Friday, May 8, 2026

It is the 8th of May 2026. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

 

We head back to the early church again today- if you listened yesterday (you don’t have to- every show stands on its own), you might remember that the Apparition of the Cross in Jerusalem was presented as an argument against Arian Christianity. Arian Christianity was that which taught that Jesus was subordinate to the Father and created, and not consubstantial, and not uncreated as God that Father is.

 

It was wildly popular, and we do well to ask, briefly: why? Especially amongst the so-called Barbarians who converted to Christianity- Goths, Visigoths, etc. If you’re going to convert from a pagan faith to Christianity, why did the aberrant version- with a Jesus “just a click below” the divine- become so popular?

 

Let me give you what I think are some of the best answers: it was easier intellectually- the Trinity can be hard! It also fits with a generally monotheistic worldview where God is one alone, and the Son is created. It fits with generally hierarchical pagan religions with a single God and then something like a pantheon. And it seems that there may have been an element of “we’ll accept your imperial religion- Romans, but we’re gonna be a little different to maintain autonomy.” And so the church had an Arian problem- it’s what takes us to the Council of Nicaea and beyond. But besides those ecumenical councils, there were also localized councils that dealt with regionally specific issues.

 

All of this leads us up to today, the 8th of May in the year 589, and the Third Council of Toledo (check the numbers, some call it the 4th- 6th century history can be hazy!) Toledo had a number of councils as it would become a capital for the Visigoths. In the early Middle Ages, it remained outside of Nicene “Christendom” because they were, at least at the upper levels, thoroughly Arian.

 

And so this is one reason why this council, convened on this day in 589, was such a big deal. Leander, the primate of Seville and friend of Gregory the Great, helped to move the Visigoth king, Recared I, from Arianism to Nicene Christianity. The council began with a reading of a confession of Faith from Reccared, who recants his previous positions and

 

The council decreed that the Nicene Creed (or Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed… it gets updated… which you can do at an ecumenical council… more on that in a second) should be recited before the Lord’s prayer in the service.

 

So, with this council, the church in Hispania, the Iberian Peninsula, becomes part of the broader church. This alone makes it worthy of a show, but there’s another important note from this council- the story goes: In order to assure that the whole Trinity was seen as coequal and consubstantial, the council of Toledo slightly altered the Nicene Creed. In the clause about the Spirit proceeding from the Father, they added that the Spirit proceeded from the Father AND THE SON (in Latin it’s one word: filioque). It may have been interpolated, added within a century of the council. But it is fair to say that this one word, meaning “and the son,” would be the effective cause of the division between the Catholic and Orthodox churches in 1054. The Orthodox, rightly claim, that you can’t add words to a creed without an ecumenical council deciding to do so. It was not a theological issue- the argument against the Arians that the church agreed upon was that the godhead is triune in persons and one in substance. But the Latin West would include, “and the son,” and the Eastern church didn’t- when political issues and jurisdiction became an issue, this became an easy hook to blame the whole split. It’s complicated. And it comes to us, perhaps, from the Council that convened on this day in 589 and saw the conversion of the Visigoths and the entrance of the church in Spain to the broader Western church.

 

A quick note: this weekend’s show is a fun one- Henry VIII, Bloody Mary, Queen Elizabeth, and King James…

 

The Last word for today comes from the daily lectionary and the second half of Psalm 66:

I will come to your temple with burnt offerings
 and fulfill my vows to you—

vows my lips promised and my mouth spoke
 when I was in trouble.

I will sacrifice fat animals to you
 and an offering of rams;
 I will offer bulls and goats.

Come and hear, all you who fear God;
 let me tell you what he has done for me.

I cried out to him with my mouth;
 his praise was on my tongue.

If I had cherished sin in my heart,
 the Lord would not have listened;

but God has surely listened
 and has heard my prayer.

Praise be to God,
 who has not rejected my prayer
 or withheld his love from me!

 

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 8th of May 2026, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man who wonders if the Visigoths were all dressed up like the Cure… he is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who will always get that low-hanging fruit of “goth” puns… I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.