IMPROPRIATION
704
INCARDINATION
distinct parts. Of these the third — composed of the
antiphon "Crucem tuam adoramus ", the first verse of
Psalm Ixvi, the versicle "Crux fidelis", and the hjTnn
"Pange hngua gloriosi laureara" — floes not belong to
the Improperia strictly so called. The first part con-
sists of three reproaches, namely, the "Popule mens"
(Mich., vi, 3), "Ego eduxi" (Jer., ii, 21) and "Quid
ultra " (Is., V, 2, 4), the Trisagion {Sanctus Deus,
Sanctvjsfortis, Sanctus immortalis) being repeated after
each in the Latin and Greek languages. The second
part contains nine reproaches pervaded by the same
strain of remonstrance. Each of these is a verse
taken from some portion of the Scriptures and followed
in every instance by the "Popule mens" as a sort of
refrain. Originally these striking sentences were ren-
dered to a plain-song melody. In the year 1560
Palestrina gave them such an appropriate and beauti-
ful musical setting that Pius IV ordered it to be used
in the SLxtine Chapel, where one may still hear on
Good Friday each year these exquisite compositions,
which are unsurpassed in simple beautv, dramatic
feeling, and depth of impressiveness. The best edi-
tion of Palestnna's "Improperia" is probably that
published by Dr. Proske in the fourth volume of
"Musica Divina " in 1S0.3. This version is founded on
the Altaemps-Otthoboni MS. preserved in the Vatican
Library (cf. Grove, "Dictionary of Music", s. v.).
The precise date of the appearance of the Improperia
in the liturgy is not ascertained. Definite references
to it are found in documents of the ninth and tenth
centuries, and even traces exist in manuscripts of a
much earlier date. In his work " De antiqua ecclesije
disciplina", Martene (c. xxiii) gives a number of
fragmentary Ordine^, some of which go back as far as
600. Many others mention the Improperia. In the
beginning the order was not quite what it is now, and
in many places the officiant himself at the Good Fri-
day Office sang the verses of the reproaches, while the
people joined in the responses or refrain. Thus the
representative character of these moving words seems
to have heen more effectively observed.
Roman Missal; Pu.vkes in hirchenlex., s. v. Improperien. For music see Liber usunlis Missw et O^cii (Solesmes ed., Toumai, 1904), and for ceremonies the ordinary handbooks of liturgj-.
P. J. MORRISROE.
Impropriation. See Tithes.
Incantation. See M.vgic.
Incardination and Excardination (Lat. cardo, a pivot, socket, or hinge — hence, incardinare, to hang on a hinge, or fix; excardinare, to unliinge, or set free). — In the ecclesiastical sense the words are used to denote that a given person is freed from the jurisdiction of one bishop and is transferred to that of another. The term cardinare is used by St. Gregory I (590-604), and incardinare, in the sense of inscribing a name on the list or matricula of a church, is found in the ancient "Liber Diurnus" of the Roman chancery. Excardi- nation is the full and perpetual transference of a given person from the jurisdiction of one bishop to that of another. Incardination is canonical and perpetual enlistment in the new diocese to which a given person has been transferred by letters of excardination. It must be remembered that in canon law a person be- longs to a bishop in any one or more of the four follow- ing ways: bj' birth, by benefice, by domicile, or by service. In accordance with this the Church has always maintained the principle that excardination cannot be forced upon a person unwilling to accept it, nor at the same time can it be ^\-ithheld unless there exist a just reason. The Council of Trent is most clear in its legislation on these matters, as will be seen from the following: "Whereas no one ought to be ordained, who, in the judgment of his own bishop, is not useful or necessary for his churches, the Holy Synod, in the spirit of what was enjoined by the sixth canon of the Council of Chalcedon, ordains that no one
shall for the future be ordained without being attached
to that church, or pious place, for the need or utility of
which he is promoted, where he shall discharge his
duties, and may not wander about without any cer-
tain abode. And if he shall quit that place without
having consulted the bishop, he shall be interdicted
from the exercise of his Sacred orders. Furthermore,
no cleric, who is a stranger, shall, without letters com-
mendatory from his own ordinary, be admitted by any
bishop to celebrate the Divine mysteries and to ad-
minister the sacraments" (Sess. XXIII," DeRef.", cap.
xvi). "The Holy Synod ordains that henceforth no
secular cleric . . . shall be promoted to Sacred orders
unless it be first legitimately certain that he is in the
peaceful possession of an ecclesiastical benefice suffi-
cient for his honest livelihood; and he shall not be
able to resign that benefice, without mentioning that
he was promoted under the title thereof; nor shall
that resignation be received, unless it be certain that
he can live suitably from other resources at his dis-
posal ; and anv resignation made othemose shall be
null " (Sess. XXI, " De Ref .", cap. ii).
From these decrees of the Council of Trent canonists deduce that for excardination to be lawful there must exist a just cause. Moreover, letters of excardina- tion are absolutely valueless unless at the same time there is a corresponding incardination into another diocese, lest the cleric wander about " ovis quasi per- dita et errans" (Decret. Grat., can. i, dist. 72). Many decrees of the Congregation of the Council assert this (S. C. C, 5 Sept., 1818; 14 Dec, 1822; 26 Jan., 1S33; 20 July, 1898; Bouix, "De Episcopo", pt. V, c. xxiv, 4). Accordingly, clerics, without the consent of the bishop, may not leave the diocese to which they be- long. Moreover, if they have not been appointed to any specific work in the diocese, the bishop may order them to remain in the diocese even though they be unwilling to do so (S. C. C, as above). He must, however, have a just cause for his action, and make provision for the decent support of clerics thus re- tained (Bargilliat, 1907, no. 607). If a cleric wishes to enter a religious order, the bishop has no power to refuse letters of excardination; they are not granted, however, until the novitiate has been completed. If before that date such a cleric Ls to receive orders, the bishop will grant him the necessary dismissorial letters (q. v.). A bishop cannot incardinate a cleric ver- bally. The canonical effect is obtained only when the incardination is granted in WTiting, absolutely and perpetually. There must not be any limitations either expressed or tacit; so that a cleric is absolutely enlisted in his new diocese and takes the oath similar to that prescribed by Innocent XII in the Constitu- tion " Speculatores " (1694) for acquiring a new domi- cile (S. C. C, 20 July, 1898). Further, the incardina- tion is not accomplished unless the cleric presents a legally executed document which sets forth that the cleric has been released perpetually from his former diocese, the bishop of which gives testimony (secretly if necessary) as to the subject's birth, life, morals, and studies. 'NNhen the above conditions hare been com- plied with, clerics after they have been transferred may be ordained, although it is recommended that the bishop should give a further trial before imposing hands upon his new subject. In general the Council of Trent declares, he should ordain no one, except for the need or convenience of his diocese (Sess. XXIII, " De Ref.", c. xvi). A greater amount of super\'ision is required when it is question of incardinating a cleric or a layman from a foreign country or speaking a foreign tongue. There is a grave obligation on bishops to inquire most strictly as to their life from their former ordinaries (S. C. C, 20 July, 189S). Clerics anil laymen who do not wish to use the benefits of excardination are bound by the aforesaid Constitution "Speculatores". In connexion with excardination and incardination, it is generally accepted now that
