There have been several

church councils 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, ...

held in the town of

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enter ...

in the early

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, and whose conclusions have significance for the whole territory of the early Croatian Kingdom. Since 920's the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

was considerably weakened so Emperor

Romanos I Romanos I Lakapenos or Lekapenos (; 870 – 15 June 948), Latinisation of names, Latinized as Romanus I Lacapenus or Romanus I Lecapenus, was Byzantine emperor from 920 until his deposition in 944, serving as regent for and senior co-ruler of ...

gave management over

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...

to the Croatian

King Tomislav Tomislav (, ) was the first king of Croatia. He became Duke of Croatia and was crowned king in 925, reigning until 928. During Tomislav's rule, Croatia forged an alliance with the Byzantine Empire against Bulgaria. Croatia's struggles with the F ...

who needed it in order to connect the church authorities in Croatia and Dalmatia so he could easily integrate Dalmatia into his Kingdom. This transfer of powers is confirmed by the fact that the Byzantine governor of Dalmatia wasn't listed as one of the participants on the official council documents.

Council of 925

First Church Council of Split was convened by

Pope John X Pope John X (; died 28 May 928) was the bishop of Rome and nominal ruler of the Papal States from March 914 to his death. A candidate of the counts of Tusculum, he attempted to unify Italy under the leadership of Berengar of Friuli, and was in ...

in year 925. The main task of this Council was solving issues of the ecclesiastical jurisdiction in the Kingdom of Croatia and the eradication of the

Slavic language The Slavic languages, also known as the Slavonic languages, are Indo-European languages spoken primarily by the Slavic peoples and their descendants. They are thought to descend from a proto-language called Proto-Slavic, spoken during the Ear ...

and the

Glagolitic alphabet The Glagolitic script ( , , ''glagolitsa'') is the oldest known Slavic alphabet. It is generally agreed that it was created in the 9th century for the purpose of translating liturgical texts into Old Church Slavonic by Saints Cyril and Methodi ...

in the liturgy. Just before the beginning of the Council session the Pope sent two of his legacies, John,

Bishop of Ancona A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

and Leon, Bishop of Palestine, to give one invitation letter to each of the Slavic rulers, Archbishop of Split and other Dalmatian bishops. During the Council session, which was attended by the Croatian

, Prince

Michael of Zahumlje Michael of Zahumlje (reign usually dated c. 910–935), also known as Michael Višević (Serbo-Croatian: ''Mihailo Višević'', Serbian Cyrillic: Михаило Вишевић) or rarely as Michael Vuševukčić,Mihanovich, ''The Croatian nation i ...

, and other unnamed Croatian and Serbian or urban Dalmatian nobles (''Croatorum atque Serborum/Urborum proceribus''), various ecclesiastical organization and discipline issues were discussed, while 15 conclusions were adopted. Most important question was one about the seat of the newly founded ecclesiastical province of Croatia and Dalmatia. Contenders for the seat of Metropolitan were: ''John, Archbishop of Split'', as the successor of Salona Church founded by alleged student of

Saint Peter Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the Jewish Christian#Jerusalem ekklēsia, e ...

Saint Domnius Saint Domnius (also known as Saint Dujam or Saint Duje, Saint Domnio, Saint Doimus, or Saint Domninus) was a Bishop of Salona (today's Solin) around the year 300, and is venerated as the patron of the nearby city of Split in modern Croatia. ...

, ''Formin, Bishop of Zadar'', as representative of

Zadar Zadar ( , ), historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian, ; see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Croatia. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar ...

, capital of Dalmatia, and ''

Gregory Gregory may refer to: People and fictional characters * Gregory (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Gregory (surname), a surname *Gregory (The Walking Dead), fictional character from the walkin ...

, Bishop of Nin'', whose diocese was territoriality the largest. Article 1 of the Councils decisions states that "seat of the newly founded ecclesiastical province will be granted to the church and city where the bones of Saint Domnius lie", i.e. Archbishop John of Split. Furthermore, articles 2, 3, 8 and 9 state that delegates agreed upon the issue of borders between individual dioceses, and on questions about regulation of the church estates (articles 4 and 5). Article 14 defines that the connection between Christian marriage and education of clerics is unbreakable, while article 15 regulates question of clerical marriage. Penalties in the case of serious crimes such as murder of master, priest or ruler are contained in articles 6, 7 and 13. Article 11 specifically emphasizes that the bishop of Nin is

suffragan bishop 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 b ...

of the Split Metropolitan. Article 10 prohibited the ordination and promotion of those priests who didn't know Latin, except if there wasn't enough priests in the area. This decision was directed against the Glagolitic clergy and those who served mass in

because Pope didn't understand it so he was afraid that those priests might spread heresy.

Council of 928

Second Church Council of Split was convened because Bishop of Nin

appealed to the Pope because he thought there were some irregularities on the first council. Namely. Gregory thought that Archbishop of Split was appointed Metropolitan because of his reputation and wealth, and connections he had in Rome, rather than because he was better than other candidates. Second council was convened in 928, and was chaired by the papal legate bishop Madalberta. This Council confirmed the conclusions from the first Council. The most important decision that was made on this council was the one about abolition of the Diocese of Nin "because it didn't have tradition from the ancient times". Council offered Bishop Gregory to choose one of three free dioceses in exchange. He later took Diocese of

Skradin Skradin is a small town in the Šibenik-Knin County of Croatia. It is located near the Krka (Croatia), Krka river and at the entrance to the Krka National Park, from Šibenik and from Split, Croatia, Split. The main attraction of the park, Slapo ...

, as ordered by

Pope Leo VI Pope Leo VI (880 – 12 February 929) was the 123rd bishop of Rome and nominal ruler of the Papal States for just over seven months, from June 928 to his death. His pontificate occurred during the period known as the ''Saeculum obscurum''. Fami ...

. Archbishop of Split was given right to govern all parishes on the Croatian territory. All bishops were rebuked for trying to take territory from each other, and were also urged to obey to the Archbishop of Split.Zelić-Bučan, Benedikta, Članci i rasprave iz starije hrvatske povijesti, HKD sv. Jeronima, Zagreb, 1994. , p.136

Council of 1060

The Third Church Council was convened in Split in year 1060. Councilors concluded that all priests have to know Latin, although neither Glagolitic nor Slavic were banned. A part of clergy, mostly from islands in the

Kvarner Gulf The Kvarner Gulf (, or ; ; or ) sometimes also Kvarner Bay, is a bay in the northern Adriatic Sea, located between the Istrian peninsula and the northern Croatian Littoral mainland. The bay is a part of Croatia's internal waters. The largest is ...

, was against these reforms so they chose their own bishop that sided with them. Eventually, side that was for reforms won, so

Peter Krešimir IV Peter Krešimir IV () was List of dukes and kings of Croatia#Kings of Croatia (925–1102), King Kingdom of Croatia (925–1102), of Croatia and Dalmatia from 1059 until his death in 1074. He was the last ruler of the Krešimirović branch of the ...

issued many grants.

Annotations

References

{{Reflist Catholic Church in Croatia History of Split, Croatia 10th century in Croatia