The Councils of Carthage were church synods held during the 3rd, 4th, and 5th centuries in the city of Carthage in Africa. The most important of these are described below.

Synod of 251
In May 251 a synod, assembled under the presidency of Cyprian to consider the treatment of the Lapsi, excommunicated Felicissimus and five other Novatian bishops (Rigorists), and declared that the lapsi should be dealt with, not with indiscriminate severity, but according to the degree of individual guilt. These decisions were confirmed by a synod of Rome in the autumn of the same year. Other Carthaginian synods concerning the lapsi were held in 252 and 254.

Synod of 256
Two synods, in 255 and 256, held under Cyprian, pronounced against the validity of heretical baptism, thus taking direct issue with Stephen I, bishop of Rome, who promptly repudiated them. A third synod in September 256, possibly following the repudiation, unanimously reaffirmed the position of the other two. Stephen's claims to authority as bishop of bishops were sharply resented, and for some time the relations of the Roman and African sees were severely strained.

A variety of unresolved issues related to restoration of the lapsed in faith and the actions of those who had been considered heretics remained to be dealt with at the first ecumenical council. The eighth canon of the council in particular addressed Novationists.

Synod of 345
Around 345–348 under Gratus a synod of orthodox bishops, who had met to record their gratitude for the effective official repression of the Circumcelliones (Donatists), declared against the rebaptism of any one who had been baptized in the name of the Trinity, and adopted twelve canons of clerical discipline.

Synod of 397
The Council of Carthage, called the third by Denzinger, met on 28 August 397.  It reaffirmed the canons of Hippo from 393, and issued its own. One of these gives a canon of the Bible.  The primary source of information about the third Council of Carthage comes from the Codex Canonum Ecclesiae Africanae, which presents a compilation of ordinances enacted by various church councils in Carthage during the fourth and fifth centuries.  In one section of this code the following paragraph concerning the canon of Scripture appears.

The "five books of Solomon", according to Augustine, were Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Wisdom of Solomon, and Ecclesiasticus.

Conference of 411

The Conference of Carthage, held by the command of the Emperor Honorius in 411 with a view to terminating the Donatist schism, while not strictly a synod, was one of the most important assemblies in the history of the African sees, and of the whole Catholic Church. It was presided over by Marcellinus of Carthage who found in favour of the orthodox party, which led to the violent suppression of the Donatists.

Council of 418
Following the Synod of Diospolis, on 1 May 418 a minor synod (Augustine of Hippo called it A Council of Africa), was assembled under the presidency of Aurelius, bishop of Carthage, to take action concerning the errors of Caelestius, a disciple of Pelagius. It denounced the Pelagian doctrines of human nature, original sin, grace, and perfectibility; and it fully approved the contrary views of Augustine.

The synod issued eight canons
 Canon I:  Adam was not created subject to death.
 Canon II: Infants are to be baptized for the remission of sins.
 Canon III: Grace not only gives remission of sins but aid that we sin no more.
 Canon IV: Grace gives knowledge, inspiration and desire to perform required duty.
 Canon V: Without the grace of God we can do no good thing.
 Canon VI: The statement “If we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves” should not be said out of humility but because it is true.
 Canon VII: In the Lord's Prayer, the Saints pray “Forgive us our trespasses” not only for others but also for themselves.
 Canon VIII: The Saints pray “Forgive us our trespasses” not out of humility but because they have sinned.

Council of 419 

The Canons made at this council are often called The Code of Canons of the African Church. It was led by Aurelius, bishop of Carthage and attended by 217 bishops, which held two sessions, May 25 and 30. "In the year 418-19, all canons formerly made in sixteen councils held at Carthage, one at Milevis, one at Hippo, that were approved of, were read, and received a new sanction from a great number of bishops, then met in synod at Carthage. This Collection is the Code of the African Church, which was always in greatest repute in all Churches next after the Code of the Universal Church. This code was of very great authority in the old English Churches, for many of the Excerptions of Egbert were transcribed from it... these African Canons are inserted into the Ancient Code both of the Eastern and Western Churches."

Here is a list of the various councils which made the enactments, with their dates.

 Carthage (under Gratus)— 345-348 a.d.
 (under Genethlius)— 387 or 390
 Hippo — 393
 Carthage— 394
 (June 26)— 397
 (August 28)— 397
 (April 27)— 399
 (June 15)— 401
 (September 13)— 401
 Milevis (August 27)— 402
 Carthage (August 25)— 403
 (June)— 404
 (August 25)— 405
 (June 13)— 407
 Carthage (June 16 and October 13)— 408
 Carthage (June 15)— 409
 (June 14)— 410
 (May 1)— 418
 (May 25) which adopted the African Code — 419

In total 138 Canons (counted as 135 in the Greek) were issued at this council.

Apiarius, deposed by Urbanus, Bishop of Sicca, for grave misconduct, appealed to Pope Zosimus, who, in view of irregularities in the bishop's procedure, ordered that the priest should be reinstated, and his bishop disciplined. Vexed, perhaps, at the unworthy priest's success, a general synod of Carthage in May 418 forbade appeal "beyond the seas" of clerics inferior to bishops. Recognizing in what was virtually a restatement of previous African legislation an expression of displeasure on the part of the African bishops, Pope Zosimus sent a delegation to defend his right to receive certain appeals, citing decrees believed by him to have been enacted at the Council of Nicaea, but which in fact were canons of the council of Sardica. The African bishops who met the legates, while not recognizing these decrees as Nicene, accepted them pending verification. This led to a tedious delay of the council. The sixteenth Council of Carthage was held in May 419 and there again the representations of Zosimus were accepted, awaiting the result of a comparison of the Nicene canons as they existed in Africa, in which the decrees cited by the Pope had not been found, with those of the churches of Antioch, Alexandria and Constantinople. By the end of the year 419, Pope Boniface, who had succeeded Zosimus in December 418, was informed that the eastern codices did not contain the alleged decrees; but, as the now repentant Apiarius had meantime been assigned to a new field of labour, interest in the affair subsided.

The matter was reopened a few years later, when Apiarius, who had been deposed a second time, on new charges, again appealed to Rome for reinstatement. Faustinus, the Roman legate, reappeared at the Synod of 424 and demanded the annulment of the sentence passed on the priest. Apiarius, however, broke down under examination, and admitted his guilt. A synodal letter to Rome emphasized how needful it was that Rome should not lightly credit all complainants from Africa, nor receive into fellowship such as had been excommunicated; and lastly, requested the pope to send no more legates to execute his judgments.

Synod of 484
The Vandal Synod of Carthage (484) was a largely unsuccessful church council meeting called by the Vandal King Huneric to persuade the Nicene bishops in his recently acquired North African territories to convert to Arian Christianity. The Nicene bishops refused and many, including Fulgentius of Ruspe and Tiberiumus, were exiled to Sardinia, and some executed. The Notitia Provinciarum at Civitatum Africa says that nearly 500 went into exile. The bishops had requested that Nicene bishops from outside Huneric's dominions be allowed to attend but this was refused, the king saying "When you make me master of the whole world, then what you want shall be done". The synod appears to have been an exercise in royal browbeating more than a genuine debate, with bias toward Arian bishops.

Council of 525
The 525 Council of Carthage was convened by Bishop Boniface of Carthage in order to re-establish power over North Africa's Nicene bishops after the rule of Arian Vandal bishops. The Council lasted from February 5 to 6 of 525 CE.

See also
 Synod of Hippo
 Ancient church councils (pre-ecumenical)
 Archdiocese of Carthage

Sources

External links

 Canons From The Council Of Carthage Against Pelagianism, May 1, 418
 African Synods Catholic Encyclopedia
 Schaff, Philip, The Seven Ecumenical Councils – Canons of Carthage

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250s in the Roman Empire
340s in the Roman Empire
390s in the Roman Empire
410s in the Roman Empire
420s in the Roman Empire
Vandal Kingdom
3rd-century church councils
4th-century church councils
5th-century church councils
Councils
Christianity in Tunisia
카르타고 공의회(Concilium Carthaginense)는 기독교 역사상 카르타고 지역에서 열린 일련의 지역 공의회를 의미한다. 이 곳에서 열린 회의는 시노드급의 지역 공의회 임에도 불구하고, 역사적으로 상당히 주목할만한 결정 몇 개가 이뤄졌는데, 특히 4세기 말부터 5세기 초에 걸쳐 열린 신약 및 구약 성경이 확정되어 선포된 회의는 기독교 역사에서 매우 중요한 의의를 가진다.

 251년 시노드 — 키프리아누스의 주도 하에 노바티아누스파를 단죄하기 위해 개최되었다. 255년과 256년에는 이단들의 세례 효력(이단자 세례 논쟁)의 인정 여부를 놓고 키프리아누스의 주도로 열렸다.

 348년 시노드 — 도나투스파의 단죄를 위해 열었다. 자살에 대한 단죄도 본격적으로 논의되었다.

 397년 시노드 — 에서는 히포 시노드에서 결의된 성경 목록을 재결의하였다.

 418년 공의회 — 펠라기우스의 주장이 단죄되었다.

 419년 공의회 — 성경 목록 재선언

성경 목록 결정 

아래 제시된 자료는 419년의 교회법 조문이다.

CANON XXIV.

교회법 24조

- 천주교의 제2경전(외경)은 이탤릭체로 표기하였다. -

Item placuit ut praeter Scripturas canonicas nihil in ecclesia legatur sub nomine divinarum Scripturarum.

정식[으로 채택된 또는 정경적인] 성경(정경) 이외에는 성경이라는 이름으로 교회 안에서 읽어지면 안 된다.

sunt autem Canonicae Scripturae hae:

정경(정식 성경)은 다음과 같다:

Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numeri, Deuteronomium,

창세기, 탈출기, 레위기, 민수기, 신명기,

Jesus Naue, Judicum, Ruth,

눈의 아들 여호수아(여호수아기), 판관기, 룻기,

Regnorum libri quator,

열왕기 4권[사무엘기 2권(사무엘기 상권, 사무엘기 하권), 열왕기 2권(열왕기 상권, 열왕기 하권)],

Paralipomenon libri duo,

역대기 2권(역대기 상권, 역대기 하권),

Psalterium Davidicum,

다윗의 시편,

Salomonis libri quinque,

솔로몬의 다섯 책들[잠언, 코헬렛, 아가, 지혜서, 집회서],

libri duodecim prophetarum,

열두 소예언서[호세아서, 요엘서, 아모스서, 오바드야서, 요나서, 미카서, 나훔서, 하바쿡서, 스바니야서, 하까이서, 즈카르야서, 말라키서],

Job, Jesaias, Jeremias,

욥기, 이사야서, 예레미야서[애가, 바룩서 포함],

Ezechiel, Tobias, Judith,

에제키엘서, 토빗기 ,유딧기,

Esdrae libri duo,

에즈라기 2권[에즈라기, 느헤미야기],

Daniel, Esther, Machabaeorum libri duo.

다니엘서[다니엘서 추가본 포함], 에스테르기[에스테르기 추가본 포함], 마카베오기 2권(마카베오기 상권, 마카베오기 하권),

Novi autem Testamenti ;

신약 성경 ;

Evangeliorum libri quator,

복음서 4권[마태오 복음서, 마르코 복음서, 루카 복음서, 요한 복음서],

Actuum Apostolorum liber unus,

사도행전,

Epistolae Pauli Apostoli xiv.,

바오로 서간 14권[로마서, 코린토1서, 코린토2서, 갈리티아서, 에페소서, 필리피보서, 콜로새서, 테살로니카1서, 테살로니카2서, 티모테오1서, 티모테오2서, 티토서, 필레몬서, 히브리서].,

Petri apostoli duae,

베드로 서간 2권(베드로1서, 베드로2서),

Johannes tres,

요한 서간 3권(요한1서, 요한2서, 요한3서),

Jacobi i.,

야고보 서간 1권(야고보서).,

Judae i.,

유다 서간 1권(유다서).,

Apocalipsis Johannis liber unus.

요한 묵시록.

Hoc etiam fratri et consacerdoti nostro Bonifatio, vel aliis earum partium Episcopis, pro confirm‍‍‍ando isto canone innotescat, quia a patribus ista accepimus in ecclesia legenda. Liceat autem legi passiones martyrum cum anniversarii eorum dies celebrantur.

이 결정을 우리들의 형제, 동료 감독과 우리의 보니파시오와 다른 지역의 감독들에게 보냈다. 그들은 이 책들이 우리의 [신앙의] 선조들로부터 물려받은 것으로써, 교회 안에서 읽어온 것들[정경]이란 점을 확인해 줄 것이다.카르타고 공의회의 성경 목록에 대한 교회법 상의 결정은 서방교회 진영에 국한되어 그 효력을 발휘하였다. 동방교회는 얼마 동안은 이 결정에 대하여 잘 알지 못하였던 것으로 보여지며, 이후에도 다마스커스의 요한 같은 일부의 동방교회의 교부들은 여전히 유대교 경전 목록에 기초한 구약 성경 목록을 주장하였기 때문이다.

하지만 신약의 결정에 있어서는 동방정교나 개신교 모두 카르타고 공의회의 결정을 주목하는 바, 이는 결국 구약에 한하여 자신들과 다른 결정을 내린 카르타고 공의회의 결정을 의도적으로 외면하고 있다고도 볼 수도 있을 것이다. 한편 동방정교는 1672년에 열린 예루살렘 공의회에서 칼뱅의 영향을 받았던 키릴로스 루카리스 이스탄불 세계 총대주교의 친 개신교적 신앙고백에 대한 반동으로 카르타고 공의회의 성경 결정을 공식 인정하게 되었지만, 차별성 허용에 대한 단서를 둠으로서 이른바 2경전 혹은 외경 문헌에 대한 원경전과의 차별성도 여전히 인정하는 절충적 입장을 보인다.

공의회
기독교의 역사
251년 기독교
255년 기독교
256년 기독교
348년 기독교
397년 기독교
411년 기독교
418년 기독교
419년 기독교
424년 기독교
484년 기독교
251년 로마 제국
255년 로마 제국
256년 로마 제국
348년 로마 제국
397년 로마 제국
411년 로마 제국
418년 로마 제국
419년 로마 제국
424년 로마 제국
3세기 공의회
4세기 공의회
5세기 공의회