Council Of Paris (614)
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The Council of Paris was a
synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...
convoked by King
Chlothar II Chlothar II, sometimes called "the Young" ( French: le Jeune), (May/June 584 – 18 October 629) was king of the Franks, ruling Neustria (584–629), Burgundy (613–629) and Austrasia (613–623). The son of Chilperic I and his third wife, Fred ...
in 614. It was a ''concilium mixtum'', attended by both ecclesiastics and laymen from throughout the
kingdom of the Franks The Kingdom of the Franks (), also known as the Frankish Kingdom, or just Francia, was the largest post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Frankish Merovingian and Carolingian dynasties during the Early Middle Ag ...
. It was the first of three councils held by Chlothar. It helped secure his rule over the whole kingdom, which he only acquired in 613. The council met in the
basilica of Saint Peter The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican (), or simply St. Peter's Basilica (; ), is a church of the Italian Renaissance architecture, Italian High Renaissance located in Vatican City, an independent microstate enclaved within the cit ...
. It was attended by 76 metropolitan and
suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led ...
bishops and a single
abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...
., writes 12 metropolitans and 60 suffragans, but on p. 236 he writes 76 bishops and one abbot. The
ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian churches, including those of both Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity, that have traditional hierarchical structures. An ecclesiastical province consist ...
of Vienne was represented by five bishops,
Arles Arles ( , , ; ; Classical ) is a coastal city and Communes of France, commune in the South of France, a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône Departments of France, department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Reg ...
by eleven,
Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
by four,
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by seven,
Eauze Eauze (; Gascon language, Gascon: ''Eusa'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Gers Departments of France, department in southwestern France. History Located in the heart of south-west France, 130 kilometers from the Spanish border, Eauze i ...
by seven,
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by seven,
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by six,
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by five,
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by three,
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by six,
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by three,
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by two,
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by seven and
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by three. There were even two attendees from
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. Chlothar and his ''
optimates ''Optimates'' (, ; Latin for "best ones"; ) and ''populares'' (; Latin for "supporters of the people"; ) are labels applied to politicians, political groups, traditions, strategies, or ideologies in the late Roman Republic. There is "heated ...
'' (best men) and '' fideles'' (faithful men) were also present. The council concluded on 10 October. The council issued a set of seventeen written canons. It prohibited
Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
from holding any military or public office in which they had the power of command over
Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...
unless they accepted baptism. This may have been motivated in part by the support given to Chlothar's aunt and rival,
Brunhild Brunhild, also known as Brunhilda or Brynhild ( , , or ), is a female character from Germanic heroic legend. She may have her origins in the Visigoths, Visigothic princess and queen Brunhilda of Austrasia. In the Norse tradition, Brunhild i ...
, by Jewish refugees from
Visigothic Spain The Visigothic Kingdom, Visigothic Spain or Kingdom of the Goths () was a Barbarian kingdoms, barbarian kingdom that occupied what is now southwestern France and the Iberian Peninsula from the 5th to the 8th centuries. One of the Germanic people ...
. On 18 October, Chlothar used fourteen of the canons as a basis for his
Edict of Paris The Edict of Paris (in Latin: Chlotarii II Edictum, in French: Édit de Clotaire II) was promulgated 18 October 614 in Paris by Chlothar II, the Merovingian king of the Franks. It is a body of legislation focused on administering justice and ensu ...
, but he modified them as it suited him. The alterations, although in some instances undercutting the bishops' purposes, "did not negate the original canons utmerely clarified the circumstances in which the monarchy would enforce them." Nevertheless, at the Council of Clichy in 626 or 627, the assembled bishops referred to the canons of the Council of Paris as having the king's authority. The canons of the council are preserved in two collections, the '' Collectio Remensis'' and '' Collectio Diessensis'', both with eighth-century manuscripts. Four of its canons (6, 11, 14 and 15) were included among the
False Decretals Pseudo-Isidore is the conventional name for the unknown Carolingian Empire, Carolingian-era author (or authors) behind an extensive corpus of influential forgery, forgeries. Pseudo-Isidore's main object was to provide accused bishops with an arra ...
in the mid-ninth century. A few canons were picked up by later canonists.
Regino of Prüm Regino of Prüm or of Prum (, ; died 915 AD) was a Benedictine Order, Benedictine monk, who served as abbot of Prüm Abbey, Prüm (892–99) and later of St. Maximin's Abbey, Trier, Saint Martin's at Trier, and chronicler, whose ''Chronicon'' is ...
included some in his ''Libri duo de synodalibus causis''.
Burchard of Worms Burchard of Worms ( 950/965 – August 20, 1025) was the bishop of the Imperial City of Worms, in the Holy Roman Empire. He was the author of a canon law collection of twenty books known as the '' Decretum'', ''Decretum Burchardi'', or ''Decreto ...
and
Gratian Gratian (; ; 18 April 359 – 25 August 383) was emperor of the Western Roman Empire from 367 to 383. The eldest son of Valentinian I, Gratian was raised to the rank of ''Augustus'' as a child and inherited the West after his father's death in ...
adopted canons 6 and 15 from Regino.
Ivo of Chartres Ivo of Chartres, canon regular, Can.Reg. (also Ives, Yves, or Yvo; ; 1040 – 23 December 1115), was a French canon regular and abbot who then served as the Bishop of Chartres from 1090 until his death. He was an important authority in Catholic c ...
included 15 in his ''Decretum''. According to the biography of Saint Agilus, he and Eustasius were sent to evangelize neighbouring peoples by a council convoked by Chlothar after he unified the kingdom and about three years after Columban's exile. This could be the council of Paris of 614, although neither Agilus nor Eustasius signed the canons.


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Bibliography

* * {{refend 614 7th century in Francia 7th-century church councils Medieval Paris Christianity in Francia