# Mense

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{{Short description|Form of ecclesiastical income in the Catholic Church}}
{{use mdy dates| date=April 2022}}
[[File:IT-Rom-lateran-apsis.jpg|thumb|Seat of the [Bishop of Rome](/source/Bishop_of_Rome) in the apsis of the [Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran](/source/Archbasilica_of_Saint_John_Lateran)]]
A ''' mense''' (from Latin ''mensa'' 'table') is the name of a form of [ecclesiastical income](/source/benefice) in the Catholic Church. Historically, the mense was a land tax whose income was used as income for its holder (i.e. [bishop](/source/Bishops_in_the_Catholic_Church), [abbot](/source/abbot), [canons](/source/Canon_(priest)) or [monk](/source/monk)s, [pastor](/source/pastor),  etc.). In an abbey this support was called the ''[In commendam](/source/In_commendam)'' and was divided into three lots, one for the commendatory abbot, one for the religious community and another devoted to the payment of expenses.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.cnrtl.fr/lexicographie/mense | title = Mense | work = Centre national de ressources textuelles et lexicales| language = fr}}</ref>

==Background==
thumb|Offertory box
In the early church, all the property of a [diocese](/source/diocese) was held by the [cathedral church](/source/cathedral_church), and was administered by the [local bishop](/source/local_bishop). The bishop administered the resources himself, through his ''[œconomus](/source/Oikonomos)'', or his deacons. Local clergy received a portion of the revenues by a formula dictated locally, or at the discretion of the bishop.<ref name=EB1/> As the church grew, parishes outside of the [episcopal city](/source/Episcopal_see) began to administer their own wealth and property. After the [5th century](/source/5th_century) bishops began granting church property to local clerics by way of "[precarium](/source/precarium)" (i.e. a revocable land grant) that they could use for their own support. Over time, these land grants were abused, and in response arose the mense during the rule of the [Carolingian dynasty](/source/Carolingian_dynasty).<ref name=EB1/>

The mense is that portion of the property of a church which is designated to covering the expenses either of the [prelate](/source/prelate), or the [religious community](/source/Religious_order), serving the church and administered at their discretion.<ref name=EB1/> In a cathedral, to which both the bishop and a [chapter](/source/Chapter_(religion)) sit, the bishop's "episcopal mensa" is distinct from that of the chapter.<ref name=EB1>{{cite encyclopedia |contribution=[Mensa, Mensal Revenue](/source/s%3ACatholic_Encyclopedia_(1913)%2FMensa%2C_Mensal_Revenue) |title= Catholic Encyclopedia  |edition=  |volume= 10 |editor-last= Herbermann  |editor-first= 	Charles George |display-editors=0 |publisher=Appleton |location=New York |date=1913 |ref={{harvid|''EB'', "Mensa"}} |pages= }}</ref>

;Episcopal mense
The {{ill|episcopal mense|fr|Mense épiscopale}} (Latin: mensa episcopalis) is the material support from a [Catholic diocese](/source/Diocese) for the support and maintenance of the [local bishop](/source/Bishops_in_the_Catholic_Church), or to the [abbot](/source/abbot), his residence, and the [diocesan curia](/source/Diocesan_chancery).<ref name="biblicalcyclopedia"/> Though it is governed by [canon law](/source/canon_law),<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/secretariat_state/archivio/documents/rc_seg-st_19850603_santa-sede-italia_it.html |title = Article 28 |quote = Con il decreto di erezione di ciascun Istituto sono contestualmente estinti la mensa vescovile, i benefici capitolari, parrocchiali, vicariali curati o comunque denominati, esistenti nella diocesi |language = it |work = Accordo Tra La Santa Sede E La Repubblica Italiana Che Apporta Modificazioni Al Concordato Lateranense |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120818191027/http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/secretariat_state/archivio/documents/rc_seg-st_19850603_santa-sede-italia_it.html |archive-date=18 August 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> in countries like [France](/source/1905_French_law_on_the_Separation_of_the_Churches_and_the_State) and [Italy](/source/Italy), it is also regulated by public law.<ref>{{cite book| title = L'administration des cultes pendant la période concordataire | last = Jean-Michel Leniaud | year = 1988 | publisher = Nouvelles Editions Latines | isbn = 978-2723303798 | url = https://www.persee.fr/doc/rhef_0300-9505_1990_num_76_196_3488_t1_0094_0000_2 | language = fr}}</ref>

;Capitular mense
The {{ill|capitular mense|fr|Mense capitulaire}} (Latin: mensa capitularis), is the share of ecclesiastical revenue designated to the maintenance and support of the [canons](/source/Canon_(priest)) or [monk](/source/monk)s. The division of the capitular mense between each canon is called the [prebend](/source/prebend). After the [Investiture Controversy](/source/Investiture_Controversy) in the [12th century](/source/12th_century), these revenues became insufficient and were supplemented by the addition of parish benefits, and chaplaincies to the [canonical prebend](/source/canonical_prebend)s.<ref name="biblicalcyclopedia">{{cite web | url = https://www.biblicalcyclopedia.com/M/mensa-capitularis-and-mensa-episcopalis.html | title = Mensa Capitularis and Mensa Episcopalis| work = The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature | editor = James Strong and John McClintock | publisher  = Harper and Brothers | location = New York | year = 1880}}</ref>

;Curial mense
The {{ill|curial mense|fr|Mense curiale}} (Latin: mensa curialis) is support given to the [parish priest](/source/parish_priest) or minister. It is administered by the parish priest, under the supervision of the bishop and the parish council.<ref name=EB1/>

==See also==
* {{ill|Diocesan Institute for the Support of the Clergy|it|Istituto diocesano per il sostentamento del clero}}
* [Mantal](/source/Mantal)
* [Tithe](/source/Tithe)

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{Cite book |last=Lesne |first=Émile |title=L'origine des menses dans le temporal des églises et des monastères de France au ix<sup>e</sup> siecle |year=1910 |location=Paris |language=fr |oclc=19749747}}
*{{Cite book |last=Pöschi |first=Arnold |title=Bischofsgut und Mensa Episcopalis |year=1908 |location=Bonn |url=https://archive.org/details/MN41994ucmf_1 |language=de}}
*{{Cite book |last=Thomassin |first=Louis |author-link=Louis Thomassin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YfolG0lISyoC |title=Vetus et nova disciplina |year=1760}}
*{{Cite book |last=Sägmüller |first=Johannes Baptist |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SuFzvwEACAAJ |title=Lehrbuch des katholischen Kirchenrechts |year=1909 |location=Freiburg im Breisgau |pages=244, 874 |language=de}}
*{{Cite book |last=Taunton |first=Ethelred |author-link=Ethelred Taunton |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kk2RzgEACAAJ |title=Law of the Church |year=1906 |location=London |isbn=9780837015675}}
{{Catholic|wstitle=Mensa, Mensal Revenue}}

Category:Catholic Church and finance
Category:Episcopacy in the Catholic Church

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Mense](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mense) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mense?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.