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'''Gaul''' was an important early center of [[Latin Christianity]] during [[late antiquity]] and the [[Merovingian period]].
By the middle of the 3rd century, there were several churches organized in [[Roman Gaul]], and soon after the cessation of persecution, the bishops of the Latin world assembled at Arles, in AD 314.
The Church of Gaul passed through three crises in the late Roman period, [[Arianism]], [[Priscillianism]] and [[Pelagianism]].
Under [[Francia|Merovingian rule]], a number of "[[Frankish synods]]" were held, marking a particularly Germanic development in the Western Church.
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Gradually the necessities of life imposed a policy of moderation. The [[Council of Agde]], really a national council of Visigothic Gaul (506), and in which Caesarius was dominant, is an evidence of the new temper on both sides. The Acts of this council follow very closely the principles laid down in the ''[[Breviarium Alarici]]''—a summary of the Theodocian Code drawn up by [[Alaric II]], the Visigothic king, for his Gallo-Roman subjects—and met with the approval of the Catholic bishops of his kingdom.
Between 410 and 413 the Burgundians had settled near Mains and were settled in Savoy in 443. In 475 they moved
The transition from one regime to another was eased by the bishops of Gaul. The bishops had frequently played a role as intermediaries with the Roman authorities. It was long believed that they had been invested with special powers and the official title of ''defensores civitatum'' (defenders of the states). While this title was never officially borne by them, the popular error was only formal and superficial.
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They also indicate a growing congruence between church and state. While Arian rulers kept their distance from the general councils, Visigoth rulers began influencing the councils only after the conversion of [[Reccared I]]. As soon as they had established themselves, Merovingian kings (and the Carolingians after them) exerted their influence on the councils.<ref>Rahner, Karl (1975). Encyclopedia of theology: a concise Sacramentum mundi, 301f.</ref> According to Gregory Halfond, such congruence was a particular quality of the Gallo-Roman church, in which the Roman aristocracy made up an important part of the leadership of the Gallo-Roman (and later the Frankish) church; continuity in this power nexus is indicated also by the continued use of Roman procedures in the councils.<ref>Halfond, Gregory I. (2009). ''Archaeology of Frankish Church Councils, AD 511-768'', pp. 4-6.</ref>
An early important churchman is [[Caesarius of Arles]], who
A model for the following Frankish synods was set by [[Clovis I]], who organized the [[First Council of Orléans]] (511); though he did not himself attend it, he set the agenda and followed the proceedings closely (at stake was "the unification of the Roman church under Frankish rule").<ref>Halfond, Gregory I. (2009). ''Archaeology of Frankish Church Councils, AD 511-768'', pp. 8f.</ref> After the waning of Caesarius's influence and the establishment of Merovingian rule, the focus of the soon-to-be Frankish Church shifted north, to deal with the growing problem of adjusting to "deeply embedded Germanic practices"; rather than Pelagianism or Predestinatarianism, bishops now had to deal with problems involving "marriage, the relations between a warrior aristocracy and clergy, or monks and nuns, the conflicts born of royal influence and control, or of property rights".<ref name=markus155/>
By the eighth century,
==See also==
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