The organization of the Hispanic Church in the 4th and 5th centuries

This study analyses the territorial organization of the Hispanic church in the fourth and fifth centuries. It reveals that in the complex configuration process of the Hispanic ecclesiastical map, criteria that matched the ecclesiastical order with the civil one prevailed. On only a few occasions did political, and/or personal factors, and/or the internal dynamics of the Church, influence the creation of episcopal sees or the consolidation of jurisdictional orders or territorial boundaries other than the civil ones. The Church also followed the provincial order, although the consolidation of the metropolitan authority in the province was problematic and late. The Hispanic ecclesiastical map was, therefore, versatile and reflects both situations of continuity and rupture with the late Roman civil order. This fact has to be taken into account to draw parallels and comparisons between the ecclesiastical and the civil territorial systems.