Trullan Synod

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The (2nd) Trullan Synod ( Trullanum , Quinisext , Penthekte or Penthekton ) was a church assembly called in 691 by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian II .

The synod , named after the place of the assembly, the domed building of the imperial palace ( trullum ), in which 227 bishops, most of whom came from the Eastern Roman Empire , took part, had the task of dealing with questions that came up at the Second and Third Councils had remained unanswered by Constantinople . While the central questions of Christian dogmatics, such as the long controversial Christology , were dealt with more marginally, questions of liturgy , church discipline and the like were largely the focus. But this, too, was not without controversy, as it concerned traditions which in some cases had developed differently in the Roman Church than in the Eastern Churches . So it happened that the signing of the 102 canons of the Synod was initially refused by Pope Sergius I. The Roman clergy later declared that they accepted the resolutions provided they did not contradict the true faith and the Roman decrees.

In the orthodox area, this synod is considered to be the completion of the Second and Third Councils of Constantinople. It has shaped Christian Orthodox practice more sustainably than any other council.

Among other things, the following was regulated:

  1. the question of celibacy (married men were expressly allowed to be ordained priests; priests were forbidden from sending their wives away on religious pretexts)
  2. Divorce and remarriage (second and - after a longer penalty period - third marriages are exceptionally permissible as a concession to human weakness; fourth marriages, however, never)
  3. the relationship with the Jews (Christian clergy were forbidden to be treated by Jewish doctors)
  4. the commandment to return to bishops who had left their bishopric ( residence obligation , this mainly concerned the Middle East and the Arab conquest)
  5. the ban on simony
  6. the ban on clerics to attend theater or horse races
  7. the fasting commandments (no fasting on Saturdays, no mass celebrations on working days during Lent)
  8. the rank of the Patriarchate of Constantinople (second rank after Rome)
  9. the minimum age for certain church offices
  10. the novitiate , the clothing and hairstyle of the monks
  11. the ban on dual monasteries
  12. the prohibition of craps and fortune telling
  13. the prohibition of the symbolic representation of Christ as the Lamb of God (he should rather be represented as a human being)
  14. the ban on abortion
  15. the prohibition of customs in honor of the ancient gods, especially dances and customs in honor of Dionysus during the grape harvest and press (canon 62)

The signatures of the bishops (and the emperor) are an important source for the geography of the 7th century Byzantine Church. Due to the incursions of the Arabs and Slavs and other circumstances of the time, many episcopal seats were not occupied.

literature

  • Concilium Constantinopolitanum a. 691/2 in Trullo habitum . In: Heinz Ohme u. a. (Ed.): Acta conciliorum oecumenicorum, Series Secunda II: Concilium Universale Constantinopolitanum Tertium, Pars 4. Berlin a. Boston 2013, ISBN 978-3-11-030853-2 . Edition with a detailed introduction to tradition and reception.
  • Concilium Quinisextum - The Council Quinisextum. Translated and introduced by Heinz Ohme. Fontes Christiani 82. Turnhout 2006. Text with German translation, commentary and detailed introduction
  • Heinz Ohme: The Concilium Quinisextum and its list of bishops. Studies for the Constantinople Council of 692nd Works on Church History 56th Berlin / New York 1990.

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