Catholic Bishops and Appeals to the Imperial Court: A Legal Study of the Calama Riots in 408

Riots at Calama and Utica in 408 prompted several Catholic bishops to travel to the imperial court. Episcopal embassies applied pressure both to religious opponents and to African administrators by soliciting law from the consistory. The success the bishops enjoyed, however, introduced the problem of severe penalties attendant to imperial law. Extreme punishments were of little interest to the bishops, and they usually appealed to local officials to mitigate the sentences. In 409 the emperor issued what we know as Sirmondian Constitution 14, which passed a capital sentence against anyone who committed acts of violence against bishops. Augustine's appeal to authorities following the promulgation of Sirmondian Constitution 14, as well as a letter he wrote to Paulinus of Nola, reveal Augustine's unease regarding the methods bishops used to assert themselves, especially when some of his colleagues were willing to utilize coercion to a degree greater than Augustine thought appropriate.