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ER 1957
Pope Simplicius writes against ordaining the clergy against their will; he gives an example of an involuntary ordination of a presbyter in Ravenna between AD 458 and 477. Simplicius, Letter 14, to Bishop John of Ravenna, Rome, AD 482.
Letter 14
 
1. [...] A quibus si nullo te paternarum regularum poteras continere praecepto, saltem sanctae memoriae predecessoris tui fueras revocandus exemplo, qui quum minus deliquisset faciendo presbyterum invitum, senserat tamen dignum pro tali usurpatione iudicium. [...]
 
4.[...] Denuntiamus autem, quod si posthac quidquam tale praesumpseris, et aliquem seu episcopum seu presbyterum seu diaconum invitum facere forte credideris, ordinationes tibi Ravennati ecclesiae vel Aemiliensis noveris auferendas. Data IV Calendas Junii Severino viro clarissimo consule. [...]
 
(ed. Thiel 1868: 201-202)
Letter 14
 
1.  [...] If the prescription of the rules was unable to keep you from doing it, you should be reminded of the example of your predecessor who ordained a presbyter against his will. His crime was smaller, but he understood that he must accept judgement for it. [...]
 
4. [...] We announce also officially that if afterwards you dare to do something like this and believe that you can ordain someone a bishop, presbyter, or deacon against his will, you should know that the power of ordination in the Church of Ravenna and in the province of Aemilia shall be taken away from you.
 
(trans. S. Adamiak)

Discussion:

John's predecessor, Exuperantius, became the bishop of Ravenna after October 458 and died on 29 May 477 (PCBE Italie 1: Exuperantius 4).

Place of event:

Region
  • Italy north of Rome with Corsica and Sardinia
City
  • Ravenna

About the source:

Author: Simplicius
Title: Epistulae, Letters
Origin: Rome (Rome)
Denomination: Catholic/Nicene/Chalcedonian
Simplicius was the bishop of Rome between AD 468 and 483.
Edition:
Thiel A. ed., Epistulae Romanorum pontificum genuinae et quae ad eos scriptae sunt a S. Hilario usque ad Pelagium II, 1, Braunsberg 1868, 175-214.

Categories:

Described by a title - Presbyter/πρεσβύτερος
Reasons for ordination - Involuntary ordination
Relation with - Bishop/Monastic superior
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL: S. Adamiak, Presbyters in the Late Antique West, ER1957, http://presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=1957
Record by: Stanisław Adamiak
last edited: 2019-11-07 11:39:16
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