Letter 6

From: Pope Hilary, bishop of Rome (Synodal decree) To: The universal church Date: ~465 AD Context: The formal acts of the Roman synod convened by Hilary on November 19, 465 — one of the best-documented papal synods of the fifth century, dealing with episcopal elections and ordinations. The acts of the holy synod convened at Rome on the nineteenth day of November in the year of our Lord 465, under the presidency of Bishop Hilary. The bishops assembled — forty-eight in number — have considered the following questions and have reached the following determinations. First: on the ordination of bishops. No ordination of a bishop is valid unless performed by three bishops of the relevant province, with the consent of the metropolitan, and with the participation, in some form, of the clergy and people of the diocese. Ordinations performed without these requirements are to be treated as invalid. Second: on the translation of bishops. A bishop once installed in a see is not to be transferred to another see without urgent cause and without the consent of the apostolic see. The practice of bishops seeking transfers to wealthier or more prominent sees for personal advantage is an abuse that the canons have always prohibited and which this synod now reaffirms. Third: on the ordination of married men to the episcopate. A man who has contracted a second marriage, or whose wife has been previously married, may not be ordained to any clerical rank. This is the teaching of the apostle and it is not subject to local dispensation. These acts are issued with the full authority of the synod assembled in the presence of God. Hilary, bishop of Rome, presiding