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

liable for taxes and liturgies on whatever land they owned: pleasing rhetoric for the
bishops, but also a practical measure to ensure that they were unable to evade
responsibilities, not least through transferring property to someone else, including,
presumably any relatives.
The most innovatory and important part of this law lay in its plans to regulate
the appointment of clerics and it gave this regulatory power to the municipal councils;
it allowed “any persons [who] have attained the rank of priest, or even of deacon or
subdeacon or of any other cleric” to “retain their own property,” but only if the cleric
had appeared before the municipal council and a judge and had shown himself to be
“outstanding and pure in every virtue.” Only with the approval of the council and a
judge could the cleric assume the privileges allowed under law, but at the same time,
and probably to compensate the clerics for being subject to secular approval, keep
possession of his property: “such clerics must have the heritage of their commendable
way of life, so that they may retain their own property, especially if it is requested by
the voices of the whole people.” 201
Admittedly this law does not specifically say that individuals admitted to the
clergy and with property would then be exempt from liturgies, but this would seem to
be a very reasonable interpretation of the evidence, particularly if it is read in
conjunction with the laws of Constantius which do actually order the exemption of
clerics from liturgies i.e. CTh 16.2.8, 9, 10, 14, 15 and 16. Moreover, it should be
assumed that council approved clerics were indeed exempt from liturgies and were
permitted to retain their property whilst clerics since the law then went on to deal
with applicants who might not have sought approval from the council: “if any persons
should aspire by clandestine devices to those [clerical] ranks… or should creep in by
200 sed antistes m an eat nec faciat substantiae cession em
201 Sane si qui ad presbyterorum gradus, diaconum etiam seu subdiaconum ceterorum que perv enerint
adsistente curia ac sub obtutibus iudicis prom ente consen sum , cum eorum v itam insignem atque innocentem
esse om n i probitate constiterit, habere debet patrim onium probabilis instituti, ut retineat proprias facultates,
m axim e si totius populi v ocibus expetatur.
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