Letter 18

From: Council of Macon (synodal letter) To: Frankish church Date: ~585 AD Context: A major Frankish synod that addressed social and moral issues, including a famous canon on Sunday observance and several on the treatment of the poor. The holy synod assembled at Macon to all the faithful of the Frankish kingdom. We have addressed the following matters. On Sunday observance: Sunday is the Lord's day, and it must be kept differently from other days. Specifically: no agricultural or craft work that could be done on another day shall be done on Sunday. We are not legislating against necessary work — caring for the sick, preventing harm to property — but against the treatment of Sunday as simply another day of the week by those who have the freedom to observe it differently. On usury: the taking of interest by clergy is forbidden absolutely. Laymen are also urged strongly to refrain from usury, and especially from the practices by which the poor are trapped in cycles of debt that they cannot escape. These practices are not consistent with Christian charity, and bishops are authorized to name and shame those who engage in them. On the poor: each diocese shall maintain a hospice for travelers and the destitute. Bishops who fail to maintain this provision will be called to account at the next provincial synod. On the treatment of slaves: while we do not address the institution of slavery as such, we affirm that slaves have souls, that they may marry and their marriages must be respected, that they may seek baptism and receive it, and that cruelty toward them violates Christian charity. Given at Macon. The assembled bishops.