Ninth Council of Toledo facts for kids

The Ninth Council of Toledo was an important meeting of church leaders (bishops) in a region called Carthaginiensis. It started on November 2, 655, and was guided by King Reccesuinth. The meeting ended on November 24, 655, in the Church of Santa María.

Only a small group attended this council: sixteen or seventeen bishops, six abbots (leaders of monasteries), two important church officials, and four counts from the king's palace. During the meeting, the bishops created seventeen new rules. These rules were about how church leaders should act, how church property should be managed, and whether priests could marry. The council planned another meeting for November 1, 655, but a bigger meeting, the Tenth Council of Toledo, happened first. Because of this, the planned smaller meeting never took place.

New Rules for the Church

Managing Church Money

The council made a rule that allowed bishops to move up to one-third of the money from any church in their area to another church if they thought it was needed. This helped bishops manage the church's finances more flexibly.

Rules About Church Servants

The council also created rules about children born to church leaders. If a church leader, from a subdeacon to a bishop, had a child, that child would automatically become a servant of the church where their father served. This meant the child would work for the church without pay.

There was another rule for people who used to be church servants but had been set free. If a freed male or female church servant married a free person (either a local Hispano-Roman or a Visigoth), any children from that marriage would also become servants of the church.

Rights for Church Founders

The council gave a special right called "Jus patronatus" to people who built new churches. This right meant that the person who founded the church could choose its priest. However, it was made clear that the founder did not own the church itself.

Checking New Christians

Finally, the council declared that all people who had recently converted to Christianity, including those who had moved there during a time of big migrations, had to attend Christian festivals with their bishop. This was to show that they were truly Christian and believed in their new faith. If someone did not follow this rule, they could be punished with a whipping or forced fasting, depending on their age.

Sources

• Thompson, E. A. (1969), The Goths in Spain, Oxford: Clarendon Press.
• Synodus Toletana nona, minutes from the Collectio Hispana Gallica Augustodunensis (Vat. lat. 1341)

See also

In Spanish: IX Concilio de Toledo para niños