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Simony () is the act of selling church offices and roles or sacred things. It is named after Simon Magus, The Reader's Encyclopedia (1965), New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, vol.2, p.932, "Simon." who is described in the Acts of the Apostles as having offered two disciples of Jesus payment in exchange for their empowering him to impart the power of the Holy Spirit to anyone on whom he would place his hands. The term extends to other forms of trafficking for money in "spiritual things".
Following the Edict of Milan (313), the increased power and wealth of the church hierarchy attracted simony. There are several accusations of simony (not by that name) against Arianism, from Athanasius of Alexandria, Hilary of Poitiers, Pope Liberius and Gregory of Nazianzus. Many Church Fathers, such as Ambrose, spoke out against the selling of ministries.
Anti-simony provisions in Synod canons (and ) became common: the First Council of Nicaea (325), the Synod of Antioch (341), and the Councils of Serdica (343–344), Chalcedon (451), and the Council of Orléans in 533.
The purchase or sale of ecclesiastical office was associated with the figure of Simon Magus in the Acts of the Apostles and his name came into use as a term. Important in popularizing the word 'Simony' was Pope Gregory I (590–604), who called such exchanges the "simoniac heresy".
The Corpus Juris Canonici, the Decretum cites Pt. ii. cause i. quest. 3 and the Decretals of Gregory IX cites Bk. v. tit. 3. all dealt with the subject. The offender, whether simoniacus (the perpetrator of a simoniacal transaction) or simoniace promotus (the beneficiary of a simoniacal transaction), was liable to deprivation of his benefice and deposition from orders if a Secular clergy, or to confinement in a stricter monastery if a Regular clergy. No distinction seems to have been drawn between the sale of an immediate and of a reversionary interest. The innocent simoniace promotus was, apart from dispensation, liable to the same penalties as though he were guilty.
In 1494, a member of the Carmelites order, Adam of Genoa, was found murdered in his bed with twenty wounds after preaching against the practice of simony.
He also criticised certain popes and other simoniacs: Inferno, Canto XIX, lines 2–6, Mandelbaum translation
By the Benefices Act 1892, a person guilty of simony is guilty of an offence for which he may be proceeded against under the Clergy Discipline Act 1892 (55 & 56 Vict. c. 32). An innocent clerk is under no disability, as he might be by the canon law. Simony may be committed in three ways – in promotion to orders, in presentation to a benefice, and in resignation of a benefice. The common law (with which the canon law is incorporated, as far as it is not contrary to the common or statute law or the prerogative of the Crown) has been considerably modified by statute. Where no statute applies to the case, the doctrines of the canon law may still be of authority.
, simony remains an offence. An unlawfully bestowed office can be declared void by the Crown, and the offender can be disabled from making future appointments and fined up to £1,000.Simony Act 1588, s.4 Clergy are no longer required to make a declaration as to simony on ordination, but offences are now likely to be dealt with under the Clergy Discipline Measure 2003 (No. 3).2003 No. 3r.8.
Attribution:
In the Middle Ages
Although considered a serious offense against canon law, simony is thought to have become widespread in the Catholic Church during the 9th and 10th centuries.Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of World Religions, edited by Wendy Doniger, 1999 In the eleventh century, it was the focus of a great deal of debate. Central to this debate was the validity of simoniacal orders: that is, whether a cleric who had obtained their office through simony was validly ordained.
In literature
In the 14th century, Dante Alighieri depicted the punishment of many "clergymen, and popes and cardinals" in hell for being Greed or miserly. Inferno, Canto VII, line 47, Mandelbaum translation.
In the Catholic Church
Simony remains prohibited in Roman Catholic canon law. In the Code of Canon Law, Canon 149.3 notes that "Provision of an office made as a result of simony is invalid by the law itself."
Church of England
The Church of England struggled with the practice after its separation from Rome. For the purposes of English law, simony is defined by William Blackstone as "obtain orders, or a licence to preach, by money or corrupt practices" or, more narrowly, "the corrupt presentation of any one to an ecclesiastical benefice for gift or reward". While English law recognized simony as an offence, 3 Edward Coke 153–156 it treated it as merely an ecclesiastical matter, rather than a crime, for which the punishment was forfeiture of the office or any advantage from the offence and severance of any patronage relationship with the person who bestowed the office. Both Edward VI and Elizabeth I promulgated statutes against simony, in the latter case through the Simony Act 1588 (31 Eliz. 1. c. 6) and Simony Act 1688. The cases of Bishop of St. David's Thomas Watson in 1699 and of Dean of York William Cockburn in 1841 were particularly notable. The Times, 10 April 1841, p. 6 col.b, reprinted from the Cambridge Advertiser
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