The Council of Toledo of 447 was the second Council of Toledo [1] (though the Council of Toledo of 527 is normally called this). It was a national council [2] held against the Priscillianists (a schismatic sect with Gnostic-Manichaean, Sabellian, and Monophysite doctrine [3] [4] [5] ), as called for by Pope Leo I. [6] [7] Nineteen bishops participated in the council, [1] which condemned the heresy and the followers of Priscillian and affirmed the earlier First Council of Toledo, [8] on which its Creed is based. [9] It gave a profession of faith against all heretics with 18 anathemas attached against the doctrines of Priscillian. [1] The council is notable for its successful subduing of Priscillianism, [10] expressing a definition of dyophysitism before the Council of Chalcedon, [5] its affirmation of the First Council of Toledo, [8] [11] and being the first known western council to include the "filioque" in its creed, [5] [6] following in the doctrine from Pope Leo I. [5] [7]
There is some controversy as to the reality of this Council. It was called for by Pope Leo I, in a letter preserved in the register, but there is no contemporary evidence that it was held. The letter in question is Leo’s Epistula 15 (Migne, ed., PL 54, 678-695). Vague mention is made of the supposed Toledo council at the First Council of Braga, held in 562, but some have argued that the bishops there were confused, and instead had a copy of the profession of faith from I Toledo. See Concilio de Braga I, ed. José Vives, in Concilios visigóticos e hispano-romanos, 65-67. There is a full discussion in Domingo Ramos-Lissón, Historia de los concilios de la España romana y visigoda, in the chapter “Los concilios hispánicos antes de Recaredo”.
Arianism is a Christological doctrine which rejects the traditional notion of the Trinity and considers Jesus to be a creation of God, and therefore distinct from God. It is named after its major proponent, Arius. It is considered heretical by most modern mainstream branches of Christianity. It is held by a minority of modern denominations, although some of these denominations hold related doctrines such as Socinianism, and some shy away from use of the term Arian due to the term's historically negative connotations. Modern mainstream denominations sometimes connected to the teaching include Jehovah's Witnesses, some individual churches within the Churches of Christ, as well as some Hebrew Roots Christians and Messianic Jews.
Pope Honorius I was the bishop of Rome from 27 October 625 to his death. He was active in spreading Christianity among Anglo-Saxons and attempted to convince the Celts to calculate Easter in the Roman fashion. He is chiefly remembered for his correspondence with Patriarch Sergius I of Constantinople over the latter's monothelite teachings. Honorius was posthumously anathematized, initially for subscribing to monothelitism, and later only for failing to end it. The anathema against Honorius I became one of the central arguments against the doctrine of papal infallibility.
Year 341 (CCCXLI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Marcellinus and Probinus. The denomination 341 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years or dates.
The Second Council of Constantinople is the fifth of the first seven ecumenical councils recognized by both the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. It is also recognized by the Old Catholics and others. Protestant opinions and recognition of it are varied. Some Protestants, such as Calvinists, recognize the first four councils, whereas Lutherans and most Anglo-Catholics accept all seven. Constantinople II was convoked by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I under the presidency of Patriarch Eutychius of Constantinople. It was held from 5 May to 2 June 553. Participants were overwhelmingly Eastern bishops—only sixteen Western bishops were present, including nine from Illyricum and seven from Africa, but none from Italy—out of the 152 total.
The Third Council of Constantinople, counted as the Sixth Ecumenical Council by the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Churches, and by certain other Western Churches, met in 680–681 and condemned monoenergism and monothelitism as heretical and defined Jesus Christ as having two energies and two wills.
Priscillian was a wealthy nobleman of Roman Hispania who promoted a strict form of Christian asceticism. He became bishop of Ávila in 380. Certain practices of his followers were denounced at the Council of Zaragoza in 380. Tensions between Priscillian and bishops opposed to his views continued, as well as political maneuvering by both sides. Around 385, Priscillian was charged with sorcery and executed by authority of the Emperor Maximus. The ascetic movement Priscillianism is named after him, and continued in Hispania and Gaul until the late 6th century. Tractates by Priscillian and close followers, which were thought lost, were discovered in 1885 and published in 1889.
Priscillianism was a Christian sect developed in the Roman province of Hispania in the 4th century by Priscillian. It is derived from the Gnostic doctrines taught by Marcus, an Egyptian from Memphis. Priscillianism was later considered a heresy by both the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church.
Anatolius of Constantinople was a Patriarch of Constantinople. He is regarded as a saint, by both the Orthodox and Catholic Churches.
An apostolic see is an episcopal see whose foundation is attributed to one or more of the apostles of Jesus or to one of their close associates. In Catholicism, the phrase "The Apostolic See" when capitalized refers specifically to the See of Rome.
Novatianism or Novationism was an early Christian sect devoted to the theologian Novatian that held a strict view that refused readmission to communion of lapsi. The Church of Rome declared the Novatianists heretical following the letters of Saint Cyprian of Carthage and Ambrose wrote against them. Novatianism survived until the 8th century.
A Dictionary of Christian Biography and Literature to the End of the Sixth Century A.D., with an Account of the Principal Sects and Heresies is a 1911 religious encyclopedia of biographies.
Hosius of Corduba, also known as Hosius the Confessor, Osius or Ossius, was a bishop of Corduba and an important and prominent advocate for Homoousion Christianity in the Arian controversy that divided the early Christianity.
The Councils of Carthage were church synods held during the 3rd, 4th, and 5th centuries in the city of Carthage in Africa. The most important of these are described below.
Jovinianism refers to an anti-ascetic movement that has its origins in the 4th-century theologian Jovinian, who criticized the monastic movement and argued for the equality of marriage and celibacy. Jovinianism was criticized by Saint Augustine and Jerome.
The First Council of Toledo was held at Toledo, Spain, in September of 400. The council was assembled under Archbishop Patronus with its primary purpose to condemn the Priscillian heresy, to receive back Priscillians, and uphold the Nicene Creed. Eighteen other Hispanic bishops participated, including Lampius, bishop of Barcelona. Many Priscillians were readmitted into the Catholic Church, notably Priscillian bishop Dictinnius. The council also reformed the clergy. Twenty canons were published by this council. It would be another 47 years before a council met again in Toledo.
A dogma of the Catholic Church is defined as "a truth revealed by God, which the magisterium of the Church declared as binding". The Catechism of the Catholic Church states:
The Church's Magisterium asserts that it exercises the authority it holds from Christ to the fullest extent when it defines dogmas, that is, when it proposes, in a form obliging Catholics to an irrevocable adherence of faith, truths contained in divine Revelation or also when it proposes, in a definitive way, truths having a necessary connection with these.
Proto-Protestantism, also called pre-Protestantism, refers to individuals and movements that propagated various ideas later associated with Protestantism before 1517, which historians usually regard as the starting year for the Reformation era. The relationship between medieval sects and Protestantism is an issue that has been debated by historians.
Rheus Agathopus or Rheius Agathopus was a companion of Ignatius of Antioch and a second century deacon in Syria. He was mentioned along with Philo of Cilicia in two of his epistles, in the epistle to the Smyrneans and Philadelphians. Rheus Agathopus and Philo of Cilicia accompanied Ignatius on his journey to Rome, and the book Martyrium Ignatii has been attributed to him, along with Philo of Cilicia, though even scholars who believe it is authentic often believe that it has been likely largely interpolated. Rheus Agathopus joined Ignatius in Troas.
Miltiades was a 2nd-century Christian, who wrote three treatises, "against the Greeks", "against the Jews" and an "Apology". He likely started writing before the death of Marcus Aurelius. Miltiades might have been associated with Montanism, however there is confusion as to if he was a Montanist, this is because In Eusebius' writings, there appears to be confusion over the name "Miltiades" and "Alcibiades", either due to an error from copyists or from Eusebius himself. It is even possible that he might have written against Montanism.