CONSISTENTES
2So
CONSISTORY
Consistentes (.Bystanders). See Penitence.
Consistory, Pap.\l. — I. Definition. — During the l;<iiii;in imperial epoch the term consistorium (Lat. I 'I'l-sistvrc, to stand together) was used to designate tlie sacred council of the emperors. In time it came to designate the senate of the Roman pontiff, that is, " the assemblage of the Cardinals in council around the Pope" (Innocent III to the Bishop of Ely and the Arch- deacon of Norwich, in 1212; see Gonzalez, "Commen- taria in textus decretalium Gregorii IX", III, vii, 108).
II. Origin and Historical Develop.ment. — The origin of the papal consistory is closely connected with the history of the Roman presbytery or body of the Roman clergy. In the old Roman pnahiilrrium there were deacons, in charge of the ecclesiastical temporali- ties in the various regions of Rome: priests, at the head of the principal churches of the city, called iituU; and (at least by the eighth century) the bishops of the dioceses in the neighbourhood of Rome. The cardi- nals of to-day (divided likewi.se into the three orders of bishops, priests, and deacons) have succeeded the members of the ancient presbytery not only in the offices attaching to these three grades, though with somewhat different functions, but also, and chiefly, in the capacity of assisting the pope in the management of ecclcsi;istical affairs.
From the earliest Christian times the popes were W'ont to confer with the Roman presbytery on mat- ters affecting the interests of the Church. From a letter of Po|)e Cornelius (254-255) to St. Cyprian we learn that he had summoned his jiresbytery before agreeing to the reconciliation of three schismatics. Likewise, Pope Liberius (352-.36.3) informed the Roman clergy about the course of action he had deemed advisable to take during his exile. Pope Siricius (384-398) condemned the heresy of Jovinian after having convoked his presbytery. IIow far the more prominent members of the Roman clergy, event- ually called cardinals, were being gradually entrusted with the management of ecclesiastical affairs is shown by the action of Leo IV and John VIII in the ninth century. The former ordered that the Roman cardi- nals should meet twice a week in the Sacred Palace to provide for the administration of the churches, look after the discipline of the clergy, and decide the cases of laymen. The latter ordered them to meet at least twice a month in order to take cognizance of and ilecitle eases of clerics and laymen brought before the pope's tribunal. For many centuries, however, the Roman presbytery did not form the senate of the popes to the exclusion of all other clerics, at least in matters of greater importance. These matters were discussed and decided in the Roman councils, which, though admitting the Roman clergy to an active part, consisted chiefly of bishops summoned by the pope from the greater part of Italy, as well as of other bishops who happened to be in Rome at the time. These councils were very frequent imtil the beginning of the twelfth century. Thenceforth, the popes held them more rarely, finding it difficult to convoke them as often as the ever increasing volume of business de- manded. In their stead the popes transacted the affairs brought before their court in the presence and with the assistance of the Roman cardinals, who about the same time had grown in dignity and importance, owing to the fact that the right of electing the pope now rested in them exclusively. Tlius the Sacred College of Cardinals, :is.semblod in consistory, became the chief organ of the supreme and universal govern- ment of the Church.
At first, matters of judicial as well as of adminLstra- tive character were referred to the consistory. In course of time, however, the former were transferred to the Tribunal of the Sacred Rota. The "Corpus Juris" contains many of tlie decisions given by the |K)i)es in consistory, as is evidenced by the frcfiuent
formula dc fralrum nostrorum consilio (with the advice
of our brethren). The papal consistory has continued
ever since to act as the supreme council of the popes,
though it lost much of its importance when in the
fifteenth and sixteenth centuries the Roman Congre-
gations were instituted. The amount of business
brought before the Holy See had gradually increased
to such a vast extent that it had to be divided among
several particular committees of cardinals. These
committees were at first temporary but gradually
became permanent, and to each of them a definite
kind of ecclesiastical affairs was assigned. These
permanent committees came to be known as congre-
gations. The first of them was instituted by Paul III,
others by Pius IV and Pius V, but most of them owe
their origin to Sixtus V. Once the Roman Congrega-
tions, embracing in their scope almost the whole range
of ecclesiastical affairs, were instituted, it was but
natural that the papal consistory should lose in im-
portance. However, it did not go into desuetude
altogether; it continued to be held, but more rarely,
and only in the form %vhich we proceed to describe.
III. Present Practice. — Consistories are of three kinds: secret or ordinary, public or extraordinary, and semi-public. — (1) The secret consistory is so called because no one save the pope and the cardinals is present at its deliberations. Formerly it was cus- tomary for the pope, soon after entering the hall of consistory, to confer singly with the cardinals on such personal matters as they wished to bring before him, and it was only after this audience was over that nobles and prelates were excluded from the hall. But at the present day this audience is omitted. The consistory is frequently opened with an address, or allocution, in which the pope often reviews the condi- tion of the Church in general or in some particular country, pointing out what deserves prai.se or needs to be condemned. Such allocutions are afterwards given to the public in onler that the world at large may know the mind of the pope on these matters. At the end of the allocution the creation of new cardinals takes place. The pope announces the names of those whom he intends to raise to the carflinalate, and asks the cardinals for their opinion; the cardinals remove their caps as a sign of consent, and the pope proceeds immediately to the formal appointment. It is also in the secret consistory that the cardinals receive from the pope the cardinal's ring, are appointed to some titular church or deaconry, exercise the option of passing from one titular church to another, and of ascending from the order of deacons and priests to the order of priests and bishops respectively. It is also here that the pope appoints the camerlengo and the Vice-Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church, and per- forms the ceremony of "closing" and "opening" the mouth of the new cardinals. To this consistory be- long also the appointments of bishops, archbishops, and patriarchs, the transfers of these dignitaries from one see to another, the appointments of coadjutors, the creation and announcement of new dioceses, the division and union of dioceses already existing. But the details are not discussed in the consistory itself. All the previous consultations that are required in order that the pope may come to a prudent conclusion have taken place in a congregation called consistorial, and the pope in the consistory itself only gives his decision. There are some sees whose bishops are appointed through a Brief outside the consistory. Such are those in territories ilcpending on the Sacred Congre- gation of Propaganda, and others as necessity may require. These appointments are merely proiviulgatcd in the secret consistory. At the end of the consistory the advocates called consistorial are admitted to re- ((uest, with the usual formalities, the pallium for newly appointed archbishops; their petition is granted im- mediately, but the conferring of the pallium takes place later.
