The Presbyters Project

Canon 1

Vt de rebus ecclesiae nihil episcopi auferant, et qualiter proximi fundatoris ecclesiarum sollicitudinem gerant.

Omnis itaque rei ecclesiasticae quantitas, sicut remedium ueniae tribuit conferenti, ita damnum rite praeparat fraudatori. Et ideo nullus sacerdotum uel ministrorum ex rebus ecclesiae, quae in quibuscumque locis a fidelibus largiuntur, aliquid auferat uel iuri suo aut cathedrae propriae unitati conectat. Deuotio enim uniuscuiusque, sicut gratanter uotum contulit Deo, ita definiuit quod plenitudo uotorum conseruaretur in loco, in quo, uelut si collata tenentur maneat gratia offerentis, ita si frustrantur imminet pernicies defraudantis. Verum ut rei huius potior soliditas habeatur, condignis filiis uel nepotibus honestioribusque propinquis eius qui construxit uel ditauit ecclesiam licitum sit hanc bonae intentionis habere sollertiam, ut si sacerdotem seu ministrum aliquod ex collatis rebus praeuiderit defraudare, aut commonitionis honesta conuentione compescant, aut episcopo uel iudici corrigenda denuntient. Quod si talia episcopus agere tentet, metropolitano eius haec insinuare procurent. Si autem metropolitanus talia gerat, regis haec auditibus intimare non differant. Ipsis tamen heredibus in eisdem rebus non liceat quasi iuris proprii potestatem praeferre, non rapinam et fraudem ingerere, non uiolentiam quamcunque praesumere, sed hoc solum in salutarem sollicitudinem adhibere, quod aut in nullam noxam operatio nocens attingat aut uel in multam uel in aliquam partem salutaris merces assumat. Si quis uero deinceps haec monita temerare uoluerit, et male rapta cum confusione restituet et excommunicationis annuae sententiam sustinebit.

(eds. Martínez Díez, Rodríguez 1992: 492-493)

Canon 1

That the bishops shall not take anything from Church property, and what responsibilities shall be taken by the relatives of the founder.

With regard to the whole amount of the Church property it is as follows: one who bestows something to the Church, receives the remedy of forgiveness, but one who defrauds something receives due punishment. Therefore, no priest or minister shall take anything from the property of the Church wherever it has been bestowed by the faithful, and add it to his own property or the property (ius) of his cathedral church (cathedra). Just as every devoted person confers a bestowal to God with joy, so also he or she determines that the whole bestowal shall be kept in one place. If the bestowal remains intact, the place will be a source of grace for the giver, but if the bestowal is wasted, it brings ruin to the defrauder. Thus, in order to make such property more secure, the worthy sons, nephews, and respected relatives of the person that has constructed the church and donated to it are allowed to control with good intention whether a priest or a minister intends to defraud something from the bestowed property. If he does, they shall stop him by an honest admonition, or denounce him to the bishop or judge so that they can correct him. If it is a bishop who defrauds, [the relatives] shall take care to announce it to the metropolitan bishop. But if it is a metropolitan bishop who does that, they shall not wait to bring a case to the ears of the king. But it is forbidden to those heirs to exercise power over the property of the Church as it were their own, and to rob it or defraud, to take anything by force, but they shall only take salutary care that this property is not harmed by any noxious activity, but rather enjoys wholly or in some part the salutrary grace. If anyone from now on dares to violate these decrees, he shall restore what he has improperly taken and will suffer a punishment of one year of excommunication.

(trans. M. Szada)

Discussion:

The canon discusses three kinds of "ecclesiastical" property: firstly, there is the private wealth of the bishops, presbyters, and deacons, secondly, the property of the cathedral and parish churches (cathedra propria), and finally the property endowed by the private founders of the churches. The latter is not at the disposal of the clergy, but shall remain unaltered and under control of the founder and his heirs.

Place of event:

Region

Iberian Peninsula

City

Toledo

About the source:

Title: Ninth Council of Toledo, Concilium Toletanum nonum a. 655, Concilium VIIII Toletanum, Concilium Toletanum VIIII, Concilium IX Toletanum, Conciliu Toletanum IX
Origin: Toledo (Iberian Peninsula)
Denomination: Catholic/Nicene/Chalcedonian

The Ninth Council of Toledo assembled in November 655 during the reign of King Reccesvinth (653-672). It was presided over by Eugenius II of Toledo. It was attended by fifteen other bishops, abbots, representatives of absent bishops, and lay palatine office-holders (comites), similarly to the previous council in AD 653, but then the representation of ecclesiastics and laymen were significantly more numerous (see discussion in [650]).

Edition:

G. Martínez Díez, F. Rodríguez eds., La colección canónica Hispana, Monumenta Hispaniae sacra. Serie canónica 5, Madrid 1992.

Bibliography:

R. Collins, Visigothic Spain, 409-711, Oxford 2004.

J. Orlandis, D. Ramos-Lissón, Die Synoden auf der Iberischen Halbinsel bis zum Einbruch des Islam (711), Paderborn 1981.

Categories:

Described by a title - Sacerdos/ἱερεύς

Ecclesiastical administration - Administering Church property

Public law - Ecclesiastical

Relation with - Noble

Described by a title - Minister/λειτουργός/ὑπηρέτης

Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL: M. Szada, Presbyters in the Late Antique West, ER704, http://www.presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=704