Scintillae de canonibus

Title	Scintillae de canonibus
Size	very small (less than 100 canons)
Century	saec. VI
Author	Till Stüber
Structure	by topic
No. of manuscripts	some (2–9)

The Scintillae de canonibus uel ordinationibus episcoporum is a very small systematic collection of conciliar canons on episcopal elections.

It is extant in four copies (see Category:Manuscript of Scintillae de canonibus) as part of the Appendix in Paris BnF lat. 1454.

Contents and tendency

The collection consists of seven canons only, which are partially abridged:

1.         Nicaea (325) c 6, end (Interpretatio Gallica)

2.         Ancyra (314) c. 18 (Interpretatio Gallica)

3.         Serdica (342) c. 2

4.         Antioch (ca. 330) c. 9 (Interpretatio Isidori)

5.         Antioch (ca. 330) c. 19 (Interpretatio Isidori)

6.         Antioch (ca. 330) c. 20, beginning (Interpretatio Isidori)

7.         Paris (ca. 561) c. 8

The canons lay down the conditions for the election and ordination of bishops; at the same time, they call for the deposition of elects who have unlawfully attained the episcopal office. Also noteworthy is the emphasis on the rights of the metropolitan: a bishop who has been ordained without the consent of his metropolitan is to be deposed (Nicaea c. 5, Antioch c. 19, Paris c. 8), and without the metropolitan’s consent the suffragans are generally permitted to undertake nothing (Antioch c. 9). Simony is likewise a subject of the collection; simoniacs are in principle unworthy of the episcopal office (Serdica c. 2, Paris c. 8). A characteristic of the small collection is its restriction to what is essential: the canons are in part abbreviated, and it may be assumed that the omitted passages were not relevant for the purposes of the anonymous compiler.

Literature

Maassen, Geschichte pp. 873-874. – Stüber, Scintillae de canonibus.