Simony

Act of selling church offices and roles

Political corruption

Concepts

* Anti-corruption
* Bribery
* Cronyism
* Economics of corruption
* Electoral fraud
* Elite capture
* Influence peddling
* Kleptocracy
* Mafia state
* Nepotism
* Slush fund
* Simony

Corruption by country
|  Africa

* Angola
* Botswana
* Cameroon
* Chad
* Congo
* Egypt
* Equatorial Guinea
* Eritrea
* Ethiopia
* Ghana
* Guinea-Bissau
* Kenya
* Liberia
* Mauritius
* Morocco
* Nigeria
* Senegal
* Sierra Leone
* Somalia
* South Africa
* South Sudan
* Sudan
* Tanzania
* Tunisia
* Uganda
* Zambia
* Zimbabwe

Asia

* Afghanistan
* Armenia
* Azerbaijan
* Bahrain
* Bangladesh
* Cambodia
* China
* Cyprus
* Georgia
* India
* Indonesia
* Iran
* Iraq
* Israel
* Jordan
* Kuwait
* Kyrgyzstan
* Kazakhstan
* Lebanon
* Malaysia
* Myanmar
* Nepal
* North Korea
* Pakistan
* Philippines
* Singapore
* South Korea
* Sri Lanka
* Syria
* Tajikistan
* Thailand
* Turkey
* Turkmenistan
* Uzbekistan
* Vietnam
* Yemen

Europe

* Albania
* Austria
* Belgium
* Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Bulgaria
* Croatia
* Czech Republic
* Denmark
* Finland
* France
* Germany
* Greece
* Hungary
* Iceland
* Ireland
* Italy
* Kosovo
* Latvia
* Lithuania
* Luxembourg
* North Macedonia
* Moldova
* Montenegro
* Netherlands
* Norway
* Poland
* Portugal
* Romania
* Russia
* Serbia
* Slovakia
* Slovenia
* Spain
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* Ukraine
* United Kingdom
* Vatican City

North America

* Canada
* Mexico
* United States

Central America

* Cuba
* Haiti
* Nicaragua

South America

* Argentina
* Bolivia
* Brazil
* Chile
* Colombia
* Ecuador
* Paraguay
* Peru
* Venezuela

Oceania

* Australia
* New Zealand
* Papua New Guinea

* v
* t
* e

Dante speaks to Pope Nicholas III, committed to the Inferno for his simony, in Gustave Doré's 1861 wood engraving (portrait of the Third Bolgia of the Eighth Circle of Hell).

Simony (/ˈsɪməni/) is the act of selling church offices and roles or sacred things. It is named after Simon Magus,[1] who is described in the Acts of the Apostles as having offered two disciples of Jesus payment in exchange for their empowering him to impart the power of the Holy Spirit to anyone on whom he would place his hands. The term extends to other forms of trafficking for money in "spiritual things".[2][3]

## Contents

* 1 Origin
* 2 Simony in the Middle Ages
* 2.1 In literature
* 3 Roman Catholic Church
* 4 Church of England
* 5 See also
* 6 Notes
* 7 References
* 8 External links

## Origin[edit | edit source]

The purchase or sale of ecclesiastical office was condemned from the fifth century, but it was only in the sixth century that it was associated with the figure of Simon Magus in the Book of Acts.[4] Key in making this association was Pope Gregory I, who labelled such exchanges as the "simoniac heresy".[5]

## Simony in the Middle Ages[edit | edit source]

Part of a series on the
Canon law of the
Catholic Church

Ius vigens (current law)

* 1983 Code of Canon Law
* Omnium in mentem
* Magnum principium
* Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches
* Ad tuendam fidem
* Ex corde Ecclesiae
* Indulgentiarum Doctrina
* Pastor bonus
* Pontificalis Domus
* Veritatis gaudium
* Custom
* Matrimonial nullity trial reforms of Pope Francis
* Documents of the Second Vatican Council
* Christus Dominus
* Lumen gentium
* Optatam totius
* Orientalium ecclesiarum
* Presbyterorum ordinis
* Sacrosanctum concilium
* Precepts of the Church

Legal history

Jus antiquum (c. 33-1140)

* Ancient Church Orders
* Didache
* The Apostolic Constitutions
* Canons of the Apostles
* Collections of ancient canons
* Collectiones canonum Dionysianae
* Collectio canonum quadripartita
* Collectio canonum Quesnelliana
* Collectio canonum Wigorniensis
* Gelasian Decree
* Symmachian forgeries
* Pseudo-Isidorian Decretals
* Donation of Constantine
* Gregorian Reform
* Lay investiture controversy
* Dictatus papae
* Libertas ecclesiae
* Plenitudo potestatis

Jus novum (c. 1140-1563)

* Corpus Juris Canonici
* Decretum Gratiani
* Decretist
* Canon Episcopi
* Margaritae
* Jus commune
* Decretals of Gregory IX
* Decretalist
* Regulæ Juris
* Extravagantes
* Liber Septimus

Jus novissimum (c. 1563-1918)

* Council of Trent
* Benedictus Deus
* Tametsi
* Apostolicae Sedis moderationi

Jus codicis (1918-present)

* 1917 Code of Canon Law
* Ecclesiae Sanctae
* 1983 Code of Canon Law

Other

* Contractum trinius
* Papal judge-delegate
* Right of option

Eastern law

* Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches
* Eastern Canonical Reforms of Pius XII
* Nomocanon
* Eparchy
* Exarchate
* Ordinariate for Eastern Catholic faithful
* Protosyncellus

Liturgical law

Latin Church

* General Roman Calendar
* Ranking of liturgical days in the Roman Rite
* General Instruction of the Roman Missal
* Code of Rubrics
* Sacrosanctum Concilium
* Mysterii Paschalis
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* Liturgiam authenticam
* Quattuor abhinc annos
* Ecclesia Dei
* Summorum Pontificum
* Magnum principium
* Traditionis custodes
* Red Mass
* Holy day of obligation

Sacramental law

* Communicatio in sacris
* Ex opere operato
* Omnium in mentem
* Validity and liceity

Sacraments

* Holy Orders
* Impediment (Catholic canon law)
* Abstemius
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* Apostolicae curae
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* Approbation (Catholic canon law)
* Confession
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* Seal of the Confessional
* Internal and external forum
* Note on the importance of the internal forum and the inviolability of the Sacramental Seal
* Apostolic Penitentiary
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* Complicit absolution
* Sacramentum Poenitentiae
* Eucharist
* Eucharistic discipline
* Canon 915
* Celebret
* Mass stipend

Sacramentals

* Indulgence
* Indulgentiarum doctrina

Sacred places

* Altars
* Major basilica
* Minor basilica
* Oratory (chapel)

Sacred times

* Feast days
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* Paenitemini
* Holy day of obligation

Matrimonial law

* Canonical form (Latin Church)
* Tametsi
* Ne Temere
* Banns of marriage
* Declaration of Nullity
* Dignitas connubii
* Matrimonial Nullity Trial Reforms of Pope Francis
* Vetitum
* Defender of the Bond
* Impediments to Marriage
* Affinity
* Clandestinity
* Impediment of crime
* Disparity of cult
* Ligamen
* Public propriety
* Matrimonial dispensation
* Ratum sed non consummatum
* Sanatio in radice
* Natural marriage
* Pauline privilege
* Petrine privilege

Supreme authority, particular
churches, and canonical structures

Supreme authority of the Church

* Roman Pontiff
* College of Bishops

Supra-diocesan/eparchal structures

* College of Cardinals

* Conference of bishops
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Particular churches

* Churches sui juris
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* Anglicanorum Coetibus

Juridic persons

* Parish
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Jurisprudence

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* Derogation
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* Jurisdiction
* Peritus
* Obreption & subreption
* Obrogation
* Promulgation
* Resignation of the Roman Pontiff
* Sede vacante
* Simony
* Vacatio legis
* Validity and liceity
* Visitation
* Apostolic visitor

Philosophy, theology, and fundamental theory of Catholic canon law

* Theology
* Ecclesiology
* Treatise on Law
* Determinatio

Temporal goods (property)

* Benefice
* Cathedraticum
* Contract law
* Mass stipend
* Stole fee
* Temporalities

Law of persons

* Person (Catholic canon law)
* Formal act of defection from the Catholic Church
* Canonical age
* Emancipation
* Exemption

Clerics

* Secular clergy
* Regular clergy
* Obligation of celibacy
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* Incardination and excardination
* Laicization (dispensation)
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Office

* Canonical provision
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Juridic and physical persons

* Jus patronatus

Associations of the faithful

Consecrated life

Canonical documents

* Acta Apostolicae Sedis
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Penal law

* Canon 1324
* Canon 1397 §2
* Censure (Catholic canon law)
* De delictis gravioribus
* Complicit absolution
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* Excommunication
* List of excommunicable offences in the Catholic Church
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* Interdict
* Laicization (penal)
* Latae sententiae and ferendae sententiae
* Lifetime of prayer and penance
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Procedural law

Pars statica (tribunals & ministers/parties)

* Tribunals
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* Apostolic Penitentiary
* Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
* Ministers of Justice
* Judicial Vicar/Officialis
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* Parties
* Defender of the Bond
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Pars dynamica (trial procedure)

* Dignitas connubii (matrimonial causes)
* Appeal as from an abuse
* Presumption
* Penal procedure
* Vos estis lux mundi

Canonization

* Congregation for the Causes of Saints
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Election of the Roman Pontiff

* Current law
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* Historical
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Legal practice and scholarship

* List of legal abbreviations

Academic degrees

* Licentiate of Canon Law
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* Doctor of both laws

Journals and Professional Societies

* Canon Law Society of America
* The Jurist

Faculties of canon law

* School of Canon Law

Canonists

* Medieval
* Gratian
* Hostiensis
* Jean Lemoine
* Raymond of Penyafort
* Rufinus
* Johannes Teutonicus
* Geoffrey of Trani
* Burchard of Worms
* Brocard
* Modern & Contemporary
* Eugenio Corecco
* John D. Faris
* Pietro Gasparri
* Ladislas Orsy
* Edward N. Peters

Law of consecrated life

* Solemn vow
* Exclaustration
* Manifestation of Conscience
* Canonical erection of a house of religious
* Pontifical right
* Diocesan right
* Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life

Institute of consecrated life

* Religious institute
* Congregation
* Order
* Monasticism
* Canons regular
* Mendicant orders
* Clerics regular
* Secular institute
* Cum Sanctissimus
* Primo Feliciter
* Provida Mater Ecclesia

Society of apostolic life

* Decretum laudis

* v
* t
* e

Although considered a serious offense against canon law, simony is thought to have become widespread in the Catholic Church during the 9th and 10th centuries.[6] In the eleventh century, it was the focus of a great deal of debate.[7] Central to this debate was the validity of simoniacal orders: that is, whether a cleric who had obtained their office through simony was validly ordained.[8]

In the Corpus Juris Canonici, the Decretum[9] and the Decretals of Gregory IX[10] dealt with the subject. The offender, whether simoniacus (the perpetrator of a simoniacal transaction) or simoniace promotus (the beneficiary of a simoniacal transaction), was liable to deprivation of his benefice and deposition from orders if a secular priest, or to confinement in a stricter monastery if a regular. No distinction seems to have been drawn between the sale of an immediate and of a reversionary interest. The innocent simoniace promotus was, apart from dispensation, liable to the same penalties as though he were guilty.[11][clarification needed]

In 1494, a member of the Carmelite order, Adam of Genoa, was found murdered in his bed with twenty wounds after preaching against the practice of simony.[12]

* Abbot practising simony (France, 12th century)

* Girolamo and cardinal Marco Corner investing Marco, abbot of Carrara, with his benefice, Titian, c. 1520

### In literature[edit | edit source]

In the 14th century, Dante Alighieri depicted the punishment of many "clergymen, and popes and cardinals" in hell for being avaricious or miserly.[13]

He also criticised certain popes and other simoniacs:[14]

> Rapacious ones, who take the things of God,
>  that ought to be the brides of Righteousness,
>  and make them fornicate for gold and silver!
>  The time has come to let the trumpet sound
>  for you; ...

## Roman Catholic Church[edit | edit source]

Simony remains prohibited in Roman Catholic canon law. In the Code of Canon Law, Canon 149.3 notes that "Provision of an office made as a result of simony is invalid by the law itself."[15]

## Church of England[edit | edit source]

Political corruption

Concepts

* Anti-corruption
* Bribery
* Cronyism
* Economics of corruption
* Electoral fraud
* Elite capture
* Influence peddling
* Kleptocracy
* Mafia state
* Nepotism
* Slush fund
* Simony

Corruption by country
|  Africa

* Angola
* Botswana
* Cameroon
* Chad
* Congo
* Egypt
* Equatorial Guinea
* Eritrea
* Ethiopia
* Ghana
* Guinea-Bissau
* Kenya
* Liberia
* Mauritius
* Morocco
* Nigeria
* Senegal
* Sierra Leone
* Somalia
* South Africa
* South Sudan
* Sudan
* Tanzania
* Tunisia
* Uganda
* Zambia
* Zimbabwe

Asia

* Afghanistan
* Armenia
* Azerbaijan
* Bahrain
* Bangladesh
* Cambodia
* China
* Cyprus
* Georgia
* India
* Indonesia
* Iran
* Iraq
* Israel
* Jordan
* Kuwait
* Kyrgyzstan
* Kazakhstan
* Lebanon
* Malaysia
* Myanmar
* Nepal
* North Korea
* Pakistan
* Philippines
* Singapore
* South Korea
* Sri Lanka
* Syria
* Tajikistan
* Thailand
* Turkey
* Turkmenistan
* Uzbekistan
* Vietnam
* Yemen

Europe

* Albania
* Austria
* Belgium
* Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Bulgaria
* Croatia
* Czech Republic
* Denmark
* Finland
* France
* Germany
* Greece
* Hungary
* Iceland
* Ireland
* Italy
* Kosovo
* Latvia
* Lithuania
* Luxembourg
* North Macedonia
* Moldova
* Montenegro
* Netherlands
* Norway
* Poland
* Portugal
* Romania
* Russia
* Serbia
* Slovakia
* Slovenia
* Spain
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* Ukraine
* United Kingdom
* Vatican City

North America

* Canada
* Mexico
* United States

Central America

* Cuba
* Haiti
* Nicaragua

South America

* Argentina
* Bolivia
* Brazil
* Chile
* Colombia
* Ecuador
* Paraguay
* Peru
* Venezuela

Oceania

* Australia
* New Zealand
* Papua New Guinea

* v
* t
* e

The Church of England struggled with the practice after its separation from Rome. For the purposes of English law, simony is defined by William Blackstone as "obtain[ing] orders, or a licence to preach, by money or corrupt practices"[16] or, more narrowly, "the corrupt presentation of any one to an ecclesiastical benefice for gift or reward".[17] While English law recognized simony as an offence,[18] it treated it as merely an ecclesiastical matter, rather than a crime, for which the punishment was forfeiture of the office or any advantage from the offence and severance of any patronage relationship with the person who bestowed the office. Both Edward VI and Elizabeth I promulgated statutes against simony, in the latter case through the Simony Act 1588. The cases of Bishop of St. David's Thomas Watson in 1699[19] and of Dean of York William Cockburn in 1841 were particularly notable.[20]

By the Benefices Act 1892, a person guilty of simony is guilty of an offence for which he may be proceeded against under the Clergy Discipline Act 1892. An innocent clerk is under no disability, as he might be by the canon law. Simony may be committed in three ways – in promotion to orders, in presentation to a benefice, and in resignation of a benefice. The common law (with which the canon law is incorporated, as far as it is not contrary to the common or statute law or the prerogative of the Crown) has been considerably modified by statute. Where no statute applies to the case, the doctrines of the canon law may still be of authority.[11]

As of 2011[update], simony remains an offence.[21] An unlawfully bestowed office can be declared void by the Crown, and the offender can be disabled from making future appointments and fined up to £1000.[22] Clergy are no longer required to make a declaration as to simony on ordination, but offences are now likely to be dealt with under the Clergy Discipline Measure 2003,[23] r.8.Halsbury 2002, 1359

## See also[edit | edit source]

* Concordat of Worms
* Gregorian Reform
* Civil law (common law)
* Simony Act 1688
* Simony Act 1713
* Corruption in religion
* For papal simony, see Papal selection before 1059 § Ostrogothic rule (493–537)

## Notes[edit | edit source]

1. ^ The Reader's Encyclopedia (1965), New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, vol.2, p.932, "Simon."
2. ^ Smith 1880.
3. ^ Halsbury 2002, 832.
4. ^ Acts of the Apostles 8:9–24
5. ^ Rosé, Isabelle (2017). Simon le Magicien hérésiaque ?. Presses universitaires de Rennes. ISBN 978-2-7535-5904-2.
6. ^ Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of World Religions, edited by Wendy Doniger, 1999
7. ^ Reuter, Timothy (1 January 2001). "Gifts And Simony". Medieval Transformations: Texts, Power, and Gifts in Context: 157–168. doi:10.1163/9789004476400_011. ISBN 9789004476400.
8. ^ West, Charles (2022). "The Simony Crisis of the Eleventh Century and the 'Letter of Guido'". The Journal of Ecclesiastical History. 73 (2): 229–253. doi:10.1017/S0022046921000063. ISSN 0022-0469. S2CID 239635858.
9. ^ Chisholm 1911, p. 133 cites Pt. ii. cause i. quest. 3
10. ^ Chisholm 1911, p. 133 cites Bk. v. tit. 3.
11. ^ a b Chisholm 1911, p. 133.
12. ^ Burckhardt, Jacob (1878). The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy. University of Toronto - Robarts Library: Vienna Phaidon Press. p. 60. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
13. ^ Inferno, Canto VII, line 47, Mandelbaum translation.
14. ^ Inferno, Canto XIX, lines 2–6, Mandelbaum translation
15. ^ "Code of Canon Law - Title IX - Ecclesiastical Offices (Cann. 145-196)". www.vatican.va. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
16. ^ Blackstone, William (1765). Commentaries on the Laws of England vol I. Oxford: Clarendon Press. pp. 376–7.
17. ^ Blackstone, William (1769). Commentaries on the Laws of England vol IV. Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 62.
18. ^ 3 Coke's Institutes 153–156
19. ^ Handley 2004.
20. ^ The Times, 10 April 1841, p. 6 col.b, reprinted from the Cambridge Advertiser
21. ^ Halsbury 2002, 832 & 1359
22. ^ Simony Act 1588, s.4
23. ^ 2003 No.3[full citation needed]

## References[edit | edit source]

* Handley, S. (2004). "Watson, Thomas (1637–1717)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/28868. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
* Clashfern, Lord Mackay of, ed. (2002), Halsbury's Laws of England, vol. 14 (4th ed.) "Ecclesiastical Law", 832 'Penalties and disability on simony'; 1359 'Simony' (see also current updates)
* Smith, W. (1880). "Simony". A Dictionary of Christian Antiquities: Being a Continuation of the 'Dictionary of the Bible'. J.B. Burr Pub. Co.

Attribution:

* This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Simony". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 25 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 133–134.

## External links[edit | edit source]

Look up simony in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

* Macdonell, George Paul (1885). "Ayliffe, John" . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 2\. pp. 279–281.
* Weber, N.A. (1912). "Simony" . Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 14.
* Thomas Aquinas. "Summa Theologica: Simony (Secunda Secundae Partis, Q. 100)". New Advent. Retrieved 21 June 2020.

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