Ecclesiastical Court

“Benefit of the Clergy,” Ecclesiastical Court

From the book The Clergyman’s Hand-book of Law, about “Benefit of the Clergy,” Ecclesiastical Court (1): As the old Roman Empire decayed and its power waned, the new one, “The Holy Roman Empire,” gradually implanted itself in southwestern Europe. The humiliation that the divine law and the clergy suffered in being brought into the common courts gave rise to a system of courts within the Church for the purpose of enforcing her morals, doctrines, and discipline. Those courts were established in all Christian countries and had jurisdiction of all felonies excepting arson, treason, and a few other crimes that from time to time were put under the special jurisdiction of the state courts. Whenever a clergyman was arrested for a crime, he pleaded the “benefit of the clergy,” and his case was transferred from the state court to the ecclesiastical court. Also, when a clergyman was convicted in the state court of any crime for which the punishment was death, he could plead the “benefit of the clergy,” which was a protection against his execution.13

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Notes and References

1. Charles M. Scanlan, The Clergyman’s Hand-book of Law. The Law of Church and Grave (1909), Benziger Brothers, New York, Cincinnati, Chicago

See Also

• Religion
• Church