Pope Innocent I forbids admitting into clergy those who served as soldiers after being baptized. Letter 2 of Innocent I, "Etsi tibi", to Bishop Victricius of Rouen, Rome, AD 404/405.
Intended for scholary use. For credentials see Bibliography
Letter 2
II,4. Si quis post remissionem peccatorum cingulum militiae saecularis habuerit, ad clericatum omnino admitti non debet.
(ed. Coustant 1845: 472)
Letter 2
II, 4. If someone had the belt of the secular militia after the remission of sins, he should not at all be admitted to become a cleric.
(trans. S. Adamiak)
Discussion:
The decision is identical with the one expressed by Pope Siricius. See [271]. In general, the term "militia saecularis" can refer to various types of state employment, but in this context it most probably means military service.
Innocent I was the bishop of Rome from AD 401 to 417. Several of his letters, especially to the bishops of Gaul and Spain, are "decretals": authoritative letters containing papal rulings, usually in response to questions raised by the bishops.
Edition:
P. Coustant ed., S. Innocentii Papae Epistolae et Decreta, Patrologia Latina 20, Paris 1845, 463-608.
Bibliography:
D. Jasper, H. Fuhrmann, Papal Letters in the Early Middle Ages, Washington 2001.
Categories:
Social origin or status - Soldiers
Impediments or requisits for the office - Profession/Career
Please quote this record referring to
its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
S. Adamiak, Presbyters
in the Late Antique West, ER1492, http://presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=1492
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