Reims, located in the north-east of modern France, hosted several councils or synods in the Roman Catholic Church. These councils did not universally represent the church and are not counted among the official ecumenical councils. Early synodal councils of Reims The first synod, said to have been held at Reims by Archbishop Sonnatius between 624 and 630, is probably identical with that held at Clichy (Clippiacum) in 626 or 627. In 813 Archbishop Wulfar presided at a synod of reform (Werminghoff in "Mon. Germ. Hist.: Concilia aevi Carol. I", I, Hanover, 1904, 253 sq.). Council of Reims, 991 A council, usually called the Synod of St-Basle, was convoked at Reims by King Hugues Capet, assisted by Gerbert of Aurillac, later Pope Sylvester II, to consider the case of Arnulf, Archbishop of Reims, illegitimate son of the late King Lothair. Arnulf was accused of conspiring with his uncle, Charles, Duke of Lower Lorraine, against Hugh Capet. He was duly deposed by the council, and Gerbert appointed in his place. This was done without the approval of Pope John XV, who refused to accept either Arnulf's removal or Gerbert's appointment. The matter dragged on until 995 when Arnulf was restored, and was only completely resolved by Pope Gregory V in 997. In a book written in the 1890s, by Alonzo T Jones, it is stated of the Council of Rheims in 991, the papacy is declared to be "the man of sin, the mystery of iniquity". Taken from The Consecrated Way to Christian Perfection, pp 105 Glad Tidings Publishers; Berrien Springs, MI. Copyright 2003 ISBN 1-931218-68-4 wherein this subject is vastly expounded upon. Council of Reims, 1049 In 1049 Pope Leo IX was invited to be present at the consecration of the church of Abbey of Saint-Remi at Reims. He accepted the invitation and announced that he would at the same time hold a council. This irritated King Henry I of France, since it was generally held that no pope could hold a council in Kingdom of France without first consulting the king, which Leo IX had neglected to do. Consequently, in order to frustrate Leo IX, Henry I ordered all of his vassals to attend a feudal levy at the very time that the council was to be held. This placed the bishops and abbots in France in a very difficult position: they were ordered by Leo IX to attend the