The Council or Synod of Sens () may refer to any of the following

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synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

s in

Sens Sens () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yonne Departments of France, department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France, 120 km southeast from Paris. Sens is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture and the second la ...

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, sometimes recognized as Primate of the Gauls with oversight of the French and German churches:

c. 601

Held in 600 or 601, this council condemned

simony Simony () is the act of selling church offices and roles or sacred things. It is named after Simon Magus, who is described in the Acts of the Apostles as having offered two disciples of Jesus payment in exchange for their empowering him to imp ...

in conformity with the instructions of Pope St Gregory the Great. St Columbanus refused to attend to prevent the possible enactment of a French resolution of the debate concerning the

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then dividing the Frankish and Breton churches.

Other early medieval councils

A series of councils were held in 657, 669 or 670, 833, 845 or 846, 850, 852, 853, 862, 980, 986, 996, 1048, 1071, and 1080, mostly concerned with the privileges of the Abbey of St Pierre le Vif. In 1009, Archbishop Leotheric (999–1032) of Sens held a provincial council, attended by King

Robert I of France Robert I ( – 15 June 923) was the elected King of West Francia from 922 to 923. Before his election to the throne he was Count of Poitiers, Count of Paris and Marquess, Marquis of Neustria and Orléans. He succeeded the overthrown Carolingian ...

, in which the bulls of the popes in favor of the abbey of Fleury-sur-Loire were burned.

Pope Sergius IV Pope Sergius IV (died 12 May 1012) was the bishop of Rome and nominal ruler of the Papal States from 31 July 1009 to his death. His temporal power (papal), temporal power was eclipsed by the patrician John Crescentius. Sergius IV may have calle ...

was so outraged that he summoned the archbishop to Rome to explain his conduct.

1141

This council was initially called merely to impart additional solemnity to the exposition of the

relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Reli ...

which Henri Sanglier, archbishop of Sens, had donated to Sens Cathedral. Attended by King LouisVII and Archbishop Samson of

Reims Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, and the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 12th most populous city in Fran ...

, it was used by St Bernard of Clairvaux as an opportunity to condemn

Peter Abelard Peter Abelard (12 February 1079 – 21 April 1142) was a medieval French scholastic philosopher, leading logician, theologian, teacher, musician, composer, and poet. This source has a detailed description of his philosophical work. In philos ...

for

Arianism Arianism (, ) is a Christology, Christological doctrine which rejects the traditional notion of the Trinity and considers Jesus to be a creation of God, and therefore distinct from God. It is named after its major proponent, Arius (). It is co ...

in distinguishing the members of the

Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...

; for

Pelagianism Pelagianism is a Christian theological position that holds that the fall did not taint human nature and that humans by divine grace have free will to achieve human perfection. Pelagius (), an ascetic and philosopher from the British Isles, ta ...

in preferring

free will Free will is generally understood as the capacity or ability of people to (a) choice, choose between different possible courses of Action (philosophy), action, (b) exercise control over their actions in a way that is necessary for moral respon ...

grace Grace may refer to: Places United States * Grace, Idaho, a city * Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois * Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office * Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an uni ...

; and

Nestorianism Nestorianism is a term used in Christian theology and Church history to refer to several mutually related but doctrinary, doctrinarily distinct sets of teachings. The first meaning of the term is related to the original teachings of Christian t ...

in dividing the human and divine natures of

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

. Bernard produced extracts from Abelard's works and called on him to deny having written them, to prove their truth, or to recant and retract them. Abelard, rather than defending himself at the council, attempted to appeal to

Pope Innocent II Pope Innocent II (; died 24 September 1143), born Gregorio Papareschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 February 1130 to his death in 1143. His election as Pope was controversial, and the first eight years o ...

. The council condemned his work but deferred to the pope for judgment on the man himself. Samson and other bishops wrote to Innocent asking for his confirmation of their findings, which he granted, condemning Abelard to perpetual silence. Rather than submit to this, Abelard published an apology confessing orthodox beliefs, desisting from his appeal, and retracting all he had written "contrary to the truth". Various sources date this council to 1140, although that appears mistaken..

c. 1198

Held in 1198 or 1199, this council was headed by the

papal legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the Pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title '' legatus'') is a personal representative of the Pope to foreign nations, to some other part of the Catho ...

Peter of Capua. It condemned the Cathars () who had become popular in Nivernais as a form of Manichaeanism and supposedly counted the dean of

Nevers Nevers ( , ; , later ''Nevirnum'' and ''Nebirnum'') is a city and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Nièvre Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in central France. It was the pr ...

and the abbot of St Martin de Nevers Raynaldus as adherents. Raynaldus was further condemned as a Stercoranist and Origenist and deposed. Both appealed to

Pope Innocent III Pope Innocent III (; born Lotario dei Conti di Segni; 22 February 1161 – 16 July 1216) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 until his death on 16 July 1216. Pope Innocent was one of the most power ...

, who ordered Peter and Eudes de Sully,

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

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, to investigate.

Other late medieval councils

A series of councils were held in 1216, 1224 or 1225, 1239, 1252, 1253, 1269, 1280, and 1315, mostly concerned with disciplinary matters. The council in 1224 condemned a work by Scotus Eriugena.

1320

The council in May 1320 was presided over by William de Melun, archbishop of Sens. It noted bishops should provide a 40-day indulgence to those fasting on the eve of the Feast of Corpus Christi; directed that jurisdictions were clerics were forcibly detained should be placed under

interdict In Catholic canon law, an interdict () is an ecclesiastical censure, or ban that prohibits certain persons or groups from participating in particular rites, or that the rites and services of the church are prohibited in certain territories for ...

; and condemned priests with beards, long hair, or boots dyed red, green, yellow, or white.

1461

The council in 1460 or 1461 was presided over by Louis de Melun. It issued various directives concerning the

Eucharist The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...

, permissible behavior of the clergy and monks, obligations of the laity towards the church, and other regulations from the

Fourth Council of the Lateran The Fourth Council of the Lateran or Lateran IV was convoked by Pope Innocent III in April 1213 and opened at the Lateran Palace in Rome on 11 November 1215. Due to the great length of time between the council's convocation and its meeting, m ...

, the Council of Basel, and the Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges. It was upheld by a subsequent council under Louis's successor Tristan de Salazar in 1485.

March 1522

Convened by King FrancisI, the council in March 1522 was intended to consider church reform and to approve changes in church taxes similar to those discussed in the 1520 . It had, however, no concrete outcome.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * . * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sens, Council of 7th-century church councils 9th-century church councils 10th-century church councils 11th-century Catholic Church councils 12th-century Catholic Church councils 13th-century Catholic Church councils 14th-century Catholic Church councils 15th-century Catholic Church councils 16th-century Catholic Church councils Christianity in Francia Catholic Church councils held in France