The Presbyters Project

91 (III). Qualiter presbyter ordinetur.

Presbyter cum ordinatur, episcopo eum benedicente et manum super caput eius tenente, etiam omnes presbyteri, qui praesentes sunt, manus suas iuxta manum episcopi super caput illius teneant.

(ed. Munier 1963: 181, 188)

91 (III). In what way should a presbyter be ordained.

When a presbyter is ordained and the bishop blesses him and holds hands above his head, also all presbyters who are present should hold their hands above his head next to the bishop's hands.

(trans. J. Szafranowski)

Place of event:

Region

Gaul

City

Marseille

About the source:

Title: The Ancient Statutes of the Church, Statuta Ecclesiae Antiqua
Origin: Marseille (Gaul)
Denomination: Catholic/Nicene/Chalcedonian

This corpus of canons was published by earlier editors (Labbe-Cossart, Hardouin, Mansi) as the acts of the supposed IV Council of Carthage (AD 398). It is, however, of a clearly Gallic, and not African, character; some scholars attributed it to Caesarius of Arles. It seems that these canons originated from multiple synods, above all Gallic ones. Since canons of the council of Vaison (AD 442) are quoted and the canons of the council of Agde (AD 506) are not, the original compilation known now as Statuta Ecclesiae Antiqua must have been prepared at some time in the period flanked by these two synods. Munier suggested that the text was compiled by Gennadius of Marseille, in ca 475 (Munier 1960). The version of the text from the Collectio Hispana was the one most widely used in the Middle Ages.

The titles of the canons are taken from the Codex Parisiensis Lat. 3846, fol. 136. Numbers in brackets in Latin numerals indicate the position of the canon in the Collectio Hispana.

Edition:

Ch. Munier ed., Concilia Galliae a. 314-a. 506, Corpus Christianorum. Series Latina 148, Turnhoult 1963.

Bibliography:

Ch. Munier, Les Statuta ecclesiae antiqua, Paris 1960.

Categories:

Described by a title - Presbyter/πρεσβύτερος

Ritual activity - Ordaining

Ritual activity - Imposition of hands

Public law - Ecclesiastical

Relation with - Another presbyter

Relation with - Bishop/Monastic superior

Equal prerogatives of presbyters and bishops

Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL: J. Szafranowski, Presbyters in the Late Antique West, ER1222, http://www.presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=1222