58 Chapter 1 καὶ ἄλλοτε ἄλλα ζητούσης ἀπόδειξιν ἔχων. Ὥστε καὶ τοῦτο κωλύσουσιν οἱ θεοφιλέστατοι ἐπίσκοποι, καὶ οἵ γε ἀρχιμανδρῖται καλούμενοι, τὴν μοναχικὴν σεμνότητα κατὰ τοὺς θείους κανόνας φυλάττοντες.203 Should he [the monk] leave the monastery in which he has had his training, and transfer to another monastery, his property is, in this case as well, to remain behind and be claimed by the previous monastery in which he left it, on renouncing it. However, it is inappropriate for the most reverend hegumens to accept a person acting in this way, because a life like that is one of vagrancy, nowhere near that of monastic perseverance; it is the mark of an unstable, flighty soul, one that roams about pursuing different aims at different times. Accordingly, that is something else that the most God-beloved bishops, and those called ‘archimandrites’, shall prevent, thus upholding monastic rectitude, in accordance with the divine canons.204 Noteworthy is that monastic mobility is assumed (‘Should he leave the monastery in which he has had his training’). The Novel thus implies and recognises that from time to time monks would leave their monasteries.205 The law does not forbid monks leaving their monastery, but provides prescriptions in case they do. That is, his property should continue to belong to the previous monastery. The type of monastic mobility is that of a monk leaving his monastery and entering another; other forms of mobility are not discussed in this chapter and are therefore not regulated either. In other parts of Novel 5 (chapters 4, 6 and 8), some other instances of mobility are included. These chapters concern leaving the monastery to choose a different livelihood, in other words, giving up the monastic vocation. Chapters 4 and 6 clearly frown upon such a career change, although they do not forbid it.206 They concern what should happen with property when leaving the monastery. Chapter 8 concerns monks who become members of the clergy. This career step is not criticised, nor does the chapter legislate on property – the issue here is that the newly appointed member of clergy is to retain his monastic way of life, meaning that he should not marry and he should keep his ascetic lifestyle. In its various chapters, the Novel does not target all types of monastic mobility, but concerns 203 Justinian, Novel 5.7. In Scholl and Kroll (1959), p. 33. 204 Translation by Miller and Sarris (2018), p. 94. 205 I follow Stolte in the stance that the Novels, at least to a certain degree, react to actual historical circumstance. In other words, the body of legislation is not (merely) ideological in nature, but also has some relation to reality. Stolte (2009), pp. 82–84; 88. 206 Novel 5.4 warns the person who gives up monastic life that he should take mind of his accountability before God; In Novel 5.6 it is clearly frowned upon changing the monastic life for one in government service or ‘other position in life’. It prescribes a (denigrative) position as a servant of the prefect of the province in case someone gives up monastic life for a government position, which ‘is the reward he will have for his change; he who has despised divine service is to endure servitude in an earthly court’. In both cases the property of the ex-monk that he had when entering the monastery is to remain property of that monastery. Translated by Miller and Sarris (2018), pp. 93–94.
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