Episcopal Courts in Late Antiquity

Abstract

Constantine's legislation inaugurated a new stage in the development of the late antique episcopal office: henceforward bishops would have the privilege and duty of presiding over ecclesiastical courts. Judging from the constant complaints of the bishops, it must be concluded that these courts were immensely popular. And yet, for all their importance in the daily life of late antique Christian communities, we know remarkably little about these courts. Why did the men and women of late antiquity there seek resolution of their conflicts? What of the day-to-day functioning of the episcopal courts? Where, for example, were the trials held? What was the judicial procedure? What sorts of cases might come before the bishop? Above all, one seeks to understand how the episcopal office was transformed as the bishops became ever more deeply involved in the temporal affairs of their cities and villages. These and other questions are considered in this article.

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