothj) of the Apostles
commands, "Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by
constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre but of a ready mind; neither as being
lords over the clergy (twn klh-rwn [A. V. God's heritage] ); but being ensamples to the
flock. And when the chief shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that
fadeth not away."

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon IV. We decree that no bishop shall extort gold or silver, or
anything else from bishops, clerics, or monks subject to his jurisdiction. And if anyone
through the power of gold or of any other thing or through his own whims, shall be found
to have prevented any one of the clergy who are subject to him, from the celebration of
the holy offices, or shall have shut up a venerable temple so that the sacred worship of
God could not be performed in it, he shall be subject to the lex talionis. For Peter the
Apostle says: Feed the flock of God, not of necessity but willingly, and according to God;
not for filthy lucre's sake, but with a prompt mind; not exercising lordship over the
clergy, but being an example to the flock. Balsamon. Note the present canon, which
punishes those bishops by the lex talionis, who for filthy lucre's sake, or out of private
affection, separate any from themselves, or close temples. Wherefore he who cuts off
others thus, let himbe cut off. But he who shuts off a temple shall be punished even more
than by cutting off. But lest any one should say, by the argument a contrario, that a
bishop should not be punished who neither for the sake of filthy lucre nor out of private
spite, but lawfully cuts some off, or closes temples, I answer that this argument only
holds good of the cutting off. For a bishop who for any reason, whether just or unjust,
shuts up a temple, should be punished, so it seems to me, as I have said above.

Van Espen. It would seem that at that time among the Greeks the use of local interdict
(interdicti localis) was not known. But very many theologians wish to find a vestige of
this interdict in the IV century, in St. Basil's epistle cclxx. (otherwise ccxliv.), where
the holy doctor teaches that the person who carries off by force a virgin, and those who
are cognizant of this wickedness ought to be smitten with excommunication, and that the
village or its inhabitants, to which the ravisher shall escape and where he shall be kept
in safety, shall be shut out from the prayers. This canon, or rather the first part of it,
is found in the Corpus Juris Canonici, Gratian's Decretum, Pars II., Causa XVI., Q. I.,
Canon lxiv.; all the latter part is represented by the words "et infra."

CANON V

That they who cast contumely upon clerics because they have been ordained in the church
without bringing a gift with them, are to be published with a fine. IT is a sin unto death
when men incorrigibly continue in their sin, but they sin more deeply, who proudly lifting
themselves up oppose piety and sincerity, accounting mammon of more worth than obedience
to God, and caring nothing for his canonical precepts. The Lord God is not found among
such, unless, perchance, having been humbled by their own fall, they return to a sober
mind. It behoves them the rather to turn to God with a contrite heart and to pray for
forgiveness and pardon of so grave a sin, and no longer to boast in an unholy gift. For
the Lord is nigh unto them that are of a contrite heart. With regard, therefore, to those
who pride themselves that because of their benefactions of gold they were ordained in the
Church, and resting confidently in this evil custom (so alien from God and inconsistent
with the whole priesthood), with a proud look and open mouth vilify with abusive words
those who on account of the strictness of their life were chosen by the Holy Ghost and
have been ordained without any gift of money, we decree in the first place that they take
the lowest place in their order; but if they do not amend let them be subjected to a fine.
But if it appear that any one has done this [i.e., given money], at any time as a price
for ordination, let him be dealt with according to the Apostolic Canon which says:

"If a bishop has obtained possession of his dignity by means of money (the same rule
applies also to a presbyter or deacon) let him be deposed and also the one who ordained
him, and let him also be altogether cut off from communion, even as Simon Magus was by me
Peter. To the same effect is the second canon of our holy fathers of Chalcedon, which
says: If any bishop gives ordination in return for money, and puts up for sale that which
cannot be sold, and ordains for money a bishop or chorepiscopus, or presbyter, or deacon,
or any other of those who are reckoned among the clergy; or who for money shall appoint
anyone to the office of oeconomus, advocate, or paramonarius; or, in a word, who hath done
anything else contrary to the canon, for the sake of filthy lucre-he who hath undertaken
to do anything of this sort, having been convicted, shall be in danger of losing his
degree. And he who has been ordained shall derive no advantage from the ordination or
promotion thus negotiated; but let him remain a stranger to the dignity and responsibility
which he attained by means of money. And if any one shall appear to have acted as a go-
between in so shameful and godless a traffic, lie also, if he be a cleric, shall be
removed from his degree; if he be a layman or a monk, let him be excommunicated.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon V. It seems that such as glory in the fact that they owe their
position to their liberality in gold to the Church, and who contemn those who were chosen
because of their virtue and were appointed without any largess, should receive the lowest
place in their order. And should they continue in their ways, let them be punished. But
those who made such gifts so as to get ordinations, let such be cast forth from communion,
as Simon Magus was by Peter. Hefele. Zonaras and Balsamon in earlier times, and later
Christian Lupus and Van Espen, remarked that the second part of this canon treats of
simony, but not the first. This has in view rather those who, on account of their large
expenditure on churches and the poor, have been raised, without simony, to the clerical
estate as a reward and recognition of their beneficence; and being proud of this, now
depreciate other clergymen who were unable or unwilling to make such foundations and the
like.

CANON VI

Concerning the homing of a local Synod at the time appointed. Since there is a canon which
says, twice a year in each province, the canonical enquiries shall be made in the
gatherings of the bishops; but because of the inconveniences which those who thus came
together had to undergo in travelling, the holy fathers of the Sixth Council decreed that
once each year, without regard to place or excuse which might be urged, a council should
be held and the things which are amiss corrected. This canon we now renew. And if any
prince be found hindering this being carried out, let him be excommunicated. But if any of
the metropolitans shall take no care that this be done, he being free from constraint or
fear or other reasonable excuse, let him be subjected to the canonical penalties. While
the council is engaged in considering the canons or matters which have regard to the
Gospel, it behoves the assembled Bishops, with all attention and grave thought to guard
the divine and life-giving commandments of God, for in keeping of them there is great
reward; because our lamp is the commandment, and our light is the law, and trial and
discipline are the way of life, and the commandment of the Lord shining afar giveth light
to the eyes. It is not permitted to a metropolitan to demand any of those things which the
bishops bring with them, whether it be a horse or any other gift.If he be convicted of
doing anything of this sort, he shall restore fourfold.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon VI. Whenever it is not possible for a synod to meet according to
the decree formulated long ago, twice in each year, at least let it be held once, as
seemed good to the Sixth Synod. Should any magistrate forbid such meeting, let him be cast
out: and a bishop who shall take no pains to assemble it, shall be subject to punishment.
And when the synod is held, should it appear that the Metropolitan has taken anything away
from any bishop, let him restore four-fold. Hefele. Anastasius remarks on this, that this
ordinance (whether the whole canon or only its last passage must remain undecided) was not
accepted by the Latins. That this canon did not forbid the so-called Synodicum, which the
metropolitans had lawfully to receive from the bishops, and the bishops from the priests,
is remarked by Van Espen, 1. c. p. 464.

Compare with this (as Balsamon advises) the eighth canon of the Council in Trullo. This
canon is found in the Corpus Juris Canonici, Gratian's Decretum, Pars I., Dist. XVIII., C.
vij.

CANON VII

That to churches consecrated without any deposit of the reliques of the Saints, the defect
should be made good. Paul the divine Apostle says: "The sins of some are open beforehand,
and some they follow after." These are their primary sins, and other sins follow these.
Accordingly upon the heels of the heresy of the traducers of the Christians, there
followed close other ungodliness. For as they took out of the churches the presence of the
venerable images, so likewise they cast aside other customs which we must now revive and
maintain in accordance with the written and unwritten law. We decree therefore that relics
shall be placed with the accustomed service in as many of the sacred temples as have been
consecrated without the relics of the Martyrs. And if any bishop from this time forward is
found consecrating a temple without holy relics, he shall be deposed, as a transgressor of
the ecclesiastical traditions.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon VII. Let reliques of the Holy Martyrs be placed in such churches
as have been consecrated without them, and this with the accustomed prayers. But whoever
shall consecrate a church without these shall be deposed as a transgressor of the
traditions of the Church.Balsamon, But someone may be surprised that oratories to-day are
consecrated without any deposition of reliques. And they may ask why the Divine Liturgy is
not celebrated in them by bishops and not by priests only. The answer is that the
superaltars (antimensia) which are made by the bishops when a church is consecrated,
suffice oratories in lieu of consecration or enthronement when they are sent to them, on
the occasion of their dedication or opening. They are called antimensia because they are
in place of, and are antitypes of those many like tables which furnish thoroughly the holy
Lord's table. On the rite of consecrating churches with reliques see Cardinal Bona. (De
Rebus Lit., Lib. I., cap. xix.)

The Antimensia are consecrated at the same time as the church; a full account of the
ceremony is found in the Euchologion (Goar's ed., p. 648). A piece of cloth is placed on
the altar and blessed, and then subsequently, as need requires, pieces are cut off from it
and sent to the various oratories, etc.The main outline of the ceremony of consecration is
as follows. J. M. Neale. (Int. Hist. East. Ch. p. 187. ) Relics being pounded up with
fragrant gum, oil is poured over them by the bishop, and, distilling out to the corporals,
is supposed to convey to them the mysterious virtues of the relics themselves. The holy
Eucharist must then be celebrated on them for seven days, after which they are sent forth
as they are wanted.

CANON VIII

That Hebrews ought not to be received unless they have been converted in sincerity of
heart. Since certain, erring in the superstitions of the Hebrews, have thought to mock at
Christ our God, and feigning to be converted to the religion of Christ do deny him, and in
private and secretly keep the Sabbath and observe other Jewish customs, we decree that
such persons be not received to communion, nor to prayers, nor into the Church; but let
them be openly Hebrews according to their religion, and let them not bring their children
to baptism, nor purchase or possess a slave. But if any of them, out of a sincere heart
and in faith, is converted and makes profession with his whole heart, setting at naught
their customs and observances, and so that others may be convinced and converted, such an
one is to be received and baptized, and his children likewise; and let them be taught to
take care to hold aloof from the ordinances of the Hebrews. But if they will not do this,
let them in no wise be received.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon VIII. Hebrews must not be received unless they are manifestly
converted with sincerity of heart. Hefele. The Greek commentators Balsamon and Zonaras
understood the words "nor to baptize their children" to mean, "these seeming Christians
may not `baptize their own children,'" because they only seem to be Christians. But
parents were never allowed to baptize their own children, and the true sense of the words
in question comes out clearlyfrom the second half of the canon.

CANON IX

That none of the books containing the heresy of the traducers of the Christians are to be
hid. All the childish devices and mad ravings which have been falsely written against the
venerable images, must be delivered up to the Episcopium of Constantinople, that they may
be locked away with other heretical books. And if anyone is found hiding such books, if he
be a bishop or presbyter or deacon, let him be deposed; but if he be a monk or layman, let
him be anathema.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon IX. If any one is found to have concealed a book written against
the venerable images, if he is on the clergy list let him be deposed; if a layman or monk
let him be cut off. Van Espen. What here is styled Episcopium was the palace of the
Patriarch. In this palace were the archives, and this was called the "Cartophylacium," in
which the charts and episcopal laws were laid up. To this there was a prefect, the grand
Chartophylax, one of the principal officials and of most exalted dignity of the Church of
Constantinople, whose office Codinus explains as follows: "The Ghartophylax has in his
keeping all the charts which pertain to ecclesiastical law (that is to say the letters in
which privileges and other rights of the Church are contained) and is the judge of all
ecclesiastical causes, and presides over marriage controversies which are taken cognizance
of, and proceedings for dissolution of the marriage bond; moreover, he is judge in other
clerical strifes, as the right hand of the Patriarch."

In this Cartophylaceum or Archives, therefore, under the faithful guardianship of the
Chartophylax, the fathers willed that the writings of the Iconoclasts should be laid up,
lest in their perusal simple Catholics might be led astray.

CANON X

That no cleric ought to leave his diocese and go into another without the knowledge of the
Bishop. Since certain of the clergy, misinterpreting the canonical constitutions, leave
their own diocese and run into other dioceses, especially into this God-protected royal
city, and take up their abode with princes, celebrating liturgies in their oratories, it
is not permitted to receive such persons into any house or church without the license of
their own Bishop and also that of the Bishop of Constantinople. And if any clerk shall do
this without such license, and shah so continue, let him be deposed. With regard to those
who have done this with the knowledge of the aforesaid Bishops, it is not lawful for them
to undertake mundane and secular responsibilities, since this is forbidden by the sacred
canons. And if anyone is discovered holding the office of those who are called Meizoteroi;
let him either lay it down, or be deposed from the priesthood. Let him rather be the
instructor of the children and others of the household, reading to them the Divine
Scriptures, for to this end he received the priesthood.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon X. A clergyman who after leaving his own parish has settled in
another far off from his own bishop and from the bishop of Constantinople, shall be
received neither into house nor church. And if he shall persevere in his course, he shall
be deposed. But if they shall do this with a knowledgeof what we have said, they shall not
receive a secular position; or should they have received them, they shall cease from them.
And if they refuse they shall be deposed. Hefele. On the office of the meizoteroi, the
Greek commentators Zonaras and Balsamon give us more exact information. We give the
substance of it, viz.: they were majores domus stewards of the estates of high personages.
Balsamon. On account of this canon it seems to me that the most holy Patriarch at the time
and his Chartophylax allow alien clergymen to celebrate the liturgy. in this royal city,
even without letters dimissory of the local bishop of each one.

CANON XI

That Oeconomi ought to be in the Episcopal palaces and in the Monasteries. Since we are
under obligation to guard all the divine canons, we ought by all means to maintain in its
integrity that one which says oeconomi are to be in each church. If the metropolitan
appoints in his Church an oeconomus, he does well; but if he does not, it is permitted to
the Bishop of Constantinople by his own (idiaj) authority to choose an oeconomus for the
Church of the Metropolitan. A like authority belongs to the metropolitans, if the Bishops
who are subject to them do not wish to appoint oeconomi in their churches. The same rule
is also to be observed with respect to monasteries.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XI. If the Metropolitan does not elect an oeconomus of the
metropolis, the patriarch shall do so. If the bishop shall not do so, the Metropolitan
shall; for so it seemed good to the fathers assembled at Chalcedon.The same law shall hold
in monasteries. Hefele. The Synod of Chalcedon required the appointment of special oeonomi
only for all bishops' churches; but our synod extended this prescription also to
monasteries. Van Espen. Bishops at their ordination among other things promise that they
will observe the canons, and the bishops of the Synod say that among these canons they are
bound to keep the one that orders them to appoint an Oeconomus. Among the officials of the
Constantinopolitan Church, Codinus names first The Grand (Economus, "who" (he says) "holds
in his oxen power all the faculties of the Church, and all their returns; and is the
dispenser in this matter as well to the Patriarch as to the Church."

Balsamon and Aristenus refer to Canon xxvj. of Chalcedon; and point out how here the power
of Constantinople was added to. This canon is found in the Corpus Juris Canonici,
Gratian's Decretum, Pars. II., Causa IX., Quaest. III., Canon iij.

CANON XII

That a Bishop or Hegumenos ought not to alienate any part of the suburban estate of the
church. IF bishop or hegumenos is found alienating any part of the farm lands of the
bishoprick or monastery into the hands of secular princes, or surrendering them to any
other person, such act is null according to the canon of the holy Apostles, which says:
"Let the bishop take care of all the Church's goods, and let him administer the same
according as in the sight of God." It is not lawful for him to appropriate any part
himself, or to confer upon his relations the things which belong to God. If they are poor
let them be helped among the poor; but let them not be used as a pretext for smuggling
away the Church's property. And if it be urged that the land is only a loss and yields no
profit, the place is not on that account to be given to the secular rulers, who are in the
neighbourhood; but let it be given to clergymen or husbandmen. And if they have resorted
to dishonest craft, so that the ruler has bought the land from the husbandman or cleric,
such transaction shall likewise be null, and the land shall be restored to the bishoprick
or monastery. And the bishop or hegumenos doing this shall be turned out, the bishop from
his bishoprick and the hegumenos from his monastery, as those who wasted what they did not
gather.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XII. According to what seemed good to the Holy Apostles, any act
of alienation of the goods of a diocese or of a monastery made by the bishop, or by the
superior of the monastery, shall be null. And the Bishop or Superior who shall have done
this shall be expelled. Van Espen. As at the time of this Synod by the favour of kings and
princes the way was frequently open to ecclesiastical dignities, clergymen might easily be
induced through ambition tomake over to princes some part of the Church's possessions, if
only by so doing they might arrive at the coveted preferment through their patronage, and
then desiring to make good this simoniacal promise, they studied to transfer the church's
goods to their patrons; with regard to these the present decree of the synod was made. But
because human ambition is cunning, and solicitously seeks a way of attaining its ends,
ambitious clerics tried by various colouring to give a tone to and to palliate
thesetranslations of church-goods to princes and magistrates, so that they might attain to
that they aimed at by the favour of said princes and magistrates.

Two such pretexts the synod exposes and rejects in the present canon. This canon is found
in the Corpus Juris Canonici, Pars II., Causa XII., Quaest. II., canon xix.

CANON XIII

That they are worthy of special condemnation who turn the monasteries into public
houses.During the calamity which was brought to pass in the Churches, because of our sins,
some of the sacred houses, for example, bishops' palaces and monasteries, were seized by
certain men and became public inns. If those who now hold them choose to give them back,
so that they may be restored to their original use, well and good; but if not, and these
persons are on the sacerdotal list, we command that they be deposed; if they be monks or
laymen, that they be excommunicated, as those who have been condemned from the Father, and
the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and assigned their place where the worm dieth not and the
fire is not quenched, because they set themselves against the voice of the Lord, which
says:"Make not my Father's house an house of merchandise."

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XIII. Those who make common diocesan or monastic goods, unless
they restore to the bishop or superior the things belonging to the diocese or monastery,
the whole proceeding shall be null. If theyare persons in Holy Orders they shall be
deposed, but if laymen or monks they shall be cast out. Van Espen. No doubt by "the
calamity" here is intended a reference to the troubles occasioned by the Iconoclasts,
during whose time of domination many nefarious things were perpetrated against the
orthodox, and most bitter of all was the persecution of the monks and priests by Leo the
Isaurian and by his son Constantine Copronymus, both of them supporters of the
Iconoclasts. And so it came to pass that by this persecution and through the nefarious
vexations of the Iconoclasts, many monks and clerics fled from their monasteries and left
vacant the Episcopia or holy houses, and so it becameeasy for people to come in and occupy
the empty monasteries and religious houses, and to turn them to common and profane uses,
especially when the anger of the Emperors and of the Iconoclasts was known to be fierce
against the monks, and such bishops and priests as were worshippers of images.

This canon is found in the Corpus Juris Canonici, Pars. II., Causa xix., Quasar. III.,
canon v., in Anastasius's version but lacking the opening words which are supplied by the
Roman Correctors.

CANON XIV

That no one without ordination ought to read in the ambo during the synaxis. That there is
a certain order established in the priesthood is very evident to all, and to guard
diligently the promotions of the priesthood is well pleasing to God. Since therefore we
see certain youths who have received the clerical tonsure, but who have not yet received
ordination from the bishop, reading in the ambo during the Synaxis, and in doing this
violating the canons, we forbid this to be done (from henceforth,) and let this
prohibition be observed also amongst the monks. It is permitted to each hegumenos in his
own monastery to ordain a reader, if he himself had received the laying on of hands by a
bishop to the dignity of hegumenos, and is known to be a presbyter. Chorepiscopi may
likewise, according to ancient custom and with the bishop's authorization, appoint
readers.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XIV. No one shall read from the ambon unless he has been ordained
by the bishop. And this shall be in force also among monks. The superior of a monastery,
if he has been ordained by the bishop, may ordain a lector but only in his own monastery.
A chorepiscopus also can make a lector. Balsamon. I say therefore from this present canon
and from canon xix. that they may properly be made superiors, who have never received holy
orders; since women may be placed in such positions in our monasteries. And as these women
do not hear confessions, nor make readers, so neither do superiors do this who are neither
monks nor priests, nor could they do this even with the license of the bishop. Hefele. Van
Espen (1. c. p. 469 sqq., and Jus Canon., t.i. pt. xxxi. tit. 31, c. 6), professes to show
(a) that at that time there was no special benediction of abbots (different from their
ordination as priests), and that therefore the words, "if he (the superior of the
monastery) himself is consecrated by the bishop to the office of hegumenus," and
"evidently is a priest," mean the same; (b) that at the time of our Synod every superior
of a monastery, a prior as well as an abbot, had the power of conferring upon the monks of
his monastery the order of lector; but (c) that the way in which Anastasius translated the
canon (si dumtaxat Abbati manus impositio facta noscatur ab episcopo secundum morem
prceficiendorum abbatum), and the reception of this translation into the Corpus juris
canonici, c.l., Dist. lxix., gave occasion to concede the right in question, of ordaining
lectors, only to the solemnly consecrated (and insulated) abbots.

This canon is found (as just noted) in the Corpus Juris Canonici, Pars I., Dist. LXIX,
c.j.

CANON XV

That a clerk ought not to be set over two churches. From henceforth no clergyman shall be
appointed over two churches, for this savours of merchandise and filthy lucre, and is
altogether alien from ecclesiastical custom. We have heard by the very voice of the Lord
that, "No man can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other,
or else he will hold to the one and despise the other." Each one, therefore, as says the
Apostle, in the calling wherein he was called, in the same he ought to abide, and in one
only church to give attendance. For in the affairs of the Church, what is gained through
filthy lucre is altogether separate from God. To meet the necessities of this life, there
are various occupations, by means of which, if one so desire, let him procure the things
needful for the body. For says the Apostle, "These hands have ministered unto my
necessities, and to them that were with me." Occupations of this sort may be obtained in
the God-protected city. But in the country places outside, because of the small number of
people, let a dispensation be granted.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XV. Hereafter at Constantinople a cleric may not serve two
churches. But in the outskirts this may be permitted on account of the scarcitymen. Van
Espen. This means that in the country or where men are so scarce that each parish cannot
have its own presbyter, one presbyter should be allowed to serve two churches, not that so
he may supply his own need. (as to-day is allowed by the combination of benefices), but
that so the necessities of the parishioners may be provided for. It should be noted that
the synod deems it "filthy lucre" and "separate from God" if ecclesiastical ministries are
performed "for the necessaries of life," and is of opinion that the clergy should seek
their support from some honest employment or work by the example of Paul, rather than to
turnecclesiastical ministrations to the attaining of temporal things, and to use these as
an art by which to gain bread.

This canon is found in the Corpus Juris Canonical Pars. II., Causa XXI., Quaest. L, canon
j. where the gloss is "because there the clergy are few."

CANON XVI

That it does not become one in holy orders to be clad in costly apparel. All buffoonery
and decking of the body ill becomes the priestly rank. Therefore those bishops and clerics
who array themselves in gay and showy clothing ought to correct themselves, and if they do
not amend they ought to be subjected to punishment. So likewise they who anoint themselves
with perfumes. When the root of bitterness sprang up, there was poured into the Catholic
Church the pollution of the heresy of the traducers of the Christians. And such as were
defiled by it, not only detested the pictured images, but also set at naught all decorum,
being exceedingly mad against those who lived gravely and religiously; so that in them was
fulfilled that which is written, "The service of God is abominable to the sinner." If
therefore, any are found deriding those who are clad in poor and grave raiment, let them
be corrected by punishment. For from early times every man in holy orders wore modest and
grave clothing; and verily whatever is worn, not so much because of necessity, as for the
sake of outward show, savours of dandyism, as says Basil the Great. Nor did anyone array
himself in raiment embroidered with silk, nor put many coloured ornaments on the border of
his garments; for they had heard from the lips of God that "They that wear soft clothing
are in kings' houses."

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XVI. Bishops and clergymen arraying themselves in splendid
clothes and anointed with perfumes must be corrected. Should they persist, they must be
punished. Balsamon and Zonaras tell of the magnificence in dress assumed by some of the
superior clergy among the Iconoclasts, wearing stuffs woven with threads of gold, and
theirloins girt with golden girdles, and sentences embroidered in gold on the edge of
theirraiment. It is curious to note how often heretics fall into extremes. We have seen
how Eustathius wore a conspicuous garb and was not willing to appear in the ordinary dress
of a clergyman of his day. His was the one extreme of ultra clerical or, I should say,
ascetic clothing. These Iconoclasts went to the other extreme and dressed themselves like
men of the world, giving themselves the dandy airs of the fops of the day, thus, as
always, making themselves ridiculous in the eyes of the wise, and their office
contemptible in the eyes of the common people.

This canon is found in the Corpus Juris Canonici, Gratian's Decretum,Pars. II., Causa
XXI., Qusest. IV., canon j.

CANON XVII

That he shall not be allowed to begin the building of an oratory, who has not the means
wherewith to finish it. Certain monks having left their monasteries because they desired
to rule, and, unwilling to obey, are undertaking to build oratories, but have not the
means to finish them. Now whoever shall undertake to do anything of this sort, let him be
forbidden by the bishop of the place. But if he have the means wherewith to finish, let
what he has designed be carried on to completion. The same rule is to be observed with
regard to laymen and clerics.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XVII. Whoever wishes to build a monastery, if he has the
wherewithal to finish it, let him beginthe work, and let him bring it to a conclusion.But
if not, let him be prohibited by the bishop of the place. The same law shall apply to
laymenand monks. Van Espen refers to Gratian's Decretum, Pars. III., De Consecrat., Dist.
I., canon ix., et seqq. Balsamon also refers his readers to the Fourth Book of the
Basilica, title I., chapter I, which is part of Justinian's cxxiij. Novel, also to the
first canon of the so-called First-and-Second Council held at Constantinople in the Church
of the Holy Apostles.

CANON XVIII

That women ought not to live in bishops' houses, nor in monasteries of men. "BE ye without
offence to those who are without," says the divine Apostle. Now for women to live in
Bishops' houses or in monasteries is ground for grave offence. Whoever therefore is known
to have a female slave or freewoman in the episcopal palace or in a monastery for the
discharge of some service, let him be rebuked. And if he still continue to retain her, let
him be deposed. If it happens that women are on the suburban estates, and the bishop or
hegumenos desires to go thither, so long as the bishop or hegumenos is present, let no
woman at that time continue her work, but let her betake herself to some other place until
the bishop lot hegumenos ] has departed, so that there be no occasion of complaint.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XVIII. It is not fitting that womenshould be kept in episcopal
houses or in monasteries. If anyone shall dare to do so, he shall be reproved ; but if he
persists, he shall be deposed. No woman is allowed to serve or even to appear where a
bishop or a superior of a monastery is present, but let her keep herself apart until he be
gone. Van Espen. Every woman the present canon expels from the Episcopium or bishop's
house, agreeably to Novel CXXIII, chapter 29, of the Emperor Justinian, which, (although
the Nicene canon on the subject makes a mother, sister, daughter and other persons free
from all suspicions, exceptions), admits no exceptions in the case of a bishop, but says,
"We allow no bishop to have any woman or to live with one." For as bishops are set in a
higher grade above the rest. of the clergy, and ought to be like lights set on a
candlestick to give light, rightly they are ordered more than others to take care to avoid
all appearance of evil, and to remove all from them that might cause suspicion.

With regard to monks and their houses see Justinian's Novel CXXXIII., Cap. IV.

CANON XIX

That the vows of those in holy orders and of monks, and of nuns are to be made without the
exaction of gifts. The abomination of filthy lucre has made such inroads among the rulers
of the churches, that certain of those who call themselves religious men and women,
forgetting the commandments of the Lord have been altogether led astray, and for the sake
of money have received those presenting themselves for the sacerdotal order and the
monastic life. And hence the first step of those so received being unlawful, the whole
proceeding is rendered null, as says Basil the Great. For it is not possible that God
should be served by means of mammon. If therefore, anyone is found doing anything of this
kind, if he be a bishop or hegumenos, or one of the priesthood, either let him cease to do
so any longer or else let him be deposed, according to the second canon of the Holy
Council of Chalcedon. If the offender be an abbess, let her be sent away from her
monastery, and placed in another in a subordinate position. In like manner is a hegumenos
to be dealt with, who has not the ordination of a presbyter. With regard to what has been
given by parents as a dowry for their children, or which persons themselves have
contributed out of their own property, with the declaration that such gifts were made to
God, we have decreed, that whether the persons in whose behalf the gifts were made,
continue to live in the monastery or not, the gifts are to remain with the monastery in
accordance with their first determination; unless indeed there be ground for complaint
against the superior.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XIX. Whoever for money admits those coming to Holy Orders or to
the monastic life, if he be bishop, or superior of a monastery or any other in sacred
orders, shall either cease or be deposed. And the Superior of a monastery of women shall
be expelled [if she have done sol and shall be given over to subjection. The same shall be
the ease with a superior of monks, if he be not a priest. But the possessions brought by
those who come in, let them remain, whether the persons remain or not, provided the
superior be not to blame. Balsamon. But someone may ask how it is that canon V., orders
that he that performs an ordination for money is eo ipso to be deposed, whereas this canon
provides that he who receives a cleric or monk on account of a pecuniary gift is to cease
or else to be deposed. The answer is, that whenever anyone performs an ordination for
money, according to canon V., he is to be deposed; but when it was only a reception of a
person which took place, whether into the list of the clergy or into a monastery by reason
of money, who did this is only to be deposed, if after being denounced he persists in this
evil. The canons therefore are diverse in their scope. The fifth treats of unlawful
ordination, but this one of improper receptions.

CANON XX

That from henceforth, no double monastery shall be erected; and concerning the double
monasteries already in existence. WE decree that from henceforth, no double monastery
shall be erected; because this has become an offence and cause of complaint to many. In
the case of those persons who with the members of their family propose to leave the world
and follow the monastic life, let the men go into a monastery for men, and the women into
a monastery for women; for this is well-pleasing to God. The double monasteries which are
already in existence, shall observe the rule of our holy Father Basil, and shall be
ordered by his precepts, monks and nuns shall not dwell together in the same monastery,
for in thus living together adultery finds its occasion. No monk shall have access to a
nunnery; nor shall a nun be permitted to enter a monastery for the sake of conversing with
anyone therein. No monk shall sleep in a monastery for women, nor eat alone with a nun.
When food is brought by men to the canonesses, let the abbess accompanied by some one of
the aged nuns, receive it outside the gates of the women's monastery. When a monk desires
to see one of his kinswomen, who may be in the nunnery, let him converse with her in the
presence of the abbess, and that in a very few words, and then let him speedily take his
departure.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XX. Monasteries shall not be double, neither shall monks and nuns
live in the same building, nor shall they talk together apart. Moreover if a man takes
anything to a canoness, let him wait without and hand it to her, and let him see his
relative in the presence of her superior. Van Espen. It is evident, as Zonaras remarks,
that the double monasteries here referred to are not those in which men and women live
together, in one house, which in this canon is not tolerated at all, but those which were
situated so close together that it was evident there could easily be an entrance from one
to the other, these are allowed under certain cautions by this canon. But not only the
Greeks but the Latins also often disapproved of such monasteries. See decree in Gratian,
Pars. II., Causa XVIII., Q. II., canon xxviij., and Pope Paschal's letter (Epis. X) to
Didacus, Abp. of Compostella.

Despite all this St. Bridget of Sweden again instituted double monasteries in the XV
century, concerning which Thomas Walsingham, a monk of St. Alban's Abbey, in England,
writes that in 1414, King Henry founded three monasteries, of which the third was a
Brigittine, professing the rule of St. Augustine, with the additions called by them the
Rule of the Saviour. "These two convents had one church in common, the nuns lived in the
upper part under the roof, the brothers on the ground-floor, and each convent had a
separate inclosure; and after profession no one went forth, except by special licence of
the Lord Pope." With regard to the chaplains of nuns, provision is found in Justinian's
Code. (Lib. xliv., De Epis. et clericis. ) This canon is found in the Corpus Juris
Canonici, Gratian's Decretum, Pars. II., Causa XVIII., Q. II., canon xxj.

CANON XXI

That monks are not to leave their monasteries and go into others. A Monk or nun ought not
to leave the monastery to which he or she is attached, and betake themselves to others.
But if one do this, he ought to be received as a guest. It is not however proper that he
be made a member of the monastery, without the consent of his hegumenos.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XXI. It is not allowed to a monk or a nun to leave her own house
and enter another ; but if he (or she) enters let (him or her) be received as a guest; but
let him (or her) not be admitted at all nor given hospitality contrary to the will of the
superior.Aristenus, The present canon does not allow a monk or a nun who goes to another
house to be received into, nor even to be admitted as a guest, lest by force of necessity
he be led astray to worldly things and so remain. Moreover it does not permit a woman to
be admitted and received and reckoned in the number of the sisters without the consent of
the superior. It seems to me that in Aristenus an ouk must have crept into the text and
that thefirst sentence should read as now but omitting the "not." This makes him agree
with Zonaras who says "the man must be receivedas a guest lest he go to a profane tavern
and be forced to associate with those who have never learned how to live decently." It is
clear that the "superior" referred to is that of the house whence the monk or nun went
forth.

CANON XXII

That when it happens that monies have to eat with women they ought to observe giving of
thanks, and abstemiousness, and discretion. To surrender all things to God, and not to
serve our own wills, is great gain. For says the divine Apostle, "whether ye eat or drink,
do all to the glory of God. And Christ our God has bidden us in his Gospels, to cut off
the beginning of sins; for not only is adultery rebuked by him, but even the movement of
the mind towards the act of adultery when he says, "Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust
after her, hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. We who have been thus
taught ought therefore to purify our minds. Now although all things are lawful, all things
are not expedient, as we have been taught by the mouth of the Apostle. It is needful that
all men should eat in order that they may live. And for those to whom life consists of
marrying, and bringing forth children, and of the condition of the lay state, there is
nothing unbecoming in men and women eating together, only let them give thanks to the
giver of the food; but if there be the entertainments of the theatre, that is, Satanic
songs accompanied with the meretricious inflections of harps, there come upon them,
through these things, the curse of the prophet, who thus speaks: "Woe to them who drink
wine with harp and psaltery, but they regard not the works of the Lord, and consider not
the works of his hands. Whenever persons of this sort are found among Christians, let them
amend their ways;

but if they will not do so, let there overtake them the penalties which have been enacted
in the canons by our predecessors. With regard to those whose life is free from care and
apart from men, that is, those who have resolved before the Lord God to carry the solitary
yoke, they should sit down alone and in silence. Moreover it is also altogether unlawful
for those who have chosen the priestly life to eat in private with women, unless it be
with God-fearing and discreet men and women, so that even their feast may be turned to
spiritual edification. The same rule is to be observed with relatives. Again, if it happen
that a monk or priest while on a journey does not have with him what is absolutely
necessary for him, and, because of his pressing needs, thinks well to turn aside into an
inn or into someone's house, this he is permitted to do, seeing that need compels.

Notes.

Ancient Epitome of Canon XXII. There is no objection to laywomen eating with men: it is
not right however for men who have chosen the lonely life, to eat privately with women;
unless perchance together with them that fear God and with religious men and women. But
when travelling, a monk or anyone in sacred orders, not carrying necessary provisions with
him, may enter a public house. Balsamon refers in connexion with this canon to Apostolic
Canons xlij. and xliij.; lx. of the Synod of Carthage, and lxij. of the Synod in Trullo.


SOURCES AND CREDITS
===================

Where each text comes from, and the licence under which it may be reused.

CONSTITUTIONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES, BOOK 5 English translation: an older public-domain
translation as collected in the Writings-Database (HistoricalChristianFaith), mostly from
the Ante-Nicene, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers and similar nineteenth-century editions.
SermonIndex has only divided it into chapters and short sections; the wording is the
translator’s own. No modern English version has been made. Licence: Public domain.

CONSTITUTIONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES, BOOK 6 English translation: an older public-domain
translation as collected in the Writings-Database (HistoricalChristianFaith), mostly from
the Ante-Nicene, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers and similar nineteenth-century editions.
SermonIndex has only divided it into chapters and short sections; the wording is the
translator’s own. No modern English version has been made. Licence: Public domain.

CONSTITUTIONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES, BOOK 7 English translation: an older public-domain
translation as collected in the Writings-Database (HistoricalChristianFaith), mostly from
the Ante-Nicene, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers and similar nineteenth-century editions.
SermonIndex has only divided it into chapters and short sections; the wording is the
translator’s own. No modern English version has been made. Licence: Public domain.

CONSTITUTIONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES, BOOK 8 English translation: an older public-domain
translation as collected in the Writings-Database (HistoricalChristianFaith), mostly from
the Ante-Nicene, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers and similar nineteenth-century editions.
SermonIndex has only divided it into chapters and short sections; the wording is the
translator’s own. No modern English version has been made. Licence: Public domain.

THE ECCLESIASTICAL CANONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES English translation: an older public-domain
translation as collected in the Writings-Database (HistoricalChristianFaith), mostly from
the Ante-Nicene, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers and similar nineteenth-century editions.
SermonIndex has only divided it into chapters and short sections; the wording is the
translator’s own. No modern English version has been made. Licence: Public domain.

COUNCIL OF CONSTANTINOPLE (AD 381): SHORTER WRITINGS English translation: an older public-
domain translation as collected in the Writings-Database (HistoricalChristianFaith),
mostly from the Ante-Nicene, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers and similar nineteenth-century
editions. SermonIndex has only divided it into chapters and short sections; the wording is
the translator’s own. No modern English version has been made. The Greek words that the
editors quote in their notes were stored in the source in an old keyboard code; they are
given here in Latin letters. Licence: Public domain.

COUNCIL OF CONSTANTINOPLE (AD 394): THE CANONS English translation: an older public-domain
translation as collected in the Writings-Database (HistoricalChristianFaith), mostly from
the Ante-Nicene, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers and similar nineteenth-century editions.
SermonIndex has only divided it into chapters and short sections; the wording is the
translator’s own. No modern English version has been made. Licence: Public domain.

COUNCIL OF CARTHAGE (AD 419): THE CANONS English translation: an older public-domain
translation as collected in the Writings-Database (HistoricalChristianFaith), mostly from
the Ante-Nicene, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers and similar nineteenth-century editions.
SermonIndex has only divided it into chapters and short sections; the wording is the
translator’s own. No modern English version has been made. Licence: Public domain.

COUNCIL OF EPHESUS (AD 431): SHORTER WRITINGS English translation: an older public-domain
translation as collected in the Writings-Database (HistoricalChristianFaith), mostly from
the Ante-Nicene, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers and similar nineteenth-century editions.
SermonIndex has only divided it into chapters and short sections; the wording is the
translator’s own. No modern English version has been made. The Greek words that the
editors quote in their notes were stored in the source in an old keyboard code; they are
given here in Latin letters. Licence: Public domain.

COUNCIL OF EPHESUS (AD 431): CYRIL’S EPISTLE TO NESTORIUS, WITH THE TWELVE ANATHEMATISMS
English translation: an older public-domain translation as collected in the Writings-
Database (HistoricalChristianFaith), mostly from the Ante-Nicene, Nicene and Post-Nicene
Fathers and similar nineteenth-century editions. SermonIndex has only divided it into
chapters and short sections; the wording is the translator’s own. No modern English
version has been made. The Greek words that the editors quote in their notes were stored
in the source in an old keyboard code; they are given here in Latin letters. Licence:
Public domain.

COUNCIL OF EPHESUS (AD 431): THE LETTER OF THE SYNOD TO POPE CELESTINE English
translation: an older public-domain translation as collected in the Writings-Database
(HistoricalChristianFaith), mostly from the Ante-Nicene, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers
and similar nineteenth-century editions. SermonIndex has only divided it into chapters and
short sections; the wording is the translator’s own. No modern English version has been
made. The Greek words that the editors quote in their notes were stored in the source in
an old keyboard code; they are given here in Latin letters. Licence: Public domain.

COUNCIL OF CHALCEDON (AD 451): SHORTER WRITINGS English translation: an older public-
domain translation as collected in the Writings-Database (HistoricalChristianFaith),
mostly from the Ante-Nicene, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers and similar nineteenth-century
editions. SermonIndex has only divided it into chapters and short sections; the wording is
the translator’s own. No modern English version has been made. The Greek words that the
editors quote in their notes were stored in the source in an old keyboard code; they are
given here in Latin letters. Licence: Public domain.

COUNCIL OF CHALCEDON (AD 451): THE TOME OF ST. LEO English translation: an older public-
domain translation as collected in the Writings-Database (HistoricalChristianFaith),
mostly from the Ante-Nicene, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers and similar nineteenth-century
editions. SermonIndex has only divided it into chapters and short sections; the wording is
the translator’s own. No modern English version has been made. Licence: Public domain.

COUNCIL OF CHALCEDON (AD 451): THE DEFINITION OF FAITH English translation: an older
public-domain translation as collected in the Writings-Database
(HistoricalChristianFaith), mostly from the Ante-Nicene, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers
and similar nineteenth-century editions. SermonIndex has only divided it into chapters and
short sections; the wording is the translator’s own. No modern English version has been
made. The Greek words that the editors quote in their notes were stored in the source in
an old keyboard code; they are given here in Latin letters. Licence: Public domain.

COUNCIL OF CHALCEDON (AD 451): THE CANONS English translation: an older public-domain
translation as collected in the Writings-Database (HistoricalChristianFaith), mostly from
the Ante-Nicene, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers and similar nineteenth-century editions.
SermonIndex has only divided it into chapters and short sections; the wording is the
translator’s own. No modern English version has been made. The Greek words that the
editors quote in their notes were stored in the source in an old keyboard code; they are
given here in Latin letters. Licence: Public domain.

COUNCIL OF CHALCEDON (AD 451): SESSION 16 EXTRACTS English translation: an older public-
domain translation as collected in the Writings-Database (HistoricalChristianFaith),
mostly from the Ante-Nicene, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers and similar nineteenth-century
editions. SermonIndex has only divided it into chapters and short sections; the wording is
the translator’s own. No modern English version has been made. Licence: Public domain.

COUNCIL OF CONSTANTINOPLE (AD 553): SHORTER WRITINGS English translation: an older public-
domain translation as collected in the Writings-Database (HistoricalChristianFaith),
mostly from the Ante-Nicene, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers and similar nineteenth-century
editions. SermonIndex has only divided it into chapters and short sections; the wording is
the translator’s own. No modern English version has been made. Licence: Public domain.

COUNCIL OF CONSTANTINOPLE (AD 553): THE CAPITULA OF THE COUNCIL English translation: an
older public-domain translation as collected in the Writings-Database
(HistoricalChristianFaith), mostly from the Ante-Nicene, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers
and similar nineteenth-century editions. SermonIndex has only divided it into chapters and
short sections; the wording is the translator’s own. No modern English version has been
made. Licence: Public domain.

COUNCIL OF CONSTANTINOPLE (AD 553): THE SENTENCE OF THE SYNOD English translation: an
older public-domain translation as collected in the Writings-Database
(HistoricalChristianFaith), mostly from the Ante-Nicene, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers
and similar nineteenth-century editions. SermonIndex has only divided it into chapters and
short sections; the wording is the translator’s own. No modern English version has been
made. Licence: Public domain.

COUNCIL OF CONSTANTINOPLE (AD 681): SHORTER WRITINGS English translation: an older public-
domain translation as collected in the Writings-Database (HistoricalChristianFaith),
mostly from the Ante-Nicene, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers and similar nineteenth-century
editions. SermonIndex has only divided it into chapters and short sections; the wording is
the translator’s own. No modern English version has been made. The Greek words that the
editors quote in their notes were stored in the source in an old keyboard code; they are
given here in Latin letters. Licence: Public domain.

COUNCIL OF CONSTANTINOPLE (AD 681): THE LETTER OF AGATHO, POPE OF OLD ROME, TO THE EMPEROR
English translation: an older public-domain translation as collected in the Writings-
Database (HistoricalChristianFaith), mostly from the Ante-Nicene, Nicene and Post-Nicene
Fathers and similar nineteenth-century editions. SermonIndex has only divided it into
chapters and short sections; the wording is the translator’s own. No modern English
version has been made. Licence: Public domain.

QUINISEXT COUNCIL (AD 692): THE CANONS English translation: an older public-domain
translation as collected in the Writings-Database (HistoricalChristianFaith), mostly from
the Ante-Nicene, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers and similar nineteenth-century editions.
SermonIndex has only divided it into chapters and short sections; the wording is the
translator’s own. No modern English version has been made. Licence: Public domain.

COUNCIL OF NICAEA (AD 787): SHORTER WRITINGS English translation: an older public-domain
translation as collected in the Writings-Database (HistoricalChristianFaith), mostly from
the Ante-Nicene, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers and similar nineteenth-century editions.
SermonIndex has only divided it into chapters and short sections; the wording is the
translator’s own. No modern English version has been made. Licence: Public domain.

COUNCIL OF NICAEA (AD 787): EPITOME OF THE DEFINITION OF THE ICONOCLASTIC CONCILIABULUM
English translation: an older public-domain translation as collected in the Writings-
Database (HistoricalChristianFaith), mostly from the Ante-Nicene, Nicene and Post-Nicene
Fathers and similar nineteenth-century editions. SermonIndex has only divided it into
chapters and short sections; the wording is the translator’s own. No modern English
version has been made. Licence: Public domain.

COUNCIL OF NICAEA (AD 787): PART OF POPE HADRIAN’S LETTER English translation: an older
public-domain translation as collected in the Writings-Database
(HistoricalChristianFaith), mostly from the Ante-Nicene, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers
and similar nineteenth-century editions. SermonIndex has only divided it into chapters and
short sections; the wording is the translator’s own. No modern English version has been
made. Licence: Public domain.

COUNCIL OF NICAEA (AD 787): THE LETTER OF THE SYNOD TO THE EMPEROR AND EMPRESS English
translation: an older public-domain translation as collected in the Writings-Database
(HistoricalChristianFaith), mostly from the Ante-Nicene, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers
and similar nineteenth-century editions. SermonIndex has only divided it into chapters and
short sections; the wording is the translator’s own. No modern English version has been
made. Licence: Public domain.

COUNCIL OF NICAEA (AD 787): THE CANONS English translation: an older public-domain
translation as collected in the Writings-Database (HistoricalChristianFaith), mostly from
the Ante-Nicene, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers and similar nineteenth-century editions.
SermonIndex has only divided it into chapters and short sections; the wording is the
translator’s own. No modern English version has been made. Licence: Public domain.