Councils of Carthage
The Councils of Carthage were church
Synod of 251
In May 251 a
Synod of 256
Two synods, in 255 and 256, held under
- A variety of unresolved issues related to restoration of the lapsed in faith and the actions of those who had been considered heretics remained to be dealt with at the first ecumenical council. The eighth canon of the council in particular addressed Novationists.[3]
Synod of 345
Around 345–348 under Gratus a synod of orthodox bishops, who had met to record their gratitude for the effective official repression of the Circumcelliones (Donatists), declared against the rebaptism of any one who had been baptized in the name of the Trinity, and adopted twelve canons of clerical discipline.[4]
Synod of 397
The Council of Carthage, called the third by Denzinger,[5] met on 28 August 397. It reaffirmed the canons of Hippo from 393, and issued its own. One of these gives a canon of the Bible. The primary source of information about the third Council of Carthage comes from the Codex Canonum Ecclesiae Africanae, which presents a compilation of ordinances enacted by various church councils in Carthage during the fourth and fifth centuries. In one section of this code the following paragraph concerning the canon of Scripture appears.[6]
16 [Placuit] ut praeter Scripturas canonicas nihil in Ecclesia legatur sub nomine divinarum Scripturarum. Sunt autem canonicae Scripture: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numeri, Deuterenomium, Iesu Nave, Iudicum, Ruth, Regnorum libri quatour, Paralipomenon libri duo, Iob, Psalterium Davidicum, Salomonis libre quinque, Duodecim libri prophetarum, Esaias, Ieremias, Daniel, Ezechiel, Tobias, Iudith, Hester, Hesdrae libre duo, Machabaeorum libre duo.
17 Novi autem Testamenti, evangeliorum libri quatuor, Actus Apostolorum liber unus, Pauli Apostoli epistolae tredecim., eiusdem ad Hebraeos una, Petri duae, Iohannis tres, Iacobi una, Iudae una, Apocalipsis Ioannis.
18 Ita ut de confirmando isto canone trasmarina Ecclesia consultatur. Liceat etiam legi passiones Martyrum, cum anniversarii dies eorum celebrantur
20 Hoc etiam fratri et consacerdoti nostro Bonifacio, vel aliis earum partium episcopis, pro confirmando isto canone innotescas, quia ita a patribus ista accepimus in ecclesia legenda.
16 It was also determined that besides the Canonical Scriptures nothing be read in the Church under the title of divine Scriptures. The Canonical Scriptures are these: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua the son of Nun, Judges, Ruth, four books of Kings, two books of Paraleipomena, Job, the Psalter, five books of Solomon, the books of the twelve prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezechiel, Daniel, Tobit, Judith, Esther, two books of Esdras, two Books of the Maccabees.
17 Of the New Testament:
four books of the Gospels, one book of the Acts of the Apostles, thirteen Epistles of the Apostle Paul, one epistle of the same [writer] to the Hebrews, two Epistles of the Apostle Peter, three of John, one of James, one of Jude, one book of the Apocalypse of John.18 So let the church over the sea be consulted to confirm this canon. Let it also be allowed that the Passions of Martyrs be read when their festivals are kept.
20 Let this be made known also to our brother and fellow-priest Boniface, or to other bishops of those parts, for the purpose of confirming that Canon. Because we have received from our fathers that those books must be read in the Church.
— Enchiridium Biblicum 8–10
The "five books of Solomon", according to Augustine, were
Conference of 411
The Conference of Carthage, held by the command of the Emperor Honorius in 411 with a view to terminating the Donatist schism, while not strictly a synod, was one of the most important assemblies in the history of the African sees, and of the whole Catholic Church. It was presided over by Marcellinus of Carthage who found in favour of the orthodox party, which led to the violent suppression of the Donatists.[8]
Council of 418
Following the
The synod issued eight canons[10]
- Canon I: Adam was not created subject to death.
- Canon II: Infants are to be baptized for the remission of sins.
- Canon III: Grace not only gives remission of sins but aid that we sin no more.
- Canon IV: Grace gives knowledge, inspiration and desire to perform required duty.
- Canon V: Without the grace of God we can do no good thing.
- Canon VI: The statement “If we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves” should not be said out of humility but because it is true.
- Canon VII: In the Lord's Prayer, the Saints pray “Forgive us our trespasses” not only for others but also for themselves.
- Canon VIII: The Saints pray “Forgive us our trespasses” not out of humility but because they have sinned.
Council of 419
The Canons made at this council are often called The Code of Canons of the African Church. It was led by
Here is a list of the various councils which made the enactments, with their dates.[12][13]
- Carthage (under Gratus)— 345–348 a.d.
- (under Genethlius)— 387 or 390
- Hippo — 393
- Carthage— 394
- (26 June)— 397
- (28 August)— 397
- (27 April)— 399
- (15 June)— 401
- (13 September)— 401
- Milevis (27 August)— 402
- Carthage (25 August)— 403
- (June)— 404
- (August 25)— 405
- (13 June)— 407
- Carthage (16 June and 13 October)— 408
- Carthage (16 June)— 409
- (14 June)— 410
- (1 May)— 418
- (25 May) which adopted the African Code — 419
In total 138 Canons (counted as 135 in the Greek) were issued at this council.[13]
Apiarius, deposed by Urbanus, Bishop of Sicca, for grave misconduct, appealed to Pope Zosimus, who, in view of irregularities in the bishop's procedure, ordered that the priest should be reinstated, and his bishop disciplined. Vexed, perhaps, at the unworthy priest's success, a general synod of Carthage in May 418 forbade appeal "beyond the seas" of clerics inferior to bishops. Recognizing in what was virtually a restatement of previous African legislation an expression of displeasure on the part of the African bishops, Pope Zosimus sent a delegation to defend his right to receive certain appeals, citing decrees believed by him to have been enacted at the Council of Nicaea, but which in fact were canons of the council of Sardica. The African bishops who met the legates, while not recognizing these decrees as Nicene, accepted them pending verification. This led to a tedious delay of the council. The sixteenth Council of Carthage was held in May 419 and there again the representations of Zosimus were accepted, awaiting the result of a comparison of the Nicene canons as they existed in Africa, in which the decrees cited by the Pope had not been found, with those of the churches of Antioch, Alexandria and Constantinople. By the end of the year 419, Pope Boniface, who had succeeded Zosimus in December 418, was informed that the eastern codices did not contain the alleged decrees; but, as the now repentant Apiarius had meantime been assigned to a new field of labour, interest in the affair subsided.[14]
The matter was reopened a few years later, when Apiarius, who had been deposed a second time, on new charges, again appealed to Rome for reinstatement. Faustinus, the Roman legate, reappeared at the Synod of 424 and demanded the annulment of the sentence passed on the priest. Apiarius, however, broke down under examination, and admitted his guilt. A synodal letter to Rome emphasized how needful it was that Rome should not lightly credit all complainants from Africa, nor receive into fellowship such as had been excommunicated; and lastly, requested the pope to send no more legates to execute his judgments.[15][16]
Synod of 484
The Vandal Synod of Carthage (484) was a largely unsuccessful
Council of 525
The 525 Council of Carthage was convened by Bishop Boniface of Carthage in order to re-establish power over North Africa's Nicene bishops after the rule of
See also
Sources
public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Carthage, Synods of". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in theThis article is missing information about Book Titles, Publication dates, Publishers & editions.(November 2009) |
- ^ Hefele, 2nd ed., i. pp. 111 sqq. (English translation, i. Section 5, pp. 93 sqq.); Mansi, i. pp. 863 sqq., 905 sqq.; Hardouin, i. pp. 133 sqq., 147 sqq.; Cyprian, Epp. 52, 54, 55, 68.
- ^ Hefele, 2nd ed., i. Section 6, pp. 117–119 (English translation, i. pp. 99 sqq.); Mansi, i. pp. 921 sqq., 951 sqq.; Hardouin, i. pp. 153 sqq.; Cyprian, Epp. 69–75.
- ^ "NPNF2-14. The Seven Ecumenical Councils".
- ^ Hefele, 2nd. ed., i. pp. 632–633 (English translation, ii. pp. 184–186); T Mansi's "Collection of Councils", part III, pp.143 sqq.; Hardouin, i. pp. 683 sqq. Summaries of the canons can be read in Right Rev. C J Hefele's "A history of the Christian councils: from the original documents, Volume 2" at pp.184–186. For the canons regarding clerical discipline see http://www.presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=63 and following ER: 64, 65, 125–131.
- ^ Denzinger 186 in the new numbering, 92 Archived 2010-04-18 at the Wayback Machine in the old
- ^ The Latin text and English translation are from B. F. Westcott, A General Survey of the History of the Canon of the New Testament (5th ed. Edinburgh, 1881), pp. 440, 541–2.
- ^ "The Third Council of Carthage on the Canon of Scripture".
- ^ Hefele, 2nd ed., ii. pp. 103–104 (English translation, ii. pp. 445–446); Mansi, iv. pp. 7–283 ; Hardouin, i. pp. 1043-f 190.
- ^ Cartaginense, Synodum. "The Canons Of The CCXVII Blessed Fathers Who Assembled At Carthage (The Codes of the Canons of the African Church)" (PDF). Documenta Catholica Omnia.
- ^ "The Canons of the Council of Carthage (417 or 418) on sin and grace". Early Church Texts. Early Church Texts. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
- ^ "Carthage, Synods of". www.ccel.org. Retrieved 2020-03-29.
- ^ a b "Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series II, Vol. XIV". www.tertullian.org. Retrieved 2020-03-29.
- ^ a b "CHURCH FATHERS: Council of Carthage (A.D. 419)". www.newadvent.org. Retrieved 2020-03-29.
- ^ "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Apiarius of Sicca". www.newadvent.org. Retrieved 2020-03-28. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: African Synods". www.newadvent.org. Retrieved 2020-03-29.
- ^ "Carthage, Councils of (Concilium Carthageniense) from the McClintock and Strong Biblical Cyclopedia". McClintock and Strong Biblical Cyclopedia Online. Retrieved 2020-03-29. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ Stefano Antionio Marcelli Africa Christiana in tres Partes Tributa Vol 1 p.253.
- ^ JD Foge, The Cambridge History of Africa, (Cambridge University Press, 1979) p 481 Vol II.
- ^ A HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN COUNCILS BOOK XII. Archived 2015-09-23 at the Wayback Machine
- S2CID 226967284. Retrieved 31 October 2021.