Simony () is the act of selling church offices and roles or sacred things. It is named after

Simon Magus Simon Magus (Greek Σίμων ὁ μάγος, Latin: Simon Magus), also known as Simon the Sorcerer or Simon the Magician, was a religious figure whose confrontation with Peter is recorded in Acts . The act of simony, or paying for position, is ...

, who is described in the

Acts of the Apostles The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its messag ...

as having offered two disciples of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

payment in exchange for their empowering him to impart the power of the

Holy Spirit In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts as ...

to anyone on whom he would place his hands. The term extends to other forms of trafficking for money in "spiritual things".

Origin

The purchase or sale of ecclesiastical office was condemned from the fifth century, but it was only in the sixth century that it was associated with the figure of Simon Magus in the Book of Acts. Key in making this association was

Pope Gregory I Pope Gregory I ( la, Gregorius I; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great, was the bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 to his death. He is known for instigating the first recorded large-scale mission from Rome, the Gregori ...

, who labelled such exchanges as the "simoniac heresy".

Simony in the Middle Ages

Although considered a serious offense against

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

, simony is thought to have become widespread in the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

during the 9th and 10th centuries. In the eleventh century, it was the focus of a great deal of debate. Central to this debate was the validity of simoniacal orders: that is, whether a cleric who had obtained their office through simony was validly ordained. In the , the and the

Decretals of Gregory IX The Decretals of Gregory IX ( la, Decretales Gregorii IX), also collectively called the , are a source of medieval Catholic canon law. In 1230, Pope Gregory IX ordered his chaplain and confessor, St. Raymond of Penyafort, a Dominican, to form ...

dealt with the subject. The offender, whether (the perpetrator of a simoniacal transaction) or (the beneficiary of a simoniacal transaction), was liable to deprivation of his benefice and deposition from orders if a

secular priest In Christianity, the term secular clergy refers to deacons and priests who are not monastics or otherwise members of religious life. A secular priest (sometimes known as a diocesan priest) is a priest who commits themselves to a certain geogr ...

, or to confinement in a stricter

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

if a regular. No distinction seems to have been drawn between the sale of an immediate and of a reversionary interest. The innocent was, apart from dispensation, liable to the same penalties as though he were guilty. In 1494, a member of the

Carmelite , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount Car ...

order, Adam of Genoa, was found murdered in his bed with twenty wounds after preaching against the practice of simony. File:Abbé pratiquant la simonie.jpg, Abbot practising simony (France, 12th century) File:Tizian 109.jpg, Girolamo and cardinal Marco Corner investing Marco, abbot of Carrara, with his benefice,

Titian Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italian (Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, nea ...

In literature

In the 14th century,

Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...

depicted the punishment of many "clergymen, and popes and cardinals" in hell for being avaricious or miserly. He also criticised certain popes and other simoniacs:

Roman Catholic Church

Simony remains prohibited in Roman Catholic canon law. In the Code of Canon Law, Canon 149.3 notes that "Provision of an office made as a result of simony is invalid by the law itself."

Church of England

The

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

struggled with the practice after its separation from Rome. For the purposes of

English law English law is the common law legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly criminal law and civil law, each branch having its own courts and procedures. Principal elements of English law Although the common law has, historically, be ...

, simony is defined by

William Blackstone Sir William Blackstone (10 July 1723 – 14 February 1780) was an English jurist, judge and Tory politician of the eighteenth century. He is most noted for writing the ''Commentaries on the Laws of England''. Born into a middle-class family i ...

as "obtain ngorders, or a licence to preach, by money or corrupt practices" or, more narrowly, "the corrupt presentation of any one to an ecclesiastical

benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

for gift or reward". While English law recognized simony as an offence, it treated it as merely an ecclesiastical matter, rather than a crime, for which the punishment was forfeiture of the office or any advantage from the offence and severance of any patronage relationship with the person who bestowed the office. Both

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first E ...

and

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is ...

promulgated statutes against simony, in the latter case through the

Simony Act 1588 The Simony Act 1588 (31 Eliz 1 c 6) is an Act of the Parliament of England. The Act stipulates penalties for simony (the act of selling church offices and roles or sacred things), an offence under the ecclesiastical law of the Church of England ...

. The cases of

Bishop of St. David's The Bishop of St Davids is the ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of St Davids. The succession of bishops stretches back to Saint David who in the 6th century established his seat in what is today the city of St Davids in Pembrokeshire, ...

Thomas Watson in 1699 and of

Dean of York Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles ...

William Cockburn in 1841 were particularly notable.''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', 10 April 1841, p. 6 col.b, reprinted from the ''Cambridge Advertiser'' By the

Benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

s Act 1892, a person guilty of simony is guilty of an offence for which he may be proceeded against under the Clergy Discipline Act 1892. An innocent clerk is under no disability, as he might be by the canon law. Simony may be committed in three ways – in promotion to orders, in presentation to a benefice, and in resignation of a benefice. The

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...

(with which the

is incorporated, as far as it is not contrary to the common or statute law or the prerogative of

the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...

) has been considerably modified by statute. Where no statute applies to the case, the doctrines of the canon law may still be of authority. , simony remains an offence. An unlawfully bestowed office can be declared void by the Crown, and the offender can be disabled from making future appointments and fined up to £1000. Clergy are no longer required to make a declaration as to simony on

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorization, authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominational ...

, but offences are now likely to be dealt with under the Clergy Discipline Measure 2003,2003 No.3 r.8.

Notes

References

* * "Ecclesiastical Law", 832 'Penalties and disability on simony'; 1359 'Simony' (see also current updates) * Attribution: *

External links

* * *{{cite web, ref=none , author=Thomas Aquinas , author-link=Thomas Aquinas , title=Summa Theologica: Simony (Secunda Secundae Partis, Q. 100) , website=New Advent , url=http://www.newadvent.org/summa/3100.htm , access-date=21 June 2020 Canon law of the Anglican Communion Christian terminology Common law Corruption English law Legal history Penal canon law