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ER 1726
The priests should reconcile sinners on Maundy Thursday. Letter 25 of Pope Innocent I, "Si instituta ecclesiastica" Rome, AD 416.
Letter 25
 
VII,10. The penitents should be reconciled on Maundy Thursday.
Caeterum de pondere aestimando delictorum, sacerdotis est judicare, ut attendat ad confessionem poenitentis, et ad fletus atque lacrymas corrigentis, ac tum jubere dimitti, cum viderit congruam satisfactionem suam.
The sick can be reconciled without waiting for Easter.
 
(ed. Coustant 1845: 558-559)
Letter 25
 
VII,10. Penitents should be reconciled on Maundy Thursday.
Then, it is up to the priest to assess the weight of offences. He should listen carefully to the confession of the penitent, to the weeping and tears of one who is going to improve, and dismiss him when he judges that he has seen appropriate atonement.
The sick can be reconciled without waiting for Easter.
 
(trans. S. Adamiak)

Discussion:

The letter was sent on 19 March 416 to Decentius, bishop of Gubbio in Umbria (Italy). "Priest" most probably refers here to both bishops and presbyters, as it does in the other passages of the same letter ([1712], [1732]).

Place of event:

Region
  • Rome
City
  • Rome

About the source:

Author: Innocent I
Title: Letters, Epistulae
Origin: Rome (Rome)
Denomination: Catholic/Nicene/Chalcedonian
Innocent I was the bishop of Rome from AD 401 to 417. Several of his letters, especially to the bishops of Gaul and Spain, are "decretals": authoritative letters containing papal rulings, usually in response to questions raised by the bishops.
Edition:
P. Coustant ed., S. Innocentii Papae Epistolae et Decreta, Patrologia Latina 20, Paris 1845, 463-608.
Bibliography:
R. Cabié, La lettre du Pape Innocent Ier à Décentius de Gubbio. Texte critique, traduction et commentaire, Louvain 1973.
 

Categories:

Described by a title - Sacerdos/ἱερεύς
    Ritual activity - Reconciliation/Administering penance
      Equal prerogatives of presbyters and bishops
        Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL: S. Adamiak, Presbyters in the Late Antique West, ER1726, http://www.presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=1726
        Record by: Stanisław Adamiak
        last edited: 2017-12-20 16:56:33
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