In the year 589, the third council of Toledo, in Spain, was celebrated,
in the pontificate of Pope Pelagius II. All the bishops of Spain
assembled upon the invitation of King Reccared.
The articles of faith form twenty-three heads of various length; after
which follow twenty-three _capitula_, or little chapters or heads of
discipline.
The sixth of these is in the following words:
De libertis autem id Dei præcipiunt sacerdotes, ut si qui ab episcopis
facti sunt secundum modum quo canones antiqui dant licentiam, sint
liberi; et tamen a patrocinio ecclesiæ tam ipsi, quam ab eis progeniti
non recedant. Ab aliis quoque libertati traditi, et ecclesiis
commendati, patrocinio episcopali regantur: à principe hoc episcopus
postulet.
_The priests of God decree concerning freedmen, that if any are made by
the bishops in the way the ancient canons permit, they shall be
considered free; yet so that neither they nor their descendants shall
retire from the patronage of the church. Let those freed by others and
placed under the protection of the church, be placed under the bishop’s
protection. Let the bishop ask this of his prince._
This too is taken into the body of the canon law. (12, q. 2, _De
libertis_.)
A custom had already gained considerable prevalence, which we shall find
greatly extended in subsequent ages, of granting to the churches slaves
for its service and support. The administrators of the church property
were called _familia fisci_. The church property was in ecclesiastical
documents styled the fisc. The _fisca regis_, or royal fisc, was a
different fund or treasury. It sometimes happened that the clergy who
were the administrators sought to obtain from the “conditioned slaves”
more than they were bound to give, and also, sometimes, others sought to
have their service taken from the church. The capitulary viii. of this
third council of Toledo was enacted to remedy this latter grievance.
Innuente (other copies, jubente) atque consentiente domino piissimo
Reccaredo rege, id præcipit sacerdotale consilium, ut clericorum
(others, clericos) ex familiâ fisci nullus audeat a principe donatos
expetere; sed reddito capitis sui tributo ecclesiæ Dei, cui sunt
alligati, usque dum vivent, regulariter administrent.
_By the suggestion (or by the command) and with the consent of the most
pious lord King Reccared, the council of priests directs that no one
shall dare to reclaim from the administrators of the church those clergy
given by the prince; but having paid their tribute to the church of God,
to which they are bound, let them, as long as they live, administer
regularly._
In the same council, the canon xv. is the following:
Si qui ex servis fiscalibus ecclesias forte construxerint easque de suâ
paupertate ditaverint, hoc procuret episcopus prece suâ auctoritate
regiâ confirmari.
_If any of the king’s special servants shall have built churches, and
have enriched them by the contributions from their poverty, let the
bishop obtain that it be confirmed by the royal authority._
The _servi fiscales_ were the private or patrimonial property of the
king.
This also exhibits the principle that the slave was not permitted to
contribute, without the consent of his owner, to religious
establishments.
A canon of the assembly held in Constantinople, 692:
Canon lxxxv. In duobus vel tribus testibus confirmari omne verbum ex
Scriptura accepimus. Servos ergo qui a dominis suis manumittuntur, sub
tribus testibus eo frui honore decernimus, qui præsentes libertati vires
et firmitatem afferent, et ut iis quæ ipsis testibus facta sunt fides
habeatur efficient.
_We have learned from the Scripture that every word is confirmed in two
or three witnesses. We therefore declare that slaves who are manumitted
by their masters shall be admitted to enjoy that honour under three
witnesses, who may be able to afford security by their presence to the
freedom, and who may be able to secure credit for the acts done in their
view._
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