The Presbyters Project

Chapter 22

Quod secunda coniugia saecularibus non negentur, quibus tamen ad clerum minime venire conceditur.

22. Secundas nuptias sicut saecularibus inire concediutr, ita post eas nullus ad clericale sinitur venire collegium. Alia est enim humanae fragilitati generaliter concessa licentia, alia debet esse vita divinarum rerum servitio dicandorum

(ed. Thiel 1868: 361.375)

Chapter 22

That second marriages should not be denied to the lay people (saeculares); however, by no means it is granted to the twice-married to enter the clergy.

22. While it is allowed for the lay people to enter second marriages, having concluded them nobody is permitted to advance to the college of clerics. For it is one thing to concede room for human frailty in general; the life of those dedicated to the service of divine affairs should be another.

(trans. Neil - Allen 2014: 144.154, slightly altered)

Discussion:

Letter 14 of Pope Gelasius, written on 11 March 494, was addressed to the bishops of Lucania and Bruttium (ie. nowadays Calabria) and Sicily. They were under Gelasius' direct metropolitan jurisdiction. The long letter is a "decretal", and contains mainly various norms regulating the rights and obligation of clergy.

Place of event:

Region

Rome
Italy south of Rome and Sicily

City

Rome

About the source:

Author: Gelasius I
Title: Epistulae, Letters
Origin: Rome (Rome)
Denomination: Catholic/Nicene/Chalcedonian

Gelasius I was the bishop of Rome between AD 492 and 496.

Edition:

Thiel A. ed., Epistulae Romanorum pontificum genuinae et quae ad eos scriptae sunt a S. Hilario usque ad Pelagium II, 1, Braunsberg 1868, 287-510.

Translation:

B. Neil, P. Allen edd., The Letters of Gelasius I (492-496): Pastor and Micro-Manager of the Church of Rome, Turnhout 2014.

Bibliography:

B. Neil, P. Allen edd., The Letters of Gelasius I (492-496): Pastor and Micro-Manager of the Church of Rome, Turnhout 2014.

Categories:

Family life - Marriage

Family life - Permanent relationship continued after ordination

Family life - More than one marriage

Described by a title - Clericus

Impediments or requisits for the office - Marriage

Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL: S. Adamiak, Presbyters in the Late Antique West, ER1974, http://www.presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=1974