The Presbyters Project

Exemplar iudicii inter Martianum et Aventium episcopos

Bishop Martianus appeals to the Sixth Council of Toledo for the review of the sentence passed at the council of Seville that deposed him from his office, and replaced in Écija by Bishop Aventius. The bishops gathered in Toledo interroagate anew the witnesses that have been testifying agains Martianus - first the deacon Eulalius, then the lay men and women Ricchesvindus, Scivila, Gundulfus, Franca and Honorata that have been accusing Martianus of consulting a with named Simplicia about the life of the king. Then follow the testimonies of the presbyters and deacons:

Siquidem tam vilis earum existebat persona, ut contra summi Pontificis non admitteretur accusatio tam abjecta. De ancilla vero nomine Ustania quod objectum est ei, eo quod vestiariam eam habuisset, ex quibus unum testem discutientes nomine Gregorium presbyterum, dixit nobis quia vidisset eam ingredi in cubiculo episcopi, quod et reliqui temporis illius testes ita dixerant. Nos autem veritatem ad liquidum perquirentes probationem invenimus, id est, Tonantium presbyterum, Joannem diaconum, Lollanem subdiaconum, qui suo sacramento testificati sunt, quia, posteaquam ad episcopatum venit Martianus episcopus, ancilla supradicta claves cubiculi episcopi numquam tenuisset; nis germanus suus, nomine Velesarius, tenens cubiculum episcopi causa germanitatis, ad ipsam recurreret, non vestiariae officium perageret.

The slave Bonnella withdraws her testimony incriminating Martianus. There follow the testimonies of the lower clerics who had been bound by Aventius to testify falsely against Martianus, and the written orders of Aventius are presented to the council. The testimony of the deacon Timotheus is also found to be false. The fathers of the council decide finally that Bishop Aventius shall be deposed, and Martianus restored. Bishop Aventius shall do penance.

Lectum decretum judicii in pretorio Toletano in ecclesia Sanctae Leocadiae martyris sub die quinto idus januarii anno feliciter secundo, regno glorioso domni nostri Chintilanis regis, era DCLXXVI.

Here follow the signatures of the present bishops. In the end there are two signatures of the representatives of the absent bishops:

Domarius presbyter ss.

Guamba, qui Petrus, ss. arcediaconus.

(Fita y Colomé 1881: 9-18)

A transcript of the judgment between Martianus and Aventius, the bishops

Bishop Martianus appeals to the Sixth Council of Toledo for the review of the sentence passed at the council of Seville that deposed him from his office, and replaced in Écija by Bishop Aventius. The bishops gathered in Toledo interrogate anew the witnesses that have been testifying against Martianus. The deacon Eulalius and the lay men and women Ricchesvindus, Scivila, Gundulfus, Franca and Honorata accused Martianus of consulting a with named Simplicia about the life of the king. Then follow the testimonies of the presbyters and deacons:

Since their personal status was so low, the accusation thrown by them against the high pontiff could not be accepted. In regard to the slave named Ustania he is accused of having her as his maid (vestiaria). We interrogated a witness who was a presbyter named Gregory, and he said us that he saw her entering the bedroom of the bishop. This was also said at the time by the other witnesses. However, investigating the truth to the complete certainty, we have found a proof that the presbyter Tonantius, deacon John, subdeacon Lollanus testified under oath that after Martianus had assumed the episcopacy, the above-mentione slave had never had the keys to the bedroom of the bishop. She had not an office of a maid. Martianus' brother though, named Velesarius who was living in the bedroom of the bishop because of their brotherhood, might have summoned her.

The sentence read in the Toletan praetorium in the church of Saint Leocadia the martyr in the fifth day before the ides of January happily of the second year of the reign of our glorious lord King Chintila in the year 676 of the era [= AD 638].

Here follow the signatures of the present bishops. In the end there are two signatures of the representatives of the absent bishops:

I, Domarius presbyter, signed.

I, Guamba vel Peter archdeacon, signed.

(summary and trans. M. Szada)

Discussion:

We know the case of Martianus and Aventius only from the "Exemplar". Martianus was deposed from the see of Écija in AD 628 or 629 by the provincial council of Seville (the acts of the council are not extant). He appealed first to the Fourth Council of Toledo in AD 633, and was reinstated, but he was not able to actually regain his see where he had been replaced by Bishop Aventius. He applied for a new revision of his process in AD 638 (Martin 2003: 200).

The year is given according to the Spanish Era that began in 38 BC.

Place of event:

Region

Iberian Peninsula

City

Toledo
Écija

About the source:

Title: Exemplar judicii inter Martianum et Aventium episcopos, Exemplar iudicii inter Martianum et Aventium episcopos
Origin: Toledo (Iberian Peninsula)
Denomination: Catholic/Nicene/Chalcedonian

The "Exemplar judicii inter Martianum et Aventium episcopos" is one of the texts attached to the acts and canons of the Sixth Council of Toledo in AD 638 in the codex 22 from the Archivo Capitular at León (apart from the "Exemplar" the codex contains also the letter to Pope Honorius written by Braulio, bishop of Saragossa in the name of the Sixth Council of Toledo (Ep. 30, "Optime satis"), and the confession of faith of the Jews of Toledo (Martinez Diez, Rodriguez 2002: 11).

Edition:

F. Fita y Colomé ed., Suplementos al Concilio Nacional Toledano VI, Madrid 1881

Bibliography:

C. Martin, La géographie du pouvoir dans l’Espagne visigothique, Villeneuve-d’Ascq 2003.

G. Martínez Díez, F. Rodríguez eds., La colección canónica Hispana, Monumenta Hispaniae sacra. Serie canónica 6, Madrid 2002.

Categories:

Functions within the Church - Cathedral presbyter

Described by a title - Presbyter/πρεσβύτερος

Ecclesiastical administration - Participation in councils and ecclesiastical courts

Public law - Ecclesiastical

Conflict

Relation with - Bishop/Monastic superior

Administration of justice - Ecclesiastical

Legal practice

Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL: M. Szada, Presbyters in the Late Antique West, ER1278, http://www.presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=1278