A custom had already gained considerable prevalence, which we shall find greatly extended in subsequent ages, of granting to the churches slaves for its service and support. The administrators of the church property were called familia fisci. The church property was in ecclesiastical documents styled the fisc. The fisca regis, or royal fisc, was a different fund or treasury. It sometimes happened that the clergy who were the administrators sought to obtain from the “conditioned slaves” more than they were bound to give, and also, sometimes, others sought to have their service taken from the church. The capitulary viii. of this third council of Toledo was enacted to remedy this latter grievance.
Innuente (other copies, jubente) atque consentiente domino piissimo Reccaredo rege, id præcipit sacerdotale consilium, ut clericorum (others, clericos) ex familiâ fisci nullus audeat a principe donatos expetere; sed reddito capitis sui tributo ecclesiæ Dei, cui sunt alligati, usque dum vivent, regulariter administrent.
By the suggestion (or by the command) and with the consent of the most pious lord King Reccared, the council of priests directs that no one shall dare to reclaim from the administrators of the church those clergy given by the prince; but having paid their tribute to the church of God, to which they are bound, let them, as long as they live, administer regularly.
In the same council, the canon xv. is the following:
Si qui ex servis fiscalibus ecclesias forte construxerint easque de suâ paupertate ditaverint, hoc procuret episcopus prece suâ auctoritate regiâ confirmari.
If any of the king’s special servants shall have built churches, and have enriched them by the contributions from their poverty, let the bishop obtain that it be confirmed by the royal authority.
The servi fiscales were the private or patrimonial property of the king.
This also exhibits the principle that the slave was not permitted to contribute, without the consent of his owner, to religious establishments.
A canon of the assembly held in Constantinople, 692:
Canon lxxxv. In duobus vel tribus testibus confirmari omne verbum ex Scriptura accepimus. Servos ergo qui a dominis suis manumittuntur, sub tribus testibus eo frui honore decernimus, qui præsentes libertati vires et firmitatem afferent, et ut iis quæ ipsis testibus facta sunt fides habeatur efficient.