The Diaconate of the Ancient and Medieval Church
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THE DIACONATE OF THE ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL CHURCH This woodcut from the Latin edition, made by Christian Romstet, is titled: Caspar Zieglerus Juris Consultus et Antecessor (Caspar Ziegler, Attorney and Law Professor). Below it is: Omnis in hoc vultu vasti compendia juris, On this face you see vast abridgments of Caesarei, sacri, Saxonicique vides. Every law: imperial, sacred, and Saxon. Non Divae unius tantum multum crede Trust that this is among many works of laborem this one muse, Cuius veritatis umbram pingere possit A shadow of whose truth one can homo. scarcely paint. —Fr. Ben. Carpzov —Brother Benedikt Carpzov THE DIACONATE OF THE ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL CHURCH CASPAR ZIEGLER Edited by Charles P. Schaum and Albert B. Collver III Translated by Richard J. Dinda Foreword by Matthew C. Harrison Copyright © 2014 Concordia Publishing House 3558 S. Jefferson Ave., St. Louis, MO 63118–3968 1-800-325-3040 • www.cph.org All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Scripture quotations marked ESV are from the ESV Bible® (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Originally published as Casparis Ziegleri de Diaconis et Diaconissis Veteris Ecclesiae Liber Commentarius. Wittenberg: Estate of Job Wilhelm Fincelius, 1678. Manufactured in the United States of America. This material is being released for study and discussion purposes, and the author is solely responsible for its contents. It has not been submitted to the process for doctrinal review stipulated in the Bylaws of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and does not necessarily reflect the theology of the Lutheran Confessions or the doctrinal position of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Ziegler, Kaspar, 1621–1690. [Casparis Ziegleri de Diaconis et Diaconissis Veteris Ecclesiae. English] The diaconate of the ancient and medieval church / Caspar Ziegler ; edited by Charles P. Schaum and Albert B. Collver III ; translated by Richard J. Dinda ; foreword by Matthew C. Harrison. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-7586-4772-6 (alk. paper) 1. Deacons--Early works to 1800. 2. Deaconesses--Early works to 1800. 3. Church history-- Primitive and early church, ca. 30-600--Early works to 1800. I. Schaum, Charles P., editor of compilation. II. Title. BV680.Z5413 2014 262'.1409--dc23 2013050928 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 CONTENTS Common Abbreviations vii Foreword viii Epistle Dedicatory xii Preface xiv ON DEACONS AND DEACONESSES 1 Orders of Clergy and Laity 3 2 The Name Deacon 25 3 The Origin of Deacons 39 4 Election of Deacons 61 5 Number of Deacons 103 6 Ordination of Deacons 113 7 Age of Suitability 135 8 The Office of Deacon 159 9 Deacons in Councils and Synods 217 10 Duties Owed to Bishops and Elders 233 11 The Bishop’s Deacon 255 12 The Vesture of Deacons 263 13 Domestic and Private Life 293 vi CONTENTS 14 Marriage of Deacons 377 15 Faults and Transgressions 413 16 Legal Standing of Deacons 433 17 The Archdeacon 509 18 Subdeacons 527 19 Deaconesses 537 Index of Latin Terms 569 Persons Index 587 Scripture Index 601 COMMON ABBREVIATIONS GENERAL NOTES: Latin book references often drop inflected endings. For example, Proleg. in Euseb. stands for Prolegomena in Eusebii historiae ecclesiae libris decem. Author names reflect forms that are easier to find. Latin terms generally are shown in the nominative case to aid recognition. ABBREVIATIONS c. Circa cap. Chapter (capitulum); can have a name or number after it cod. Codex (a book, not a scroll) conc. Conclusion (conclusio); also council (concilium) dist. A material, formal, analytical, or speculative distinction among attributes of a thing or among things (distinctio) epist. Letter (epistula, from Greek ἐπιστολή) fn. Footnote lib. Book (liber; diminutive libellus) N.T. Novum Testamentum observ. Observation (observatio) par. Paragraph q.; quaest. Question, e.g., a component of a topical treatment (quaestio) sect. Section (sectio) tract. Treatise (tractatus) v. Verse (in the Bible) V.T. Old Testament (Vetus Testamentum); often using the genitive veteris FOREWORD Lutherans are Christians who look to Bible interpretation “by Scripture alone” (sola scriptura) as the final arbiter of doctrine. In- deed, Caspar Ziegler, the law professor who wrote this book, appeals to Scripture at every point where he makes a fundamental claim of doctrine. Yet he does not make extensive appeals to the Book of Concord. He does not use the Lutheran pattern of Scripture, Book of Concord, Luther, and Lutheran theologians that developed after pie- tism rose to prominence with Philipp Jakob Spener at the university in Halle. This may be jarring to some Lutherans today, but Ziegler appeals extensively to a seemingly unlikely source: the canon law that grew out of the efforts of Roman emperors and clergy in the fourth and fifth centuries AD to define the legal status and life of the established Church. Civil law and canon law continued to influence those lands that were heirs of the Roman Empire of old. The law stat- utes tell not only how the Church was supposed to live, but they give clues about how Christians actually lived—how they struggled with sin and embraced the gracious gifts of Word and sacraments. Ziegler writes practical theology. Caspar Ziegler (1621–90) was from a wealthy Leipzig family. During the Thirty Years’ War, his family was pillaged by hostile troops. Nevertheless, his parents provided for his education and he received baccalaureate and master degrees from Leipzig. He at- tempted to study theology, but switched to law, where he became successful. Eventually he became a law doctor and professor at the University of Wittenberg and served also as Rektor. He wrote about canon law and papal decretals for much of his life, also supervising many dissertations related thereto. He also wrote influential books on poetry and he penned both poems and hymns. One of his hymns (Ich freue mich in dir) became the basis for a Bach cantata (BVW 133, first performed on December 27, 1724). Why did this staunch Lutheran draw so heavily on canon law— similar to the Catalog of Testimonies in the Book of Concord itself? He was not trying to be Roman Catholic. Indeed, where Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions parted from Rome on celibacy, marriage, FOREWORD ix and other points, Ziegler stood with the Lutherans. Yet in describing how the Lutherans got where they did, he realized in a manner similar to Restoration Anglicans like John Cosin (1594–1672) that the Church has dealt with many issues during its existence. He saw the Council of Trent as the departure from the long Western tradition. The failure to study the shape and the outcome of past discussions often lead to the repetition of past mistakes and the creation of new ideas that were not helpful in the long run. This book on deacons and deaconesses—together with a book on the laws, special rights, and the account of the lifestyle of bishops—is one of the later works published by Ziegler. This book talks about why following the example of the apostles as recorded in Scripture is a good thing for the Church. Century by century, it shows the challenges, the victories, and the defeats of the sinner-saints that sit in the pews, preach from the pulpits, and rule from the courts. This book speaks about works of mercy. Deacons and deacon- esses were the first healthcare workers. They were the first social workers. They were the first welfare agents. They helped bury the dead. They were God’s hands that helped to mend broken lives. The poor learned from deacons that bread could be found where the Bread of Life was proclaimed by the pastor or bishop. Deacons read the Scriptures, announced the prayers, dismissed the grades of proselytes before the Eucharist, and assisted the pastors and bishops with the communion. Deaconesses were the first women’s health specialists. They were the representatives of the bishop or pastor in cases where a man’s presence was inappropriate. They could bring the Gospel to the gynaeceum, the protected innermost part of a Graeco-Roman house that held the women and children. They helped to maintain order among women during public worship and had honor in doing so. The early Church affirmed their special role. In turn, they did not seek to usurp the pastoral ministry. Ziegler shows how the Church dealt with sensitive cultural issues and even differences in cross-cultural issues. We see that clergy garb has changed over time, yet there has always been something that the Church has understood to be clergy garb, a uniform of the servants. We see bishops and politicians doing the right thing. Then again, we see the same sort of people doing the wrong thing. We learn all too well that the Church is full of sinners whose mistakes have multiplied through the centuries and whose errors have damaged formerly good x FOREWORD offices and practices in the Church. From celibacy to usury, from abuse of power to the use of clergy as warriors, we see how canon law has pointed out what is bad, and how sometimes it has failed to correct that evil. This book is not a list of things that Lutherans ought to do. It is not a prescriptive theology of the diaconate as such. It is, however, a careful study of what happens when the secular powers have inter- fered with the Church for good or ill, and the grave errors that people make when they set aside the divine commands and the apostolic practices.