Presbyters Uniwersytet Warszawski
ID
ER 1663
In the letter to the bishops of Illyricum, Pope Leo the Great forbids the ordination of a man who had more than one wife, or who married a widow or a divorcee; the letter is carried by the Presbyter Nicolaus. Letter 5 of Pope Leo the Great, written in Rome, AD 444.
Letter 5 [inc. "Omnis admonitio"]
 
Leo exhorts the bishops to receive his admonitions, confirms his authority over the whole Church and indicates the metropolitan bishop Anastasius of Thessalonica as the highest authority in Illyricum after himself.
 
3. Volumus enim tales fieri Domino sacerdotes, quibus cuncta conveniant, quae sunt ecclesiasticis canonibus definita: ut episcopi, presbyteri atque diaconi unius uxoris viri sint, secundum beati Apostoli sententiam, et hanc secundum legis praecepta virginem acceperint, non viduam, non repudiatam, sicut legis scriptura testatur. Nec se quisquam aestimet posse ad sacerdotium pervenire, qui ante baptismum, deficiente quam habebat uxore, alteram rursum, postquam per gratiam baptismatis est renovatus, acceperit, cum in baptismate peccata deleantur, non uxorum numerus abrogetur. Adeo autem in excusationem sui hoc obtendere non poterit, ut eorum se patrem filiorum, quos ante baptismum susceperit, negare non possit. Neque enim uxor quae ex legis praecepto ducitur, inter peccata quae abluuntur baptismate poterit numerari.
 
Leo orders bishops in Illyricum to bring all their cases and disputes between them to the discretion of his deputy in the region, Bishop Anastasius of Thessalonica. He should be consulted in case of the ordination of the bishops and only he can ordain a metropolitan bishop. Also, the bishop of Thessalonica will be informing the Apostolic See whether the decrees of Leo are observed in Illyricum.
 
6. Si quae vero causae graviores vel appellationes emerserint, eas sub ipsius relatione ad nos mitti debere decrevimus, ut nostra secundum ecclesiasticum morem sententia finiantur. Haec vero quae per filium meum Nicolaum presbyterum scripta direximus recurrentibus litteris, ut vos eadem sciamus accepisse, rescribite. Data pridie idus Ianuarias Theodosio XVIII et Albino consulibus.
 
(Patrologia Latina 54, 615-616 = Ballerini 1753: 617-619; see also Silva-Tarouca 1937: 58-59)
Letter 5 [inc. "Omnis admonitio"]
 
Leo exorts the bishops to receive his admonitions, confirms his authority over whole Church and indicates the metropolitan bishop Anastasius of Thessalonica as his vicar and the highest authority in Illyricum after himself.
 
3. We want then to have such priests for the Lord who are in everything as it is defined in the ecclesiastical canons: let the bishops, presbyters and deacons be the husbands of one wife, according to the sentence of the Apostle [1 Tm 3:2], and let them take, according to the precepts of the law a virgin as a wife, not a widow or a divorcee, just as the Scripture of the law testifies [Lev 21:13–14; Ez 44:22]. Let no one think he can achieve priesthood who deserted the wife he had before the baptism and took another one after being renovated by the grace of baptism. Although the baptism deletes the sins, it does not annul the number of wives. Therefore, he cannot excuse himself like that just as he cannot deny that he is the father of the children which he begot before the baptism.
 
Leo orders bishops in Illyricum to bring all their cases and disputes between them to the discretion of his deputy in the region, Bishop Anastasius of Thessalonica. He should be consulted in case of the ordination of the bishops and only he can ordain a metropolitan bishop. Also, the bishop of Thessalonica will be informing the Apostolic See as to whether the decrees of Leo are observed in Illyricum.
 
6. If there are, however, some more serious cases or appeals, we decree that they shall be brought to our discretion through his [i.e. Anastasius] account, and our sentence will decide on them according to the ecclesiastical custom. Do respond to this letter which we have sent to you through my son, the Presbyter Nicolaus, so that we know that you have received it. Given on the day before the Ides of January in the year of the consulship of Theodosius for the eighteenth time and Albinus [i.e. 12 January 444].
 
(trans. M. Szada)

Discussion:

On the papal vicariate in Illyricum see Wessel 2008: 114–121.

Place of event:

Region
  • Rome
  • Danubian provinces and Illyricum
City
  • Rome
  • Thessalonica

About the source:

Author: Leo the Great
Title: Letters, Epistulae
Origin: Rome (Rome)
Denomination: Catholic/Nicene/Chalcedonian
Leo the Great was the bishop of Rome from AD 440 to his death in AD 461. We have the collection of 173 letters of Leo.
Edition:
P. and G. Ballerini eds., Sancti Leoni Magni Romani pontificis opera, vol. 1, Venice 1753
Patrologia Latina, vol. 54
C. Silva-Tarouca, Collectio Thessalonicensis: epistularum Romanorum Pontificum ad vicarios per Illyricum aliosque episcopos, Roma 1937
Bibliography:
S. Wessel, Leo the Great and the spiritual rebuilding of a universal Rome, Leiden and Boston 2008.

Categories:

Family life - Marriage
    Family life - Permanent relationship before ordination
      Family life - More than one marriage
        Family life - Offspring
          Travel and change of residence
          Described by a title - Presbyter/πρεσβύτερος
          Impediments or requisits for the office - Marriage
            Ecclesiastical administration - Ecclesiastical envoy
            Relation with - Bishop/Monastic superior
            Relation with - Wife
              Relation with - Woman
                Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL: M. Szada, Presbyters in the Late Antique West, ER1663, http://presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=1663