Parvus fons
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The Parvus fons (Latin for small beginnings) is a papal bull issued by Pope Clement IV on June 9, 1265, to strengthen the general chapter of the Cistercians. The bull – also known as "Clementina" among Cistercian historians – settled a century of disputes between the mother abbey Cîteaux and the four primary abbeys, which were caused by certain ambiguities in the Carta Caritatis, the Cistercians' constitutional document.
It revoked the fourth chapter of the Carta caritatis and represents an important step in the development of the Order's constitution.
While ecclesiastical and secular authorities regarded the Abbot of Cîteaux as the "superior general" of the order, the primary abbots, especially the powerful Abbot of Clairvaux, were able to vote against Cîteaux at the general chapters with the support of their filiations. Pope Clement's bull sought to implement the following goals:[1]
- eliminate factions
- reduce the excessive influence of the primary abbots and
- restore the authority of the general chapter.
In the case of serious offenses, especially in matters concerning the deposition of an abbot, it was therefore no longer the visitators who had to make the final decision, but the general chapter alone. According to Parvus fons, the supreme authority and the implementation of the decisions of the general chapter was guaranteed by an advisory body of 25 abbots – called the Definitorium – which consisted of the abbot of Cîteaux and the four primary abbots, plus four further abbots from each primary filiation.