A new history of ecclesiastical writers containing an account of the authors of the several books of the Old and New Testament, of the lives and writings of the primitive fathers, an abridgement and catalogue of their works ... also a compendious history of the councils, with chronological tables of the whole / written in French by Lewis Ellies du Pin.

Of the COUNCILS of Carthage, in the Year 397.

UNder the Consulship of Caesarius and Atticus, who were Consuls in the Year 397, according to the * 1.1 Vulgar Aera, the Bishops deputed from the Provinces of Africa came to Carthage; but they were not all present there at the same time: Some came on the 26th. of August, a Day appointed for the Council, others came not till some time after. Nevertheless, Aurelius Bishop of Carthage, having conferr'd with the Bishops who came first, and received Letters from the Bishops of the Pro∣vinces, who had not yet sent their Deputies, caus'd the Canons which the Bishops, with whom he had conferred, thought fit to make, and those which were propos'd by Letters from the Bishops of By∣zacena, to be read to those that were present. These Canons were received in the Council, which con∣firmed those which had been made in the Council of Hippo.

The 1st. Canon orders all the Churches of Africa, to inform themselves every Year by the Bishop of Carthage, on what Day Easter should be celebrated.

The 2d. ordains, That every Year a Council shall meet, to which every one of the Provinces of Africa was to send three Deputies, excepting only the Province of Trip••lis, which could send but one, because of the small number of Bishops in that Province.

The 3d. requires, That the Canons should be read to those who were to be ordain'd, that they might not be ignorant of them.

The 4th. forbids the Ordination of Deacons, and Consecration of Virgins before the Age of 25 Years, and forbids Readers to Salute the People, that's to say, to address any Speech to them, when they read the Gospel in the Church.

The 5th. ordains, That the Sacraments should not be given to the Catechumens during the Solem∣nity of Easter, but only the Salt which was usually given them; because if the Faithful do not change the Sacraments during these Feasts, the Catechumens ought much less to do it. 'Tis hard to say, what this Sacrament is, which the Council forbids to give to the Catechumens during the Feast of Easter. It cannot be the Eucharist, for that was forbidden to be given them at all times. But the 37th. Canon of the Greek Code of the Canons of the African Church explains it, by observing that the Catechumens were forbidden to offer Honey and Milk on any other Day, but Easter-Day.

The 6th. forbids the giving of the Eucharist to the Dead.

The 7th. regulates the delays of Accusations brought against a Bishop: It orders that their Cause••

shall be carried to the Tribunal of the Metropolitan; but that a Bishop cannot be excluded from Communion, for not appearing till one Month after he shall be cited by the Metropolitan's Letters, and that if he bring a lawful Excuse for his absence, one Month more of delay shall yet be given him; but if he appear not in that time, he shall be excluded from Communion till he be acquitted. And if he be not present at last at the Universal Synod which is held every Year, he is to be look'd upon as self condemn'd; he ought not so much as to communicate with his People, while he is ex∣cluded from the Communion of other Bishops; that his Accuser ought not to be excommunicated unless he fail to appear on the Day when the Cause is to be heard, and that no Person of a bad Re∣putation ought to be admitted to accuse a Bishop, unless the Business be about personal Causes which are not Ecclesiastical.

The 8th. regulates the number of Bishops which are requisite to judge Priests and Deacons. It re∣quires five for judging a Priest, and two for judging of a Deacon. It ordains, That the delays shall be observ'd which are contain'd in the fore-mentioned Canon; and as to others of the Faithful, it declares, That the Bishop of the place may take cognizance of them, and judge them alone.

The 9th. ordains, That if a Clergy-man being accus'd before the Ecclesiastical Tribunal, remove the Cause to the Civil Magistrates, tho' he even gain the Cause, he shall lose his Place, if it be a Criminal Cause; and if it be a Civil Cause, he shall lose what he had gain'd.

The 10th. declares, That if a Person who has appeal'd from one Ecclesiastical Tribunal to other Ec∣clesiastical Judges of greater Authority, be by them acquitted, the Sentence given by the former Judges ought not to prejudice the latter, unless they be convicted of being byass'd by Passion, or cor∣rupted by Favour. It adds, That it is never lawful to appeal from those Judges that are chosen, even tho' they were not a sufficient number.

The 11th. forbids the Children of Bishops and Clergy-men, to act in profane Shows, or to be pre∣sent at them, because it is unworthy of Christians to be present in a place where Blasphemies are spoken.

The 12th. forbids Clergy-men to give their Daughters in marriage to Pagans, or Hereticks and Schismaticks.

The 13th. forbids Clergy-men to make Donations while they are alive, or by their last Will, to such Persons as are not Catholicks, tho' they should be of their Kindred.

The 14th. forbids them to emancipate their Children, unless they be advis'd by their Kindred, or the Children be come to such an Age, that the Sins which they commit can no longer be imputed to their Parents.

The 15th. forbids them to be Farmers or Proctors, or to get their Livelyhood by dishonest Traffick.

The 16th. forbids them to receive more than they had lent.

The 17th. forbids them to co-habit with Strange Women, and permits them only to live with their Mothers, their Grand-Mothers, their Aunts, their Sisters, their Neeces, and those of their Dome∣sticks who dwelt in the House with them before their Ordination.

The 18th. Ordains, That none shall be Ordain'd Priests, Bishops and Deacons, unless they have converted all those who liv'd in the House with them.

The 19th. declares, That Readers are to be obliged, when they come to Age, to Marry, or to make the Vow of Chastity.

The 20th. forbids Bishops to undertake any thing in the Diocesses of their Neighbours.

The 21st. forbids them to detain the Clergy of their Fellow Bishops.

The 22d. Ordains, That no Clergy-man shall be Ordained who has not been examined by the Bi∣shops, and approved by the Suffrages of the People.

The 23d. That in the Prayers the Name of the Father shall not be put in the place of the Name of the Son, That at the Altar the Prayers shall always be addressed to the Father; That those who have composed private Prayers shall not make use of them, until they have conferred about them with Clergy-men of good Learning.

The 24th. That nothing but Bread and Wine mingled with Water shall be offered for the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.

The 25th. That Clergy-men and those who make Profession of Chastity, shall not go to see Wi∣dows or Virgins without the permission of the Bishop or some Priests, that they shall not be with them alone, but with other Ecclesiasticks, or such Persons as the Bishops or the Priests shall appoint them: That Bishops and Priests also shall not visit them alone, but in company with other Ecclesia∣sticks or Christians of known Probity.

The 26th. forbids the Metropolitan to assume the Title of Prince of the Priests or the Sovereign Priest, and declares, That no other Name ought to be given him but that of Bishop of the First See.

The 27th. forbids Ecclesiasticks to eat or drink at an Inn unless it be in a Journey.

The 28th. forbids Bishops to undertake a Voyage beyond Sea without the consent of the Metropo∣litan, from whom they should receive Letters recommendatory.

The 29th. declares, That the Sacraments of the Altar ought not to be celebrated by any Persons but such as are fasting, except on Holy Thursday: So that if the Memory of one that is dead is to be ce∣lebrated in the Afternoon, the Prayers must only be read without Administring the Sacrament.

The 30th. forbids Clergy-men and Bishops to make Feasts in the Churches, and Orders, That the People shall be hindred from doing it, as much as is possible.

The 31st. leaves Bishops the liberty to regulate the time of Penance.

The 32d. forbids Priests to reconcile Penitents without asking leave of the Bishop, unless urgent ne∣cessity enforce the doing of it in his absence. It adds, That Penitents whose Crimes are very publick

and known by all the Church, should receive Imposition of Hands in an high Place near the Bi∣shop's Throne.

The 33d. Ordains, That when Virgins happen to lose their Relations who took care of them, the Bishop, or in his absence, the Priest, ought to place them in a Nunnery, or commit them to the care of Women of known Probity.

The 34th. That sick Persons shall be baptized, who cannot answer any longer, when those who are by them testify that they desired it.

The 35th. That the Grace of Reconciliation shall not be denied to Sorcerers, Comaedians, and other Infamous Persons, nor even to Apostates, when they are converted.

The 36th. hinders Priests from consecrating Virgins without the Bishop's permission, and absolutely forbids them to make the holy Chrism.

The 37th. forbids Clergy-men to dwell in strange Cities, unless the Bishop or the Priests of both Pla∣ces be satisfied, that they have just and lawful Reasons to do so.

Almost all the Canons which we have now mentioned were made by the Council of Hippo, except some which were added by the Bishops of Byzacena. These last are the 35th. and so on to the 47th. in the Code of the African Canons: There is one besides of the Council of Hippo, which is the 47th. in the 3d. Council of Carthage. This contains a Catalogue of the Canonical Books of the Old and New Testament, in the number of which are the Five Books of Solomon, the Books of Tobit, of Ju∣dith, of Esther, the Maccabees, the Three Epistles of St. John, that of St. Jude, and the Revelations. 'Tis added in the Council of the Bishops of Byzacena, That it shall be lawful to read publickly the Pas∣sions of the Martyrs.

What concerns the Canonical Books was also repeated in a Council held in 418, under Pope Boni∣face, wherein it was proposed, That the Churches of Italy should be consulted about this Canon.

There were Two or Three Canons besides of this Council which were explained in the Synod of Car∣thage, that we now speak of, whereof the First declares, That a Bishop shall not be Ordained but by Three Bishops; the Second, That those who have no Testimonials, and do not remember that they were baptized, shall be baptized a-new; and the last declares, That the Donatists shall be receiv'd on∣ly to the Rank of Lay-men.

The other Canons were made in this Council of Carthage. The First, as appears by the Code of the Canons of the African Councils, is the 48th. wherein Honoratus and Urbanus Legates from the Pro∣vince of Mauritania, say, That they have for a long time expected those of Numidia, and declare, That they approve the Nicene Creed, and the Canon which forbids any to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice un∣less he be fasting. They say that Siricius and Simplicianus ought to be consulted about the case of Infants baptized by the Donatists, whether they may be Ordain'd in the Church or no.

In the 37th. the same Legates say, That Re-baptizations, Re-ordinations, and Translations of Bi∣shops being forbidden in the full Synod of Capua, they beg leave to address themselves to the Gover∣nour of their Province, to drive away Cresconius, who had removed from Rhegium to Tuburnia, and would not depart from thence tho' he had been many times admonished. The Council granted them this Leave.

In the 39th. the same Persons desire, that it may be Ordain'd, that the Ordinations of Lay-men cannot be made but by 12 Bishops: But Aurelius having remonstrated that this was impossible in some Provinces, it was Ordain'd, That Three of them at least should meet. But he adds in the next Canon, That if there be any difference, some other Bishops shall be called in to examine what is said against the Person who is to be Ordain'd.

The 41st. declares, That the Bishop of Carthage shall publish Easter-day immediately after the Sy∣nod, which shall be assembled every Year at Carthage.

The 42d. forbids the erecting a Church into a Bishoprick which was put under the Jurisdiction of a Bishop, without his consent.

The 43d. is against those who satisfy themselves with governing their Diocess without attending at Synods.

The 44th. declares, That Clergy-men ought not to be taken from their own Bishops to make them Bishops, without their consent.

In the 45th. Aurelius Bishop of Carthage remonstrates, That commonly leave is desired by him from the Bishop of the place to Ordain one of his Clergy-men; but he desires to know what is to be done if he refuses it.

Numidius observes upon this Proposal, that it was always lawful for the Bishop of Carthage, to take those who were desir'd of him and Ordain them, tho' they were of another Diocess. Epigonius declares in the name of the Bishops, That it is his Right: But Posthumianus remonstrates, That it may happen that a Bishop shall have but one Priest, and it is not just to take him away from him. Aurelius answers, That a Bishop may easily ordain many Priests, but that it is more difficult to find fit Persons to be Bishops; and therefore tho' a Bishop should have but one Priest, he ought to give him that he may be made a Bishop. Posthumianus replies, That therefore it is just, that another Church which has many Clergy-men, should furnish that which has given the one Priest to be a Bi∣shop; and Aurelius answers him, That the Bishop who has many Priests, shall be persuaded to give some of them to him who has given his one Priest to be a Bishop.

The 46th. Canon, which should be the last, declares, That the Bishops which have been ordain'd in a Church, where there was never any before, with the consent of the Bishop of the Place, shall continue in their Bishopricks; but that they shall only govern the People whereof they have been ordain'd Bishops.

After this Canon follows the Approbation and Subscription of the Bishops, which is found in Canon Fifty.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Of Car∣thage, 397.