First Council of Orléans
The First Council of Orléans was convoked by Clovis I in 511. Shortly before his death, Clovis called a synod of Gallic bishops to meet at Orléans to reform the church and create a strong link between the crown and the Catholic episcopate. Thirty-two bishops participated, and passed thirty-one decrees on the duties and obligations of individuals, the right of sanctuary, and ecclesiastical discipline. The decrees were signed on 6 July 511. These decrees, equally applicable to Franks and Romans, first established equality between conquerors and conquered.
The council claimed the right of sanctuary in favor of churches and ecclesiastical residences. It stipulated that ecclesiastics need not produce a culprit, unless the pursuer would swear on the Gospels to do him no injury. It settled the conditions of freedom for a slave upon whom Holy orders had been conferred; ruled that freemen should not be ordained without the king's or the judge's consent; determined the immunities of ecclesiastics and church property and committed to bishops the welfare of the sick and the poor; settled relations of monks with their abbots and of abbots with the bishops. The practice of divination was forbidden. Clovis approved the decrees of the council, which thus appears as the first treaty between the Frankish State and the Church.
Among those known to be present were the following:
- Cyprian, Archbishop of Bordeaux
- Tetradius, Bishop of Bourges
- Licinius, Bishop of Tours
- Leontius, Bishop of Elusana (Eause, metropolitan of Novempopulana)
- Gildaredus, Bishop of Rouen
- Petrus, Bishop of Saintes
- Chronopius, Bishop of Périgueux
- Boetius, Bishop of Cahors
- Quintianus, bishop of Rodez (Rutenicae)
- Eufrasius, Bishop of Auvergne (Clermont)
- Sextius, Bishop of Bazas (Vasaticae)
- Nicentius, Bishop of Auch (Auscensis)
- Lupicinus, Bishop of Angouleme
- Adelfius, Bishop of Poitiers
- Heraclius, Bishop of Paris
- Principius, Bishop of Le Mans
- Lupus, Bishop of Soissons
- Nepos, the first bishop of Avranches known to history.
- Epiphanius, Bishop of Nantes
- Euthocius, Bishop of Angers
- Camillanus (Camilianus),[1] Bishop of Troyes (Tricassinae)
- Litharedus, Bishop of Osma (Oxomensis)
- Modestus, Bishop of Vence
- Melanius, Bishop of Rennes
- Edibius, Bishop of Amiens
- Sophronius, Bishop of St. Quentin (Veromandensis)
- Maurusio, Bishop of Evreux
- Leontianus, the first bishop of Coutances historically known.
- Livanius, Bishop of Senlis
- Eusebius, Bishop of Orléans
- Theodosius, Bishop of Auxerre
- Aventinus, Bishop of Chartres
References
- ↑ Louis Duchesne (1910). Fastes épiscopaux de l'ancienne Gaule: II. L'Aquitaine et les Lyonnaises. Paris: Fontemoing. p. 454.
Bibliography
- Halfond, Gregory I. (2010). Archaeology of Frankish Church Councils, AD 511-768. Boston-Leiden: Brill. ISBN 90-04-17976-3.
- Hefele, Carl Joseph (1895). A History of the Councils of the Church, from the Original Documents. By the Right Rev. Charles Joseph Hefele ... Volume IV. A.D. 451 to A.D. 680. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark.
- Maassen, Friedrich (1989). Concilia Aevi Merovingici: 511-695 (in German). Hannover: Impensis Bibliopolii Hahniani. ISBN 978-3-7752-5061-0.
- Mansi, J.-D. (ed.), Sacrorum Conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio editio novissima Tomus VIII (Florence 1762).
External links
- Goyau, Georges. "Councils of Orléans." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. Retrieved: 2016-08-17.
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Council of Orléans". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton.
Coordinates: 47°54′11″N 1°54′38″E / 47.90306°N 1.91056°E