The Council of Agde was a regional

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...

held in September 506 at Agatha or

Agde Agde (; ) is a commune in the Hérault department in Southern France. It is the Mediterranean port of the Canal du Midi. Location Agde is located on the Hérault river, from the Mediterranean Sea, and from Paris. The Canal du Midi ...

, on the Mediterranean coast east of Narbonne, in the

Septimania Septimania (french: Septimanie ; oc, Septimània ) is a historical region in modern-day Southern France. It referred to the western part of the Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis that passed to the control of the Visigoths in 462, when Septim ...

region of the

Visigothic Kingdom The Visigothic Kingdom, officially the Kingdom of the Goths ( la, Regnum Gothorum), was a kingdom that occupied what is now southwestern France and the Iberian Peninsula from the 5th to the 8th centuries. One of the Germanic successor states to ...

, with the permission of the Visigothic King

Alaric II Alaric II ( got, 𐌰𐌻𐌰𐍂𐌴𐌹𐌺𐍃, , "ruler of all"; la, Alaricus; – August 507) was the King of the Visigoths from 484 until 507. He succeeded his father Euric as king of the Visigoths in Toulouse on 28 December 484; he wa ...

. The Council met under the presidency of Bishop

Caesarius of Arles Caesarius of Arles ( la, Caesarius Arelatensis; 468/470 27 August 542 AD), sometimes called "of Chalon" (''Cabillonensis'' or ''Cabellinensis'') from his birthplace Chalon-sur-Saône, was the foremost ecclesiastic of his generation in Merovingia ...

. It was attended by 35

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member 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 of dioceses. The role or offic ...

s: *Caesarius of Arles *Cyprianus of Bordeaux *Clarus of Elusa *Tetradius of Bourges *Heraclianus of Toulouse *Sophronius of Agde *Sedatus of Nîmes * Quintianus of Rodez *Sabinus of Albi *Boëtius of Cahors *Gratianus of Aix *Nicetius of Aux *Suavis of Comminges *Galactorius of Benarnum (Lescar) *Gratus of Oloron *Vigilius of Lectoure *Maternus of Lodève *Petrus de Palatio * Glycerius of Couserans *Chronopius of Périgueux *Probatius of Uzès *Agroecius of Antibes *Marcellus of Senez *Pentadius of Digne * aprario of Narbonne�� * ictorinus of Fréjus�� * prus of Tarbes�� * uphrasius of Auvergne�� * ulianus of Avignon�� * extilius of Bazas�� * arcellus of Apt�� * appolo�� * eonicus of Châlons-sur-Saône��‡ * Verus of Tours‡‡ ‡ represented by a priest.
‡‡ represented by a deacon. The Council of Agde promulgated 47 canons on ecclesiastical discipline. In general, its canons shed light on the moral conditions of the clergy and

laity In religious organizations, the laity () consists of all members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-ordained members of religious orders, e.g. a nun or a lay brother. In both religious and wider secular usage, a layperson ...

in the historical region of Septimania at the beginning of the transition from Roman social order within the

Roman province The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was rule ...

of Gallia Narbonensis to that of the

Visigoth The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is kno ...

migrants. They are also of some importance for the study of certain early ecclesiastical institutions. Its canon 7, forbidding ecclesiastics to sell or alienate the property of the church from which they drew their living, seems to be the earliest indication of the later system of

benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

s. In Canon IX, the Council ruled that if married deacons or priests wish to return to marital relations, they should be deprived of all of their ecclesiastical dignities and offices; those, however, who were unaware of the prohibition, could be allowed to retain their office if they abstain in the future. In Canon X, a cleric was forbidden to visit women to whom he was not related, and could have in his house only his mother, sister, daughter, or niece. A bishop was not to ordain anyone a deacon who was not yet twenty-five years old. In order to be ordained a priest or bishop, one had to be at least thirty years of age. If a young married man wished to be ordained, he required the consent of his wife (Canon XVI). Marriage between cousins was also forbidden.

References

Books

* * * * *Mansi, J.-D. (ed.), ''Sacrorum Conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio'
editio novissima Tomus IX
(Florence 1763).

Acknowledgment

6th century in Francia

Eastern Orthodoxy Gallia Narbonensis {{RC-stub