The Fifth Council of Orléans (28 October 549) assembled nine

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 ...

s and forty-one

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

Sacerdos of Lyon Saint Sacerdos (Sardot or Serdot) of Lyon (487 – 552) was Archbishop of Lyon from 544 to 552. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church whose feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizin ...

presided over this council. The presence of these bishops indicates both the wide spread of Christianity in Gaul by the sixth century, and the increased influence of the Merovingian kings.

Bishops

Aurelianus of Arles Aurelianus (523 – 551) was Archbishop of Arles from 546 to 551. His predecessors were Auxanius (bishop form 542–546) and Caesarius of Arles (d. 542). His father Sacerdos (d. 552) was an Archbishop of Lyon. His cousin Nicetius (d. 573) succeeded ...

* Eutychius of Vienne * Nicerius of Trier * Desiderius of Bourges *Aspasius of Elusa ( Eause) * Constitutus of Sens *Placidus of Mâcon, first

Bishop of Mâcon 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 ...

*Firminus of Uzès (Uceticenses) *

Agricola of Chalon-sur-Saône Bishop Agricola was a 6th-century Bishop of Chalon-sur-Saône in France. Signing himself as Agroecola he was a signatory of the council of Orléans in 538, 541, 549 __NOTOC__ Year 549 ( DXLIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link wil ...

*Urbicus of Bazas *Rufus of Valence (Octodorensium) *Gallus of Auvergne (Clermont) * Saffaracus of Paris *Domitianus of Tungrensis (Tongres, Liège) *

Eleutherius of Auxerre St. Eleutherius was a 6th-century Bishop of Auxerre The diocese of Auxerre ( la, dioecesis Antissiodorensis) is a former French Roman Catholic diocese. Its historical episcopal see was in the city of Auxerre in Burgundy (region), Burgundy, now par ...

*Desiderius of

Verdun Verdun (, , , ; official name before 1970 ''Verdun-sur-Meuse'') is a large city in the Meuse department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital ...

*Grammatius of Laon *

Tetricus of Langres Tetricus of Langres (died 572/73) was Bishop of Langres from 539/40 until his death. Tetricus came from a noble Gallo-Roman senatorial family, his father was Gregory of Langres. Tetricus was one of his three sons and the only one known by name. H ...

* Nectarius of Autun *Eusebius of Saintes *

Proculeianus of Auch The Archdiocese of Auch-Condom-Lectoure-Lombez (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Auxitana-Condomiensis-Lectoriensis-Lomberiensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse d'Auch-Condom-Lectoure-Lombez''), more commonly known as the Archdiocese of Auch, is a Latin Churc ...

* Maximus of Cahors * Bebianus of Agen * Aptonius of Angouleme *

Deuterius of Vence The former French Catholic diocese of Vence existed until the French Revolution. Its see was at Vence in Provence, in the modern department of Alpes Maritimes. After the Concordat of 1801, the territory of the diocese passed to the diocese of N ...

* Lauto of Coutances * Passivus of Séez *

Clematius of Carpentras Clematius of Carpentras was a 6th-century bishop of Carpentras, and Venasque, both in France. He is known as a signatory at the Fourth Council of Orléans Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (al ...

Vellesius of Gap Vellesius of Gap was a 6th-century bishop of Gap The Diocese of Gap and Embrun (Latin: ''Dioecesis Vapincensis et Ebrodunensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Gap et d'Embrun'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Chur ...

(Vappincensis) * Aregius of Nevers *

Hilarius of Digne The Diocese of Digne (Latin: ''Dioecesis Diniensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Digne'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in France. Erected in the 4th century as the Diocese of Digne, the diocese has bee ...

Clementius of Apt The former French Catholic diocese of Apt, in southeast France, existed from the fourth century until the French Revolution. By the Concordat of 1801, it was suppressed, and its territory was divided between the diocese of Digne and the diocese of ...

Palladius of Toulon The former French Roman Catholic Diocese of Toulon existed until the Concordat of 1801. Its seat was in Toulon. Bishops To 1000 * c. 451: Honoratus * † c. 472: Saint Gratien * 524–549: Cyprian * 549–c. 554: Palladius (or Palais) * 573– ...

Basilius of Glandèves ''Basileus'' ( el, ) is a Greek term and title that has signified various types of monarchs in history. In the English-speaking world it is perhaps most widely understood to mean "monarch", referring to either a "king" or an "emperor" and al ...

* Avolus of Aix * Febediolus of Rennes * Gallus of Valence * Leubenus of Chartres * Theudobaudis of Lisieux *Alodius of Tulle *

Licinius of Évreux Licinius of Evreux was the fifth Bishop of Évreux in France. He is known as a signatory to the Councils of Orléans of Third Council of Orléans, 538, Fourth Council of Orléans, 541 and Fifth Council of Orléans, 549.DUCHATEAU, Hist. du diocèse ...

* Medoveus of Meaux * Liberius of Dax * Amelius of Comminges * Aletius of Leictoure * Gonotigernus of Senlis *Aegridius of Avranches * Beatus of Amiens *Ambrosius of Saint-Paul-trois-Châteaux * ntoninus of Avignon�� * agnus of Nice and Cimies�� * elanus of Albi�� * ucretius of Die�� * appulus of Geneva�� * Leucadius of Bayeux‡ * austus of Riez��‡ * xpectatus of Fréjus�� * usebius of Antibes��‡ * raetextatus of Châlons-sur-Saône��‡‡ * indemialis of Orange�� * allicanus of Embrun��‡ * grestius of Tours�� * eontius of Bordeaux�� * volus of Sisteron�� * uricius of Limoges��‡ * mbrosius of Albi��‡ * heodorus of Conserans (St. Lizien)��‡ * Mappinius_of_Reims.html" ;"title="Mapinius.html" ;"title="/nowiki> Mappinius_of_Reims">Mapinius.html"_;"title="/nowiki>Mapinius">Mappinius_of_Reims/nowiki>‡‡ *[Gennobaudus_of_''Lugdunum_clavatum''.html" ;"title="Mapinius">Mappinius of Reims">Mapinius.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Mapinius">Mappinius of Reims/nowiki>‡‡ *[Gennobaudus of ''Lugdunum clavatum''">Mapinius">Mappinius of Reims">Mapinius.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Mapinius">Mappinius of Reims/nowiki>‡‡ *[Gennobaudus of ''Lugdunum clavatum''��‡ *[Albinus of Angers]‡‡‡ ‡ Absent, represented by a priest.
‡‡ Absent, represented by a deacon.
‡‡‡ Absent, represented by an abbot.

Enactments

King Childebert I, Childebert had ordered the Council to be summoned to deal with the case of Bishop Marcus of Orleans, who had been driven from his see. After defending Mark, Bishop of Orléans, from attacks made upon him, finding nothing in the charges made by his enemies, the Council issued some twenty-four canons. The Council pronounced an

anathema Anathema, in common usage, is something or someone detested or shunned. In its other main usage, it is a formal excommunication. The latter meaning, its ecclesiastical sense, is based on New Testament usage. In the Old Testament, anathema was a cr ...

against the errors of

Nestorius Nestorius (; in grc, Νεστόριος; 386 – 451) was the Archbishop of Constantinople from 10 April 428 to August 431. A Christian theologian, several of his teachings in the fields of Christology and Mariology were seen as controve ...

and

Eutyches Eutyches ( grc, Εὐτυχής; c. 380c. 456) or Eutyches of Constantinoplesimony 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 ...

, and prescribed that the election of bishops take place in all freedom, by the clergy and the people, and with the consent of the king (Canon X).Mansi, p. 131: ''ut nulli epsicopatum praemiis aut comparatione liceat adipisci, sed ucm voluntate regis, juxta electionem cleri ac plebis, sicut in antiquis canonibus tenetur scriptum, a metropolitano vel quem in vice sua praemiserit, cum provincialibus pontifex consecretur.'' The sentence is paraphrased by Hefele, pp. 368-369. Likewise, that no one be consecrated a bishop until he had been one year in the clergy, during which he is to be taught by learned and proven persons in spiritual discipline and rules (Canon IX). It censured all who attempted to subject slaves who had been emancipated within the church to any servitude whatsoever, and those who dared take, retain, or dispose of church property (Canon XXII). It stated however that bishops should not ordain slaves, and that a slave who was freed should not be ordained without the consent of his former master (Canon VI). It threatened with

excommunication Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

all who embezzled or appropriated funds given by King Childebert for the foundation of a hospital of

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

(Canon XV), and it placed

lepers Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve damag ...

under the special charge of each bishop. The Council ruled that if any cleric of any degree should return to the marriage bed, he should be deprived of his clerical Order and his office, but that communion must be administered to him (Canon IV). It forbade priests from suspending persons from Holy Communion for small and trivial reasons, and ordered that they should adhere to the traditional rules of the Church Fathers (Canon II).

Cannon of the Council

The minutes of the council are 24 canons. # The first canon of the council pronounced an anathema against the errors of Nestorius and Eutyches. The council seems to have feared that the troubles that appeared in the East and aroused by the Nestorians and Eutychians do not spread in the West. # The second canon prohibits bishops from excommunicating for light causes. # The third canon prohibits clerics from having at home foreign women or relatives at undue hours, which can create bad suspicions. # The fourth canon commands the clergy to live in continence, even with their lawful wives. # The fifth canon prohibits bishops from ordering clerics from another diocese without the consent of the bishop of the latter diocese. # The sixth canon prohibits bishops from ordering slaves or freedmen without the consent of their master. # The seventh canon forbids the slavery of enslaved slaves in the church, unless they have committed marked faults in the law. # The eighth canon forbids the bishops to ordain clerics during the vacancy of the episcopal see. # The ninth canon forbids a bishop to be consecrated if he has not belonged to the clergy for at least a year. # The tenth canon forbids simony and buying the episcopate by money. He has prescribed that the election of bishops be conducted with complete freedom, with the consent of the clergy, the people, and the king. # The eleventh canon prohibits imposing on the people a bishop whom he has not accepted. Otherwise the ordained bishop will be deposed. # The twelfth canon forbids the ordination of a bishop in the place of a living bishop, if he is not deposed as a capital crime. # The thirteenth canon prohibits the taking of bequeathed goods to churches, monasteries and hospitals. # The fourteenth canon extends this prohibition to bishops, clerics, and laymen in relation to the property of the Church. # The fifteenth canon confirms the foundation of a hospital in Lyon by Childebert and it is forbidden to the bishop of Lyon and his successors to claim some property from this hospital. # The sixteenth canon pronounces anathema against anyone who dares to deprive the churches of the donations made to them. # The seventeenth canon deals with disputes between a person and a bishop. # The eighteenth canon suspends for six months any bishop who refuses to come to a council or to leave before the end, except for obvious infirmity. # The nineteenth canon deals with the entry of girls into monasteries and the conditions of taking the religious habit. # The twentieth canon says that prisoners for any crime whatsoever will be visited every Sunday by the archdeacon. # The twenty-first canon indicates that the bishops will take special care of the lepers in their diocese by providing clothing and food. # The twenty-second canon renews the regulations concerning slaves who take refuge in the church. # The twenty-third canon ordains the annual council of the province. # The twenty-fourth canon confirms the preceding decrees.

References

Bibliography

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

External links

*Goyau, Georges.

" The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. Retrieved: 2016-08-18.

Acknowledgments

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fifth Council of Orleans Orleans, Fifth Council of Orleans 5th Council of History of Orléans Orleans, Fifth Council of 6th century in Francia Orleans, Fifth Council of Leprosy Christianity in Francia Slavery in France