RELIGIOUS ENCYCLOPEDIA
Comenius
Commendatory Letters
confess thy sins at least once every year, and this to thy regular parish priest. (5) Thou shalt seek the communion at least every year at Easter. These commandments were adopted in almost all catechisms after Canisius. In countries where the Roman Church is not supported by the State, an additional sixth commandment has been widely introduced into the catechism: Thou shalt provide according to thy means toward the support of the Church and the priests. Pius X. formulates these commandments more strictly and detailed as follows: (1) Thou shalt attend holy mass on all Sundays and festivals of obligation. (2) Thou shalt observe the lenten fast, the four ember-days, and the vigils of obligation; thou shalt eat no meat on prohibited days. (3) Thou shalt confess at least once every year, and at Easter communicate in the parish church proper. (4) Thou shalt pay the bounden or customary dues to the Church. (5) Thou shalt not wed in forbidden seasons; namely, from the first Advent Sunday till Epiphany and from the first Sunday in Lent until the octave after Easter.
In the Greek Church the following commandments are in force: (1) Every one shall be present at the principal hours and the liturgy on all Sundays andfestivals. (2) Observe the four greatfasts. (3) Reverence the clergy, and especially the father confessor. (4) Confess regularly four times a year, in particular at Easter. (.5) Beware of heretical books and intercourse with heretics. (6) Make intercessions for every estate, especially the clergy, the government, and benefactors of the Church. (7) Keep not aloof from any specially prescribed fasts and processions. (8) See to it that the Church does not suffer in her incomes. (9) Take no part in stage performances and adopt no strange manners. It is probable that Petrus Mogilas was indirectly influenced by Canisius in the matter of minutely specifying the chief commandments set forth by the Church beside the commandments of God.
F. ICattenbusch.
Bibliography: Roman Catholic: P. Canisius, Summa doctrince Christiana: in three editions, the " larger," 1555; "smallest," 1556; "small," 1558; Compendia della dottrim Christiana (the catechism of Pius IX.), Rome, 1905 (also in three forms); O. Braunsberger, Entstehung und erste Entwickelung der Katechismen des . P Canisius, Freiburg, 1893; F. Loofs, Symholik, i. 307 sqq., Freiburg, 1902; KL, v. 161 sqq., vii. 288 sqq.
Greek: Confessio orthodoxa des Petrus Mogilas, part 1, questions 87-95, in Monumenta fidei ecclesice orientalis, ed. E. J. Kimmel, vol. i., Jena, 1850; W. Gass, Symbolik der griechischen Kirche, pp. 379 sqq., Berlin, 1872; F. Kattenbusch, Confessionskunde, i. 510 sqq., Freiburg, 1891; F. Loofs, ut sup., i. 162 sqq.
COMMEND A: A technical term for the administration of an ecclesiastical office, especially of the temporalities connected with it, committed to a person who has no actual right to the office. Normally, according to canon law, commendm are granted only in order to provide for the administration of the office in the case of a vacancy or of the incapacity of the holder; only to a qualified person who already holds an ecclesiastical office; and to him merely as administrator. The custom gave rise, however, to great abuses. The Avignon popes especially used this means to bestow the
incomes of benefices upon persons whom the prohibition of pluralities prevented from holding the benefices themselves; they were granted for life, and without any obligation to the discharge of the duties of the office. Thus abbeys were frequently granted in commendam to secular clergy. This latter practise was so deeply rooted that the Council of Trent, which attempted to extend to the whole system of irregular commendos the law against pluralities, was not able to do more than regulate it. Temporal rulers often in like manner " commended " monasteries and churches, with their property, to laymen, in order to reward their services by the enjoyment of the temporalities, on a pretext of protection. (C. T. G. v. ScHEURLf.)
Bibliography: L. Thomassin, Vetus et nova ecclesice disciplina, P. I. 1, iii., chaps. 10-21, Lucca, 1728; Richter, Kirchenrecht, p. 1323; Friedberg, Kirchenrecht, p. 325.
COMMENDATORY LETTERS (LITERJE FOR- MAT.^): Letters of introduction and recommendation (called also literce canonicm) given in the early Church to Christians traveling from one place to another. The use of such letters is extremely ancient, dating from the time of the New Testament (Acts xviii. 27; Rom. xvi. 1, 2; II Cor. iii. 1), and is readily explicable from the close mutual relations of the communities and their generous hospitality On the other hand, II John 10 forbade the reception of one who was unsoimd in doctrine, and it accordingly became necessary for a traveler to be able to prove his orthodoxy (cf. Didache xii. 1), this usually being done by a letter of commendation written by the head of the congregation. These letters must be distinguished from the official communications of the congregations with each other, of which an entire series antedating Irenseus is either extant or known by title. Another category, which may be traced to the third century, is formed by the " letters of peace " readmitting excommimicated members of the Church. Later, however, " letters of peace " connoted the certificates given those who intended to visit the emperor or high dignitaries of the Church and showing t hat the recipient of the letter was making his journey with the approval of the writer. After the fourth century these letters were distinguished, in their turn, from the " letters of introduction," which were given only to persons of rank. As early as the end of the second or the beginning of the third century the bishops seem to have announced their elections by letters and to have exchanged letters of recommendation, while in the same manner they reported their celebration of festivals, especially of Easter. There were also general encyclicals, and special regulations have been preserved regarding all problems connected with letters of commendation and introduction.
Letters of both these types were forged at a very earlj' date, as is clear from the complaint of Dionysius of Corinth during the reign of Marcus Aurelius, and by the time of the great councils from the fourth to the seventh century these forgeries had increased to such an extent that letters were required to have a definite prescribed form, and were accordingly termed fomatm or canonicce. It is uncertain whether the designation formata refers to
Commentaries Commodus