THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG
could baptism be administered in a number of other Roman churches. Some of these titular churches, however, the oldest of which were probably the successors of private houses in which Christians had gathered for worship in the pre- Diocletian period, seem to have been centers for divine service as early as the third century. Over them presided titular priests, who were later to become the cardinal-priests, but for many centuries they exercised no pastoral duties. In Rome, however, and probably in other cities, deacons and priests began, about 250, to be assigned to ecclesiastical subdivisions. This may well have begun in the rural districts, but as, in analogy with the spirit of Roman law, the country became subordinate to the jurisdiction of the city, the chorepiscopi of the East gradually gave place to priests dependent on the bishop. In the West, where there was no chorepiscopate, the graves of martyrs, etc., gave rise to a local clergy. The Synod of Elvira (305 or 306; canon lxxvii.; in Hefele, Conciliengeschichte, i. 189-190, Eng. transl., i. 169-170, Fr. transl., i. 1, pp. 261-262) mentions deacons as directing rural communities without priest or bishop, although baptism administered by such a deacon was regarded as complete only when the benediction of the bishop had also been received; and the Synod of Aries (314; canon xv.; in Hefele, ut sup., i. 213-214, Eng. transl., i. 193, Fr. transl., i. 1, pp. 291-292) forbids deacons to administer the Eucharist, so that only the delegation of a priest could completely provide for religious needs. It was not, however, until the middle of the fifth century that the Church was fully organized in the rural districts (see Organization of the Early Church). Definite areas were now constituted which already contained numerous small places of worship, often with their own clergy. In these churches sermons might be delivered and mass might be celebrated, but on high festivals the parishioners worshiped in the main church. Furthermore, only the priest in charge of this main church was permitted to administer baptism at Easter (and probably at Whitsuntide), and such was his supervision of the neighboring clergy that after the middle of the sixth century he was called the " archpriest " (see Archdeacon and Archpriest). The main church came to be termed " diocese," " diocesan basilica," " parish," " parish church," and later " baptistery," etc. These churches gradually attained a degree of independence of the bishop, although their revenues were still paid to him or reckoned to his credit, and it was he who paid the clergy, the " parish churches " not gaining administrative freedom until long after they had received independence in pastoral care, the entire course of development being additionally complicated by the rise of the system of Patronage (q.v.).
It was only in the late Merovingian and the Carolingian periods that the parish, in the strict sense of the term, came into existence, whereby the inhabitants of a definite district were attached to a single church and its priest, who, exercising disciplinary powers, was, in his turn, strictly limited to the district in question and to its inhabi-
tants, the whole development being powerfully
aided by the state requirement of Tithes (q.v.).
While at first the tithes appertained only to those
churches which had the right to
2. Rise of administer baptism and perform burial the Parish, they were greatly increased in scope by
the rise of parish churches, beginning with the eighth century. Shortly after 800 Charlemagne enacted that a tithe of the fiscal lands should be devoted to the fiscal churches, exception being made in favor of non-royal churches only when these had had tithes since early times. While Charlemagne expressly guarded against diminution of the incomes of old churches by the foundation of new ones, this was essentially changed under Louis the Pious, the result being not only a powerful impulse to the colonization then regularly connected with the foundation of churches, but also the cause of the disappearance both of the old " baptismal " churches and of the archpriests. Even before these changes, such parochial confusion had arisen that no traces remained of the undoubted connection between these early " baptismal parishes " (the so-called " Merovingian great parishes ") and Celto-Roman administrative divisions. In Germany, however, where these changes took place later, there were still relics of the ancient organization, which in Italy held its own until late in the Carolingian period.
A fully developed medieval parish thus presupposed a more or less definite district, the inhabitants of which were restricted, both for baptism and burial, to a specified church, to which they paid tithes and which had, for the discharge of pastoral care, an incumbent in priest's orders, deriving his income from the estates and in-
3. Nature comes connected with that parish. and History The incumbent was seldom appointed of Medieval by his bishop, being usually chosen by
Parishes, a temporal or spiritual lord or, more rarely, by the parish. As a consequence, the incumbent's position was, in the early Middle Ages, official rather than religious, while, on the other hand, the community in general took an active part in the administration of the parish, appointing the sextons and other minor officials, and frequently engaging and dismissing the assistant clergy. At the same time, the parish priest was an important figure, not only entitled to certain prerogatives and exempt from certain liabilities, but also, as the only man of learning, the scribe of his parish, and, in many places, a voluntary arbiter of justice. The system of parish endowment involved, however, some undesirable consequences. As in Teutonic law in general, there was no distinction between the private and the public aspects of the benefice, and it was accordingly assumed that the incumbent might have a substitute to perform his duties. As early as the ninth century many parish priests were represented by vicars, who were either paid a certain sum in money or in kind by the incumbent proper, or received certain incomes. These evil conditions were made still worse by the holding of Pluralities (q.v.), and were complicated by the development of Incorporation (q.v.). In the episcopal cities of Germany the