Synod of Elvira
Encyclopedia
The Synod of Elvira was an ecclesiastical synod
held in Elvira, now Granada
, in what was then the Roman province
of Hispania Baetica
, which ranks among the more important provincial synods, for the breadth of its canons. Its date cannot be determined with exactness, but is believed to be in the first quarter of the fourth century
, approximately 305-306. It was one of three councils, together with the Synod of Arles
and the Synod of Ancyra
, that first approached the character of general councils and prepared the way for the first ecumenical council
. It was attended by nineteen bishops, and twenty-six presbyters, mostly from Hispania Baetica
. Deacons and laymen were also present.
The 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia refers to this as a "council," conveying a wider scope than a synod. The Vatican refers to it using both terms.
and Victor De Clercq argue for a date between 300 and 303, i.e. before the persecution under Diocletian
; others for a date between 303 and 314, after the persecution, but before the Synod of Arles
; a few others argue for a date between the synod of Arles and the Council of Nicaea
, (325). Karl Josef von Hefele
and Robert William Dale
follow early compilers of the canons Giovanni Domenico Mansi
and Jean Hardouin
in agreement upon 305 or 306, while Hennecke concludes that "the whole attitude points to a time of peace, not to one immediately following a persecution; the complete absence of any provisions as to the case of the lapsed is enough to preclude the modern theory as to the date".
, if not, as A.W. Dale and Edgar Hennecke think, actually identical with it. There the nineteen bishops and twenty-four presbyters, mostly from Hispania Baetica
and Carthago Nova, assembled, probably at the instigation of Hosius of Córdoba
, but under the presidency of Felix of Accitum (Guadix
) in Baetica, probably by virtue of his being the oldest bishop present, with a view to restoring order and discipline in the church. The canons which were adopted reflect with considerable fulness the internal life and external relations of the Spanish Church of the 4th century. The reputation of this council drew to its canons further canons that came to be associated with the Synod of Elvira.
, we know practically nothing about these men, nor do we know with certainty when and why the council was held, and that the church of Spain is one of the least known in pre-constantinian times". The social environment of Christian
s in Hispania may be inferred from the canons prohibiting marriage and other intercourse with Jews, pagans
and heretics, closing the offices of flamen
and duumvir to Christians, forbidding all contact with idolatry
and likewise participation in pagan festivals and public games. The state of morals is mirrored in the canons denouncing prevalent vices. The canons respecting the clergy exhibit the clergy as already a special class with particular privileges, as acting under a more exacting moral standard, with heavier penalties for delinquency. The bishop
has acquired control of the sacraments, presbyter
s and deacons acting only under his orders; the episcopate appears as a unit, bishops being bound to respect one anothers' disciplinary decrees.
All the canons which pertain to Jews served to maintain a separation between the two communities. Canon 15 prohibited marriage with pagans, while canon 16 prohibited marriage of Christians with Jews. Canon 78 threatens Christians who commit adultery with Jews with ostracism. Canon 48 forbade the blessing of Christian crops by Jews, and canon 50 forbade the sharing of meals by Christians and Jews.
Maurice Meigne considers that only the first twenty-one canons in the list that has been transmitted were promulgated at Elvira; the remainder having been added to the collection.
By the terms of canon 1, lapsed Christians were forbidden the holy communion even in articulo mortis, an unusually severe application of Novatianist principles
, which had divided the church since the recovery from mid 3rd-century persecutions: compare the severity of Cyprian of Carthage. The subject of this leading canon is a major indication for a date following recent persecution.
Among the later canons, of especial note are canon 33, enjoining celibacy
upon all clerics, married or not, and all who minister at the altar (the most ancient canon of clerical celibacy
); canon 36, allegedly forbidding pictures in churches (compare the Iconoclastic Controversy in the East); canon 38, permitting lay baptism
under certain conditions; and canon 53, forbidding one bishop
to restore a person excommunicated
by another.
Synod
A synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not...
held in Elvira, now Granada
Granada
Granada is a city and the capital of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of three rivers, the Beiro, the Darro and the Genil. It sits at an elevation of 738 metres above sea...
, in what was then the Roman province
Western Roman Empire
The Western Roman Empire was the western half of the Roman Empire after its division by Diocletian in 285; the other half of the Roman Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire, commonly referred to today as the Byzantine Empire....
of Hispania Baetica
Hispania Baetica
Hispania Baetica was one of three Imperial Roman provinces in Hispania, . Hispania Baetica was bordered to the west by Lusitania, and to the northeast by Hispania Tarraconensis. Baetica was part of Al-Andalus under the Moors in the 8th century and approximately corresponds to modern Andalucia...
, which ranks among the more important provincial synods, for the breadth of its canons. Its date cannot be determined with exactness, but is believed to be in the first quarter of the fourth century
Christianity in the 4th century
Christianity in the 4th century was dominated by Constantine the Great, and the First Council of Nicea of 325, which was the beginning of the period of the First seven Ecumenical Councils and the attempt to reach an orthodox consensus and to establish a unified Christendom as the State church of...
, approximately 305-306. It was one of three councils, together with the Synod of Arles
Synod of Arles
Arles in the south of Roman Gaul hosted several councils or synods referred to as Concilium Arelatense in the history of the early Christian church.-Council of Arles in 314:...
and the Synod of Ancyra
Synod of Ancyra
The Synod of Ancyra was an ecclesiastical council, or synod, convened in Ancyra , the seat of the Roman administration for the province of Galatia, in 314...
, that first approached the character of general councils and prepared the way for the first ecumenical council
Ecumenical council
An ecumenical council is a conference of ecclesiastical dignitaries and theological experts convened to discuss and settle matters of Church doctrine and practice....
. It was attended by nineteen bishops, and twenty-six presbyters, mostly from Hispania Baetica
Hispania Baetica
Hispania Baetica was one of three Imperial Roman provinces in Hispania, . Hispania Baetica was bordered to the west by Lusitania, and to the northeast by Hispania Tarraconensis. Baetica was part of Al-Andalus under the Moors in the 8th century and approximately corresponds to modern Andalucia...
. Deacons and laymen were also present.
The 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia refers to this as a "council," conveying a wider scope than a synod. The Vatican refers to it using both terms.
Date of the synod
The solution of the question of the date hinges upon the interpretation of the canons, that is, upon whether they are to be taken as reflecting a recent persecution, or as redacted in a time of peace, that is either after or before the persecution under Diocletian. Thus the earliest investigators, Louis DuchesneLouis Duchesne
Louis Marie Olivier Duchesne was a French priest, philologist, teacher and a critical historian of Christianity and Roman Catholic liturgy and institutions....
and Victor De Clercq argue for a date between 300 and 303, i.e. before the persecution under Diocletian
Diocletian
Diocletian |latinized]] upon his accession to Diocletian . c. 22 December 244 – 3 December 311), was a Roman Emperor from 284 to 305....
; others for a date between 303 and 314, after the persecution, but before the Synod of Arles
Synod of Arles
Arles in the south of Roman Gaul hosted several councils or synods referred to as Concilium Arelatense in the history of the early Christian church.-Council of Arles in 314:...
; a few others argue for a date between the synod of Arles and the Council of Nicaea
First Council of Nicaea
The First Council of Nicaea was a council of Christian bishops convened in Nicaea in Bithynia by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in AD 325...
, (325). Karl Josef von Hefele
Karl Josef von Hefele
Karl Josef von Hefele was a German theologian. He was born at Unterkochen in Württemberg, and was educated at Tübingen where in 1839 he became professor-ordinary of Church history and patristics in the Roman Catholic faculty of theology.From 1842 to 1845 he sat in the National Assembly of...
and Robert William Dale
Robert William Dale
Robert William Dale was an English Congregationalist church leader.-Life:Dale was born in London and educated at Spring Hill College, Birmingham, for the Congregational ministry...
follow early compilers of the canons Giovanni Domenico Mansi
Giovanni Domenico Mansi
Gian Domenico Mansi was an Italian theologian, scholar and historian, known for his massive works on the Church councils....
and Jean Hardouin
Jean Hardouin
Jean Hardouin , French classical scholar, was born at Quimper in Brittany.Having acquired a taste for literature in his father's book-shop, he sought and obtained admission into the order of the Jesuits in around 1662...
in agreement upon 305 or 306, while Hennecke concludes that "the whole attitude points to a time of peace, not to one immediately following a persecution; the complete absence of any provisions as to the case of the lapsed is enough to preclude the modern theory as to the date".
The meeting place
The place of meeting, Eliberri, rendered as Elvira, was not far from the modern GranadaGranada
Granada is a city and the capital of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of three rivers, the Beiro, the Darro and the Genil. It sits at an elevation of 738 metres above sea...
, if not, as A.W. Dale and Edgar Hennecke think, actually identical with it. There the nineteen bishops and twenty-four presbyters, mostly from Hispania Baetica
Hispania Baetica
Hispania Baetica was one of three Imperial Roman provinces in Hispania, . Hispania Baetica was bordered to the west by Lusitania, and to the northeast by Hispania Tarraconensis. Baetica was part of Al-Andalus under the Moors in the 8th century and approximately corresponds to modern Andalucia...
and Carthago Nova, assembled, probably at the instigation of Hosius of Córdoba
Hosius of Córdoba
Hosius of Corduba , also known as Osius or Ossius, was a bishop of Cordova and one of the prominent advocates of what became Catholic Christianity in the Arian controversy which divided the IV century early Christian Church...
, but under the presidency of Felix of Accitum (Guadix
Guadix
Guadix, a city of southern Spain, in the province of Granada; on the left bank of the river Guadix, a sub-tributary of the Guadiana Menor, and on the Madrid-Valdepeñas-Almería railway...
) in Baetica, probably by virtue of his being the oldest bishop present, with a view to restoring order and discipline in the church. The canons which were adopted reflect with considerable fulness the internal life and external relations of the Spanish Church of the 4th century. The reputation of this council drew to its canons further canons that came to be associated with the Synod of Elvira.
The canons
Victor De Clercq notes "that except for Hosius of CórdobaHosius of Córdoba
Hosius of Corduba , also known as Osius or Ossius, was a bishop of Cordova and one of the prominent advocates of what became Catholic Christianity in the Arian controversy which divided the IV century early Christian Church...
, we know practically nothing about these men, nor do we know with certainty when and why the council was held, and that the church of Spain is one of the least known in pre-constantinian times". The social environment of Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
s in Hispania may be inferred from the canons prohibiting marriage and other intercourse with Jews, pagans
Paganism
Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....
and heretics, closing the offices of flamen
Flamen
In ancient Roman religion, a flamen was a priest assigned to one of fifteen deities with official cults during the Roman Republic. The most important three were the flamines maiores , who served the three chief Roman gods of the Archaic Triad. The remaining twelve were the flamines minores...
and duumvir to Christians, forbidding all contact with idolatry
Idolatry
Idolatry is a pejorative term for the worship of an idol, a physical object such as a cult image, as a god, or practices believed to verge on worship, such as giving undue honour and regard to created forms other than God. In all the Abrahamic religions idolatry is strongly forbidden, although...
and likewise participation in pagan festivals and public games. The state of morals is mirrored in the canons denouncing prevalent vices. The canons respecting the clergy exhibit the clergy as already a special class with particular privileges, as acting under a more exacting moral standard, with heavier penalties for delinquency. The bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
has acquired control of the sacraments, presbyter
Presbyter
Presbyter in the New Testament refers to a leader in local Christian congregations, then a synonym of episkopos...
s and deacons acting only under his orders; the episcopate appears as a unit, bishops being bound to respect one anothers' disciplinary decrees.
All the canons which pertain to Jews served to maintain a separation between the two communities. Canon 15 prohibited marriage with pagans, while canon 16 prohibited marriage of Christians with Jews. Canon 78 threatens Christians who commit adultery with Jews with ostracism. Canon 48 forbade the blessing of Christian crops by Jews, and canon 50 forbade the sharing of meals by Christians and Jews.
Maurice Meigne considers that only the first twenty-one canons in the list that has been transmitted were promulgated at Elvira; the remainder having been added to the collection.
By the terms of canon 1, lapsed Christians were forbidden the holy communion even in articulo mortis, an unusually severe application of Novatianist principles
Novatianism
The Novatianists were early Christians following Antipope Novatian, held a strict view that refused readmission to communion of Lapsi, those baptized Christians who had denied their faith or performed the formalities of a ritual sacrifice to the pagan gods, under the pressures of the persecution...
, which had divided the church since the recovery from mid 3rd-century persecutions: compare the severity of Cyprian of Carthage. The subject of this leading canon is a major indication for a date following recent persecution.
Among the later canons, of especial note are canon 33, enjoining celibacy
Celibacy
Celibacy is a personal commitment to avoiding sexual relations, in particular a vow from marriage. Typically celibacy involves avoiding all romantic relationships of any kind. An individual may choose celibacy for religious reasons, such as is the case for priests in some religions, for reasons of...
upon all clerics, married or not, and all who minister at the altar (the most ancient canon of clerical celibacy
Clerical celibacy
Clerical celibacy is the discipline by which some or all members of the clergy in certain religions are required to be unmarried. Since these religions consider deliberate sexual thoughts, feelings, and behavior outside of marriage to be sinful, clerical celibacy also requires abstension from these...
); canon 36, allegedly forbidding pictures in churches (compare the Iconoclastic Controversy in the East); canon 38, permitting lay baptism
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
under certain conditions; and canon 53, forbidding one bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
to restore a person excommunicated
Excommunication
Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive, suspend or limit membership in a religious community. The word means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group...
by another.
Documentation
The scanty documentation of the Synod of Elvira was first assembled by Ferdinand de Mendoza, De confirmando Concilio IIIiberitano ad Clementem VIII, 1593.External links
- The 81 Canons in Latin (with dictionary lookup links) at www.earlychurchtexts.com.
- Catholic Encyclopedia: Council of Elvira
- CUA.EDU: Council of Elvira: text of 81 canons in English
- Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, vol. II "Ante-Nicene Christianity AD 100-325" Section 55. The Councils of Elvira, Arles, and Ancyra.