Opening
SEC. 224. First Synod of Orleans, A.D. 511.
After Clovis (Chlodwig), king of the Franks, had con- quered the portion of the West Gothic kingdom which lay in Gaul (507 and 508), he summoned a great Synod to Orleans, Aurelianensis I., on the 10th of July 511, at which there were present not only bishops of the Frankish, but also of the former West Gothic kingdom, altogether thirty two, among them five metropolitans, Cyprian of Bordeaux (prob- ably president of the Synod), Tetradius of Bourges, Licinius of Tours, Leontius of Elusa (Eauze), and Gildared of Eouen. Many of those present had been members of the Synod of Agde, from which many canons were now repealed at Orleans. That Chlodwig had invited the bishops to the
1 Mansi, t. viii. p. 343. 2 Mansi, t. viii. p 347.
3 Mansi, t. viii. p. 347; Pagi, Critica in Annales Earonii, ad ann. 510X n. 2.
88 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
Synod is stated in the short preface which they prefixed to the minutes, and is clear also from the letter of the Synod to Chlodwig, which mentions that he had also pre- scribed the points on which they should take counsel, and that the bishops had asked for the confirmation of their decrees by the King.1 These were the thirty-one canons which followed : —
1
1. If murderers, adulterers, and thieves have taken refuge in the church, then, in accordance with canonical and Eoman law, they are not to be taken from the porch of the church or the residence of the bishop until an assurance has been given by an oath on the Gospels that they shall be free from all punishments (de omni pcenarum genere sint securi), on the condition that the guilty one shall give satisfaction to the injured party. Whoever breaks this oath shall be excluded from the Church and from all intercourse with Catholics. If, however, the offender will not agree to the demand laid down, and from fear flies from the church, then he shall not be required of the clergy of the church, that is, they shall not be held responsible for him. Gratian united this 'canon and the third as c. 36, C. xvii. q. 4, in his decree.
2
2. If anyone has ravished a woman and flies with her into the church (for asylum), then the ravished person, if she has been manifestly subjected to violence, must immediately be set at liberty. The ravisher, however, shall be secured for further punishment, and shall either be made a slave, or he must purchase his release from slavery. If, however, the maiden has either before or after the seduction consented to it, then she shall be sent back to her father if he is still alive, with an excuse (for her deed), and the ravisher must afford satisfaction to the father in the manner prescribed (i.e. become his slave, or purchase his freedom from him).2 In the Corpus jur. can. c. 3, C. xxxvi. q. 1.
1 Mansi, t. viii. p. 350 ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1008 ; Sirmond, Concilia Gallise, t. i. p. 177.
2 Remi Ceillier, I.e. p. 670, has quite erroneously interpreted the close of this canon, as though the father in such a case had no claim on the ravisher of his daughter. The true meaning was seen by Bohmer in his Note 30* to this passage in the Corpus jur. can.
FIRST SYNOD OF ORLEANS, A.D. 511. 89
3
3. If a slave has taken refuge in the church, he shall, if his master has taken the required oath (can. 1), be immedi- ately sent back to him. If the master does not keep his oath, he shall be excluded from all intercourse with Catholics. If, however, the slave, in spite of his master having taken the oath for impunity, refuses to leave the church, then his master may remove him by force. Cf. c. 36, C. xvii. q. 4.
4
4. No layman is to be ordained a cleric except by com- mand of the King, or with concurrence of the judge. Nevertheless, the sons and descendants of clerics shall remain in the power of the bishops (i.e. such may be ordained with- out permission from any other quarter).
5
5. The products of gifts and fields granted by the King to the Church, together with the immunity of the clergy, shall be expended on the repairs of churches, the maintenance of the clergy and the poor, or for the redemption of prisoners. Bishops who are negligent herein shall be publicly censured by the comprovincial bishops ; and if this does not avail, they shall be excluded from the fellowships of their colleagues. (On the meaning of this expression, cf. vol. iii. p. 406, note 1 on can. 20 of Chalcedon).
6
6. Whoever makes claims upon a portion of the Church's property, or of the bishop's private property, but in a proper manner, without insults, is not from this circumstance alone to be excluded from Church communion. Cf. c. 20, C. ii. q. 7.
7
7. Abbots, priests, and all clerics and monks may not, without trial and recommendation by the bishop, solicit princes for ecclesiastical benefices. Whoever does so shall be deprived of his office and of communion until such time as he has done adequate penance.
8
8. If a slave, without knowledge of his master, has been ordained deacon or priest by the bishop to whom his servile condition was known, he shall remain in his clerical position, but the bishop must make double reparation for him to that master. But if the bishop was not aware of his being a slave, then the same compensation shall be made by those who gave testimony at his ordination (that he was free), or asked for his ordination. Cf. c. 19, Dist. liv.
90 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
9
9. If a deacon or priest has committed a capital offence, he shall be deprived of his office, and of communion at the same time. Cf. c. 14, Dist. Ixxxi.
10
10. If heretical clerics return of their own accord to the Church, for instance, from the Arian Goths, they shall receive the clerical office of which the bishop has thought them worthy with ordination by imposition of hands ; and heretical churches shall be consecrated in the same manner in which Catholic churches are wont to be reconciled (innovari).
11
11. Penitents (ascetics; cf. note on c. 15 of the Synod of Agde, sec. 506, above) who forget their vow and return to the secular life, shall be excluded from the communion, and from all intercourse with Catholics. Whoever eats with them is by that act excommunicated.
12
12. If a deacon or presbyter has entered among the penitents to do penance (see former canon), he may never- theless, if need arises and no other clergy are at hand, baptize anyone. Cf. c. 14, Dist. Ixxxi.
13
13. If the widow of a priest or deacon marries again, they shall both, she and her second husband, either be punished and separated, or, if they persist in their error, they shall together be excommunicated. Cf. c. 11, Dist. xxviii.
14
14. In accordance with the ancient canons, one-half of the oblations placed upon the altar shall belong to the bishop, the other half to the rest of the clergy. All fields, however, remain in the power (administration) of the bishop. Cf. c. 8, C. x. q. 1.
15
15. All that is presented to parishes in fields, vineyards, slaves, and cattle, remains, in accordance with the ancient canons, in the power (administration) of the bishop. From that which is offered on the altar, however, he receives the third part (i.e. of the offering in the parish churches he receives only the third part, of the offering in the cathedral, according to can. 14, the half). Cf. c. 7, C. x. q. 1.
16
16. The bishop shall give food and clothing to the poor or sick who can no longer work, as far as he can. Cf. c. 1, Dist. Ixxxii
17
17. Churches, whether already built or yet to be built,
FIRST SYNOD OF ORLEANS, A.D. 511. 91
can be recognised only with the consent of the bishop in whose diocese they lie. Cf. c. 10, C. xvl q. 7.
18
18. No one may marry the widow of his brother, or the sister of his deceased wife. Cf. c. 61 of Agde.
19
19. Abbots are under the bishop; if they transgress, they will be punished by him ; and once a year they must assemble at the place fixed by the bishop. Monks, however, owe reverent obedience to their abbot. If a monk acquires private property, the abbot shall take it from him and spend it for the convent. Monks who roam about shall, with the assistance of the bishop, be caught and brought back. The abbot who does not chastise such monks, or who receives a strange monk, is himself in fault. Cf. c. 16, C. xviii. q. 2.
20
20. A monk may not use an orarium (pocket-handker- chief) or shoes (tzangce) in the monastery. Cf. c. 32, C. xxvii. q. 1.
21
21. If anyone has become a monk, and afterwards marries, he can never obtain an ecclesiastical office. — The second part of c. 32, C. xxvii. q. 1.
22
22. No monk may, without permission of the bishop and abbot, leave the monastery and build himself a cell. Cf. c. 38 of Agde, and c. 14, C. xviii. q. 2.
23
23. If a bishop gives any goods to clerics or monks for usufruct, there arises from this, however long it may be, no prescription. Cf. c. 59 of Agde, and c. 12, C. xvi. q. 3.
24
24. Before Easter there shall be kept, not a Quinqua- gesima, but a Quadragesima. Cf. c. 6, De Consecrat. Dist. iii.
25
25. No one must keep Easter, Christmas, or Pentecost in his villa unless he is sick. Cf. c. 21 of Agde, and c. 5, De Consecrat. Dist. iii.
26
26. The people must not leave the church before the end of Mass ; and if a bishop is present, they shall first receive the blessing from him. Cf. c. 47 of Agde, and 65, De Con- secrat. Dist. i.
27
27. All churches shall celebrate the Eogations, i.e. the Litanies before Ascension Day, so that the three days' fast ends at the Festival of the Ascension. On these three days,
92 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS,
all man-servants and maid-servants (slaves, male and female) shall be free from labour, so that all the people may corne together (at divine service). Moreover, on these three days only such foods shall be used as are permitted in Lent. Cf. c. 3, De Consecrat. Dist. iii.
28
28. Clerics who do not take part in this holy work (the Rogations) shall be punished according to the judgment of the bishop. Cf. c. 5, Dist. xci.
29
29. In regard to intercourse with strange women, the bishops, priests, and deacons must observe the earlier canons (e.g., cc. 10 and 11 of Agde).
30
30. Fortune-telling, auguries, and sortes sanctorum are for- bidden under pain of excommunication. Cf. c. 16 of Vannes, c. 42 of Agde, and c. 9, C. xxvi. q. 5.
31
31. A bishop, unless he is ill, must not fail in attendance at divine service on Sunday in the church which lies nearest to him. Cf. c. 4. De Consecrat. Dist. iii.1
Besides these thirty-one genuine canons, several other doubtful ones are attributed to our Synod by Burchard, Gratian, and Ivo of Chartres, which Mansi2 collected, but which we have thought we might omit, as they are not found in the minutes of the Synod. Neither do we include a letter from King Chlodwig, said to have been addressed to this Synod,3 on the subject of the liberation of the Christians taken in the war with the West Goths. Sirmond4 showed long ago that this letter has no connection with our Synod, and is considerably older.