Historical region of Country
The importance of this council is considerable for our knowledge of the church in Spain at that time. The first thing it tells us is the wide diffusion of Christianity in the peninsula, esp. in Baetica, as in its various social strata: flamines cans. 2, 3, 4, 55; duumvirs can. 56; rich matrons cans. 5, 41; landowners can. 40; usurers can. 20; charioteers and actors cans. 62, 69; freedmen can. 80. The second is how ineffective was this Christianization, since idolatry still existed among Christians can. 1, who took part in pagan worship can. 59 and had idols in their houses can. 41; Christians married pagans or Jews cans. 15, 16, 17; even the bishops believed in witchcraft and were notably permissive in matters of married life and in sexual matters. South Africa Subway Map We should also note a certain rigidity in the penalties imposed, to the point of total exclusion from the church of backsliding userers can. 20, those who kept idols in their houses can. 41, those who had their crops blessed by Jews can. 49, and charioteers and actors who failed to keep their promise to renounce this type of work can. 62. The council wanted to intensify the Christian life, freeing it from all pagan links and vestiges and from any contact with Jews, and it wanted insistently to make the lives of the clergy exemplary famous on this account is can. 33, variously interpreted, which requires sexual abstinence to bishops, presbyters and deacons during the exercise of their ministry. South Africa Subway Map All this depends on the authenticity of the canons, among the earliest preserved of any council. Their late appearance in Hispana; 2nd half of 6th c., other internal factors such as the vocabulary used, the unusual number of canons 81, which are jumbled and some at first sight contradictory, and the presence of some subjects treated at later councils, South Africa Subway Map have led some to deny their authenticity and consider them a later compilation; in this case only the first 21 22 canons would belong to the acts of the Council of Elvira. One author J. Suberbiola maintains the thesis that the 81 canons are the acts of five Spanish councils from the 3rd and 4th c., but the evidence advanced does not give a sufficient response to the questions raised by recent proposals.