The Presbyters Project

Avitus of Vienne demands that all bishops should attend the councils personally.

Sed si forte, quod Deus auertat, tanta cuicumque acerbitas corporeae infirmitatis ingruerit, ut spiritale desiderium carnali uincatur incommodo, duos presbiteros magnae ac probabilis uitae mandati instructione firmatos fratribus pro se praesentare procuret. Et tales dignetur eligere, quos episcoporum concilio non minus scientia quam reuerentia iure faciat interesse; cum quibus delectet summos pontifices conferre sermonem; quos ad definitiones pro episcopo suo consentiendas subscribendasque cum fuerit sollertia elegisse, sit auctoritas legi. Set istud non extorqueat nisi summa necessitas.

(ed. de Clercq 1963: 23)

Avitus of Vienne demands that all bishops should attend the councils personally.

However, if by chance, God forbid, someone is struck by such harsh corporal illness, that the spiritual desire would be conquered by carnal detriment, he should present to the brothers two presbyters in his stead of long and commendable life supported with the instruction of their mandate. It is proper to choose those, whom not only their knowledge, but also their reverence predispose to take part in the council of bishops; with whom it would be pleasing to the supreme pontiffs to have a conversation. They should be chosen with skill, as the authority of the law will stand behind them when they consent and subscribe in their bishop's stead. Nevertheless, it should not come to such a thing unless there is an utmost necessity.

(trans. J. Szafranowski)

Discussion:

It should be noted that only one presbyter subscribed the acts of the council: Peladius, who represented Salutaris of Avignon (see [1123]).

Place of event:

Region

Gaul

City

Épaone

About the source:

Title: Council of Épaone 517, Concilium Epaonense anno 517
Origin: Épaone (Gaul)
Denomination: Catholic/Nicene/Chalcedonian

Just as the Council of Agde was held in 506 in the Visigothic kingdom and the First Council of Orléans in 511 in the Frankish realm, the Council of Épaone gathered bishops from the lands ruled by the Burgundians. The direct impulse for the council was the ascension to the throne of Sigismund in 516. The new king, unlike his Arian predecessors, followed the Catholic creed. Avitus, metropolitan of Vienne, and Viventiolus, metropolitan of Lyons, asked the bishops to convene on the day of 6th September 517 in Épaone, the exact location of which is unknown. It was most probably situated in the province of Vienne, possibly near present-day Anneyron or Saint-Maurice-l`Exil. The council gathered 24 bishops and one presbyter. It seems that also some other clerics and laymen attended the sessions.

Edition:

C. de Clercq ed., Concilia Galliae a. 511-a. 695, Corpus Christianorum. Series Latina 148 A, Turnhout 1963.

Translation:

J. Gaudemet, B. Basdevant, Les canons des conciles mérovingiens VIe-VIIe siècles, Sources chrétiennes 353, Paris 1989.

Categories:

Described by a title - Presbyter/πρεσβύτερος

Specific number of presbyters from the same church

Ecclesiastical administration - Participation in councils and ecclesiastical courts

Ecclesiastical administration - Ecclesiastical envoy

Relation with - Another presbyter

Relation with - Bishop/Monastic superior

Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL: J. Szafranowski, Presbyters in the Late Antique West, ER1096, http://www.presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=1096