The Presbyters Project

CONCILIUM BRACARENSE PRIMUM OCTO EPISCOPORUM

habitum aera DXCIX, anno tertio Ariamiri regis, die Kalendarum Maiarum.

1. Cum Galliciae provinciae episcopi, Lucretius, Andreas, Martinus, Cottus, Ildericus, Lucetius, Timotheus, Maliosus, ex praecepto praefati gloriosissimi Ariamiri regis in metropolitana eiusdem provinciae Bracarensis ecclesia convenissent, consedentibus simul episcopis, praesentibus quoque presbyteris, adstantibusque ministris vel universo clero, Lucretius memoratae metropolitanae ecclesiae episcopus dixit [...].

(ed. Barlowe 1950: 105)

FIRST COUNCIL OF BRAGA OF EIGHT BISHOPS

held in the year 599 of the era, in the third year of King Ariamir, on the Kalends of May [=1 May 561].

1. When the bishops of the province of Galicia: Lucretius, Andreas, Martin, Cottus, Hilderic, Lucetius, Timotheus, Maliosus, at the bidding of the above-mentioned glorious King Ariamir gathered in the metropolitan Church of the province in Braga, the bishops were sitting, the presbyters were also present, the ministers and all the clergy was standing by, Lucretius, the above-mentioned bishop of the metropolitan Church said [...].

(trans. by M. Szada)

Discussion:

The text seems to suggest that the presbyters remained seated as well as bishops (consedentibus... praesentibus), especially as it mentions that the other clerics were standing (adstantibus). See also the preface to the acts and canons of the First Council of Toledo (AD 400) [94].

Place of event:

Region

Iberian Peninsula

City

Braga

About the source:

Title: First Council of Braga, Concilium Bracarense a. 561, Concilium Bracarense primum
Origin: Braga (Iberian Peninsula)
Denomination: Catholic/Nicene/Chalcedonian

The First Council of Braga was summoned by bishop Lucretius of Braga under the auspices of the king of Galicia Ariamir for the 1st of May 561. It was the first council of the Galician Church after the conversion of the Suevi to Catholicism. Apart from Lucretius and Martin of Dumio, mentioned in the third place, we can identify the sees of only two other bishops, Andreas of Iria and Lucetius of Coimbra, because they were present at the Second Council of Braga in 572.

It has been suggested that Martin of Braga wrote the minutes of the both councils. There are no conclusive arguments, but some linguistic evidence in favour of Martin`s authorship was presented by the editor, C. Barlowe (1950: 83).

Edition:

Edition:

Concilium Bracarense primum, in C. Barlowe ed., Martini episcopi Bracarensis opera omnia, New Haven 1950, 105-115

Categories:

Described by a title - Presbyter/πρεσβύτερος

Ecclesiastical administration - Participation in councils and ecclesiastical courts

Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL: M. Szada, Presbyters in the Late Antique West, ER301, http://www.presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=301