Council of Auroria

Council of Auroria
Date 533 Accepted by Holy Apostolic Hosian Church of Terra Terran Patriarchal Church Theognosian Church Selucian Patriarchal Church Luthoran Churches Bishopal Church Convoked by Bishop of Auroria Adeodatus Florianus Topics of discussion Formalizing Hosian doctrine, creating a single Hosian church, establishing Biblical canon, Pneumatology, condemnation of various heresies Documents and statements · Aurorian Creed · 15 Canons · Epistle

The Council of Auroria was a council of Hosian bishops convened in Auroria in Selucia by the Aurorian Bishop Adeodatus Florianus in 533 CE. This ecumenical council was the first effort to attain consensus in the church through an assembly representing all of Hosianism.

Its main accomplishments were the creation of the first international Hosian church, the Holy Apostolic Hosian Church of Terra, formalizing Hosian doctrine, the construction of the Creed of Auroria, establishing the Hosian Biblical cannon, and promulgation of early canon law.

The Council was convened as a result of serious Pneumatological controversies regarding the nature of Eliyahu, His relation to God, and His humanity and divinity. The Council rejected the view, followed by the Hobrazian Church and its representative Eudemos (Evdemoz), that the Spirit of God, while distinct from God, is not a separate Person or Being; according to the Hobrazian view, God and His Spirit have the same Essence and are the same Person, but the distinction between the two is real and ontological. This position was later described as "Unitarianism". The Council also rejected the view promoted by Ordius that Eliyahu was separate from and subordinate to God. Instead, the Council formalized the mainstream Hosian view that Eliyahu is distinct from God, was pre-existent with God, and also originating from God without becoming a being separate from Him, so that Eliyahu and God are of a similar substance and both can be rightfully called God, a position that was later called "Binitarianism".

Events of the Council

Present at the Council of Auroria were over 300 Hosian Bishops from the entire world, among whom prominent Church Fathers such as the Aurorian Bishop Adeodatus Florianus, who is said to have presided over the Council, St. Martinus of Augusta and St. Quirinus. In an effort by the day's major power to increase its control over Hosianism, the Council was supported from the start by the Augustan Emperor Alexius, whose correspondence with Bishop Adeodatus is said in part to have resulted in the convocation of the Council.

The Aurorian Creed is among the most enduring legacies of the Council of Auroria. The traditional account of the Council ascribes the first version of the Creed to St. Martinus of Augusta, one of the Council Fathers, who is also remembered for his refutation of the Ordian heresy, which he opposed by arguing that Elijah , if less than God as Ordius claimed, could not have manifested as he did, and, as one of the foremost Pneumatological scholars of his day, with the formulation of the doctrine of binitarianism.

One legend connected to the Council is that of St. Quirinus punching Evdemoz. Legend has it that the debate between the two participants had become so heated that the former struck the latter's face, and had to be removed from the Council. Later hagiographers would quote this legend positively, as an example of Quirinus' holy zeal.

Aurorian Creed

Creed in Luthori

Creed in the Original Selucian

We believe in one God, Almighty Father to Us All, Who created Terra and Caelum, all that is visible and invisible, (Who led Ariel to Holy Yishelem, and shielded his people.) And we believe in one Lord, Eliyahu Hosios, Pure and Holy Spirit of God, Proceeding from God before all ages, Not created, but himself the Creator, Not born, but himself the Father of All, Not begun, but himself the Beginning. Who is in God and of God and from God, In His whole Substance like unto God, Announced through prophesy, Holy Word of God, through the virgin Sarahea in man incarnate, Who is light to our world, True servant of the one true God, Who called us, the Pious, to follow His word, And was exiled to the desert by vengeful man, Who, persecuted even in exile, Strengthened His resolve, and did His duty, Even in the face of death. For forty days did He pray in His despair, And then ascended into heaven. And on the third day He did descend to hell to bear our sins. Returned triumphant, then disappeared into Hiding, According to scripture. Who, with divine Grace, Sent to us the Light of God, Which illuminated His Word to the prophets of old, To remain with us to light the way, And give us strength to believe, In memory of those who came before, We believe that he has life eternal, And that at the end of times, He shall return to judge living and dead, To be Saviour of Terra, And that His Kingdom shall continue, In time and eternity. Until such a time, we hold true to His teachings, Hear and live His Annunciation, In the Community of the Pious, One holy, apostolic and ecumenical Church, We acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins, In the hope that we shall live again, In life eternal. Amen

Credo in unum Deum, omnipotentem Patrem omnium, Caeli et Terrae factor, et omnium visibilium et invisibilium. (Qui adiuvat Ariel ad Sanctum Iseleum, et populum eius protegit.) Et in unum Dominum, Eliam Pium, Purum et Sanctum Spiritum Dei, Qui processus est de Deo ante omnia saecula, Non factum sed Factor, Non genitum sed Pater Omnium, Non inceptum sed Incipium, In Deo et de Deo et per Deum, In totae substantiae Deo similis, Et annunciatus per prophetas, Sanctum Verbum Dei, Ex Sarahaea Virgine in hominem incarnatus, Qui est lumen terrae nobis, Verus servus veri Dei. Qui Pios vocavit ad verbum Suum sequendum, Et fugatus est a hominibus impiis in desolationem, Qui, persecutus in exilium, Fortificavit animum, et officium fecit, Etiam in mortis periculo, Quadraginta oravit in desperationem. Et ascendit ad caela, Et descindit in infernum tertium die ad peccata nostra tollenda. Triumphans rediit, et vanescit in Occultationem. Secundum Scripturas. Qui, per gratiam divam, Misit nobis lucem Dei, Quae illuminavit Verbum Suum per prophetas, Ut nobis maneat et illuminet viam, Et donet nobis animum in fidem, In memoriam precedentes. Credo Eliam in aeternam vivere, Et iterum venturus est post tempore, Iudicare vivos et martuos, Salvatorem Terrae esse, Cuius regnum continuabit in saeculo saeculorum. Donec accepto veritatem doctrinarum Suorum, Audio et vivo Annunciationem Suam, In communitate Piorum, Unam, sanctam, oecumenicam et apostolicam Ecclesiam. Confiteor unum baptisma per remissionem peccatorum, In expectatione novae vitae, In saeculo saecolorum. Amen.

Biblical Canon

The Council of Auroria had the task of deciding which of the numerous books used by the various churches were to be considered authentic, and which to be discarded as heretical. The council decided upon the following books, which are still accepted as canon by most churches today:

• The First Word (Katub, Yeudi Books)
  • Three Books of Elior/Triteuch (Pentateuch):
    • Book of Creation (Genesis)
    • Book of Exile (Exodus)
    • Book of Law (Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy)
  • Histories
    • Book of Tribes (Judges, Samuel)
    • Book of Kings (Kings, Chronicles)
  • Prophets (those with an asterisk are considered Great Prophets)
    • Joshua* (Isaia)
    • Jonathan*
    • Abimelech, Obadiah, random Hebrew names, etc.
  • Poetic Books
    • Book of Hymns (Psalms)
  • (Deuterocanonic books, not universally acknowledged as part of the Canon)
• The New Word (the Annunciation)
  • The Annunciants
    • The Annunciation according to Julius (Marcus)
    • The Annunciation according to Theodore (Matthew)
    • The Annunciation according to Thomas (Luke)
    • The Annunciation according to Joseph (John)
  • Acts of the Apostles/Disciples (?)
  • Epistles
    • Epistle of Michael
    • Epistle of Thomas
  • Revelation
    • Revelation to Joseph (John)

The Fathers of the Council of Auroria holding a depiction of the Aurorian Creed.