Letter 5

From: Reccared I, King of the Visigoths To: The Visigothic Court Date: ~589 AD Context: Reccared issues a royal decree following the Third Council of Toledo, ordering the transfer of properties that had belonged to Arian churches to Catholic ownership and establishing the legal framework for the post-conversion settlement. Reccared, king of the Goths, by the grace of God, to all our faithful subjects, With the blessing of God and in accordance with the decisions of the holy council assembled at Toledo, we issue the following decree regarding the properties, buildings, and revenues that formerly belonged to the Arian church in our kingdom. All church buildings that were used for Arian worship are hereby transferred to the Catholic church, to be used as the bishops of the Catholic church determine. The sacred vessels, vestments, and other goods belonging to those buildings are similarly transferred. The revenues and estates that formerly supported the Arian clergy are to be applied to the support of the Catholic clergy and the care of the poor, in accordance with the established practice of the Catholic church. The Arian clergy who have converted to Catholic Christianity are to be received with charity. Those who seek to remain in ministry must submit to examination by their bishop and be ordained according to Catholic practice; their Arian orders are not recognized as valid for the purposes of Catholic ministry. Those who do not seek to remain in ministry may retire to private life with the possessions they hold as private individuals. We make this decree with charity toward all and with the firm conviction that a kingdom of one faith, worshipping the one true God in the fullness of Christian truth, is a kingdom better ordered for both earthly and eternal ends. Reccared, king, servant of Christ