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

CTh. 12.1.112 of 16 June 386 was issued to Florentius, Praefectus Augustalis, and
regulated the appointments of “chief civic priests.” 301 It may have originally passed
through the office of the Praetorian Prefect Cynegius. It ordered that such should be
those who had “performed the most services for his municipality” and who had not
“withdrawn from the cult of the temples by his observance of Christianity.” The law
stated that it would be “unseemly and … illicit for the temples and the customary rites
of the temples to belong to the care of those persons whose conscience is imbued with
the true doctrine of divine religion.” At the end, the law indicates that such
priesthoods were a “compulsory public service.” 302
Evidently this law was to the benefit of Christian decurions, not least because it
removed one municipal liturgy from their shoulders. It may even have been
welcomed by pagans, from a religious perspective, though perhaps less so than it
would have been welcomed by Christians. It does not give any evidence of
intolerance, but it is evidence of a polarisation between the pagan and Christian
communities.
CJ 7.38.2 of 3 July 387 to Dexter, Com es Rei Priv atae appears to enhance the
position of paganism. 303 It ordered that lands held by “tenants or under emphyteusis [
a long lease] and which are the property of the state or the emperor or belong to the
sacred temples… shall be restored.” There were to be no exceptions to this
“restoration” of lands and also, the law stated that there was to be no compensation
payable to anyone who may have purchased such property. 304 The most interesting
301 Honoré’s (1998) 54-55 E6; Florentius 7 PLRE 1.364
302 in consequenda archierosyne ille sit potior, qui patriae plura praestiterit n ec tam en a tem plorum cultu
observ ation e christian itatis abscesserit. quippe indecorum est, im m o ut v erius dicam us, illicitum ad eorum
curam tem pla et tem plorum sollem nia pertin ere, quorum conscientiam v era ratio div in ae religion is im buerit
et quos ipsos decebat tale m unus, etiam si non prohiberentur, effugere.
303 Honoré’s (1998) E7 55-56; Nummius Aemilianus Dexter 3 PLRE 1.251
304 Univ ersas terras, quae a colonis dom inicis iuris rei publicae v el iuris tem plorum in qualibet prov incia
v enditae v el ullo alio pacto alienatae sunt, ab his qui perperam atque contra leges eas detinent, nulla longi
tem poris praescriptione officiente iubem us restitui, ita ut nec pretium quidem iniquis com paratoribus
reposcere liceat.
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