Was charging interest on loans ever forbidden to laymen in the Eastern Orthodox Church? If so, when was this promulgated and when was it revoked?
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According to [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usury#Church_councils) , the First Council of Nicaea (325AD) forbade clergy, **but not laymen**, from charging interest on loans.
Wikipedia also states that "later ecumenical councils applied this regulation to the laity", but the [reference](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/004056399305400404) given shows this occurred only in Catholic councils after 1150AD.
The Catholics had a Lateran III council in 1179, where they totally excommunicated anyone who charged interest. To me, this implies that before 1179, there had been no ecumenical council, Catholic or Orthodox, that prohibited usury among laymen.
Assuming this Wikipedia article is comprehensive, it appears that no ecumenical council ever forbade the charging of interest among laymen. However the article appears to only give the Catholic side.
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My question: Did the Eastern Orthodox church as a whole (via an ecumenical council for example) or in part (via a local council for one synod, for example), ever condemn as a sin, which required repentance or even excommunication, the act of charging interest on loans among laymen?
Asked by Matthew Moisen
(1253 rep)
Jan 2, 2021, 09:10 PM
Last activity: Apr 21, 2021, 03:52 AM
Last activity: Apr 21, 2021, 03:52 AM