Fifteenth Council of Toledo facts for kids

The Fifteenth Council of Toledo was a very important meeting held in Toledo, Spain. It started on May 11, 688. This big meeting was called by the Visigothic King Egica. It was the first of three councils (or major meetings) that King Egica held during his time as ruler.

What Was the Fifteenth Council of Toledo?

A council is like a big conference where important leaders, especially religious ones, come together to discuss big issues. The Fifteenth Council of Toledo had two main reasons for meeting. One reason was to talk about important religious beliefs. The other was to help King Egica with a difficult promise he had made.

Solving Religious Debates

Back in 680-681, another big church meeting, called the Third Council of Constantinople, had decided something important about Christ. They said that Christ had two wills, not just one. This idea was called dyothelitism. The decision from that council was sent to Toledo, but the local archbishop, Quiricus, passed away before he could read it. His replacement, Julian, received the letter.

The Spanish bishops, led by Julian, wrote a reply to Pope Benedict II. The Pope didn't like some parts of their answer, especially a phrase that meant "will created will." However, Julian stood by his ideas. The Fifteenth Council of Toledo ended up agreeing with Julian's views. Some people have thought that this disagreement could have caused a big split with the church in Rome. But this split didn't happen, partly because of other big events in Spain and Italy, like the Moorish invasion in 711. Most historians don't believe a split was actually close.

King Egica's Tricky Promise

King Egica had another big reason to call the council. Before he became king, his predecessor, Erwig, made him take two important promises, called oaths.

• First, when Egica married Erwig's daughter, he had to promise he would never harm Erwig's children.
• Second, when Erwig was dying, Egica had to promise to always be fair and just to the people.

Egica felt stuck. He said he couldn't protect Erwig's children if he wanted to be fair to everyone else. It's believed that Erwig might have unfairly taken property from people. If Egica wanted to return this property to its rightful owners, he might have to take it from Erwig's children. So, Egica wanted the bishops to release him from his promise to protect Erwig's children.

The Bishops' Decision

The bishops at the council listened to King Egica. They told him he should still love his wife's family. However, they did release him from his oath to protect Erwig's children. This meant Egica could now act fairly regarding the property.

Egica also wanted the bishops to cancel a rule from the Thirteenth Council of Toledo. That rule protected Erwig's family from being punished. But the bishops said no. They explained that the rule didn't protect them from fair punishments if they had done something wrong.

Sources

• Thompson, E. A. The Goths in Spain, Clarendon Press: Oxford, 1969.

See also