Priscillian - The beginning of the Story

"In the second half of the 4th century, Roman Lusitania (1) witnessed the development of an ascetic movement centred on the person of the Priscillian, Bishop of Ávila . Contempory literature says little about him, but of the information that does exists, it is Sulpicius Severus who gives us the most complete report." (2)

Here we immediately run into problems! Severus himself and his sources can only be described as "hostile witnesses"!
"The comparison of Isidore's (3) summary of Ithacius' apologia with Sulpicius Severus' account of the origins of Priscillian's movement makes it as good as certain that Sulpicius Severus was drawing upon the pamphlet by Ithacius as a main source" (4)
Ithacius of Ossonuba was the 'prosecuting bishop' in the trial of Priscillian before the Council (Synod) of Bordeaux and for the first session of the trial before the secular court at Trier. He was later condemned by his fellow bishops for bringing a cleric to trial before secular authorities and sent into exile. (possibly at the Synod of Milan 390 A.D.) (5)

The teaching of Priscillian as a layman
It would seem, from reading back into the available sources, that the teaching of Priscillian began in the seventies of the fourth century. A devout cultivated layman of high standing named Priscillian (6) began to ask his fellow Christians to take their baptismal renunciation more seriously and to give time to special spiritual study. (c.f. the beginning of the Wesleys' methodist meetings). This teaching can be found in a set of eleven Priscillianist tractates of the fifth or sixth century preserved in a codex at Würzburg University (7). Priscillian's call was to asceticism:  'None can be Christ's disciple if he loves anyone more than God'.

The first example of a written primary source comes from the records of the canons of the Council of Saragossa A.D. 380 (8). It records the names of the twelve bishops - two of them from the Aquitaine - who were present and the text of their eight "canons" (sententia). In reading them we can come to some idea of the 'heretical' teaching in Spain at that time.
The following were condemned:-
(a) Women attending Bible-readings in the houses of men to whom they are unrelated.
(b) Fasting on Sundays and withdrawal from the worship of the church during Lent and Advent.
(c) Receiving the Eucharistic elements in church without immediately consuming them.
(d) Recession into cells and mountain retreats.
(e) Walking with unshod feet.
(f) Clergy abandoning the duties of their office to become monks.
(g) Virgins taking the veil before the age of 40 and without doing so formally in the presence of the bishop.
(h) The title of 'teacher' being granted to unauthorised persons. (presumably laymen).

However, because of the instruction of Pope Damasus there was no condemnation of any named person. Priscillian and his sympathisers had rejected the invitation to attend and they could not be tried 'in abstentia'.

The concern lying behind these negative sententiae seems to be to retain 'control' of all teaching and and worship within the established church structure. There was a perceived danger in ordinary Christians going on retreat into the quietness of the mountains especially as a preparation for Easter and the Nativity. There they may have been taking part in uncontrolled Bible-readings where women were present with men and where the 'teacher' was unlicensed by the authorities. Fasting on Sundays was condemned as being extreme, as was 'walking with unshod feet - although this latter could have been referring to 'folk-magic' ceremonies.

According to Severus, a short time after the council of Saragossa in October 380 A.D. the see of Avila in Lusitania became vacant. (Prosper of Aquitaine dates the consecration as 379 A.D. (9)). The bishops Instantius and Silvianus went there and consecrated Priscillian bishop.This appears to have been with the support of the local population but not the metropolitan Hydatius of Emerita who took no part in the proceedings.

From now on, for better or worse, the Priscillianists had a leader in a position of authority.
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(1) The Roman province of Lusitania consisted of Portugal south of the Douro plus the present area of Extremadura in Spain.
(2) Ana Maria C. M. Jorge The Lusitanian Episcopate in the 4th century: Portugese Catholic University
(3) Isidore of Seville hispal. Vir. inl. 15 (PL 83. 1092) - see footnote in Chadwick p. 21
(4) Chadwick p.21
(5) Chadwick p.148
(6) B. Vollmann, Studien zum Priszillianismus (1965)
(7) Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiastiorum Latinorum (CSEL) 18   
     also in J.P. Migne Patrologia Latina Supp.ii. 1413-83
(8) C.H.Turner Eccles. occid.momument iuris antiqu. i. 417 - 24 
(9) This would make Priscillian a bishop before the Council of Saragossa.
       Prosper of Aquitaine (1961) Chronica. In Monumenta Germaniae Historica

Where I began

The West Front of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela

    My interest in Priscillian and his teaching began after I had walked the ancient Pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela. The city is founded on the pilgrimage to St. James the Great - however, the question must be asked 'Whose remains are interred in the shrine?'

    The following is from an article in the "Catholic Encyclopedia (1913),
    Volume 12   "Priscillianism" by Patrick Joseph Healy

    "In regard to the doctrines and teaching of Priscillian and his sect, it is not necessary to go into the merits of the discussion as to whether Priscillian was guilty of the errors traditionally ascribed to him, whether he was really a heretic, or whether he was unjustly condemned - the object of misunderstanding and reprobation even in his lifetime and afterwards made to bear the burden of heretical opinions subsequently developed and associated with his name. The weight of evidence and the entire course of events in his lifetime make the supposition of his innocence extremely improbable."

    A comment like this is almost guaranteed to start me asking questions!
    Why not "go into the merits of the discussion . . . "?
    Is the "supposition of his innocence extremely improbable."?
    If someone as theologically savvy as Professor Chadwick was prepared to enter the fray, what is there that prevents questions being asked?
    A fear that the "orthodox" church at that time would be seen as guilty of bigotry, self -serving and persecution of the innocent?
    A fear that the outcome - the torture and beheading of Priscillian and six of his followers (who may not have been guilty of the accusations brought against them) was bad PR for the Roman Church?
    A fear that the revealing of the viciousness of some of the accusers of Priscillian (including bishops) would be unedifying and show how power hungry some of those in authority really were?

    I will endeavour to set out the "merits of the discussion", to clarify my own thinking and so that you can decide for yourself! In this I will base much of my research on the book "Priscillian of Avila - the Occult and the Charismatic in the Early Church".by Professor Henry Chadwick, Oxford Press 1976. If you can get hold of a copy of this out of print book it makes for compelling reading. I have also read and will refer to some more recent monographs which are available online.

    The source most often quoted for details of Priscillianism is the writing of Sulpicius Severus (1) at the beginning of the 5th Century. His work was the basis of the above "evidence" in the Catholic Encyclopedia (2) above - (which article in turn is the basis for the entry about Priscillian in Wikipedia). Severus appears to have taken his material from a book by Ithacius, the prosecuting bishop at the trial of Priscillian in Trier, written some years after the event when Ithacius himself was in exile. Hardly an unbiased witness!

    What is important is that there is a "critical evaluation of the sources" (Chadwick p.22) so that we can understand the charges against Priscillian and his early followers. We need to know from whence the sources originate so that we can take into account the bias, if any, and try to understand the situation in which the events took place. What we cannot do is rely on the evidence presented by his accusers without questioning its veracity.

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(1) Sulplicius Severus  Chronica, Chronicorum Libri duo or Historia sacra, c. 403
(2) Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), Volume 12   "Priscillianism" by Patrick Joseph Healy
     This unauthenticated material appears to have been used by Wikipedia and the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Priscillian and the early Church

I have always been curious as to why the Church is as it is. Why have Bishops? Why a ‘Pope’? What influence has the rise and fall of empires and kingdoms had on ordinary Christian believers?

This is the story of the early Christian communities in the North-West corner of Spain, what is now Galicia. It is the story of “might have been” and possible lost opportunities to connect with ordinary country folk at their own level. It is also the story of fear, greed and corruption at the highest levels within the ancient Christian community.

The reason why the Church is as it is has always fascinated me. Maybe if, instead of beheading Priscillian and his companions, the hierarchy had entered into dialogue with him, things would have been different. Or maybe not, humankind being what it is.   

A brief look at the reputed teachings of "Priscillianism" and the way the established church hierarchy at the time dealt with it, answers some of my questions. It also raises other questions as to how the established church has reacted down the years to those with whom it has disagreed!

A tiny chapel in the mountains of Northern Spain. The Capilla de Santa Mariana, Buspol. In the Galician speaking area of Asturias.