Introduction
In Lent of 1139 a general council was summoned by Pope Innocent II and
held in the Lateran basilica {1} . As we know, the synod had been
convoked the previous year; for the papal legates in England and Spain
pressed the bishops and abbots to go to the council. Thus, a good
number of fathers, at least five hundred, met in Rome. One of these
came from the East, the patriarch of Antioch, but he was a Latin. With
the pope presiding the council began on 2 April and it seems to have
ended before 17 April, as far as we can judge from the sources.
This council is called "general" in the records and more frequently
"plenary" by Innocent himself. However, there is a doubt as to its
ecumenicity for the same reasons that affect Lateran I.
The Roman church, which for a long time had been divided in its
obedience between Innocent II (1130-1143) and Anacletus II (1130-1138),
seems to have overcome schism and factionalism, and indeed to have
recovered its peace. This was due to the death of Anacletus in 1138 and
the efforts of Bernard of Clairvaux, who had fought with the utmost
zeal on behalf of Innocent for the restoration of unity. But Innocent,
perhaps upset by the agreements which Anacletus had arrived at,
vigorously cited and condemned Anacletus's part in the evil affair {2}
, an action which seems to have provoked a complaint from Bernard.
Some heretics were also condemned by the fathers, namely those who
followed the monk Henry, and canons were enacted concerning the reform
of the church. The pope and the council fathers, following the example
and mind of Pope Gregory VII, took up a good many canons which had been
established by previous councils, with a view to restoring
ecclesiastical discipline to an unblemished state. They furnish a sort
of body of precepts for the whole church, taken from councils in the
times of Gregory VII (canon 10), Urban II (canons 3, 21-22), Callistus
II (canons 3, 7, 23-25) and especially Innocent II (canons 1, 4-7,
9-12, 14-20). Gratian included many of them shortly afterwards in his
Decrees (canons 2, 4-6, 8, 19-21, 26-28 and parts of 7, 10, 12, 15-16,
18, 22). Orderic Vitalis, however, was sceptical about their
effectiveness in practice.
Baronius was the first to print the thirty canons (Annales
ecclesiastici 12,1607, 277-280), having taken them from two manuscript
codices ("a register of the Vatican library and a Vatican codex of
decrees"). The Roman editors shortly after produced a more accurate
version (Rm {3} 4, 1612, 21 -23), from "manuscript codices of the
Vatican library and of Anthony Augustine of Tarragona"; this was copied
by all later editions, as we have verified, though with some errors.
These later editions are as follows: Bn2 {4} 3/2 (1618) 487-489; ER {5}
17 (1644) 123-133; LC {6} 10 (1671) 1002-1009; Hrd {7} 6/2 (1714)
1207-1214; Cl {8} 12 (1730) 1497-1507;Msi {9} 21 (1776) 526-533.The
canon which E.Martene and U.Durand published (Thesaurus novus
anecdotorum, IV, Paris 1717, 139-140) as being "omitted in the
editions, from a manuscript of St Vincent of Bisignano", is in fact the
same as canons 15 and 30. Having collated together all these editions,
we have followed the text of the Roman edition.
CANONS
Canon 1.
We decree that if anyone has been ordained simoniacally, he is to
forfeit entirely the office which he illicitly usurped.
Canon 2.
If anyone has acquired, through payment, a prebend, priory, deanery
or any ecclesiastical honour or preferment, or a holy thing of the
church of any kind, such as chrism or holy oil, or the consecrations of
altars or churches, where the execrable passion of avarice has been the
motive, let him be deprived of the honour which he wrongly acquired,
and let the buyer and seller and intermediary be stigmatised with the
mark of infamy. And let nothing be demanded for sustenance or under the
pretext of any custom from anyone before or afterwards, nor should the
person himself presume to give anything, since this is simony; but let
him enjoy freely and without any diminution the dignity and benefice
which has been conferred on him
Canon 3.
We utterly prohibit those who have been excommunicated by their
bishops to be received by others. Indeed, whoever knowingly presumes to
communicate someone who has been excommunicated, before he is absolved
by the one who excommunicated him, is to be held liable to the same
sentence.
Canon 4.
We also enjoin that bishops as well as clergy take pains to be
pleasing to God and to humans in both their interior and exterior
comportment. Let them give no offence in the sight of those for whom
they ought to be a model and example, by the excess, cut or colour of
their clothes, nor with regard to the tonsure, but rather, as is
fitting for them, let them exhibit holiness. If after a warning from
the bishops they are unwilling to change their ways, let them be
deprived of their ecclesiastical benefices.
Canon 5.
We enjoin that what was laid down in the sacred council of Chalcedon
be rigidly adhered to, namely, that the goods of deceased bishops are
not to be seized by anyone at all, but are to remain freely at the
disposal of the treasurer and the clergy for the needs of the church
and the succeeding incumbent. Therefore, from now on, let that
detestable and wicked rapacity cease. Furthermore, if anyone dares to
attempt this behaviour henceforth, he is to be excommunicated. And
those who despoil the goods of dying priests or clerics are to be
subject to the same sentence.
Canon 6.
We also decree that those in the orders of subdeacon and above who
have taken wives or concubines are to be deprived of their position and
ecclesiastical benefice. For since they ought to be in fact and in name
temples of God, vessels of the Lord and sanctuaries of the holy Spirit,
it is unbecoming that they give themselves up to marriage and impurity.
Canon 7.
Adhering to the path trod by our predecessors, the Roman pontiffs
Gregory VII, Urban and Paschal, we prescribe that nobody is to hear the
masses of those whom he knows to have wives or concubines. Indeed, that
the law of continence and the purity pleasing to God might be
propagated among ecclesiastical persons and those in holy orders, we
decree that where bishops, priests, deacons, subdeacons, canons
regular, monks and professed lay brothers have presumed to take wives
and so transgress this holy precept, they are to be separated from
their partners. For we do not deem there to be a marriage which, it is
agreed, has been contracted against ecclesiastical law. Furthermore,
when they have separated from each other, let them do a penance
commensurate with such outrageous behaviour.
Canon 8.
We decree that the selfsame thing is to apply also to women
religious if, God forbid, they attempt to marry.
Canon 9.
Moreover, the evil and detestable practice has grown, so we
understand, whereby monks and canons regular, after receiving the habit
and making their profession, are learning civil law and medicine with a
view to temporal gain, in scornful disregard of the rules of their
blessed teachers Benedict and Augustine. In fact, burning with the fire
of avarice, they make themselves the advocates of suits; and since they
have to neglect the psalmody and hymns, placing their trust in the
power of fine rhetoric instead, they confuse what is right and what is
wrong, justice and iniquity, by reason of the variety of their
arguments. But the imperial constitutions testify that it is truly
absurd and reprehensible for clerics to want to be experts in the
disputes of law courts. We decree by apostolic authority that
lawbreakers of this kind are to be severely punished. There are also
those who, neglecting the care of souls, completely ignore their state
in life, promise health in return for hateful money and make themselves
healers of human bodies. And since an immodest eye manifests an
immodest heart, religion ought to have nothing to do with those things
of which virtue is ashamed to speak. Therefore, we forbid by apostolic
authority this practice to continue, so that the monastic order and the
order of canons may be preserved without stain in a state of life
pleasing to God, in accord with their holy purpose. Furthermore,
bishops, abbots and priors who consent to and fail to correct such an
outrageous practice are to be deprived of their own honours and kept
from the thresholds of the church.
Canon 10.
We prohibit, by apostolic authority, that the tithes of churches be
possessed by lay people where canonical authority shows these were
assigned for religious purposes. For whether they accept them from
bishops or kings, or any person whatsoever, let them know that they are
committing the crime of sacrilege and incurring the threat of eternal
damnation, unless they hand them back to the church. We also direct
that lay people who are in possession of churches must either restore
them to the bishops or become subject to excommunication. We reiterate
our decision that nobody is to hold the office of archdeacon or dean
unless he is ordained deacon or priest; and archdeacons, deans or
provosts who are without these orders are to be deprived of the honour
they have received, if through disobedience they refuse to be ordained.
Moreover, we forbid the aforesaid honours to be conferred on youths or
those not yet in sacred orders; let them be conferred rather on those
who are outstanding in prudence and integrity of life. We also enjoin
that churches are not to be entrusted to hired priests and that each
and every church with sufficient means is to have its own priest
Canon 11.
We also prescribe that priests, clerics, monks, pilgrims, merchants
and peasants, in their coming and going and their work on the land, and
the animals with which they plough and carry seeds to the fields, and
their sheep {10} , be left in peace at all times.
Canon 12.
We decree that the truce {11} is to be inviolably observed by all
from sunset on Wednesday until sunrise on Monday, and from Advent until
the octave of the Epiphany, and from Quinquagesima until the octave of
Easter. If anyone tries to break the truce, and he does not comply
after the third warning, let his bishop pronounce sentence of
excommunication on him, and communicate his decision in writing to the
neighbouring bishops. Moreover let none of the bishops receive into
communion the excommunicated person, but rather let each confirm the
sentence received in writing. If anyone presumes to infringe this, he
will do so at the risk of his position. Since a threefold cord is not
quickly broken, we enjoin bishops, having regard for God alone and the
salvation of the people, and laying aside all timidity, to furnish each
other with mutual counsel and help towards firmly maintaining peace,
and not to omit this duty by reason of any affection or aversion. For
if anyone is found to be lukewarm in this work of God, let him incur
the loss of his dignity
Canon 13.
Furthermore, we condemn that practice accounted despicable and
blameworthy by divine and human laws, denounced by Scripture in the old
and new Testaments, namely, the ferocious greed of usurers; and we
sever them from every comfort of the church, forbidding any archbishop
or bishop, or an abbot of any order whatever or anyone in clerical
orders, to dare to receive usurers, unless they do so with extreme
caution; but let them be held infamous throughout their whole lives
and, unless they repent, be deprived of a christian burial.
Canon 14.
We entirely forbid, moreover, those abominable jousts and
tournaments in which knights come together by agreement and rashly
engage in showing off their physical prowess and daring, and which
often result in human deaths and danger to souls. If any of them dies
on these occasions, although penance and viaticum are not to be denied
him when he requests them, he is to be deprived of a church burial.
Canon 15.
In the same way we have decided to legislate that if anyone, at the
instigation of the devil, incurs the guilt of the following sacrilege,
that is, to lay violent hands on a cleric or a monk, he is to be
subject to the bond of anathema; and let no bishop presume to absolve
such a person unless he is in immediate danger of death, until he has
been presented before the apostolic See and submits to its decision. We
also prescribe that nobody dare to lay hands on those who flee to a
church or cemetery. If anyone does this, let him be excommunicated.
Canon 16.
It is undoubtedly the case that since ecclesiastical honours depend
not on blood-relationships but on merit, and since the church of God
awaits successors not on the basis of any right of inheritance, nor
according to the flesh, it requires virtuous, wise and devout persons
for its administration and the distribution of its offices. Therefore
we prohibit, by apostolic authority, anyone to exercise a claim over or
to demand, by hereditary right, churches, prebends, provostships,
chaplaincies or any ecclesiastical offices. If anyone, unjustly and
guilty of ambition, dares to attempt this, he will be duly punished and
deprived of the object of his suit.
Canon 17.
With good reason we entirely prohibit unions within the bounds of
consanguinity; for the teachings of holy fathers and the holy church of
God detest incestuous behaviour of this kind, which (under the
influence of the enemy of the human race) is engaged in nowadays. Even
the secular laws pronounce those born of such a union infamous, and
refuse them the right of inheritance
Canon 18.
We completely detest and forbid, by the authority of God and the
blessed apostles Peter and Paul, that most dreadful, devastating and
malicious crime of incendiarism For this pernicious and inimical
calamity surpasses all other kinds of destruction. Nobody is unaware of
the extent to which it is injurious to the people of God and the damage
it brings to souls and bodies. It is necessary, therefore, to oppose it
and to labour with all one's might, that so great a harm and danger be
eradicated and suppressed for the sake of the people. If anyone, then,
after the publication of this prohibition of ours, from some wicked
design born of hate or vengeance, starts a fire or causes it to be
started, or knowingly provides counsel or help to those starting one,
let him be excommunicated. And when an arsonist dies, he is to be
deprived of a christian burial. Nor is he to be absolved unless, having
first made reparation for the loss according to his means, he swears
that he will never raise a fire again. Moreover, let him be given the
penance of remaining a whole year in Jerusalem or Spain in the service
of God.
Canon 19.
If any archbishop or bishop relaxes this decree, he is to make
restitution for the loss and abstain from his episcopal office for a
year.
Canon 20.
As is right, we do not deny to kings and princes the power to
dispense justice, in consultation with the archbishops and bishops.
Canon 21.
We decree that sons of priests are to be removed from the
ministries of the sacred altar unless they are living religiously in
monasteries or canonries.
Canon 22.
Because there is one thing that conspicuously causes great
disturbance to holy church, namely, false penance, we warn our brothers
in the episcopate and priests not to allow the souls of the laity to be
deceived or dragged off to hell by false penances. It is agreed that a
penance is false when many sins are disregarded and a penance is
performed for one only, or when it is done for one sin in such a way
that the penitent does not renounce another. Thus it is written:
Whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point, has become guilty
of all of it; this evidently pertains to eternal life. Therefore, just
as a person who is entangled in all sins will not enter the gate of
eternal life, so also if a person remains in one sin {12} . False
penance also occurs when the penitent does not resign a position at a
court or in business which cannot be carried on without sin, or if hate
is harboured in his heart, or if the person does not make amends to
whomever he offended, or if an injured party does not pardon the
offender, or if anyone unjustly carries arms.
Canon 23.
Those who, simulating a kind of religiosity, condemn
-
the sacrament of the Lord's body and blood,
-
the baptism of children,
-
the priesthood and other ecclesiastical orders, and
-
legitimate marriages,
we expel from the church of God and condemn as heretics, and prescribe
that they be constrained by the secular powers. We also bind up their
defenders in the fetter of the same condemnation. {13}
Canon 24.
We also prescribe that no sale-price is to be demanded for chrism,
holy oil and burials.
Canon 25.
If anyone receives provostships, prebends or other ecclesiastical
benefices from the hand of a lay person, let him be deprived of the
benefice unworthily received. For the decrees of the holy fathers state
that lay people, no matter how devout they may be, have no power of
disposal over ecclesiastical property.
Canon 26.
We decree that the pernicious and detestable custom which has
spread among some women who although they live neither according to the
rule of blessed Benedict, nor Basil nor Augustine, yet wish to be
thought of by everyone as nuns, is to be abolished. For when, living
according to the rule in monasteries, they ought to be in church or in
the refectory or dormitory in common, they build for themselves their
own retreats and private dwelling-places where, under the guise of
hospitality, indiscriminately and without any shame they receive guests
and secular persons contrary to the sacred canons and good morals.
Because everyone who does evil hates the light, these women think that,
hidden in the tabernacle of the just {14} , they can conceal themselves
from the eyes of the Judge who sees everything; so we prohibit in every
way this unrighteous, hateful and disgraceful conduct and forbid it to
continue under pain of anathema.
Canon 27.
In the same way, we prohibit nuns to come together with canons or
monks in choir for the singing of the office.
Canon 28.
Since the decrees of the fathers prohibit churches to be left
vacant for more than three months, we forbid under anathema the canons
of the episcopal see to exclude religious men from the election
following on the death of the bishop; but let a virtuous and suitable
person be elected as bishop with their advice. Because if an election
is held with these religious persons excluded, where this is done
without their knowledge and consent, it is null and void.
Canon 29.
We prohibit under anathema that murderous art of crossbowmen and
archers, which is hateful to God, to be employed against Christians and
Catholics from now on.
Canon 30.
We render void the ordinances enacted by Peter Leoni and other
schismatics and heretics, and deem them null.
FOOTNOTES
· 1 There are no surviving acts of the council and
very little can be surmised from the records and chronicles. The
sources are collected in Hefele, Histoire des conciles d'apres les
documents originaux, trans. and continued by H. Leclerq 1907-52., 5/1,
721-722; but see also, Bernhardi Jahrbuecher der deutschen Geschichte,
I Leipzig 1883, 154-160.
· 2 his earlier name was Peter Pierleoni. See
canon 30
· 3 Ton hagion iokoumenikon synodon tes katholikes
ekklesias apanta. Concilia generalia Ecclesiae catholicae [Editio
Romana], 4 vols. Rome 1608-1612.
· 4 Binius, Concilia generalia et provincialia
..., 5 vols. Cologne 1609; 9 vols. ibid [ed. 2] . 1618; 11 vols.
Paris[ed. 3] 1636
· 5 Conciliorum omnium generalium et provincialium
collectio [Editio Regia], 37 vols. Paris 1644
· 6 P. Labbe and G. Cossart, Sacrosancta concilia
ad regiam editionem exacta quae nunc quarta parte prodit auctior studio
Philippi Labbei et Gabrielis Cossartii ..., 17 vols. Paris 1671-1672
· 7 . Hardouin, Conciliorum collectio regia maxima
ad p. Philippi Labbei et p. Gabrielis Cossartii e Societate Jesu
labores haud modica accessione facta et emendationibus pluribus additis
..., 12 vols.Paris 1714-1715
· 8 N. Coleti, Sacrosancta concilia ad regiam
editionem exacta quae olim quarta parte prodiit ... longe locupletior
et emendatior exhibeture ..., 23 vols. Venice 1728-1733
· 9 J. D. Mansi (continued by J.B. Martin and L.
Petit), Sacrorum conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio ..., 53 vols.
Florence, Venice, Paris and Leipzig 1759-1927
· 10 and the animals ... sheep omitted in Baronius
· 11 of God added in Baronius
· 12 Therefore ... sin omitted in Baronius
· 13 Cathars
· 14 of the just variant reading in Rm Bn, of the
unjust others