Synod of Mâcon

The term Synod of Mâcon is usually used to refer to either the second or third council of Christian bishops in the city of Mâcon. Both councils were convoked by the Burgundian king Guntram.^[1]

Second Council

The second council was held in 581 or 582. Unusually, one of the 19 canons it produced addressed a specific individual - a nun named Agnes. The 14th canon imposed a curfew against Jews, banning them from the streets at all times between Maundy Thursday and Easter Sunday. The 2nd canon prohibits Jews from talking to nuns.^[1][2]

Third Council

The third council was held in 585. Among the main subjects the council considered was the issue of Tithing - which the council formally legislated for.^[1]

Other Councils

Other councils were held in Mâcon in 579, 624 or 627, 906 and 1286.^[1][3]

The fourth council (in 624 or 627) approved the Monastic Rule of Saint Columbanus.^[3]

Myth: Discussion about women's souls

Contrary to popular myth, the Synods of Macon undertook no discussion on the subject of whether or not women had souls, or whether or not women were human.^[4] This myth is based on a story told in The History of the Franks by St. Gregory of Tours. Gregory was bishop of Tours in the sixth century and wrote a history of the region. At one point he tells of a council -that may, or may not, have been any of the synods at Mâcon- at which the meaning of the word "man" was discussed. Gregory writes:

There came forward at this Council a certain bishop who maintained that woman could not be included under the term “man." However, he accepted the reasoning of the other bishops and did not press his case, for the holy book of the Old Testament tells us that in the beginning, when God created man, “Male and female he created them and called their name Adam,” which means earthly man; even so, he called the woman Eve, yet of both he used the word “man.”^[5]

See also

• Ancient Diocese of Mâcon
• Christianity in Gaul

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d}  "Ancient Diocese of Mâcon". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913. 
2. ^ http://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/04z/z_0581-0583__Concilium_Matisconense__Documenta__LT.doc.html Rulings of the synod in Latin
3. ^ ^{a b}  "St. Columbanus". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913. 
4. ^ http://www.leaderu.com/ftissues/ft9704/opinion/nolan.html
5. ^ http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/gregory-hist.html