- ligious community, but not to the prejudice of wife or children,
who were still entitled to their legal share of the estate.[1] Abduction of a nun, even with her own consent, rendered not only the ravisher liable to capital punishment, but also any persons who harboured or aided him in the crime.[2] Alienation of Church property, as well as of that of monasteries and charitable foundations, was carefully guarded against, and leases were to be granted only to the rich.[3] Ruins, however, and surplus treasure in the form of vessels and vestments might be sold to allow of the funds being applied to some more useful purpose.[4] But an exception was made in the case of money being required for the redemption of captives, "since it was only reasonable to prefer human souls to material valuables."[5] Some relief with respect to the incidence of the taxes was also granted to religious bodies in recognition of "the distinction existing between things divine and human."[6] Clerical criminals were punished by expulsion from the cloth and surrendered to be dealt with by the secular arm; in minor cases by relegation to a monastery for three years, there to be subjected to a stringent discipline.[7]
2. The attitude of Justinian towards those of his subjects who did not profess the Orthodox faith was one of the most complete intolerance. A heretic[8] was scarcely fit to live, and
- ↑ Nov. cxxiii, 38; Cod., I, iii, 56.
- ↑ Ibid., 54; Nov. cxxiii, 43.
- ↑ Cod., I, ii, 24; Nov. cxx, 6, 7, etc.
- ↑ Nov. cxx, 1, 10, etc.
- ↑ Cod., I, ii, 21.
- ↑ Ibid., 22.
- ↑ Nov. cxxiii, 20. As Justinian's laws relating to religion are very bulky, I merely give samples to show their general tendency.
- ↑ A heretic is defined as anyone not being an Orthodox churchman; Cod., I, v, 12, 18.
