ИСТИНА

This paper deals with the two tenth century councils in Spalato, which maintained the organisation of the metropolis of Dalmatia, and abolished the bishopric of the Croats, namely that of Nin, claiming the primacy in this ecclesiastical province. Besides, the first council in 925 promulgated a number of canons concerning some issues of ecclesiastical and secular life in the metropolis of Spalato, i.e. the organisation of the parochial life, episcopal jurisdiction and intrusions into the boundaries of another's diocese, alienation of the Church possessions, matrimonial relations, certain criminal cases etc. The acts of these councils and the councils themselves are open to question, since they are preserved in the manuscript of "Historia Salonitana maior," the earliest version of which dates from the early sixteenth century. To evaluate the reliability of the conciliar decisions I shall compare them with the canons and decretals from the collection employed in the ecclesiastical practice of that time. Besides, canons of the ninth and tenth century councils and synods in Europe will be used for comparison since these documents can demonstrate how other churches faced the difficulties similar to those which arose in the metropolis of Dalmatia.