Pseudo-Council of Sinuessa

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The pseudo-Council of Sinuessa was a purported gathering of bishops in 303 at Sinuessa, [1] Italy, the purpose being a trial of Marcellinus on charges of apostasy. It is generally accepted [1] [2] [3] that the gathering never took place and that the purported council documents were forged for political purposes in the 6th century during the schism between Symmachus and Laurentius, who both claimed the Holy See. The collection of forgeries, including the Council of Sinuessa, is collectively known as the Symmachian forgeries.

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The Catholic Encyclopedia describes

The Latin phrase "quia prima sedes non judicatur a quoquam" means roughly "for the occupant of the highest see cannot be judged by anyone", [4] and the anecdote was produced in later centuries as evidence for the doctrine of papal supremacy. [5] [4]

Forged account

A primary Latin account of the pseudo-Council of Sinuessa was collected by Giovanni Domenico Mansi in 1759. [6] Döllinger summarizes the commonly-received account:

Döllinger dates the forgery to the reign of Symmachus, when Symmachus himself was being forced to answer to a synod convened by Theodoric, and himself was being threatened with deposition. [8]

Later uses and criticism

The story of Marcellinus and the Council of Sinuessa has been cited by later writers in support of papal supremacy. [5] [4]

Vice versa, one scholar writes that during the reign of Antipope Alexander V, Jean Gerson used the story [9] "to prove the legitimacy of a council assembled without the authority of the pope." [10]

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The Symmachian forgeries are a sheaf of forged documents produced in the papal curia of Pope Symmachus (498–514) in the beginning of the sixth century, in the same cycle that produced the Liber Pontificalis. In the context of the conflict between partisans of Symmachus and Antipope Laurentius the purpose of these libelli was to further papal pretensions of the independence of the Bishops of Rome from criticisms and judgment of any ecclesiastical tribunal, putting them above law clerical and secular by supplying spurious documents supposedly of an earlier age. "During the dispute between Pope St. Symmachus and the anti-pope Laurentius," the Catholic Encyclopedia reports, "the adherents of Symmachus drew up four apocryphal writings called the 'Symmachian Forgeries'. ... The object of these forgeries was to produce alleged instances from earlier times to support the whole procedure of the adherents of Symmachus, and, in particular, the position that the Roman bishop could not be judged by any court composed of other bishops."

References

  1. 1 2 3 PD-icon.svg  Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Pope Saint Marcellinus". Catholic Encyclopedia . New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  2. ↑ George Finch (1831). A Sketch of the Romish Controversy. G. Norman (London). p. 303. Retrieved 2018-06-09.
  3. ↑ "There can be no doubt that the account of this council of Sinuessa is spurious." John Jewel, bishop of Salisbury (1611). A Defense of the Apology of the Church of England. John Norton (London). Reprinted in John Ayre, ed. (1845). The Works of John Jewel. University Press (Cambridge). p. 340.
  4. 1 2 3 Karl Josef von Hefele (1872). A History of the Christian Councils (volume 1), from the original documents to the close of the council of Nicæa. Translated by William R. Clark. T. & T. Clark (Edinburgh). p. 128. Retrieved 2018-06-09.
  5. 1 2 George Finch (1831). A Sketch of the Romish Controversy. G. Norman (London). p. 298. Retrieved 2018-06-09.
  6. ↑ Giovanni Domenico Mansi (1759). "Concilium Sinuessanum, ejusque acta omnia, de Marcellini Papæ condemnatione". Sacrorum Conciliorum (volume 1). Antonio Zatta (Venice). p. 1249. Retrieved 2018-06-09.
  7. ↑ Johann Joseph Ignaz von Döllinger (1872). Fables Respecting the Popes in the Middle Ages. Translated by Alfred Plummer. Dodd & Mead (New York). p.  81 . Retrieved 2018-06-09.
  8. ↑ Johann Joseph Ignaz von Döllinger (1872). Fables Respecting the Popes in the Middle Ages. Translated by Alfred Plummer. Dodd & Mead (New York). p.  85 . Retrieved 2018-06-09.
  9. ↑ "Marcellinum idolis sacrificasse." Jean Gerson (1706). "Sermo coram Alex. papa, in die Ascensionis Domini". Opera Omnia (volume 2). p. 135.
  10. ↑ W.T. Townsend (1933). "The So-Called Symmachian Forgeries". The Journal of Religion. University of Chicago. 13 (2): 165–174. doi:10.1086/481294.
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