Council of Sardica (343)

A council called by the emperors Constans and Constantius to Sardica (Sofia) in 343 to settle the case of Athanasius; the Eastern bishops withdrew to Philippopolis and the Western bishops under Hosius of Cordova went on alone. Its twenty-one canons include the first written provision for a deposed bishop's appeal to the bishop of Rome, and they were later cited by the popes as if they were canons of Nicaea.