Simony: the buying and selling of spiritual offices and graces, from the 4th century to the Roman Curia

Simony is the buying or selling of spiritual things such as ordination, church offices or sacraments for money or other temporal advantages. Councils prohibited it from the 4th century onwards, yet according to the Britannica it was deeply rooted in the medieval church, and the popes themselves were among the most notorious offenders; the Roman Curia sold spiritual offices openly and continuously. Julius II declared papal elections brought about by simony invalid; Pius X rescinded this in 1904. In the United States the faithful still had to pay at the church entrance to hear Sunday Mass in the early 20th century, until the Apostolic Delegate condemned this in 1911.

Period

301-1911 (1610 years)

Country

Italy, Vatican City

Institutions

Roman Curia
Pope Boniface VIII
Pope Clement V
Pope Alexander VI
Pope Julius II
Pope Pius X

Category

Financial misconduct

Level of evidence

B two independent scholarly sources · what does this mean?

Persons

Boniface VIII (pope 1294 to 1303, simoniacal practices according to the Britannica)
Alexander VI (pope 1492 to 1503, target of the pasquinade on the sale of spiritual things)

Background

Course of events

1. Simony (after Simon Magus in the Acts of the Apostles) is defined by the church as a deliberate intention of buying or selling for a temporal price things that are spiritual or annexed to spirituals. Any exchange of spiritual for temporal things counts as simony. Many councils in the East and in the West prohibited it from the 4th century onwards.
   Evidence: The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 14 (1912), Artikel Simony, Einleitung

   „Simony is usually defined "a deliberate intention of buying or selling for a temporal price such things as are spiritual or annexed unto spirituals"“

   Evidence: The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 14 (1912), Artikel Simony, Einleitung

   „any exchange of spiritual for temporal things is simoniacal“

   Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Wikisource, Artikel Simony

   „The offence was prohibited by many councils, both in the East and in the West, from the 4th century onwards.“

Who received the assets, who profited?

1. Later, according to the Britannica, the Roman Curia sold spiritual offices openly and continuously. A pasquinade against Alexander VI said that he sold the keys, the altars and Christ, having bought them himself beforehand. The Britannica cites Machiavelli, Erasmus's colloquy "De sacerdotiis captandis" and the numerous decisions of the Rota (the papal court) on simony as evidence.
   Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Wikisource, Artikel Simony

   „At a later period there was an open and continuous sale of spiritual offices by the Roman curia which contemporary writers attacked in the spirit of Dante.“

   Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Wikisource, Artikel Simony

   „Vendit Alexander claves, altaria, Christum. Emerat ille prius; vendere jure potest.“

   Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Wikisource, Artikel Simony

   „Machiavelli calls luxury, simony and cruelty the three dear friends and handmaids of the same pope“

   Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Wikisource, Artikel Simony

   „The colloquy of Erasmus De sacerdotiis captandis bears witness to the same state of things.“

   Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Wikisource, Artikel Simony

   „numerous decisions as to what is or is not simony are to be found in the reported decisions of the Roman rota“

2. According to the Britannica, part of the papal revenue too, the annates (the first year's income of a newly conferred church office) and the tenths, must have been theoretically simoniacal in its origin.
   Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Wikisource, Artikel Simony

   „That part of the papal revenue which consisted of first-fruits ( primitiae or annates ) and tenths ( decimae ) must have been theoretically simoniacal in its origin.“

3. In many churches in the United States a compulsory contribution was exacted at the church entrance from the faithful who wished to hear Mass on Sundays and holy days. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia the practice continued in many churches until very recently. On 29 September 1911 the Apostolic Delegate condemned it again and requested the bishops to suppress it wherever it still existed.
   Evidence: The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 14 (1912), Artikel Simony, Abschnitt Vereinigte Staaten

   „compulsory contribution at the church entrance from the faithful who wish to hear Mass on Sundays and Holy Days“

   Evidence: The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 14 (1912), Artikel Simony, Abschnitt Vereinigte Staaten

   „As this practice continued in existence in many churches until very recently, a circular letter addressed 29 Sept., 1911, by the Apostolic Delegate to the archbishops and bishops of the United States , again condemns the custom and requests the ordinaries to suppress it wherever found in existence.“

4. Alongside the prohibition, the church expressly permitted certain payments: for matrimonial dispensations a contribution could be demanded, partly as a chancery fee and partly as a salutary fine to prevent too frequent requests. Contributions by candidates to the expenses of their novitiate and the dowry required by some female orders were likewise permitted.
   Evidence: The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 14 (1912), Artikel Simony, Vergütungen

   „there is nothing improper in demanding from the applicants for matrimonial dispensations a contribution intended partly as a chancery fee and partly as a salutary fine calculated to prevent the too frequent recurrence of such requests“

   Evidence: The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 14 (1912), Artikel Simony, Vergütungen

   „contributions made by candidates to defray the expenses of their novitiate as well as the dowry required by some female orders are not included in this prohibition“

Response of the Church

1. Despite all regulations, simony was according to the Britannica "deeply rooted in the medieval church", and the popes themselves were notorious offenders. The Britannica names the simoniacal practices of Boniface VIII and Clement V, to which Dante alludes in the Divine Comedy; Dante places the simoniacs in the third bolgia of the eighth circle of Hell. The Catholic Encyclopedia speaks of "the evil of simony so prevalent during the Middle Ages".
   Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Wikisource, Artikel Simony

   „In spite of all the provisions of the canon law it is well established that simony was deeply rooted in the medieval church.“

   Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Wikisource, Artikel Simony

   „The popes themselves were notorious offenders.“

   Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Wikisource, Artikel Simony

   „Boniface VIII., whose simoniacal practices, as well as those of Clement V., are again alluded to in Par. xxx. 147.“

   Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Wikisource, Artikel Simony

   „Dante places persons guilty of simony in the third bolgia of the eighth circle of the“

   Evidence: The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 14 (1912), Artikel Simony, Strafen

   „To uproot the evil of simony so prevalent during the Middle Ages“

See also

• 1032-1048 · 16 years

  Benedict IX sold the papacy in 1045: installed as a youth, three times pope, three popes at once

  • Italy
  • Financial misconduct
• Person 1 Jan 1431-18 Aug 1503 · 72 years old

  Pope Alexander VI (Rodrigo Borgia)

  • Italy
  • Spain
  • Vatican City
  • Expropriation
  • Financial misconduct

Scholarly literature and reference works

1. Reference work
   The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 14 (1912): Simony (Nicholas Weber), 1 January 1912. Original (retrieved 23 Oct 2026)
2. Reference work
   Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Wikisource: Simony, 1 January 1911. Original (retrieved 23 Oct 2026)

Last changed on 23 October 2026. Is something missing or wrong? Suggest an addition or correction.