ANACLETUS, ROMAN PONTIFF: EPISTLES AND DECREES
EPISTLE I
AConcerning the oppression of Christians, and the accusation of a bishop, the ordination of archbishops and others, and regarding primates and patriarchs, and their ministry.Anacletus, servant of Jesus Christ, serving the Lord in the apostolic see, to all bishops and to all other faithful who have obtained a faith equal to our own, may grace, peace, and consolation be multiplied to you by the Lord forever.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy has regenerated us into a living hope, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, into an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that cannot fade, reserved in heaven, in you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time: wherein you shall rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, you are in heaviness through manifold temptations, that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than gold that is tried by fire, may be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ; whom having not seen, you love; in whom, though now you see him not, yet believing, you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. B Patient be you, most beloved, because patience works probation, and probation hope, and hope does not confound. Behold the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, bearing patiently, until he receives the early and the latter rain. If farmers bear these things patiently for temporal fruits, how much more ought you to be patient for eternal ones? Be patient, therefore, and strengthen your hearts, that when Christ the Judge arrives, you may be found joyful and approved. Do not groan against one another, so that you be not judged. Behold, the Judge stands before the door. Take for an example, most beloved, the labor and patience of the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who have endured. You have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord, for the Lord is merciful and compassionate. We have heard of your tribulations, brothers, both through our own and through the emissaries of others, over which we grieve greatly, and we sympathize with you, and we are prepared to bring help (as he himself has granted it, he who for us was not only troubled, but also suffered). Do not marvel, most beloved, that you suffer persecutions, as if something new were happening to you; but, being partakers of Christ’s sufferings, rejoice, so that in the revelation of his glory you may also rejoice with exultation. If you are reproached in the name of Christ, you shall be blessed; for the spirit of honor, of glory, and of God, and which is his spirit, rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as a slanderer, or as a coveter of other men's things. But if as a Christian, let him not be ashamed: but let him glorify God in this name: for the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God. And if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Therefore, let those who suffer according to the will of God commit
their souls in well-doing. For, as blessed Clement, our predecessor, says, the whole state of the Church is like a great ship which carries men from diverse places and regions across the stormy sea, desiring to hasten to one city of a mighty kingdom. Let the author of this ship be the Lord God Almighty Himself; let Christ be the helmsman; then A let the bishop fill the office of the prow-man; let the presbyters occupy the place of the sailors, the deacons that of the stewards; let those who catechize be compared to the nautologists; but let the multitude of the whole fraternity be like the passengers. The sea itself is to be held as this world. The varieties of winds and whirlwinds are to be compared to diverse temptations: persecutions, tribulations, or dangers are to be equated with the waves. The earthly spirits, however, which blow from the torrents or from the valleys, are to be interpreted as the words of false prophets and seducers, or of perverse doctrine. Promontories and craggy B places are to be compared to those who are in the powers of the world, namely judges, and those who threaten dangers and death. Places of "dithalassa," which are beaten by the double tides of a treacherous wave, are to be compared to those who are doubtful in mind and who waver concerning the truth of the promises, and to those who discuss our faith with irrational reasoning. The hypocritical and the deceitful are to be held as pirates. Now, truly, the rapid vortex and the Tartarean Charybdis, and the shipwrecks dashed against the rocks, and the deadly sinkings—what else are they to be reckoned but sins? It remains, therefore, that this ship may be able to enter the port of the desired city in a safe and prosperous course, that the voyagers should pour forth prayer to God, that they may deserve to be heard.
I. Of those who accuse the priests.
C We hear, brothers, that some disparage and accuse the priests of God, desiring them to be condemned, perhaps not understanding that the injury done to priests pertains to Christ, in whose stead they function. Nor do they look to this, that blessed Peter, prince of the apostles, our instructor, says: "Laying aside, therefore, all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all detractions, as newborn babes, desire the rational, milk without guile, that you may grow thereby unto salvation." And the Lord says through the Prophet: "Who desires to love life, and to see good days, let him restrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile," etc. But those who transgress these things D are in fact transgressors of the law of God and despisers, and are disobedient not to His precepts. Whence also blessed James the Apostle says: "If you fulfill the royal law, you do well. But if you have respect to persons, you commit sin, being rebuked by the law as transgressors," etc. And our blessed predecessor Clement, a man apostolic and full of the Spirit of God, together with his other holy colleagues, decreed, saying: The liberty of accusing or testifying ought to be denied to those who have neglected the dignity of the Christian religion and name, and the norm of their own law or resolve, or who have neglected things regularly forbidden. For those who are voluntary transgressors of their own law, and its violators and deserters, are named apostates. For every apostate is to be refuted before his reversion, not to be received in the accusation of those acting rightly, or by testimony; because a man double-minded and inconstant is so in all his ways. Whoever, however, as the apostle James says, keeps the whole law, but offends in one, is made guilty of all. For He who said: "You shall not commit adultery," also said: "You shall not kill." But if you do not commit adultery, but you kill, you are made a transgressor of the law. So speak and so do, as those who are about to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment without mercy shall be to him who has not done mercy. But mercy exalts itself above judgment. And the Lord says: "I do not desire the death of the sinner, but that he be converted and live." And many such things, and matters similar to these. For no one of us, says the Apostle, lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. For whether we live, or whether we die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ both died and rose again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you despise your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God. For it is written: "As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God." Therefore every one of us shall render an account for himself to God. Let us not therefore judge one another anymore, but rather judge this, that you put not a stumbling block or scandal before your brother. For we know that detraction prevails much when the detractor is believed to be trustworthy. Therefore, brothers, it is not proper that the judges and primates of the Church be weakened by various detractions and accusations, but rather that they be informed and strengthened by the rules of the apostles and doctors. Whence it is just that all doctors of the law throughout the entire Roman world rightly know and perform those things which are of the law, and not the rules of the nascent Church con-
found by various doctrines, nor to harass the brethren. A If, however, all things were punished in this age, divine judgments would have no place. For he labors for useless rewards who strives to help the sun. Therefore, if anyone thinks that he pleases God by accusing His servants, and says that he does this so that they may become better, he labours in vain, and is stirred more by the goad of envy than of charity: since the fullness of grace does not need addition, nor does it require any enhancements of commendation. B Therefore let doctors raise up their own conscience, and if at any time they are opposed by the uncertain winds of the times, let them endure the evils which are to be ascribed more to the ages than to their merits. For we know that power was given to Satan to sift the servants of Christ, so that what could be found of wheat might be gathered into the barns, and what of chaff should pass as fuel for the fires. It has been said especially to you: *Fear not, little flock, for it has pleased your Father to give you the kingdom.* The sword of the treacherous has come among you, that it might prune the sickly members of the Church, and lead the healthy to heavenly glory. A contest shows what soldiers Christ has; they are known by their battles who deserve the triumph. We know, however, that many harass doctors for this reason, that they may destroy them, and fulfill the desires of their own will. Not on that account, however, should doctors (insofar as their strength permits) withdraw from righteous zeal and good intention, knowing that *blessed are they who suffer persecution for righteousness' sake.* There is, however, nothing more miserable than that pastor who glories in the praises of wolves. If he should desire to please them, and choose to be loved by them, there will be hence a great destruction for the sheep. No pastor, therefore, can please both the wolves and the flocks of sheep. For the mind, bound by earthly chains, loses the memory of labor. Just as in every work diligence is found to be the mother of the arts, so is negligence the stepmother of erudition. Therefore let no one judge another, nor practice what he does not wish to be done to himself. Let no one invent a saying about anyone which he does not recognize in his actions. I, however, recognize that not only my quiet has been shaken, but also my safety, by the ill-health of my enemies and the storms of rumors. C God is powerful to remove the immense darkness of the tempest with the good calm of serenity. And what else, if Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example, and the apostles suffered, following His example, and the rest of the fathers, save that we should follow their doctrine as well as their example, and suffer adversities for Christ, and carry the cross with the fathers and with the brethren, and suffer with them in their tribulations, so that we may be found true disciples of Christ, who said: *If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me*, and the rest? It is a presumption if servants do not follow the benefits of their masters. Therefore, I think that the obedience which I offer, about to obey, should be valued. For what is it that the name of 'son' is believed to be worth more than obedience, and yet it is not asked what you promote in the balance of love, but what kind of name you apply to him who judges to your detriment, since among the prudent we call someone offspring in vain, unless he shows what he is called? I, for my part, do not wish through my error to assert the faults of others, so that I might be convicted of having accepted what I grieve to have been done. *Thou hast hated*, says the Lord through the Prophet, *all those who work iniquity; thou shalt destroy them that speak lies. The Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful man. But as for me, in the multitude of thy mercy I will come into thy house: I will worship towards thy holy temple in thy fear. O Lord, lead me in thy righteousness because of my enemies: direct thy way before my face. For there is no truth in their mouth: their inward parts are wickedness. Their throat is an open sepulchre, they deal deceitfully with their tongues. Judge them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels: cast them out in the multitude of their wickedness; for they have provoked thee, O Lord. And let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: they shall ever shout for joy. And protect them, and they shall rejoice in thee, that love thy name: for thou wilt bless the righteous. O Lord, as with a shield of thy good will hast thou crowned us.* For those sacrificing perfectly to God ought not to be harassed, but supported, consoled, and venerated by all.
II. That a bishop sacrificing to God should have witnesses with him.
They themselves, when they sacrifice to the Lord (6), not only ought to do this, but they should take witnesses with them,
so that they may be proven to have sacrificed purely in the places sanctified to God. For the authority of the divine law says: *See that you do not offer your holocausts in every place that you see, but in the place which the Lord your God chooses.* A A bishop sacrificing to God should have witnesses (as has been prefaced) with him, and more than does another priest. For since he enjoys a higher degree of honor, so he has need of a greater increase of testimony. Indeed, on more solemn days, he should have with him seven, or five, or three deacons—who are called his eyes—and subdeacons and the rest of the ministers, who, clad in sacred vestments, in front and behind, and with the presbyters on the right side and the left, and with contrite heart and humiliated spirit and lowered countenance, stand, guarding him from malevolent men, and offer their consent to his sacrifice. And when the consecration is finished, let all communicate who do not wish to be deprived of ecclesiastical thresholds. For thus the apostles also decreed (7), and the holy Roman Church holds. *Serve,* says the Lord through the prophet David, *in fear, and exult for Him with trembling. Adore purely, lest perhaps He be angry, and you perish from the way.* For he does not perish from the way who walks rightly and keeps the precepts of the elders.
It is necessary, therefore, that all who perform the Lord's priesthood be taught, so that they may both instruct others and profit themselves. For it is written: *They that are learned shall shine as the brightness of the firmament: and they that instruct many unto justice, as stars for all eternity.* And elsewhere: *But the people that know their God shall prevail and act, and the learned in the people shall teach many.* For Truth itself introduces this by itself and says: *Blessed is he who shall not be scandalized in me.* Without doubt, he scandalizes God who does not teach rightly, and who scandalizes his bishop or priest. For those acting impiously are impious, and none of the impious shall understand, but the learned shall understand. Indeed, suggest humility to one another, because *God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.* Do not, says the apostle John, *believe every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.* And the same person says elsewhere: *That which you have heard from the beginning, let it remain in you. If that which you have heard from the beginning remains in you, you yourselves shall also abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise which He Himself has promised to you, eternal life. These things have I written to you concerning those who seduce you. And let the anointing which you have received of Him remain in you. And you have no need that any man teach you; but as His anointing teaches you of all things, and is true, and is no lie. And as He has taught you, abide in Him. And now, little children, abide in Him, that, when He shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be put to shame by Him at B His coming. If you know that He is just, know that everyone also who does justice is born of Him. See what manner of charity the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called, and should be the sons of God. Therefore the world knows us not, because it knew not Him. Dearly beloved, we are now the sons of God, and it has not yet appeared what we shall be. We know that when He shall appear, we shall be like to Him, because we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him sanctifies himself, as He also is holy. Everyone who does sin, does also iniquity, and sin is iniquity. And you know that He appeared to take away sins, and sin is not in Him. Everyone who abides in Him, does not sin; and everyone who sins has not seen Him, nor known Him. Little children, let no man seduce you. He who does justice is just, as He also is just. He who does sin is of the devil, because the devil sins from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God appeared, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Everyone who is born of God does not commit sin: because His seed abides in him, and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest. Everyone who is not just is not of God, and he who does not love his brother; because this is the announcement which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. Not as Cain, who was of the wicked one, and killed his brother. And for this reason he killed him, because his works were wicked, but his brother's just. Wonder not, brethren, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love, abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in himself. In this we have known the charity of God, because He has laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. He who has the substance of this world, and shall see his brother in need, and shall shut up his bowels from him, how does the charity of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word, nor in tongue, but in deed and in truth. In this we know that we are of the truth, and in His sight shall persuade our heart. For if our heart reprehend us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. Dearly beloved, if our heart do not reprehend us, we have confidence towards God: and whatsoever we shall ask, we shall receive of Him, because we keep His commandments, and do those things which are pleasing in His sight. And this is His commandment: That we should believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as He gave commandment to us. And he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And in this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit which He has given us. And as God the Creator, who created man to His own likeness, is charity, is good, just, patient, and C
A mild and merciful, and possesses all the other marks of holy virtues that are read of Him: so man was created that he might have charity, that he might be good and just, that he might be patient and mild, pure and merciful. And the more any person possesses these virtues within himself, the closer he is to God, and the greater he is, and the more he bears the likeness of his Creator. But if, which God forbid, any one should, through the devious paths of vices and the separations of crimes, degenerate from this most noble likeness of his Creator, then shall there come to pass concerning him that which is written: *And man when he was in honor, did not understand: he hath been compared to senseless beasts, and made like to them.* What greater honor could there be for man, than that he should be fashioned to the likeness of his Maker, and be adorned with the same garments of virtues with which the Creator is also adorned? Of whom it is read: *The Lord hath reigned, he is clothed with beauty;* that is, he is adorned with the splendor of all virtues and the beauty of all goodness. Or what greater disgrace or more unhappy misery can there be for man, than that, having lost this glory of the likeness of his Creator, he should fall away to the shapeless and irrational likeness of brute beasts? Wherefore, let every man more diligently attend to the excellence of his first creation, so that he may recognize within himself the venerable image of the holy Trinity, and strive to have the honor of the divine likeness to which he was created, the nobility of character, the practice of virtues, and the dignity of merits; so that when He appears as He is, then he may appear like unto Him who wonderfully fashioned him to His own likeness in the first Adam, and more wonderfully refashioned him in the second.
Every man, therefore, who has been made to the image of God, ought to imitate Him to whose image he was created; he ought to follow the footsteps of Him who created him to His own image. And he will not be able to find a better counselor and protector than Him who created him to His own image, who redeemed him with His own precious blood, and who did not disdain to become man for his sake. Whom, without doubt, he will find, if he casts all his hope upon Him, according to the voice of the Psalmist. For He says: *Cast thy anxiety upon the Lord, and he shall feed thee, and shall not suffer* B man to fluctuate forever. For every man who is failing in his own cause, and hesitating in his own counsels, seeks for himself a faithful friend in whose counsels he may confide, he who was distrustful of his own: and he has such confidence in him that he lays open and reveals every secret of his breast to him. For what is sweeter than to have one with whom you can speak of all things as with yourself? If these things are done with men, how much more should this be done with God, who wills that all men should be saved, and that no one should perish? For if we truly believe in God, and love Him as we ought, and our neighbors as ourselves, and have also cast all our hope upon Him; He Himself will deliver us and console us. And as through His angel He sent the prophet Habacuc with food into the lions' den to Daniel the prophet, and Philip, one of the seven deacons, to the eunuch, so will He give us consolation and deliverance.
Follow these things, dearly beloved, and never do harm to any one. You are brothers, love one another, that you may merit to become true disciples of the Lord. For he who infects the rancid hearts of men, spreads malice among men: and he who slanders his brother is a murderer. And he who takes away something from a father or mother, and says that this is no sin, is a partaker of the murderer. Our Father, without doubt, is God, who created us; but our Mother is the Church, which regenerated us spiritually in baptism. Therefore, he who steals, takes away, or defrauds the money of Christ and the Church, is a murderer, and shall be judged a murderer before the sight of the just Judge. He who steals the money of his neighbor commits iniquity: but he who steals the money or goods of the Church commits sacrilege. For the holy apostles, by the command of the Savior, decreed that the privileges of the churches and of the priests should remain untouched and inviolate for all time.
C III.
*Of pilgrim and provincial judges.*
We confirm the laws of the Church by apostolic authority, and we remove pilgrim judgments. Whence also the Lord, making mention of Lot, speaks through Moses, saying: He entered as a stranger, they say, to sojourn.
Every province, according to the laws of the Church as well as those of the world, ought to have its own just, not unjust, judges, and not foreign ones, unless the authority of this apostolic see shall have so decreed, so that whoever has a case may be judged before his own judges; and let him not cross over to strangers due to a spirit of wandering or stimulated by insolence, despising his own country, but let the business be referred to the twelve judges of the same province, to whose judgment all causes of the cities are referred. If, however, it is an ecclesiastical matter, it should be before the bishops (with the primate intervening), if the case is major; if, however, it is minor, before the metropolitan; but if it is secular, before men of the same order, yet under the judgment of the bishops; since the Apostle wished for the cases of private Christians to be referred rather to the churches, and to be terminated there by priestly judgment.
IV. That the oppressed by the judgment of seculars may appeal to the judgment of priests, and concerning major causes to be referred to the apostolic see.
For every oppressed person B may freely (if he wishes) appeal to the judgment of priests, and by no one be prohibited, but rather be supported and liberated by them. But if difficult cases or greater matters shall have arisen, let them be referred to the higher see. And if they cannot be easily discerned or justly terminated there, where the congregation of the highest authorities has been gathered, which is accustomed—and ought—to take place twice a year, let the matters be judged justly and in a manner pleasing to God, in common, before the patriarch or ecclesiastical primate, and before the secular patrician. But if more difficult questions shall have arisen, or if they are the judgments of bishops or of major causes, C let them be referred to the apostolic see (if an appeal has been made), since the apostles established this by the command of the Savior, that major and more difficult questions should always be referred to the apostolic see, upon which Christ constructed the whole Church, He Himself saying to the blessed prince of the apostles, Peter: You are, he says, Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the rest. Be therefore, brothers, your constancy strong against the contentions of those who savor things that are adverse, and who do not savor the things that are of God, and your constancy will be a stronger rock, as it is written: Do not fear them, nor be terrified by the face of those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul. But what you hear in the ear, preach in the light, fearing Him who is able to kill both soul and body and send them into hell. My brothers, walking in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but powerful to God, for the destruction of fortifications, destroying counsels, and every exaltation lifting itself up against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought, and leading them into obedience to Christ. Furthermore, brothers, be strengthened in the Lord, and in the power of His might, so that much peace and grace from God and our Lord Jesus Christ may be ministered to you. We embrace and kiss, as if present, your charity, in the unity of the spirit, in the bond of peace and the charity of Christ. For which reason, most beloved, waiting for these things, strive to be found immaculate and inviolate in peace, and count the long-suffering of our Lord as salvation, D just as also our most beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, wrote to you.
as in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things A hard to be understood, which the unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction. You therefore, brethren, knowing these things before, take heed lest, being led away by the error of the unwise, you fall from your own steadfastness. But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But you, dearly beloved, be mindful of the words which have been spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, who told you that in the last time there shall come mockers, walking after their own ungodly lusts. These are they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit. But you, dearly beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And of some have compassion, making a difference; and others save, pulling them out of the fire. And on others have mercy in fear, hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. Now to him who is able to keep you without sin, and to present you before the presence of his glory spotless in exultation, to the only God our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, before all ages, and now and for all ages of ages. Amen.
EPISTLE II.
Concerning the ordination of archbishops and the rest of the bishops and priests, and concerning the faith and other causes.
ANACLETUS, Bishop, to all bishops established in Italy.
Since your charity bestows the due reverence of the apostolic see upon me, and because, most beloved sons, you have shown much veneration (for although we in some manner hold the rudders of the Church in which the holy apostle sat and taught, yet we profess that we are lesser in honor and holiness, and therefore we strive by all means that we might attain to the glory of his blessedness); therefore we would have replied more fully to your consultations, had it been permitted; but weighed down by the burden of infirmity and other oppressions, we have not refused to write to you (as you requested) briefly (as the Lord has granted, and as we have been instructed by the blessed Peter, the prince of the apostles, by whom I was also ordained a presbyter). C
I. Concerning the ordinations of bishops and all clerics.
Ordinations of bishops must be celebrated by all the bishops who are of the same province. These, assembling together, shall diligently conduct an examination, and shall celebrate the fast with all prayers, and imposing hands on the holy Gospels, which they are about to preach, on the Lord’s day, at the third hour, praying, and anointing their heads (in the manner of the apostles and of Moses) with sacred unction—since all sanctification consists in the Holy Spirit, whose invisible virtue is intermingled with the holy chrism—let them celebrate the solemn ordination with this rite. But if all cannot gather together, let them nonetheless give their assent by their prayers, so that they be not wanting in spirit to the ordination itself. Moreover, the first archbishop of the Jerusalemites, the blessed James, who was called the Just, and who was named brother of the Lord according to the flesh, was ordained by Peter, James, and John the apostles, the successors clearly giving the form of these, that a bishop is by no means to be ordained by less than three bishops, with all the rest likewise giving their assent, and the ordination is to be celebrated by common vote. The other priests, however, are to be ordained by their own bishop, so that they celebrate the ordination fasting; similarly let deacons be ordained; for the distribution of other grades, the testimony of three truthful men, with the approval (of course) of the bishop, can suffice.
II. Concerning the accusations of bishops.
The accusation of them, also, concerning which you wished to consult us, ought to be made only by suitable and most approved men, and such as are free from suspicions and crimes; because the Lord did not wish those who handle the holy things of his body to be defamed by vile and reprobate and unsuitable persons, nor did he allow them to be calumniated, but he himself drove them out of the temple with a whip. Hence it is clear that the chief priests, that is, the bishops, are to be judged by God, not to be lacerated by human beings or those of base life, but D rather they are to be borne by all the faithful, for the Lord himself, the judge, will punish erring priests with his own scourge.
For the Lord himself provided an example, when, by his own hand and not by another, he cast out those buying and selling from the temple, and overturned their money-changers' tables and the chairs of those who sold there with his own whip, and cast them from the temple. And as he says elsewhere: *God stood in the congregation of gods, and in the midst he judges the gods*; and elsewhere: *I said, You are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High.* A For no one (I think) is found among us who would wish his own servant to be judged by another rather than by himself; but if one were to presume this, he either becomes angry with great indignation himself, or rather seeks vengeance upon him. If, indeed, this is done among men, what do you think the God of gods and Lord of lords will do, who has promised not to delay the vengeance of his servants? Whence he himself speaks through the Prophet, saying: *The Lord is a jealous God and avenging; the Lord has acted freely in vengeance*, and so forth. And the Apostle says: *Who are you that judges another's servant? To his own master he stands or falls.* And he himself says: *Do not judge one another, but judge this rather: do not place an obstacle or a stumbling block for your brother.* And the Lord says through the prophet: *He who touches you, touches the apple of my eye.* For if anyone now begins to turn his eyes against the evil of some prince, he is manifestly judged guilty of lèse-majesté and rendered infamous, or rather, he is subjected to a capital sentence. These things, brothers, must be greatly avoided, and what men do not wish to be done to themselves, they ought not to inflict upon the God of gods, lest the Lord perhaps be angered and execute their vengeance even upon those who have not sinned; because the just man most often perishes for the impious. The Prophet is also to be imitated, through whom the Lord says: *I walked in the simplicity of my heart, in the midst of my house: I will not set a Belial-word before my eyes.* Him who speaks in secret against his neighbor, I will kill. And those are also to be avoided regarding whom Solomon says: *As one is mad who throws spears and arrows unto death, so is the man who deceitfully harms his friend, and when he is caught says, I was just playing.* As coals are to embers, and wood to fire, so the angry man stirs up strife. The words of a whisperer are as if they were simple, and yet they reach even to the innermost belly. And if detractors of anyone are judged severely and fall into the snare of perdition, much more so are the lacerators, detractors, and accusers of the aforementioned servants of God and persecutors condemned, and into the abyss they go without doubt—unless they have corrected themselves and performed worthy penance through their satisfaction—and they are consumed by avenging flames. Wherefore it behooves all to avoid these things, and not only not to do them, but not to conBsent to those who do them; for not only those who do them are condemned, but those who consent to the doers. Concerning such as these and those like them, Truth itself says: *Foxes have dens, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head*, that is, in such as these the Lord does not dwell, nor do they remain in him. And Solomon speaks, saying: *He who digs a pit, shall fall into it; and he who rolls a stone, it will return upon him. A lying tongue does not love truth, and a slippery mouth works ruin.* A stone is heavy, and sand is burdensome, but the anger of a fool is heavier than both. A man who brings a false charge against the blood of a soul, if he flees even to the pit, no one sustains him. He who boasts and dilates himself, stirs up quarrels. He who trusts in the Lord, shall be saved. He who confides in his own heart, he is a fool: but he who walks wisely, he shall be praised. He who forcefully presses breasts to draw milk, squeezes out butter: he who violently blows his nose, brings out blood: and he who provokes angers, produces discord. Considering these and other dangerous things, the apostles decreed that the columns of the holy Church of God—which the apostles and their successors are not undeservedly called—should not be easily moved, or lacerated, or accused. C But if anyone is moved against them or their churches, or has grievances, let him first have recourse to them in a spirit of charity, so that, admonished by familiar conversation, they may heal what must be healed, and charitably amend what they acknowledge must justly be amended. But if some, before they have done this, presume to lacerate, accuse, or harass them, let them be excommunicated and in no way absolved before they have performed worthy penance through satisfaction (as has already been said), since the injury done to them pertains to Christ, whose legation they fulfill. Nor is this wonderful, because if any of us were to entrust a legation to one of our servants, and he were to be hindered by anyone, or despised by any of his subordinates, he would immediately be indignant and angry, or would take vengeance for such things (as best he could), and would reckon this act as an injury and insult to himself, and would render retaliation (if not in the present, then in future times). For if these things are done in a human matter, what do you think God will do concerning his own, who said that not a hair of their head would perish? Whence also the Lord speaks through the prophet Nahum, saying: *A jealous God, and the Lord is avenging, and possessing fury; the Lord takes vengeance on his enemies, and he himself is angry with his adversaries; before the face of his indignation who shall stand? and who shall resist in the wrath of his fury? His indignation has been poured out like fire, and the rocks have been dissolved by him. The Lord is good, and strengthening D
A in the day of tribulation, and knowing those that hope in him, and so forth. Some of these things, however, we have already written to other brethren, which must be repeated as often as they shall be necessary. The Lord has likewise reserved to himself the ejection (as was mentioned above) of the supreme priests, although he has granted the election of them to good priests and spiritual peoples. For the Apostle commands their election to be made in such a way: If any is without crime, the husband of one wife, having faithful children, not under accusation of riot, or not submissive; and the rest. For if a priest is commanded to be chosen without crime, he is by no means permitted to be accused or slandered by men entangled in crimes, nor by any others than those who are without crime, and as for the election, if necessity should arise, or if they themselves should choose to serve the Lord, and priests can be made and ordained without crime, and they are in all things such as those who are ordered to be chosen as priests. B Furthermore, it is also commanded to Moses that he choose presbyters. Whence it is also said in the Proverbs: The glory of old men is hoariness. Now this hoariness designates wisdom, about which it is written: Hoariness of men is prudence. And although we read that men lived nine hundred years and more from Adam up to Abraham, no other person was called a "presbyter," that is, an elder, before Abraham, who is proved to have lived for many fewer years. Therefore, they are named "presbyters" not because of decrepit old age, but because of wisdom. C For the beginning of the priesthood was Aaron, although Melchizedek had offered sacrifice earlier, and after him Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; but these did such things by spontaneous will, not by priestly authority. Furthermore, Aaron was the first in the Law to receive a priestly title, and the first, clothed in the pontifical stole, to offer victims, the Lord commanding and speaking to Moses: "Take," he says, "Aaron and his sons, and you shall bring them to the entrance of the tabernacle of the testimony. And when you have washed the father with his sons with water, you shall clothe Aaron with his vestments," that is, you shall fasten him with a belt and place the tiara on his head, and the holy plate upon the tiara, and you shall pour the oil of unction upon his head, and by this rite he shall be consecrated. You shall also bring his sons and clothe them with linen tunics, and you shall gird Aaron and his children with a belt, and you shall place miters on them, and they shall be priests to me by perpetual ordinance. In this place it is necessary to contemplate that Aaron was the supreme priest, that is, the bishop, while his sons demonstrated the figure of presbyters. For this was the difference between Aaron the supreme priest and his sons who were priests, that Aaron took over the tunic the robe, the holy stole, and the golden crown, the miter, and the golden girdle, and the superhumeral, and the other things that were prefixed; but the sons of Aaron, girded only with linen tunics and wearing tiaras, D assisted at the sacrifice of the Lord. In the New Testament, however, after Christ the Lord, the priestly order began from Peter, because the pontificate in the Church of Christ was first given to him, the Lord saying to him: "You are," he says, "Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it, and I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven." He therefore first received from the Lord the power of binding and loosing, and first brought the people to the faith through the virtue of his preaching. The other apostles, indeed, received honor and power with him in equal fellowship, and they wished him to be their leader. They too, by the Lord's command, dispersed throughout the whole world and preached the Gospel: and upon their own deaths, bishops succeeded into their place, whose ordination ought to occur in the order and manner previously mentioned; and those who receive them and their words, receive God; but whoever spurns them, spurns him by whom they were sent, and whose embassy they discharge, and he will undoubtedly be spurned by the Lord. And the apostles themselves, seeing that the harvest was great and the laborers few, begged the Lord of the harvest that
he would send laborers into his harvest. From thence the seventy-two disciples were chosen by them, who hold the place of presbyters; A and they were constituted in the Church in their stead, concerning whose ordination, as well as that of the other ministers, what was said above should suffice.
III.
That a bishop should not be ordained by fewer than three bishops.
B Furthermore, because a bishop is not to be ordained by one, but by all, with the consent or presence of his comprovincials, and by no means by fewer than three, with all the others consenting; for this reason, under the institution of the Lord, it is ordered that this be done, lest any tyrannical authority might labor against the faith of the one Church, and the rule or faith of the believers be confounded.
IV.
In which cities primates, and in which metropolitans, ought to be.
For provinces were divided for the most part long before the time of the coming of Christ, and afterwards that same division was renewed by the apostles and our blessed predecessor Clement. And at the head of the provinces, where of old there were primates of the law C of the world, and the primary judicial power—to whom those who lived throughout the remaining cities, when necessity required it, those who could not flee to the court of the emperor or kings, or to whom it was not permitted, would flee for their oppressions or injustices, and would appeal to them as often as there was need, just as it was commanded in their law: so also in our cities or places, the divine and ecclesiastical laws ordered patriarchs or primates to be placed and to exist, who hold one form, although the names may be different, to whom bishops (if there should be need) might flee, and might appeal to them, and they themselves should enjoy the name of primate, and not others. But the remaining metropolitan cities, which had lesser judges (even if they were greater than the counts), should have their metropolitans, who should justly obey the aforesaid primates, just as it was once ordered in the laws of the world, who were not called by the name of primate, but by the name of either metropolitans or archbishops. And although individual metropoles have their own provinces, and their metropolitans ought to have bishops as judges, just as previously they had secular metropolitans as judges, yet it was ordered D that primates (as was prefixed) both then and now be had, to whom the highest matters may come after the apostolic see, so that there, where it may be necessary, they may be relieved and justly restored, and those who are unjustly oppressed may be justly reformed and supported, and the causes of bishops, and the judgments of the highest matters (saving the authority of the apostolic see) may be most justly terminated. This we have received from the ancients, this from the apostles, this from the holy Fathers, and we send it to you (as you requested) to be studied, and to be held in future times, and we command it to be preached to the remaining brothers, and to be handed down to all the faithful, lest the ignorance of pastors, who follow, make them worse, as the Lord says through the prophet: The pastors themselves have ignored understanding.
Those whom the Lord again detests, saying: And those who handle the law, have not known me. Therefore, Truth complains that it is not known by them, and it protests that it does not know the principality of those who do not know; because certainly those who do not know the things that are of the Lord are not known by the Lord, with Paul bearing witness, who says: If anyone is ignorant, he will be ignored. Hence also the Psalmist, not in the spirit of wishing, but in the mystery of prophesying, denounces, saying: Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and their back always bowed down. Therefore, with their eyes darkened, they are bent downward; because when those who lead lose the light of knowledge, without doubt those who follow are inclined toward bearing the burdens of sins. Therefore, here we are tossed about somehow between the hands of robbers and the teeth of raging wolves. Therefore, to teach others, and ourselves (as the Lord gave) we must provide.
A Indeed, that attacker is called a doctor who strikes the conscience of the weak with useless speech. Therefore, it is necessary for you and all the faithful to hold fast to him who is according to the teaching, the faithful word; that he may be powerful in sound doctrine to console, and to refute those who contradict, and to strengthen those who live rightly and hold the right faith. To those, therefore, who say that the Son is lesser in this, because the prophet says: "The Lord will make a word abbreviated for the whole world," it must be answered with divine testimonies: The abbreviated word which the Lord will make upon the earth does not signify a diminution of divinity in the Son of God, but announces the dispensation of the flesh assumed; in which dispensation we read that the Son of man was made lower not only than the Father, but also than the angels, the apostle Paul attesting: "We see Jesus," he says, "made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor"; and further: "For which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying: I will declare thy name to my brethren, in the midst of the church I will praise thee." And the Prophet says: "Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, thou hast crowned him with glory and honor." And so that we may teach that the word of God the Father is not abbreviated in the Son, we approve this opinion in the volume of the prophet Isaiah. "Has my word been made abbreviated, or is it so small that I cannot redeem, or is there not power in me to deliver," says the Lord Almighty; and again: "Thus saith the Lord Almighty: Is my hand abbreviated, that it cannot save? Or cannot it quicken the heart of the humble and the spirit of the contrite?" And so that he might teach that the arm of the Father, which is the hand, is the Son, he added, saying: "The Lord hath prepared his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see his salvation." For also in the last time this meaning can be adapted not in vain; in which time the Lord, B ceasing to endure the tyranny of the worst demon, now raging most cruelly against his creatures from his celestial hall and empyrean dwelling, pitying his creation, and wishing to unlock the treasury of his immense charity, arriving in the most pure womb of the most chaste Virgin, unacquainted with any nuptial bed, under an ineffable mystery, assuming flesh for our redemption, came, so that he who held the empire of death, might by his death C destroy him, and deliver them who were held captive by the power of his might in that short and small space of time. Concerning this brief time he also instructed his disciples, while he warned them to walk into the light while they still had time: "Yet a little while," he says, "the light is with you. While you have the light, walk in the light, that darkness may not overtake you." And in the D canonical Epistles of the apostles it is read: "Little children, it is the last hour, because many false prophets have gone out into this world." And the apostle Paul: "For the time is short." And again: "For the fashion of this world passes away." And again: "All these things happened to us for our correction, upon whom the ends of the world have arrived." For the Lord in the Lord’s prayer itself shortened the word for us, while forbidding us from babbling, and teaching us to speak few things which pertain to salvation. "When you pray," he says, "speak not much." And further: "But when you pray, say: Our Father, who art in heaven," etc. For the prophet did not designate the Son of God as diminished in word in this chapter, since he himself was speaking in the prophets in the past time, who even now speaks in the last time through the apostles and apostolic men: "I," he says, "who was speaking to my servants the prophets, behold I am present." And another prophet: "As it is from the beginning unto the age, neither has anything been added to it, nor will it be diminished, since he himself is the Lord of his creation." Behold what an abbreviated word the Lord made in the orb of the earth. Not because, as they think, he was intimating the Son to be inferior to the Father, but because he was announcing his latest advent. If therefore (as was said before) the sons of Aaron bore the image of the presbyters, and Aaron that of the high priest, that is, the bishop, Moses undoubtedly held the form of Christ; since he was the likeness of the mediator of God, who is Jesus Christ between God and man, who is the true leader of the peoples, and true prince of the priests, and Lord of the pontiffs, to whom is honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
EPISTLE III (15).
Concerning the patriarchs and primates, and the remaining bishops: and that the Roman Church is the hinge and head of all Churches.
ANACLETUS, servant of Jesus Christ, established by the Lord in the apostolic see, and ordained presbyter by the holy apostle Peter, to all bis-
bishops and the remaining priests of Christ, greeting.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless in His sight in love, predestining us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which has abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, in the dispensation of the B fullness of the times, to gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth in Him. In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we might be to the praise of His glory, who first trusted in Christ. Concerning primacies, most beloved, upon which some of you have consulted me, and have requested a decree of apostolic authority (which, though unworthy, we exercise by the dispensation of the Lord), regarding whether they should exist or not: so far as we know what has been established concerning these matters by the blessed Apostle Peter, and the rest of the apostles, and by our blessed holy predecessor and martyr, Clement, we cannot in the least deny you. And who is there who, when brothers inquire, could deny their doubts or their needs?
I. On the twofold order of priests.
The order of priests, brothers, is twofold, and as the Lord established it, it ought to be disturbed by no one. You know, however, that the apostles were chosen and established by the Lord, and were afterwards dispersed throughout various provinces to preach. But when the harvest began to grow, seeing that the laborers were few, He commanded seventy-two disciples to be chosen for their assistance. Bishops, however, hold the place of the apostles; presbyters also hold the place of the seventy-two disciples.
II. On the constitution or ordination of bishops and presbyters.
Bishops, however, ought not to be established in villages or small cities, but presbyters should be ordained and placed by bishops through villages and small cities; each, however, with his own titles. And a bishop should not be ordained by one, but by several bishops; and, as has been said, he should be titled and named not for a small city, lest the name of bishop be cheapened, nor just anywhere, but for an honorable city. A presbyter, however, is to be advanced to whatever place or church is established in it, and is to remain in it for the days of his life. More than these two orders of priests were neither conferred upon us by God, nor did the apostles teach them.
C In the first Constantinopolitan council, and later in the Chalcedonian, the Constantinopolitan [bishop] not only attempted to obtain a patriarchate, but also the second place; but (since the Pope and the remaining primates protested) in vain. Why only these three aforementioned seats were placed in that order was brought about by the prerogative, dignity, and primacy of Peter alone, the prince of the apostles, as the proper and immediate cause of honor and power; although it cannot be denied that, in choosing these seats, St. Leo, in epistle 84 to Anastasius, teaches that he also had a certain regard for the greatness and nobility of the cities. The Roman seat holds the first patriarchal dignity, because the Apostle Peter, in the seat which he founded, as St. Gregory says (lib. vi, epist. 37 to Eulogius of Alexandria), deigned to rest and end his life. He decorated Alexandria with a patriarchal seat (these are the words of Gregory), into which he sent his disciple, the evangelist Mark. Thirdly, he confirmed the seat in which he himself sat for seven years, namely, the Antiochene, and decorated it with the honor of a patriarchal seat; so Gregory in the aforementioned epistle, and St. Leo in epistle 53 to Anatolius. Therefore, just as the Apostle Peter is greater than the evangelist Mark, and the evangelist Mark is greater than Evodius, who was neither an apostle nor an evangelist, so also the Roman Church surpasses the Alexandrian, and the Alexandrian surpasses the Antiochene in authority and dignity. See Bellarmine, *De Rom. Pontif.*, lib. 1, c. 14.
[The text continues discussing the standing of the Constantinopolitan patriarchate, noting it was added later, post-500 AD, by the favor of the Emperor and the permission of the Roman Pontiffs, as Constantinople was not a dedicated city at the time of the Nicene Council.]
III. On the distinction of bishops and cities.
The order of bishops is one, although there are primates who hold the primary cities, who in certain places are even called patriarchs by some. However, those who are constituted in a metropolis by the blessed Apostle Peter, with the Lord ordaining it, and by our predecessor, the aforementioned holy Clement, or by us, cannot all be primates or patriarchs: but those cities which held the primacy in the aforementioned and ancient times enjoy the name of patriarchs or primates; whereas the remaining metropolises may use the names of archbishops or metropolitans, and not those of patriarchs or primates; because the laws of the world also contain these same things in their own principles; but other primary cities, which we are sending to you inscribed in a certain volume, received primate preachers from the holy apostles and from the blessed Clement, or from us. A This sacrosanct Roman and apostolic Church, however, obtained the primacy not from the apostles, but from our Lord and Savior Himself, and attained the eminence of power over all churches and the whole flock of Christian people, just as He Himself said to the blessed Apostle Peter: "Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it; and I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven." There was also applied to the same Roman city the fellowship of the most blessed Apostle Paul, the vessel of election, who on one day and at one time, struggling in glorious death with Peter under the prince Nero, was crowned, and both consecrated the holy Roman Church, and set it above all other cities in the whole world by their presence and venerable triumph. B And although constant prayer is poured out for all by all the saints before God, the most blessed Apostle Paul promises this to the Romans in his own handwriting, saying: "For God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make a commemoration of you always in my prayers."
C 1 Therefore, the first see is the Roman Church’s by heavenly benefit, which (as has been mentioned) the most blessed Peter and Paul consecrated by their martyrdom. Rome, which before was the mother and nurse of all errors through the artifice of the devil, once the darkness was shaken off and the vain rites of superstitions cast away, became a copious propagator of the children of God, with the Sun of Justice having arisen.
D «The second see is at Alexandria, consecrated in the name of the blessed Peter by Mark, his disciple and evangelist; because he himself, having been sent by Peter, first preached the word of truth in Egypt, and suffered glorious martyrdom. To him, the venerable Abilius succeeded.
«The third see is held honorable at Antioch, in the name of the same (that is, the blessed Peter) apostle: because before he came to Rome, he lived there, and constituted Ignatius as bishop, and there the name of Christians first arose for the new people. As for the rest, as we have said, we have sent them to you written in a certain volume, avoiding the prolixity of an epistle. For hence the blessed apostles determined among themselves that the bishops of the individual peoples should know who among them was the first, so that their greater concern might pertain to him. For there was a certain distinction even among the blessed apostles. And although all were apostles, it was nevertheless conceded to Peter by the Lord, and they themselves even willed among themselves, that he should preside over all the other apostles, and that Cephas, that is, the head and beginning, should hold the apostolate; and he and the rest of the apostles delivered the same form to be held by bishops to their successors. And this was constituted not only in the new testament, but it was also in the old. Whence it is written, "Moyses and Aaron among his priests," that is, they were the first among them. And although it was so ordained, let no one seek his own thing, but that of another. Whence the blessed Apostle Paul says: "Let every one of you please his neighbor unto good, to edification." And just as the Savior Himself says to His disciples: "He that is the greater among you, shall be your minister," and so on. And although some things have been said about these matters, we nevertheless admonish you, repeating it quite often, that in all things and by all men, elations of mind and body should be avoided. And the greater each one is seen to be, the more humble he should be, just as our Lord Savior did not come to be ministered unto, but to minister. And: "if any man be overtaken in any fault, you, who are spiritual, instruct such a one in the spirit of meekness."
IV. That more difficult causes are to be referred to the apostolic see.
If, however, any more difficult causes arise among you, refer them to the summit of this holy see, as to a head, so that they may be terminated by apostolic judgment: because it is so willed by the Lord, and has been so constituted by Him
[V.] Persons who have previously been enemies may not be admitted to make an accusation or provide testimony, and concerning the final judgment.
A Accusers and witnesses cannot be those who were enemies up until yesterday or the day before, lest, being angered, they desire to do harm, or, being wounded, they wish to take revenge. Therefore, one must seek an impartial and unsuspected disposition in accusers and witnesses. Do not commit your cause to the judgment of another; for it is extremely unjust that, neglecting their own affairs, some people interfere in the causes of others; since in no place does spiritual care fail, but it extends through everything, wherever the name of God is preached. All must strive that there be not (as there are) wicked emulations, but pious affections among you; because in this you will know that you are all true disciples of the Lord, if you have love for one another. Since, therefore, God deigns from every race to draw many, whom He transfers, having rescued them from the power of darkness, into the kingdom of the Son of His love, and makes vessels of mercy out of vessels of wrath, we must therefore strive with all our might to be co-workers of the grace of God; because we have been called for this, and joined in His familiar conversation, and consecrated as priests, that we might bring back to Him fruitful sheaves, with His grace cooperating.
For it is necessary that rulers be feared by their subjects, and that they be corrected by them, so that those who do not fear divine judgments may fear to sin out of human dread. Deterioration indeed is brought by those who corrupt the life and morals of doctors, more so than by those who plunder the substance and estates of others. For the latter take away things that are external to us, even if they are our own; but our detractors, and the corruptors of our morals, or those who arm themselves against us, tear apart our very selves. And therefore they are justly infamous, and deserve to be cast out from the Church. By the merits of the people, therefore, the pastors of the Church are often corrupted, so that those who follow them may fall more readily. For when the head becomes languid, the other members of the body are more easily infected, as it is written: *Every head is languid, and every heart is grieving. From the sole of the foot even to the top of the head, there is no soundness in it.* Wherefore it is manifest that the devil, who like a roaring lion goes about seeking whom he may devour, persuades the hearts of the people to accuse their teachers and pastors, B so that—the people growing languid, or acting wickedly, and the pastors not holding their reins—they may act licentiously and fall into the depths. Truly, the damage caused to morals differs much from the damage caused to temporal things, since the latter are outside of us, while the former are within us. By the judgment of Cham, the son of Noah, those are also condemned who reveal the faults of their own doctors or superiors, like Cham, who did not cover his father’s shame, but rather showed it to be mocked.
However, a doctor or pastor of the Church, if he has wandered from the faith, is to be corrected by the faithful: but for reprobate morals he is to be tolerated rather than coerced, because the rulers of the Church are to be judged by God, as the prophet says: *God stood in the synagogue of gods, and in the midst He judges gods.* Hence it behooves every faithful person, if he has seen or known that the people are swelling up against their pastor, or that they are occupied with detractions against the clergy, to strive to extirpate this vice with all his strength, and to correct it prudently. And let him not presume to involve himself in any business with them, if they appear incorrigible, before they are reconciled to their own doctor: because both priests and all the rest of the faithful ought to have the greatest concern for those who are perishing, so that by their reproof they may either be corrected from their sins, or, if they appear incorrigible, they may be separated from the Church.
C Thus, therefore, the blessed prince of the apostles, Peter, preaching to the people concerning our holy predecessor Clement, when he was teaching them how they ought to obey him and observe him, said among other things: "If someone is an enemy to another for his actions, do not wait for him to tell you himself. Do not be friends with him, but you ought to observe him prudently, and obey his will without admonition, and turn away from him to whom you feel he is opposed; nor should you even speak to those to whom he does not speak, so that everyone who is in fault, while he desires to have the friendship of all of you, may hasten more quickly to be reconciled to him who presides over all, so that through this he may return to salvation when he begins to obey the warnings of the president. But if someone is a friend to those to whom he is not, and has spoken to those to whom he does not speak, he himself is one of those who wish to exterminate the Church of God;" and the rest. By these and many other documents, it is easy for everyone to notice how, and in what manner, one ought to obey and comply with those who are placed over them, and how one must act concerning those who are either friends or enemies to them. If anyone has not observed these precepts, he is an enemy of his own soul and is to be made not only infamous, but also excommunicated and a stranger to the Church; because
it is necessary to cut away those vices with iron that are not healed by other remedies. Let everyone refrain his tongue from laceration or slander, and let him take heed lest he have itching ears or a prurient tongue—that is, that he neither disparage or slander others, nor listen to others disparaging or slandering. Let each man keep guard over his own words, and know that whoever speaks about others will be judged by his own sentence. Let every believer also take care that, by gossiping about what is done in someone's household, he does not let another household know of it; rather, let him love the households of all Christians as if they were his own. For no one willingly tells tales to an unwilling listener. And let it be the concern of each one not only to keep his eyes pure, but his tongue as well. A But you, most beloved, who are established under the discipline of the Lord, so conduct yourselves as true ministers and dispensers of his mysteries, so that your ministry may not be reviled, lest it happen among us as it is written: “And it shall be as with the people, so with the priest.” Thus, correct both yourselves, your own, and all others, so that you do not harm them, inasmuch as you also acquire a good reputation from men and may deserve to receive the reward of wages from God in eternal beatitude. And if anything adverse should happen concerning the unity of the Church, let it be cut off at the root, so that the Church of God and the fruits of her servants may remain unshaken. Therefore, most beloved, being expectant, strive to be found by him in peace, immaculate, and consider the long-suffering of our Lord Jesus Christ as salvation. Be, therefore, prudent, and be watchful in prayers; but, before all things, have constant mutual charity among yourselves; for charity covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without murmuring. Each one, as he has received grace, ministering it to one another, as good dispensers of the manifold grace of God. If anyone speaks, let it be as the words of God: if anyone ministers, let it be as of the strength which God administers, that in all things God may be honored through Jesus Christ, to whom is glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
TWO DECREES OF POPE ANACLETUS FROM GRATIAN
Why laymen are not heard in the accusation of bishops.
53 Laymen are not to be heard in the accusation of bishops, because some of them are very hostile to them. And it is unworthy that they should be accused by those who do not wish to imitate their gravity.
Bishops who are subject to apostolic ordinations should visit the thresholds of the apostles every year.
54 According to the institutions of the holy Fathers and the canons, C all bishops who are subject to the ordination of this apostolic see, and who are nearby, should be presented annually around the Ides of May at the thresholds of the holy princes Peter and Paul, all excuses set aside. Those who are from afar should fulfill this according to their own written undertaking. But he who proves to be a contemner of a constitution of this kind, unless he has been detained by illness, should know that he is subject to canonical sentences.