Canon XII.
any one, under pretence of
asceticism, should wear a peribolæum and, as if this gave
him righteousness, shall despise those who with piety wear the
berus and use other common and customary dress, let him be
anathema.
Notes.
Whoso despises those who wear beruses, let him be
anathema.
The βήροι (lacernæ) were the common upper garments worn by men over the tunic; but the περιβόλαια were rough mantles worn by philosophers to show their contempt for all luxury. Socrates (H. E., ii. 43) and the Synodal Letter of Gangra in its third article say that Eustathius of Sebaste wore the philosopher’s mantle. But this canon in no way absolutely rejects a special dress for monks, for it is not the distinctive dress but the proud and superstitious over-estimation of its worth which the Synod here blames.
This canon is found in the Corpus Juris Canonici, Gratian’s Decretum, Pars I., Dist. xxx., c. xv.
