1415
A.D.
“Whereas in certain parts of the world some rashly presume to assert that the christian people ought to receive the holy sacrament of the Eucharist under both species of bread and wine, and give communion to the lay people everywhere not only under the species of bread but also under the species of wine, and even after supper or otherwise not fasting, and obstinately assert that communion must be given so, against the praiseworthy custom of the Church, reasonably approved, which they try to condemn as sacrilegious: hence it is that this present Council … declares, decrees and defines that, although Christ instituted this venerable sacrament after supper and administered it to his disciples under both species of bread and wine, nevertheless, this notwithstanding, the authority of the sacred canons and the praiseworthy and approved custom of the Church has kept and keeps that this sacrament ought not to be confected after supper, nor received by the faithful when not fasting, except in a case of illness or of other necessity granted or admitted by law or by the Church. And just as this custom was reasonably introduced in order to avoid certain dangers and scandals, so, although in the primitive Church this sacrament was received by the faithful under both species, afterwards it came to be received by those confecting it under both, and by the laity only under the species of bread; since it is to be most firmly believed and in no way doubted that the whole body of Christ and his blood are truly contained under the species of bread as well as under the species of wine. Wherefore to say that to observe this custom or law is sacrilegious or unlawful must be judged erroneous, and those obstinately asserting the opposite of the foregoing are to be restrained as heretics and severely punished by the local diocesan bishops or their officials or by the inquisitors of heretical depravity. …”
Cum in nonnullis mundi partibus quidam temerarie asserere praesumant, populum christianum debere sacrum Eucharistiae sacramentum sub utraque panis et vini specie suscipere, et non solum sub specie panis, sed etiam sub specie vini populum laicum passim communicent, etiam post coenam vel alias non ieiunum, et communicandum esse pertinaciter asserant contra laudabilem Ecclesiae consuetudinem rationabiliter approbatam, quam tanquam sacrilegam damnabiliter reprobare conantur hinc est, quod hoc praesens Concilium … declarat, decernit et diffinit, quod licet Christus post coenam instituerit et suis discipulis administraverit sub utraque specie panis et vini hoc venerabile sacramentum, tamen hoc non obstante sacrorum canonum auctoritas laudabilis et approbata consuetudo Ecclesiae servavit et servat, quod huiusmodi sacramentum non debet confici post coenam, neque a fidelibus recipi non ieiunis, nisi in casu infirmitatis aut alterius necessitatis a iure vel Ecclesia concesso vel admisso. Et sicut haec consuetudo ad evitandum aliqua pericula et scandala est rationabiliter introducta quod licet in primitiva Ecclesia huiusmodi sacramentum reciperetur a fidelibus sub utraque 15» specie, tamen postea a conficientibus sub utraque et a laicis tantummodo sub specie panis suscipiatur cum firmissime credendum sit et nullatenus dubitandum, integrum Christi corpus et sanguinem tam sub specie panis, quam sub specie vini veraciter contineri. … Quapropter dicere, quod hanc consuetudinem aut legem observare sit sacrilegum aut illicitum, censeri debet erroneum, et pertinaciter asserentes oppositum praemissorum tanquam haeretici arcendi sunt et graviter puniendi per dioecesanos locorum seu officiales eorum aut inquisitores haereticae pravitatis.