The Presbyters Project

Canon 2

De accusatis sacerdotibus seu etiam optimatibus palatii atque gardingis, sub qua eos iustitiae cautela examinari conueniat.

Secundae collationis obiectu res nostro coetui lacrimanda occurrit, quae tanto est synodalis iudicii pondere abigenda, quanto immensam stragem populis afferat pariter et ruinam. Etenim decursis retro temporibus uidimus multos, et fleuimus, ex palatini ordinis officio cecidisse quos et uiolenta professio ab honore deiecit et trauale regum factione iudicium aut morti aut ignominiae perpetuae subiugauit. Quod importabile malum et impietatis facinus exhorrendum religiosi principis nostri animus abolere intendens, generali omnium pontificum arbitrio retractandum inuexit, et ultrici synodalis potentiae auctoritate cohibendum instituit.

Vnde congruam deuotioni eius sententiam decernentes, hoc in commune decreuimus, ut nullus deinceps ex palatini ordinis gradu uel religionis sanctae conuentu regiae subtilitatis astu uel profanae potestatis instinctu siue quorumlibet hominum malitiosae uoluntatis obnisu citra manifestum et euidens culpae suae indicium ab honore sui ordinis uel seruitio domus regiae arceatur, non antea uinculorum nexibus illigetur, non quaestioni subdatur, non quibuslibet tormentorum uel flagellorum generibus maceretur, non rebus priuetur, non etiam carceralibus custodiis mancipetur, neque adhibitis hinc inde iniustis occasionibus abdicetur, per quod illi uiolenta, occulta uel fraudulenta professio extrahatur.

Sed is qui accusatur, gradum sui ordinis tenens et nihil ante de supradictorum capitulorum nocibilitate persentiens, in publica sacerdotum, seniorum atque etiam gardingorum discussione deductus et iustissime perquisitus, aut obnoxius reatui detectae culpae legum poenas excipiat, aut innoxius iudicio omnium comprobatus appareat.

Illos tamen quos in locis talibus manere constiterit unde nocibilis perfugii suspicio sit, aut eos quos pro conturbatione terrae diligentius oporteat custodiri, hos sine aliquo uinculorum uel iniuriae damno sub libera custodia consistere oportebit. Sic tamen repulso omni terrore sub circumspecta et diligenti custodia habeantur, ut tempus quo iudicari eos oporteat, nullo modo sub fraudulentia dilatetur, quo ab uxoribus uel propinquis atque etiam rebus suis diutissime separati professionem suam uideantur dedisse inuiti. Quae tamen, etsi data fuerit, modis omnibus non ualebit, sed iuxta superiorem ordinem illud tamen pro uero accipietur quod ex ore eius agnitum generali fuerit iudicio comprobatum.

Nam et de ceterorum ingenuorum personis qui palatinis officiis non haeserunt et tamen ingenuae dignitatis titulum reportare uidentur similis ordo seruabitur. Qui etiamsi pro culpis minimis, ut assolet, flagellorum ictibus a principe uerberentur, non tamen ex hoc aut testimonium amissuri sunt aut rebus sibi debitis priuabuntur. Quod si de infidelitatis crimine quicquam eis obicitur, simili, ut superius praemissum est, ordine iudicandi sunt.

Quod synodale decretum diuino, ut confidimus, Spiritu promulgatum, si quis regum deinceps aut temeranter custodire neglexerit aut malitiose praeterire praelegerit, quo quisque de personis taxatis, aliter quam praemissum est, praedamnetur aut astu congestae malitiae perimatur uel deiectus sui ordinis loco priuetur, sit cum omnibus qui ei ex delectatione consenserint, in conspectu altissimi Dei Patris et Vnigeniti Filii eius atque Spiritus sancti perenni anathemate ultus et diuinis uel aeternis addicetur ardoribus concremandus, et insuper quidquid contra hanc regulam sententiae nostrae aut in persona cuiusquam fuerit actum aut de rebus accusatae personae exstiterit iudicatum, nullo uigore subsistat, quo persona ipsa aliter quam decernimus iudicata, aut testimonii sui dignitatem amittat aut quaestum rei propriae careat.

Nec enim haec et talia praemittentes principibus domesticae correctionis potestas adimitur, nam specialiter de laicis illis quos non culpa infidelitatis astringit, sed aut seruitii sui officio torpentes aut in commissis sibi actibus reperiuntur esse mordaces uel potius negligentes, erit principi licitum huiusmodi personas absque aliquo eorum infamio uel rei propriae damno et seruitii mutatione corrigere et in commissos talium alios qui placeant transmutare.

(eds. Martínez Díez, Rodríguez 2002: 230-234)

Canon 2

On the accused priests, officials of the palace and gardingi concerning the judicial supervision under which they are to be investigated

In the second session of our discussion, a deplorable thing came to the attention of our gathering. This thing has to be removed by the authority of the synodal judgement, all the more so as it brings great destruction and ruin to the people. For, in past times, we saw and deplored that many persons holding the office in the palace had fallen. Forcible declarations removed from their honours, and the firm and supreme judgment on the part of the kings subjected them to death or perpetual disgrace. The soul of our pious ruler intending to abolish this unbearable wrongdoing and horrendous crime of impiety proposed that those judgements be reconsidered by the gathering of all the bishops, and decided that [such offences] be contained by the punishing authority of the synodal power.

Therefore, being of the same opinion as His Piety, we decree together that from now on no one of the rank of the official of the palace or from the congregation of the holy religion can be deprived of the honour of his rank or removed from the service of the royal house through the deceit of the royal sublimity or at the instigation of a secular authority, or through the effort of people with malicious intent, except if there is a manifest and evident proof of his guilt. He cannot be put in chains, subjected to questioning, tortured by any torments or any type of beating, deprived of property, arrested and incarcerated, nor condemned by some unjust methods applied in prison through which the forcible, secrete or fraudulent confession is extracted from him.

But he who is accused, keeping the rank of his order and not suffering any harm of the above-mentioned harassments, will be led to a public gathering of priests, senior officials and gardingi in order to be questioned with the utmost fairness, and then either he will be found guilty and receive the punishment indicated by the law, or his innocence will be confirmed by the judgment of all.

But if there are persons of such rank in whose case there is a suspicion that they have gone into hiding to evade justice, or who should be kept in custody with greater rigour on account of the risk of causing troubles in the country, they shall be guarded, but without losing their personal freedom [sub libera custodia], without any chains or other harm. In that way, without the use of intimidation, let a careful and diligent watch be kept on them. The judgment shall be held at a convenient time, and it shall not be fraudulently delayed so that it does not seem that the accused, being for a long time separated from their wives, relatives and property, give their confession unwillingly. The given confession will by no means be valid unless the words said by an accused are accepted as true according to the above-mentioned order and proved by the judgment of all.

Also in case of other noble persons that do not hold an office in the palace but seem to be noble by birth, the same rules shall be observed. Although for minor wrongdoings according to the custom, they may be flogged by [the order] of the ruler, they shall not lose the title of their right of testimony or be deprived of things due to them. If someone accuses them of treason, they shall be judged in the similar way as was said above.

If any king from now on should either dare to neglect to guard or chose to wilfully ignore this synodal decree (promulgated, as we believe, by the inspiration of the Divine Spirit) so that whoever of the indicated rank should be condemned without trial, at variance with what is prescribed here, or ruthlessly and deceitfully slandered, or rejected by deprivation of his office,[we hereby declare that] this king shall be punished with the perpetual anathema in the face of the highest God the Father and His only-begotten Son and the Holy Spirit, and shall be destined to the divine and perpetual flames. Moreover, anything that is decided against the rule of our decree or is done against a person or their property, will be utterly invalid lest the person judged in a different way than that decreed by us lose the right to give testimony or reclaiming property.

Decreeing such things, we do not take away from the rulers the power of punishment in their household, because especially in cases of those laymen who are not charged with treason, but were idle in the service of their office, or proved to be rapacious or negligent with regard to the things they had been entrusted with, the ruler retains the right to punish such individuals without detracting from their good name or their property, and correct them by assigning them to other tasks and replacing them with whomever they please.

(trans. M. Szada)

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