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ER 881
Canon 14 of the Eleventh Council in Toledo (Iberian Peninsula, AD 675) orders that every cleric that sings psalms or offers the sacrifice shall have an assistant that could replace him in case of sickness.
Canon 14
 
Vt qui Domino canent atque sacrificant, post se semper habeant adiutoria constituta.
 
"Vae" illud diuini oraculi momentis singulis praecauentes quo scribitur: "Vae soli, quia cum ceciderit non habet subleuantem" (Eccl 4:10), summopere curandum nobis est, et cauendum ne horis illis atque temporibus quibus Domino psallitur uel sacrificatur, unicuique diuinis singulariter officiis insistenti perniciosa passio uel corporis quaelibet ualitudo occurrat quae aut corpus subito subrui faciat aut mentem alienatione uel terrore confundat. Pro huiusmodi ergo casibus praecauendis necessarium duximus instituere ut, ubi temporis uel loci siue cleri copia suffragatur, habeat semper quiquis ille canens Deo atque sacrificans post se uicini solaminis adiutorem, ut si aliquo casu ille qui officia impleturus accedit, turbatus fuerit uel ad terram elisus, a tergo semper habeat qui eius uicem exsequatur intrepidus.
 
(eds. Martínez Díez, Rodríguez 2002: 123-124)
Canon 14
 
That those who sing to the Lord and offer a sacrifice shall always have a helper present behind them
 
"Woe" - we warn with every motion of the divine oracle in which it is written: "Woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up" [Eccl 4:10]. We shall then take extreme care that in the hours and times when the psalms are chanted to the Lord or the sacrifice is being offered no pernicious suffering or sickness of the body occur to a person celebrating alone the divine offices, or that the body not make him suddenly fall or confund him by a loss of mind or by fear. Therefore, using precaution against such cases, we think it necessary to decree that if in a given place and time there are plenty of clerics, the one who sings or offers sacrifice shall always have a comforting helper close behind him so that he could fulfil the service in some cases. If the celebrant is troubled or falls down to the ground for some reason, he always has a person behind his back who would intrepidly replace him.
 
(trans. M. Szada)

Discussion:

Cf. canon 13 of the Eleventh Council that forbids persons with seizures caused by demoniac possession to perform priestly duties [875].
 
 
 

Place of event:

Region
  • Iberian Peninsula
City
  • Toledo

About the source:

Title: Concilium Toletanum XI a. 675, Concilium XI Toletanum a. 675, Eleventh Council of Toledo in 675 AD
Origin: Toledo (Iberian Peninsula)
Denomination: Catholic/Nicene/Chalcedonian
The Eleventh Council of Toledo in AD 675 was the first council convened in the capital since AD 656. However, in contrast to the previous Toletan councils (apart from the one held in AD 597), it was not a plenary gathering of the bishops from all the Spanish provinces (on the discontinuation of the plenary councils see Collins 2004: 99-100), but only a provincial council of the Carthaginensis. It was gathered by King Wamba (AD 672-680). Present were seventeen bishops, six abbots and three representatives of absent bishops.
Edition:
G. Martínez Díez, F. Rodríguez eds., La colección canónica Hispana, Monumenta Hispaniae sacra. Serie canónica 6, Madrid 2002.
Bibliography:
R. Collins, Visigothic Spain, 409-711, Oxford 2004.

Categories:

Ritual activity - Eucharist
    Ritual activity - Concelebration
      Ritual activity - Divine office/Liturgy of the hours
        Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL: M. Szada, Presbyters in the Late Antique West, ER881, http://www.presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=881
        Record by: Marta Szada
        last edited: 2019-02-13 15:45:14
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