Presbyters Uniwersytet Warszawski
ID
ER 848
Canon 18 of the Council in Mérida (Iberian Peninsula) in AD 666 orders parish presbyters to ordain clerics from the familia of their church as their assistants.
Canon 18
 
Ut parrochitani presbyteres iuxta ut posse habuerint de familia ecclesiae suae clericos sibi faciant et habeant
 
Quicquid unanimiter digne disponitur in sancta Dei ecclesia, necessarium est ut a parrochitanis presbyteris custoditum maneat. Sunt enim nonnulli qui ecclesiarum suarum res ad plenitudinem habent, et sollicitudo illis nulla est habendi clericos cum quibus omnipotenti Deo laudum debita persolvant officia. Proinde instituit hoc sanctum synodum, ut omnes parrochitani presbyteres iuxta ut in rebus sibi a Deo creditis sentiunt habere virtutem, de ecclesiae suae familia clericos sibi faciant, quos per bonam volumtatem ita nutriant ut officium sanctum digni peragant, et ad servitium suum aptos eos habeant. Hii etiam victum et vestitum dispensatione presbyteri merebuntur, et domino et presbytero suo atque utilitati ecclesiae fideles esse debent. Quod si inutiles apparuerint, ut culpa patuerit, correptione disciplinae feriantur. Si quis presbyterorum hanc sententiam minime custodierit et non adimpreverit, ab episcopo suo corrigatur ut plenissime custodiat quod digne iubetur.
 
(ed. Vives 1963: 338)
Canon 18
 
That,  according to their means, parish presbyters may choose and have clerics from the familia of the Church
 
Whatever is unanimously and lawfully arranged in the holy Church of God shall necessarily be observed by the parish presbyters. There are some of them who have abundance of things in their churches, and they do not seek to have clerics with whom they would fulfil the office of praise due to omnipotent God. Therefore, this holy synod decreed that all the parish presbyters shall, according to a reckoning of the financial means of the property entrusted them by God, make clerics for themselves from the familia of their Church whom they will educate by good will so that they will be fit to celebrate the holy office and apt to serve their presbyters. They will receive food and clothes by the dispensation of the presbyter, and they shall be faithful to their master and presbyter, and to the benefits of their Church. If they turn out to be useless, and their guilt is evident, they shall be punished with flagellation. If a presbyter does not observe this decree, he shall be corrected by his bishop to observe fully what is justly ordered.
 
(trans. M. Szada)

Place of event:

Region
  • Iberian Peninsula
City
  • Merida

About the source:

Title: Council of Merida in 666, Concilium Emeritense a. 666, Council of Mérida in 666
Origin: Merida (Iberian Peninsula)
Denomination: Catholic/Nicene/Chalcedonian
The provincial council of the Lusitania was held in Mérida in the church of Jerusalem in November 666. It was presided by Bishop Proficius of Mérida, and eleven other bishops were present.
Edition:
J. Vives ed., Concilios visigóticos e hispano-romanos, Barcelona-Madrid 1963.

Categories:

Functions within the Church - Parish presbyter
    Described by a title - Presbyter/πρεσβύτερος
      Ritual activity - Ordaining
        Ritual activity - Divine office/Liturgy of the hours
          Ecclesiastical administration - Administering Church property
            Public law - Ecclesiastical
              Economic status and activity - Indication of wealth
                Economic status and activity - Slave ownership
                  Relation with - Bishop/Monastic superior
                    Relation with - Lower cleric
                      Relation with - Slave/Servant
                        Administration of justice - Ecclesiastical
                          Administration of justice - Corporal punishment
                            Livelihood/income
                              Pastoral activity - Teaching
                                Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL: M. Szada, Presbyters in the Late Antique West, ER848, http://www.presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=848