Anonymous: De Expositione Baptismatis et Eucharistiae

This very short anonymous note, introduced by the editor as taken from a manuscript of the Bigot collection, addresses whether the sacraments depend on the worthiness of the priest. It states that Augustine, Ambrose, Gregory, Isidore, Hilary, Innocent, Gelasius and others firmly hold that baptism, the Eucharist and chrism are neither increased by good priests nor diminished by bad ones. Jerome’s saying that it is the priest’s life, not his words, that makes the Eucharist is then reconciled with the other Fathers: almighty God, through faith and the priest’s solemn words, changes the substance of bread and wine into the true substance of Christ’s flesh and blood even if the priest is a sinner, while a pure and devout priest benefits the people by his good life and prayers.

The question of whether sacraments administered by unworthy priests were valid was debated sharply in the eleventh century, during the reform movement’s campaign against simony and clerical marriage and the controversy over the Eucharist. This brief text gives a clear and moderate answer drawn from patristic authorities, using the language of substantial change in the Eucharist that became current in that period. Its author and exact date are unknown.