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

on the criteria of rhetorical excess and of coverage, but, like the other anti-heretical
laws issued at this time, it effectively repeats the provisions enacted before Theodosius
began his campaign against Maximus (CTh. 16.5.12 – 15). Like the other immediately
contemporary laws, it contains no punishments (unlike the earlier laws) and, like them
it contained no provision for the appointment of investigators nor that heretics should
be sought out, which had been a requirement in some of the earlier laws (CTh. 16.5.13
and 15).
Only once Theodosius was back in Constantinople, more detailed, longer and
innovative legislation on heretics was again issued. Theodosius returned to
Constantinople in July 391, but did not issue another law on heresy (CTh. 16.5.21)
until 15 June 392. The appointment of a new quaestor in (at the earliest) February 392
may have been influential in the return to more detailed and innovative legislation, but
a truer impression from the legislation is that Theodosius was content to ‘hold the
line’ whilst in the west and not to push forward with any new initiatives whilst he was
away from his eastern base. 233
CTh. 16.5.21, the first law issued from the east since June 388, was sent to
Tatianus, Praetorian Prefect of the East, and was against all heresies: “heretical false
doctrines,” although perhaps “heretical errors” might be preferable. It ordered that
any heretic who had “ordained clerics” or any heretic who had “accepted the office of
cleric” was to be fined ten pounds of gold each. 234 Also, the property on which the
ordination took place was to be confiscated by the treasury, if it took place with the
“connivance of the owner.” 235 If the owner was ignorant of the ordination however,
the “chief tenant” of the estate was to pay ten pounds, if he was “freeborn.” But if he
was “descended from servile dregs” and was too poor to pay, then he was to be “beaten
233
Honoré’s (1998) E11 73-76. Honoré thinks E11 was a professional lawyer and bureaucrat and
probably a Christian.
234
In haereticis erroribus quoscum que constiterit v el ordinasse clericos v el suscepisse officium clericorum , denis
libris auri v iritim m ultandos esse cen sem us
235
locum sane, in quo v etita tem ptantur, si coniv entia dom ini patuerit, fisci n ostri v iribus adgregari
243