Letter 5

Symmachus (Pope)Unknown|pope symmachus
From: Pope Symmachus, Bishop of Rome (formal decree)
To: [General]
Date: ~501 AD
Context: Symmachus issues a formal constitution about the management of church property, protecting it from alienation — provoked partly by accusations about his own management of papal estates.

Symmachus, bishop, to all the faithful.

By the authority of the apostolic see, we decree the following regarding the property of the churches of Rome.

The lands, buildings, and other property that have been given to the Roman church over the centuries for the support of the poor, the maintenance of clergy, and the preservation of holy places are held in trust by the bishop of Rome for the church as a whole, not as his personal property. No bishop of Rome may permanently alienate, donate, sell, or otherwise dispose of these properties in ways that deprive the church of the resources that the original donors intended for the poor and for holy purposes.

We recognize that some management of these properties — some leasing, some exchange of less useful holdings for more useful ones — is necessary and proper. We are not prohibiting the ordinary administration of complex estates. We are prohibiting the use of church property for personal enrichment, for political patronage, or for any purpose other than the charitable and ecclesiastical purposes for which it was given.

This decree stands against any bishop of Rome, including those who will come after us.

Symmachus, bishop, servant of the servants of God

Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.