Episcopus, presbyter, sacerdos, diaconus: some clarifications of Innocent I in his Letter to Decentius, bishop of Gubbio
Waldemar Turek
Pontificia Università Urbaniana , ItalyAbstract
In his Letter to Decentius, Bishop of Gubbio, Pope Innocent I discusses some liturgical questions and specifies the competences of the representatives of the clergy of the time in this regard. First of all, however, he demonstrates the particular link of the community of Rome with the figure of St Peter, which gives rise to the very special role of the Bishop of Rome in relation to other communities, especially in the West. He then concentrates especially on the duties and rights of bishops (episcopi), the principal shepherds and administrators of the divine gifts; on the basis of Sacred Scripture and Tradition he places them at the head of the ecclesiastical hierarchy. Presbyters (presbyteri) are then considered; to them the author of the Letter attributes a significant role especially in teaching and in the celebration of the Eucharist and Baptism. Confirmation is celebrated by the bishop; presbyters, even though they are priests (sacerdotes), do not possess the fullness of the priesthood. The term sacerdos is usually used in reference to bishops and presbyters; however, at times it is reserved to bishops, as, for example, in the discussion on the theme of the beginning of public penance and the admission of the repentant Christian to the community on Holy Thursday.
Keywords:
diaconus, episcopus, fermentum, presbyter, sacerdos, romana consuetudo, baptism, confirmation, chrism, penance, sign of peace, anointing of the sickReferences
Augustinus, De Civitate Dei, ed. D. Gentili, NBA V/3 (Libri XIX-XXII), Roma 1991.
Cyprianus, De unitate Ecclesiae catholicae, ed. M. Bévenot, SCh 500, Paris 2006, tłum. J. Czuj: Św. Cyprian, Pisma, t. 1: Traktaty, POK 19, Poznań 1937, 171-193.
Hieronymus, Vita Hilarionis, ed. B. Degórski, Hieronymi Opera XV, Roma 2014, 116-180.
Innocentius I, Epistula ad Decentium episcopum Egubinum, ed. R. Cabié: La Lettre du Pape Innocent Ier a Décentius de Gubbio (19 Mars 416), Bibliothéque de la Revue d’Histoire Ecclésiastique 58, Louvain 1973.
Cabié R., La Lettre „Si instituta” dans l’histoire de la liturgie, w: La Lettre du Pape Inno¬cent Ier a Décentius de Gubbio (19 Mars 416), ed. R. Cabié, Bibliothéque de la Revue d’Histoire Ecclésiastique 58, Louvain 1973, 35-61.
Cabié R., Table des mots latins, w: La Lettre du Pape Innocent Ier a Décentius de Gubbio (19 Mars 416), ed. R. Cabié, Bibliothéque de la Revue d’Histoire Ecclésiastique 58, Louvain 1973, 64-66.
Cattaneo E., Introduzione generale, w: I ministeri nella Chiesa Antica. Testi patristici dei primi tre secoli, a cura di E. Cattaneo, Letture cristiane del primo millennio 25, Milano 1997, 17-210.
Chavasse A., La liturgie de la ville de Rome du Ve au VIIIe siècle. Une liturgie conditionée par l’organisation de la vie in Urbe et extra muros, Studia Anselmiana 112, Roma 1993.
Connell M.F., Church and Worship in Fifth-Century Rome: The Letter of Innocent I to Decentius of Gubbio, Text with Introduction, Translation and Notes, Joint Liturgical Studies 52, Cambridge 2002
Gajewski W., Charyzmat, urząd, hierarchia, Kraków 2010.
Jaffé Ph., Innocentius I, in: Regesta Pontificum Romanorum. Ab condita Ecclesia ad an¬num post Christum natum MCXCVIII, Editionem tertiam emendatam et auctam iu¬bente Academia Gottingensi, I (A s. Petro usque ad A. DCIV), curavit M. Schütz, Gottingae MMXVI, 122-133.
Lemaire A., Les ministères aux origines de l’Église. Naissance de la triple hiérarchie: évêques, presbytres, diacres, Lectio Divina 68, Paris 1971.
Liber Pontificalis, ed. L. Duchesne, I-II, Paris 1886-1892.
Longosz S., Bibliografia. Kapłaństwo w starożytności chrześcijańskiej, VoxP 13-15 (1993- 1995) t. 24-29, 499-555.
Malchiodi G., La Lettera di S. Innocenzo I a Decenzio vescovo di Gubbio. Breve studio esegetico-storico, Roma 1921.
Monachino V., La Lettera decretale di Innocenzo I a Decenzio vescovo di Gubbio, w: Ri¬cerche sull’Umbria tardoantica e preromanica. Atti del II Convegno di Studi Umbri, Gubbio 24-28 maggio 1964, Gubbio 1965, 211-234.
Pietras H., Od prezbiteratu do kapłaństwa: ewolucja pojęć i urzędu, „Studia Bobolanum” 3 (2002) 5-13.
Popowski R., Kapłaństwo w starożytnym świecie grecko-rzymskim, VoxP 13-15 (1993- 1995) t. 24-29, 29-34.
Saxer V. – Heid S., Decenzio di Gubbio, NDPAC I 1344-1345.
StanulaE., Patrystyczna literatura o kapłaństwie (przegląd bibliograficzny), VoxP 13-15 (1993-1995) t. 24-29, 49-58.
Studer B., Innocenzo I papa, NDPAC II 2563-2564.
Vogel C., Penitenza, NDPAC III 4012-4017.
Wójtowicz H., Terminologia kapłaństwa w literaturze wczesnochrześcijańskiej, VoxP 13- 15 (1993-1995) t. 24-29, 59-66.
Pontificia Università Urbaniana
License
Papers published in Vox Patrum are covered by the Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0) licence. Authors and users can use published works licensed under the CC-BY-ND since 2018. For earlier publications, copyrights are available under fair use rights in accordance with the Act of February 4, 1994 on copyrights and related rights.
