Council of Clermont (535)
Encyclopedia
At the Council of Clermont in 535, fifteen prelate
s of the kingdom of Austrasia
assisted, under the presidency of Honoratus, Bishop of Bourges, at a synod
in the city now called Clermont-Ferrand
. Among those bishops attending was the bishop of Clermont, canonized as saint Gal.
They drew up seventeen canons, of which the first sixteen are contained in the Decretum Gratiani
compiled in the twelfth century by Gratian
; they have become part of the corpus of canon law
of the Catholic Church, the Corpus Iuris Canonici.
The following is a summary:
The council also declared itself forcefully against the marriages of Christians with Jews, marriages between relatives
, and the misconduct of the clergy.
Prelate
A prelate is a high-ranking member of the clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin prælatus, the past participle of præferre, which means "carry before", "be set above or over" or "prefer"; hence, a prelate is one set over others.-Related...
s of the kingdom of Austrasia
Austrasia
Austrasia formed the northeastern portion of the Kingdom of the Merovingian Franks, comprising parts of the territory of present-day eastern France, western Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Metz served as its capital, although some Austrasian kings ruled from Rheims, Trier, and...
assisted, under the presidency of Honoratus, Bishop of Bourges, at a synod
Synod
A synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not...
in the city now called Clermont-Ferrand
Clermont-Ferrand
Clermont-Ferrand is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne region, with a population of 140,700 . Its metropolitan area had 409,558 inhabitants at the 1999 census. It is the prefecture of the Puy-de-Dôme department...
. Among those bishops attending was the bishop of Clermont, canonized as saint Gal.
They drew up seventeen canons, of which the first sixteen are contained in the Decretum Gratiani
Decretum Gratiani
The Decretum Gratiani or Concordia discordantium canonum is a collection of Canon law compiled and written in the 12th century as a legal textbook by the jurist known as Gratian. It forms the first part of the collection of six legal texts, which together became known as the Corpus Juris Canonici...
compiled in the twelfth century by Gratian
Gratian (jurist)
Gratian, was a 12th century canon lawyer from Bologna. He is sometimes incorrectly referred to as Franciscus Gratianus, Johannes Gratianus, or Giovanni Graziano. The dates of his birth and death are unknown....
; they have become part of the corpus of canon law
Canon law
Canon law is the body of laws & regulations made or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the Catholic Church , the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Anglican Communion of...
of the Catholic Church, the Corpus Iuris Canonici.
The following is a summary:
- bishops are prohibited from submitting to the deliberations of councils any private or temporal affairs, before having dealt with matters regarding discipline;
- clerics are forbidden to appeal to seculars in their disputes with bishops;
- excommunication is pronounced against bishops who solicit the protection of princes in order to obtain the episcopacy, or who cause forged decrees of election to be signed.
The council also declared itself forcefully against the marriages of Christians with Jews, marriages between relatives
Consanguinity
Consanguinity refers to the property of being from the same kinship as another person. In that respect, consanguinity is the quality of being descended from the same ancestor as another person...
, and the misconduct of the clergy.