Pope Fabian

POPE FABIAN. NOTICE.

(Mansi, Concil. I, 769, from the Pontifical Book of Pope Damasus. - See Patrologia Latina, vol. CXXVII, col. 1541.)

Fabianus, a Roman by nationality, son of Fabius, sat for 14 years, one month, and 11 days, and was crowned with martyrdom ^A on the 14th day before the Kalends of February. He was active during the times of Maximinus and Africanus, down to Decius and Gratus second. He divided the regions among the deacons, and appointed seven subdeacons, who were to oversee the seven notaries, so that the acts of the martyrs might be collected in their entirety; and he ordered many structures to be built inside the cemeteries. After his passion, Moses and Maximus the presbyters, and Nicostratus the deacon, were seized and cast into prison. At the same time, Novatus arrived from Africa, and split

^B Fabian, after an interregnum of thirteen days, on January 16th, was elected by the judgment of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove descending upon his head, and was established in the pontifical see by the unanimous consent of all; and from it, in very difficult times, he governed the universal Church. (Eusebius, bk. VI, ch. 22). After Maximinus had been killed by soldiers on both sides, the state of the Church being pacified, he and the bishop of Carthage, Donatus, deprived the heretic Privatus, who had been condemned by an African council of 90 bishops, of ecclesiastical communion. (Baronius, year 241, no. 2 and following).

He did not admit the Emperor Philip, who was imbued with the Christian faith, as is clear from his Martyrology and Acts, to enter the church on the eve of Easter and participate in its prayers, until he had first made confession of his sins and given exomologesis, and had paid the due penance for them. (Eusebius, bk. VI, ch. 27; Baronius, year 246, no. 5 and following. Item year 249, no. 2 and following). During his pontificate, the heresies of the Elcesaites, the Valesians, and other heretics who denied the immortality of the soul were plucked out, almost at their inception, by the sword of the pontiff and by the onslaught of councils and other learned men vigorously opposing them. (Baronius, year 249, no. 6, 7, etc.).

After Donatus, bishop of Carthage, died, Cyprian, a most eloquent rhetorician converted to the faith by Caecilius, afterwards mockingly called Coprianus (that is, "the Dung-man") by the pagans, was elected bishop of the same see by the consent of the higher clergy and the whole people, with the single presbyter Felicissimus unhappily opposing him, when the two Philips were consuls, which is the year of Christ 250, the 12th of Fabian, and the 5th of the Emperor Philip. (Sev. Bin.)

Having begun his pontificate in January of the year 238, he was crowned with martyrdom on January 20th of the year 253, when Decius was serving his second consulship and had begun his reign; it is likely he sat for 15 years and 4 days. (Baronius, year 255, no. 5 and 6).

^C ...of that most atrocious persecution which the Emperor Decius—enraged and jealous because, under the Philips, the divine preaching had spread far and wide, gathering a huge number everywhere to the faith of Christ, and the pagan superstition was languishing more each day—commanded, and which God permitted, as Cyprian witnesses in his book *On the Lapsed*, on account of the corrupted Christian discipline. (Baronius, at the place mentioned above.)

(4) *He divided the regions among the deacons.* Just as We said above in the notes to the *Life of Evaristus*, he enjoined upon the deacons this duty, that they should also assist the bishop as he preached the Gospel, so Fabian added here that the same men should preside over the fourteen regions of the city, assigning two to each, so that they might take care of the poor living in them. And therefore they were called "regionary deacons" by office, who in the Roman council under Silvester, ch. 6, are also found nominated as "cardinal deacons"; for this reason, that although they acted in different places, they were nonetheless contained within the hinge (*cardine*) of one and the same primary church. See what we shall say there; also Baronius, year 112, no. 8 and 9.

(5) *He appointed seven subdeacons.* As the greater authority of the Acts written by the notaries shows, he set subdeacons over this same duty. See the notes to the *Life of Clement* and *Anterus*, and Baronius there.

(6) *Many structures inside the cemeteries.* Since from the third year of Fabian down to the final year of his pontificate exclusive, Gordian and Philip had reigned, under whom, with the persecution ceasing on all sides, the Church of God was acting peacefully, Fabian the pontiff studied to strengthen with all his might not only the propagation of the Christian religion, but also, once propagated, to illustrate it with buildings erected over the graves of the martyrs in cemeteries ^D and crypts, which were subsequently frequented by the faithful for the sake of prayer, as I said above. But Fabian did not only build churches at Rome in this time of peace; indeed, also Gregory Thaumaturgus, bishop of Neocaesarea in Pontus—of whom Gregory of Nyssa writes that when he had converted an immense number of citizens to the faith, with the people contributing money and labor, he built a most noble church, adorned most beautifully with altars, which God, because it had been built by such a man and consecrated to divine worship, preserved unharmed from the onslaught of the greatest earthquake by which the city itself was utterly overturned, and—what is miraculous—from the fury and savagery of Diocletian, who demolished all churches and sacred altars entirely, down to the times of Gregory of Nyssa. (Baronius, year of Christ 245, no. 2.)

(7) *Moses and Maximus the presbyters.* That the presbyters and confessors of the Roman Church, and those held for over a year in prison, were wretchedly afflicted, the letters of Cyprian to these confessors, and of the confessors to Cyprian, testify. See the epistles of Cyprian 16, 23, 26, 51.

(8) *At the same time.* Namely, that the aforementioned confessors...

Novatianus from the Church, and certain confessors, after Moses had died in prison, who had been there for eleven months. And thus many Christians fled. He made five ordinations during the month of December: twenty-two presbyters, seven deacons, and eleven bishops for various locations. He was buried in the cemetery of Callistus, on the Appian Way, on the thirteenth day before the Kalends of February. And the episcopate ceased for six days.

OTHER NOTICE

^A 1. When all the brethren were gathered in the church, that they might ordain him who was to succeed Anterus, the people, moved by the sudden descent of a dove which settled upon Fabian’s head, proclaimed him worthy of the episcopate, and immediately seized him and placed him upon the priestly chair. Eusebius records his ordination in his *Chronicle* after the death of Maximinus; but he is not accurate there. For he assigns Anterus’s ordination and death, and Fabian’s election, to the very year that followed the murder of Maximinus, although these three things happened while Maximinus was still alive, and Anterus was ordained in one year and died in another.

2. In the Bucherian and other ancient catalogues we read: Fabian [held the see for] 14 years, 1 month, 10 days. He was in the times of Maximinus and Gordianus and Philippus, from the consulship of Maximinus and Africanus until [the consulship of] Decius (I read Decius I) and Gratus (this is from the year of Christ 236 to 250). He suffered on the 12th day before the Kalends of February (according to the Bollandists, 13th; in the Fossatensis manuscript, 14th). ^B If one month is taken from this calculation, and the reading of the codex in which Fabian is noted as having suffered on the 13th before the Kalends of February is preferred, it will follow that this Pope was ordained on the tenth day of January, which fell on a Sunday, in the year 236, and attained the crown of martyrdom on the 20th day of January, in the year 250: on which day, indeed, his feast is ascribed in all ancient monuments, and specifically in the book of the Sacramentary of St. Gregory.

3. Cyprian, having been made certain of the blessed Fabian’s end by letters from the Roman clergy, writing back quickly, encompassed the eulogy of this holy pontiff in these few words: "When the rumor concerning the passing of my colleague, that good man, was uncertain among us, most beloved brethren, and opinion wavered, I received letters sent to me by you through Clement the subdeacon, by which I was most fully instructed concerning his glorious end. And I rejoiced greatly, because for the integrity of his administration, a noble conclusion followed. In which I also congratulate you greatly, because you pursue his memory with so renowned and illustrious a testimony, so that through you it was made known to us, which was also glorious for you concerning the memory of your prelate, and which provided to us also an example of faith and virtue. For as much as it is a dangerous thing for the fall of a prelate to be followed, ^C just so much is it useful and salutary when a bishop presents himself to the brethren as an example to be imitated through the firmament of faith." Such was the faith of those blessed times, that at the loss of a good and useful pastor, it seemed that tears and grief should be expressed by his own flock, and consolatory letters demanded from a friend; and both the Romans and their friend Cyprian poured out their spirits in mutual congratulation; certain, indeed, that nothing had been snatched away from the Church to whom such a clear example of faith and virtue had been provided.

...or six months only, as others assert, but that the pontifical see remained vacant for more than a full year at this time. Baronius, year 253, no. 28. Whoever implies that he died in prison in this passage, it is certain from the epistle of Cornelius to Fabius of Antioch, which we shall insert below from Eusebius, that he attained the crown of martyrdom publicly in the sight of all. Thus Baronius, year 255, no. 39.

...concussed the universal Church so much that many, although very strong, withdrew themselves, and among others the most holy Cyprian, prompted almost by the divine Spirit, [and] Dionysius of Alexandria, and Paul the hermit, who subsequently, living a solitary life in a cave which he had found at that time, providing an example of monastic life, remained until the age of 113, which is the 7th year of the Emperor Constantius, just begun. Baronius, year 253.

...that the pontifical see remained vacant, it is certain from those things which I have said above, with the words "After Moses"; regarding which matter we shall speak more below.

Concerning the epistles and constitutions pertaining to Fabian.

1. Origen, according to Eusebius, wrote an apologetic letter to Fabian, in which he endeavored to prove himself orthodox. Jerome, noting this, says: "Origen himself," he says, "in the letter which he writes to Fabian, bishop of the city of Rome, does penance for why he wrote such things (on account of which he had agreed to his condemnation in Rome under Pontianus), and he attributes the causes of his rashness to Ambrose, for having published what was intended for private circulation."

2. Cyprian, in epistle 55, teaches that Privatus, the Lambaesitan bishop, in the colony of Lambaesis itself, on account of many and grave crimes, was condemned by the judgment of ninety bishops, and most severely censured by the letters of Fabian and Donatus. This can be understood in such a way that Fabian, having been informed by the letters of the Lambaesitan council both of the crimes and heresy of Privatus and of the sentence passed against him, wrote to Privatus himself and most severely rebuked him; or, what seems more probable, that in writing back to the synod which had written to him, he branded this heretic with a very grave mark [of infamy]. Yet the wily man did not rest; but after the death of Fabian, as may be inferred, led by the hope of deceiving his clergy, he sent a certain standard-bearer from his band of iniquity to Rome, who might surreptitiously and fraudulently elicit letters of peace. At the same time, Cyprian, guarding the same clergy, notified them of the tense situation—that is, either the matter about which the Roman clergy was concerned, or rather, in my own opinion, the matter about which Cyprian himself was concerned, namely, that Privatus should not impose upon the Romans. But the clever accomplice of perfidy sent by Privatus could not impose upon the most vigilant clergy. For even before Cyprian's letters arrived in the City, it was neither hidden who he was, nor did he receive the letters he wanted.

^B 3. Those words of the Bucherian Catalog concerning Fabian: *He divided the regions among the deacons, and ordered many buildings to be made in the cemeteries*, we read interpolated in the Fossatensis and in the other [manuscript] of the Queen of Swedes: *He divided the regions among the deacons, and made seven (among the Bollandists, six) subdeacons, who were to oversee seven notaries, so that they might faithfully collect the deeds of the martyrs*; and then it is omitted: *and ordered many buildings to be made in the cemeteries*. The time of peace, which the Church enjoyed while Philip was emperor, gave Fabian the opportunity to order buildings to be made or enlarged in the cemeteries, where the faithful were accustomed to gather and perform sacred rites. The same time also provided him the opportunity to institute a more convenient order for governing the City. Therefore, since the antiquity of the Bucherian catalogs in Liberius, and the very circumstances of the time, easily persuade us of what is written in that catalog concerning the regions committed to the care of individual deacons and the many buildings constructed by Fabian’s order.

^C 4. But because it is read that Fabian constituted seven subdeacons, who were to oversee an equal number of notaries for the writing down of the acts of the martyrs, the authority of this addition does not seem equal. Moreover, from the fact that Gregory, asked by bishop Eulogius of Alexandria to transmit to him the acts of the martyrs which Eusebius had collected, replies—lib. VIII, epist. 29—*I have known of none in the archive of this our Church or in the libraries of the city of Rome, except for certain few things collected in the volume of a single codex; regarding the truth of the deeds, which are circulated as having been written at Rome, some doubt.* One should, however, not insist too strictly on the words of Gregory. For Gelasius, more ancient and more skilled in historical matters than he, in epistle 33, n. 6, acknowledges and receives the acts of the holy martyrs, ^D which shine with the manifold tortures of suffering and the marvelous triumphs of confessions. But where the same pope adds: *Therefore, according to ancient custom, they are not read in the holy Roman Church with singular caution, because the names of those who wrote them are wholly unknown*, it greatly diminishes the credibility of the aforementioned addition. Indeed, nothing would have seemed to be wanting to the *authentia* [authority] of those deeds, if they had been written by the authority of the Roman pontiff by seven notaries, to whom an equal number of subdeacons had been set over. Be that as it may, Eusebius, *Hist.* lib. VI, c. 43, provides proof that under Fabian’s successor, Cornelius, there were seven deacons and an equal number of subdeacons in the Roman Church: and it is probable that Fabian at the very time the offices were divided among the individual deacons, also assigned their own to the subdeacons, whatever those may have been. But at that time Rome was divided into fourteen regions; from which it follows that two were attributed to each deacon, so that they might more easily know all the poor and be able to provide for them.

Concerning other epistles and decrees ascribed to Fabian.

1. Isidorus Mercator increased his collection with epistles falsely written in the name of Fabian, and therefore to be rejected into another volume. From one of those flowed the opinion by which Fabian is believed to have ordained that the chrism should be prepared every year, with old incense, on Maundy Thursday. Wherefore this kind of opinion rests truly upon a slight and shaky authority. But a more apt occasion will be given to examine that, where the epistle in which Isidorus asserts this will be edited.

2. Furthermore, ten decrees are attributed to this same pope in editions collected from Gratian and another compilation, but they are not worthy of greater credence. And of these, the first is thus stated: *If anyone having been offended shall not wish to be reconciled to his brother, the one who caused the offense satisfying him, he should be punished with most bitter fasts, until he receives the satisfaction with a grateful heart.* Nor is it cited under the same name by Gratian alone, dist. 90, c. 10, but also by Ivo, part 13, c. 60, and Burchard, lib. X, c. 59. But the former words of it are expressed from the Rule of Basil, in whose 74th chapter these things are prefaced from the translation of Rufinus.

question: What if, when he who has caused offense makes satisfaction, he who has been offended refuses to be reconciled? From another Rule, or in imitation of some Rule, the architect of this decree has added a response to the proposed question from his own material. In the Rule of Pachomius, ch. 18, we read: If anyone is wrathful or harbors sadness or envy against one's neighbor, for as long as he has held it, so shall his penance be, in bread and water. Affined to this Rule is the decree which Ivo, part 13, c. 16, cites again as if from our Fabian: If anyone does not wish to be reconciled to his brother whom he hates, let him do penance on bread and water for as long as it takes until he is reconciled to him. ^A

5. Gratian, Pt. 2, C. 35, q. 2 and 3, c. 3, writes out this from Fabian: Concerning relatives who come into affinity through husband and wife: if the wife or husband is dead, they may be joined in the fifth generation; if found in the fourth, they shall not be separated. In the third degree of relationship, however, it is not permitted to take the wife of another after his death. The husband may likewise be joined in marriage to those who are blood relatives to him, and to the blood relatives of his wife after the death of his wife. But the most recent editors of Gratian teach that this was excerpted from the Penitential of Theodore. We actually find it in that part of the Penitential of Theodore which the Coislin codex, transcribed 700 years ago, preserves under the title "On Questions of Marriages." Nor is Gratian consistent with himself, for in the same place, c. 13, along with Ivo part 9, ch. 43, and Burchard lib. 7, ch. 7, he attributes the last part of this decree to Pope Julius. However, this law concerning marriages among relations by affinity was abrogated in the year 1216 at the General Council of the Lateran, which is cited in the Decretals of Gregory IX, lib. 4, tit. 14, c. 8.

6. Gratian submits this to the same Fabian as if it pertained to him: Whoever takes a blood relative of his wife in marriage and they are separated, it shall not be permitted for them, as long as both live, to join other wives to themselves in marriage, unless excused by ignorance. From which one may conjecture that it was transcribed from the very book from which the previous one was taken, and thus should be restored to Theodore of Canterbury.

3. Another [decree], according to Gratian, Pt. 2, C. 11, q. 3, c. 18, and Ivo, part 12, ch. 65, is brought forth in this manner: Whoever, knowing it, perjures himself, let him do penance for forty days on bread and water and for the seven following years; and let him never be without penance, and never be received as a witness; let him receive communion, however, hereafter. Not unlike this is that which Gratian, Pt. 2, C. 22, q. 5, c. 4, attributes to Gelasius, but Ivo, pt. 12, ch. 66, as well as Anselm, Polycarp, and Burchard, attribute to Pelagius: If anyone perjures himself and knowingly leads others into perjury, let him do penance for forty days on bread and water, and for the seven following years, and let him never be without penance. And if others were privy to it, let them do penance similarly. Furthermore, there is no slight suspicion that these two decrees came from the same source. But what source should we think it is, if not the Penitential of Theodore of Canterbury, from which we read it cited in the very words in Burchard, lib. 12, ch. 11, and in Ivo, pt. 12, ch. 68: If anyone suspects that he is being led to perjury, and yet swears by consent, let him do penance for forty days, and let him never be without grave penance. Indeed, even that which is cited above under Fabian's name is read in Regino, lib. 2, ch. 324, as if from a Penitential, and in Jac. Petit, Vol. I, page 72, as if from Theodore's Penitential, cut down as follows: Whoever perjures himself knowingly, let him do penance for seven years, and after this let him receive communion. Yet to that part which commands that a perjurer shall never be received as a witness, the first Council of Mâcon, can. 17, and the Capitularie of Charlemagne, ch. 39, in Baluze, page 518, agree, where it is cautioned: He who has once been perjured, let him not be a witness thereafter. See also the common book of Rabanus Maurus, lib. 3, "On the Satisfaction of Penitents," ch. 39, and Halitgarius, lib. 4, ch. 28. ^{B C D}

4. That [decree]: Neither a man who is furious nor a woman who is furious can contract marriage; but if it has been contracted, let them not be separated, which Gratian Pt. 2, C. 32, q. 7, c. 26, and Ivo Pt. 8, c. 168, praise as a decree of Fabian, is more correctly cited by Regino lib. 2, ch. 129, as coming from Roman law. It is in fact a judgment of Julius Paulus, lib. 2, tit. 19, with the final words changed. For Paul spoke of those for whom contract marriage despite madness (occurring afterward) is not dissolved; which is less ambiguous. See Digest lib. 23, tit. 2, § 10, and Ivo Pt. 13, ch. 87 and 88, as well as Regino lib. 2, ch. 130.

7. Gratian Pt. 2, C. 35, q. 6, c. 1; Ivo Pt. 9, c. 57; and Burchard lib. 7, c. 21, bring this forth as from the decrees of Fabian, ch. 8: Let no one accuse relatives of outsiders, nor calculate consanguinity in a synod, but let the relatives to whose notice it pertains—that is, father and mother, sister and brother, paternal uncle, maternal uncle, paternal aunt, maternal aunt, and their offspring—do so. If, however, all of the progeny has failed, let the bishop canonically inquire from the older and more truthful [people] to whom the same relationship is known; and if the relationship is found, let them be separated. That this is expressed rather awkwardly is clear from the imitation of law 2, tit. 7, lib. 9 of the Theodosian Code, from the interpretation of Anianus, where it is cautioned: In adultery, let no one accuse a woman who is an outsider, but the relatives to whose notice it pertains, that is, blood brother, paternal brother, paternal uncle, and cousin.

8. Gratian Pt. 2, "On Consecration," dist. 2, c. 16; Ivo Pt. 2, c. 27; and Burchard lib. 5, c. 17, express it under Fabian's name thus: That if laymen do not communicate more frequently, or at least three times a year, unless perhaps one is hindered by greater crimes—that is, at Easter, at Pentecost, and at the Nativity of the Lord—this was transcribed from canon 50 of the third Council of Tours, celebrated in the year 818, down to the words "that is." Furthermore, that addition, "that is, at Easter, Pentecost, and the Nativity of the Lord," was expressed in imitation of the Council of Agde, can. 18, where it is established: Seculars, however, who have not communicated at the Nativity of the Lord, Easter, and Pentecost, are not to be believed as Catholics.

...and with the same words, as Gratian, Ivo, and Burchard report, is cited by Regino (lib. 1, c. 195) as being ^A from book 11 of the Capitularies, where it also exists (c. 45), but without the addition "that is," etc., as it is found in the third Council of Tours.

9. "If he has not completed the thirtieth year of his age, in no way should a presbyter be ordained," etc., which in Burchard (lib. 2, c. 10) and in Ivo (p. 6, c. 30) is marked with the name of Fabian, and the beginning of which Gratian (dist. 78, c. 1) ascribes to Pope Boniface, is a mere canon of the Council of Neocaesarea, described from the translation of Bishop Martin of Braga, c. 20.

10. "We decree that in all [churches] on Sundays, the oblation of the altar shall be made by all men and women, both of bread and wine, so that by these sacrifices they may be freed from the burdens of their sins," is taken from canon 4 of the second Council of Mâcon, celebrated in the year 585, which ^A prefers to a council that lacks the place. Therefore, it is wrongly ascribed to Fabian in the codex of 16 books (lib. 5, c. 7), in Burchard (lib. 5, c. 24), and in Ivo (p. 2, c. 34). That Ivo did not notice this is surprising, since he shortly thereafter touches upon the summary of the same words in c. 41, and recognizes them as belonging to the Council of Mâcon.

11. "The sacrifice must not be received from the hand of a priest who is unable to fulfill the prayers or actions and remaining observances in the Mass according to the rite," is attributed to Fabian by the codex of 16 books (lib. 5, c. 9), Burchard (lib. 5, c. 50), and Ivo (p. 12, c. 44), yet this redolent of a later papal age. And in truth, an old Coislinian codex makes it certain that it belongs to Theodore of Canterbury, in which it is exhibited along with many other chapters of the Penitential of the same archbishop.

POPE FABIAN'S EPISTLES

FIRST EPISTLE

TO ALL MINISTERS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. *Who ought not to be admitted to excuse, and that one must not commune with the excommunicated.* To the most beloved ministers of the Catholic Church everywhere, FABIAN sends greeting in the Lord.

We are warned by divine precepts and apostolic ^B institutions to watch with unwearied affection over the state of all the churches. Hence it follows that it behooves you to know what is done in the Roman Church in sacred rite, so that by following its examples, you may be found true sons of her who is called your mother.

Seven deacons, therefore, we have in the city of Rome, for the seven regions of the city, just as we have received from the fathers, who, through each week on the Lord's days, and the solemnities of the festivals, with the subdeacons and acolytes and ministers of the succeeding orders, observe the ministries enjoined upon them, and are ready at every hour for the divine office and for whatever is enjoined upon them to be performed. Similarly, it is for you to do according to what is opportune through each of the cities, so that the divine office may be performed studiously and solemnly without any delay and negligence. Finally, seven subdeacons likewise...

^C ...and rightly so. ... [This epistle] seems to have been written not by Fabian, but rather by Cornelius, because it refers as follows to Novatus and Novatian: "Moreover, we desire you to know that in our own times, due to our own sins, by the persuasion of the ancient enemy—who always walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (1 Pet. 5:8)—Novatus arrived from Africa, and separated Novatian and certain other confessors of Christ from the Church of Christ, and turned them to perverse doctrine." That this certainly did not happen before the creation of Bishop Cornelius is sufficiently manifest by the testimony of the *Liber Pontificalis* and of Cyprian. Add to this that Pacian, in epistle 3 to Sympronianus, when he mentions Novatian, praises his Catholic faith regarding those things which he had done before the seat of Cornelius; for he writes thus: "Why, therefore, did your Novatian—not even falsely a priest by episcopacy then, long before Cornelius became bishop of Rome, before he envied his priesthood—persuade these things? You have the testimony of Cyprian," etc. And after the rest: "But when did this very heresy of Novatian begin? Hear, I pray, and observe the whole order of your error. Cornelius, already made bishop of Rome by sixteen bishops, had received the place of the vacant chair, and with that virginal purity with which he was endowed, he was enduring the frequent persecutions of the born prince. Then by chance a certain presbyter, Novatus from Africa, etc., came to Rome, etc." Therefore, for this reason, one might be able to conclude with firm conjecture that the author of this epistle was Cornelius rather than Fabian, unless there were mention made below of the seven subdeacons, whom, as is evident from his own Life in the *Liber Pontificalis*, Fabian—not Cornelius—by the consent of all, placed in charge of the notaries gathering and writing down the Acts of the martyrs. It seems safer and truer, therefore, that the aforesaid [remarks] about Novatus and Novatian were added by some wiseacre, because he thought these words of the *Liber Pontificalis*, "at the same time Novatus arrived," should be referred to the time of Fabian’s pontifical seat, when in truth, they should be referred to what the author had just said, after his passion.

...concerning the seven deacons. See what we have said above in the notes on the Life of Clement, Evaristus, Anterus, and Fabian.

...It is gathered that the author of this epistle is Pope Fabian, and that what detracts from its credibility is surreptitious, and therefore to be expunged, or at least noted.

We have ordained, who should oversee the seven notaries, and ^A that they might truthfully and in their entirety collect the deeds of the martyrs and reveal them to us for our examination. We warn you all to do the same, so that hereafter no doubt or question may arise from these things; since all that was written, was written for our instruction. And those things which are truthfully written in our times are directed toward the instruction of those to come. And therefore we command that these matters be entrusted to the most trustworthy men, lest any deception be found in them, from which scandal might—God forbid—arise among the faithful. Wherefore we ask your charity with fatherly sweetness, that holy Church may find the affection of your charity in all things, and that it may enjoy the solace of your favor wherever it may be necessary. And just as the goodness of your zeal provides us with certainty, so that we need not doubt it in any respect, but rather, as to the wise sons of our Church, entrust these things confidently; so, having set aside the occasions of convenience, your efficiency ought to strive more earnestly, and with all zeal drive away insults by whatever means it may be possible. We further urge you, according to the Apostle's word, to be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. And elsewhere: Be watchful and pray, and stand in the faith. Act in a manly way and be strengthened. Let all your works be done in charity. Furthermore, we desire you to know this, that in our times, hindered by our own sins, by the persuasion of the ancient enemy who always walks about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour, Novatus from Africa has arrived, and has separated Novatian and certain other confessors of Christ from the Church of Christ, and has turned them toward a perverse doctrine. You, brothers, turn away from them, and beware of all who hold a faith and doctrine other than what the apostles and their successors have held and taught, lest, following after him, you fall into the snare of Satan and be trapped in his shackles. ^B Wherefore we beseech the charity of your fraternity with innermost prayers, that you might deign to be mindful of our lowliness in your holy prayers, praying and beseeching the Lord of heaven that both we and the holy mother Church of Christ, redeemed by precious blood, may be delivered from the snares of Satan the hunter and from importunate and evil men, and that the word of God may run and be glorified, and the perverse doctrine of those who teach what is perverted may collapse and fail. We pray also that you may strive to obtain by the prayers of your piety, that ^C God and our Lord Jesus Christ, who wills that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth, may by His great omnipotence cause their hearts to return to sound doctrine and the catholic faith, so that they may recover from the snares of the devil by which they are held captive, and be gathered to the sons of mother Church. Remembering also your brothers, have mercy on those whom you can by your good efforts, so that they may not be lost, but may be saved for the Lord by your prayers and other exercises of your goodness. Act therefore in these matters so that you may appear as obedient and faithful sons of God's holy Church, and may receive the rewards of merit. They, and all who do not teach the right doctrine or hold the right faith, cannot be accusers of any who believe rightly, because they are marked by infamy and, by the apostolic sword, have been cut off from the bosom of holy mother Church until their right conduct and return. Wherefore, by apostolic authority, with all the sons of the same apostolic and universal Church, we establish and decree that all who are suspected in the Catholic faith shall not be received in an accusation against those who believe rightly; because suspicions are always to be removed. Deservedly, therefore, the accusation of those who are suspected in the right faith is rejected. Nor is any credence at all to be given to those who are ignorant of the faith of the Trinity. Similarly, we remove and alienate from every accusation of the faithful all those whom the statutes of the holy Fathers anathematize, both in past and future times. The faithful, therefore, ought always to be discrete from the unfaithful, and the just from the unjust; since the unfaithful and malevolent, in whatever ways they can, always infest the faithful and strive to destroy them; and therefore they are not to be received, but to be repelled and cast far away, lest they be able to destroy or defame the faithful. Wherefore, dearest ones, beware of the pit of such men, into which we know many have fallen. Beware of the darts of such men, and the temptations of the ancient enemy, through which we have seen even our own relatives fallen and wounded before our eyes. Watch for the snares of those who lie in wait, with which they are accustomed to strangle their acquaintances and comrades. Do not follow such men, but repel them from afar. Be, according to the voice of Truth, wise as serpents and simple as doves. See that you do not run or toil in vain, but supported by each other's prayers and orisons, strive to do the will of God, and separate yourselves in all things from those mentioned if they appear incorrigible. Similarly, separate yourselves from all those whom the Apostle commemorates, saying: With such a one not even to eat; because they, just like the others, are to be repelled, and before ^D satisfaction to the Church, they are not to be received; since they...

^A appear separated from the rest of the brethren until satisfaction. Wherefore they ought not and cannot be received for the accusation of the faithful, but must be repelled from their company until the aforementioned satisfaction, lest they be made like unto them or become subject to their excommunication; since the apostles have so ordained, saying: There must be no communion with the excommunicated. And if anyone, in violation of the rules, knowingly sings psalms with the excommunicated in a house, or has conversed or prayed with them, let him be deprived of communion. Such persons, therefore, are in all things to be avoided, and not to be received, because according to the Apostle, not only are they who do such things condemned, but also they who consent to those who do them. Whence also the blessed prince of the apostles, Peter, in the ordination of Clement, addressing the people, among other things says: If this Clement is an enemy to anyone for his own actions, do not wait for him to tell you himself: "Do not be friends with him"; but you ought to observe it prudently, and yield to his will without being admonished, and turn yourselves away from him, to whom you perceive him to be adverse; and neither speak to those to whom he does not speak, so that everyone who is in fault, while he desires to retain the friendships of you all, may hasten to be reconciled more quickly to him who presides over all, that by this means he may return to salvation, when he begins to obey the warnings of the president. If, however, anyone is not a friend, and speaks to those to whom he does not speak, he himself is one of those who desire to exterminate the Church of God; and while in body he may seem to be with you, in mind and spirit he is against you. And this enemy is much baser than those who are outside and are clearly enemies. For this one, under the guise of friendships, carries on what is hostile and scatters and lays waste the Church. Therefore, dearly beloved, warning you, we instruct you by these apostolic institutions, that your charity, having been made more certain, ^B may henceforth strive to act more solicitously and cautiously, lest perverse and faithless men have the power to injure the faithful and the kindly: for the hope of such and of all the impious is as down, which is carried away by the wind, and as thin foam, which is scattered by a storm, and as smoke, which is dispersed by the wind, and as the memory of a guest of one day that passeth. Most especially, dearly beloved, such are to be avoided, and turned away from, and rejected, if they appear guilty; because not only ecclesiastical, but also secular laws do not receive the guilty, but repel them. Whence it is written: The mouth of the impious devoureth iniquity. And the Lord speaking through the Prophet says: With the holy you will be holy, and with the perverse you will be perverted; and with the elect you will be elect, and with the innocent you will be innocent. And the Apostle says: Evil communications corrupt good manners. Therefore, as has already been hinted, the wicked are always to be avoided, and we must cleave to the good and kindly, ^C that we may decline the danger of sloth as much as we are able. And lest this plague be spread more widely, let us cut it off with such severity as we can; since no rashness of presumption intervenes where there is the diligence of piety. Let each of you always, supported by this apostolic information according to his own strength, strive to preserve his own morals in fraternal charity and holy religion, and in common to help one another, and to remain in charity, and unceasingly to strive to cleave to the will of God, that praising the Lord together, we may always render Him tireless thanks. Fare well in the Lord, dearly beloved, and strive to fulfill the aforesaid, as best you can, with the Lord bringing aid. Given on the Kalends of July, in the consulship of the most illustrious men Maximinus and Africanus.

EPISTLE II (18). TO ALL ORIENTAL BISHOPS.

That the chrism be renewed every year by being consecrated and the old be put away in the churches to be burned; concerning the accusation of priests, and that sheep ought not to dare to reprove their pastor, unless he has erred in the faith.

I. That a new chrism be made every year, and the old burned.

II. Concerning not accusing bishops and not tearing them to pieces with obloquy.

FABIANUS, bishop of the city of Rome, to all the Oriental bishops and all the faithful, greeting in the Lord.

Your charity demands the counsels of the apostolic see, which we cannot and ought not to deny you. That our predecessors also did this for the bishops of many regions is clear; and fraternal charity and the obligation of obedience compel us, who have been placed in the same see by the Lord’s bounty, to do the same. Care, therefore, must be applied by your solicitude, ^D that those things which have been ordained by the apostles and their successors, and instituted by the prompting of the Holy Spirit, neither dissimulation may neglect, nor any presumption be able to disturb. But just as it has been necessary to define this, which the utility of reason demanded; so that which has been defined ought not to be violated.

I.

We find, however, inserted among other things in your letters, that certain bishops of your region—

or rather, those who differ from our order and yours—do not consecrate the chrism on Maundy Thursday, but keep the one confection of the holy chrism made once every two or three years. For they say, as we find in the aforementioned documents, that balsam cannot be found every year, and that it is not necessary to consecrate the chrism annually, but that while one stock of chrism abounds, there is no need for another to be made. For they who devise such things err, and, feeling with a deranged rather than a righteous mind, say these things. For on that day the Lord Jesus, after He had supped with His disciples and washed their feet, as our predecessors received from the holy apostles and left to us, taught how to consecrate the chrism. For the very washing of the feet signifies our baptism, when it is perfected and confirmed by the unction of the holy chrism. For just as the solemnity of that day is to be celebrated every year, so the confection of the holy chrism is to be performed every year, and is to be renewed from year to year and delivered to the faithful; because it is a new sacrament to be renewed every year on the said day, and the old is to be burned in the holy churches. These things we have received from the holy apostles and their successors, and we command you to observe them. This, the holy Roman Church and the Church of Antioch have guarded ^B from the time of the apostles; this, the Churches of Jerusalem and Ephesus hold. In these, the apostles presiding taught these things, and they permitted the old chrism to be burned, and forbade the use of any but one year old, commanding that from then on one should enjoy the new and not the old. If, therefore, anyone attempts to oppose these things, let him understand that the path of indulgence is closed to him through you and through all who understand rightly; because the perverse doctrine of most wicked minds, while it makes use of the reins too indulgently ^C, slips into presumption; and it is in no way extricated, unless it is freed by the support and correction of the prudent. Moreover, those things which the holy Church throughout the world observes uniformly regarding the divine mysteries and towards those being baptized are not to be contemplated with an idle gaze, lest we make room for superfluous intentions and superstitions. Therefore, we ought not to lead the uninstructed minds of the faithful to such things, because they are to be taught rather than mocked. For benefits reach our joy, and the stings of sorrow ^D prick us for those things which have been done wrongly. Here, however, we live somehow or other between the hands of robbers and the teeth of raging wolves, and the contumacious are subjects as well as sheep. For the rabies of wolves must be deterred by the barking of dogs and the shepherd's staff. Indeed, those wounds which are not healed by poultices must be cut away with iron. Neither can we remain silent, lest, when we call some back from illicit things here, being moved by the instinct of our office, we who are set by the Lord as watchmen, proving the diligence of our vigilance, might not prune away what must be restrained, and judge what must be observed.

II. We also find you inquiring, as we found in your aforementioned letters, concerning the accusation of priests, which, as we find in the same documents, is becoming very frequent among you. You have signified, moreover, that many observe that many in those very ecclesiastical honors do not live in a manner consistent with the words and sacraments that are administered by them ^B to the people. O miserable men, who, in looking at these, forget Christ: who also long before foretold that the law of God should be obeyed rather than that those who do not do what they say should be seen as to be imitated; and, tolerating His own traitor, He sent him even to the end to preach with the others. For the apostles

^A of each place, and of all who dwell under their administration, were taught to have anxious care, and to order the causes and interests of others in the fear of God. It is, therefore, very wicked that any others, neglecting their own affairs, should interfere in their causes. But those ought to dispose their life and judgment with competent and regular moderation, who ordain them to the priesthood, and by whom they have already been ordained; since, as the law speaks: Cursed is everyone who removes the boundaries of his neighbor. And all the people said: Amen. God, therefore, brothers, has preordained you, and all who perform the high priesthood, to this end: that you remove injustices, cut off presumptions, and assist those laboring in the priesthood, and afford no place ^B to their reproaches and calamities; but to him who suffers calumny and reproach, bring aid, while him who causes calumny or reproach you should cut off, and bring help to the Lord in His priests. The Lord also chose priests for Himself, that they might sacrifice to Him, and offer oblations to the Lord. He also ordered the Levites to be under them in their ministries. Whence He speaks to Moses, saying: But Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, the prince of the princes of the Levites, shall be over the keepers of the sanctuary of the church. For of these the Lord spoke to Moses: Take the Levites for the firstborn of the sons of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites for their cattle, and the Levites shall be mine. I am the Lord. If the Lord wished the Levites to be His, how much more has He taken priests unto Himself? Of whom He says: If any of the outsiders approaches, he shall die. All things, however, that are of the Lord must be handled cautiously, and not rashly precipitated; since even among men, they are held to be faithful who well guard and faithfully handle the affairs of their masters, and well guard and do not transgress their masters' precepts. But they are reckoned as unfaithful who handle the affairs of their masters cautiously and negligently, and despise their precepts, and do not guard them as they ought. Therefore, we have premised these things, that it may be known by those to whom it is unknown, that the priests whom the Lord has taken to Himself out of all, and has willed to be His own, are not to be handled lightly, nor lacerated, nor rashly accused or reproved, unless by their masters, since the Lord willed to reserve their causes for Himself, and to be vindicated by His own judgment. For in these and in other precepts of the Lord, both the faithful are known and the unfaithful are reproved. For these are to be tolerated by the faithful rather than reproached, like the chaff with the wheat, until the last winnowing-fan, just as bad fish with the good, until the segregation which is to be in the shore, that is, at the end of the age. In no way, therefore, can [one say that they] have not had such a custom, nor have they taught that it should be had; likewise their successors, although they decreed many things concerning such matters, foreseeing by the Spirit of God what was to come. Furthermore, as you read in the Acts ^A of the Apostles, there was at that time among the faithful one heart and one soul, nor did anyone of them say that any of his things was his own, but all things were common to them. For there was no accusation among them, unless a friendly one, nor should [any] ever be made among their imitators or the faithful, the Lord saying: What you do not wish to be done to you, do not do to another. And the same: You shall love your neighbor as yourself; and: The love of neighbor does not work evil. The apostles themselves, therefore, and their successors long ago decreed that those are not to be received to accusation who are suspected, or who yesterday, or the day before, or long ago were enemies, because they have become suspected, and who are not of good ^B conversation, or whose life is accusable, or who are doubtful in the right faith. Likewise, those whose faith, life, and liberty are unknown, or who are sprinkled with the stains of infamy, or entangled in crimes. Nor ought they [to be able] to accuse priests or clerics who cannot rightly become priests, nor are of their order; since, just as priests or the remaining clerics are excluded from the accusation of secular laypeople, so also they are to be excluded and alienated from the crimination of the latter. And just as these are not to be received by those, so also those are not to be received by these; since just as the conversation of the Lord's priests ought to be segregated from their conversation, so too [their] litigation; because the servant of God ought not to litigate. Such, dearest ^C brothers, accusations and unjust or harmful emulations, prohibit with all your might, because contention is to be avoided above all. For the just shall fall seven times in the day, and shall rise again; but the ungodly shall fall into evil. When your enemy has fallen, says Solomon, do not rejoice, and let not your heart exult in his ruin; lest perhaps the Lord see, and it displease Him, and He turn away His anger from him. Do not contend with the wicked, nor emulate the impious, because the evil have no hope of future things, and the lamp of the impious shall be extinguished. Nor emulate evil men, nor desire to be with them, because their mind meditates on plunder, and their lips speak frauds. Beware of these, dearest [brothers]. Meditate on these, and in all things ^D afford comfort to the brothers, because in this shall all know, as Truth itself says through itself, that you are my disciples, if you have love toward one another. For if in secular matters the right of each one and his proper order must be kept, how much more in ecclesiastical dispositions should no confusion be introduced? Which will be observed by this observation, if nothing is attributed to power, but everything to equity. Whence it is evident that a bishop...

^A should not be condemned by human examination, which God has reserved for His own judgment, so that the purpose of God, by which He has decreed to save that which was lost, might remain immovable. And therefore, because His will is not altered, let no one presume what has not been granted to him. Whence comes that which the Apostle speaks, saying: *There is already altogether a fault in you, because you have judgments among yourselves. Why do you not rather take the wrong? Why do you not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?* Let there be a return to that which the Lord says: *If any man will contend with thee in judgment, and take away thy coat, let go thy cloak also unto him.* And in another place: *He that taketh away that which is thine, ask it not again.* There are, moreover, some things which might be thought most trivial, if they were not shown in the Scriptures to be of graver estimation. Who would ever have thought that saying to his brother, "Thou fool," was guilty of the hell-fire, if the Truth Himself ^B had not said so? But indeed those who perpetrate those sins of which the Apostle says: *That they who do such things shall not obtain the kingdom of God,* are to be greatly guarded against, and if they will not willingly [amend], they are to be compelled to amendment; because they are besprinkled with the stains of infamy, and are slipping into the abyss, unless they are succoured by priestly authority. Likewise, those of whom he himself says: *With such a one, do not so much as eat,* who are marked with infamy before they are healed by priestly authority, and are restored to the bosom of holy mother Church; because those who are outside us cannot communicate with us. For it is manifest that those who are outside us, and should be separated from us, are those with whom it is not permitted to us to eat, nor to take food. Similarly, all persons subject to any turpitudes and scurrilous behavior are rendered infamous; and all, who are armed against their fathers, are rendered infamous. *It is easier to carry sand and salt and a mass of iron than a man who is unwise and foolish and impious.* *He that is little of heart thinketh vain things; and an unwise man and an erring one thinketh foolish things.* For the suspicion of those has supplanted many and held their senses in vanity. *A hard heart shall fare evil at the last; and he that loveth danger shall perish in it. A heart that goeth two ways shall not have rest, and he of a perverse heart shall be scandalized in them.* A wicked heart shall be burdened with sorrows, and *a sinner will add sin to sin.* Thinking on these things, the holy apostles, and their successors ^C filled with the Spirit of God, foreseeing evil men, and considering the simple, did not wish the accusation of priests to be difficult, nor ever possible for them to be overturned or removed by evil men: because if this were easily granted to secular and evil men, either none or very few would remain; since it always has been, and is, and, which is worse, greatly prevails, that the evil persecute the good, and carnal men infest spiritual ones. Therefore, as has been said above, they decreed that they should not be accused, or if it could not otherwise be done, that their accusation should be made most difficult, and that by those who, as was said above, should not be presumed, nor should bishops be cast out from their own sees or Churches. But if anything should be presumed [to the contrary] before both their proper place and all their belongings are restored to them by the laws, they should not be accused or criminated by anyone, and, unless they chose to do so of their own accord, they should not answer to anyone for such charges; but after, as was set forth, they have been restored, and all their goods have been restored to them by the laws, and their affairs have been organized and arranged, a great span of time should be granted to them for the purpose of conducting the case; and afterward, if it be necessary, having been canonically summoned, they should come to the case; and if it be just ^D, they should answer to the propositions of the accusers by the support of their brethren. For no reason permits, while their property or that of the Church and (their) goods are detained by rivals or by anyone whomsoever, that anything should be brought against them. Nor can anyone in any way bring any charge, major or minor, against them, while they are deprived of their churches, goods, or powers. Likewise it has been decreed, and confirming those same statutes, we decree, that if any of the clerics should be hostile or treacherous to their bishops, and should wish to criminate them, or should be a conspirator, that he should immediately be removed from the clergy before the examined judgment, and delivered to the court, to which he should serve for the days of his life, and remain infamous without any hope of restitution. Nor let any man ever presume to be at once accuser and judge or witness: because in every judgment it is always necessary that four persons be present, that is, elected judges, and accusers, and defenders, and witnesses. Likewise decreeing, by apostolic authority we command that the sheep, which have been committed to him, should not dare to rebuke their pastor, unless he should have erred in the faith: because the deeds of those set over us are not to be struck down by the sword of the mouth, nor can the disciple be above the master, the voice of the Truth saying: *The disciple is not above the master, nor the servant above his lord.* Pride is hateful before God and men, and all iniquity is execrable. God hath destroyed the memory of the proud, and hath left the memory of the humble in mind. The seed of men shall be honored, that which feareth God. But the seed of men shall be dishonored, that which passeth by the commandments of the Lord. In the midst of brethren, their ruler is in honor; and they that fear the Lord, shall be in his eyes. *My son,* says Solomon, *keep thy soul in mildness, and give honor to him to whom honor is due. Before thou inquire, blame no one; and when thou hast inquired, reprove justly. Before thou hear, answer not a word; and in the midst of the elders, do not add to speak.*

By the example of Cham, the son of Noe, those are condemned who bring the faults of their fathers into the public view, or presume to accuse or disparage them: just as Cham, who did not cover the nakedness of his father Noe, but showed it to be mocked. Similarly, those who are like Sem and Japhet are justified by his example, who reverently cover, and do not publish, those things which they know their fathers have committed in excess. For if a bishop has deviated from the faith, he is first to be corrected secretly by his subordinates. But if he appears incorrigible—which God forbid!—then he is to be accused before his primates or before the apostolic see. But for his other actions, he is to be tolerated by his sheep and subordinates rather than accused or publicly disparaged; because when he is faulted by his subordinates in these matters, the ordination of Him who set them over him is opposed, according to the Apostle: "He who resists the authority, resists the ordination of God." But whoever fears the omnipotent God, does not agree to do anything in any way contrary to the Gospel, nor against the apostles, nor against the prophets or the institutions of the holy Fathers. Therefore priests are to be honored, not torn to pieces or upbraided. It is read in Ecclesiasticus: "With all thy soul fear God, and reverence His priests. With all thy strength love Him that made thee, and do not forsake His ministers. Honor God with all thy soul, and give honor to the priest, and cleanse thyself with thy arms. Give him his portion, as it has been commanded thee, of the firstfruits, and cleanse thyself from negligence with a few things. Offer to the Lord the gift of thy arms, and the sacrifice of sanctification, and the firstfruits of the holy ones; and stretch out thy hand to the poor, that thy expiation and blessing may be perfected." We wish these things to be made known not only to you, but through you to all our brethren, so that with one mind and one heart we may remain in Christ, doing nothing through contention nor through vainglory, pleasing not men, but God our Savior. To whom is honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

EPISTLE III

To the most beloved brother HILARY, bishop, FABIANUS. We ought to be mindful of the divine grace towards us, who by the mercy of His ^A gift has advanced us to this priestly height, that adhering to His commands, and being established in a certain watchtower of His priests, we might prohibit illicit things and teach what should be followed. For we have heard that in the western parts, where you dwell, the cunning of the devil is raging against the ^B Christian people, and breaking forth with manifold deception so that it presses and vexes not only secular laity, but even the priests of the Lord themselves. Whence, being placed in great grief, we cannot overlook what we ought severely to correct. Therefore a fitting remedy must be applied to such wounds, lest a premature ease in healing prove powerless against the deadly plague of the disease, and the corruption, being treated too sluggishly, involve both the wounded and the healers in the guilt of an illegitimate cure.

I. Therefore, ordering these things, we decree that those who are not of good conversation, or whose life is accusable, or whose faith, life, and freedom are unknown, may not accuse the priests of the Lord, lest vile persons be admitted to their accusation. Similarly, those who are entangled in certain crimes, or who are distrusted, are not to have the right of accusing their elders; because a suspicious and hostile voice is accustomed to oppress the truth.

II. But we prohibit foreign ^C judgments in all things, the apostolic authority being preserved, by a general sanction, because it is unworthy for him to be judged by outsiders, when he ought to have his own provincial judges and those elected by himself, unless an appeal has been made. Whence it is fitting, if any of the bishops is accused of certain crimes, that he be heard by all who are bishops in the province, because the accused ought not to be heard anywhere save in his own forum. But if anyone feels that the judge is against him, let him exhibit a voice of appeal. ^D Moreover, no affliction or detention by custody ought to injure the appellant; but let it be allowed to the appellant to alleviate the corrupted cause by the remedy of appeal. It is also permitted to appeal in criminal cases. Nor should the voice of appealing be denied to him whom a sentence has destined for punishment.

III. Let the accused plead his cause before his own judge; and before a judge not his own, the accused, if he wishes, may remain silent; and let delays be granted to the accused as often as they appeal.

IV. If, therefore, anyone in anger rashly levels some charge against another, abuse is not to be taken for an accusation; but, with a period of deliberation allowed, let him confess that he will prove by writing that which he said in anger; so that, if perhaps repenting, the things which he...

said in anger he should not wish to repeat or write, he may not be held as a guilty criminal. Therefore, let everyone who makes an accusation write that he will prove it. In truth, the case must always be heard where the crime is committed. And let him who has not proved what he alleged suffer the same punishment that he brought upon another.

V. It has also pleased that, if an accused bishop should appeal to the Apostolic See, it should be decreed according to what the pontiff of that same See shall judge. Let this form, however, be observed entirely in the cause of priests, so that no sentence, not passed by his own judge, may bind anyone. Every one of the faithful, moreover, ought to succor the ruins of the oppressed and the miserable, whereby they may be able, by the revelation of another’s vengeance, to remove from themselves the vengeance of God. For he who wards off adversities from the afflicted offers favorable things to the Lord. Whence it is written: A brother helping a brother shall be exalted. For the Church of God ought to exist without spot or wrinkle, and therefore it is not fitting that it should be trampled upon or spotted by certain persons, because it is written: One is my dove, my perfect one. Hence again the Lord says to Moses: There is a place with me, and thou shalt stand upon the rock. ^B Who is the place that is not the Lord’s, since all things are contained in Him, through whom they were created? There is, however, a place with God, namely, the unity of the holy Church, in which one stands upon the rock, while the solidity of confession is humbly held. You, brother, and all our brothers who guide the Church of God, redeemed by His blood, we admonish that you hold back all from the precipice into which brothers—by detracting from and persecuting the shepherds of the Lord—fall, both in words and deeds, by the snares you can, and do not allow them to be lacerated by the hook of anger, because it is written: For the anger of man worketh not the justice of God. Hence again it is said: Let every man be swift to hear, but slow to speak, and slow to anger. I do not doubt, however, that you, with God as your guide, observe all these things; but because an occasion for admonition has arisen, I furtively ^C join myself to your good desires and works, so that what you do even without being admonished, when an admonisher is also added, you may no longer do alone. Wherefore, brothers, it behooves you and all the faithful to love one another, and not to detract from or accuse one another; for it is written: Love thy neighbor, and be joined in faith with him. But if you have uncovered his secrets, do not follow after him. For as one who loses his friend, so is he who loses the friendship of his neighbor: and as one who lets a bird go out of his hand, so hast thou let thy neighbor go, and thou shalt not catch him. Follow him not, for he is gone afar. For he is fled as a roe escaped out of the snare, because his soul is wounded. You can no longer bind him, and for the accursed there is a concord. Moreover, to uncover the mysteries of a friend is the desperation of an unhappy soul. Being ^D wicked, he nods with his eyes, and no one will cast him off. Before your eyes he will trample his mouth, and upon your words he will be amazed: but lastly he will pervert his mouth, and in your words will give scandal. Many things I have heard, and I have not compared them with him, and the Lord will hate him. He that casteth a stone on high, it shall fall upon his own head; and the deceitful wound will divide the wounds. He that diggeth a pit, shall fall into it; and he that setteth a stone for his neighbor, shall stumble on it; and he that layeth a snare for another, shall perish in it. A mischievous counsel shall be rolled back upon the author, and he shall not know from whence it comes to him. Mockery and reproach from the proud, and vengeance as a lion shall lie in wait for them. They that delight in the fall of the just shall be caught in a snare; and sorrow shall consume them before they die. Anger and fury, both are detestable; and the sinful man shall be the keeper of them. He that seeketh to revenge himself shall find vengeance from the Lord, and keeping his sins he shall keep them. Forgive thy neighbor if he hath hurt thee, and then shall thy sins be forgiven to thee when thou prayest. Man to man reserveth anger, and doth he seek remedy of God? He hath no mercy on a man like himself, and does he pray to the Highest for his own sins? He that is but flesh, nourisheth anger, and doth he ask forgiveness of God? Who shall obtain pardon for his sins? Remember the last things, and let enmity cease. For wasting and death are imminent in his commandments. Remember the fear of God, and be not angry with thy neighbor. Remember the covenant of the Highest, and overlook the ignorance of thy neighbor. Refrain from strife, and thou shalt diminish thy sins. For the passionate man kindleth strife, and the sinner will trouble his friends, and bring in enmity in the midst of them that are at peace. For according to the wood of the forest, so the fire burneth; and according to the virtue of a man, so will his anger be, and according to his substance he will increase his anger. A hurried contest will kindle a fire, and a hasty strife will shed blood, and a tongue that beareth witness will bring death. If thou blow the spark, as a fire shall it burn; and if thou spit upon it, it shall be extinguished: both come out of the mouth. The whisperer and the double-tongued is accursed; for he hath troubled many that were at peace. A third tongue hath disquieted many, and hath dispersed them from nation to nation. It hath destroyed the walled cities of the rich, and hath demolished the houses of the great. It hath cut in pieces the virtues of peoples, and brought strong nations to nothing. A third tongue hath cast out valiant women, and deprived them of their labors. He that regardeth it, shall not have rest, neither shall he have a friend in whom he may repose. The stroke of a whip maketh a blue mark: but the stroke of the tongue will break bones. Many have fallen by the edge of the sword, but not so many as have perished by their own tongue. Blessed is he that is defended from a wicked tongue, that hath not passed into the wrath thereof, and that hath not drawn the yoke thereof, and hath not been bound in its bands. For the yoke thereof is a yoke of iron, and the band thereof is a band of brass. The death thereof is a most evil death; and useful rather is the infer-

[...than that. His perseverance shall not endure, but he shall seize the ways of the unjust. In his own flame he shall not burn the righteous. They who abandon the Lord shall fall into it; and it shall blaze among them, and shall not be extinguished; and it shall be sent upon them like a lion, and like a leopard it shall harm them. Hedge your ears with thorns, and do not hear a wicked tongue, and make doors for your mouth and bars for your ears. Melt your gold and silver, and make a balance for your words, and right bridles for your mouth. And take heed, lest perhaps you slip with your tongue, and fall in the sight of your enemies who lie in wait for you, and your fall be incurable unto death. Let all beware of these things, and restrain their tongue from evil, and their lips from speaking deceit. Furthermore, most beloved, be strengthened in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the deceits of the devil; for our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places. Therefore, take up the armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and to stand perfect in all things. Stand, therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of justice, and your feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace, in all things taking the shield of faith, wherewith you may be able to extinguish all the fiery darts of the most wicked; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. These things, brother, which we have written to you, we wish to be made known to all in general, so that those things which touch the rest may be known to all. May Almighty God protect you, brother, and the rest of our brethren who reside everywhere until the end, He who has deigned to redeem the whole world, Jesus Christ our Lord, who is blessed for ever. Amen. Given on the seventeenth of the Kalends of November, in the consulship of the most illustrious men Africanus and Decius. ^{B C D}

Decrees of Saint Fabian taken from the Decree of Gratian, and not inserted in the previous ones.

I. Let him who is unwilling to be reconciled to his brother be worn down by the harshest fasts. If anyone who is offended is unwilling to be reconciled to his brother, while he who has offended is making satisfaction, let him be worn down by the harshest fasts, until he receives the satisfaction with a grateful spirit.

II. He who knowingly presumes to perjure himself is rendered infamous. Whoever knowingly has perjured himself, let him do penance for forty days on bread and water, and for the seven subsequent years; and let him never be without penance; and let him never be received as a witness; yet let him receive communion after this.

III. A man and a woman who are insane cannot contract matrimony. Neither an insane man nor an insane woman can contract matrimony; but if it has been contracted, they shall not be separated.

IV. Relations in the fifth generation can be joined, and in the fourth, if they have been discovered, they shall not be separated. Concerning relations who come into affinity through husband and wife, after the death of the wife or husband, let them be joined in the fifth generation; in the fourth, if they have been found, they shall not be separated. In the third degree of kindred, however, it is not permitted to take the wife of another after his death. Let a man be joined in marriage equally to those who are consanguineous to himself and to the consanguineous relatives of his wife, after the death of his own wife. Relative to the immediately preceding title. Those who take a close blood relative of their wife and are separated, it shall not be lawful for them, as long as both are alive, to join other wives to themselves in marriage, unless they are excused by ignorance.

V. Only consanguineous relatives, or if the progeny has failed, the old and truthful, shall define the kinship in synod. Let no one accuse the consanguineous relatives of strangers, or compute consanguinity in synod, but rather the relatives to whose knowledge it pertains, that is, father and mother, sister and brother, paternal uncle, maternal uncle, paternal aunt, maternal aunt, and their offspring. But if the whole progeny has failed, let the bishop seek canonically from the older and more truthful ones to whom the same kinship is known: and if the kinship has been found, let them be separated.

VI. Let every one of the faithful communicate three times a year. Although not more frequently, at least let laymen communicate three times a year, unless perhaps someone is hindered by any major crimes, namely at Easter, and Pentecost, and the Nativity of the Lord.

VII. Before the age of 30, let not a presbyter be ordained. If anyone has not completed thirty years of his age, let him in no way be ordained a presbyter, even if he is very worthy; because the Lord Himself was thirty