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Altarage is a term once commonly used in an ecclesiastical context to signify the revenue reserved for the chaplain (altarist or altar-thane) in contradistinction to the income of the parish priest — it came to indicate the funds received by a priest from the laity when discharging a particular function for them, e.g., marriages, , and funerals. Schulte, Augustin Joseph. "Altarage." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 8 September 2019 The term is largely obsolete, having been replaced by the more specific honorarium, stipend, or stole-fee.
The lack of clarity in failing to distinguish between "alterage", "small tithes", and "altar dues" and which rightfully belonged to the vicar and which to the rector and for what use caused a number of legal cases to be brought before the Exchequer in the reign of Elizabeth I. Repertorium Canonicum, or an abridgement of the Ecclesiastical Laws of this Realm, consistent with the Temporal, 1687 The courts came to rely on documents which defined the respective rights of the parties. Burton, John. "Tickhill", Monasticon Eboracense and the Ecclesiastical History of Yorkshire, 1758, p. 308
Around 1517, Cardinal Otho found members of the clergy abusing the custom to the extent of requiring a donation before they would take a confession. He issued a decree that any priest found guilty of such conduct should be removed from and deprived of all benefices, be barred from any further appointments and have their priestly faculties forever suspended.
In his 1537 Smalcald Articles,Martin Luther noted that "innumerable and unspeakable abuses have arisen in the whole world from the buying and selling of masses". Smalcald Articles, Part II, Article II: Of the Mass. On another occasion, he was recorded as once saying, "The mass has devoured infinite sums of money". The Table Talk of Martin Luther, Alexander Chalmers
The Italian priest Pino Puglisi refused money from Mafia members when offered it for the traditional feast day celebrations and also resisted the Mafia in other ways for which he was martyred in 1993. Murder in Palermo: who killed Father Puglisi?, Commonweal, 11 October 2002
He reiterated this during a general audience in March 2018. When speaking of the Eucharistic Prayer, he said "the Mass is not paid for, redemption is free, if I want to make an offering, well and good, but Mass is free." "Pope: 'You don’t pay for Mass, 'Christ's redemption is free'", Asia News March 7, 2018 In response to inquiries, the bishops of Peninsular Malaysia issued a statement clarifying that "The practice of Mass offerings, which is an ancient one that dates back to the early Church, does not constitute “paying” for the Mass. It is not a “fee” for the Mass, which is always free." According to canon law, "any priest celebrating or concelebrating is permitted to receive an offering to apply the Mass for a specific intention." Kim, Julian Leow Beng. Clarification of Mass Offerings, heraldmalaysia.com April 15, 2018
Most churches in the Philippines charge a wedding fee with discounts for parishioners or weekday weddings. Air-conditioned churches charge extra to cover electricity and other operational costs. In 2019 a parish in the exclusive Forbes Park village in Manila withdrew a planned fee hike for weddings after widespread opposition on social media. The fee, about $6,000 per wedding, was being increased to $9,800. Makati parish in hot water for high wedding rates Sunday Examiner, Hong Kong, Saturday, 23 March 2019
Present day
In 2014, Pope Francis criticized a tendency on the part of priests and laity to become overly business-oriented by charging a fee for the use of a church for weddings, and posting a price list for baptisms, blessings and Mass intentions. He reminded all pastors that "redemption is free; it is God’s free gift". Harris, Elise. Pope Francis: Turning churches into 'businesses' is a scandal, CNA, November 21, 2014
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