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

the Apostle” 117 a woman should not “be transferred to the society of deaconesses unless
she is sixty years of age and has the desired offspring at home.” 118 The law also ordered
that on becoming a deacon, she should entrust management of her wealth to a third
party and that she should only receive income from her estates, thereby, possibly, to
prevent her receiving an income from the Church and therefore being influenced by
the Church. Her estates and income would remain her property and she would have
full rights to dispose of her wealth and estates during her life and at her death as she
decided.
At the same time however, she “shall expend none of her jewels and ornaments,
none of her gold and silver and other embellishments of a sumptuous home, under the
pretext of religion.” 119 Pharr’s translation of con sum at as “expend” is cautious and
“waste” or “fritter away” may be better in this context. The law continued: “Rather,
she shall transfer in writing all her property intact to her children or next of kin or to
any other persons whatsoever, according to the judgment of her own free will.
However when she dies, she shall designate as heirs no church, no cleric or no
pauper.” 120 If she were to do so, her will would be void. The law felt it necessary to
reinforce these clauses by stating that it was forbidden for people to try and evade
them. However, no punishments were sanctioned for any infringements.
This first half of the law, rather than being purely against the material interests
of the Church and clerics, may also have been intended to support families and ensure
that their wealth did not pass out of the family. 121 Although, the use of con sum at, if in
this context its truer meaning is fritter away, would indicate some derogatory or
117 Secundum praeceptum apostoli
118 nulla nisi em ensis sexaginta ann is, cui v otiv a dom i proles sit, secundum praeceptum apostoli ad
diaconissarum consortium transferatur
119 nihil de m onilibus et superlectili, nihil de auro argento ceterisque clarae dom us insignibus sub religionis
defensione consum at
120 sed univ ersa integra in liberos proxim osv e v el in quoscum que alios arbitrii sui existim atione transcribat ac
si quando diem obierit, nullam ecclesiam , nullum clericum , nullum pauperem scribat heredes.
121 As may also have been the case with Valentinian's CTh. 16.2.20 of 30 July 370
193