Religious Intolerance in the Later Roman Empire - Bad request ...

each of their successors, Ampelius prefect of Rome and Maximinus his vicar. Both
letters named eight associates of Ursinus who should also be expelled from the city.
Ampelius was prefect from 1 January 371 to at least 3 September 371 and Maximinus
was vicar between 370-371 therefore the letters must have been written in 371. 94
In his letter to Ampelius Valentinian gave his reasons for the expulsion of the
Ursinians as “favouring the harmony of the Christian people, providing also for the
peace of the most sacred city,” 95 but at the same time Valentinian took some care to
indicate that his line against the Ursinians themselves was not hardening as such. He
referred to an earlier (and now lost) decision of his to confine Ursinus to Gaul, but had
decided to mitigate that order and instead order that Ursinus should not enter Rome
or its suburbs; this is presumably a reference to his letters to Olybrius and Aginatius.
Nevertheless, Valentinian intended that the punishment he was about to order was
made in “the hope of future amendment.” 96 Valentinian also ordered that if the eight
named exiles of this letter “thought that our gentleness’ ordinance can be transgressed”
then he should no longer be treated as a cleric, but as an ordinary citizen who might
thereby feel the full “severity of public punishment.” 97 Presumably therefore the
offenders would not be eligible for trial by other clerics, but would be dealt with by
the secular courts. Ostensibly this is a diminution of the Ursinians’ rights as clerics,
but in cases of schismatics, or potential schismatics, the secular courts may well have
been more lenient than the ecclesiastical courts which in Rome would certainly have
been filled with Damasus’ supporters. Therefore Valentinian was able to give the
impression that he was being harsh against the Ursinians, and perhaps that he regarded
them as being ‘non-priests’, but in practice he may well have been attempting to curb
Damasus’ influence in the dispute and prevent his supporters from exacting revenge
94
Publius Ampelius 3 PLRE 1.56-57; Maximinus 7 PLRE 1.577-578. Ampelius’ first dated law is CTh.
15.10.1 of 1 January 371 and his last dated law is CTh. 6.7.1 of 3 September 372
95
CSEL 35.11: fav entes con cordiae populi Christiani, quieti etiam urbis sacratissim ae prov identes
96
ac spe em endation is futurae
97
quod si quispiam ex m em oratis sacrilega intention e statutum m ansuetudinis nostrae transgrediendum
putauv erit, non iam ut Christianus sed ut legum ac religionis ratione seclusus sev eritatem publicae
anim adv ersionis agnoscat
117