The Simony Act 1588 (31 Eliz. 1. c. 6) is an act of the Parliament of England that stipulates penalties for simony (the act of selling church offices and roles or sacred things), an offence under the ecclesiastical law of the Church of England.
, the act remains largely in force in England and Wales.
Under section 4 of the act, an unlawfully bestowed office can be declared void by the Crown, and the offender can be disabled from making future appointments and fined up to £1,000.Halsbury 832 Clergy are no longer required to make a declaration as to simony on ordination but offences are now likely to be dealt with as "misconduct" under the Clergy Discipline Measure 2003 (2003 No. 3), r.8.Halsbury 1359
Subsequent developments Sections 4 and 5 of the act, in so far as they impose a penalty by reference to the value of an ecclesiastical living, were repealed by section 1 of, and part 1 of the schedule to, the Statute Law (Repeals) Measure 2018, which came into force on 1 July 2018.
See also Simony
Notes
References
Bibliography Lord Mackay of Clashfern (ed.) (2002) Halsbury's Laws of England, 4th ed., Vol.14, "Ecclesiastical Law", 832 'Penalties and disability on simony' — 1359 'Simony' (see also current updates)
External links