The Primacy of the Spains ( pt, Primaz das Espanhas; es, Primado de las Españas, ca, Primat de les Espanyes) is the
primacy
Primacy may refer to:
* an office of the Primate (bishop)
* the supremacy of one bishop or archbishop over others, most notably:
** Primacy of Peter, ecclesiological doctrine on the primacy of Peter the Apostle
** Primacy of the Roman Pontiff, e ...
of the
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
, historically known as
Hispania
Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hispania ...
or in the plural as the Spains. The
Archbishop of Braga
The Archdiocese of Braga ( la, Archidioecesis Bracarensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Portugal. It is known for its use of the Rite of Braga, a use of the liturgy distinct from the Roman R ...
, in
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
, has claimed this primacy over the whole Iberian Peninsula since the middle ages, however today his primacy is only recognized in Portugal. The
Archbishop of Toledo
This is a list of Bishops and Archbishops of Toledo ( la, Archidioecesis Metropolitae Toletana). in
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
has claimed the Primacy of Spain, as the primate above all other episcopal sees in Spain. In addition, the
Archbishop of Tarragona
The Archdiocese of Tarragona (Latin, ''Tarraconensis'') is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory located in north-eastern Spain, in the province of Tarragona, part of the autonomous community of Catalonia. The archdiocese heads the ecclesias ...
in
Catalonia
Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy.
Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...
also make use of the title. The Archbishops in Braga, Toledo and Tarragona, if raised to the rank of
cardinal
Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to:
Animals
* Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds
**''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae
**''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...
, are known as Cardinal-Primates.
Primacy of Braga
![Braga Cathedral (1)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/Braga_Cathedral_%281%29.jpg)
The
Archbishop of Braga
The Archdiocese of Braga ( la, Archidioecesis Bracarensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Portugal. It is known for its use of the Rite of Braga, a use of the liturgy distinct from the Roman R ...
has claimed the title of ''Primate of the Spains'' ( pt, Primaz das Espanhas) as the oldest diocese on the
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
. For the newly created
Kingdom of Portugal
The Kingdom of Portugal ( la, Regnum Portugalliae, pt, Reino de Portugal) was a monarchy in the western Iberian Peninsula and the predecessor of the modern Portuguese Republic. Existing to various extents between 1139 and 1910, it was also kno ...
, Braga, capital of the former
Kingdom of the Suebi
The Kingdom of the Suebi ( la, Regnum Suevorum), also called the Kingdom of Galicia ( la, Regnum Galicia) or Suebi Kingdom of Galicia ( la, Galicia suevorum regnum), was a Germanic post-Roman kingdom that was one of the first to separate from ...
and of the
County of Portucale (that more immediately preceded the Kingdom) was the biggest religious site and fundamentally resisted by its jurisdiction over the dioceses of
Coimbra
Coimbra (, also , , or ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2011 census was 143,397, in an area of .
The fourth-largest urban area in Portugal after Lisbon, Porto Metropolitan Area, Porto, and Bra ...
and
Zamora. Bishops such as
João Peculiar and
Estêvão Soares da Silva protest before the Pope, and
Honorius III
Pope Honorius III (c. 1150 – 18 March 1227), born Cencio Savelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 18 July 1216 to his death. A canon at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, he came to hold a number of import ...
left the matter unresolved (
papal bulls of January 19, 1218).
In 1364, the bishop of Braga
João de Cardaillac decided to bear the title of Primate of the Spains. The prelation conflicts that took place during the
Council of Trent
The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trento, Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italian Peninsula, Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation ...
(with Bishop Friar
Bartolomeu dos Martyrs) produced a papal resolution to take into account the date of elevation of each bishop, with only protocolary consequences. In the brief «''Reddite nobis»'' (January 10, 1562) he insists the maintenance of the traditional rights of Braga.
However, during the 14th century, the dioceses of
Galicia and
Leon
Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to:
Places
Europe
* León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León
* Province of León, Spain
* Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...
ceased giving precedence to the Archbishop-Primate of Braga.
Despite this, the Archbishop-Primate of Braga still holds rank above all other archbishops in
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
, except for the
Patriarch of Lisbon
The Patriarch of Lisbon ( la, Patriarcha Olisiponensis, pt, Patriarca de Lisboa), also called the Cardinal-Patriarch of Lisbon once he has been made cardinal, is the ordinary bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lisbon. He is one of the f ...
ever since the latter was created in 1716.
Primacy of Toledo
![Provincias de la Hispania Romana (Diocleciano)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/Provincias_de_la_Hispania_Romana_%28Diocleciano%29.svg)
Originally, after the provincial division by
Diocletian
Diocletian (; la, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, grc, Διοκλητιανός, Diokletianós; c. 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed ''Iovius'', was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Gaius Valerius Diocles ...
in the 3rd century, the city of Toletum (now Toledo) was within the Roman province of
Carthaginensis
Hispania Carthaginensis was a Roman province segregated from Hispania Tarraconensis in the new division of Hispania by emperor Diocletian in 298.
The capital of the new province was settled in Carthago Nova, now Cartagena.
It encompassed ...
, whose capital was Carthago Nova (now
Cartagena). Hispania's division into ecclesiastical dioceses was based on the Roman provincial divisions, so that the episcopal seat at
Toledo was originally a dependent of the seat at Cartagena.
The problem arose in the mid 6th century when the Byzantine emperor
Justinian
Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565.
His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovat ...
seized control of an important strip of Hispania, including diocesan seats as important as Cartagena (renamed Carthago Spartaria by Justinian),
Corduba,
Begastri and
Illici. The metropolitan seat and provincial capital were in the territory occupied by the Byzantines and so, shortly after taking the throne, 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 ...
king
Gundemar
Gundemar was a Visigothic King of Hispania, Septimania and Galicia (610–612).
Reign
Gundemar continued a policy of amity with Clotaire II of Neustria and Theodobert II of Austrasia. To this end, he sent grand sums of money to support their cau ...
promoted the holding of a synod in Toledo. That synod agreed that Toledo was the metropolitan of the whole province, seizing that title from the episcopal seat at Cartagena - that agreement was then endorsed by the king in a decree of 23 October 610.
The Islamic invasion in 711 left Toledo as a city under
Islamic rule for the next 350 years, first way away from the frontier by the geographic boulder of the
Duero river
The Douro (, , ; es, Duero ; la, Durius) is the highest-flow river of the Iberian Peninsula. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in Soria Province, central Spain, meanders south briefly then flows generally west through the north-west part of ...
in the northern high plains, and later by the Central Sierras, as the frontier itself
Taifa
The ''taifas'' (singular ''taifa'', from ar, طائفة ''ṭā'ifa'', plural طوائف ''ṭawā'if'', a party, band or faction) were the independent Muslim principalities and kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula (modern Portugal and Spain), re ...
realm for another 80 years where contacts with the Christian kingdoms north would resume closer. That position left the See under Islamic suzerainty, tolerated as a ''heretic church of Allah'' but subject as
Dhimmi
' ( ar, ذمي ', , collectively ''/'' "the people of the covenant") or () is a historical term for non-Muslims living in an Islamic state with legal protection. The word literally means "protected person", referring to the state's obligatio ...
or client as Jews were too, what would make it be respected but seen by Christian kings and their bishops with suspicion on its policies, influenced by the policies of Cordoba. After the re-conquest Toledo was held or contested by the
Kingdom of Castille
The Kingdom of Castile (; es, Reino de Castilla, la, Regnum Castellae) was a large and powerful state on the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages. Its name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region. It began in the 9th cent ...
and the
Kingdom of León
The Kingdom of León; es, Reino de León; gl, Reino de León; pt, Reino de Leão; la, Regnum Legionense; mwl, Reino de Lhion was an independent kingdom situated in the northwest region of the Iberian Peninsula. It was founded in 910 when t ...
and sometimes as
Infantazgo by semi-independent queens of the royal house. During the
Reconquista
The ' (Spanish, Portuguese and Galician for "reconquest") is a historiographical construction describing the 781-year period in the history of the Iberian Peninsula between the Umayyad conquest of Hispania in 711 and the fall of the Nasrid ...
, the alliance between the monarchs and the church concentrated on the distinct privileges that one offered the other. Soon after
Alfonso VI
Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...
's conquest of Toledo, the
pope
The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
issued the
bulla
Bulla (Latin, 'bubble') may refer to:
Science and medicine
* Bulla (dermatology), a bulla
* Bulla, a focal lung pneumatosis, an air pocket in the lung
* Auditory bulla, a hollow bony structure on the skull enclosing the ear
* Ethmoid bulla, pa ...
''Cunctis Sanctorum'' in 1088/1089, recognising the holders of the diocese of Toledo as "primates" and "metropolitans" as they had been during the Visigothic era, and dubiously and unofficially under Islamic rule.
See also
*
Council of Toledo
From the 5th century to the 7th century AD, about thirty synods, variously counted, were held at Toledo (''Concilia toletana'') in what would come to be part of Spain. The earliest, directed against Priscillianism, assembled in 400. The "thi ...
*
Archdiocese of Toledo
This is a list of Bishops and Archbishops of Toledo ( la, Archidioecesis Metropolitae Toletana).
*
Cathedral of Toledo
, native_name_lang =
, image = Toledo Cathedral, from Plaza del Ayuntamiento.jpg
, imagesize = 300px
, imagelink =
, imagealt =
, landscape =
, caption ...
External links
GER.asp?id=11456&cat=religioncristiana Archdiocese of Toledo on Canal Social, Gran Enciclopedia Rialp
References
* Izquierdo Benito, Ricardo. ''Privilegios reales otorgados a Toledo durante la Edad Media (1101-1494)'', Toledo, 1990.
* Nieto Siria, José Manuel. ''Iglesia y génesis del Estado Moderno en Castilla (1369–1480)'', Madrid, 1993.
{{coord missing, Spain
Catholic Church in Spain