SIMONY (from Magus,' Acts viii), a transaction by which something sacred or spiritual is given, or received for a pecuni ary compensation, or a temporal benefit. The nature of simony is clearly illustrated in the case of Simon Magus, when it was committed for the first time. Simon was a Samarian, noted for his skill in magic. Attracted by the miracles wrought by the preachers of Chris tianity, he adopted the new faith and was bap tized by Philip. Later, Peter and John came to the East to minister to the new converts. ((Then laid they their hands on them and they received the Holy Ghost' When Simon saw this, he offered them money, saying: "Give me also this power' But Peter said unto him: ((Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.' Simony, later, assumed many forms, but it always implies an exchange of some material thing or temporal benefit for something spiritual, that concerns God, prin cipally, as purchased office, or preferment in the Church. The degree of this affiliation as
well as the disposition of those who are guilty of this sin account for its several modifications and fall to the province of theologians. The ecclesiastical penalties imposed for simony, ac cording to its degree of perversity, are excom munication• reservation of absolution for the culprit to the Pope; suspension of clerics who are guilty of it ; restitution of benefices due to it, and the like. In England, simony has been the subject of secular as well as ecclesiastical legislation, but in the United States it is not a civil offense and there is doubt if it even is an ecclesiastical offense, outside the Catholic and Episcopalian denominations. Consult Philli more, Sir Walter, (Law of the Church of Eng land' (2d ed., London 1895).