The Presbyters Project

Exemplar definitivae sententiae translatae de gestis.

It is related that Symphosius was present on the anti-Priscillianist Council of Saragossa in 380 only one day and afterwards refused to corroborate the conciliar condemnation of Priscillian. Then it is said that Ambrose of Milan and Pope Siricius wrote the letters to Spanish bishops establishing the conditions of reconciliation for the Priscillianist bishops. Subsequently the professions of Symphosius and Dictinius in the council of Toledo in 400 are related.

[...]

Caeterum extortum sibi de multitudine plebis probaret, Symphosium, ut ordinaret Dictinium episcopum, quem sanctus Ambrosius decrevisset, bonae pacis tenere presbyterii, non accipere honoris augmentum. Confitentur etiam illud quod alios per diversas ecclesias ordinassent, quibus deerant sacerdotes, habentes hanc fiduciam, quod cum illis propemodum totius Galliciae sentiret plebium multitudo. [...]

(ed. Vives 1963: 31)

The copy of the final sentence excerpted from the acts

It is related that Symphosius was present on the anti-Priscillianist council of Saragossa in 380 only one day and afterwards refused to corroborate the conciliar condemnation of Priscillian. Then it is said that Ambrose of Milan and pope Siricius wrote the letters to Spanish bishops establishing the conditions of reconciliation for the Priscillianist bishops. Subsequently the professions of Symphosius and Dictinius in the council of Toledo in 400 are related.

Besides, Symphosius proved that he was forced by the crowd to ordain Dictinius a bishop, though saint Ambrosius ordered him to remain a presbyter and not to accept the augmentation of honour. They also admitted they ordained other bishops in various churches which lacked priests, because they had confidence that almost all the people of Galicia agreed with them.

(trans. M. Szada)

Discussion:

Most scholars assume that Symphosius was a bishop of Astorga, because he seemed to act like a metropolitan bishop for Galicia (Van Dam 1992: 109, n. 111).

For the detailed commentary on the case of Symphosius and Dictinius see Burrus 1995: 105-109.

Place of event:

Region

Iberian Peninsula
Italy north of Rome with Corsica and Sardinia
Rome

City

Astorga
Milan

About the source:

Title: Council of Toledo I, Concilium Toletanum I
Origin: Toledo (Iberian Peninsula)
Denomination: Catholic/Nicene/Chalcedonian

The Copy of the Final Sentence is a part of the Transcript of the Professions Held in the Council of Toledo against the Sect of Priscillian, which has been transmitted in the manuscript tradition separate from canonical collection of Hispana (Chadwick 1976: 179-181; Burrus 1995: 104-105).

Edition:

Edition:

G. Martínez Díez, F. Rodríguez, eds., La colección canónica Hispana, v. 4 Concilios Galos. Concilios Hispanos: primera parte, Madrid 1984.

J. Vives, Concilios visigóticos e hispano-romanos, Barcelona-Madrid 1963.

Bibliography:

V. Burrus, The making of a heretic: gender, authority, and the Priscillianist controversy, Berkeley 1995.

H. Chadwick, Priscillian of Avila: the occult and the charismatic in the early church, Oxford 1976.

R. Van Dam, Leadership and community in late antique Gaul, Berkeley, Calif. 1992.

A. Weckwerth, Das erste Konzil von Toledo: philologischer und kirchenhistorischer Kommentar zur Constitutio concilii, Münster, Westfalen 2004.

Categories:

Religious grouping (other than Catholic/Nicene/Chalcedonian) - Priscillianist

PR86.

Change of denomination

PR86.

Further ecclesiastical career - Bishop

PR86.

Described by a title - Presbyter/πρεσβύτερος

PR86.

Act of ordination

PR86.

Relation with - Bishop/Monastic superior

PR86.

Administration of justice - Ecclesiastical

PR86.

Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL: M. Szada, Presbyters in the Late Antique West, ER136, http://presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=136