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MACON (581). [Concilium Matisconense.] Held in 584, by order of King Gontram; the Archbishops of Lyons, Vienne, Sens, Bourges, Besançon, and Tarantaise were present, together with fifteen other French bishops; Priscus of Lyons presiding. Nineteen canons were published. (See also C. AUXERRE, 578.)

The first three relate to the intercourse of the clergy with women, nuns, &c.

4. Excommunicates those who kept back legacies left to the Church.

5. Forbids the clergy to dress like laymen, and sentences to thirty days’ imprisonment, with no food but bread and water, those who dressed immodestly, and who carried arms.

7. Forbids a judge to imprison a clerk without the bishop’s permission, except in a criminal case.

8. Forbids the clergy to carry their suits, &c., before lay judges.

9. Directs the clergy to fast three times a week from the feast of S. Martin to that of Christmas, and upon these fast days to read the canons.

10. Orders the clergy to obey their bishops, and to celebrate the festivals with them.

13. Forbids Jews to act as judges amongst Christians.

14. Forbids the Jews to appear in the streets from Maundy Thursday until Easter Monday.

17. Deprives false witnesses of communion until death.

19. Relates to the case of a nun named Agnes, who having escaped from her convent, endeavoured to persuade some persons of influence, by the offer of a large part of her property, to let her return into the world: she herself and all who should offer or accept such bribes, are declared excommunicate.—Tom. v. Conc. p. 966.

MACON (585). Held by order of King Gontram, or Guntheram, October 23, 585, Priscus, Archbishop of Lyons, presided, and forty-three bishops and the deputies of twenty others, absent, besides three bishops who were without sees, attended. Faustianus, whom Gundobald, the enemy of Gontram, had made bishop of Aix, was deposed, and Nicetius put into his place, also Ursicinus who had harboured Gundobald, was suspended from the exercise of his ministerial functions. Twenty canons were published.

1. Enacts penalties suited to the different ranks of life, for infringing the holiness of the Lord’s Day: thus, it decrees that an advocate shall be driven from the bar, a peasant shall be flogged, a clerk or monk shall be deprived of the society of his brethren, and excommunicated for six months.

2. Orders the due observation of Easter, and forbids all servile work to be done at that season for six days.

3. Forbids to baptise infants except at Easter, unless in cases of sickness: one reason for this is, that they may be admitted to the honour of the priesthood in after years, if they shall prove worthy; from which it appears, that to have received holy baptism at any other time than at Easter was a bar to admission to holy orders.

4. Orders all persons, both men and women, to offer bread and wine at the holy altar every Sunday, in order to do away with their sins, and to give them a share in the merits of Abel and all other righteous offerers.

5. Orders, under pain of excommunication, the payment of tithe, that the priests may apply them to the help of the poor and the redemption of those in slavery, and so render the prayers which they offer for the salvation for the people efficacious. “Quas leges (i.e., to pay the tithe) Christianorum congeries longis temporibus custodivit intemeratas; nunc autem pautatim prævaricatores legum pene Christiani omnes ostendunt, dum ea quæ divinitus sancita sunt adimplere negligunt, &c.” This is said to be the first canonical declaration of the divine right of tithe.

6. Orders the priest to celebrate the communion fasting, and that what remains of the Eucharist, dipped in wine, shall be given to the children on Wednesday and Friday after mass.

8. Forbids to remove by force those who have fled for sanctuary into churches.

9 and 10. Relate to actions at law in which the clergy are concerned, and forbids the civil courts to take cognizance of them.

13. Forbids bishops to keep sporting dogs and hawks.

15. Treats of the respect which the laity ought to show towards the clergy, and enjoins, that if a layman on horse back shall meet a clergyman on foot, he shall immediately get off his horse to salute him.

19. Forbids the clergy, upon pain of being deposed, to be present at the examination of persons accused of capital crimes, or at their execution.

20. Directs that a national synod shall be held every three years, to be convoked by the Bishop of Lyons, or by the king.—Tom. v. Conc. p. 979. Greg. Turon’s Hist. Franc., l. 8. c. 20. Sirmondus, Tom. i. p. 381.

MACON (1286). Held on the Thursday after the Feast of the Apostles Peter and Paul, 1286, by the Archbishop of Lyons, assisted by his suffragans, abbots, priors, chaplains, and others. Thirteen canons are extant.

1. Forbids abbots and conventual priors to give more than one priory to the same monk.

3. Forbids them to send their monks to schools beyond the limits of the monastery, except for the sake of learning grammar.

4. Against the plunderers, &c., of ecclesiastical places and persons.—Mart., Thes. Anec., Tom. iv. col. 203.

MACON (627). Held in 627. The rule of St Columbanus prescribed for the use of his monasteries was approved, in spite of the opposition made by the seditious monks of Italy.

MAGFIELD (1362). [Concilium Maghfeldense.] Held in 1362, by Simon Islip, Archbishop of Canterbury, in which a list of festivals to be observed strictly was drawn up, and the celebration of Sunday ruled to begin on Saturday night at vespers.

The following are the feasts specified, on which all people in the province of Canterbury are charged to abstain from every kind of work:—

All Sundays.

The feasts of the Nativity, St Stephen, St John, the Holy Innocents, St Thomas the Martyr, Circumcision, Epiphany, Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St Matthias, Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Easter and three following days, St Mark, Saints Philip and Jacob, Invention of the Cross, the Ascension, Pentecost and three following days, Corpus Christi, Nativity of St John the Baptist, Saints Peter and Paul, Translation of St Thomas, St James, Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St Lawrence, St Bartholomew, Nativity of St Mary, Exaltation of the Holy Cross, St Matthew, St Michael, St Luke, Saints Simon and Jude, All Saints, St Andrew, St Nicholas, Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St Thomas; as well as the feast of the dedication of each church, and of the saints to whom the parish church is dedicated, and other feasts enjoined by the ordinary.—Tom. xi. Conc. p. 1933. Johnson’s Ecc. Canon. Wilkins’ Conc. vol. ii. p. 560.

MALINES (1570). [Concilium Mechliniense.] Held in 1570, in June, Martin Rithovius, Bishop of Ypres, presiding, in the absence of the Archbishop of Malines. The decrees of Trent were received, and all the bishops of the provinces ordered not to allow any profession of faith differing from the one laid down in that council; the bishops were also ordered to visit all churches in their dioceses, even those which were exempt. The following subjects were also discussed, and regulations relating to them drawn up:—Baptism, orders, the celebration of festivals, the duty of bishops’ residence, the life and conversation of the clergy, seminaries and schools, catechism, monks, and nuns. The regulations upon all these matters are contained under twenty-four titles.—Tom. xv. Conc. p. 789.

MALINES (1607). Held in 1607, by Matthias, Archbishop of Malines, who presided at the head of six bishops, his suffragans. Several regulations were drawn up under twenty-six heads.

The second and eight following relate to the seven sacraments and to indulgences.

11. Directs that care be taken that there shall be preaching and catechising every Sunday and holiday.

12. Relates to the proper celebration of divine service.

13. Relates to fast-days and festivals.

14. Relates to relics and images; proscribes those of the latter which have not been approved by the ordinary, or which are immodest, obscene, or worldly.

15. Forbids any person to exorcise without the permission of the bishop.

24. Relates to monks and nuns, and orders that no more persons be received into a monastery than the revenue, or the usual alms, will support; orders an extraordinary confessor for nuns three or four times a year.—Tom. xv. Conc. p. 1534.

MANS (1188). [Concilium Cenomanense.] Held in 1188, by the King of England, Henry II.; many bishops and nobles from the provinces under the rule of England attended, and a tenth of all their revenues and goods was granted towards the expenses of the Holy War.—Tom. x. Conc. p. 1760.

MANTUA (826). [Concilium Mantuanum.] Held in 826, by Pope Eugenius II., at the request of Maxentius, patriarch of Aquileia, in which the Isle of Grado was adjudged to belong to the Church of Aquileia.

MANTUA (1067). Held in 1067. In this council Alexander II. cleared himself by an oath of the charge of simony brought against him, and sufficiently proved the validity of his election, whereupon the bishops of Lombardy, who had opposed him, yielded. The anti-pope, Cadalous, on the contrary, who had taken the style of Honorius II., was condemned, unanimously, as simoniacal.—Sigebert, A.D. 1067. Tom. ix. Conc. p. 1179. See Esp. Sag. xxix. p. 282, &c., 284, &c.

MARSIAC (1326). [Concilium Marsiacense.] Held December 8th, 1326, by William de Flavacour, Archbishop of Auch, and his suffragans; they published fifty-six canons, amongst which are the following:—

2 and 3. Forbid to receive the clergy of another diocese without letters from their own bishop; excommunicate those who permit such clerks to administer the holy sacrament.

4, 5, and 6. Relate to the offices of archdeacon, legate, and ordinary.

8. Relates to the immunities of the church and clerks.

18. Renews the old canons upon the subject of the life proper to be led by clerks, monks, and lay-persons.

19. Directs all clerks in holy orders and monks to be present at the saying of the seven canonical hours. Orders the same service as usual to be performed daily during an interdict, but in a low voice, with the doors closed and without any sound of the bells.

20. Forbids clerks to walk at night after the bell or trumpet has been sounded, without a light, in order to avoid scandal.

21, 22, and 23. Forbid clerks and monks to endeavour to persuade persons to choose their burial-places with them. Forbid lay-persons to be buried within the church without leave of the bishop and rector. Recommend moderation in funeral pomp; and forbid all loud cries and lamentations which interrupt the service.

34. Orders bishops to provide for the subsistence of poor rectors.

36. Declares that the curates of parishes in the gift of the regulars, shall not be removed without sufficient cause, and by the same bishops who have instituted them; that monks, being incumbents of livings, shall submit in all things to the bishop, notwithstanding any privilege to which they may lay claim.

38 and 39. Relate to archidiaconal visitations, and restrain the great expense to which the clergy were put on these occasions. Forbid the archdeacons to take with them, when visiting, more than five horses and five footmen, or any dogs or birds for sport.

40. Orders that a church or churchyard in any way polluted shall be purified by the bishop with holy water.

41. Provides for the celebration of the feasts of saints, and for the due veneration of relics.

42. Establishes the feast of St Martha, the sister of St Mary Magdalene, on the fourth of the calends of August.

57. Of interdicts.

58. Forbids to lay a place under interdict on account of pecuniary debt.—Tom. xi. Conc. p. 1747.

MAYENCE (813). [Concilium Moguntinum.] Held June 9th, 813, by order of Charlemagne; composed of thirty bishops and twenty-five abbots; Hildebald, Archbishop of Cologne and arch-chaplain, presided. The object of the council was to restore the discipline of the Church; to this end the gospels, the canons of the Church, and certain of the works of the fathers were read, amongst others the pastoral of St Gregory. The abbots and monks also read the letter of St Benedict. Fifty-six canons were published.

2. Orders the administration of holy baptism after the Roman use, and restricts it to Easter and Pentecost, except in cases of necessity.

6. Orders bishops to take care of disinherited orphans.

9. Orders canons to eat in common, and to sleep in the same dormitory.

11. Relates to the life of the monks.

12. Commands abbots to follow exactly the Rule of St Benedict. This is the first synodical decree enjoining the general use of this Rule.

13. To that of nuns, and gives them the Rule of St Benedict.

22. Is directed against vagabond clerks.

23. Gives entire liberty to clerks and monks who have been forced to receive the tonsure.

28. Orders all priests at all times to wear the stole to mark their sacerdotal character.

32. Defines the difference between the exomologesis and litania; the former it states to be solely for confession of sin, the latter to implore help and mercy.

33. Orders the observance of the great Litany,—i.e., the three rogation days Litanies which, though now commonly called the Leper Litanies to distinguish them from the Litania Major on St Mark’s day, were, by early French writers, often called the Great Litanies (see the Capitulars of Charlemagne, lib. v. c. 85),—by all Christians, barefooted with ashes.

35. Confirms the nineteenth canon of Gangra on fasting.

36 and 37. Relate to holy days and Sundays.

43. Forbids mass to be said by a priest alone; for how can he say Dominus vobiscum, and other like things, when no one is present but himself?

47. Orders godparents to instruct their godchildren.

52. Forbids all interments within the church except in the case of bishops, abbots, priests, or lay-persons distinguished for holiness of life.

54. Forbids marriage within the fourth degree.

55. Forbids parents to stand as sponsors for their own children, and forbids marriages between sponsors and their godchildren, and the parents of their godchildren.

56. Declares that he who has married two sisters, and the woman who has married two brothers, or a father and son, shall be separated, and never be permitted to marry again.—Tom. vii. Conc. p. 1239.

MAYENCE (847). Held about the 1st of October 847, by order of Louis of Germany, under Rabanus Maurus, Archbishop of Mayence, assisted by twelve bishops, his suffragans, and several abbots, monks, priests, and others of the clergy, including the chorepiscopi. Thirty-one canons were published.

2. Warns bishops to be assiduous in preaching the word of God.

7. Leaves the disposition of church property to the bishops, and asserts their power over the laity.

11. Forbids to endow new oratories with the tithes or other property belonging to churches anciently founded, without the bishop’s consent.

13. Relates to the life to be observed by clerks and monks. Forbids joking, gaming, unsuitable ornaments, delicate living, excess in eating or drinking, unjust weights or measures, unlawful trades, &c.

14. Orders all monks holding livings to attend the synods and give an account of themselves.

15. Forbids the clergy to wear long hair, under pain of anathema.

30. Forbids marriage within the fourth degree.—Tom. viii. Conc. p. 39.

MAYENCE (848). Held in 848, in October, under the same Rabanus. Gothescalcus, a monk of Orbais in the diocese of Soissons, who had before broached extreme predestinarian opinions, which had led to a controversy between himself and Rabanus, was cited before this council by him, and presented a paper upon predestination, in which he asserted that as the Almighty had, before the creation of the world, irrevocably predestinated all the elect to eternal life, of His own free grace, so had He also predestinated the wicked to eternal damnation. He reprimanded Rabanus for saying that the wicked are not by any means predestinated to eternal death, but that it is only foreseen in their case. The doctrine of Gothescalcus was condemned, and he himself remitted to Hincmar of Rheims for judgment. Rabanus recommended that he should be imprisoned.—Baronius, A.D. 848, Tom. viii. Conc. p. 52.

MAYENCE (888). Held in 888; three princes, the Archbishops of Cologne, Mayence, Treves, and Rheims, and nineteen bishops (amongst whom was Thiadmar of Salisbury) were present. In the preface the bishops attribute the public calamities to private sins and to the interruption of provincial councils, and they draw a wretched picture of the state of the Church; twenty-six canons were published, taken for the most part from those of the preceding council.—Tom. ix. Conc. p. 401.

MAYENCE (1028). [properly Concilium Geizletense.] Held at Geizlete, a place near to Mayence, in 1028, in which a man of gentle blood accused of the murder of the Count Sigefroi, cleared himself by undergoing the ordeal of hot iron, from which, in the judgment of the council, he escaped unscathed.—Tom. ix. Conc. p. 860. Mansi, Supp. tom. i. coll. 1241.

MAYENCE (1049). Held in 1049; the Emperor, Henry the Black, was present, and about forty bishops. Statutes were drawn up against simony, the marriage of priests, and other abuses.—Tom. ix. Conc. p. 1046.

MAYENCE (1071). Held on the 15th of August 1071, upon the affair of Charles, Canon of Magdeburg, who succeeded to the bishopric of Constance, upon the death of Rumoldus, and whom the clergy of Constance refused to receive, upon the plea that he had been guilty of simony and sacrilege. Charles, after some discussion, gave back the ring and pastoral staff into the hands of the king, saying that, in accordance with the decrees of pope Celestine, he would not be the bishop of those who were unwilling to receive him.—Tom. ix. Conc. p. 1204.

MAYENCE (1075). Held in 1075, by Sigefroi, Archbishop of Mayence, assisted by the Bishop of Coire, legate of the holy see. Here the decree of the council of Rome of the preceding year was published, which enjoined the archbishop, under pain of deposition, to oblige the prelates and other clergy of his province to give up either their wives or the service of the altar. The clergy present, however, were so enraged against him, that fearing for his life, the archbishop gave up the attempt, and left the execution of the decree to the pope.—Tom. x. Conc. p. 345.

MAYENCE (1225). Held in 1225, by Cardinal Conrad, legate of Honorius III. It is by some called a synod of Germany. Fourteen canons were published, which relate to the incontinence of the clergy, and simony.

6. Declares that excommunicated priests who dare to perform any clerical function whilst under excommunication shall be deposed both from their office and benefices without hope of being ever restored, shall be treated as infamous, deprived of the power of leaving their property by will, and never again permitted to hold any kind of ecclesiastical benefice.

In this council Frederic, Count of Isemburg, was excommunicated for the murder of St Engelbert, Archbishop of Cologne, whose corpse was brought into the assembly.—Tom. xi. Conc. p. 294.

MAYENCE (1233). Held in 1233, against the heretics called Stadingi, from the city of Stade in Germany; these men were a sect of Manichæans, and practised the most horrible impurities. Doctor Conrad of Marbourg, who had given crosses to those who were willing to arm against them, and who it seems had caused’ “innumerable heretics” to be burned, was murdered on his way from the council.

This gave rise to another council at Mayence in the same year, in which those who had been suspected of heresy were absolved, and the murderers of Conrad sent to the pope to obtain absolution.—Tom. xi. Conc. p. 478.

MAYENCE (1261). Held in 1261, by the Archbishop of Mayence, in obedience to the pope’s order to take measures for opposing the Tartars. Several regulations were published for the augmentation of Divine service and the reformation of the clergy.—Tom. xi. Conc. p. 816.

MAYENCE (1310). Held in 1310, by Peter, Archbishop of Mayence. In this council an abridgement of the canons of the preceding councils was drawn up, and the affair of the Templars, by the pope’s direction, discussed. Count Hugo, with twenty other Templars, suddenly rushed into the council during their deliberation, and solemnly and earnestly protested against the cruel persecution set on foot against their order. He utterly denied the truth of the horrible charges brought against them; reminded the bishops present that numbers of the Templars had died at the stake protesting their innocence, and finally he appealed to a future pope.

The archbishop, for the sake of peace, admitted his appeal, and promised to forward it to Rome, and to do his best that they should be left in peace and quietness.

During the course of this year several councils or assemblies were held upon the same subject in different places, and great numbers of the Templars were burnt to death, e.g., fifty-nine at Paris, and nine at Senlis, not one of whom confessed the crimes imputed to them. At the Council of Ravenna in 1311 they fared better.—Tom. xi. Conc. p. 1536.

MAYENCE (1451). Held on the Sunday after the feast of St Martin, 1451, by Theoderic the Archbishop, assisted by his suffragans or their proctors. Eighteen canons were published.

2. Orders that the book of St Thomas on the Articles of Faith and Sacraments shall be communicated to every rector.

9. Accepts the Bull of Bonifacius VIII., “Provide,” and the ordinance made in the Synod of Basle concerning interdicts.

14. Forbids the too frequent exhibition of the Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist.

15. Orders ordinaries to prevent altogether the people from thronging to certain images more than others, lest they by so doing commit idolatry.—Mart., Vet. Scrip. Coll., 8. 1005.

MAYENCE (1549). Held May 6, 1549, by Sebastian Heusenstein, Archbishop of Mayence, with the deputies of the bishops of his province and the principal of his clergy. Forty-seven canons were published concerning the faith, and fifty-seven canons of discipline. Amongst the first we find an exposition of the mystery of the Sacred Trinity, according to the faith of the Church; it is further stated that man was created with righteousness, and endued with grace, but that he was possessed of free-will; afterwards the fall of man and his justification are spoken of, and it is declared that this justification proceeds from the grace of God; that it is given before any merit; that this justification is given when man receives the Holy Spirit, with faith, hope, and charity, which gifts it declares to be inherent in him, and not merely imputed, so that man is not only accounted righteous, but is so in reality, yet not through his own merits, but by God’s grace and righteousness communicated to him; that the charity which justifies must be accompanied by good works, of which grace is the source and principle. (Canons 7 and 8.)

The council, moreover, in the canons of faith set forth the doctrine of the sacraments, and decided, against the heretics, that they are not bare ceremonies, but effectual signs of grace, which they are, by divine operation, the means of conveying to those who receive them worthily.

With regard to ceremonies, it is decreed that such ought to be retained as incite the people to meditate upon God; amongst these are reckoned the sacraments, churches, altars, images, holy vestments, banners, &c. As to images, the council decrees that the people should be taught that they are not set up to be worshipped, and that none ought to be set up in churches which are likely to inspire worldly and carnal thoughts, rather than piety. Curates are also enjoined to remove the image of any saint to which the people flocked, as if attributing some sort of divinity to the image itself, or as supposing that God or the saints would perform what they prayed for by means of that particular image, and not otherwise. Afterwards the following matters are treated of: devout pilgrimages, worship of saints, prayer for the dead, and the law of fasting.

Amongst the fifty-six canons of discipline and morality, we find it ruled (by canon 61), that when the lesser festivals fall on a Sunday, they shall be kept on some day following or preceding; that apostate monks upon their return to duty shall be kindly treated; that nuns shall not leave their convent without the bishop’s permission; that preaching shall not be allowed, nor the holy sacraments administered, in chapels attached to private houses; that care shall be taken that all school-masters be sound Catholics, &c.

Finally, it is declared that the council received the acts of the holy œcumenical councils, and yielded entire submission to the catholic, apostolic, Roman Church in all things.—Tom. xiv. Conc. p. 667.

MEAUX (845). [Concilium Meldense.] Held June 17, 845. Venilon, Archbishop of Sens, Hincmar of Rheims, and Rodolph of Bourges, were present with their suffragans. They made a selection from the canons made in the councils of Coulaines (Colonia), Theonville, Lorris (A.D. 843), and Beauvais, to which they added sixty-six others.

1 and 2. Declare that the residences of bishops ought to be holy houses, and that worldly persons and women ought not to be introduced there. This law was directed against a practice of the kings and great men of those times, who in the course of their journeyings stopped at the bishops’ houses and brought all sorts of persons into them.

9. Suspends bishops who without just cause absent themselves from a council.

12. Recommends residence, and that the clergy should avoid female society.

16. Relates to the dilapidated state of the religious houses founded by the Scotch for those of their people who came over to France; declares that not only strangers could not be admitted, but that even the religious residing in them had been turned out, and compelled to go from door to door begging, owing to the funds having been alienated.

20. Forbids the chorepiscopi to administer confirmation, consecrate churches, or confer any save the minor orders, which it states to be functions peculiar to the episcopate.

22 and 23. Direct that when a bishop is ill or unable to discharge his duty, he shall write to the metropolitan for instructions how to act.

24. Forbids the clergy to baptise out of the church, it there be a font, and at any other than the appointed seasons.

26. Forbids to receive the clergy of another diocese without letters.

The king’s consent to these regulations appears not to have been given.—Tom. vii. Conc. p. 1813.

MELFI (1089). [Concilium Melfitanum.] Held in 1089 by Pope Urban II., assisted by seventy bishops and twelve abbots. Duke Roger did homage to the pope, and sixteen canons were published.

1. Is directed against simony.

2. Enjoins continence upon all clerks from the period of their being received into the order of subdeacons.

3. Excludes from holy orders persons who previous to their subdeaconate have been twice married, and all persons not of approved chastity.

4. Forbids to ordain a subdeacon under fourteen, a deacon under twenty-four, and a priest under thirty years of age.

8. Forbids lay investitures.

11. Forbids to confer holy orders upon slaves.

13. Condemns a luxurious way of living amongst the clergy.

15. Forbids to receive those who have been excommunicated by their bishop.

16. Of false penance.—Tom. x. Conc. p. 476.

MELITENE (before 360). A council was held in the ancient city of Melitene in Armenia, now Malathya, before the year 360, since, at the Council of Constantinople, held in 360, Elipidius and Satales were deposed for infringing the canons of this council, as was also Eustathius of Sebaste.—Sozomen, lib. iv. c. 24, 25.

MELUN (1216). [Concilium Melodunense.] Pope Innocent III. having written to the Archbishop of Sens and his suffragans to inform them of the sentence of excommunication passed against King Philip Augustus, on account of the aid he had given to his son Louis in his attempt to take the crown of England from King John, the great men of the kingdom assembled in council (1216), and protested that they should not regard the king as excommunicated until they were better assured of the Pope’s will upon the subject. As for Louis and all his followers, they were solemnly excommunicated by the Pope in the month of June in this year.—Tom. xi. Conc. p. 240.

MERIDA (666). [Concilium Emeritense.] Held November 6, 666, in the reign of King Receswinthus. Twelve bishops were present, Proficius, the Metropolitan of Merida, presiding. Twenty-three canons were published.

3. Directs that mass be said and prayers offered daily for the king and his army in time of war.

5. Forbids a bishop, hindered by lawful business from attending a synod, to send a deacon as his deputy; directs that he shall send a priest, who shall sit behind the bishops.

6. Charges all bishops to obey their Metropolitan when summoned to celebrate the festivals of Easter and Christmas with him.

7. Orders the holding of annual councils, suspends for a year bishops who refuse to attend without good cause.

8. Relates to differences about the extent of dioceses, and directs that thirty years’ possession be considered as giving right.

9. Forbids all compulsory fees for the holy chrism and baptism.

13. Orders that all offerings made in churches be divided into three parts, one for the bishop, another for priests and deacons, and the third for the inferior clerks.

16. Directs that a third part of the revenue of each church be spent in repairs.

17. Enacts various penalties against persons speaking evil of deceased bishops.

18. Orders priests who by the bishop’s permission hold two or more poor parishes together, to maintain at their own expense clerks to say for them the holy office every Sunday.—Tom. vi. Conc. p. 497.

MERTON (1305). Held at Merton, in Surrey, 1305, by Robert de Winchelsey, Archbishop of Canterbury. Six constitutions were published.

1. Relates to tithes, orders an uniform demand of tithe throughout the province, unless the parishioners redeem them at a competent rate. This constitution orders that tithe be paid of the profits or wages of handicraftsmen and merchants, masons, victuallers, &c.; and that in demanding a mortuary (or principal legacy), the custom of the province, with the possession of the Church, be observed. Rectors, vicars, &c., who either for fear or favour of men, do not demand their tithes effectually, as aforesaid, to be punished.

2. Relates to certain difficulties in taking tithe or sheep removed from parish to parish, and other similar matters.

Ordains that if a man, at his death, have three or more animals among his chattels, the second best shall be reserved for the church where he received the sacraments when alive.

4. Declares what things the parishioners are bound to provide for the service and repairs of their church, viz., a legend, an antiphonar, a graduale, a psalter, a troper, an ordinal, a missal, a manual, a chalice, the principal vestment, with a chesible, dalmatic, tunicle,1 a choral cope with all its appendages,1 a fontal for the high altar, three towels, three surplices, one rochet,1 a cross for processions, a cross for the dead, a censer, a lanthorn, a hand-bell to carry before the host to the sick, a pyx for the body of Christ, a decent veil for Lent, banners for the rogations, bells with ropes, a bier, a vessel to hold the blessed water, an osculatory (or Pax), a candlestick for the wax-taper at Easter, a font with lock and key, the images in the church, the chief image in the chancel, the enclosure of the churchyard, the repairs of the body of the church, within and without, with the images, windows, books, and vestments. All things else to be done at the expense of the rector or curate.

5. Forbids stipendiary priests, i.e., such as had no share in the tithe of the parish, but were maintained by saying masses, &c., and others similarly maintained, to take any part of the fees, offerings, &c., without the incumbent’s permission, under pain of excommunication; orders such priests to be present in the chancel, and not in the body of the church, or fields, at matins, vespers, and other offices, in surplices purchased at their own cost, and to join in the reading, singing, and psalmody. Forbids them on Sundays, festivals, and days of funerals, to begin their masses until the gospel at high mass is ended. Provides that they shall take an oath on the holy Books, not in any way to injure the churches or chapels, or their incumbents, &c., and especially to abstain from raising scandal and contention between rectors and parishioners. Forbids them to receive the confessions of the people belonging to the several parishes, &c., of the churches in which they minister, and to frequent taverns, stews, and bad houses.

6. Orders the clergy to enforce the payment of tithe as undermentioned, viz., of milk, and of the profits of woods, mast, trees, if sold, parks, fish in stews, rivers, or ponds, fruits, cattle, pigeons, seed, beasts in warren, fowling, gardens, court-yards, wool, flax, wine, grain, turfs, swans, capons, geese, ducks, eggs, hedge-rows, bees, honey, wax, lambs, calves, colts, and mills; also, of what is caught in hunting, and profits of handicraftsmen and merchants. Orders that payment be enforced under pain of suspension, excommunication and interdict.—Johnson, Ecc. Canons. Tom. xi. Conc. p. 1435–1438. Wilkins’ Conc. vol. ii. p. 278.

METZ (590). [Concilium Metense.] Held in October, 590; in which Œgidius, Archbishop of Rheims, was deposed and banished for high-treason against King Childebert. In this council the two rebellious nuns, Chrodielde and Basina, who had been excommunicated, are said to have been absolved; and Basina returned into her convent. Chrodielde, however, would not reform, and was again excommunicated in a council held at Poictiers in 593. (See Note to C. POICTIERS, 593.)—Tom. v. Conc. p. 1596.

METZ (835). A council was held in the church of St Stephen, in 835, in which Louis le Debonnaire, who had been unjustly excommunicated by Ebbo, Archbishop of Rheims, was absolved. In the following year another council was held in the same church, in which the Emperor Louis le Debonnaire was crowned by seven archbishops. Ebbo himself standing up in the pulpit, and proclaiming aloud the injustice of the former sentence of excommunication.—Tom. vii. Conc. p. 1694.

METZ (859). Held in 859, to procure peace between Charles the Bald and Louis the German. Three archbishops and six bishops were deputed to Louis at Worms, to bear to him the conditions, contained in twelve chapters, upon which they consented to absolve him. The deputation failed of its end, as Louis declined to give any answer without first consulting the bishops of his kingdom.—Tom. viii. Conc. p. 668.

METZ (888). Held May 1, 888, by Ratbodus, Archbishop of Treves, and three bishops, many priests being also present, in the church of St Arnold. Thirteen canons were published.

2. Enjoins the payment of tithe to the priest who serves the church, and forbids patrons to retain any for themselves.

3. Enacts that no priest shall possess more than one church, except it be an ancient chapelry attached to the parish church.

6. Directs the priests to show to their bishops at the next synod the sacred books and vestments; orders them to keep the chrism sealed up; forbids clerks to dress like laymen; and relates, further, to god-parents.

7. Forbids Christians to eat and drink with Jews.

8. Forbids to say mass in unconsecrated places; orders that churches consecrated by chorepiscopi only be consecrated again by a bishop.—Tom. ix. Conc. p. 412.

MEXICO (1524). [Concilium Mexicense.] The first American Council was held in 1524, by Ferdinand Cortez; Martin, the Pope’s legate, presiding over nineteen priests. It was decreed that Mexicans converted to the Catholic faith should separate from all their wives except one whom they shall choose, to whom they should be united in Christian wedlock.

MEXICO (1534). By John de Cumarraga, first bishop of Mexico, in which the ecclesiastical discipline of the Mexican church was placed nearly on its present footing.

MEXICO (1585). Held in 1585, by Peter Moya de Contrevas, Bishop of Mexico, assisted by six of his suffragans. A code of regulations, of great length, was drawn up, taken from the canons of Trent and of other councils, contained in five books.—Tom. xv. Conc. p. 1192–1378.

MILAN (346). [Concilium Mediolanense]. After the Arian Synod held at Antioch in 345, the bishops there assembled sent the new formulary of faith, the μακροστίχος, to the western bishops, assembled at Milan, by the hands of four of their order, viz., Demophilus, Macedonius, Eudoxius, and Martyrius. This new formulary the western bishops altogether rejected, declaring that they desired nothing beyond the Nicene Creed; and, on their part, required the Oriental deputies to sign a condemnation of the Arian heresy; which the latter not only refused to do, but left the council in anger. This council was convoked by the Emperor Constans, and met in 346.—Sozom. l. iii. c. xi. Pagi’s Note III. on Baronius, A.D. 344. Tom. ii. Conc. p. 614.

MILAN (347). A numerous council, collected from the provinces of Milan and from Italy, was held in 347, to consider the means of putting into execution the decrees of the Council of Sardica. What else passed is not certain, but it is supposed that Photinus, Bishop of Sirmium, was called upon in this council to give account of his faith; he was condemned, and denounced as a heretic, for denying the Divinity of our Lord, and declaring that He was a mere man. Sentence of deposition was passed upon him, which for a long time could not be executed, owing to the great affection which his people had towards him. It is also believed that Ursacius and Valens recanted (see, also, ROME, 349). The fathers at Ariminum stated this, and that they—Ursacius and Valens—owned all that they had charged against Athanasius to have been false; and, according to St Hilary, were re-united to the Church. (See C. SARDICA, A.D. 347.)—Pagi’s ad Baron, A.D. 345, Note V. Tom ii. Conc. p. 720.

MILAN (355). The Eusebians, as well as Liberius the Pope, having demanded of the Emperor Constantius the convocation of a council, it was assembled at Milan in the year 355. The object of the Eusebians was to effect the condemnation of St Athanasius, and all the influence of the emperor was given to them. More than three hundred bishops from the West attended, but very few from the East. The Eusebian bishops acted throughout with extreme violence, and a total disregard of all ecclesiastical usage. They, in the first place, brought forward an imperial edict containing all the venom of their heresy; upon this the papal legates demanded that the doctrine of Arius should be condemned, but Constantius declared this doctrine to be Catholic, and told them that he did not require their advice. St Eusebius of Vercelli having received the emperor’s order to sign the condemnation of St Athanasius, refused, but expressed his willingness to subscribe the Nicene Creed. All passed with great clamour and disturbance.

In the second session St Eusebius of Vercelli, Lucifer of Cagliari, Dionysius of Milan, and the two Roman legates were violently urged to sign the act of condemnation, but constantly refused.

The third session was held in the palace, the Arian party fearing the violence of the people, who had declared openly in favour of the Catholics. The emperor himself then sent for the three above-mentioned bishops, and commanded them either to sign the document, or to prepare for banishment; they, on their part, earnestly entreated him to remember the account he would be called upon to give in the day of judgment, and besought him not to introduce the heresy of Arius into the Church; but all was of no avail, and Eusebius, Dionysius, and Lucifer standing without flinching from the truth, were sentenced to be banished. After this Ursacius and Valens excited the Arian eunuchs against Hilary the deacon, the pope’s legate, whom they seized, stripped, and cruelly beat.

With regard to the other bishops, most of them succumbed and signed the condemnation of St Athanasius, the most violent measures having been taken to compel them; many, however, after the council, did all in their power to repair their crime, and some were exiled, or thrown into prison.—Tom. ii. Conc. p. 771.

MILAN (390). Held in 390, St Ambrose presiding. It is commonly supposed that in this council the sentence of the Gallic bishops against Ithacius and Ursacius (who had caused the death of the Priscillianists by their fiery zeal against their errors) was confirmed by the bishops of Italy. Baronius (as well as the collection of councils) states that this same council condemned Jovinian, the author of a new heresy, which decried the merit of virginity. St Jerome reduces his doctrine to the four following heads: 1. That virgins, widows, and married women, being baptised, have the same degree of merit, if there be no difference between them in other respects. 2. That they who have been regenerated in baptism cannot be overcome by the devil. 3. That there is no difference, in point of merit, between those who abstain from meat and those who partake of it with thanksgiving. 4. That all those who have kept their baptismal state shall have the same glory in heaven. From these principles other errors were deduced, viz., that there is no difference of degree in sin, that fasting is not requisite, that there will be no distinction of merits in heaven. The fathers of the council condemned the opinions of Jovinian and his followers, and they were driven out of the city—Tom. ii. Conc. p. 1040. St Jerome. (See BORDEAUX, and SARAGOSSA, and AQUILEIA.)

MILAN (401). Held in 401, by the bishop Venerius, against the Origenist Ughellus.—It. Sacr. tom. iv. p. 48.

MILAN (451). Held in 451, convoked by Eusebius, Bishop of Milan, at the request of St Leo the Great. All the suffragans of Milan were present, in all twenty bishops, amongst whom were Crispinus of Pavia, Maximus of Turin, Abundius of Como, Optatianus of Brescia. The letter of the pope to Eusebius was read; the legates then made a report of what was passing in the East, and especially of the miseries arising from the acts of the Latrocinium at Ephesus; afterwards the celebrated letter of St Leo to Flavianus was read, and the council unanimously declared that it contained the true doctrine of the Catholic Church upon the subject of the Incarnation, and that it was built upon the teaching of the prophets, evangelists, and apostles. At the same time they decreed that all who should oppose this doctrine should be anathematised. Finally, a synodal letter was addressed to the pope, filled with expressions of esteem and respect.—Tom. iii. Conc. p. 1486.

MILAN (1287). Held September 12th, 1287, by Otto, the archbishop, assisted by eight of his suffragans and the deputies of all the chapters of the province; ten canons were published, in which they ordered the observation of the papal constitutions and the laws of the emperor, Frederick II., against heretics. Abbots and abbesses, monks and nuns, were ordered to observe the rule of St Benedict, or that of St Augustine, and monks were forbidden to enter nunneries. The power of building churches and oratories was declared to be solely in the hands of the bishops.—Tom. xi. Conc. p. 1333. Muratori, Rer. Ital. tom. iv.

MILAN (1291). Held November 27th, 1291, by archbishop Otto Visconti, with his suffragans, to take measures for the recovery of the Holy Land, which had been lost by the capture of Acre, May 18th, in this year. Twenty-nine canons relating to the crusades to the East were published.—Tom. xi. Conc. p. 1361. Muratori, Rerum Italicarum Script., vol. viii. (MILAN, 1726.)

MILAN (1565). The first of the provincial councils of Milan, under St Charles Borromeo, was held in September, 1565. It was composed of Cardinal Guy Ferraro, the Bishops of Alba, Vigevano, Tortona, Casal, Cremona, and others. Borromeo, who presided, although very young at the time, directed all the decrees, and encouraged the older bishops to observe them, and to watch over their flocks and their churches.

In the first session, Borromeo made a Latin speech upon the need of provincial councils. The decrees of Trent were confirmed, and the execution of them recommended. Several statutes and ordinances concerning ecclesiastical discipline and the reform of the Church were drawn up, amongst which all that concerns the life and conduct of bishops is especially laid down. The constitutions of the council are divided into three parts. In the first, comprising twelve chapters, are contained excellent rules for the preaching of God’s Word; others treat of the worship due to images, and of the proper method of keeping the festivals; others forbid any sort of scenic representation of our Lord’s passion, whether in church or elsewhere. In the second part are contained sixty-eight articles upon the sacraments, the life of bishops and clerks, &c., and matters relating to ecclesiastical duties. The third relates to places of charity and piety, such as hospitals, monasteries, and the duties of nuns, &c.; forbids all intercourse with Jews. Penalties were enacted against those who should violate these constitutions. The three last contain fifteen chapters.—Tom. xv. Conc. p. 242.

MILAN (1569). The second provincial council of Milan, under St Charles Borromeo, was held April 24th, 1569. Three chapters were published.

1. Contains twenty-nine decrees upon various subjects, viz., the administration of the sacraments, the duty of bishops to cause a good Catechism to be printed for the use of children, the qualifications of godparents, the denial of Christian burial to public usurers, &c.; the prohibition of Pius V. to physicians to visit a patient more than three times who will not confess was removed.

2. Contains thirty-six decrees concerning the mass and the holy offices. Amongst other things ruled, it is decreed, that clerks may not pass from one diocese to another without the bishop’s leave; that churches may not be ornamented with tapestry and indecent pictures; that old and worn-out copies of the Sacred Scriptures in churches be burned, and not put to any profane use; orders bishops to take care that lay persons do not build their houses against the walls of the church; that the bishop shall visit his seminary every three months.

3. Contains twenty-two regulations concerning the temporalities of the Church and her rights; it is declared that a bishop ought not to accept indifferently all resignations; that he ought to hinder the appropriation to any other purpose of funds intended for the fabric of the church.

Three decrees relate to nuns; two direct the bishop to forbid, under anathema, to take or receive any sum on account of taking the veil, and that the bishop shall prescribe after the woman has taken the veil what sum shall be paid for her maintenance.—Tom. xv. Conc. p. 337.

MILAN (1573). The third provincial council of Milan, under St Charles Borromeo, was held April 24th, 1573; twenty canons were published relating to the proper observation of festivals, the establishment and visiting of schools, the administration of the sacraments, the celebration of the holy office, the duties of curates, canons, monks, &c.

Canon 15. Strictly forbids women to enter the church without a veil.—Tom. xv. Conc. p. 365, &c.

MILAN (1576). The fourth provincial council of Milan, under St Charles Borromeo, was held May 10th, 1576. Eleven bishops were present with the apostolic visitor general. The acts of the council are divided into three parts:—

Part 1. Relates to the faith and points of doctrine, and contains twenty-six canons, of which:—

2. Treats at length of relics, the bodies of saints, miracles, and images.

11. Treats of churches, forbids any window so built that a person outside may be able to see the celebration of the holy mysteries. Orders the holy water stoop to be within the church on the right hand.

13. Of sepulchres; forbids them in churches without the bishop’s permission, and on no account whatever in the choir.

14. Orders the erection of a cross in every churchyard.

15. Directs that there shall be at least two bells in every parish church.

17. Allows to teach children in church the rudiments of the Christian faith, but forbids all secular teaching.

24. Orders that the church bells be rung in time of storm and tempest, both to drive off the visitation, and that the people hearing them may come to church to pray, or at least may pray at home.

25. Of preaching the word of God.

Part 2. Treats of the administration of the sacraments, of pilgrimages, of processions, funerals, and distributions.

Part 3. Relates to bishops and other clergymen, their duties, studies, way of life, &c., &c., and contains fourteen canons.

In canon 1. Bishops are ordered always to dress in black on Fridays, and other minute distinctions are given concerning their life and conversation.

2. Relates to the life, &c., of clerks.

4. Of the provincial synod.

5. Of the diocesan synod.

10 and 11. Of regulars.—Tom. xv. Conc. p. 408.

MILAN (1579). The fifth provincial council of Milan, under St Charles Borromeo, was held in 1579. The acts of this council were also divided into three parts.

Part 1. Contains eleven chapters, comprising instructions as to preaching, doctrine, vows, indulgences, &c., and treating of each sacrament singly.

Part 2. Containing thirty chapters, treats of the care due to the sick in time of the plague, of the duty of curates, magistrates, monks, and fathers of families under such circumstances to provide both spiritual and temporal assistance; treats also of the course to be adopted in monasteries attacked with this scourge. Nothing that could be done under such a visitation was omitted to be laid down by the archbishop, who had had ample experience in the matter.

Part 3. Contains twenty chapters, after speaking in detail of the sacraments, of orders and marriages, goes on to speak of seminaries, the duties of examiners, the life of the clergy, residence, the care of churches and their furniture, synods and visitations, and episcopal officers.

Fifteen bishops subscribed the acts of this council, and all the estates of the province were present.—Tom. xv. Conc. p. 556.

MILAN (1582). The sixth provincial council of Milan, under St Charles Borromeo, was held in 1582, and was attended by nine bishops. In opening the council the archbishop exorted the bishops present to lead an apostolic life. The decrees of the council are contained in thirty-one chapters. The most remarkable are those which condemn the readers of bad books, and all intercourse with heretics, and those relating to the conduct of Divine service, the sacraments, visiting the sick, processions, funerals, synods, the instructions to be given to soldiers, &c. One article condemns to excommunication nuns who shall admit any one, man or woman, within their walls to converse, unless with the bishop’s permission.—Tom. xv. Conc. p. 706.

MILEVIS (or Council of Africa) (402). [Concilium Milevitanum.] Held August 27th, 402, Aurelius of Carthage presiding. The canons of Hippo and Carthage were confirmed, and five canons of discipline published, which are contained in the African Code.

1. Confirms the ancient rule of the African Church, that the younger bishops shall give place to those of older standing, excepting the primates of Numidia and Mauritania, who always took precedence of all other primates of whatever standing. (See C. AFRICA, 402).—Tom. ii. Conc. p. 1323.

MILEVIS (416). Held in 416, towards the autumn. This was a provincial council of Numidia, and sixty-one bishops of the province attended. These bishops having learned the proceedings at the Council of Carthage of the same year, wrote a synodal letter to Pope Innocentius, in which, after enlarging upon the enormity of the heresy which denied the necessity of prayer in the case of adults, and of baptism in that of children, and after showing how worthy it was of the notice and censure of the Church, they entreated him, since the salvation of Pelagius and Celestius could not be secured, that he would provide for that of others by condemning these heretics. Amongst the names attached to this letter are those of Silvanus of Summa, primate of the province; Alypius, St Augustine, Severus of Milevum, Fortunatus of Cirtha, and Possidius of Calama. St Augustine also wrote another letter, in the name of five bishops.

Innocentius, in reply to the letters of the fathers at Carthage and Milevis, praised the zeal and pastoral care of the African bishops, briefly established the true doctrine of grace, and condemned Pelagius and Celestius with their followers, declaring them to be separated from the Catholic Church. He also replied to the letters which St Augustine and the four bishops, Aurelius, Alypius, Evodius, and Possidius had addressed to him. These letters of Innocentius were written in a council held at Rome upon the subject in January, 417.—Tom. ii. Conc. p. 1537.

Twenty-seven canons of discipline, found in the collections under the name of canons of Milevi, are attributed to this council.

MISRA, see CAIRO.

MONTPELLIER (1162). [Concilium Montispessulani.] Held in 1162, by Pope Alexander III., assisted by ten bishops. Here the anti-pope, Victor (Octavianus), and his followers, were a second time excommunicated. At the same time the pope issued a bull withdrawing the monastery of Veselisse from the jurisdiction of that of Clugny, which had taken part against him.—Tom. x. Conc. p. 1410.

MONTPELLIER (1195). Held in December, 1195; Michael, the pope’s legate, with many prelates of the province of Narbonne, attended. Several regulations were published; the observation of the “Trève de Dieu” ordered, indulgences granted to those who marched into Spain to fight against the infidels. Modesty in dress and frugality at table were recommended to the clergy, especially at that time, in order to appease the wrath of God. The bishops were left to use their own discretion as to employing interdicts to exterminate the heresy of the Albigenses.—Tom. x. Conc. p. 1796.

MONTPELLIER (1215). Held in January, 1215, by the legate, Peter of Beneventum; the Archbishops of Narbonne, Auch, Embrun, Arles, and Aix, twenty-eight bishops, and several barons were present. Count Simon of Montfort, who could not attend the council owing to the hatred which the people of the place had towards him, betook himself every day to a house of the Templars, just outside the town, and here the bishops consulted with him. The question before the council was the disposal of the city of Toulouse and the other places conquered by the Crusaders, and it was decided that they should be granted to Simon of Montfort, the pope consenting. Forty-six canons were published, relating partly to the immodest dress of some monks or secular clergy. Bishops were ordered to wear a long dress with the rochet whenever they walked abroad, and even at home when giving audience to strangers. The clergy were forbidden to dress in green or red, and the regular canons are directed always to wear the surplice over their dress. Canons and beneficed clergymen were forbidden to use bridles or leggings embroidered with gold.

Canon 22, directs monks to give away what remains from their table.—Tom. xi. Conc. p. 183, and Append, p. 2330.

MONTPELLIER (1224). Held in August, 1224, composed of all the bishops of the province, under the Archbishop of Narbonne, to consider of the propositions of peace made by Raymond, Count of Toulouse, and the Albigenses. Raymond promised to keep the Catholic faith, and to cause it to be held throughout his territories, to purge out from them all heretics, to restore the Church to her rights, to preserve her liberties, and to pay within three years fifteen thousand marks as an indemnification for what she had suffered, upon this condition, that the Count of Montfort should relinquish his pretensions to the lands of the county of Toulouse; but Amauri, who pretended to be Count of Toulouse, in virtue of a decree of Innocentius III. given in the Council of Lateran, wrote to the bishops, and represented to them, that as he hoped to be able to bring the Albigenses into subjection, it would be a scandal to the whole Church should they enter into any agreement with Raymond.

The council appeared to have acquiesced in his view of the matter, and the offer of Raymond was rejected.—Tom. xi. Conc. p. 289, and Append. 2334.

MONTPELLIER (1258). Held on September 6th, 1258, by James, Archbishop of Narbonne. Eight statutes were published.

1. Excommunicates ipso facto all who usurp the property of the Church, and insult the persons of the clergy.

2. Forbids bishops to give the tonsure or holy orders to persons not of their own diocese.

3. Declares that clerks not living as clergymen ought, or carrying on any business, shall lose their privileges.

5. Forbids Jews to exact usury.

6. Forbids bishops to give letters to mendicant friars to authorise their begging before the friars have obtained leave of the metropolitan.—Tom. xi. Conc. p. 778.

MOPSUESTIA (550). [Concilium Mopsuestanum.] Held by John, Bishop of Anazarba, June 17, 550, by order of the emperor Justinian, on account of the troubles excited by the three chapters; nine bishops were present. Examination was made whether the name of Theodore of Mopsuestia was to be found in the diptychs of that church, and if not, whether it had been there within the memory of man. It appeared from the testimony of irreproachable witnesses far advanced in years, that his name either had never been inserted, or had been erased before their time. Notice of this was sent to the pope and the emperor.—Tom. v. Conc. pp. 406 and 491.

MOSCOW (1500). [Concilium Moscoviense.] The metropolitan Simon held a synod at Moscow about the year 1500. It was decreed that monasteries for men and for women should be separated; monks were forbidden to perform divine service, and widower clerks to consecrate the holy mysteries in the latter monasteries; unworthy clerks were sentenced to be degraded; all payments on account of ordination were forbidden.—Mouravieff by Blackmore, p. 92.

MOSCOW (1551). Held in 1551 by the Czar, Ivan the Terrible; all the Russian bishops attended, and the metropolitan of Moscow; Macarius presided. The Czar himself opened the synod by a speech, in which he exhorted the bishops to use all the understanding, knowledge, and ability each one possessed in their deliberations; promising that he would be ready to join and support them in correcting what was amiss, or in confirming what was well established, according as the Holy Spirit should direct them. He then put them in mind how in the year in which he was crowned he had charged all bishops and hegumens to collect the lives of the saints of their various dioceses or monasteries, and how that twenty new names had been in consequence glorified as saints in the Church.

The council then repeated and confirmed the decree, ordering that the memory of these saints should be celebrated in the Church.

After this the Czar required of the council a reply to various questions relating to the external and internal discipline of the Church; whereupon they delivered a long answer, divided into one hundred chapters, which caused this assembly to be known ever after by the name of “the Council of the Hundred Chapters.” These chapters appear not to have been signed by any Russian bishop, nor to have been submitted to the œcumenical patriarch for approval; and it is curious that Macarius himself, who presided at the council, makes no mention of it in his Books of the Genealogies, in which he relates the history of affairs both in Church and State. These chapters give countenance to some superstitious customs and local errors, which in after years produced lamentable schisms.

In this council, moreover, the correction of the Church books, which was afterwards actually performed by the patriarch Nikon, was first proposed.—Mouravieff, Blackmore’s trans., p. 103.

MOSCOW (1655). Held in the palace of the Czar at Moscow in 1655, by the Czar Alexis; Nikon, the patriarch of Moscow, presiding. The object of the council was the correction of the service-books, &c., of the Russian Church. Nikon, soon after his appointment to the patriarchate, had his attention drawn to the great alterations which had crept into the books then in use, which in many places, and even in the creed itself, differed from the ancient Greek and Sclavonic copies; he therefore induced the Czar to convoke this council, at which the following metropolitans, Macarius of Novogorod, Cornelius of Cazan, Jonah of Rostoff, Silvester of the Steppes, and Michael of Servia were present, together with three archbishops and one bishop. The unanimous decision of the council was, that “the new books should be corrected by the old Sclavonic and Greek MSS., and that the primitive rule of the Church should be in all things adhered to.”

This decision was confirmed in a council of Greek bishops, convened at Constantinople by the patriarch Paisius, whose judgment the Russian bishops had requested. Upon this the Czar and the patriarch procured an immense number of MSS. and books from Mount Athos, by means of which and other assistance the revision of the Russian service books was completed.—Mouravieff, p. 204.

MOSCOW (1667). Held in 1666 or 1667. Nikon, the patriarch, having, by means of his enemies, fallen into disgrace with him who had formerly been his great friend and patron, the Czar Alexis, had, some years before, in a moment of irritation, abruptly renounced the patriarchate. This step had given rise to such disorders in the Church, that Alexis, in order to re-establish peace, was obliged to invite the Eastern patriarchs to form a court for his trial. Two of whom, viz., Paisius of Alexandria and Macarius of Antioch, accordingly arrived, and were received with great honour. Besides the Eastern patriarchs, there were present at this council four Russian metropolitans, viz., Pitirim of Novogorod, Laurentius of Kazan, Jonah of Rostoff, and Paul of the Steppes; six Greek metropolitans, viz., those of Nicea, Amasia, Iconium, Trebizond, Varna, and Scio; the metropolitans of Georgia and Servia; six Russian and two other archbishops; and, lastly, five bishops, and fifty archimandrites, hegumens, and arch-priests, besides monks and others. Before this council Nikon was solemnly cited to appear, and having made every preparation as for death, he came in his character of patriarch, with his cross borne before him; finding no place prepared for him upon a level with the seats of the Eastern patriarchs, he refused to sit, and remained standing. His accusation was read, with tears, by Alexis himself; it was to the effect, that he had, by his unlawful retirement and capricious conduct, been the cause of grievous evils and disorders in the Church. A week was spent in deliberating upon his case, and in searching for precedents which had occurred in the Church of Constantinople. After which Nikon was summoned before the council; having heard his accusation read, sentence was passed upon him to the effect that he should be degraded, retaining only the rank of a monk, and that he should pass the rest of his life in penance in a remote monastery. One voice only, that of an excellent bishop, Lazarus of Chernigoff, was raised in opposition to this cruel judgment—Mouravieff, p. 227.

MOUSON (948). [Concilium Mosomense.] Held January 13th, 948. Ruotbert, Archbishop of Treves, his suffragans, and some other bishops, decreed that Artaud should keep possession of the See of Rheims; and that Hugo, who refused to appear at the council, as he had previously refused at Verdun, should be deprived until he should appear before the general council (appointed to be held on the 1st August), and justify himself. (See C. VERDUN, 947.)—Tom. ix. Conc. p. 622.

MOUSON (995). Held June 2, 995. John XV., offended at the deposition of Arnulphus, and the election of Gerbert (afterwards Pope Sylvester II.) to the see of Rheims, sent Leo, abbot of St Bonifacius, into France as his legate, who assembled this council. No other prelates, however, attended, but the Archbishop of Treves, and the bishops of Verdun, Liege, and Munster, all of them from Germany. The legate took his seat in the midst of them, and the Archbishop Gerbert, being the party accused, was placed opposite to him. Gerbert defended himself with eloquence, and declared that he had been raised to the archbishopric without his own concurrence. The sentence of the council was, that he should abstain from the exercise of his archiepiscopal and sacerdotal functions until the matter should have been brought before the Council of Rheims, convoked for the following July. This council, however, was not held so early, and whilst Hugo Capet lived, Gerbert remained archbishop, and Arnulphus a prisoner at Orleans. (See C. RHEIMS, 991.)—Tom. ix. Conc. p. 747.