Decretales of Gregory IX, Book 3 Title 10 c.10

Köln, Erzbischöfliche Diözesan- und Dombibliothek 130, fol. 170v

Pope Honorius III 1216-1227

Decretal "Etsi membra"

In 1216 the archbishop of Sens refused to permit representatives of the cathedral chapters in Sens to participate in a provincial synod. The chapters appealed to Pope Honorius III. The pope supported their claim decisively in the decretal Etsi membra. The pope’s arenga was a stirring sermon on the corporate body of the Church and the interdependence of each individual member.   Etsi membra became part of the universal law of the Church in 1234 when Raymond de Peñafort placed the decretal in the Decretals of Pope Gregory IX (X 3.10.10).