Valentinum / Valence
Interprovincial Council in Valence; ca. 528
The council of Valence, convoked by Bishop Iulianus of Vienne, was attended by bishops from “beyond the Isère,” i.e. prelates from the province of Vienne and likely from Lyon as well. The council assembled to evaluate, and ultimately reject, Bishop Caesarius of Arles’s view of prevenient grace. While invited to attend, Caesarius – claiming illness – sent a delegation of provincial representatives in his stead, led by Bishop Cyprianus of Toulon. While a later date of ca. 529/530 has been posited for the meeting’s assembly, the consensus view is that the council met in 528, prior to the Council of Orange (529).
The council’s acts do not survive. Instead, the meeting is known only through the account given in the Vita Caesarii composed shortly after Caesarius’s death by Cyprianus and several colleagues. According to the vita, Cyprianus cited scripture and patristic references at the council in support of Caesarius’s position, but unsurprisingly the council did not side with the Arlesian delegation. Caesarius would convene his own council at Orange the following year (529) in an effort to vindicate his position.
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QQ: Cyprianus of Toulon et al., Vitae Caesarii episcopi Arelatensis libri duo 1.60, in: Passiones vitaeque sanctorum aevi Merovingici et antiquorum aliquot (I), ed. B. Krusch, Hannover 1896 (= MGH SS rer. Merov. 3), 481-482; Maassen, Concilia aevi Merovingici, 59-60; de Clercq, Concilia Galliae, 82-83; Klingshirn (ed.), Caesarius of Arles: Life, Testament and Letters, 40-41.
Lit: Hefele/Leclerq II/2, 1108-1110; Pontal, Synoden im Merowingerreich, 64-67; Halfond, The Archaeology of Frankish Church Councils, AD 511-768, 225; Malnory, Saint Césaire, évêque d'Arles: 503-543, Paris 1894, 154; Klingshirn,Caesarius of Arles, 140-141; R. Weaver, Divine Grace and Human Agency: A Study of the Semi-Pelagian Controversy, Macon (Ga) 1996, 226-227; R. Mathisen, Caesarius of Arles, Prevenient Grace, and the Second Council of Orange, in: A. Y. Hwang / B. J. Matz / A. Casiday (eds.), Grace for Grace: The Debates After Augustine and Pelagius, Washington D.C. 2014, 208-234.
Halfond, Gregory
April 2026
Empfohlene Zitierweise:
Halfond, Gregory, "Valentinum / Valence: Interprovincial Council in Valence; ca. 528", in: Lexikon der Konzilien [Online-Version], April 2026; URL: http://www.konziliengeschichte.org/site/de/publikationen/lexikon/database/664.html
