Church Councils

Issues and problems of the Catholic Church were discussed at councils, which were lengthy meetings of international significance attended by ecclesiasts such as abbots and bishops. Their decisions were supposed to be binding, even on the pope. Because the councils were of such long duration, attendees usually were from the moneyed classes or were subsidized by wealthy individuals or institutions. Representatives to the councils sometimes had to leave for months at a time to attend to business elsewhere, a circumstance that often shifted the power structure for those remaining. During the 15th century, the Councils of Constance, Basel, and Florence were the most important. During the 16th century, the Council of Lateran V and the Council of Trent were especially noteworthy.

COUNCIL OF CONSTANCE (1414-1418)

The Council of Constance opened with three popes claiming the papal throne, its main purpose to heal the Great Schism in the Catholic Church. After all three popes were deposed, the council elected Pope Martin V (1368-1431) in 1417. Its other goals were to stamp out heresy and to begin certain reforms, for example, in the Franciscan order. The actions against heresy included the desecration of the corpse of the English reformer John Wycliffe (c. 1328-84) and the trial and burning at the stake of Bohemian dissenter Jan Hus (c. 1372-1415).

COUNCIL OF BASEL (1431-1449, WITH SEVERAL BREAKS)

Besides being the longest church council of the Renaissance, the Council of Basel is remembered for asserting its authority over the papacy. Not long after the council opened, the pope ordered it closed to protect his supremacy, but in vain. With the support of the emperor, the Republic of Venice, and other secular powers, those who attended reaffirmed the council’s right to determine ecclesiastical policy. This attitude was part of the conciliar movement of the Renaissance by which church councils became the supreme authority in church matters. An important aspect of this movement was that councils would meet regularly, regardless of whether the pope agreed. Because of the pope’s hostility, the Council of Basel went so far as to elect an antipope, but he abdicated when the council closed in 1449. Those who attended the council voted that those council members who had elected the antipope were to be excommunicated for heresy.

COUNCIL OF FLORENCE (COUNCIL OF FERRARA-FLORENCE, 1438-1445)

Opening in Ferrara, the Council of Florence moved to Florence in 1439, then to Rome in 1442. Convened for the purpose of attempting to unite the Byzantine Church with the Roman Church, this council originally had been part of the Council of Basel. The delegates from Greece, however, requested a location closer to their homeland. The eastern emperor John VIII Palaeologus (1390-1448) was in attendance with his retinue. He was inclined to agree with the council’s decisions because he desperately needed military aid against the Turks. Disputed points of doctrine were settled fairly easily, but the issue of papal authority over the Byzantine

Religion

Church eventually caused the synod in Byzantium to reject the decree of unification. The Council of Florence established the principle of papal supremacy not only over the Byzantine Church, but also over any future councils.

COUNCIL OF LATERAN V (1512-1517)

Held in the Lateran Basilica in Rome, the Fifth Lat-eran Council (as it is also called) was convened by Pope Julius II to countermand the ineffective but schismatic Council of Pisa. The latter council (1511-12), instigated by the king of France, Louis XII (1462-1515), and initially supported by Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I (1459-1519), attempted to depose Julius II. Julius died in 1513, and his successor, Leo X (Giovanni de’ Medici, 1475-1521), vowed to continue the Fifth Lateran Council and set aside any decisions made by the Council of Pisa. An average of approximately 110 prelates attended this council, which was obviously considered an important undertaking in the eyes of the Catholic Church. Besides confirming articles of faith, such as the soul’s individuality, this council created a commission for ecclesiastical reform and launched the plans for a crusade against the Turks. This crusade may have served to unify Christian Europe more than any other accomplishment of the council.

While this council was in process, Leo issued the sale of an indulgence in 1516 that would become a crucial focus for Luther’s protests. The Council of Latern V closed, however, in March 1517, seven months before Luther posted his Ninety-five Theses on the Wittenberg church door. This council could not have foreseen that Protestantism would develop into a major confrontation that should have been addressed by its members.

COUNCIL OF TRENT (1545-1563, WITH SEVERAL LONG BREAKS)

The Council of Trent (Trento, Italy) was the first major Counter-Reformation council of the 16th century. Its focus was on countering the threat of Protestantism and reforming the church from within. The council opened in the hope that the Lutherans, Calvinists, and Zwinglians might be drawn back into the Catholic Church, but issues such as transubstan-tiation of the Eucharist (see pages 38-39) made this goal unattainable. Reconciliation would no longer be possible. Plans for internal reform of the Catholic Church were more successful, with revisions of the Vulgate Bible, catechism, breviary, and missal accomplished before the end of the century. The Congregation of the Index, for the Index of Prohibited Books, was also established. Pope Pius IV (1499-1565) spent the last few years of his pontificate directing the Council of Trent, publishing its doctrinal decisions in a bull of 1564.