Synod of Mâcon

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The Synods of Mâcon were a series of provincial church councils held in the city of Mâcon, the seat of a diocese in Burgundy. The second and third councils were called by the Burgundian king Guntram. The third council is associated with a legendary debate about whether women have souls.

Timeline and main points:
- First synod (579): The early meeting that began the series.
- Second synod (581 or 582): This council produced 19 canons. Notably, one canon was addressed to a specific person, a nun named Agnes. The 14th canon imposed a curfew on Jews, banning them from the streets from Maundy Thursday to Easter Sunday. The 2nd canon forbade Jews from talking to nuns. Some scholars think this council drew on the Sirmondian constitutions for some of its rules.
- Third synod (585): The council focused on tithe and passed formal rulings on it. Since the early modern period, there have been claims that this council denied women a soul, a claim linked to later legends and misreadings of ancient texts rather than solid evidence.
- The idea about women and souls comes from a story linked to Gregory of Tours about the Latin word homo, which can mean “human” or, in some contexts, “man.” This tale was later repurposed by some writers, including Johannes Leyser in the 17th century and Pierre Bayle in anti-Catholic works, to argue that a council had denied women a soul.
- Fourth council (626 or 627): Convened by the monk Agrestius of Luxeuil to address the Three Chapters schism and approved the monastic rule of Saint Columbanus.
- Other Mâcon councils: 906 and 1286.

In short, Mâcon hosted several important church gatherings from the late 6th century onward, with notable rulings on topics such as the treatment of Jews, the institution of tithe, and monastic rules, as well as later legends about women’s souls that grew from misinterpretations of ancient texts.