The Presbyters Project

Canon 5

De his qui altario seruiunt, si subito carnis fragilitate corruerint.

Ii qui altario Dei deseruiunt, si subito flenda carnis fragilitate corruerint et Domino respiciente digne paenituerint, ita ut, mortificato corpore, cordis contriti sacrificium Deo offerant, maneant in potestate pontificis uel ueraciter afflictos non diu suspendere uel desidiosos prolixiori tempore ab ecclesiae corpore segregare; ita tamen ut sic officiorum suorum loca recipiant, ne possint ad altiora officia ulterius promoueri. Quod si iterato uelut canes ad uomitum reuersi fuerint, non solum dignitate officii careant, sed etiam sanctam communionem nisi in exitu percipiant.

(eds. Martínez Díez, Rodríguez 1984: 302)

Canon 5

On those who serve at the altar and have happened to fall prey to weakness of the flesh.

If those who serve at the altar have fallen prey to deplorable weakness of the flesh and through the providence of the Lord have done penance, so that having mortified their body they offer the sacrifice of a contrite heart to God, a bishop may not suspend those who are truly penitent for long. But those who are negligent can be separated from the body of the Church for a longer time. They may receive their offices again, but they may not be promoted to the higher offices. If they fall back into sin, as dogs return to their vomit, they shall not only lose the dignity of their office, but they shall also not receive holy communion unless they are on their deathbed.

(trans. by M. Szada)

Place of event:

Region

Iberian Peninsula

City

Lerida

About the source:

Title: Council of Lerida 546, Concilium Ilerdense a. 546
Origin: Lerida (Iberian Peninsula)
Denomination: Catholic/Nicene/Chalcedonian

The date of the council is given in two different ways - the first is a date in the Spanish era which began in 38 BC, the second is a date according to the years of the reign of Theoderic. In the case of the council of Lerida the dates do not agree - year 584 in the Spanish era is AD 546 and the 15th year of the reign of Theoderic is AD 525. The other provincial council held in Valencia was also dated to the 15th year of Theoderic, but the date in the Spanish era there is 587 (so AD 549). The scholars assumed that the name of the ruler was corrupt in the manuscript tradition and they proposed that we should read Theudis. King Theudis began to reign in AD 531, so the 15th year of his reign would be AD 546 (with references to the early modern commentators Hefele 1895: 132; Orlandis, Ramos-Lissón 1986: 124-131).

Edition:

Editions:

J. Vives ed., Concilios visigóticos e hispano-romanos, Barcelona-Madrid 1963.

G. Martínez Díez, F. Rodríguez eds., La colección canónica Hispana, Monumenta Hispaniae sacra. Serie canónica 4, Madrid 1984.

Bibliography:

C.J. Hefele, A History of the Councils of the Church from the Original Documents, v. 4, trans. by W.R. Clark, Edinburgh 1895.

M. Guallar Pérez, Los concilios tarraconenses celebrados en Lérida, (siglos VI-XV), Lérida 1975.

J. Orlandis, D. Ramos-Lissón, Historia de los concilios de la España romana y visigoda, Pamplona 1986.

M. Rodriguez Gil, "Consideraciones sobre una antigua polemica: las Iglesias propias”, Cuadernos de Historia del Derecho 6 (1999), 247-272.

Categories:

Sexual life - Sexual activity

Ritual activity - Eucharist

Ritual activity - Temporal impediment to presbyterial activity

Relation with - Bishop/Monastic superior

Further ecclesiastical career - None

Further ecclesiastical career - Lay status

Administration of justice - Ecclesiastical

Administration of justice - Excommunication/Anathema

Administration of justice - Demotion

Administration of justice - Suspension

Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL: M. Szada, Presbyters in the Late Antique West, ER235, http://www.presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=235