The Tenth

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 ...

was summoned to meet in Toledo on 1 December 656 by King

Reccesuinth Recceswinth (died 1 September 672) was the Visigothic King of Hispania, and Septimania in 649–672. He ruled jointly with his father Chindaswinth until his father's death in 653. Name His Gothic name is believed to have been *𐍂𐌰𐌹𐌺 ...

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 ...

. In November 655, the bishops of

Carthaginiensis 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 ...

had held a provincial synod in Toledo, the

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 sevent ...

. They scheduled a second council for 1 November the next year, but a general council was called by the king. The tenth council was attended by only seventeen bishops and five deputies from Carthaginiensis and

Gallaecia Gallaecia, also known as Hispania Gallaecia, was the name of a Roman province in the north-west of Hispania, approximately present-day Galicia, northern Portugal, Asturias and Leon and the later Kingdom of Gallaecia. The Roman cities included ...

. The

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

, Eugenius II, joined by his fellow metropolitans, Fugitivus of Seville and Potamius of Braga, attended from

Baetica Hispania Baetica, often abbreviated Baetica, was one of three Roman provinces in Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula). Baetica was bordered to the west by Lusitania, and to the northeast by Hispania Tarraconensis. Baetica remained one of the basic di ...

, but no bishops came from

Tarraconensis Hispania Tarraconensis was one of three Roman provinces in Hispania. It encompassed much of the northern, eastern and central territories of modern Spain along with modern northern Portugal. Southern Spain, the region now called Andalusia was the ...

Gallia Narbonensis Gallia Narbonensis (Latin for "Gaul of Narbonne", from its chief settlement) was a Roman province located in what is now Languedoc and Provence, in Southern France. It was also known as Provincia Nostra ("Our Province"), because it was the ...

. This made it the most poorly attended of the great general councils of the ''Siglo de Concilios'' (7th century). The council declared that all clerical oathbreakers were to be defrocked and/or exiled, leaving it up to the king to decide whether both punishments were necessary. The council also expelled from the family of the church, all clerics of all ranks who, in the future, were caught trading Christian

slaves Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

with Jews. The bishops further worked to ameliorate conflicts within the church and enforce

ecclesiastical discipline Church discipline is the practice of church members calling upon an individual within the Church to repent for their sins. Church discipline is performed when one has sinned or gone against the rules of the church. Church discipline is practiced wi ...

. Potamius of Braga admitted to carnal sins and was retired to a monastery, replaced by

Fructuosus Saint Fructuosus of Tarragona (, ca, Sant Fructuós, died 259) was a Christian saint, bishop and martyr. His is an important name in the early history of Christianity in Hispania. He was bishop of Tarragona and was arrested during the persecu ...

, whose old see of

Dumio The Monastery of Dumio (sometimes Dumium or Dumio, in Portuguese ''São Martinho de Dume''), is a former paleo-Christian monastery in the civil parish of Dume, municipality of Braga, in northwestern Portugal. Originally a Roman villa, it was the ...

had its own conflict. The last will and testament of the recently deceased bishop of Dumium, Riccimer, was disputed by those who saw his freeing of slaves and distribution of monies to the poor without compensation as responsible for the subsequent impoverishment of that see. It was given to his successor (Fructuosus) to decide exactly what to do, but his actions without compensation were considered unlawful. The council closed and Reccesuinth did not call another for the rest of his reign; he died on 1 September 672. As an aside, it is possible that the later

King Wamba Wamba (Medieval Latin: ''VVamba, Vamba, Wamba''; 643 – 687/688) was the king of the Visigoths from 672 to 680. During his reign, the Visigothic kingdom encompassed all of Hispania and part of southern Gaul known as Septimania. According to He ...

was summoned to produce the will of St Martin of Braga by Reccesuinth.

Sources

*Thompson, E. A. (1969), ''The Goths in Spain'', Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Synodus Toletana decima
minutes from the ''Collectio Hispana Gallica Augustodunensis'' ( Vat. lat. 1341) {{DEFAULTSORT:Toledo10 Councils of Toledo 656 7th century in the Visigothic Kingdom 7th-century church councils History of slavery Slavery in Spain