List of Frankish synods

Last updated

A list of church synods held in the Frankish kingdom and its immediate predecessors in the Frankish area, including the Visigothic Kingdom, the Ostrogothic Kingdom, and the Kingdom of Burgundy.

Contents

Background and importance

Regional synods had been held regularly in the Church of Gaul, more than thirty of them between 314 and 506. [1] The synods listed here (some of which are also referred to as "General synods of the German empire") mark a particularly Germanic development in the Western Church: to the usual regional or provincial councils, Germanic peoples added a traditional element from their systems of government, the idea of a national council, which was influenced by the Christian East. [2]

They also indicate a growing congruence between church and state. While Arian rulers kept their distance from the general councils, Visigoth rulers began influencing the councils only after the conversion of Reccared I. As soon as they had established themselves, Merovingian kings (and the Carolingians after them) exerted their influence on the councils. [2] According to Gregory Halfond, such congruence was a particular quality of the Gallo-Roman church, in which the Roman aristocracy made up an important part of the leadership of the Gallo-Roman (and later the Frankish) church; continuity in this power nexus is indicated also by the continued use of Roman procedures in the councils. [3]

An early important churchman is Caesarius of Arles, who presided over the Visigoth synod held at Agde in 506, [4] and then over the Second Council of Orange (529) and the Second council of Vaison (529). The synods organized by Caesarius were regional, and were mostly concerned with conforming the canons and practices of the Church of Gaul to those of other Churches. At Orange, for instance, he had earlier (Pelagian) practices of the Gallic church anathematized, and at the ensuing council in Vaison liturgical conformity with other Churches (Italy, Africa, the East) was established. [5] A model for the following Frankish synods was set by Clovis I, who organized the First Council of Orléans (511); though he did not himself attend it, he set the agenda and followed the proceedings closely (at stake was "the unification of the Roman church under Frankish rule"). [6] After the waning of Caesarius's influence and the establishment of Merovingian rule, the focus of the soon-to-be Frankish Church shifted north, to deal with the growing problem of adjusting to "deeply embedded Germanic practices"; rather than Pelagianism or Predestinatarianism, bishops now had to deal with problems involving "marriage, the relations between a warrior aristocracy and clergy, or monks and nuns, the conflicts born of royal influence and control, or of property rights". [5]

The basic model established by Clovis entailed a meeting of church leaders (at any level) which could be convoked by religious or secular authorities. The result of such meetings were ecclesiastical legislative decisions called canones . [6] Another aspect of synods was judicial: those who had transgressed ecclesiastical and other law were investigated and judged. [7] Finally, synods decided on matters of grants and privileges. [8]

Many of the synods (sometimes also called "councils"—"synod" is sometimes applied to smaller gatherings [9] ), though not all, have what can be called "conciliar status," that is, they were convoked by a monarchical authority. [10] Especially in the Frankish church the great number of conciliar canons is evidence of the close relationship between the rulers and the church. By the eighth century, however, the regular organization of synods had largely disappeared, and when Boniface complained to Pope Zacharias in 742 that there hadn't been a synod in the Frankish church in at least eighty years, he was not exaggerating by much. [11] [12] Boniface's Concilium Germanicum was the first of three "reform councils" [13] he organized in his attempts to reform the Frankish church. [14] He was only partially successful in his attempts, and never really succeeded in disentangling the close relationship between nobility and clergy, which in many cases had led to church property being owned by noblemen (who had been appointed bishops by Carolingian rulers, for instance to appease them) and their families. [12] [15]

Post-Roman synods held in Gaul before the Frankish period

Visigoth synods

Ostrogoth synods

Burgundian synods

Frankish synods

Sixth century

Seventh century

Eighth century

Ninth century

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Boniface</span> 8th-century Anglo-Saxon missionary and saint

Boniface, OSB was an English Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of Francia during the eighth century. He organised significant foundations of the church in Germany and was made bishop of Mainz by Pope Gregory III. He was martyred in Frisia in 754, along with 52 others, and his remains were returned to Fulda, where they rest in a sarcophagus which remains a site of Christian pilgrimage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">511</span> Calendar year

Year 511 (DXI) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Felix and Secundinus. The denomination 511 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.

The Concilium Germanicum was the first major Church synod to be held in the eastern parts of the Frankish kingdoms. It was called by Carloman on 21 April 742/743 at an unknown location, and presided over by Boniface, who was solidified in his position as leader of the Austrasian church. German historian Gunther Wolf judges that the Concilium was the high point in Boniface's long career.

The Council of Epaone or Synod of Epaone was held in September 517 at Epaone in the Burgundian Kingdom.

The Council of Vaison refers to two separate synods consisting of officials and theologians of the Catholic Church which were held in or near to the Avignon commune of Vaison, France. The first was held in 442 and the second in 529.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caesarius of Arles</span> Merovingian archbishop and saint

Caesarius of Arles, sometimes called "of Chalon" from his birthplace Chalon-sur-Saône, was the foremost ecclesiastic of his generation in Merovingian Gaul. Caesarius is considered to be of the last generation of church leaders of Gaul who worked to integrate large-scale ascetic elements into the Western Christian tradition. William E. Klingshirn's study of Caesarius depicts Caesarius as having the reputation of a "popular preacher of great fervour and enduring influence". Among those who exercised the greatest influence on Caesarius were Augustine of Hippo, Julianus Pomerius, and John Cassian.

The Council of Agde was a regional synod held in September 506 at Agatha or Agde, on the Mediterranean coast east of Narbonne, in the Septimania region of the Visigothic Kingdom, with the permission of the Visigothic King Alaric II.

The First Council of Orléans was convoked by Clovis I, King of the Franks, in 511. Clovis called for this synod four years after his victory over the Visigoths under Alaric II at the Battle of Vouillé in 507. The council was attended by thirty-two bishops, including four metropolitans, from across Gaul, and together they passed thirty-one decrees. The bishops met at Orléans to reform the church and construct a strong relationship between the crown and the Catholic episcopate, the majority of the canons reflecting compromise between these two institutions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Fréjus-Toulon</span> Catholic diocese in France

The Diocese of Fréjus–Toulon is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in southeastern France on the Mediterranean coast. The present diocese comprises the territory of the ancient Diocese of Fréjus as well as that of the ancient Diocese of Toulon. In 1957 it was renamed as the Diocese of Fréjus–Toulon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Vaison</span> French diocese

The Ancient Diocese of Vaison was a Roman Catholic diocese in France, suppressed in 1801, with its territory transferred to the diocese of Avignon. It had been one of nine dioceses in the ecclesiastical province presided over by the archbishop of Arles, but a later reorganization placed Vasio under the archbishop of Avignon. Jurisdiction inside the diocese was shared between the bishop and the Comte de Provence, higher justice and the castle belonging to the Comte, and civil justice and all other rights belonging to the bishop. The cathedral was served by a chapter which had four dignities: the provost (praepositus), the archdeacon, the sacristan, and the precentor. There were also six canons, each of whom had a prebend attached to his office.

Arles in the south of Roman Gaul hosted several councils or synods referred to as Concilium Arelatense in the history of the early Christian church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyprian of Toulon</span>

Saint Cyprian of Toulon was bishop of Toulon during the 6th century.

The Council of Clermont of 535 was one of the early Frankish synods. Held at Arvernum,, it was attended by fifteen prelates of the kingdom of Austrasia under the presidency of Honoratus, bishop of Bourges.

The Fifth Council of Orléans assembled nine archbishops and forty-one bishops. Sacerdos of Lyon presided over this council. The presence of these bishops indicates both the wide spread of Christianity in Gaul by the sixth century, and the increased influence of the Merovingian kings.

Gaul was an important early center of Latin Christianity during late antiquity and the Merovingian period. By the middle of the 3rd century, there were several churches organized in Roman Gaul, and soon after the cessation of persecution, the bishops of the Latin world assembled at Arles, in AD 314. The Church of Gaul passed through three crises in the late Roman period, Arianism, Priscillianism and Pelagianism. Under Merovingian rule, a number of "Frankish synods" were held, marking a particularly Germanic development in the Western Church. A model for the following Frankish synods was set by Clovis I, who organized the First Council of Orléans (511).

<i>Indiculus superstitionum et paganiarum</i> Latin collection of capitularies

The Indiculus superstitionum et paganiarum is a Latin collection of capitularies identifying and condemning superstitious and pagan beliefs found in the north of Gaul and among the Saxons during the time of their subjugation and conversion by Charlemagne.

The Second Council of Orange was held in 529 at Orange, which was then part of the Ostrogothic Kingdom. It affirmed much of the theology of Augustine of Hippo, and made numerous proclamations against what later would come to be known as semi-Pelagian doctrine.

The Council of Toul was a Frankish synod convoked by Theudebald, King of Austrasia, that convened in Toul on 1 June 550. It is not known how many bishops attended. It extended to the ecclesiastical provinces of Reims and Trier and perhaps beyond. The diocese of Toul was a suffragan of Trier. The metropolitan bishop, Nicetius of Trier, was certainly in attendance.

The Council of Paris was a synod convoked by King Chlothar II in 614. It was a concilium mixtum, attended by both ecclesiastics and laymen from throughout the kingdom of the Franks. It was the first of three councils held by Chlothar. It helped secure his rule over the whole kingdom, which he only acquired in 613.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theodore of Marseille</span>

Theodore was the bishop of Marseille from at least 566 until 591/594. In the 580s, Theodore was at the centre of a dispute over the city of Marseille between King Guntram and his nephew, King Childebert II. He was arrested several times. His troubles are recorded by the contemporary historian Gregory of Tours, who depicts him as a saintly albeit powerless figure who was supported by the laity, but opposed by his own clergy.

References

Notes
  1. ↑ Halfond 2.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rahner 301–302.
  3. ↑ Halfond 4–6.
  4. ↑ Halfond 6.
  5. 1 2 Markus 155–56.
  6. 1 2 Halfond 8–9.
  7. ↑ Halfond 10–13.
  8. ↑ Halfond 12–13.
  9. ↑ Lumpe passim.
  10. ↑ Halfond viii, 21, 59.
  11. ↑ Hartmann 59.
  12. 1 2 3 Schuler 364.
  13. ↑ Wolf 1–5.
  14. ↑ There is some discussion on the appropriateness of the term "reform"; see Halfond 1.
  15. ↑ Schieffer.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 Halfond, "Appendix A: Frankish Councils, 511–768." 223–46.
  17. ↑ Halfond 185 n.3.
  18. 1 2 3 4 Herbermann et al. 53.
  19. ↑ Acta Conciliorum tom. 3 col. 353
  20. ↑ Acta Conciliorum tom. 3 col. 355
  21. ↑ Delaney 579–80.
  22. ↑ Bachrach 25.
  23. ↑ Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "St. Columbanus"  . Catholic Encyclopedia . New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  24. ↑ Wolf passim.
  25. 1 2 Dierkens 15.
  26. ↑ Herbermann et al. 577–578.
  27. 1 2 Herberman et al. 276–78.
Bibliography
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.