First Council of Braga (561) – the canons against the demonic dualism of Priscillianism

The First Council of Braga (May 1, 561), held in Braga under the presidency of Bishop Saint Lucretius, is one of the first councils of the Iberian Peninsula and the most important regional magisterial text on angelology/demonology of late antiquity. Its 17 canons condemn Priscillianism, a Hispano-Galician-Roman heresy that upheld a dualism between the good God, creator of souls, and the Devil, creator of matter.

Historical context: Priscillianism

Priscillianism was a heresy that originated with Priscillian of Ávila (Spain), who was executed by the civil authority in 385, the first case of the execution of a heretic in Christian history. After his death, the heresy spread through Galicia and Portugal, persisting until the sixth century. The Priscillianists held:

• Dualism: two eternal principles, the good God (spirit) and the evil Devil (matter)
• Denial of the real Incarnation of Christ (Docetism)
• Astrology and magic integrated into “Christian” practice
• Denial of the bodily resurrection
• The Devil as creator of the material world and of bodies

The anti-demonological canons of the First Council of Braga

Canon 7: against demonic dualism

Latin: Si quis dicit, animam vel hominis corpus a daemone factum esse, anathema sit.

English: If anyone says that the soul or the body of man was made by the Devil, let him be anathema.

Canon 8: the Devil is not a creator

Latin: Si quis dicit, primorum elementorum, mundi videlicet substantias unius creationis ab adverso principio creatas esse, sicut Manichaei et Priscillianus dixerunt, anathema sit.

English: If anyone says that the substances of the first elements, that is, of the world, were created in a single creation by an adverse principle, as the Manichaeans and Priscillian said, let him be anathema.

Canon 9: the Devil is not eternal

If anyone says that the Devil was not first a good angel made by God, nor that his nature was the work of God, but asserts that he emerged from chaos and darkness, having no author, being himself the principle and the substance of evil, as Manichaeus and Priscillian said, let him be anathema.

English: If anyone says that the Devil was not previously a good angel created by God, nor that his nature was the work of God, but says that he emerged from chaos and darkness, having no author of himself, but that he is himself the principle and the substance of evil, as the Manichaeans and Priscillian said, let him be anathema.

Canon 10: did the Devil create thunderstorms and tempests?

If anyone says that the creatures of God, that is, human flesh and other similar bodies, were created by the Devil, let him be anathema.

English: If anyone says that the creatures of God, that is, human bodies and other similar bodies, were created by the Devil, let him be anathema.

The three magisterial principles established

The First Council of Braga establishes three fundamental principles on demonology:

1. Absolute monotheism: there is only one God the creator. The Devil is not a second creating principle (against Manichaeism)
2. The original goodness of the Devil: the Devil was created good as an angel, before falling. He is not evil “by nature” but by choice (cf. later Lateran IV)
3. The goodness of matter: matter and bodies were created by God, not by the Devil (against Gnosticism and Manichaeism)

Historical significance

The First Council of Braga anticipates by more than 600 years the definition of Lateran IV (1215). It is the first council (even if regional) to establish with dogmatic clarity:

• That the angels are creatures of God
• That the Devil is a fallen angel
• That there is only one principle of good and evil (God the creator), evil being only the corruption of the good by free choice

These affirmations are taken up again:

• Fourth Council of Toledo (633)
• Eleventh Council of Toledo (675)
• Fifteenth Council of Toledo (688)
• Roman Catechism (1566)
• Council of Florence (1442) – Cantate Domino
• Fourth Lateran Council (1215) – Firmiter

Liturgical legacy in Braga

The First Council of Braga gave rise to the so-called Rite of Braga, one of the several forms of medieval Western liturgy, which persisted in the Archdiocese of Braga until the post-conciliar period. This rite has particular Marian and angelological prayers, especially in the Christmas Mass and on Marian feasts.

Implications for present-day demonology

The principles established by the First Council of Braga continue to govern Catholic demonology today:

1. Against dualistic occultism: which intends to invoke both God and opposing spiritual “forces”
2. Against white/black magic: the Church does not recognize two “magics,” but only grace (good) and the demonic work (evil)
3. Against astrology: the stars are creatures of God, not “autonomous principles” that govern destiny
4. Against “modern satanisms”: the Devil is not a principle parallel to God but a fallen creature subject to His sovereignty

Relationship with the later Magisterium

The canons of the First Council of Braga are considered magisterially binding as regards doctrine (even though it was a regional council, it was received by the Councils of Toledo and implicitly ratified). CCC no. 391 explicitly cites Lateran IV (which reformulates the First Council of Braga).

Further reading

Fourth Lateran Council 1215 | Florence – Cantate Domino 1442 | CCC on Angels and Demons