Whipping was a punishment employed in the ancient Church for the discipline of junior monks arid inferior clergy for insubordination. It was also applied to others in certain cases. Bingham (Christ. Antiq. book 7, chapter 3) quotes from Palladius as follows: "In the Church of Mount Nitria, there were three whips hanged upon three palm-trees — one for the offending monks, another for the correcting of thieves, and a third for the correcting of strangers, whom they entertained in a hospital adjoining." Again, in Bingham's Antiquities (book 16, chapter 3), we find these statements: "Cyprian, in the Life of Caesarius Avelatensis, says that bishop observed this method both with slaves and freemen; and that when they were to be scourged for their faults, they should suffer forty stripes save one, according as the law appointed. The Council of Agde orders the same punishment. not only for junior monks, but also for the inferior clergy. And the Council of Mascon particularly insists upon the number of forty stripes save one. . . . The Council of Epone speaks of stripes as the peculiar punishment of the minor clergy" for the same crimes that were punished with excommunication for a whole year in the superior clergy." SEE SCOURGE.
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