The Presbyters Project

Canon 2

Clerici quod etiam sine precaturiis qualibet diuturnitate temporis de ecclesiae remunerationem possiderint, in ius pro prietarium prescriptionem temporis non uocetur, dummodo pateat rem ecclesiae fuisse, ne uideantur etiam episcopi administrationis prolixe aut precaturias, cum ordinati sint, facere debuisse aut diu tentas ecclesiae facultates proprietati suae posse transcribi.

The same applies to bishops.

[This canon repeats the canon 18 of the Council of Épaone (Gaul, AD 517) [1155]]

(ed. de Clercq 1963: 292)

Canon 2

Clerics who possess for however long a time some Church property as a remuneration, even if there were no documents of precarium, should not demand [for this property] to come into their ownership under the law (ius proprietarium) on the pretext of a [long] time span, provided that it is clear that this property belongs to the Church.

The same applies to bishops.

[This canon repeats the canon 18 of the Council of Épaone (Gaul, AD 517) [1155]]

(trans. J. Szafranowski)

Discussion:

Precarium is a kind of possession in which a holder of precarium receives the right to use a property for a specific period of time; the actual ownership of the said property does not change. The term itself was later often replaced by beneficium.

Place of event:

Region

Gaul

City

Clichy

About the source:

Title: Council of Clichy, Concilium Clippiacense anno 626/627
Origin: Clichy (Gaul)
Denomination: Catholic/Nicene/Chalcedonian

The Council of Clichy was convoked by King Chlotar II on the 27th of September. It is quite problematic to establish the exact year of the council. The acts mention that the bishops gathered in the 43rd year of Chlotar`s rule, but since Chlotar became king either in the end of September or the beginning of October, this could mean either 626 or 627. The synod in Clichy was much smaller in scale than the Fifth Council of Paris called by Chlotar some twelve years earlier. Forty bishops attended the council, and two more sent their representatives, which were one abbot and one deacon.

Edition:

C. de Clercq ed., Concilia Galliae a. 511-a. 695, Corpus Christianorum. Series Latina 148 A, Turnhout 1963.

Translation:

J. Gaudemet, B. Basdevant, Les canons des conciles mérovingiens VIe-VIIe siècles, Sources chrétiennes 353, Paris 1989.

Categories:

Described by a title - Clericus

Economic status and activity - Ownership or possession of land

Livelihood/income

Private law - Ecclesiastical

Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL: J. Szafranowski, Presbyters in the Late Antique West, ER1601, http://presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=1601