NICARAGUA
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NICARAGUA
thotc John, with whom was associated as secretary the
former patriarch, Xicepliorus. The acts represent as
constantly at tlie head of the ecclesiastical members
the two Roman legates, the archpricst I'cter and the
abbot Peter; after them come Tarasius, Patriarch of
Omstantinople, and then two Oriental monks and
priests, John and Thomas, representatives of the Patri-
archs of Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusaloiii. The
operations of the council show that Tarasius, ])roperly
speaking, conducted the sessions. The monks .lohn
and Thomas professed to re[)res(-nt the Oriental pa-
triarchs, though these did not know that the coun-
cil had been convoked. However, there was no fraud
on tlu'ir part: they had been sent, not by the patri-
archs, but by the monks and priests of superior rank
acting scdibiis impedilis. in the stead and place of the
patriarchs who were prevented from acting for them-
selves. Necessity was their excuse. Moreover, John
and Thom.as did not subscribe at the Council as vicars
of the patriarchs, but simply in the name of the Apos-
tolic sees of the Orient. With the exception of these
monks and the Roman legates, all the members of the
Covmcil were subjects of the Byzantine Empire. Their
number, bishops as well as representatives of bishops,
varies in the ancient historians between 330 and 367;
Nicephorus makes a manifest mistake in speaking of
only 150 members: the Acts of the Council which we
still possess show not fewer than 308 bishops or repre-
sentatives of bishops. To these may be added a cer-
tain number of monks, archimandrites, imperial secre-
taries, and clerics of Constantinople who had not the
right to vote.
The first session opened in the church of St. Sophia, 24 Sept., 787. Tarasius opened the council with a short discourse: "Last year, in the beginning of the month of August, it was desired to hold, under my presidency, a council in the Church of the Apostles at Constantinople; but through the fault of several bish- ops whom it would be easy to count, and whose names I prefer not to mention, since everyone knows them, that council was made impossible. The sovereigns have deigned to convoke another at Nic»a, and Christ will certainly reward them for it. It is this Lord and Saviour whom the bishops must also invoke in order to pronounce subsequently an equitable judgment in a just and impartial manner." The members then pro- ceeded to the reading of various official documents, after which three Iconoclastic bishops who had re- tracted were permitted to take their seats. Seven others who had plotted to make the Council miscarry in the preceding year presented themselves and de- clared themselves ready to profess the Faith of the Fathers, but the assembly thereupon engaged in a long discussion concerning the admission of heretics and postponed their case to another session. On 26 September, the second session was held, during which the i)oj)e's letters to the empress and the Patriarch Tarasius were read. Tarasius declared himself in full agreement with the doctrine set forth in these letters. On 28, or 29, Sept., in the third session, some bishops who had retracted their errors were allowed to take their seats; after which various documents were read. The fourth session was held on 1 October. In it the secretaries of the council read a long series of citations from the Bible and the Fathers in favour of the ven- eration of images. Afterwards the dogmatic decree was presented, and was signed by all the members present, by the archimandrites of the monasteries, and by some monks; the papal legates added a declaration to the effect that they were ready to receive all who had abandoned the Iconoclastic heresy. In the fifth session on 4 October, passages from the Fathers were read which declared, or seemed to declare, against the worship of images, but the reading was not continued to the end, and the council decided in favour of the restoration and the veneration of images. On 6 Octo- ber, in the sixth session, the doctrines of the concilia-
hulum of 7.53 were refuted. The discussion was end-
less, but in the course of it several noteworthy things
were said. The next session, that of 13 October, was
especially important; at it was read the Spos, or dog-
matic decision, of the council [see Images, Vkxkua-
TION OF (6)]. The last (eighth) session was held in
the Magnaura Palace, at Constantinople, in presence
of the empress and her son, on 23 October. It was
spent in discourses, signing of names, and acclama-
tions.
The council promulgated twenty-two canons relating to points of discipline, which may besummarizerl as fol- lows: Canon i : The clergy nuist observe " the holy can- ons," which include the Apostolic, those of the six pre- vious fficumenical Councils, thoseof particular synods which have been published at other synods, anrl those of the Fathers. Canon ii: Candidates for bishop's orders must know the Psalter by heart and nnist have read thoroughly, nol cursorily, all the sacred Scrip- tures. Canon iiicondriiins I he a])pointment of bishops, priests, and deacons by srcular princes. Canon iv: Bishops are not to diiiKiml iiioncy of their clergy: any bishop who through (•iixctini^ncss deprives one of his clergy is himself deposed. Canon v is directed against those who boast of having obtained church preferment with money, and recalls the Thirtieth Ajxi^lolic Canon and the canons of Chalcedon against those who buy preferment with money. Canon vi : Provincial synods are to be held annually. Canon vii: Relics are to be placed in all churches: no church is to be consecrated without relics. Canon viii prescribes precautions to be taken against feigned converts from Judaism. Canon ix : All writings against the venerable images are to be surrendered, to be shut up with other heretical books. Canon x: Against clerics who leave their own dioceses without permission, and become private chaplains to great personages. Canon xi: Every church and every monastery must have its own a^co- nomus. Canon xii: Against bishops or abbots who convey church property to temporal lords. Canon xiii: Episcopal residences, monasteries, and other ec- clesiastical buildings converted to profane uses are to be restored their rightful ownership. Canon xiv: Tonsured persons not onlained lectors must not read the Epistle or Gospel in the ambo. Canon xv: Against pluralities of benefices. Canon xvi: The clergy must not wear sumptuous apparel. Canon xvii: Monks are not to leave their monasteries and begin building other houses of prayer without being provided with the means to finish the same. Canon xviii: \A'omen are not to dwell in bi.shops' houses or in monasteries of men. Canon xix : Superiors of churches and monasteries are not to demand money of those who enter the clerical or monastic state. But the dowry brought by a novice to a religious house is to be retained by that house if the novice leaves it without any fault on the part of the superior. Canon xx pro- hibits double monasteries. Canon xxi : A monk or nun may not leave one convent for another. Canon xxii : Among the laity, persons of opposite sexes may eat to- gether, provided they give thanks and behave with decorum. But among religious persons, those of op- posite sexes may eat together only in the presence of several God-fearing men and women, except on a journey when necessity compels.
Hefele-Leclercq, Hisl. des Concihs (Paris, 1906); Braun, De s. NiccEJta synods: Syrische Texle (1898) ; Revillout, Le Con- cite de Nic&e d'apres tes textes copies (Paris, 1889) (these two re- ferring to the First Nicffia). — For the literature of the Arian, the Easter, and the Iconoclastic controversies, see bibliographies given under Arianism; Athanasics, Saint; Homoousion; Easter, Easter Controversy; Iconoclasm; Images, Venera- tion OF.
H. Leclercq.
Nicaragua, Repttblic and Diocese of (de Ni- CARAorA). — The diocese, suffragan of Guatemala, is coextensive with the Central American Republic of Nicaragua. This republic (see Chile, Map of South
