E06909
Literary - Letters
Canonical and legal texts
Gelasius, General Decretal / Letter 14 (Thiel) ('Necessaria rerum', JK 636/JH 1270)
Extract:
(12.) Devotis quoque Deo virginibus, nisi aut in Epiphaniarum die aut in albis paschalibus, aut in apostolorum natalitiis sacrum minime velamen imponant, nisi forsitan, sicut de baptismate dictum est, gravi languore correptis ne sine hoc munere de saeculo transeant, implorantibus non negetur.
'(12.) By no means let them put the sacred veil on dedicated virgins, save either on Epiphany day or in the white days of Easter, or on the feast days of the apostles, unless perhaps, just as we said about baptism, they have been overcome by serious ill-health; lest they pass from the world without this gift, it should not be denied to those who pray earnestly for it.'
Text: Thiel 1867, 369.
Translation: Neil and Allen 2014, 150-151.
Other liturgical acts and ceremonies
FestivalsSaint’s feast
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesWomen
Ecclesiastics - bishops
Ecclesiastics - lesser clergy
Source
This decretal of Pope Gelasius I (492-496), a long text dealing with many different issues, is preserved in numerous early collections of papal documents, including the Collectio Quesnelliana, which was probably compiled around 500 and thus only a few years after the decretal was issued (Kéry 1999, 27). The document is dated 11 March 494.Discussion
By the 'white days' of Easter, Gelasius means the week after Easter, when those who had been baptised wore their white baptismal clothes (Allen and Neil 2014, 150, n. 23).Bibliography
Edition:Thiel, A., Epistolae Romanorum Pontificum Genuinae et quae ad eos scriptae sunt a S. Hilario usque ad Pelagium II (Braunsberg, 1867).
Translation:
Neil, B., and Allen, P., The Letters of Gelasius I (492-496): Pastor and Micromanager of the Church (Turnhout, 2014).
Further Reading:
Kéry, L., Canonical Collections of the Early Middle Ages (ca. 400-1140): A Bibliographical Guide to the Manuscripts and Literature (Washington DC, 1999).
Neil, B., "The Decretals of Gelasius I: Making Canon Law in Late Antiquity," in: Lex et Religio: XL Incontro di Studioso dell'Antichità Cristiana (Studia Ephemeridis Augustinianum 135; Rome, 2013) 657-668.
Frances Trzeciak and David Lambert
22/09/2022
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00008 | Paul, the Apostle | Certain | S00036 | Peter, the Apostle | Certain | S00084 | Apostles, unnamed or name lost | Certain |
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