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

security” 193 from liturgies to those who “by a vow of the Christian faith show to all
persons the merit of exceptional and extraordinary virtue. ” 194 The law finished with
the pious affirmation that the state “is sustained more by religion than by official
duties and physical toil and sweat.” 195 The law did not mention clerics specifically, but
they are surely meant by implication; conceivably it could also have included monks.
Two of the most interesting of Constantius’ laws are CTh 16.2.15 of 30 June
360 and CTh. 12.1.49 of 29 August 361 which are the only laws of Constantius which
are somewhat anti clerical, though only to a limited degree and potentially
contradictory. Both were addressed to the same Taurus who received CTh 16.10.4 and
9.16.6. As is consistent with his style as noted in his previous laws against temples and
traditional practices, they are the longest of the nine and unusually thorough,
particularly in the case of the second law. The first law, CTh. 16.2.15, provided a
distinction between wealthy clerics and other clerics and the obligations that rested on
both groups. The law is essentially in three parts: the first referred to the recent
council of Ariminum and a decree which had apparently allowed liturgical exemptions
on lands owned by the Church. This law referred to a “sanction” (san ctio) issued
between the time of that decree and this law which overturned this decree and
therefore presumably made Church lands liable to liturgies. The second part of the
law reiterated the exemption of clerics from “compulsory public services of a menial
nature and from the payment of taxes, if, by means of conducting business on a very
small scale, they should acquire meagre food and clothing for themselves.” 196
In the third part of the law, clerics with “landed estates” 197 however were
“compelled to make fiscal payments for the land which they themselves possess” 198 and
were not allowed to exempt other men’s lands, presumably by claiming it as their own
193 securitate perpetua
194 quicum que v oto christianae legis m eritum exim iae singularisque v irtutis om nibus intim av erit
195 scientes m agis religionibus quam officiis et labore corporis v el sudore nostram rem publicam
196 Ita a sordidis m uneribus debent im m unes adque a conlatione praestari, si exiguis adm odum m ercim oniis
tenuem sibe v ectum v estitum que conquirent
197 clericis qui praedia possident
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