Ecclesiastical emancipation
Encyclopedia
The canon law
of the Roman Catholic Church
recognizes various meanings of the term emancipation.
, a domicellaris, from subjection to the authority of the scholasticus, or head of the school. This emancipation took place with certain well-defined ceremonies, known in the old German cathedral schools as Kappengang.
The term emancipation is also applied to the release of a secular ecclesiastic from his diocese
, or of a regular cleric from obedience and submission to his former superior, because of election to the episcopate. The petition requesting release from the former condition of service or submission, which the collegiate electoral body, or the newly elected person, must present to the former superior, is called postulatio simplex, in contradistinction to the postulatio sollemnis, or petition to be laid before the pope, in case some canonical impediment prevents the elected person from assuming the episcopal office. The document granting the dismissal from the former relations is called litterae dimissoriae or emancipatoriae.
It is not customary to use the term emancipation for that form of dismissal by which a church is released from parochial jurisdiction, a bishop from subordination to his metropolitan, a monastery or order from the jurisdiction of the bishop, for the purpose of placing such person or body under the ecclesiastical authority next higher in rank, or under the pope himself. This act is universally known as exemption.
The Church introduced in place of the elaborate formalities of the emancipatio the simpler form of the manumissio in ecclesiâ, in which a simple statement to that effect by the master before the bishop and the congregation sufficed. The emancipation of a slave was especially necessary as a preliminary to his ordination.
Similarly, the entrance of a son into a religious order, i.e. the taking of solemn vows, or the professio religiosa, carries with it in canon law his emancipation from the legal authority (patria potestas) of the father. No positive law, however, can be quoted on this point, nor does modern civil legislation recognize this consequence of religious profession.
Canon law
Canon law is the body of laws & regulations made or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the Catholic Church , the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Anglican Communion of...
of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
recognizes various meanings of the term emancipation.
As release from ecclesiastical obedience
One was the release of a pupil of a cathedral schoolCathedral school
Cathedral schools began in the Early Middle Ages as centers of advanced education, some of them ultimately evolving into medieval universities. Throughout the Middle Ages and beyond, they were complemented by the monastic schools...
, a domicellaris, from subjection to the authority of the scholasticus, or head of the school. This emancipation took place with certain well-defined ceremonies, known in the old German cathedral schools as Kappengang.
The term emancipation is also applied to the release of a secular ecclesiastic from his diocese
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
, or of a regular cleric from obedience and submission to his former superior, because of election to the episcopate. The petition requesting release from the former condition of service or submission, which the collegiate electoral body, or the newly elected person, must present to the former superior, is called postulatio simplex, in contradistinction to the postulatio sollemnis, or petition to be laid before the pope, in case some canonical impediment prevents the elected person from assuming the episcopal office. The document granting the dismissal from the former relations is called litterae dimissoriae or emancipatoriae.
It is not customary to use the term emancipation for that form of dismissal by which a church is released from parochial jurisdiction, a bishop from subordination to his metropolitan, a monastery or order from the jurisdiction of the bishop, for the purpose of placing such person or body under the ecclesiastical authority next higher in rank, or under the pope himself. This act is universally known as exemption.
In relation to slavery and Roman law
In ancient Rome emancipation was a process of law by which a slave released from the control of his master, or a son liberated from the authority of his father (patria potestas), was declared legally independent. The earliest ecclesiastical employment of this process was in the freeing of slaves.The Church introduced in place of the elaborate formalities of the emancipatio the simpler form of the manumissio in ecclesiâ, in which a simple statement to that effect by the master before the bishop and the congregation sufficed. The emancipation of a slave was especially necessary as a preliminary to his ordination.
Similarly, the entrance of a son into a religious order, i.e. the taking of solemn vows, or the professio religiosa, carries with it in canon law his emancipation from the legal authority (patria potestas) of the father. No positive law, however, can be quoted on this point, nor does modern civil legislation recognize this consequence of religious profession.