ABSTRACT
Roger Reynolds' magisterial contributions to the study of medieval canon law and the theology of orders galvanized some interest years ago in the canonical requirement of promotion through a sequence or series of ordinations through the grades, known as the 'cursus honorum'. The earliest canonical prescriptions for sequential ordination appear in the mid-fourth century. From the mid-fourth century, the practice of sequential ordination emerged as the preferred and canonical way of training and selecting members of the clergy. The twenty-one canons of the Council of Sardica deal with issues such as the translation of bishops, the reception of excommunicate clergy, rights of appeal, and episcopal journeys to the imperial court. One of the largest and most influential of the medieval canonistic collections is the Pseudo-Isidorian Decretales. The compilation of the Decretum has long been regarded as the inauguration of the classical period in the history of western canon law.
