Chapter 6

 

That presbyters should observe the proper measure, not prepare chrism, not confirm, nor in the presence of any bishop whomsoever should they either take it upon themselves to pray or sit, unless the bishop orders them to, and neither should they ordain an acolyte or a subdeacon.

 

6. No less do we forbid presbyters to go beyond their authority and take boldly upon themselves the duties that accrue to the exalted rank of bishop: they are not to perform chrism, and are not to lay claim to the faculty of confirmation, which belongs to the bishop. In the presence of any superior (antistes), unless perhaps he is ordered, the presbyter may not presume to have the licence of acting in the role of the bishop. He  should not sit or handle the venerable mysteries, unless he is ordered to do so. Nor should he think by any reckoning that he has the right of creating a deacon or acolyte without the supreme pontiff, nor should he be in any doubt at all that he will immediately be deprived of his priestly rank and of holy communion if he has deemed that something pertaining particularly to the episcopal ministry should be carried out on his own initiative. Let us decide what needs to be done if a transgression of this kind has been approved by the granting of his bishop. His bishop himself will not be free from the charge of connivance and from being punished, if he has neglected to point out that the presbyter was acting in an unbridled manner.

 

(trans. Neil - Allen 2014: 143.148, slightly altered)