The Presbyters Project

Canon 2

Id etiam decernimus obseruandum, ut quadraginsimam ab omnibus ecclesiis aequaliter teneatur neque quinquagensimum aut sexagensimum ante pascha quilibit sacerdus praesumat indicere; sed neque per sabbata absque infirmitate quisquis absoluat quadragensimale ieiunium, nisi tantum die Dominico prandeat; quod fieri specialiter pratrum statuta sanxerunt. Si quis hanc regulam inruperit, tamquam transgressor discipline a sacerdotibus censeatur.

(ed. de Clercq 1963: 132)

Canon 2

We also decree that the following be observed: that the forty days [of Lent] be kept in like manner in all Churches and that no priest should presume to prescribe a fifty- or sixty-day period before Easter; nor should anyone break the forty-day fast on the Sabbath except on account of sickness. One can break the fast (prandeat) only on the Lord's day. The decrees of the fathers specifically state that it should be so. If anyone breaks this rule, he should be considered by the priests to be a breaker of discipline.

(trans. J. Szafranowski)

Place of event:

Region

Gaul

City

Orléans

About the source:

Title: The Fourth Council of Orléans, Concilium Aurelianense anno 541
Origin: Orléans (Gaul)
Denomination: Catholic/Nicene/Chalcedonian

This council, convened on 14 May 541 in Orléans, was quite numerous: it gathered five metropolitans (of Bourges, Bordeaux, Eauze, Rouen, and Tours), thirty-seven other bishops, and, representing their bishops, eleven presbyters and one abbot. It is impossible to establish which king was or kings were mainly responsible for this synod. This is the first council of the Frankish Church which was attended by the bishops from the metropolitan province of Arles. Ceasarius of Arles himself was unable to come (he was 71 at the time), but thirteen bishops of his province were present.

Edition:

C. de Clercq ed., Concilia Galliae a. 511-a. 695, Corpus Christianorum. Series Latina 148 A, Turnhout 1963.

Translation:

J. Gaudemet, B. Basdevant, Les canons des conciles mérovingiens VIe-VIIe siècles, Sources chrétiennes 353, Paris 1989.

Categories:

Described by a title - Sacerdos/ἱερεύς

Ritual activity - Reconciliation/Administering penance

Public law - Ecclesiastical

Administration of justice - Ecclesiastical

Devotion - Fasting

Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL: J. Szafranowski, Presbyters in the Late Antique West, ER1344, http://www.presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=1344