62 Restrictions and Prohibitions on Pagans, Jews, and Heretics in Africa

Justinian

1 August 535

This law was given by Justinian on 1 August 535 at Constanti­nople.

Justinian granted this law at the request of the Council of Carth­age, which convened in early 535 under the presidency of Repara­tus, bishop of Carthage. It asked the secular authorities for a more militant policy against the Arians. Our law represents the attitude of the African administration, which was considerably harsher than that adopted immediately after the conquest, when the Pragmatic Law of April 534 and Novel No. 36 were promulgated, both deal­ing mainly with problems related to ownership of churches and the possession of their properties. Our law contains several general prohibitions which apply equally to the heretics, the pagans and the Jews, such as the prohibition to serve in public offices. It imposed on the Jews, however, two prohibitions which are specific to them alone, namely the prohibition to possess Christian slaves and catechumens (a repetition of previous laws; see above, Nos. 59 and 61), and an interdiction of synagogues accompanied by an order to convert them to churches.

New Roman">Saumagne was of the opinion that these measures against the pagans, the Jews, and the heretics were but a smoke screen, in­tended to cover the particularly harsh treatment of the Arians. We know, however, from the law promulgated in 534 (see above, No.

Novellae, No. 37, ed. Scholl & Kroll, pp. 244-245

DE AFRICANA ECCLESIA

IDEM A. SALOMONI* PP. AFRICAE

Venerabilem ecclesiam nostrae Carthaginis lustinianae* ceterasque omnes Africanae dioeceseos sacrosanctas ecclesias imperialibus benefi-

5 ciis relevare noctu dieque festinamus, , postquam nostrae reipublicae, per dei praesidium a tyrannis abreptae, sociatae sunt, nostras etiam sentiant liberalitates. Cum igitur Reparatus* vir sanctis­simus sacerdos eiusdem nostrae Carthaginis lustinianae, qui venerando concilio totius Africae sanctissimarum ecclesiarum praeesse dignoscitur, io una cum ceteris eiusdem provinciae reverentissimis episcopis litteris propriis per Theodorum virum religiosum diaconum et responsalem* eiusdem venerabilis ecclesiae civitatis Carthaginis lustinianae destinatis nostram deprecati sunt maiestatem possessiones ecclesiarum totius Africani tractus tyrannico quidem tempore ablatas eis, post victorias 15 autem caelesti praesidio nobis Uuandalos praestitas per nostri numinis piam dispositionem eis redditas, salva in quocumque loco constituta videlicet tributorum solutione, firmiter possidere secundum legis tenorem quae iam super hac causa promulgata est, petitionibus

eorum prono libentique animo duximus annuendum.

20 Ideoque iubemus sublimitatem tuam suis disponere praeceptionibus, ut praedictas possessiones, salva prout dictum est tributorum ratione, venerabiles ecclesiae tam nostrae Carthaginis lustinianae quam omnium civitatum Africanae dioeceseos firmiter possideant et sine ulla concus­sione, a nullo penitus abstrahendas.

35 rebus et possessionibus, Africae quoque venerabiles ecclesias perpotiri censemus, et secundum eius tenorem licentiam eis damus res proprias et possessiones recuperandi a quacumque persona per provinciam oc­cupatas, ut possint quicquid ad eas pertinens ablatum est vel fuerit ab iniquis detentatoribus vindicare.

40 Curae autem erit tuae sublimitati, quatenus neque Arianis neque Donatistis nec ludaeis nec aliis qui orthodoxam religionem minime colere noscuntur aliqua detur communio penitus ad ecclesiasticos ritus, sed omnimodo excludantur a sacris et templis* nefandi, et nulla eis licen­tia concedatur penitus ordinare vel episcopos vel clericos aut baptizare

⁴⁵ quascumque personas et ad suum furorem trahere, quia huiusmodi sec­tae non solum a nobis, sed etiam ab anterioribus legibus condemnatae sunt et a sceleratissimis nec non inquinatis coluntur hominibus. Omnes autem haereticos secundum leges nostras quas imposuimus publicis ac­tibus amoveri, et nihil penitus publicum gerere concedantur haeretici nec

50 aliquam administrationem quibuslibet subire ambitionibus, ne videantur haeretici constituti orthodoxis imperare, cum sufficit eis vivere, non etiam sibi aliquam auctoritatem vindicare et ex hac orthodoxos homines et dei omnipotentis rectissimos cultores quibusdam afficere detrimentis.

color=black face="Times New Roman">55 paenitentiam autem eorum, si ad orthodoxam fidem mente purissima venire maluerint, non respuimus, sed damus eis licentiam hoc faciendi, quia et deo omnipotenti nihil ita est acceptabile ut peccantium poeniten­tia.* ludaeis insuper denegamus servos habere Christianos, quod et legibus anterioribus* cavetur et nobis cordi est illibatum custodire, ut ne­que servos orthodoxae religionis habeant neque, si forte catechumenos accipiant, eos audeant circumcidere. Sed neque synagogas eorum stare concedimus, sed ad ecclesiarum figuram eas volumus reformari.* Neque enim ludaeos neque paganos neque Donatistas neque Arianos neque alios quoscumque haereticos vel speluncas* habere vel quaedam quasi ritu ecclesiastico facere patimur, cum hominibus impiis sacra peragenda permittere satis absurdum est

Privilegia insuper sacrosanctae ecclesiae nostrae Carthaginis lustinianae omnia condonamus quae metropolitanae civitates et earum antistites habere noscuntur, quae etiam Codici nostro in primo eius libro segregata sacrosanctis ecclesiis suum honorem praestare noscuntur: ut civitas quam nostri numinis cognomine decorandam esse perspeximus imperialibus etiam privilegiis exornata florescat Confugas etiam, qui ad venerabiles ecclesias et earum fines convolare festinant et suae saluti prospicere, nulli penitus licere sacrilegis manibus ab his abstrahere, sed eos venerabilibus locis debita reverentia perpotiri, nisi tamen homicidae sint vel virginum raptores aut Christianae fidei violatores: illos etenim qui talia facinora committunt nullis esse dignos privilegiis quis non confiteatur? Cum non potest sacrosancta ecclesia et homines iniquos adiuvare et hominibus laesis suum adiutorium praestare. Sin quid praeterea sacrosanctae ecclesiae saepe dictae nostrae Carthaginis lustinianae vel aliis venerabilibus ecclesiis Africanae dioeceseos a quacumque persona pro suae salute animae oblatum est vel fuerit quocumque modo legitimo seu in possessionibus seu in aliis quibuslibet speciebus, et hoc apud easdem venerabiles ecclesias manere firme, nui* lius iniquis manibus abstrahendum, cum homines qui tam laudabiles tamque deo acceptabiles actus et pias facere oblationes deproperant satis et nos laudamus et dei caelestis remuneratur clementia.

Haec igitur omnia quae ad honorem sacrosanctarum dedimus ec* clesiarum totius Africanae dioeceseos per praesentem piissimam et in perpetuum valituram legem, quam omnipotenti deo dedicandam esse perspeximus, sublimitas tua cognoscens firma illibataque custodire festinet et omnibus prout solitum est manifestare edictis ubique proponendis, ut nostra iussa summae pietatis rationem habentia ex omni parte inmutilata serventur; temeratoribus eorum poena decem librarum

95 auri subdendis, aliaque gravissima nostri numinis indignatione plectendis omnibus qui nostram dispositionem quocumque modo vel tempore violare temptaverint vel violare concesserint DAT.

ON THE AFRICAN CHURCH.

THE SAME AUGUSTUS TO SALOMON,² PRAEFECTUS PRAETORIO OF AFRICA Day and night we hasten to restore the venerable church of Justin­ian Carthage³ and all the other sacrosanct churches of the African diocese through Imperial benefits, in order that they shall experi­ence our liberality on being reunited to our State after being tom from it by tyrants. Therefore, when Reparatus,⁴ the most holy bishop of that same Justinian Carthage of ours, who is known to preside the council of the most holy churches of all Africa, prayed our Majesty, together with the other most reverent bishops of the same province, in his own letter transmitted by Theodorus, the religious dean and Responsalis⁵ of the same venerable church of the city of Justinian Carthage, that the possessions of the churches of the entire African land which were taken from them in the time of tyranny and returned to them by our divinity in a pious disposition following the victories granted us against the Vandals by Heavenly Guardianship, with the exception of the payment of tributes fixed in every place, shall be firmly held by them according to the law which was already promulgated on this matter, we have decided to grant them their petitions with favourable and willing mind. We order, therefore, that your Sublimity shall take measures through its own orders, that the said possessions, with the exception—as said above—of the payment of tributes, shall be firmly held and without any contestation by the venerable churches of our Justinian Carth­age and by all the other cities of the African diocese, and that they shall not be taken away be anyone at all. If it shall be proved that other possessions, whether houses or church ornaments are held by some people, either Arians or pagans or any other persons, these possessions too should be taken away by force entirely and without any delay and assigned to sacrosanct churches of the orthodox faith, without giving those who hold these properties unlawfully too much time to use them, but, on the contrary, forcing them through a rejection of any machination, to restore them, for we do not suffer that the most sacred vessels or the ornaments of the venerable churches or other possessions be held by Pagans or by other per­sons; the law previously promulgated by us dealt with this matter enough and more than enough. We order that the privilege which we have established in the other law⁶ in favour of the ecclesiastical properties and possessions shall be entirely enjoyed by the vener­able churches of Africa too, and we give them permission—in accord­ance with that law—to recuperate their own properties and posses­sions, in order that they shall be able to vindicate back whatever property of theirs is taken or was taken by unlawful holders.

GIVEN ON THE CALENDS OF AUGUST AT CONSTANTINOPLE, IN THE CONSU­LATE OF THE RENOWNED BELISARIUS.¹²

NOTES

1.        Juster, II, p. 251.

2.         Salomon was Belisarius’ chief-of-staff (domesticus) during the African campaign. After Belisarius’ departure to Constantinople he combined in his hands the supreme military command in the African Prefecture (magisterium militum Africae) and the supreme civil authority as praefectus praetorio. He held these functions until 536, and again from 539 until his death in 544. See J. Durliat, “Magister militum—Στρατηλάτης dans 1’Empire byzantin (VIe-VIIe sidcles),” BZ, LXXII (1979), pp. 306-320; Stein, II, pp. 320-328, 547-548.

3.        Justinian Carthage: Carthage was designated as the capital of the Afri­can Prefecture when the African administration was reorganized (CJ 1:27, §11, from 13 April 534), but did not yet receive the title “Justinian.” It acquired it between the date of that law and the present law. See AE, 1924, No. 60.

4.        Reparatus was elected to the See of Carthage in 535, following the death of Boniface, his predecessor, on that year. The council he presided over could not be dated, therefore, to a date prior to his election. Reparatus held the See until his process in 551 in Constantinople, when he was accused of adhering to the “Three Chapters” and eventually deposed. He died in exile on 7 January 563.

5.        size=1>The term ‘Responsalis’, and its Greek equivalent Άποκρισιαριός desig­nated the official charged with correspondence in the episcopal administration. He handled other business as well, such as the representation of the bishop in diplo­matic and other missions and the administration of the episcopal properties.

6.        Other law: CJ 1:2:21 from 529, which prohibited commerce in church vessels and regulated their restitution to churches and monasteries.

7.        Temples: a peculiar phrasing, for the general context indicates Orthodox churches and rites. Saumagne corrects ‘nefandi’ to ‘nefandis’, considers it to be an adjective of ‘templis’, and understands the entire clause as an order to expel the heretics from the “impious temples.” This interpretation does not accord with the general context, nor is it based on any manuscript tradition. Furthermore, one can hardly accept the implied connection between the Arians, the Donatists, the Jews, and the other heretics on the one hand and the temples of the pagans on the other.

8.        Sinner: compare the following passage from Tertullian: ‘Sic et paeniten- tia demonstratur acceptabilis deo, quia vult earn quam mortem peccatoris’. “Thus it is demonstrated that repentance is acceptable to God, for He prefers it to the death of the sinner.” See De Oratione, VII, ed. A. Reifferscheid & G. Wissowa, CSEL, XX:1, 1890, p. 185.

9.        Previous laws: CJ 1:10:2, given between 527 and 534, and CJ 1:3:54, given in 534.

10.      Converted in form to churches: this phrasing alludes to the architectural changes made necessary by the conversion of synagogues to churches. Procopius reports that the Jews of the city of Boreon in Cyrene were forced by order of Justinian to convert to Christianity and their ancient “temple” was converted to a church. There can be little doubt that Procopius repeated, perhaps unconciously, the original Greek version of the present law: ‘Ιουστινιανός... τούτον δή τον νεών ές έκκλησίας μεθηρμόσατο σχήμα’. “Justinian... converted their temple to the form of a church.” See Περί κτισμάτων, VI:2, ed. I. Haury, Leipzig 1913, p. 175.

11.      Caves: The synoptic Gospels {Matt. XXI: 13, Marc. XI: 17, and Luc. XIX:46) quote Jer. VII: 11 and designate the Temple as “Robbers’ Cave” (σπηλαιον ληστών). This was the origin of the same pejorative appellation to synagogues custo­mary in Christian literature. See, for example, Johannes Chrysostomus, Κατά Ιουδαίων, VI:6, ed. B. de Montfaucon & G. R. L. von Sinner, PG, XLVIII, Cols. 914-915. The term was gradually applied also to the meeting places and the churches of the heretics; the first instance of this use can be seen in the works of Cyril of Jerusalem; see Κατηχήσεις, VIIL26, PG XXXIII: 1048. Gregory the Great referred to a “cave” of heretics converted into a church in Epistulae, 4:19, ed. P. Ewald & L. Μ. Hartmann, Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Epistolae, 1957, pp. 253-254. Jus­tinian referred in this term to an unauthorized church in Nov. 67:1 from 538. See G. J. Μ. Bartelink, “ZTrqkaiov/spelunca in christlichen Texten als abwertende Bezeich­nung eines religiösen Versammlungsortes,” Glotta, XLVIII (1970), pp. 212-214.

12.      Given... Belisarius: 1 August 535.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

C. Saumagne, “Etude sur la propriete ecclesiastique ä Carthage d’apres les novelles 36 et 37 de Justinien,” BZ, XX (1913), pp. 77-78; Juster, II, p. 251 n. 1; Browe, p. 126; Stein, II, p. 322; Seyberlich, p. 75; A. Sharf, Byzantine Jewry from Justinian to the Fourth Crusade, London 1971, p. 26; A. Μ. Honore, “Some Consti­tutions Composed by Justinian,” JRS, LXV (1975), p. 122; Avi-Yonah, p. 118; Honore, p. 118; R. A. Markus, “Carthage-Prima Justiniana-Ravenna—An Aspect of Justinian’s ‘Kirchenpolitik’,” Byzantion, XLIX (1979), pp. 281-289.