Tenth Council of Toledo
Encyclopedia
The Tenth Council of Toledo was summoned to meet on 1 December 656 by King Reccesuinth
. In November 655, the bishops of Carthaginiensis had held a provincial synod in Toledo, the Ninth Council of Toledo
. They had scheduling a second council for 1 November the next year, but a general council was called by the king.
The tenth council was attended by only seventeen bishops and five deputies from Carthaginiensis and Gallaecia
. The metropolitan of Toledo, Eugenius III
, joined by his fellow metropolitans, Fugitivus of Seville and Potamius of Braga, attended from Baetica, but no bishops came from Tarraconensis or Gallia Narbonensis
. This made it the most poorly attended of the great general councils of the Siglo de Concilios (7th century).
The council declared that all clerical oathbreakers were to be defrocked and/or exiled, leaving it up to the king to decided whether both punishments were necessary. The council also expelled from the family of the church all clerics of all ranks who, in the future, were caught trading Christian slaves with Jews. The bishops further worked to ameliorate conflicts within the church and enforce ecclesiastic discipline. Potamius of Braga admitted to carnal sins and was retired to a monastery, replaced by Fructuosus
, whose old see of Dumio
had its own conflict. The last will and testament of the recently deceased bishop of Dumium, Riccimer, was disputed over those who saw his freeing of slaves and distribution of monies to the poor without compensation as responsible for the subsequent impoverishment of that see. It was given to his successor (Fructuosus) to decide exactly what to do, but his actions without compensation were considered unlawful. The council closed and Reccesuinth did not call another for the rest of his reign (672), which is thus an obscure era in Spanish history.
As an aside, it is possible that the later King Wamba was summoned to produce the will of St Martin of Braga by Reccesuinth.
Reccesuinth
Recceswinth, or Reccesuinth, Recceswint, Reccaswinth, Recdeswinth, Recesvinto , Reccesvinthus ; was the Visigothic King of Hispania, Septimania and Galicia in 649–672: jointly with his father from 649 and as sole king from 653.Beginning in 654 Recceswinth was responsible for the promulgation of a...
. In November 655, the bishops of Carthaginiensis had held a provincial synod in Toledo, the Ninth Council of Toledo
Ninth Council of Toledo
The Ninth Council of Toledo was a provincial synod of bishops of Carthaginiensis. It began on 2 November 655 under the auspices of King Reccesuinth. It ended on November 24 in the Church of Santa María....
. They had scheduling a second council for 1 November the next year, but a general council was called by the king.
The tenth council was attended by only seventeen bishops and five deputies from Carthaginiensis and Gallaecia
Gallaecia
Gallaecia or Callaecia, also known as Hispania Gallaecia, was the name of a Roman province and an early Mediaeval kingdom that comprised a territory in the north-west of Hispania...
. The metropolitan of Toledo, Eugenius III
Eugenius III of Toledo
Eugenius III , sometimes called the Younger, as the successor of Eugenius II of Toledo, was Archbishop of Toledo from 647 until his death.-Life:...
, joined by his fellow metropolitans, Fugitivus of Seville and Potamius of Braga, attended from Baetica, but no bishops came from Tarraconensis or Gallia Narbonensis
Gallia Narbonensis
Gallia Narbonensis was a Roman province located in what is now Languedoc and Provence, in southern France. It was also known as Gallia Transalpina , which was originally a designation for that part of Gaul lying across the Alps from Italia and it contained a western region known as Septimania...
. This made it the most poorly attended of the great general councils of the Siglo de Concilios (7th century).
The council declared that all clerical oathbreakers were to be defrocked and/or exiled, leaving it up to the king to decided whether both punishments were necessary. The council also expelled from the family of the church all clerics of all ranks who, in the future, were caught trading Christian slaves with Jews. The bishops further worked to ameliorate conflicts within the church and enforce ecclesiastic discipline. Potamius of Braga admitted to carnal sins and was retired to a monastery, replaced by Fructuosus
Fructuosus of Braga
Saint Fructuosus of Braga was the Bishop of Dumio and Archbishop of Braga, a great founder of monasteries, who died April 16, 665. He was the son of a Visigothic dux in the region of Bierzo and he accompanied his father at a young age on certain official trips over his estates...
, whose old see of Dumio
Dumio
The Monastery of Dumio , is a former paleo-Christian monastery in the civil parish of Dume, municipality of Braga, in northwestern portio of Portugal. Originally a Roman villa, it was the base of a basilica by Suebi tribes, and later Christian monastery headed by Martin of Braga in the 6th century...
had its own conflict. The last will and testament of the recently deceased bishop of Dumium, Riccimer, was disputed over those who saw his freeing of slaves and distribution of monies to the poor without compensation as responsible for the subsequent impoverishment of that see. It was given to his successor (Fructuosus) to decide exactly what to do, but his actions without compensation were considered unlawful. The council closed and Reccesuinth did not call another for the rest of his reign (672), which is thus an obscure era in Spanish history.
As an aside, it is possible that the later King Wamba was summoned to produce the will of St Martin of Braga by Reccesuinth.
Sources
- Thompson, E. A. (1969) The Goths in Spain. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
- Synodus Toletana decima, minutes from the Collectio Hispana Gallica Augustodunensis (Vat. lat. 1341)