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ID
ER 272
A letter (tractatoria) of Pope Siricius, written in Rome AD 386 and preserved in the acts of the Council Thelense (North Africa, AD 418, canon 4), forbids clerics to marry widows.
Canon 4
 
Vt mulierem, idest uiduam, clericus non ducat uxorem.
 
(ed. Munier 1974: 61)
 
 
Canon 3
 
A cleric cannot take a woman that is a widow as a wife.
 
(trans. S. Adamiak)

Discussion:

The canon confirms not only that celibacy was not required from the clerics at the time, but also that they were allowed to marry after ordination. The canon may, however, refer only to lower clergy. Canon 9 of the same source strongly encourages priests and deacons to maintain sexual abstinence.

Place of event:

Region
  • Latin North Africa
  • Rome
City
  • Thelensis Civitas
  • Rome

About the source:

Title: Concilium Thelense, Concilium Theletense
Origin: Thelensis Civitas (Latin North Africa)
Denomination: Catholic/Nicene/Chalcedonian
A council of bishops of Byzacena gathered on 24 February 418 in an otherwise unknown place. The council is transmitted in various codices as "Thelense", "Theleptense", "Zelense" and others. The only preserved part of the acts of the council is the letter ("tractatoria") of Pope Siricius, written and accepted at the Council of Rome on 6 January 386 ("Data Roma in concilio episcoporum lxxx sub die viii idus ianuarias post consulatum Arcadi Augusti et Bautonis uu. cc. consulum"), and destined firstly to the bishops of southern Italy. The tractatoria of Siricius was read and accepted at the council of 418 in Byzacena.
The text of the tractatoria of Siricius is also edited as his Letter 5 (CPL 1637, PL 13, 1158-9).
Edition:
C. Munier ed., Concilia Africae a. 345-a. 525, Corpus Christianorum. Series Latina 149, Turnhoult 1974, 53-65.  

Categories:

Family life - Marriage
    Family life - Permanent relationship after ordination
      Described by a title - Clericus
        Relation with - Wife
          Sexual life - Marital
            Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL: S. Adamiak, Presbyters in the Late Antique West, ER272, http://www.presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=272
            Record by: Stanisław Adamiak
            last edited: 2018-07-25 19:41:20
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