When a Council Deprives an Archbishop of "Sacerdotal Communion"?

Question

On pg. 13 of the c. 1930 booklet, "Ephesus and Its Great Council," by T. A. Johnston, is found the following (excerpt from a quote by the said Ecumenical Council on the condemnation of Nestorius):

...The Lord Jesus Christ whom he blasphemed decides by this holy Council that Nestorius is deprived of his episcopal dignity and of sacerdotal communion.

I interpret this as the Council deprived Nestorius of his archbishopric in Constantinople; but, I am unclear as to what "sacerdotal communion" means.

Does this mean that Nestorius is forbidden to receive Holy Communion, which certainly would imply that he was excommunicated? Does it mean that he was stripped of his priestly dignity, i.e., laicized? I don't ever recall having seen this term elsewhere.

Answer 1

When a Council Deprives an Archbishop of "Sacerdotal Communion"?

The Lord Jesus Christ whom he blasphemed decides by this holy Council that Nestorius is deprived of his episcopal dignity and of sacerdotal communion.

The exact meaning may be hard to determine, but it seems to imply that his faculties as a bishop were taken away from him and that his could not even celebrate mass.

“Sacerdotal communion” could also mean his jurisdiction an archbishop was taken away from him, thus communion with his diocesan priests was terminated. Thus in effect, he was deposed as the Archbishop of Constantinople.

It could be seen that it meant he was laicized, but that would be hard to prove. The terms may have meant something back then we are unfamiliar with nowadays.

In the end the meaning is in no way clear.

Answer 2

Based on the fact that it's sacerdotal communion, this should refer to Nestorius' priestly faculties. Sacerdos is the Latin word for priest. The Catholic Encyclopedia entry on priests says "Sacerdotal powers are conferred on priests by priestly ordination, and it is this ordination which puts them in the highest rank of the hierarchy after the bishop."