The church council as a court
the case of Palladius of Ratiaria
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58894/AR-HBg.2025.8.54-61Keywords:
Palladius of Ratiaria, Church council, Ambrosius of Milan, Arianism, 4th centuryAbstract
The fourth century is the time of church councils. Convened by bishops from all over the empire, as well as by the emperors themselves, nearly thirty councils were held during this century on the Balkans alone. Mainly the church councils are associated with the discussion and resolution of dogmatic issues and are much less known for their purely legal function, namely the conduct of legal proceedings in which there are accusers, accused and a judge. In the proposed presentation, I will show how the legal process proceeds during a church council, using as an example the procedure against Palladius of Ratsiaria during the council in Aquileia, held in 381. The studies will be based on the minutes of the council, as well as the comments written by Palladius a year later. The purposed study aims to trace the development of the legal procedure within the framework of a church council, to indicate the adopted elements from the Roman judicial system and to seek their place and significance in the process of forming the church organization.
References
Sources
Ambrosius, De fide ad Gratianum Augustum (Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum 78), ed. O. Faller, Wien, 1962.
Gesta councilii Aquileiensis (Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum 82.3), ed. M. Zelzer, Wien, 1982, 313-368.
Hilarius Pictaviensis, Collectionea antiariana Parisina (Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum 65), ed. A. Feder, Wien – Leipzig, 1916.
Scolies Ariennes sur le concile d’Aquilée (Sources chrйtiennes 267), ed. R. Gryson, Paris, 1980.
Vigilus Tapsensis, Contra Arianos Dialogus, ed. J.-P. Migne, Patrologiae Cursus Completus: Series Latina, vol. 62, 1848.
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