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ER 1732
Not only presbyters, but also bishops and the lay are allowed to anoint the sick with the chrism. However, this activity is generally undertaken by presbyters; the chrism must be blessed by the bishop. Innocent I, Letter 25, Rome, AD 416.
Letter 25
 
VII,11. Sane quoniam de hoc, sicuti de caeteris, consulere voluit dilectio tua, adjecit etiam filius meus Coelestinus diaconus in epistola sua, esse a tua dilectione positum illud, quod in beati Apostoli Jacobi epistola conscriptum est: “Si infirmus aliquis in vobis est; vocet presbyteros, et orent super eum, ungentes eum oleo in nomine Domini: et oratio fidei salvabit laborantem, et suscitabit illum Dominus, et si peccatum fecit, remittet ei”. Quod non est dubium de fidelibus aegrotantibus accipi vel intelligi debere, qui sancto oleo chrismatis perungi possunt, quod ab episcopo confectum, non solum sacerdotibus, sed et omnibus uti Christianis licet, in sua aut in suorum necessitate ungendum. Caeterum illud superfluum esse videmus adjectum, ut de episcopis ambigatur, quod presbyteris licere non dubium est. Nam idcirco presbyteris dictum est, quia episcopi occupationibus aliis impediti, ad omnes languidos ire non possunt. Caeterum si episcopus aut potest, aut dignum ducit, aliquem a se visitandum, et benedicere et tangere chrismate; sine cunctatione potest, cujus est chrisma conficere. Nam poenitentibus istud infundi non potest, quia genus est sacramenti. Nam quibus reliqua sacramenta negantur, quomodo unum genus putatur posse concedi?
 
(ed. Coustant 1845: 559-560)
Letter 25
 
VII,11. Your Charity asked about this and other things, but my son Deacon Coelestinus added in his letter that Your Charity asserted what is written in the Letter of St James Apostle: “Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders [presbyters] of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he has committed sins, they shall be forgiven him” [Jas 5:14-15]. Without doubt it should be understood to refer to the faithful who are sick. They can be anointed with the holy oil of chrism prepared by a bishop. It may be done not only by priests, but also by all Christians when they have the need to anoint themselves or someone else. This aside, we find it superfluous to add that nobody should question the right of bishops to do what is without doubt allowed for presbyters. [James] says this about presbyters, because when bishops are occupied by other duties they cannot go to the sick. However, if a bishop either can, or considers it appropriate to, visit someone himself, bless him, and touch with the chrism, by all means he can do it, since it is he who makes the chrism. It cannot, however, be administered to penitents, because it is a kind of sacrament. And if other sacraments are denied to them, how can it been assumed that one of them is conceded to them?
 
(trans. S. Adamiak)

Discussion:

The letter was sent on 19 March 416 to Decentius, bishop of Gubbio in Umbria (Italy). Since the biblical passage says about calling the presbyters to the sick, some interpreted it as prohibiting the visiting of the sick by the bishop. Pope Innocent I shows the absurdity of this interpretation.

Place of event:

Region
  • Rome
  • Italy north of Rome with Corsica and Sardinia
City
  • Rome
  • Gubbio

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 - Presbyter/πρεσβύτερος
    Described by a title - Sacerdos/ἱερεύς
      Ritual activity - Anointment
        Ritual activity - Anointment with chrism
          Equal prerogatives of presbyters and bishops
            Pastoral activity - Visiting the sick
              Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL: S. Adamiak, Presbyters in the Late Antique West, ER1732, http://www.presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=1732
              Record by: Stanisław Adamiak
              last edited: 2020-04-16 14:35:29
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