Dated to the late 6th century and originally written in Latin, the Penitential of Finnian served as a prescription for the penance necessary to reconcile the sinning Christian to God. The Penitential of Finnian was likely conceived in a monastic context in either Ireland or Brittany, but was directed towards clerics and laity – people familiar with the secular marketplace and who could readily grasp this pay-as-you-go system for their misdeeds or malevolent thoughts. Following in the ascetic, monastic tradition, much of the penance prescribed focuses on fasting and prayer for both the laity and clerics, with a greater penance falling on the clerics. Although the duration of fasting and prayer may be shorter for the laymen, they are often required to pay for their sin by providing money to the injured party.
The Penitential distinguishes sins in several ways. There is consideration as to whether it was a brief thought that is immediately identified as sinful or a time-consuming evil scheme. In the case of a sinful plot, whether or not is actually carried out does not matter, the sin is the same; however, the penance will be different. A distinction is also made based on the sinner. A layman tended to get lesser penance than the cleric. Even though both are part of the secular realm, the layman has a lighter guilt because his reward in the world to come will be less (7). For both the laity and the clerics, there is the pervasive ideal of restoration to the faith community, the urging of all to honor the teachings of the Bible (32), and to facilitate the conversion of anyone seeking, even on their deathbed (34).
The monastic practices of taming the sinful flesh are at the core of the penitential system, but we should consider the pragmatic elements of this system as well. Certainly, it would not be practical for the laity, who were the laborers, tradesmen, and shopkeepers, to subsist on bread, water, and salt for an extended period – the community, and the clerics, would suffer if the laity became too weak to work. This system, and its required penances, was suited for this time and place. The disparity of the price of sin between the layman and the cleric seems to be more complicated than matters of religious hierarchy.
The Penitential distinguishes sins in several ways. There is consideration as to whether it was a brief thought that is immediately identified as sinful or a time-consuming evil scheme. In the case of a sinful plot, whether or not is actually carried out does not matter, the sin is the same; however, the penance will be different. A distinction is also made based on the sinner. A layman tended to get lesser penance than the cleric. Even though both are part of the secular realm, the layman has a lighter guilt because his reward in the world to come will be less (7). For both the laity and the clerics, there is the pervasive ideal of restoration to the faith community, the urging of all to honor the teachings of the Bible (32), and to facilitate the conversion of anyone seeking, even on their deathbed (34).
The monastic practices of taming the sinful flesh are at the core of the penitential system, but we should consider the pragmatic elements of this system as well. Certainly, it would not be practical for the laity, who were the laborers, tradesmen, and shopkeepers, to subsist on bread, water, and salt for an extended period – the community, and the clerics, would suffer if the laity became too weak to work. This system, and its required penances, was suited for this time and place. The disparity of the price of sin between the layman and the cleric seems to be more complicated than matters of religious hierarchy.