Presbyters as Priests and Clerics: Terminology in the Letters of Innocent I

Abstract

Abstract In the letters of Innocent I (402–17), presbyters are both priests (sacerdotes) and clerics (clerici), but usually only one of these dimensions is mentioned at a time. Presbyters shared priesthood with bishops, but only with regard to certain functions and responsibilities, like presiding over some of the sacraments. At other times it was their subservience to their bishops that saw them identified as clerics. An accurate picture comes from reading Innocent’s letters in their totality, rather than from any particular passage in isolation. The elasticity of terms is a reflection of a theology of ministry still in the early stages of its development. This is seen particularly in relation to marriage as an eligibility criterion and sexual continence and children as a cause for dismissal; these were priestly requirements that Innocent applied to everyone in official positions of authority and service, whether presbyters or not. This realization contributes to a better understanding of presbyters in late antiquity.