Eighteenth Council of Toledo

The Eighteenth Council of Toledo was the last of the councils of Toledo held in Visigothic Spain before the Moorish conquest and perhaps the last of the Siglo de Concilios, that is, the seventh century. It was held after the Seventeenth Council in 694 and before the coming of the Moors in 711, probably in 703 during the reign of King Witiza (701–710) or his co-reign with his father, Ergica, from 693. It was presided over by Gunderic, Archbishop of Toledo.

An account of the acts of the council was preserved through the Middle Ages, but was lost and may have been highly controversial leading to its suppression.[1] Later sources accuse Witiza of trying to force priests to marry.[2] There is a reference in the Chronicle of 754 to Wittiza commanding Sindered to exert pressure on the established clergy, but what exactly this means is unknown.[3] It may mean that he pressured the Eighteenth Council to ratify the decision of the Quinisext Council that clerical marriage was permissible: according to the Chronicle of Alfonso III, Fruela I of Asturias (757–68) reversed this ruling.[4] The collective sense is that Wittiza made an effort to reform corruptions in the Visigothic Catholic church.[5]