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Bible Encyclopedias
Pavia, Council of
Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
or (Concilium Papiense or Ticiense). Several ecclesiastical councils have been held in Pavia.
I. The first of these was convened in December, 850, by order of the emperor Louis, who attended himself. Bishop Angelbert of Milan presided. As secular matters were also considered by this body, the ecclesiastical character of the council is sometimes called in question. We append a notice of the principal topics contained in the twenty-five canons of ecclesiastical discipline enacted by this council:
1. Directs that bishops shall keep about them priests and deacons of known probity to be witnesses of their secret acts.
2. Directs that bishops shall celebrate mass not only on Sundays and holy days, but, when possible, every day; and that they shall no nneglect privately to offer prayers for themselves, their fellow-bishops, kings, all the rulers of God's Church, and for all those who have desired their prayers, but especially for the poor.
3. Orders them to exercise frugality at table, to receive pilgrims and poor and sick people, and to exhort them and read to them.
4 and 5. Direct that they shall not hunt, hawk, etc., nor mix in worldly pleasures; bids them read the Holy Scriptures, explain them to their clergy, and preach on Sundays and holy days.
7. Directs that priests shall examine whether penitents really perform their acts of penance, give alms largely, etc.; public offenders to be reconciled by the bishop only.
9. Warns all fathers of families to marry their daughters as soon as they are of age, lest they fall into sill; and forbids the marriage blessing to those who marry after fornication.
14. Orders bishops immediately to re-establish those monasteries in their dioceses which have gone to decay through their negligence.
18. Declares that priests and deacons (acephali) who are under no episcopal jurisdiction are not to be looked Upon as belonging to the clergy.
21. Forbids usury.
22. Enjoins bishops to watch over those who have the care of orphans, and to see that they do not injure or oppress them. If such oppressors refuse to listen to their remonstrances, they are ordered to call the emperor's attention to the case.
23. Orders bishops to arrest clerks and monks who wander about the country, agitating useless questions and sowing the seeds of error, and to bring them before the metropolitan.
25. Condemns to a very severe course of penance those who deal in magical arts, who pretend to cause love or hatred by their incantations, and who are suspected of having caused the death of others; enjoins that they shall not be reconciled except on their death-bed.
See Labbe, Concil. 8:61.
II. A second council was convened at Pavia in A.D. 876 by Charles the Bald. Seventeen bishops from Tuscany and Lombardy attended. The archbishop of Milan presided. Fifteen canons were published. Of these the most noteworthy enactments are:
1. Orders respect and veneration everywhere for the holy Roman Church, as the head of all churches.
2 and 3. Also relate to the respect, etc., due to the Roman see, and to the pope John.
4. Orders respect for the priesthood.
5. Orders respect for the imperial dignity. The three following relate to the duties of bishops. The acts of this council were confirmed in that' of Pontyon, held in the same year. In this council an ancient document was produced, said to have been given to the archbishop of Milan by Gregory the Great, or Charlemagne, by which they claimed for themselves the right of electing the king of Italy fourteen days after the death of the last (Muratori, Rer. Ital. vol. ii, pt. ii col. 148). See Labb, Concil. 9:279.
III. A third council was convened Aug. 1, 1022. Pope Benedict VIII in this council complained of the licentious life of the clergy, and showed that it dishonored the Church; he declared that they consumed the wealth given to them by the liberality of princes in keeping women and providing for their children. A decree in seven articles was published for the reformation of the clergy, which the emperor confirmed, adding temporal penalties against the refractory. See Labbe, Concil. 9:819.
IV. At a council held at Pavia in 1160 the anti-pope, Victor III (Octavianus), was acknowledged as pope instead of Alexander III, by the emperor Frederick I. See Labbe, Concil. 10:1387.
V. At a council held at Pavia in 1423, convoked by the Council of Constance, and opened in the month of May, some deputies from England, France, and Germany were present. On June 22 this council was transferred to Siena, on account of the plague which threatened Pavia, and the enactments are given under the heading of SIENA. See Hefele, Conciliengesch. vol. 4 and 5; Milman, Hist. of Latin Christianity, 4:292; 7:534.
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McClintock, John. Strong, James. Entry for 'Pavia, Council of'. Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/tce/p/pavia-council-of.html. Harper & Brothers. New York. 1870.
