From the 5th century to the 7th century AD, about thirty

synods 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 meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin word mean ...

, variously counted, were held at Toledo (''Concilia toletana'') in what would come to be part of Spain. The earliest, directed against

Priscillianism Priscillianism was a Christian sect developed in the Iberian Peninsula under the Roman Empire in the 4th century by Priscillian. It is derived from the Gnostic doctrines taught by Marcus, an Egyptian from Memphis. Priscillianism was later con ...

, assembled in 400. The "third" synod of 589 marked the epoch-making conversion of King Reccared from

Arianism Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God ...

to orthodox

Chalcedonian Christianity Chalcedonian Christianity is the branch of Christianity that accepts and upholds theological and ecclesiological resolutions of the Council of Chalcedon, the Fourth Ecumenical Council, held in 451. Chalcedonian Christianity accepts the Christolo ...

. The " fourth", in 633, probably under the presidency of the noted

Isidore of Seville Isidore of Seville ( la, Isidorus Hispalensis; c. 560 – 4 April 636) was a Spanish scholar, theologian, and archbishop of Seville. He is widely regarded, in the words of 19th-century historian Montalembert, as "the last scholar of ...

, regulated many matters of discipline and decreed uniformity of liturgy throughout the kingdom. The British Celts of Galicia accepted the Latin rite and stringent measures were adopted against baptized Jews who had gone back to their former faith. The "twelfth" council in 681 assured to the

archbishop of Toledo This is a list of Bishops and Archbishops of Toledo ( la, Archidioecesis Metropolitae Toletana).

the primacy of Hispania (present Iberian Peninsula). As nearly one hundred early canons of Toledo found a place in the ''

Decretum Gratiani The ''Decretum Gratiani'', also known as the ''Concordia discordantium canonum'' or ''Concordantia discordantium canonum'' or simply as the ''Decretum'', is a collection of canon law compiled and written in the 12th century as a legal textbook b ...

'', they exerted an important influence on the development of

ecclesiastical law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is t ...

. The later synod of 1565 and 1566 concerned itself with the execution of the decrees of Trent; and the last council of Toledo, that of 1582 and 1583, was so guided in detail by

Philip II Philip II may refer to: * Philip II of Macedon (382–336 BC) * Philip II (emperor) (238–249), Roman emperor * Philip II, Prince of Taranto (1329–1374) * Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (1342–1404) * Philip II, Duke of Savoy (1438-1497) * Philip ...

that the pope ordered the name of the royal commissioner to be expunged from the acts. The seventh century is sometimes called, by Spanish historians, the ''Siglo de Concilios'', or "Century of Councils".

Councils

First Council of Toledo The First Council of Toledo was held at Toledo, Spain, in September of 400. The council was assembled under Archbishop Patronus with its primary purpose to condemn the Priscillian heresy, to receive back Priscillians, and uphold the Nicene Creed. ...

(400) *

Council of Toledo of 447 The Council of Toledo of 447 was the second Council of Toledo (though the Council of Toledo of 527 is normally called this). It was a national council held against the Priscillianists (a schismatic sect with Gnostic- Manichaean, Sabellian, a ...

(447) *

Second Council of Toledo The Second Council of Toledo was held by 8 bishops of the Visigothic Kingdom of Toledo in the city of Toledo in 527 or 531, under the presidency of Montanus (Montà), the metropolitan bishop of Toledo. The chief issue with which the synod dealt ...

(527) *

Third Council of Toledo The Third Council of Toledo (589) marks the entry of Visigothic Spain into the Catholic Church, and is known for codifying the filioque clause into Western Christianity."Filioque." Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church. ...

(589) *

Fourth Council of Toledo The Fourth Council of Toledo was held in 633. It was convened by Visigothic king Sisenand and took place at the church of Saint Leocadia in Toledo. Probably under the presidency of the noted Isidore of Seville, the council regulated many matters ...

(633) *

Fifth Council of Toledo The Fifth Council of Toledo was convoked by King Chintila and opened on 30 June 636 in the church of Saint Leocadia in Toledo. It was attended by twenty two bishops and two episcopal representatives. The bishops of Narbonensis were absent for po ...

(636) *

Sixth Council of Toledo The Sixth Council of Toledo was the second council convoked by King Chintila and opened on 9 January 638 in the church of St. Leocadia in Toledo. It was attended by fifty three bishops, including those from Narbonensis who had not participated in ...

(638) *

Seventh Council of Toledo The Seventh Council of Toledo commenced on 18 November 646 and was attended by 41 bishops either personally or by delegation. It was the first of Chindasuinth's two councils. The law against treason was strengthened with the addition of a penalt ...

(646) *

Eighth Council of Toledo The Eighth Council of Toledo commenced on 16 December 653 in the church of the Holy Apostles in Toledo in Spain. It was attended by fifty two bishops in person, including the aged Gavinio of Calahorra, who had assisted at the Fourth Council, a ...

(653) *

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. It was attended by only sixteen or seven ...

(655) *

Tenth Council of Toledo The Tenth Council of Toledo was summoned to meet in Toledo on 1 December 656 by King Reccesuinth of Hispania. In November 655, the bishops of Carthaginiensis had held a provincial synod in Toledo, the Ninth Council of Toledo. They scheduled a ...

(656) *

Eleventh Council of Toledo The Eleventh Council of Toledo convened first on 7 November 675. It was attended by seventeen bishops and two deacons representing the sees of Segovia and Ergávica (also Ercávica or Arcávica) as well as five abbots. The council dealt mostly w ...

(675) *

Twelfth Council of Toledo The Twelfth Council of Toledo, held in Toledo, Spain, was initiated on 9 January 681 by the Visigothic King Erwig, who was elected king in 680. One of its first actions was to release the population from the laws of Wamba and recognise Erwig, ana ...

(681) *

Thirteenth Council of Toledo The Thirteenth Council of Toledo, called by Visigothic king Erwig, opened in Toledo, Spain, on 4 November 683. 77 bishops, 5 abbots, 3 church dignitaries, and 27 palatine functionaries participated.Fourteenth Council of Toledo The Fourteenth Council of Toledo first met in Toledo, Spain, on 14 November 684 under Visigothic King Erwig. It was called in response to a letter from Pope Leo II directing the king, a Count Simplicius, and the recently deceased Quiricus, metropo ...

(684) *

Fifteenth Council of Toledo The Fifteenth Council of Toledo first met in Toledo, Spain on 11 May 688 under Visigothic King Egica. It was the first of his three councils. In 680-681, the sixth ecumenical council, the Third Council of Constantinople, had repudiated monothelit ...

(688) *

Sixteenth Council of Toledo The Sixteenth Council of Toledo first met in Toledo, Spain on 25 April 693. It was the second of three councils convened by Visigothic king Egica. In 692, the archbishop of Toledo, Sisebert, led a rebellion with many nobles to install one Suniefr ...

(693) *

Seventeenth Council of Toledo The Seventeenth Council of Toledo first met on 9 November 694 under Visigothic King Egica. It was the king's third council and primarily directed, as was the Sixteenth, against the Jews, for whom Egica seems to have had a profound distrust and d ...

(694) *

Eighteenth Council of Toledo The Eighteenth Council of Toledo was the last of the councils of Toledo held in Visigothic Spain before the Moorish conquest of 711. It was held after the Seventeenth Council in 694, probably in 703 during the reign of King Wittiza (701–710) ...

(ca. 702)

Museum

In Toledo there is a museum which features the councils and other aspects of

Visigothic 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 ...

culture, the . It is housed in the church of San Roman.

References

*Thompson, E. A. ''The Goths in Spain''.

Clarendon Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

: Oxford, 1969. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Councils Of Toledo Visigothic Kingdom