Ecclesiastical Laws and Behavior

From Wessexwiki

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The laws of the kingdom direct that the council shall be monthly called, to consider of the matters of faith and discipline; that the judgment and sentences of those assemblies should be conducted by the canons of the church and by the laws of the kingdom; that the disputes amongst diocesan bishops should be determined by the archbishop or patriarch; .that all causes of the clergy should be finally determined in the provinces wherein they arise, and that the clergy should not be called out of the province where they live to any foreign tribunal; and in what manner causes ecclesiastical shall be conducted, to whom the cognizance thereof does in the first instance belong, by what steps appeals shall proceed, and whose sentence shall be final and unappeasable. The same laws direct how a suit betwixt a layman and a clergyman shall be managed; and in case a layman shall commence a suit in the court of a bishop, and either party does not acquiesce in the sentence thereof, that then the cause may be reheard by the civil judge; how bishops should be punished if they neglect to convene their provincial or diocesan council, if absent a month from his diocese without the leave of the magnate, or if he excommunicates a person without showing cause; how a deposed bishop should be treated, if he attempt to disturb the public peace.

Clergymen within my diocese are called to control their desires and limit themselves to their basic needs. They are to live exclusively upon the support furnished by their parishioners with any excess being provided back to the Church. The clergymen is to cleanse his own spring, that it may not infect the Word of Auros. A threefold outlook is required: to feed the sheep, to purge the flock of diseased sheep, and to defend the sheep. While personal example is important, all three of these tasks occur through the “highest service,” preaching of the Word. Setting up the hierarchy that preaching the Word is preeminent followed by hearing it and finally keeping it in our deeds. The supreme task of the priest is to feed his flock spiritually, taking precedence “to an infinite degree" over other pastoral concerns, namely the administration of the sacraments and prayer.

After providing this instruction, particularly the friars come to my attention who I cannot accuse of not preaching the entire gospel, pursuing temporal gain, or hiding in their cloisters. However, the laws are to be followed within this Duchy and know that no deed should be elevated to where it spreads to poison our own flock, even if they be Mirdain or Dvergheim.

Theodoric Brionne, Bishop of Wessex, October 10th, 2008