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456 RELIGIOUS ENCYCLOPEDIA Tithes

plied to Evangelical objects. For the point was hardly anywhere armed, that the exaction of the tithe is reprehensible. Only the Ana-

z. Change baptists in Switzerland maintained that after the Christians owed neither interest nor Reforms- tithes; even the turbulent [German] tion. peasants, in their twelve articles of 1525 A.D., did not deny the obligation. Luther generally approved the payment of tithes and, in view of their practical convenience, regarded them as the most expedient form of taxing (Werke, ed. Walch, x. 1006, xvii. 46, 85). In Luther's opinion, tithes were to be paid to the temporal sovereignty; but in this he was not seconded. In the Evangelical State Churches, the tithes were re- '~,, tamed, though with readjustments, and were more 'I strictly defined. In the duchy of Prussia and m Saxony the church-inspectors were directed to devise the necessary measures for tithe payments (cf. the regulations of 1527 and 1528, in E. Sehling, Die I evangelischzn Kirehenardnungen, i. 144, 145, 172, Leipsic, 1902). Contributions in kind were frequently commuted, although the natural tithe continued legally in practise. But in the course of time, there grew up a dislike of tithes, partly on ', economic grounds, partly because of alienation from the Church; e.g., in France it provoked formal repeal of the tithes without indemnity (cf. art. 5 of the National Assembly's decrees, from Aug. 4 to Nov. 3, 1789). In other countries there was repeal with compensating indemnity, and only certain peculiar kinds of tithes were abolished. Even at present either the tithes direct, or dome substitute ratings, are much in vogue, thus calling for a statement of the principles governing the application.

Originally viewed, the tithes are either temporal (for civil needs) or ecclesiastical (for the Church). A further distinction is into lay and

3. Classifi- clerical tithes, which distinction turns cation. on the question whether the recipient of the tithe is a layman or a cleric. Laymen may chance to be in possession of church tithes, and clerics in possession of temporal tithes, a change in ownership having been brought about through alienation or other circumstances. Theo retically this was forbidden, and the possession of ecclesiastical tithes by laymen was pronounced criminal. The distinction has continued to be of practical moment since certain obligations devolv ing upon the originally ecclesiastical tithes still rest upon the holder. The tithe is either paid from the proceeds of some industry and other personal prof its, as a personal tithe (less frequently), or it is paid on the basis of other increments, as the " real tithe." But from time immemorial, the real tithe appears generally in practise, whether based on field, grain, sheaf or fruit, or on cattle. There also exist subdivisions into great and small tithes. Nor mally, the great natural tithe includes the so-called major fruits of the field, and the great live-stock tithe includes domestic and farm animals. Pope Alexander III. defines as articles under the small tithe fodder and garden products. The same cate gory also includes the so-called small cattle sheep, lambs, foals, calves, poultry, bees, etc. When the produce tithe is paid in kind from the soil itself, it

becomes known as natural, sheaf, or almond tithe. Distinct from this is the sack, bushel, or village tithe, which is paid from grain already threshed and sacked, or is commuted, including therefore the money tithe as a cash equivalent.

Certain other frequently mentioned subdivisions of tithes belong more properly to the survey of the tithe law and obligation as follows: The tithe right is based either on canon or other law,

4. Tithe or on tradition, contract, or custom. Law. By legal definition, the tithes generally accrue to the Church, and modes of tithe payments were subject to the same principles as governed other ecclesiastical revenues. The bish op received the tithes for distribution to the several churches; but where the parish pastors drew the tithes, they were expected to transact the distribu tion in the presence of witnesses. The tithes paid to parish churches and baptisteries were to be em ployed for these alone, without any partial transfer to the cathedral or to the bishop. Subsequently, the traditional division of the church property into four portions, as observed at Rome, was also applied to the tithes, and the fourth part was assigned to the bishop, although this payment gradually lapsed and survived only locally. The bishop is therefore no longer entitled to the quarter of the tithes ac cruing to the parishes, though he may claim the tithes of such districts in his diocese as are not especially referred to some parish church. In all other cases the collection of tithes appertains to the parish churches by ordinary law. In this matter canon law proceeds from the premise that the par ish pastors are entitled to demand tithes within the entire parish bounds, except as exemptions exist. Hence new tithes (those yielded by hitherto virgin soil) are also accredited to the parish church. The tithe right has its corresponding circumscriptions, and, within a given district, may cover either all or only certain particular fields, may embrace all fruits, or only stated kinds of produce, and the amount of the contribution itself may vary, except that there is a strong presumption to fix it as the actual tenth part. Concurrently with the tithe right goes the tithe obligation. While legislation once ruled that the duty to pay tithes was univer sal, this ruling fell short of unqualified expressness and eventually became a dead letter. Accordingly, the legal presumption in favor of the tithe obliga tion is not everywhere in force, and usually evi dence is required of one who affirms that right. Another consideration qualifies the tithe obligation, viz., the distinction between real and personal tithes, as well as the religious belief of the persons obligated. Wherever the obligation attaches to real estate, the personal ownership is immaterial, since the real tithe is payable even by non-Christian owners. But the personal tithe is paid only by the actual parishioners. According to the maxim, " tithes are to be paid from the natural yield," tithes are due from the fruits produced, and from these directly. Hence the obligation attaches to the fruits, even when these are alienated, so that the tithe can be required of the third party who con trols the produce. Where a release from the tithe obligation is affirmed, such release must be proved