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

proconsul of Africa Anullinus and that the anonymous heretics could be Donatists.
There is nothing in the text to support that suggestion, indeed the Donatists did not
become heretics until CTh 16.5.37 of 25 February 405 and at this point were still
schismatics. Moreover, the north African situation, which was to become the Donatist
controversy may have been just a few months old at this stage and Constantine was
almost certainly ignorant of it, as will be argued below. However, the use of “heretics”
in this law is interesting; as with CTh. 16.2.2, at this very early stage of his reign and
his Christianity, Constantine was quite possibly ignorant of the existence and
significance of heresy and so its important place in this law is probably indicative of
influence from someone other than Constantine, possibly a cleric or possibly the
unknown addressee.
CTh. 16.2.3 of 18 July 320 was issued to Bassus, Prefect of the City. 9 It referred
to a (lost) “constitution” which had ordered that no decurion, or a descendant of a
decurion or anyone with sufficient wealth to undertake liturgies should “take refuge in
the name and service of the clergy” and that “in the place of deceased clerics thereafter
only those persons shall be chosen as substitutes who have slender fortunes” and who
were not obliged to perform liturgies. 10 Then the law indicated the reason for its
issuance which was that Constantine had learned that people who had become clerics
before the “promulgation of the aforesaid law” were being “disturbed.” Constantine
ordered that these clerics, who had become clerics before the “aforesaid law” were to
be “freed from all annoyance” but that those who had joined since that law, “in
evasion of public duties” should be “completely separated from that body… restored to
their orders and to the municipal councils and shall perform their municipal duties.” 11
9 Iunius Bassus 14 PLRE I. 154-5; convincingly reckoned by Barnes (1995) 139-140 to be a Christian;
although the degree of his Christianity may be questioned. See discussion below in connection with
CTh 16.2.6; 9.16.3 and 16.5.2
10 cum constitutio em issa praecipiat nullum deinceps decurion em v el ex decurione progen itum v el etiam
instructum idoneis facultatibus adque obeundis publicis m uneribus opportunum ad clericorum nom en
obsequium que confugere, sed eos de cetero in defunctorum dum taxat clericorum loca subrogari, qui fortuna
tenues neque m uneribus civ ilibus ten eantur obstricti
11 cognov im us illos etiam inquietari, qui ante legis prom ulgationem clericorum se consortio sociav erint.
ideoque praecipim us his ab om ni m olestia liberatis illos, qui post legem latam obsequia publica declinantes ad
9