Church Synods

LETTERA DI COSTANTINO AD ALESSANDRO ED ARIO E LA CONVOCAZIONE DEL CONCILIO NICENO
(Sommario)
L’articolo presenta il testo e il commento della lettera delPImperatore Costantino* 1’unico documento legato alla controversia ariana, per il qual e possibile stabi- lire la data: fine settembre 324, dopo il ritorno di Costantino dalia guerra eon Licinio. L’analisi mette il rilievo 1’opinione delPImperatore sull’importanza della controver- sia: che era di poco e che Alessandro e Ario dovrebbero far pace immediatamente. Sembra che ąuesta sia stata opinione non solo di lui, ma anche di chi lo ha informato sulPaccaduto, vale a dire - probabilmente - Ossio di Cordoba e forsę Eusebio di Nicomedia. Costantino manda la sua lettera sperando che Alessandro e Ario l’a- vrebbero obbedito, ąuindi sembra poco probabile che avesse convocato i vescovi a Nicea per risolyere ąuesta controversia.
53 Por. H. Pietras, Le ragioni della convocazione

This paper deals with the two tenth century councils in Spalato, which maintained the organisation of the metropolis of Dalmatia, and abolished the bishopric of the Croats, namely that of Nin, claiming the primacy in this ecclesiastical province. Besides, the first council in 925 promulgated a number of canons concerning some issues of ecclesiastical and secular life in the metropolis of Spalato, i.e. the organisation of the parochial life, episcopal jurisdiction and intrusions into the boundaries of another's diocese, alienation of the Church possessions, matrimonial relations, certain criminal cases etc. The acts of these councils and the councils themselves are open to question, since they are preserved in the manuscript of "Historia Salonitana maior," the earliest version of which dates from the early sixteenth century. To evaluate the reliability of the conciliar decisions I shall compare them with the canons and decretals from the collection employed in the ecclesiastical practice of that time. Besides, canons of the ninth and tenth century councils and synods in Europe will be used for comparison since these documents can demonstrate how other churches faced the difficulties similar to those which arose in the metropolis of Dalmatia.

Vorwort Synoden markieren entscheidende Etappen in den dogmatischen Auseinandersetzungen des 4. und 5. Jahrhunderts: die Synode von Nizäa 325 die Verurteilung des Arius, die Synode von Serdica 343 das Drama des Schismas zwischen Ost und West sowie die Verschiebung der Debatte von der Frage der Entstehung des Sohnes aus dem Vater (Arius) auf die Frage nach Ein-oder Dreihypostasen, die Doppelsynode von Rimini-Seleucia 359 den Beginn der offiziellen homöischen »Lösung«, die Synode von Alexandrien 362 die Fortschritte der Begriffsdefinition sowie erste Klärungen zum Heiligen Geist, und die Synoden von Aquileia und Konstantinopel 381 den Durchbruch des »Neunizänismus«.  Neben dem Kanon der biblischen Schriften und dem Zeugnis der Apostel waren es also vor allem Synoden, die die eigene Tradition und Identität abbilden. Was aber waren diese Synoden? Was waren das für Veranstaltungen an sich? Wie hat das System »kirchliche Synode« zu dieser Zeit funktioniert – oder gab es hier kein System? Damit beschäftigen sich die Beiträge in diesem Band. Im Vordergrund stehen Verfahrensfragen und formale Aspekte der Institution »Synode« an sich.
Beitragende: Richard Price, Hanns Christof Brennecke, Thomas Graumann, Nina Lubomierski, Christian Müller, Annette von Stockhausen, Uta Heil.

L’articolo presenta il testo e il commento dełla lettera dell’Imperatore Costantino, l’unico documento legato alla controversia ariana, per il qual e possibile stabilire la data: fine settembre 324, dopo il ritorno di Costantino dalia guerra eon Licinio. L’analisi mette il rilievo l’opinione dell’Imperatore sull’importanza della controversia: che era di poco e che Alessandro e Ario dovrebbero far pace immediatamente.

Late Historicist Church Architecture and Furnishings in
Slovenian Styria from the Perspective of Two Synods of
the Lavantine Diocese (1900 and 1911)

The paper deals with the decrees De ecclesiarum fabrica
and De ruralibus ecclesiis exornandis, which were
issued at two synods of the Lavantine Diocese (in 1900,
1911) in the time of Prince-Bishop Mihael Napotnik.
De ecclesiarum fabrica deals with the construction of
church buildings and is largely based on the Instructiones
by Charles Borromeo, while De ruralibus ecclesiis
exornandis, which deals with the furnishing and decoration
of provincial churches, was based entirely on the
ideas of the 1911 synod. In addition to the contents of
the decrees, the article focuses on their impact on new
churches.

Abstract:

The Acts of the Synods do not contain only regulations concerning the Church, but also can inform us about the history of the Church. The East and West Syriac Synodica can be a good example to know about the specific historical circumstances of these Churches under the Persian and Roman empires. This paper will demonstrate the need to reach these Synodal Acts carefully in order to trace the life of the Syriac Church in the first millennium.