Fourth Toledo Council
Excommunicates Clergy Supporting Jews

One of the principal reasons for the slow but constant triumph of Jewish Imperialism in the last nineteen hundred years has been the short memory of Christians as well as pagans, who were always inclined to forget the past, and did not take into consideration that history is the instructor of life. The Jews were always able to gain control of the government offices and obtain great influence within Christian society, if they were successful by application of their indescribable skill in deceiving their neighbours, in attaining the confidence of Christian potentates, whether churchly or worldly.

This so greatly desired power was used by them in order to cause harm to those of generous heart, who had opened door and gates to them, since now they conspired with greater prospect of success against Holy Church or the Christian states. Thus we see that, once Reccared had died and the motives had been forgotten which justified the exclusion of Jews from public offices, the latter were again permitted to exercise these and they were permitted to fall back again into their wicked practices, which had brought about the just punitive measures of the Third Toledo Council.

In this manner they represented anew a grave problem in the Gothic kingdom. When therefore in the year 612 Sisebutus was elected through the votes of the Visigoth potentates and with approval of the Episcopate, he first attempted to call a halt to the abuses of the Jews by putting into effect the Canon of the 3rd Toledo Council, which, because of neglect or yielding by the previous government, was no longer practised, and by likewise most energetically refusing the Jews the right of being able to buy Christian slaves. J. Amador de los Rios confirms as follows:

"Sisebutus, firm in his efforts to separate the Jewish race from the Christian, by his removing every power of the former over the latter, commanded that the crown should permit the return of all incomes, gains or presents which they had accumulated through deceiving the Kings before him."

The historian in question reveals that Sisebutus with his zeal to put into application the statutes of Reccared in their entire extent, "gained for himself the approval of the Episcopate and the applause of Catholics" and, conversely, the tenacious opposition of the Israelites, "who already showed the hard attributes of Jewish infamy."

Finally, Sisebutus resolved to grasp the evil by its roots, and to remove from the Imperium this community of disgraceful aliens, who left in peace neither the Visigoth nation nor the Hispanic-Latin believers and hence represented a lasting threat for church and state. He therefore announced a fulminant edict, which uttered the expulsion of all members of the Jewish race from the kingdom. However, he committed the cardinal blunder of excluding from this statute those who confessed to Catholicism, so that the majority preferred to remain and allow themselves to be baptised. As the Jewish historian Cecil Roth has reported, such conversions were pretended and consequently only served to replace Judaism practised in public as their religion by one cultivated in secret, as a result of which a strengthened Fifth Column grew up which represented a much more dangerous organisation than that of open Jewry.

The Jesuit historian Mariana says, when he speaks about this general conversion of Iberian Jews, that a great number of Jews had themselves baptised with proclamation of this decree, "of which some were conversions from conviction and the majority hypocritical." Mariana further elaborates that the Jews who received water of baptism, in order to evade the edict of Sisebutus, "followed anew and with greater zeal the confession of belief of their elders" upon the latter's death in the year 621.

The faulty memory of Christian rulers, which has been so grave in its consequences and of such advantage for the Jews, brought with it the fact that the Christians and pagans in the course of history, forgot the lessons of the past and fell into the old faults of wishing to bring the terrible Jewish problem towards a solution through conversion. Thus they admittedly ordered the expulsion of the Fifth Column, but at the same time left the escape valve of conversion open, so that things were merely made worse. For the majority preferred to remain and to falsely convert themselves into good Christians, whereby a Fifth Column grew up, which refined itself more and more, took effect in secret and therefore became more dangerous.

The expulsion of all Jews from the Gothic kingdom would have signified a solution of the problem, if it had been carried out totally, and the possibilities had not been made clear for the Jews to retain a loophole through their apparent conversions.

The expulsion would have been justified on the other side; for the owners of a house have always the right to show a guest the door, who, far removed from giving thanks for the hospitality enjoyed, sets himself to rob his hosts of their property or to cause them difficulties.

The commentary which the Jew Graetz makes, referring to the expulsion edict of Sisebutus, is characteristic in this respect, when he says, that "Sisebutus, by means of this fanatical persecution, cleared the way for the dissolution of the Visigoth kingdom." Undoubtedly he here refers to the fact that the complicity of the Jews favoured the triumph of the Mohammedan invaders. The fact is that the Jews had not ceased, since the conversion of the Visigoths to Catholicism and their abjuration of Arianism, to conspire against the new position of things.

If there existed a fault on the part of Sisebutus or his successors, then it was that of not expelling completely the conspiratorial aliens who had infiltrated into the land, which in fact favoured from within outwards the Arabic conquest. Without Jews on Gothic soil this service of espionage would not have been able to be performed and the handing over of fortified places as well as the desertion of troops in the army of Roderich would not have been able to be effected, as the Jews were successful in doing. It was the fault of the Goths that the possibility was left open to the Jewish Fifth Column by means of a pretence of a false conversion to remain further on their soil; for it is always dangerous to allow the activity of any kind of Fifth Column.

It is very important to establish that Sisebutus was certainly conscious of the lack of strength on the part of the Christians, of pursuing throughout history a firm policy towards their enemies, as well as the faulty memory of the peoples in relation to the lessons of the past. Therefore he did everything humanly possible to prevent his successors falling into the traps of the skilled deceptive manoeuvres on the part of cunning Jewish diplomacy and renouncing the laws which he had enacted for defence of the Church and of the State. The legislation created by him for this purpose, which was incorporated in the Fuero Juzgo, was impressed upon the hearts of his successors by Sisebutus himself, so that the latter applied all strictness in the following of the anti-Jewish laws; with the punishment of seeing themselves deprived of rights for lifetime, as well as with death, to be thrust out of the host of believers in Christ and cast among the Jews so that the raging flames of Hell licked them eternally.

And Sisebutus, who well knew the chronic faults of the Christian dignitaries, did not err in this. Scarcely was he dead, than the new King Swintila soon fell a victim to the smooth diplomacy of the Jews, who have the special gift of injecting confidence in their future victims, by their lulling them through an extremely hearty treatment and hypocritically pretending to show a friendship and loyalty, which covers their black plans and allows them to appear as victims of the most disgraceful injustices.

With their classical methods of deception they were successful in winning Swintila for themselves, who disregarded the admonitions of Sisebutus to his successors not to alter the anti-Jewish laws for the defence of the kingdom, and who did not know how to cast his curse against those who disavowed the said laws. He lifted the entire anti-Jewish legislation and with it the edict of expulsion of the Jews, so that the untrue converts, if they wished, could again publicly practise their Jewish cult, as well as return to the land from which they had been driven out.

The Jew Graetz, who is better acquainted in the internal matters of Jewry than Father Mariana, says in this connection the following: "In spite of baptism the converted Jews had not given up their religion." He thus does not make Mariana's allusion, that, although the majority pretended conversion, there were nevertheless some who did it from inner conviction. On the other hand, Graetz further elaborates that in the epoch of the Semite-ophile King Swintila:

". . . the act of baptism was regarded as sufficient, and none bothered to make enquiry as to whether the converts retained their old habits and practices. The noble King Swintila was naturally dethroned through a conspiracy of the nobility and clergy, who placed Sisenand in his place, who was a willing tool of theirs."

Here the Jew Graetz mentions a condition which represents the ideal for the false converts from Jewry and which consists in that they already transformed themselves into true Christians through baptism, without anyone bothering to investigate whether the converts and their descendants still adhered in secret to the Jewish cult. This is exactly the situation today of the descendants of the false converts, who enjoy freedom of action as powerful Fifth Column within the Church and cause Christianity colossal harm, without anyone setting up a real investigation, in order to establish who practises Judaism in secret.

Conversely, at other epochs of the Visigoth monarchy, watch was kept with Argus eyes over the converts and their descendants, in order to discover who of them still carried on Judaism. It is natural that, under the protection and shield of Swintila, the Jews again accumulated great power within the kingdom and brought the Christian Church anew into danger. This explains and justifies the secret measures of the Catholic clergy, in order to overthrow the traitorous monarch, who, as is to be expected, is praised as good and liberal by the Jews.

Leader in this new struggle against the Synagogue of Satan was Saint Isidore of Seville, another of the most renowned Fathers of the Church, who, after the fall of the unfaithful Swintila and the crowning of Sisenand, organised and directed the Fourth Toledo Council, which was highly authorised in Church doctrine.

The greatest difficulty in this situation was that those who had gone over to Judaism, and their descendants, followed their old tradition and allowed their sons to enter into the Catholic priesthood, as a result of which they could even rise and occupy the bishops' chairs, which thus served to provide the Jews with aid in their conspiracies against the Catholic faith. This is the typical case of activity of the Jewish Fifth Column which had infiltrated into the Church, whose destructive activity can be traced up to our days.

In other cases the Jews took refuge in that system which had commenced with their predecessor, the Jew Simon the Magician, by buying the favour of the clergy who, although they were not secret Jews, sold their support to the cause of the Devil; exactly as their forerunner Judas Iscariot had done as one of the chosen Twelve. The treachery which had made itself noticeable up into the highest offices of Holy Church, called forth the alarm of the Fourth Toledo Council and its leader, Saint Isidore of Seville. Upon the Metropolitans and Bishops assembled there fell the task of laying down in the Holy Canons a series of statutes which not only had the aim of countering the Jewish threat at this time, but also of banning and punishing the treachery in the high clergy, which was most dangerous of all for Holy Church and the Christian states.

Thus among the Canons passed for this purpose the following stand out:

"Canon 58: Concerning those who show support and favour to the Jews against the faith of Christ. The avarice of some is so great that they therefore separate themselves from the faith, just as the Apostle expressed it; just as even many among the clergy and laity accept presents from the Jews and aid their perfidy, in that they allow them to enjoy their protection; to those, of whom one knows not without reasons, that they belong to the body of the Antichrist, since they work against Christ. Every bishop, priest or layman, who in the future grants support to them (the Jews) against the Christian faith, be it through briberies or favours, shall be regarded as profane and blaspheming God. He shall be excluded from the Communion of the Catholic Church and be regarded as not belonging to the kingdom of Cod; for it is no more than right that those who reveal themselves as protectors of the enemies of the Lord be separated from the body of Christ."

The threat which had arisen for the Church and Christian society, must have been very great on grounds of the complicity of the Bishops and Priests with the Jews, these eternal enemies of Christianity. This is the reason, why the wise Saint Isidore of Seville had to expose them before the Council which consisted of Metropolitans and Bishops, in this quoted Canon, and called those Bishops and Priests who supported the Jews profane and blasphemous, whereby they at the same time threatened them with the punishment of excommunication.

May this be borne in mind by all those clergy and highest dignitaries of the Church, who, instead of serving Holy Church, at present prefer to give free rein to the Jews, these principal enemies of Christ, or to Jewish enterprises like Freemasonry and Communism. And they should give account concerning the great responsibility, which weighs upon them, as well as the grave sins, which they commit as a result.

As is known, the Toledo Councils enjoyed great regard within the Holy Catholic Church, and their edicts even found entry into civil law. Thus the statutes and penalties of the aforementioned Canon were taken over in the Fuero Juzgo, which was proclaimed with approval of Holy Church. In article XV, Title II, Book XII of Law 15 it is stated:

"So that the cheating by the Jews does not have the power to broaden itself in any kind of form and to govern according to its choice; over which we have always to watch. Therefore we stipulate in this law that no man of any religion, or spiritual order, or any dignity, or of our Court, either great or small, nor any kind of people, nor any kind of line, neither princes nor potentates should strive accordingly, to protect the Jews, who will not allow themselves to be baptised, in order to hold firm to their beliefs and their customs. Nor those who have been baptised but return to their perfidy or their bad customs. None should risk to defend them in their malice with his strength in any kind of way. No one should attempt to help them, neither by means of arguments nor deeds, so that they may not be able to agitate against the holy belief of Christians. Neither shall anyone in secret or in public undertake anything against the faith. Should anyone accordingly risk this, whether he be bishop, priest, member of an order or lay brother, and if proof is shown against him, then he shall be separated from the community of Christians, excommunicated by the Church and a quarter of his properly declared to be confiscated in favour of the King."

In this form in those critical times Holy Church as well as the Catholic State enacted sanctions and in fact the former with the approval of the first-named, against the accomplices of Jewry within the Church and the high dignitaries of the clergy itself.

In order to come back now to the Fourth Toledo Council, we now reproduce, what Canon 50 orders, which refers directly to the Jews, who after their going over to Christianity were revealed in their secret practices of Jewish belief. About this the Canon in question expressly states:

"Canon 50: Many Jews took on the Christian faith for a certain time and now give themselves, by slandering Christ, not only up to the Jewish rites, but even go so far as to carry out the repellent act of circumcision. In reference to these Jews and upon proposal of the highly devout and highly religious Lord, our King Sisenand, this Holy Council decrees that the said converts, after they have been purified through the Papal authority, are again conducted into the care of the Christian dogma; but those, who do not better themselves from their own decision, should be restrained by clerical punishment. And relating to the circumcised, it is ordered that, if it is a matter of their own sons, then they shall be separated from their parents; but if it is a matter of slaves, then they shall be granted freedom on account of the injury done to their body."

Although both Cecil Roth as well as other Jewish authors assure us that the conversions were, according to their nature, pretended, and in this they agree with the Jesuit historian Mariana and with what is laid down in various mediaeval documents of undoubted proof, then the Church at least in the early periods held every converted Jew to be a serious Christian, as long as it was not proved that he practised Jewish rites in secret.

Later, all Israelites were under suspicion of crypto-Judaism who had gone over to Christianity as well as their descendants, since proof could be provided that with few exceptions all pretended their conversion and transferred their secret religion from father to son. It therefore in no way astonishes us that, in the aforementioned Canon 59, measures were seized upon, in order to prevent the crypto-Jews, i.e. the untrue converts, from transferring Hebrew rites to their sons, and the latter were separated from them for this purpose. For the same purpose the Council in question passed its 60th Canon, which according to its compiler, Tejada Ramiro, refers to the so-called backsliding Jews, i.e. to the Christians, who fell back into the crimes of secret practice of Jewish belief. The said Canon elaborates:

"Canon 60: It is ordered that the sons and daughters of Jews, so that in the future they may not fall into the error of their fathers, be separated from their parents and entrusted to a monastery or to Christian men and women, who fear God, so that in their education they learn the cult of the faith and, better instructed, make progress in customs and beliefs."

As one can recognise, these Canons were chiefly conceived in order to destroy the Jewish Fifth Column which had infiltrated into the Church, be it by means of punishments of the false crypto-Jewish Christians or through the attempt to prevent the latter handing on the secret rites to their sons. It was and remains highly dangerous for the Church to have in its ranks members of the Jewish sect who, disguised as good Catholics, make efforts to destroy Christianity. For this means to have the foe in their own ranks, and no one has called into question the right that every human society possesses to render harmless the espionage service of enemy powers or to get rid of saboteurs. The measures seized upon by Holy Church, in order to ward off Jewish infiltrations, which attempted to undermine it externally, were fully justified, even if they may also appear very strict; exactly the same as those, which every modern nation seizes upon, in order to eliminate espionage or sabotage of a hostile power.

History has proved, that even if open Jewry was expelled and despised in many nations, that crypto-Jewry nevertheless lived on under the mask of Christianity. It was always held to be logical, that the intercourse of converted Jews with those who practised their cult in public, was harmful, since the latter could influence the first-named to fall back into Judaism. Canon 62 of the Holy Council mentioned deals with the banning of this danger:

"Canon 62: Concerning the baptised Jews, who have dealings with the false believing Jews. If association with the bad often in fact destroys the good, with how much more probability will the former be destroyed by the latter, who incline to blasphemy. Therefore, from now on, the Jews converted to Christianity must carry on no association with those who still adhere to the old Rite, so that they do not become perverted by them. Whoever in consequence does not avoid this association, will be punished as follows: if he is a baptised Jew, he shall be handed over to the Christians, and if he is not baptised, he shall be publicly whipped."

Canon 64 rejects the capacity of giving witness and in fact here not by the open Jews, but by the crypto-Jewish Christians. Up to then the Christian law had solely refused the open Jews the right of bearing witness against Christians, but Canon 64 forms an innovation, since it also denies to Christians still practising the Jewish cult in secret, the capacity of bearing witness:

"Canon 64: Whoever has been untrue to God, cannot be faithful to men. Therefore the Jews, who became Christians and again fell away from the faith of Christ, shall not be permitted as witnesses; and not even then if they declare to be Christians. Just as one mistrusts them relating to the belief in Christ, so shall one suspect them else in earthly evidence. . ."

More logical the proof given by the Council Fathers could not be; for it is logical that, if they lie in things of God, they likewise speak untruth in earthly things. On the other side, one sees clearly that both Saint Isidore of Seville as well as the Metropolitans and Bishops of the Council knew best of all the lasting distortions and falsities that had become second nature of the false crypto-Jewish Catholics. The same one can say of many today, who swear to be Catholics but act as Israelites.

In spite of this violent defensive struggle on the part of the Church and of the Christian state against the dangerous infiltration by the Jewish Fifth Column, the latter must have obtained further government offices. Particularly during the desolate period of government of the Semitophile Swintila this development attained such a dangerous degree that both the Catholic Monarch on the throne and also the Holy Toledo Council resolved to make an end of the situation. So in their Holy Canons they uttered the express ban, which refused the Jews the right to occupy public offices within Christian society.

"Canon 65: Upon command of our illustrious Lord and King Sisenand, this Holy Council lays down that the Jews, or those who are of their race, may occupy no public offices, because through this they would insult the Christians. Therefore the judges in the provinces in common with the priests should make an end to these cunning deceptions and forbid them to occupy public offices. But if, in spite of this, a judge grants his approval to anything of the like, then he shall be excommunicated as a blasphemer and be accused of 'fraud' and be publicly whipped."

Canon 66 expressly calls the Jews "Servants of the Antichrist", just as another already quoted Canon said of the bishops and priests who helped the Jews that they formed part of the body of the Antichrist.

It is worthy of note that Canon 65 adds an innovation to the laws of the Catholic Church in that admittance is not only blocked to declared Jews to government offices, but to all those who belong to their race.

This must not be interpreted as racial discrimination; for Holy Church regards all men as equal before God, without discrimination of race. But since the conviction, repeatedly substantiated through facts, predominated that Christians of Jewish race with few exceptions secretly practised the Jewish cult, it was logical that one attempted to prevent the infiltration of crypto-Jews into the government offices. This was a vitally important defensive measure by the Christian state, since, if the latter had once been ruled by its deadly enemies, who are simultaneously the principal foes of Holy Church, both institutions would have come into gravest danger.

To block the door to government of the state to aggressive or converted Jews, was not only prudent but indispensable to protect it from the powerful Fifth Column which at a given moment could cause its collapse. Thus it came about in catastrophic degree when a weak-minded leader of the state, who violated these Laws of the Church and those announced by his predecessors, cleared anew the possibility for the Israelites to gain control of the leading posts in the Gothic kingdom. This law of public security is without doubt the predecessor of further most energetic and far-reaching laws, which Holy Catholic Church passed many hundreds of centuries later.

It is interesting to establish that Saint Isidore of Seville in his struggle against Judaism wrote two books against the Hebrews, which, according to Graetz, were compiled "with that lack of taste and feeling that distinguished the Fathers of the Church from the beginning in their warring polemics against Jewry". It is entirely natural that the anti-Jewish books of the Church Fathers do not please the Jews, but one must understand that the Israelites obscure the historical truth. Also they attempt to destroy the honour of all those who have fought against them, even if it is a question of such holy, learned and excellent men as the Church Fathers are.

It is completely beyond doubt that, if Saint Isidore of Seville as well as the Metropolitans and Bishops of the Fourth Toledo Council had lived in our days, they would immediately have been accused of antisemitism or criminal racism; and in fact not only by the Jews, but also by the clergy, who give themselves out as Christians, but in reality stand in the service of Jewry.