Canon XXII.
It
is not lawful for clergymen,
after the death of their bishop, to seize what belongs to him, as has
been forbidden also by the ancient canons; and those who do so shall be
in danger of degradation from their own rank.
Notes.
Ancient Epitome of Canon
XXII.
Whoever seizes the goods of his deceased bishop shall be
cast forth from his rank.
It is curious that the Greek text which Zonaras and
Balsamon produce, and which Hervetus translated, had instead of
τοῖς πάλαι
κανόσι
,
τοις
παραλαμβάνουσιν
. Van Espen thinks that the Greek commentators have tried without
success to attach any meaning to these words, accepting the arguments
of Bp. Beveridge (which see). The reading adopted in the text
does not lack
ms.
authority, and is the one
printed by Justellus in his “Codex of the Canons of the Universal
Church.”
This canon is found in the
Corpus Juris Canonici
,
Gratian’s
Decretum
, Pars II., Causa XII., Quæst. II.,
canon xliii., in Isidore’s version.