Twelfth Council of Toledo
Encyclopedia
The Twelfth Council of Toledo was initiated on 9 January 681 by the new King Erwig
. One of its first actions was to release the population from the laws of Wamba and recognise Erwig, anathematising all who opposed him. It was attended by thirty eight bishops, four abbots, and five palatine officials.
The council recognised the right of the metropolitan
archbishop of Toledo to consecrate all bishops appointed by the king, even if they were outside his own province. Thus was born the primacy
of the Toledan
diocese over all Spain
.
The council implemented diverse measures against the Jews, enacting against them twenty eight laws. The bishops ordered the reading in all the churches of the canons against the Jews and conserved all acts of abjuration and conversion of Jews, prohibiting converso
s from returning to Judaism. The canons were first read in the church of Santa María in Toledo on 27 January. Otherwise, the persecution of Jews was isolated to confiscation of goods.
The council, at the request of Erwig, revised the Forum Iudicum of Reccesuinth
to right perceived injustices and contradictions. The revised law came into effect on 21 October. Laws against violence to slaves were suppressed. The general trend of all modifications and new legislation was in favour of the nobles and their privileges.
In religious matters, the bishops dealt with penance
, death
, excommunication
, the number of sees, the election of bishops
, the mass
, and clerical discipline. The nomination of bishops by the kings was forbidden (despite tacit recognition of it in fact). The date of provincial synods was fixed on November 1 every year. The previous date had been in May, since the Fourth Council
. The provinces were ordered to hold at least one synod per annum. The church of Galicia was sanctioned in its treatment of slaves (see Tenth Council of Toledo
) and the extant paganism
of the province condemned.
The short council terminated on January 25.
Erwig
Erwig was a king of the Visigoths in Hispania . He was the only Visigothic king to be a complete puppet of the bishops and palatine nobility....
. One of its first actions was to release the population from the laws of Wamba and recognise Erwig, anathematising all who opposed him. It was attended by thirty eight bishops, four abbots, and five palatine officials.
The council recognised the right of the metropolitan
Metropolitan bishop
In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis; that is, the chief city of a historical Roman province, ecclesiastical province, or regional capital.Before the establishment of...
archbishop of Toledo to consecrate all bishops appointed by the king, even if they were outside his own province. Thus was born the primacy
Primacy
Primacy Effect may refer to:The tendency to form impressions of people based on the first information we receive about them. The primacy effect has most effect during repeated message when there is little or no delay between the messages....
of the Toledan
Toledo, Spain
Toledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.-Economy:...
diocese over all Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
The council implemented diverse measures against the Jews, enacting against them twenty eight laws. The bishops ordered the reading in all the churches of the canons against the Jews and conserved all acts of abjuration and conversion of Jews, prohibiting converso
Converso
A converso and its feminine form conversa was a Jew or Muslim—or a descendant of Jews or Muslims—who converted to Catholicism in Spain or Portugal, particularly during the 14th and 15th centuries. Mass conversions once took place under significant government pressure...
s from returning to Judaism. The canons were first read in the church of Santa María in Toledo on 27 January. Otherwise, the persecution of Jews was isolated to confiscation of goods.
The council, at the request of Erwig, revised the Forum Iudicum of 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...
to right perceived injustices and contradictions. The revised law came into effect on 21 October. Laws against violence to slaves were suppressed. The general trend of all modifications and new legislation was in favour of the nobles and their privileges.
In religious matters, the bishops dealt with penance
Penance
Penance is repentance of sins as well as the proper name of the Roman Catholic, Orthodox Christian, and Anglican Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation/Confession. It also plays a part in non-sacramental confession among Lutherans and other Protestants...
, death
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
, excommunication
Excommunication
Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive, suspend or limit membership in a religious community. The word means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group...
, the number of sees, the election of bishops
Investiture
Investiture, from the Latin is a rather general term for the formal installation of an incumbent...
, the mass
Mass
Mass can be defined as a quantitive measure of the resistance an object has to change in its velocity.In physics, mass commonly refers to any of the following three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent:...
, and clerical discipline. The nomination of bishops by the kings was forbidden (despite tacit recognition of it in fact). The date of provincial synods was fixed on November 1 every year. The previous date had been in May, since the Fourth Council
Fourth Council of Toledo
The Fourth Council of Toledo occurred in 633. It was held at the church of Saint Leocadia in Toledo.Probably under the presidency of the noted Isidore of Seville, the council regulated many matters of discipline, decreed uniformity of liturgy throughout the Visigothic kingdom and took stringent...
. The provinces were ordered to hold at least one synod per annum. The church of Galicia was sanctioned in its treatment of slaves (see Tenth Council of Toledo
Tenth Council of Toledo
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...
) and the extant paganism
Paganism
Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....
of the province condemned.
The short council terminated on January 25.
Sources
- Thompson, E. A. (1969) The Goths in Spain. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
- Concilium Toletanum duodecimum, minutes from the Collectio Hispana Gallica Augustodunensis (Vat. lat. 1341)