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

the same Hypatius who received CTh. 12.1.99. 298 It should be noted that Gratian’s co-
emperor Theodosius had already issued two laws against apostates (16.7.1 of 2 May 381
and 16.7.2 of 20 May 383) before this law was issued. The fact that CTh. 16.7.2 and 3
were issued within a day of each other may be evidence of a co-ordinated approach to
the problem by the two governments; although the fact that both governments felt
impelled to issue a law on broadly the same subject almost simultaneously is testament
to the actual dissolution of the empire into what in practice were seen as two separate
halves.
The law prevented apostate Christians from making wills and also laid down a
hierarchy, through rhetoric and through punishments, of which religious group the
government considered to be less unacceptable than another. The law began: “By
denying them the liberty to make testaments we avenge the criminal act of Christians
who turn to altars and temples.” 299 The law went on to attack conversion to Judaism:
“The disgraceful acts of those persons who have disdained the dignity of the Christian
religion and name and have polluted themselves with the Jewish contagion shall be
punished also.” 300 The Manichaeans came in for particular attention however and were
apparently regarded as the worst of all the three groups: “But those who at any time
frequent the nefarious retreats and wicked seclusion” of Manicheans were to be
“pursued constantly and perpetually” by Valentinian's CTh. 16.5.3. 301 The phrase “at
any time” (aliquan do) apparently indicates that this law was not simply directed against
Christians who converted to Manichaeism, but was also against Manichaeism in
general. But the law went on in a somewhat repetitious manner and dealt specifically
with the “authors,” presumably the teachers of Manichaeism within the context of
298 Honoré’s (1998) quaestor W1 183-186
299 Christianorum ad aras et tem pla m igrantium negata testandi licentia v indicam us adm issum . “Criminal
act” being a fairly harsh translation of licentia.
300 Eorum quoque flagitia puniantur, qui Christian ae religion is et nom inis dignitate neglecta Iudaicis sem et
polluere contagiis
301 Eos v ero, qui Manichaeorum nefanda secreta et scelerosos aliquando sectari m aluere secessus, ea iugiter
atque perpetuo poena com itetur, quam v el div alis arbitrii genitor Valentinianus adscripsit v el nostra n ihilo
m inus saepius decreta iusserunt.
170