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.
                                                          ..................................................

(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