Unconfirmed Acts

The following are Acts that are missing either a full date and/or an Official source.

Displaying 25 – 50 of 742
1. Full Date of Act
221
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)
Law code passed by Emperors Severus and Antoninus, 221/222 AD
3. Geography of Act
Roman Empire [Provisional]
4. Text of Act

“The divine Severus and Antoninus allowed those who follow the Jewish superstition to accept honors (public offices), but also imposed punishments on those who would not betray their religion.”

5. Source
Ulpianus, Digesta, 50.2.3.3,
6. Researcher & Translator
Joan Paez
7. Year of Research & Translation
2015
8. Notes
None
1. Full Date of Act
224
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)
“Forced Conversion”
3. Geography of Act
Roman Empire
4. Text of Act

Commentary from other sources: 1) Jews are converted by force in Italy. “Jewish Persecution | Timeline of Judaism | History of AntiSemitism;” simpletoremember.com

5. Source
None
6. Researcher
None
7. Year of Research
None
8. Notes
None
1. Full Date of Act
250
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)
“Expulsion of Jews”
3. Geography of Act
Roman Empire
4. Text of Act

Commentary from other sources: 1) Jews are expelled from Carthage (also known as Karhadon). “Jewish Persecution | Timeline of Judaism | History of AntiSemitism;” simpletoremember.com

5. Source
None
6. Researcher
None
7. Year of Research
None
8. Notes
None
1. Full Date of Act
300
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)
No Title
3. Geography of Act
Roman Empire [Provisional]
4. Text of Act

If Jews shall circumcise purchased slaves of another nation, they shall either be exiled or suffer capital punishment.

5. Source
Paulus, Sententiae, 5:22:4,
6. Researcher & Translator
Joan Paez
7. Year of Research & Translation
2015
8. Notes
None
1. Full Date of Act
306 C.E.
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)
Canon 16, 49, 50, & 78 by the Synod of Elvira
3. Geography of Act
Present-day Spain [Provisional]
4. Text of Act

…Can. 16. Heretics shall not be joined in marriage with Catholic girls unless they accept the Catholic faith. Catholic girls may not marry Jews or heretics, because they cannot find a unity when the faithful and the unfaithful are joined. Parents who allow this to happen shall not commune for five years…Can. 49. Landlords are not to allow Jews to bless the crops they have received from God and for which they have offered thanks. Such an action would make our blessing invalid and meaningless. Anyone who continues this practice is to be expelled completely from the church…Can. 50. If any of the clergy of the Faithful eats with Jews, he shall be kept from communion in order that he be corrected as he should…Can. 78. If a Christian confesses adultery with a Jewish or pagan woman, he is denied communion for some time. If his sin is exposed by someone else, he must complete five years’ penance before receiving the Sunday communion.

5. Source
“A History of the Christian councils: Book II; Chapter III. Sec. 13. Synod of Elvira.” Karl Joseph von Hefele. Online book, Accessed 7/11/2011
6. Researcher
None
7. Year of Research
None
8. Notes
Editor
Meigne argues that the Council of Elvira issued only the first 21 canons; the other canons were added to the “collection” probably taken from other Iberian councils. There is a dissertation that could shed some light on this: Eckhard Reichert: Die Canones der Synode von Elvira. Einleitung und Kommentar. Hamburg 1990 (Hamburg, Univ., Diss., 1988). Research continued by Ziba Shadjaani 10/25/2015
1. Full Date of Act
325
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)
Synodal letter written by Emperor Constantine addressing the Niceaen Council
3. Geography of Act
Roman Empire [Provisional]
4. Text of Act

“Therefore, we should not to have anything in common with the Jews, for the Saviour has shown us another way; our worship follows a more legitimate and more convenient course (the order of the days of the week); and consequently, in unanimously adopting this mode, we desire, dearest brethren, to separate ourselves from the detestable company of the Jews…”

5. Source
Eusebius, Vita Constantinii, 3.18,
6. Researcher & Translator
Joan Paez
7. Year of Research & Translation
2015
8. Notes
None
1. Full Date of Act
339
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)
Laws issued by Emperor Constantius
3. Geography of Act
Roman Empire [Provisional]
4. Text of Act

“A Jew should neither purchase nor obtain a Christian slave by any pretext whatsoever. But if any Jew owns a Christian slave…not only will he lose the slave, but also be condemned to capital punishment.”

5. Source
Codex Justinianus 1.10.1
6. Researcher & Translator
Joan Paez
7. Year of Research & Translation
2015
8. Notes
None
1. Full Date of Act
343
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)
Theophanes writing about Emperor Constatius’ official decree after the Jewish uprising of 342-343
3. Geography of Act
Roman Empire [Provisional]
4. Text of Act

“In the same year, Constantius…having sent royal edicts…he ordered that they be banished..”

5. Source
Chronographia, AM 5843,
6. Researcher & Translator
Joan Paez
7. Year of Research & Translation
2015
8. Notes
None
1. Full Date of Act
May 352
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)
Order of Caesar [Flavius Constantius] Gallus
3. Geography of Act
Roman Empire [Provisional]
4. Text of Act

“Caesar Gallus […] orders the killing of thousands of Jews regardless of age or sex and destroys their cities Diospolis, Diocaesarea, Tiberias, and others.”

5. Source
Weigl, Johann Baptist: Theologisch-Chronische Behandlung über das wahre Geburts- und Sterb-Jahr Jesu Christi von Johann Baptist Weigl. Zweiter, praktischer Theil. (Theological-chronological treatment of the real birth-year and year-of-death of Jesus Christ. Second part.); (Sulzbach; 1849);
6. Researcher & Translator
Ziba Shadjaani
7. Year of Research & Translation
2020
8. Notes
Researcher
According to Cyrillus, this occurred around the Day of the Pentecost, which – in the year of 352 – fell on May 10. The above is a translation of a German summary of the original text.
1. Full Date of Act
361 C.E.
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)
Law issued by Emperors Gratian, Valentinian II, and Theodosius, 361 AD
3. Geography of Act
Roman Empire [Provisional]
4. Text of Act

“The order, with which the men of Jewish law delude themselves, and by which they are given immunity from curial duties, shall be rescinded, for not even clerics are free to subject themselves to the divine ministry before they pay in full all their dues to their motherland.”

5. Source
Codex Theodosianus, 12:1:99,
6. Researcher & Translator
Joan Paez
7. Year of Research & Translation
2015
8. Notes
None
1. Full Date of Act
363 C.E.
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)
Synod of Laodicea
3. Geography of Act
Present-day Turkey [Provisional]
4. Text of Act

“Canons 16) The Gospels are to be read on the Sabbath with the other scriptures. 29) Christians must not judaize by resting on the Sabbath, but must work on that day […] if they shall be found to be judaizers, let them be anathema from Christ. 37) It is not lawful to receive portions sent from the feast of Jews or heretics, not to feast together with them. 38) it is not lawful to receive unleavened bread from the Jews and to be partakers of their impiety.” [*Exact date of the Council is unknown.]

5. Source
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 14. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1900.)
6. Researcher
Ziba Shadjaani
7. Year of Research
2016
8. Notes
None
1. Full Date of Act
364
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)
Mandatory Relocation of Jews issued by King Shapu II
3. Geography of Act
Persia
4. Text of Act

Commentary from other sources: 1) Shapur II forcibly transferred approximately 7000 Jews from outlying territories to the interior of Persia. “455 ROME;” jewishhistory.org

5. Source
None
6. Researcher
None
7. Year of Research
None
8. Notes
None
1. Full Date of Act
400 C.E.
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)
Canon 16, Council of Gangra
3. Geography of Act
Roman Empire [Provisional]
4. Text of Act

“If, under any pretence of piety, any children (Jewish) shall forsake their parents … if they are Christian, and shall stop revering their parents, because they claim that they honor their Jewish piety more than their parents, let them be anathema.”

5. Source
Migne, P.L, vol. 67, Col. 56
6. Researcher & Translator
Joan Paez
7. Year of Research & Translation
2016
8. Notes
Researcher
The commentators of this canon all refer here to St. Matthew xv., where the Lord speaks of the subterfuge by which the Jews under pretext of piety, defrauded their parents and ignored the law.
1. Full Date of Act
415
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)
Order of Cyrillus
3. Geography of Act
Present-day Egypt [Provisional]
4. Text of Act

“Cyrillus expels the Jews for the murder of a number of Christians from Alexandria.”

5. Source
Weigl, Johann Baptist: Theologisch-Chronische Behandlung über das wahre Geburts- und Sterb-Jahr Jesu Christi von Johann Baptist Weigl. Zweiter, praktischer Theil. (Theological-chronological treatment of the real birth-year and year-of-death of Jesus Christ, Second part.); (Sulzbach; 1849);
6. Researcher & Translator
Ziba Shadjaani
7. Year of Research & Translation
2020
8. Notes
Researcher
The above is a translation of a German summary of the original text.
1. Full Date of Act
415
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)
Law issued by Honorius
3. Geography of Act
Present-day Italy [Provisional]
4. Text of Act

We decree that Jewish masters may possess Christian slaves without reproach, but only on condition that they permit these slaves to follow their own religion. Moreover the judges of the provinces are to know, when the amount of their public confiscation has been inspected, that the insolence of those men who have thought to deceive them with timely prayers is to be reproved; and we decree that all possessions fraudulently elicited or to be elicited from Jewish masters are to be given back to them. If anyone breaks this law, he is to be punished as if he had committed sacrilege.

5. Source
“The Persecution of the Jews in the Roman Empire (300-428).” James Everett Seaver. 1952, Page 62; Accessed online 8/2/2011
6. Researcher
None
7. Year of Research
None
8. Notes
Editor
Author’s footnote dates this law in 415 as Theodosian Code 16.9.3
1. Full Date of Act
417
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)
“Prohibition to build a new synagogue” issued by Theodosius II
3. Geography of Act
Holy Roman Empire
4. Text of Act

Commentary from other sources: 1) “Theodosius II prohibits the building of a new Synagogue.” Scherer, Johann E.: Die Rechtverhältnisse der Juden in den deutsch-österreichischen Ländern (Leipzig; 1901) p. 14

5. Source
None
6. Researcher
None
7. Year of Research
None
8. Notes
None
1. Full Date of Act
418
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)
Forced Conversions of Jews issued by Bishop Severus
3. Geography of Act
Present-day Spain
4. Text of Act

Commentary from other sources:
1)
Severus, the Bishop of Minorca, claimed to have forced 540 Jews to accept Christianity upon conquering the Island. This is the first we know of Jews on this Island as well as the first case of Jews being forced to convert or face expulsion.
“418 MAGONA ( Minorca- Balearic Islands off Spain’s eastern coast);” jewishhistory.org

5. Source
None
6. Researcher
None
7. Year of Research
None
8. Notes
None
1. Full Date of Act
423 C.E.
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)
Law issued by Theodosius II
3. Geography of Act
Present-day Italy [Provisional]
4. Text of Act

After other matters: Let no Jew dare to purchase Christian slaves. For we consider it a crime for devout slaves to be polluted from being owned by impious masters. But if any Jew has done this, then he will at once be found guilty and condemned according to the established punishment.

5. Source
“The Persecution of the Jews in the Roman Empire (300-428).” James Everett Seaver. 1952, Page 73; Accessed online 8/2/2011
6. Researcher
None
7. Year of Research
None
8. Notes
Editor
Author’s footnote dates this law in 423 as Theodosian Code 16.9.5
1. Full Date of Act
425
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)
Forced Conversion of Jews by St. Augustine and St. Jerome
3. Geography of Act
Roman Empire
4. Text of Act

Commentary from other sources: 1) St. Augustine and St. Jerome branded Judaism a corruption and called for the enslavement and severe persecution of Jews until they agreed to convert. “425 ST. AUGUSTINE AND ST. JEROME;” jewishhistory.org

5. Source
None
6. Researcher
None
7. Year of Research
None
8. Notes
None
1. Full Date of Act
Apr. 426
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)
“Inheritance Laws concerning Jewish Converts to Christianity” Issued by Emperors Theodosius II and Valentinian III
3. Geography of Act
Holy Roman Empire [Provisional]
4. Text of Act

If the son or daughter or grandchild, one or several, of a Jew or Samaritan, shall after mature consideration leave the shadows of his superstition for the light of the Christian religion, it shall not be lawful for his parents or grandparents to disinherit him or to pass him over in their will, or to leave him less than he would have received if they had died intestate…

5. Source
“The Persecution of the Jews in the Roman Empire (300-428).” James Everett Seaver. 1952, Page 64; Accessed online 8/2/2011
6. Researcher
None
7. Year of Research
None
8. Notes
Editor
Author’s footnote dates this law in 426 as Theodosian Code 16.8.28
1. Full Date of Act
451
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)
“Sabbath Abolished” decree ordered by Yazdegerd II
3. Geography of Act
Persia
4. Text of Act

Commentary from other sources: 1) Sassanian ruler Yazdegerd II of Persia’s decree abolishes the Sabbath and orders the execution of Jewish leaders, including the Exilarch Mar Nuna. Avraham, Yerachmiel Ben: All in the Name of Jesus: The Murder of Millions (2016)

5. Source
None
6. Researcher
None
7. Year of Research
None
8. Notes
None
1. Full Date of Act
455
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)
SABBATH ABOLISHED IN PERSIA
3. Geography of Act
Persia
4. Text of Act

Commentary from other sources: 1) King Jezdegerd II (Yazdegerd II), under the influence of the Zoroastrian priests, decided to ban Sabbath observance. […] “Jewish History;” Online article

5. Source
None
6. Researcher
None
7. Year of Research
None
8. Notes
None
1. Full Date of Act
461 C.E.
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)
“XII. Concerning the feasts of Jews” issued by the Council of Vannes
3. Geography of Act
Present-day France [Provisional]
4. Text of Act

“In the future, all clerics should avoid dining/feasting with Jews, nor are they to welcome them to a meal/feast. For they do not eat the common food of Christians, [and] it is shameful and sacrilegious for Christians to consume their food. Since the food that we eat, which the apostle approved, they consider unclean, if we accept what they (Jews) serve us and they hold that which we serve them in contempt, this could make the clerics seem inferior to Jews.”

5. Source
Lee, A. D.: Pagans and Christians in Late Antiquity. A sourcebook. (London/New York; 2000); Researched Ziba Shadjaani 5/22/2020
6. Researcher
None
7. Year of Research
None
8. Notes
None
1. Full Date of Act
465 C.E.
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)
Canon 12 issued by the Council of Vannes
3. Geography of Act
France [Provisional]
4. Text of Act

Canon 12…All clergy must avoid eating with Jews, nor should anyone entertain them to a meal. For they do not consume food in common with Christians, so it should be shameful and sacrilegious for Christians to eat their food; for what is allowed by the Apostle and what we consume they consider impure, and this clergy would be more unworthy than the Jews when we consume what they serve, while they despise what we offer.

5. Source
“Establishing Boundaries: Christian-Jewish relations in early council texts and the writings of Church Fathers.” F.J.E. Boddens Hosang. 2010, Page 150. Online book, Accessed 10/14/2011
6. Researcher
None
7. Year of Research
None
8. Notes
None
1. Full Date of Act
470
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)
Edict to Close Synagogues and Study Houses issued by King Firuz
3. Geography of Act
Persia
4. Text of Act

Commentary from other sources: 1) King Firuz (Pheroces/Peroz) (r. 457-484) added to the edicts of Jezdegerd II, by closing synagogues and study houses. “470 RAV HUNA V EXILARCH EXECUTED (Persia);” jewishhistory.org

5. Source
None
6. Researcher
None
7. Year of Research
None
8. Notes
None