Desertion Of The Clerical Life To abandon a religious life, after having once been initiated into the sacred duties, was considered a crime worthy of excommunication or other severe punishment. The Council of Chalcedon (A. D. 451), the Council of Angers (A.D. 453), the first Council of Tours (A.D. 461), a Breton council (date annulled, probably about A.D. 555), the Council of Frankfort (A.D. 794), all decreed against the offence. Under Justinian's code, a cleric guilty of deserting his service was punished by being made a curialis, i.e., one charged with the burdens of the state — a political beast of burden. In a letter of pope Zacharias (A.D. 741-752) to king Pepin of France, he threatens any deserter with an anathema unless he repent and return.
The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature was edited by John McClintock and James Strong. It contains nearly 50,000 articles pertaining to Biblical and other religious literature, people, creeds, etc. It is a fantastic research tool for broad Christian study.
John McClintock was born October 27, 1814 in Philadelphia to Irish immigrants, John and Martha McClintock. He began as a clerk in his father's store, and then became a bookkeeper in the Methodist Book Concern in New York. Here he converted to Methodism and considered joining the ministry. McClintock entered the University of Pennsylvania in 1832 and graduated with high honors three years later. Subsequently, he was awarded a doctorate of divinity degree from the same institution in 1848.WikipediaRead More