TheCouncil of Ariminum, also known as theCouncil of Rimini, was anearly Christian churchsynod in Ariminum, modern-dayRimini, in 359. Called byRoman EmperorConstantius II to resolve theArian controversy, the Council of Ariminum for western bishops paralleled theCouncil of Seleucia for eastern bishops.[1][2]
Though the Council of Ariminum concluded in favour of theNicene Creed by 21 July 359,[3][4] its consensus was overturned on 10 October 359, when the council's envoys to Constantius accepted aHomoean creed.[2][3][5] Bishops remaining at Ariminum were forced to assent to the creed.[5][6]Pope Liberius later declared that the Council of Ariminum was held without authority.[5]
In 358, theRoman EmperorConstantius II requested two councils, one of the western bishops of the Roman Empire at Ariminum (modern-dayRimini), and one of the eastern bishops,[1][2] planned forNicomedia but eventually held atSeleucia Isauria.[1] Constantius had visited Rimini in 357, and commissioned thepraetorian prefect,Taurus, to prepare the city for the council; the location was likely chosen because local clergy were sympathetic toArianism.[7]
The councils were called to resolve theArian controversy which plagued the fourth-centuryearly church. Arian creeds had been drafted in theCouncils of Sirmium in 357 and 358, considered the highpoints of Arianism.[2] As was customary,[2] participating bishops in the Council of Ariminum were guaranteed free transport and supplies. Bishops fromGaul, except three British bishops, insisted on paying their own expenses so as not to constrain their freedom in the council.[2][3]
TheCouncil of Seleucia was held in September 359, with 150 eastern bishops participating.[6]
The council opened on 27 May 359,[6] and concluded on 21 July.[4] It was hosted in the Cathedral of Santa Colomba, no longer extant, with Arian supporters worshipping at a chapel, traditionally reported to be a downtrodden area near theArch of Augustus, known asla Gajana, renowned for its prostitutes.[4] The council involved approximately 400 bishops,[6][5][8] of which 40 were pro-Arian at the start of the council.[6]
During the council, Constantius II decreed that any decisions would need to be brought by ten representatives toConstantinople for his ratification; he would hear the council's resolutions alongside those of the Council of Seleucia.[4] The Council of Ariminum was to consider only matters of faith and unity, while Seleucia would consider doctrinal issues.[3]
In a series of judgments lasting until 21 July 359, the council unanimously approved theNicene Creed, condemning as heretics the Arian bishopsUrsacius,Valens,Germinius,Auxentius, Gaius ofIllyricum, andDemophilus.[3][4] It rejected the Dated Creed drawn by someHomoean andSemi-Arians in Sirmium on 22 May 359.[2] After designating its ten representatives, the council sent a petition to Constantius asking that the council be adjourned and the bishops be allowed to return to their dioceses.[2][3][4] Taurus was instructed to retain the bishops in Ariminum until Constantius dismissed the council.[3]
Despite the consensus, Ursacius, Valens, and Germinius led an Arian minority of 80 bishops. The minority wrote a separate letter to Constantius requesting that they be excused from the council. Constantius welcomed the minority petition,[3] but refused to grant an audience to the representatives of the majority:[2][3] he was preparing for theSecond Perso-Roman War, and requested the majority envoys to wait, first atHadrianople and then inNike inThracia.[2]
On 10 October 359 in Nike,Restitutus of Carthage [it] and other majority envoys accepted a revision of the Dated Creed.[2][3][5] Returning to Ariminum, the envoys who capitulated were initially refused communion,[3] but Taurus required the bishops remaining in Ariminum to sign the revised creed before they could leave.[5][6] The last bishops left Rimini in the winter of 359.[6][4] On 31 December 359, under threat from Constantius, representatives of both councils assented to the revised creed.[2][3]
In one group of legends,[9]Gaudentius, the firstBishop of Rimini, participated in the Council;[7][10] he was against Arianism.[7][10][9] Once it seemed certain that the Arians would lose,[7][10] or to flee violence in the city,[11] with seventeen other bishops, Gaudentius retreated to a nearby town,[7][10] which tradition says was renamedCattolica (lit. 'Catholic') after their retreat.[7][11] On his return to Ariminum, Gaudentius was arrested. On one account, he was charged with condemning Arianism;[10] in another, his miracles led him to be accused of the deaths in close succession of two imperial troops.[7] A mob snatched him from the hands of the city's magistrates: in one account, he was lynched or stoned to death by Arian's supporters;[12][10][13] in another, he was stoned to death forperduellio.[6]
Gaudentius was martyred on 14 October 360.[6][13] He was killed in a marshy area south of the city'sArch of Augustus, which became known asLacus Martyrum (Lake of the Martyr); it is believed to be the etymology of Via Lagomaggio and Rimini's eponymous suburb.[7][13] The account of Gaudentius' participation in the Council of Ariminum is considered inconsistent with earlier legends about his life.[9]
In 360, theCouncil of Constantinople confirmed the resolutions of Ariminum and Seleucia. The early church later disregarded the resolutions from both councils.[6]Pope Liberius declared that the Council of Ariminum was held without authority.[5]Hilary of Poitiers had already openly denounced the Councils' resolutions, with the result, according to one historian, that "the churches of Gaul for the first time appeared in a new light, as a force that was independent of government, and able to defy it with impunity."[14]
Some sources attribute Taurus' appointment as aconsul in 361 to his management of the Council of Ariminum.[3]
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