The Councils of
Sens were a number of
church council
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 meani ...
s hosted by the
Archdiocese of Sens
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sens and Auxerre ( Latin: ''Archidioecesis Senonensis et Antissiodorensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Sens et Auxerre'') is a Latin Rite Archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The Archdiocese com ...
.
The first, around 600 or 601, in conformity with the instructions of pope
St. Gregory the Great
Pope Gregory I ( la, Gregorius I; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great, was the bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 to his death. He is known for instigating the first recorded large-scale mission from Rome, the Gregoria ...
advised against simony.
St. Columbanus
Columbanus ( ga, Columbán; 543 – 21 November 615) was an Irish missionary notable for founding a number of monasteries after 590 in the Frankish and Lombard kingdoms, most notably Luxeuil Abbey in present-day France and Bobbio Abbey in pr ...
refused to attend it because the question of the
date of Easter
As a moveable feast, the date of Easter is determined in each year through a calculation known as (). Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the Paschal full moon, which is the first full moon on or after 21 March (a fixed approxim ...
(which was to be decided) was dividing
Franks and
Bretons
The Bretons (; br, Bretoned or ''Vretoned,'' ) are a Celtic ethnic group native to Brittany. They trace much of their heritage to groups of Brittonic speakers who emigrated from southwestern Great Britain, particularly Cornwall and Devon, m ...
.
A series of councils (most concerned with the privileges of the
Abbey of St. Pierre-le-Vif
The Abbey of Saint-Pierre-le-Vif (french: Abbaye de Saint-Pierre-le-Vif) was a Benedictine monastery just outside the walls of Sens, France, in the Archdiocese of Sens.
History
The first abbot of Saint-Pierre-le-Vif, Saint Ebbo, was bishop of ...
) were held in 657, 669 (or 670), 846, 850, 852, 853, 862, 980, 986, 996, 1048, 1071 and 1080.
The council of 1140, according to the letter issued by
Archbishop
In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
Henri Sanglier Henri Sanglier (1085''Gallia Christiana''–1142 or 1144) was a French Catholic bishop.
He was born in Poitou and was archbishop of Sens from 1122 until his death. He ordered the construction of Sens Cathedral around 1130. He also presided over the ...
, seems to have had no object but to impart 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 of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...
with which he enriched the cathedral. The chief work of this council (which included representatives from the
Ecclesiastical province
An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian Churches with traditional hierarchical structure, including Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. In general, an ecclesiastical province consists of sever ...
s of Sens and
Reims
Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne.
Founded by ...
and at which Saint
Bernard of Clairvaux
Bernard of Clairvaux, O. Cist. ( la, Bernardus Claraevallensis; 109020 August 1153), venerated as Saint Bernard, was an abbot, mystic, co-founder of the Knights Templars, and a major leader in the reformation of the Benedictine Order through ...
assisted) was the condemnation of
Abelard
Peter Abelard (; french: link=no, Pierre Abélard; la, Petrus Abaelardus or ''Abailardus''; 21 April 1142) was a medieval French scholastic philosopher, leading logician, theologian, poet, composer and musician. This source has a detailed desc ...
's doctrine. Abelard appealed from the council to Rome, but the bishops of both provinces insisted in two letters to
Innocent II
Pope Innocent II ( la, Innocentius 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 fi ...
that the condemnation be confirmed. Martin Deutsch dates this council to 1141 but the Abbé Vacandard attempted to prove by the letter from
Peter the Venerable to
Héloïse
Héloïse (; c. 1100–01? – 16 May 1163–64?), variously Héloïse d'ArgenteuilCharrier, Charlotte. Heloise Dans L'histoire Et Dans la Legende. Librairie Ancienne Honore Champion Quai Malaquais, VI, Paris, 1933 or Héloïse du Paraclet, wa ...
, the "Continuatio Praemonstratensis", the "Continuatio Valcellensis" and the list of the priors of Clairvaux that Baronius' date (1140) is correct. However, Constant Mews has convincingly argued in a revised examination of all the available sources that it did in fact take place in 1141.
The council of 1198 was concerned with the
Manichaean sect of
Poplicani which had spread throughout the
Nivernais region, to which the dean of
Nevers and the Abbot of
St-Martin de Nevers were said to have belonged. After the council,
Pope Innocent III ordered his
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, or to some part of the Catholi ...
Peter of Capua and the
Bishop of Paris
The Archdiocese of Paris (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Parisiensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Paris'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. It is one of twenty-three archdioceses in Franc ...
Eudes de Sully
]
Eudes de Sully (french: Odon de Sully, Odo de Sully; la, Odo de Soliaco) (died 1208) was Bishop of Paris, from 1197 to 1208. He is considered to be the first to have put emphasis on the Elevation liturgy during the Catholic Mass. He worked to a ...
to investigate.
A council was held in 1224 to condemn a book by
Scotus Eriugena.
Councils were also held in 1216, 1239, 1252, 1253, 1269, 1280, 1315, 1320, 1460 and 1485 (most for disciplinary reasons).
A synod was held in March 1522, called by
Francis I of France, to discuss the reformation of the church and of the
church taxes, also published in the 1520 book ''Taxe cancellarie apostolice''. It had no concrete outcome.
References
{{Authority control
Sens