Folia Theologica 17. (2006)
Szabolcs Anzelm Szuromi: The importance of the councils of Toledo of the 6th-8th centuries in the Spanish and in the universal canonical discipline of the Church
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE COUNCILS OF TOLEDO 233 office of the primate was certainly equivalent to the weakening of the metropolitan power, which was the goal of the whole Pseudo-isidorian Collection. But if we take a glance at a papal letter, addressed to the archbishop of Toledo in 687, we can see that the primate of Toledo appears in the text explicitly, as the prelate of the king's city, who has patriarchal authority over the whole territory. This genuine papal letter is an embellished example of the foundation and development of the primate's office, and it shows perfectly the particular method of the compiler of the Decretales Pseudo-Isidorianae. Obviously, the personal independence of the bishops, the freedom of the ecclesiastical legislation, and the competence of the ecclesiastical tribunals was a serious problem in the 9th century. Similar conflicts developed among the hierarchical levels of the Church, for example, between the metropolitan and the bishop.21 The new canon law collections tried to remedy this symptom when they used the interpolated texts or false attributions. However, in some cases they summarized in written form the norm from the traditional daily custom of the Church, in which case the document was attributed to one particular known authority.22 Certainly, the fundamental source of the Decretales Pseudo-Isidorianae was the Collectio Hispana (cc. 633-702), which contained the text of each of the eighteen councils of Toledo and numerous papal decretals.23 Therefore, the extension of the competence of the archbishop of Toledo very probably made a considerable influence on the new - pseudo-isidorian - meaning of the office of primate. It could be a significant example for the compiler of the collection. III. The Council of Toledo IV (633) If we observe the long list of the eighteen councils of Toledo (I [400]; II [527]; III [589]; IV [633]; V [636]; VI [638]; VII [646]; VIII [653]; IX [655]; X [656]; XI [675]; XII [681]; XIII [683]; XIV [684]; XV [688]; XVI [693]; XVII [694]; XVIII [702]), we can see, the basic deci21 SZUROMI, Sz.A., A püspökökre vonatkozó egyházfegyelem sajátosságai a Decretales Pseudo-Isidorianae-ben, in Kánonjog 5 (2003) 51-63, especially 51-52. 22 SZUROMI, A püspökökre vonatkozó egyházfegyelem sajátosságai a Decretales Pseudo-Isidorianae-ben, 62-63. 23 STICKLER, Historia iuris canonici, 132.
