1.
Pope Innocent III
–
Pope Innocent III reigned from 8 January 1198 to his death. His birth name was Lotario dei Conti di Segni, sometimes anglicised to Lothar of Segni, Pope Innocent was one of the most powerful and influential popes. He exerted an influence over the Christian states of Europe. Pope Innocent was central in supporting the Catholic Churchs reforms of ecclesiastical affairs through his decretals and this resulted in a considerable refinement of Western canon law. Pope Innocent is notable for using interdict and other censures to compel princes to obey his decisions, Innocent called for Christian crusades against Muslim Spain and the Holy Land, as well as the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathars in southern France. One of Pope Innocents critical decisions was organizing the Fourth Crusade, originally intended to attack Jerusalem through Egypt, a series of unforeseen circumstances led the crusaders to Constantinople, where they ultimately sacked the city in 1204. Lotario de Conti was born in Gavignano, near Anagni and his father was Count Trasimund of Segni and was a member of a famous house, Conti, which produced nine Popes, including Gregory IX, Alexander IV and Innocent XIII. Lotario was the nephew of Pope Clement III, his mother, as Pope, Lotario was to play a major role in the shaping of canon law through conciliar canons and decretal letters. He subscribed the papal bulls between 7 December 1190 and 4 November 1197, as a cardinal, Lotario wrote De miseria humanae conditionis. The work was popular for centuries, surviving in more than 700 manuscripts. Although he never returned to the work he intended to write, On the Dignity of Human Nature. Celestine III died on 8 January 1198 and he was only thirty-seven years old at the time. He took the name Innocent III, maybe as a reference to his predecessor Innocent II, as pope, Innocent III began with a very wide sense of his responsibility and of his authority. The Muslim recapture of Jerusalem in 1187 was to him a divine judgment on the moral lapses of Christian princes and he was also determined to protect what he called the liberty of the Church from inroads by secular princes. The patrimonium was routinely threatened by Hohenstaufen German kings who, as Roman emperors, the early death of Henry VI left his 4-year-old son Frederick II as king. Henry VI’s widow Constance of Sicily ruled over Sicily for her son before he reached the age of majority. She was as eager to remove German power from the kingdom of Sicily as was Innocent III, before her death in 1198, she named Innocent as guardian of the young Frederick until he reached his maturity. In exchange, Innocent was also able to recover papal rights in Sicily that had been surrendered decades earlier to King William I of Sicily by Pope Adrian IV, the Pope invested the young Frederick II as King of Sicily in November 1198
Pope Innocent III
–
Pope Innocent III
Pope Innocent III
–
John of England signs
Magna Carta. Illustration from Cassell's History of England (1902)
Pope Innocent III
–
Innocent launched the
Albigensian Crusade against the Cathars.
Pope Innocent III
–
Burning of the Waldensians. Toulouse in the 13th century.
2.
Patriarch
–
Originally, a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family. The system of rule of families by senior males is termed patriarchy. The word patriarch originally acquired its religious meaning in the Septuagint version of the Bible, today, the word has acquired specific ecclesiastical meanings. In particular, the bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church. The office and the circumscription of such a patriarch is termed a patriarchate. Historically, a patriarch has often been the choice to act as ethnarch of the community identified with his religious confession within a state or empire of a different creed. He included in this also the western part of North Africa. Justinians system was given formal recognition by the Quinisext Council of 692. Popes have in the past occasionally used the title Patriarch of the West, beginning 1863, this title appeared in the annual reference publication, Annuario Pontificio, which in 1885 became a semi-official publication of the Holy See. This publication suppressed the title in its 2006 edition, the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity explained the decision in a press release issued later that year. It stated that the title Patriarch of the West had become obsolete and practically unusable, since the Second Vatican Council, the Latin Church, with which the title could be considered associated, is now organized as a number of episcopal conferences and their international groupings. The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem The Patriarch of the East Indies a titular see, united to Goa. The Patriarch of Aquileia – with rival line of succession moved to Grado - dissolved in 1752, the Patriarch of Grado – in 1451 merged with the Bishopric of Castello and Venice to form the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Venice. The Patriarch of the West Indies – a titular patriarchal see, the Latin Patriarch of Antioch – title abolished in 1964. The titular Latin Patriarch of Alexandria – title abolished in 1964, the Latin Patriarch of Constantinople – title abolished in 1964.02.24 to Alessandro Cescenzi, Somascans, former Latin Titular Patriarch of Alexandria, who resigned the title on 1682.01.09. However, differences exist in the order of precedence and in the mode of accession, no papal confirmation is needed for newly elected patriarchs before they take office. They are just required to petition the pope as soon as possible for the concession of what is called ecclesiastical communion, the five ancient Patriarchates, the Pentarchy, in order of preeminence ranked by the Quinisext Council in 692. The title of patriarch created in 531 by Justinian. The Patriarch of the West, currently not an Episcopal or Patriarchal authority in the Eastern Orthodox Church, following the Great Schism in 1054
Patriarch
–
Saint Peter
Patriarch
–
Map of Justinian's Pentarchy, with almost all of modern Greece under Rome.
Patriarch
–
Melkite Catholic Patriarch
Gregory III Laham of Antioch with Archbishop Jules Joseph Zerey
Patriarch
–
Virgin Mary
3.
Bishop
–
A bishop is an ordained, consecrated, or appointed member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within these churches, bishops are seen as those who possess the full priesthood, Some Protestant churches including the Lutheran and Methodist churches have bishops serving similar functions as well, though not always understood to be within apostolic succession in the same way. Priests, deacons and lay ministers cooperate and assist their bishop in shepherding a flock, the earliest organization of the Church in Jerusalem was, according to most scholars, similar to that of Jewish synagogues, but it had a council or college of ordained presbyters. In, we see a system of government in Jerusalem chaired by James the Just. In, the Apostle Paul ordains presbyters in churches in Anatolia, in Timothy and Titus in the New Testament a more clearly defined episcopate can be seen. We are told that Paul had left Timothy in Ephesus and Titus in Crete to oversee the local church, Paul commands Titus to ordain presbyters/bishops and to exercise general oversight, telling him to rebuke with all authority. Early sources are unclear but various groups of Christian communities may have had the bishop surrounded by a group or college functioning as leaders of the local churches, eventually, as Christendom grew, bishops no longer directly served individual congregations. Instead, the Metropolitan bishop appointed priests to each congregation. Around the end of the 1st century, the organization became clearer in historical documents. While Ignatius of Antioch offers the earliest clear description of monarchial bishops he is an advocate of monepiscopal structure rather than describing an accepted reality. To the bishops and house churches to which he writes, he offers strategies on how to pressure house churches who dont recognize the bishop into compliance. Other contemporary Christian writers do not describe monarchial bishops, either continuing to equate them with the presbyters or speaking of episkopoi in a city, plainly therefore we ought to regard the bishop as the Lord Himself — Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians 6,1. Your godly bishop — Epistle of Ignatius to the Magnesians 2,1, therefore as the Lord did nothing without the Father, either by Himself or by the Apostles, so neither do ye anything without the bishop and the presbyters. — Epistle of Ignatius to the Magnesians 7,1. Be obedient to the bishop and to one another, as Jesus Christ was to the Father, and as the Apostles were to Christ and to the Father, — Epistle of Ignatius to the Magnesians 13,2. Apart from these there is not even the name of a church, — Epistle of Ignatius to the Trallesians 3,1. Follow your bishop, as Jesus Christ followed the Father, and the presbytery as the Apostles, and to the deacons pay respect, as to Gods commandment — Epistle of Ignatius to the Smyrnans 8,1. He that honoureth the bishop is honoured of God, he that doeth aught without the knowledge of the bishop rendereth service to the devil — Epistle of Ignatius to the Smyrnans 9,1
Bishop
–
A 6th-century image of
Saint Augustine, bishop of
Hippo Regius.
Bishop
–
Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, student of
John the Apostle
Bishop
–
A bishop with other officials on an 11th-century grave in
Sweden.
Bishop
–
Johann Otto von Gemmingen,
Prince-Bishop of Augsburg
4.
Abbot
–
Abbot, meaning father, is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as a title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The word is derived from the Aramaic av meaning father or abba, in the Septuagint, it was written as abbas. At first it was employed as a title for any monk. The title abbot came into general use in western monastic orders whose members include priests. An abbot is the head and chief governor of a community of monks, the English version for a female monastic head is abbess. In Egypt, the first home of monasticism, the jurisdiction of the abbot, or archimandrite, was, sometimes he ruled over only one community, sometimes over several, each of which had its own abbot as well. Saint John Cassian speaks of an abbot of the Thebaid who had 500 monks under him, by the Rule of St Benedict, which, until the Cluniac reforms, was the norm in the West, the abbot has jurisdiction over only one community. Monks, as a rule, were laymen, nor at the outset was the abbot any exception, for the reception of the sacraments, and for other religious offices, the abbot and his monks were commanded to attend the nearest church. This rule proved inconvenient when a monastery was situated in a desert or at a distance from a city, the change spread more slowly in the West, where the office of abbot was commonly filled by laymen till the end of the 7th century. The ecclesiastical leadership exercised by abbots despite their frequent lay status is proved by their attendance, thus at the first Council of Constantinople, AD448,23 archimandrites or abbots sign, with 30 bishops. The second Council of Nicaea, AD787, recognized the right of abbots to ordain their monks to the inferior orders below the diaconate, abbots used to be subject to episcopal jurisdiction, and continued generally so, in fact, in the West till the 11th century. The Code of Justinian expressly subordinates the abbot to episcopal oversight, in the 12th century, the abbots of Fulda claimed precedence of the archbishop of Cologne. It has been maintained that the right to wear mitres was sometimes granted by the popes to abbots before the 11th century, but the documents on which this claim is based are not genuine. The first undoubted instance is the bull by which Alexander II in 1063 granted the use of the mitre to Egelsinus, abbot of the monastery of St Augustine at Canterbury. Of these the precedence was yielded to the abbot of Glastonbury, until in AD1154 Adrian IV granted it to the abbot of St Albans, next after the abbot of St Albans ranked the abbot of Westminster and then Ramsey. Of course, they always and everywhere had the power of admitting their own monks, the power of the abbot was paternal but absolute, limited, however, by the canon law. One of the goals of monasticism was the purgation of self and selfishness
Abbot
–
Saint Peter
Abbot
–
St.
Dominic of Silos enthroned as abbot (Hispano-Flemish Gothic 15th century)
Abbot
–
Coptic icon of St.
Pachomius, the founder of
cenobitic monasticism.
Abbot
–
Carving of St.
Benedict of Nursia, holding an abbot's
crozier and his
Rule for Monasteries (Münsterschwarzach, Germany).
5.
Crusader States
–
The name also refers to other territorial gains made by medieval Christendom against Muslim and pagan adversaries. The Crusader States in the Levant were the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the Principality of Antioch, the County of Tripoli, the Eastern Romans, or Byzantines, partially recovered lost territory on numerous occasions but over time gradually lost all but Anatolia and parts of Thrace and the Balkans. In the West, the Roman Catholic kingdoms of northern Iberia launched a series of known as the Reconquista to reconquer the peninsula from the Arabized Berbers known as Moors. The conquered Iberian principalities are not customarily called Crusader states, except for the Kingdom of Valencia, professor Barber indicates that, in the Crusader State of the Kingdom of Jerusalem the Holy Sepulchre was added to in the 7th century and rebuilt in 1022, after a previous collapse. The situation represented an existential threat for the Eastern Orthodox Byzantine Empire. The Emperor sent a plea to the Pope in Rome to send military aid with the goal of restoring the formerly Christian territories to Christian rule, the result was a series of western European military campaigns into the eastern Mediterranean, known as the Crusades. The first four Crusader states were created in the Levant immediately after the First Crusade, The first Crusader state, the Principality of Antioch, founded in 1098, lasted until 1268. The Kingdom of Jerusalem, founded in 1099, lasted until 1291, the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia had its origins before the Crusades, but was granted the status of a kingdom by Pope Innocent III, and later became fully westernized by the Lusignan dynasty. During the Third Crusade, the Crusaders founded the Kingdom of Cyprus, Richard I of England conquered Cyprus on his way to Holy Land. The Templars promptly returned the island to Richard who resold it to the displaced King of Jerusalem Guy of Lusignan in 1192. For much of its history under the Lusignan Kings, Cyprus was a prosperous Medieval Kingdom, the Kingdoms decline began when it became embroiled in the dispute between the Italian Merchant Republics of Genoa and Venice. Indeed, the Kingdoms decline can be traced to a war with Genoa in 1373–74 which ended with the Genoese occupying the principal port City of Famagusta. Eventually with the help of Venice, the Kingdom recovered Famagusta but by then it was too late and in any event, venetian rule over Cyprus lasted for just over 80 years until 1571, when the Ottoman Empire under Sultan Selim II Sarkhosh invaded and captured the entire island. These states faced the attacks of the Byzantine Greek successor states of Nicaea and Epirus, thessalonica and the Latin Empire were reconquered by the Byzantine Greeks by 1261. Descendants of the Crusaders continued to rule in Athens and the Peloponnesus until the 15th century when the area was conquered by the Ottoman Empire. The military order of the Knights Hospitaller of Saint John established itself on Rhodes in 1310, with influx of new blood. The island of Kastellorizo was taken by the Knights of St, other neighbouring territories temporarily under the order were, the cities of Smyrna, Attaleia, the city of Salona and the islands of Ikaria and Kos, all now in Greece. The coins minted in Jerusalem during the 12th century show patriarchal crosses with various modifications, coins minted under Henry I show a cross with four dots in the four quarters, but the Jerusalem cross proper appears only on a coin minted under John II
Crusader States
–
Asia Minor and the Crusader states, c. 1140
Crusader States
–
The Near East in 1135, with the Crusader states marked with red crosses.
6.
Investiture Controversy
–
The Investiture Controversy or Investiture Contest was a conflict between Church and state in medieval Europe. In the 11th and 12th centuries, a series of popes challenged the authority of European monarchies, at issue was whether a pope or a monarch had the authority to appoint local church officials such as bishops of cities and abbots of monasteries. The investiture controversy began as a struggle between Pope Gregory VII and Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor. By undercutting the Imperial power established by the Salian emperors, the led to nearly 50 years of civil war in Germany. Imperial power was finally re-established under the Hohenstaufen dynasty, historian Norman Cantor, The age of the investiture controversy may rightly be regarded as the turning-point in medieval civilization. The conflict ended in 1122, when Emperor Henry V and Pope Calixtus II agreed on the Concordat of Worms and it differentiated between the royal and spiritual powers and gave the emperors a limited role in selecting bishops. The outcome seemed mostly a victory for the Pope and his claim that he was Gods chief representative in the world, however, the Emperor did retain considerable power over the Church. After the decline of the Roman Empire, and prior to the Investiture Controversy, while theoretically a task of the church, many bishops and abbots were themselves usually part of the ruling nobility. Since the eldest son would inherit the title, siblings often found careers in the church and this was particularly true where the family may have established a proprietary church or abbey on their estate. Since Otto the Great the bishops had been princes of the empire, had secured many privileges, the control of these great units of economic and military power was for the king a question of primary importance, affecting as it did imperial authority. It was essential for a ruler or nobleman to appoint someone who would remain loyal. e, the Holy Roman Emperor and placing that power wholly within control of the church. An opportunity came in 1056 when Henry IV became German king at six years of age, the reformers seized the opportunity to take the papacy by force while he was still a child and could not react. Once Rome regained control of the election of the pope, it was ready to attack the practice of investiture, in 1075, Pope Gregory VII composed the Dictatus Papae. One clause asserted that the deposal of an emperor was under the power of the pope. By this time, Henry IV was no longer a child and it called for the election of a new pope. His letter ends, I, Henry, king by the grace of God, with all of my Bishops, say to you, come down, and is often quoted with and to be damned throughout the ages. In 1076 Gregory responded by excommunicating Henry, and deposed him as German king, releasing all Christians from their oath of allegiance, enforcing these declarations was a different matter, but the advantage gradually came to be on the side of Gregory VII. German princes and the aristocracy were happy to hear of the kings deposition and they used religious reasons to continue the rebellion started at the First Battle of Langensalza in 1075, and for seizure of royal holdings
Investiture Controversy
–
Myers, Philip Van Ness (1905), A medieval king investing a bishop with the symbols of office.
Investiture Controversy
–
Henry IV requests mediation from
Matilda of Tuscany and abbot
Hugh of Cluny.
Investiture Controversy
–
Ministry of Jesus &
Apostolic Age
7.
Filioque
–
Filioque is a Latin term added to the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed. It has been the subject of controversy between Eastern and Western Christianity. Who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, whether that term Filioque is included, as well as how it is translated and understood, can have important implications for how one understands the central Christian doctrine of the Holy Trinity. Over time, the became a symbol of conflict between Eastern Christianity and Western Christianity, although there have been attempts at resolving the conflict. Among the early attempts at harmonization are the works of Maximus the Confessor, the Filioque is included in the form of the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed used in most Western Christian churches, first appearing in the 6th century. It was accepted by the only in 1014 and is rejected by the Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox Churches. Differences over this doctrine and the question of papal primacy have been, Siecienski writes that ltimately what was at stake was not only Gods trinitarian nature, but also the nature of the Church, its teaching authority and the distribution of power among its leaders. Hubert Cunliffe-Jones identifies two opposing Eastern Orthodox opinions about the Filioque, a view and a rigorist view. The liberal view sees the controversy as being largely a matter of mutual miscommunication, in this view, both East and West are at fault for failing to allow for a plurality of theologies. Each side went astray in considering their theological framework as the one that was doctrinally valid. Thus, neither side would accept that the dispute was not so much about conflicting dogmas as it was about different theologoumena or theological perspectives, while all Christians must be in agreement on questions of dogma, there is room for diversity in theological approaches. However, this view is vehemently opposed by those Eastern Orthodox whom Cunliffe-Jones identifies as holding a rigorist view. Many in the rigorist camp consider the Filioque to have resulted in the role of the Holy Spirit being underestimated by the Western Church and thus leading to serious doctrinal error. According to Siecienski, the question was perhaps whether Eastern and Western Christianity had wound up developing differing. From the view of the West, the Eastern rejection of the Filioque denied the consubstantiality of the Father, in the East, the interpolation of the Filioque seemed to many to be an indication that the West was teaching a substantially different faith. In John 15,26 Jesus says that the Holy Spirit But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, basil of Caesarea wrote, Through the one Son is joined to the Father. He also said that the goodness, inherent holiness. Cyril of Alexandria provides a host of quotations that seemingly speak of the Spirits procession from both the Father and the Son
Filioque
–
First Council of Constantinople with halo-adorned Emperor
Theodosius I (miniature in Homilies of Gregory Nazianzus (879–882), Biblothèque nationale de France)
Filioque
Filioque
–
Maximus the Confessor
Filioque
–
John VIII Palaiologos by
Benozzo Gozzoli
8.
Transubstantiation
–
The Catholic Church teaches that the substance, or essence, of the Eucharistic offering is changed into both the body and blood of Christ. All that is accessible to the senses remains unchanged, what remains unaltered is also referred to as the accidents of the bread and wine, but the term accidents is not used in the official definition of the doctrine by the Council of Trent. The manner in which the change occurs, the Catholic Church teaches, is a mystery, The signs of bread and wine become, in a way surpassing understanding, the Body and Blood of Christ. The precise terminology to be used to refer to the nature Eucharist, in the Greek Orthodox Church, the doctrine has been discussed under the term of metousiosis, coined as a direct loan-translation of transsubstantiatio in the 17th century. In Eastern Orthodoxy in general, the Mystery of the Eucharist is more commonly discussed using alternative terms such as trans-elementation, re-ordination, or simply change. The early Christians who use these terms also speak of it as the flesh and blood of Christ, the same flesh and blood which suffered and died on the cross. Matthew 7,6 A letter by Saint Ignatius of Antioch to the Romans, written in AD106 says, I desire the bread of God, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ. In about 200 AD, Tertullian wrote, Taking bread and distributing it to his disciples he made it his own body by saying, This is my body, on the other hand, there would not have been a figure unless there was a true body. The Apostolic Constitutions says, Let the bishop give the oblation, saying, The body of Christ, and let him that receiveth say, Amen. And let the deacon take the cup, and when he gives it, say, The blood of Christ, the cup of life, and let him that drinketh say, Amen. Saint Ambrose of Milan wrote, Perhaps you will say, I see something else, how is it that you assert that I receive the Body of Christ. Let us prove that this is not what nature made, but what the blessing consecrated, for that sacrament which you receive is made what it is by the word of Christ. But if the word of Elijah had such power as to bring fire from heaven. Why do you seek the order of nature in the Body of Christ, seeing that the Lord Jesus Himself was born of a Virgin and it is the true Flesh of Christ which was crucified and buried, this is then truly the Sacrament of His Body. The Lord Jesus Himself proclaims, This Is My Body, before the blessing of the heavenly words another nature is spoken of, after the consecration the Body is signified. He Himself speaks of His Blood, before the consecration it has another name, after it is called Blood. And you say, Amen, that is, It is true, Let the heart within confess what the mouth utters, let the soul feel what the voice speaks. Other fourth-century Christian writers say that in the Eucharist there occurs a change, transelementation, transformation, transposing, by the end of the 12th century the term was in widespread use
Transubstantiation
–
Christ with the Eucharist,
Vicente Juan Masip, 16th century.
Transubstantiation
Transubstantiation
–
Title page of
Martin Luther 's
De Captivitate Babylonica Ecclesiae
9.
Confession (religion)
–
Confession, in many religions, is the acknowledgment of ones sins or wrongs. Buddhism has been from its primarily a tradition of renunciation. Within the monastic framework of the regular confession of wrongdoing to superiors is mandatory. In the sutras of the Pali Canon Bhikkhus confessed their wrongdoing to the Buddha himself and that part of the Pali Canon called the Vinaya requires that monks confess their individual sins before the bi-weekly convening for the recitation of the Patimokkha. In Catholic teaching, the Sacrament of Penance is the method of the Church by which men and women may confess sins committed after baptism and have them absolved by a priest. Although it is not mandatory, the Catholic rite is usually conducted within a confessional box and this sacrament is known by many names, including penance, reconciliation and confession. For the Catholic Church, the intent of this sacrament is to provide healing for the soul as well as to regain the grace of God, in theological terms, the priest acts in persona Christi and receives from the Church the power of jurisdiction over the penitent. The Catholic Church teaches that sacramental confession requires three acts on the part of the penitent, contrition, disclosure of the sins, the basic form of confession has not changed for centuries, although at one time confessions were made publicly. Typically, the penitent begins sacramental confession by saying, Bless me Father and it has been since my last confession. The penitent must then confess what he/she believes to be grave and mortal sins, the sinner may also confess venial sins, this is especially recommended if the penitent has no mortal sins to confess. According to the Catechism, without being strictly necessary, confession of faults is nevertheless strongly recommended by the Church. Indeed the regular confession of our venial sins helps us form our conscience, fight against evil tendencies, let ourselves be healed by Christ, by receiving more frequently through this sacrament the gift of the Fathers Mercy, we are spurred to be merciful as He is merciful. When Christs faithful strive to confess all the sins that they can remember, as a result, even mortal sins which the penitent inadvertently forgot are forgiven if the confession was good. In general, Eastern Catholic and Orthodox Christians choose an individual to trust as his or her spiritual guide. In most cases this is the parish priest, but may be a starets or any individual, male or female and this person is often referred to as ones spiritual father or spiritual mother. Once chosen, the turns to his spiritual guide for advice on his or her spiritual development, confessing sins. What is confessed to ones spiritual guide is protected by the seal as would be any priest hearing a confession. While one does not have to be a priest to hear confession, Confession does not take place in a confessional, but normally in the main part of the church itself, usually before an analogion set up near the iconostasion
Confession (religion)
–
Traditional
confessional
Confession (religion)
–
A confessional in
Colombia
Confession (religion)
–
Pilgrims queueing to confess at
Međugorje,
Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Confession (religion)
–
Modern confessional in the Church of the Holy Name,
Dunedin,
New Zealand. The penitent may kneel on the kneeler or sit in a chair facing the priest (not shown)
10.
Fifth Crusade
–
The Fifth Crusade was an attempt by Western Europeans to reacquire Jerusalem and the rest of the Holy Land by first conquering the powerful Ayyubid state in Egypt. Later in 1218, a German army led by Oliver of Cologne, in order to attack Damietta in Egypt, they allied in Anatolia with the Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm which attacked the Ayyubids in Syria in an attempt to free the Crusaders from fighting on two fronts. After occupying the port of Damietta, the Crusaders marched south towards Cairo in July 1221, a nighttime attack by Sultan Al-Kamil resulted in a great number of crusader losses, and eventually in the surrender of the army. Al-Kamil agreed to a peace agreement with Europe. Pope Innocent III had already planned since 1208 a crusade to recapture Jerusalem, in April 1213 he issued the papal bull Quia maior, calling all of Christendom to join a new crusade. This was followed by another bull, the Ad Liberandam in 1215. Pope Innocent wanted it to be led by the papacy, as the First Crusade should have been, to avoid the mistakes of the Fourth Crusade, which had been taken over by the Venetians. Pope Innocent planned for the crusaders to meet at Brindisi in 1216, every crusader would receive an indulgence, including those who simply helped pay the expenses of a crusader, but did not go on crusade themselves. Oliver of Cologne had preached the crusade in Germany, and Emperor Frederick II attempted to join in 1215, Frederick was the last monarch Innocent wanted to join, as he had challenged the Papacy. Innocent died in 1216 and was succeeded by Pope Honorius III, who barred Frederick from participating, Andrew had the largest royal army in the history of the crusades. The first to take up the cross in the Fifth Crusade was King Andrew II of Hungary, Andrew and his troops embarked on 23 August 1217, in Split. They were transported by the Venetian fleet, which was the largest European fleet in the era, until his return to Hungary, king Andrew remained the leader of Christian forces in the Fifth Crusade. In Jerusalem, the walls and fortifications were demolished to prevent the Christians from being able to defend the city, if they did manage to reach it, Muslims fled the city, afraid that there would be a repeat of the bloodbath of the First Crusade in 1099. King Andrews well-mounted army defeated sultan Al-Adil I at Bethsaida on the Jordan River on 10 November 1217, muslim forces retreated in their fortresses and towns. The crusaders catapults and trebuchets did not arrive in time, so they had fruitless assaults on the fortresses of the Lebanon and on Mount Tabor, afterwards, Andrew spent his time collecting alleged relics. At the beginning of 1218 Andrew, who was very sick, Andrew and his army departed to Hungary in February 1218, and Bohemund and Hugh also returned home. Later in 1218 Oliver of Cologne arrived with a new German army, with Leopold and John they discussed attacking Damietta in Egypt. To accomplish this, they allied with Keykavus I, the leader in Anatolia, in July 1218 the crusaders began their siege of Damietta, and despite resistance from the unprepared sultan Al-Adil, the tower outside the city was taken on August 25
Fifth Crusade
–
Frisian crusaders confront the Tower of
Damietta, Egypt.
Fifth Crusade
–
King
Andrew II of Hungary
11.
Ecumenical council
–
The word ecumenical derives from a Greek term which literally means the inhabited world, but which was also applied more narrowly in antiquity to refer to the Roman Empire. Starting with the ecumenical council, noteworthy schisms led to non-participation by some members of what had previously been considered a single Christian Church. Thus, some parts of Christianity did not attend later councils, or attended, Bishops belonging to what became known as the Church of the East only participated in the first two councils. Bishops belonging to what became known as Oriental Orthodoxy participated in the first four councils, acceptance of councils as ecumenical and authoritative varies between different Christian denominations. Disputes over christological and other questions have led certain branches to reject some councils that others accept, the Church of the East accepts as ecumenical only the first two councils. Oriental Orthodox Churches accept the first three, both the Eastern Orthodox Church and Roman Catholic Church recognise as ecumenical the first seven councils, held from the 4th to the 9th century. In all, the Roman Catholic Church recognises twenty-one councils as ecumenical, anglicans and confessional Protestants accept either the first seven or the first four as ecumenical councils. Such decrees are often labeled as Canons and they often have an attached anathema, the doctrine does not claim that every aspect of every ecumenical council is infallible. Both the Eastern Orthodox and the Roman Catholic churches uphold versions of this doctrine, protestant churches would generally view ecumenical councils as fallible human institutions that have no more than a derived authority to the extent that they correctly expound Scripture. Church councils were, from the beginning, bureaucratic exercises, written documents were circulated, speeches made and responded to, votes taken, and final documents published and distributed. A large part of what is known about the beliefs of heresies comes from the documents quoted in councils in order to be refuted, most councils dealt not only with doctrinal but also with disciplinary matters, which were decided in canons. Study of the canons of councils is the foundation of the development of canon law. Canons consist of doctrinal statements and disciplinary measures – most Church councils, of the seven councils recognised in whole or in part by both the Roman Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox Church as ecumenical, all were called by a Roman Emperor. The emperor gave them legal status within the entire Roman Empire, all were held in the eastern part of the Roman Empire. The bishop of Rome did not attend, although he sent legates to some of them, Church councils were traditional and the ecumenical councils were a continuation of earlier councils held in the Empire before Christianity was made legal. The first seven councils recognised in both East and West as ecumenical and several others to such recognition is refused were called by the Byzantine emperors. This too ceased to be considered an ecumenical council, of the twenty-one ecumenical councils recognised by the Roman Catholic Church, some gained recognition as ecumenical only later. Thus the Eastern First Council of Constantinople became ecumenical only when its decrees were accepted in the West also
Ecumenical council
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Ministry of Jesus &
Apostolic Age
12.
Catholic Ecumenical Councils
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Catholic Ecumenical Councils include 21 councils over a period of 1700 years. The purpose of a council is to define doctrine, reaffirm truths of the Faith. Council decisions, to be valid, are approved by the popes, participation is limited to these persons, who cannot delegate their voting rights. Ecumenical councils are different from provincial councils, where bishops of a Church province or region meet, Episcopal conferences and plenary councils are other bodies, meetings of bishops of one country, nation, or region, such as the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. This article does not include councils of an order or regional councils. Ecumenical in the Catholic view does not mean that all bishops attended the councils, nor does ecumenical imply the participation of or acceptance by all Christian communities and Churches. Ecumenical refers to a solemn congregations of the Catholic bishops of the world at the invitation of the Pope to decide on matters of the Church with him, the ecumenical character of the councils of the first millennium was not determined by the intention of those who issued the invitations. The papal approval of the early councils did not have a formal character, the Catholic Church did not officially declare these Councils to be ecumenical. Different evaluations existed between and within Christian communities, not all of the twenty-one councils were always accepted as ecumenical within the Catholic Church. For example, the inclusion of the First Lateran Council and the Council of Basel were disputed, a 1539 book on ecumenical councils by Cardinal Dominicus Jacobazzi excluded them as did other scholars. The first few centuries did not know large-scale ecumenical meetings, they were only feasible after the Church had gained freedom from persecution through Emperor Constantine. These comprised the hierarchs of the undivided Church, and, excepting the Fourth Council of Constantinople are recognised as Ecumenical Councils also by the modern Eastern Orthodox Church, the First Council of Nicaea formulated the original Nicene Creed. Most importantly, the council defined the equality of God the Father and Christ and it taught that Jesus was of the same substance as God the Father and not just merely similar. By defining the nature of the divinity of Jesus, the council did not solely rely on the Bible, the First Council of Nicaea issued 20 canons and repudiated Arianism. The First Council of Constantinople defined in four canons the Nicene Creed, most importantly, it defined the divinity of the Holy Spirit, which is derived but not defined in the Bible. Thus the Council built on the Apostolic Tradition, the council met from May until July 381 during the pontificate of Pope Damasus I and issued four canons. The Council of Ephesus proclaimed the Virgin Mary as the Theotokos, the Council met in seven sessions during the pontificate of Pope Celestine I from June 22 until July 17,431. The Council of Chalcedon defined the two natures of Jesus Christ, “We teach unanimously that the one son, our lord Jesus Christ to be fully God and fully human
Catholic Ecumenical Councils
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Early manuscript illustration of I Constantinople Homilies of Gregory Nazianzus, Biblothèque nationale de France (879-882)
Catholic Ecumenical Councils
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Pope Innocent II
Catholic Ecumenical Councils
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Bishops debating with the pope at the Council of Constance
13.
Council of Jerusalem
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The Council of Jerusalem or Apostolic Council was held in Jerusalem around 50 AD. The council decided that Gentile converts to Christianity were not obligated to keep most of the Law of Moses, accounts of the council are found in Acts of the Apostles chapter 15 and also possibly in Pauls letter to the Galatians chapter 2. Some scholars dispute that Galatians 2 is about the Council of Jerusalem while other scholars dispute the reliability of the Acts of the Apostles. The Council of Jerusalem is generally dated to 48 AD, roughly twenty five years after the crucifixion of Jesus, at the time, most followers of Jesus were Jewish by birth and even converts would have considered the early Christians as a part of Judaism. According to Alister McGrath, the Jewish Christians affirmed every aspect of then contemporary Second Temple Judaism with the addition of the belief that Jesus was the Messiah, unless males were circumcised, they could not be Gods People. Circumcision as a mandate was associated with Abraham, but it is cited as the custom of Moses because Moses is considered the giver of the Law as a whole. The circumcision mandate was made official and binding in the Mosaic Law Covenant. In John 7,22 the words of Jesus are reported to be that Moses gave the people circumcision, Some of the Pharisees who had become believers insisted that it was needful to circumcise them, and to command to keep the law of Moses. The primary issue which was addressed related to the requirement of circumcision, as the author of Acts relates, the rules of traditional Judaism, and Paul the Apostle, who believed there was no such necessity. At the Council, following advice offered by Simon Peter, Barnabas and Paul gave an account of their ministry among the gentiles, and the apostle James quoted from the words of the prophet Amos. Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. For the law of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath, Acts 15, 23–29 sets out the content of the letter written in accordance with James proposal. The Western version of Acts adds the form of the Golden Rule. This determined questions wider than that of circumcision, particularly dietary questions, but also fornication and idolatry and blood, if you carefully keep yourselves from these things, you will prosper. And this Apostolic Decree was considered binding on all the other local Christian congregations in other regions, see also Biblical law directed at non-Jews, Seven Laws of Noah, Biblical law in Christianity, and the Ten Commandments in Christianity. On the following day Paul went in with us to James, the description of the Apostolic Council in Acts 15, generally considered the same event described in Galatians 2, is considered by some scholars to be contradictory to the Galatians account. The historicity of Lukes account has been challenged, and was rejected completely by some scholars in the mid to late 20th century, however, more recent scholarship inclines towards treating the Jerusalem Council and its rulings as a historical event, though this is sometimes expressed with caution. An extensive literature exists on the text and exegesis of the Apostolic Decree, however, the Council did retain the prohibitions against Gentile converts eating meat containing blood, or meat of animals not properly slain
Council of Jerusalem
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James the Just, whose judgment was adopted in the Apostolic Decree of Acts 15:19–29, c. 50 AD: "...we should write to them [Gentiles] to abstain only from things polluted by
idols and from
fornication and from whatever has been strangled and from
blood..." (
NRSV)
Council of Jerusalem
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Ministry of Jesus &
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14.
First Council of Nicaea
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The First Council of Nicaea was a council of Christian bishops convened in the Bithynian city of Nicaea by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in AD325. Constantine I organized the Council along the lines of the Roman Senate and presided over it and this ecumenical council was the first effort to attain consensus in the Church through an assembly representing all of Christendom. Hosius of Cordoba, who was one of the Papal legates. The First Council of Nicaea was the first ecumenical council of the Church, St. Alexander of Alexandria and Athanasius took the first position, the popular presbyter Arius, from whom the term Arianism comes, took the second. The council decided against the Arians overwhelmingly, through it a precedent was set for subsequent general councils to adopt creeds and canons. This council is considered the beginning of the period of the First seven Ecumenical Councils in the History of Christianity. The First Council of Nicaea was convened by Emperor Constantine the Great upon the recommendations of a synod led by Hosius of Córdoba in the Eastertide of 325 and this synod had been charged with investigation of the trouble brought about by the Arian controversy in the Greek-speaking east. To most bishops, the teachings of Arius were heretical and dangerous to the salvation of souls and this was the first general council in the history of the Church summoned by emperor Constantine I. In the Council of Nicaea, The Church had taken her first great step to define revealed doctrine more precisely in response to a challenge from a heretical theology. Constantine had invited all 1,800 bishops of the Christian church within the Roman Empire, Eusebius of Caesarea counted more than 250, Athanasius of Alexandria counted 318, and Eustathius of Antioch estimated about 270. Later, Socrates Scholasticus recorded more than 300, and Evagrius, Hilary of Poitiers, Jerome, Dionysius Exiguus and this number 318 is preserved in the liturgies of the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. Delegates came from every region of the Roman Empire, including Britain, the participating bishops were given free travel to and from their episcopal sees to the council, as well as lodging. These bishops did not travel alone, each one had permission to bring him two priests and three deacons, so the total number of attendees could have been above 1,800. Eusebius speaks of an almost innumerable host of accompanying priests, deacons, the Eastern bishops formed the great majority. Of these, the first rank was held by the three patriarchs, Alexander of Alexandria, Eustathius of Antioch, and Macarius of Jerusalem and this position is supported by patristic scholar Timothy Barnes in his book Constantine and Eusebius. Historically, the influence of these marred confessors has been seen as substantial, Athanasius of Alexandria, a young deacon and companion of Bishop Alexander of Alexandria, was among the assistants. Athanasius eventually spent most of his life battling against Arianism, Alexander of Constantinople, then a presbyter, was also present as representative of his aged bishop. The supporters of Arius included Secundus of Ptolemais, Theonus of Marmarica, Zphyrius, other supporters included Eusebius of Nicomedia, Paulinus of Tyrus, Actius of Lydda, Menophantus of Ephesus, and Theognus of Nicaea
First Council of Nicaea
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Council of Nicea
First Council of Nicaea
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Eastern Orthodox icon depicting the First Council of Nicaea
First Council of Nicaea
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Constantine the Great summoned the bishops of the Christian Church to Nicaea to address divisions in the Church (mosaic in
Hagia Sophia, Constantinople (Istanbul), ca. 1000).
15.
First Council of Constantinople
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The First Council of Constantinople was a council of Christian bishops convened in Constantinople in AD381 by the Roman Emperor Theodosius I. It met from May to July 381 in the Church of Hagia Irene and was affirmed as ecumenical in 451 at the Council of Chalcedon, when Theodosius ascended to the imperial throne in 380, he began on a campaign to bring the Eastern Church back to Nicene Christianity. Theodosius wanted to unify the entire empire behind the orthodox position and decided to convene a church council to resolve matters of faith. Gregory Nazianzus was of similar mind, wishing to unify Christianity, in the spring of 381 they convened the Second Ecumenical Council in Constantinople. The Council of Nicaea in 325 had not ended the Arian controversy which it had called to clarify. Arius and his sympathizers, e. g. Eusebius of Nicomedia were admitted back into the church after ostensibly accepting the Nicene creed, Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, the most vocal opponent of Arianism, was ultimately exiled through the machinations of Eusebius of Nicomedia. After the death of Constantine I in 337 and the accession of his Arian-leaning son Constantius II, up until about 360, theological debates mainly dealt with the divinity of the Son, the second person of the Trinity. However, because the Council of Nicaea had not clarified the divinity of the Holy Spirit, the Macedonians denied the divinity of the Holy Spirit. This was also known as Pneumatomachianism, Nicene Christianity also had its defenders, apart from Athanasius, the Cappadocian Fathers Trinitarian discourse was influential in the council at Constantinople. Apollinaris of Laodicea, another theologian, proved controversial. Possibly in an over-reaction to Arianism and its teaching that Christ was not God, he taught that Christ consisted of a human body and he was charged with confounding the persons of the Godhead, and with giving into the heretical ways of Sabellius. Basil of Caesarea accused him of abandoning the literal sense of the scripture, Theodosius strong commitment to Nicene Christianity involved a calculated risk because Constantinople, the imperial capital of the Eastern Empire, was solidly Arian. To complicate matters, the two leading factions of Nicene Christianity in the East, the Alexandrians and the supporters of Meletius in Antioch, were bitterly divided, almost to the point of complete animosity. The bishops of Alexandria and Rome had worked over a number of years to keep the see of Constantinople from stabilizing, thus, when Gregory was selected as a candidate for the bishopric of Constantinople, both Alexandria and Rome opposed him because of his Antiochene background. The incumbent bishop of Constantinople was Demophilus, a Homoian Arian, there ensued a contest to control the newly recovered see. A group led by Maximus the Cynic gained the support of Patriarch Peter of Alexandria by playing on his jealousy of the newly created see of Constantinople. They conceived a plan to install a cleric subservient to Peter as bishop of Constantinople so that Alexandria would retain the leadership of the Eastern Churches, many commentators characterize Maximus as having been proud, arrogant and ambitious. However, it is not clear the extent to which Maximus sought this position due to his own ambition or if he was merely a pawn in the power struggle
First Council of Constantinople
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9th century Byzantine manuscript illumination of I Constantinople Homilies of Gregory Nazianzus, 879-882
First Council of Constantinople
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Gregory of Nazianzus presided over part of the Council
First Council of Constantinople
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Ministry of Jesus &
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16.
Council of Ephesus
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The Council of Ephesus was a council of Christian bishops convened in Ephesus in AD431 by the Roman Emperor Theodosius II. It met in June and July 431 at the Church of Mary in Ephesus in Anatolia, Nestorius himself had requested the Emperor to convene the council, hoping that it would prove his orthodoxy, the council in fact condemned his teachings as heresy. The council declared Mary as Theotokos, Nestorius dispute with Cyril had led the latter to seek validation from Pope Celestine I, who authorized Cyril to request that Nestorius recant his position or face excommunication. Nestorius pleaded with the Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II to call a council in which all grievances could be aired, hoping that he would be vindicated, the proceedings were conducted in a heated atmosphere of confrontation and recriminations and created severe tensions between Cyril and Theodosius II. Nestorius was decisively outplayed by Cyril and removed from his see, Nestorius himself retired to a monastery, always asserting his orthodoxy. McGuckin cites the innate rivalry between Alexandria and Constantinople as an important factor in the controversy between Cyril of Alexandria and Nestorius, according to McGuckin, Cyril viewed the elevated intellectual argument about christology as ultimately one and the same as the validity and security of the simple Christian life. Even within Constantinople, some supported the Roman-Alexandrian and others supported the Nestorian factions, for example, Pulcheria supported the Roman-Alexandrian popes while the emperor and his wife supported Nestorius. Contention over Nestorius teachings, which he developed during his studies at the School of Antioch, shortly after his arrival in Constantinople, Nestorius became involved in the disputes of two theological factions, which differed in their Christology. Nestorius was greatly surprised that what he had taught in Antioch without any controversy whatsoever should prove to be so objectionable to the Christians of Constantinople. Nestorius suggested the title Christotokos, but this proposal did not gain acceptance on either side. Nestorius tried to answer a question considered unsolved, How can Jesus Christ, being part man, not be partially a sinner as well, since man is by definition a sinner since the Fall. To solve that he taught that Mary, the mother of Jesus gave birth to the incarnate Christ, not the divine Logos who existed before Mary, the Logos occupied the part of the human soul. But wouldnt the absence of a human soul make Jesus less human, consequently, Nestorius argued that the Virgin Mary should be called Christotokos, Greek for Birth Giver of Christ, and not Theotokos, Greek for Birth Giver of God. Nestorius believed that no union between the human and divine was possible, nestoriuss opponents charged him with detaching Christs divinity and humanity into two persons existing in one body, thereby denying the reality of the Incarnation. Eusebius, a layman who later became the bishop of the neighbouring Dorylaeum was the first to accuse Nestorius of heresy, Cyril argued that Nestorianism split Jesus in half and denied that he was both human and divine. Cyril appealed to Pope Celestine I, charging Nestorius with heresy, the Pope agreed and gave Cyril his authority to serve a notice to Nestorius to recant his views within ten days or else be excommunicated. Before acting on the Popes commission, Cyril convened a synod of Egyptian bishops which condemned Nestorius as well, Cyril then sent four suffragan bishops to deliver both the Popes commission as well as the synodal letter of the Egyptian bishops. Cyril sent a letter to Nestorius known as The Third Epistle of Saint Cyril to Nestorius and this epistle drew heavily on the established Patristic Constitutions and contained the most famous article of Alexandrian Orthodoxy, The Twelve Anathemas of Saint Cyril
Council of Ephesus
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Council of Ephesus in 431, in the Basilica of Fourvière,
Lyon
Council of Ephesus
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Cyril of Alexandria
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Ministry of Jesus &
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17.
Council of Chalcedon
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The Council of Chalcedon was a church council held from October 8 to November 1, AD451, at Chalcedon. The Council is numbered as the ecumenical council by the Great Church. A minority of Christians do not agree with the councils teachings and its most important achievement was to issue the Chalcedonian Definition. The Councils judgments and definitions regarding the divine marked a significant turning point in the Christological debates, Chalcedon was a city in Bithynia, on the Asian side of the Bosphorus, today the city it is part of the Republic of Turkey and is known as Kadıköy. The Council of Chalcedon issued the Chalcedonian Definition, which repudiated the notion of a nature in Christ. It also insisted on the completeness of his two natures, Godhead and manhood, the council also issued 27 disciplinary canons governing church administration and authority. In a further decree, later known as canon 28, the bishops declared that the See of Constantinople was, in honour, the teachings of the Council are accepted by the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Catholic Church, Old Catholics and various other Western Christian groups. As such, it is recognized as infallible in its dogmatic definitions by the Catholic, most Protestants also agree that the teachings regarding the Trinity and the Incarnation, as defined at Nicaea and Chalcedon, are orthodox doctrine to which they adhere. However, the Council is not accepted by the ancient Oriental Orthodox branch of the Church and this includes the Coptic, Ethiopian, Eritrean, Syriac, Malankara Syrian and Armenian Apostolic churches. They instead teach that The Lord Jesus Christ is God the Incarnate Word and he possesses the perfect Godhead and the perfect manhood. Nevertheless, the Oriental Orthodox churches refuse to accept the decrees of the Council regarding monophysitism, many Anglicans and most Protestants consider it to be the last authoritative ecumenical council. In 325, the first ecumenical council determined that Jesus Christ was God, consubstantial with the Father and this was reaffirmed at the First Council of Constantinople and the Council of Ephesus. After the Council of Ephesus had condemned Nestorianism, there remained a conflict between Patriarchs John of Antioch and Cyril of Alexandria, Cyril claimed that John remained Nestorian in outlook, while John claimed that Cyril held to the Apollinarian heresy. The two settled their differences under the mediation of the Bishop of Beroea, Acacius, on April 12,433, in the following year, Theodoret of Cyrrhus assented to this formula as well. He agreed to anathematize Nestorius as a heretic in 451, during the Council of Chalcedon and he claimed to be a faithful follower of Cyrils teaching, which was declared orthodox in the Union of 433. Cyril had taught that There is only one physis, since it is the Incarnation, Cyril had apparently understood the Greek word physis to mean approximately what the Latin word persona means, while most Greek theologians would have interpreted that word to mean natura. Thus, many understood Eutyches to be advocating Docetism, a sort of reversal of Arianism—where Arius had denied the divinity of Jesus. Cyrils orthodoxy was not called into question, since the Union of 433 had explicitly spoken of two physeis in this context, Leo I wrote that Eutyches error seemed to be more from a lack of skill on the matters than from malice
Council of Chalcedon
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Fourth Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon, painting by
Vasily Surikov
Council of Chalcedon
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Ministry of Jesus &
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18.
Second Council of Constantinople
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The Second Council of Constantinople is the fifth of the first seven ecumenical councils recognized as such by both Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholics and Old Catholics unanimously recognise it, protestant opinions and recognition of it are varied. Some Protestants, such as Calvinists and Lutherans, recognise the first four councils, Constantinople II was convoked by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I under the presidency of Patriarch Eutychius of Constantinople. It was held from 5 May to 2 June 553, participants were overwhelmingly Eastern bishops – only sixteen Western bishops were present, including nine from Illyricum and seven from Africa, but none from Italy – out of the 152 total. The main work of the council was to confirm the condemnation issued by edict in 551 by the Emperor Justinian against the Three Chapters. The council also condemned the teaching that the Virgin Mary could not be called the Mother of God. Justinian hoped that this would contribute to a reunion between the Chalcedonians and monophysites in the provinces of the Empire. Various attempts at reconciliation between these parties within the Byzantine Empire were made by many emperors over the four following the Council of Ephesus. The Council was presided over by Eutychius, Patriarch of Constantinople, Pope Vigilius was also invited, but even though he was at this period resident in Constantinople, he declined to attend, and even issued a document forbidding the council from preceding without him. For more details see Pope Vigilius, the council, however, proceeded without the pope to condemn the Three Chapters. Vigilius was then imprisoned in Constantinople by the emperor and his advisors were exiled, after six months, in December 553, he agreed, however, to condemn the Three Chapters, claiming that his hesitation was due to being misled by his advisors. His approval of the council was expressed in two documents, condemning the Three Chapters, on his own authority and without mention of the council, in Northern Italy the ecclesiastical provinces of Milan and Aquileia broke communion with Rome. Though ranked as one of the councils, it never attained in the West the status of either Nicaea or Chalcedon. It used to be argued that the extant acts are incomplete, however, the solution generally accepted today is that the bishops signed the canons condemning Origenism before the council formally opened. This condemnation was confirmed by Pope Vigilius and the subsequent ecumenical council gave its assent in its Definition of Faith to the five previous synods, the last, that is the Fifth holy Synod assembled in this place, against Theodore of Mopsuestia, Origen, Didymus, and Evagrius. Its full conciliar authority has only been questioned in modern times and this article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Thomas J. Shahan. The Formation of Christendom, revised, illustrated paperback edition, london, Princeton University Press and Fontana. Imperial unity and Christian divisions, The Church 450-680 A. D, crestwood, NY, St. Vladimirs Seminary Press
Second Council of Constantinople
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Ministry of Jesus &
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19.
Third Council of Constantinople
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The Council settled a set of theological controversies that go back to the sixth century but had intensified under the Emperors Heraclius and Constans II. The result was first monoenergism, i. e. that Christ, Pope Martin I and the monk Maximus, the foremost opponents of monothelitism, held a synod in Rome in 649 that condemned monoenergism and monothelitism. Then he sent a delegation to meet the Easterners at Constantinople, in the meantime, Constantine summoned Patriarch George I of Constantinople and all bishops of his jurisdiction of Constantinople to a council. He also summoned Patriarch Macarius of Antioch, a Byzantine appointee permanently resident in Constantinople because of the Muslim occupation of his see, on 7 November 680, a mere 37 bishops and a number of presbyters convened in the imperial palace, in the domed hall called the Trullus. The Patriarchs of Constantinople and of Antioch participated in person, whereas the patriarchates of Alexandria, the Pope and a council he had held in Rome were represented by a few priests and bishops. In its opening session, the council assumed the authority of an Ecumenical Council, the Emperor attended and presided over the first eleven sessions, took part in the discussions and returned for the closing session on 16 September 681, attended by 151 bishops. During the council, a letter by Pope Agatho was read which asserted as the belief of the Church that Christ was of two wills, divine and human. Most of the bishops present accepted the letter, proclaiming that Peter spoke through Agatho, Macarius of Antioch defended monothelitism but was condemned and deposed, along with his partisans. The council, in keeping with Agathos letter, defined that Jesus Christ possessed two energies and two wills but that the human will was in subjection to his divine and all-powerful will, the council carefully avoided any mention of Maximus the Confessor, who was still regarded with suspicion. It condemned both monoenergism and monothelitism as heretical and included those who had supported this heresy, including Pope Honorius I and he had a corpse brought forth, but after whispering prayers into its ears, could not revive the body. Boniface Consiliarius List of translators Meyendorff, John, imperial unity and Christian divisions, The Church 450-680 A. D. Crestwood, NY, St. Vladimirs Seminary Press, concilium Universale Constantinopolitanum Tertium, in Acta Conciliorum Oecumenicorum, ser. ISBN 0-8135-0599-2 Ekonomou, Andrew J.2007, Byzantine Rome and the Greek Popes, Eastern influences on Rome and the papacy from Gregory the Great to Zacharias, A. D. 590–752. The Filioque, History of a Doctrinal Controversy
Third Council of Constantinople
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Ministry of Jesus &
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20.
Second Council of Nicaea
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The Second Council of Nicaea is recognized as the last of the first seven ecumenical councils by both West and East. Orthodox, Catholics, and Old Catholics unanimously recognize it, Protestant opinions on it are varied and it met in AD787 in Nicaea to restore the use and veneration of icons, which had been suppressed by imperial edict inside the Byzantine Empire during the reign of Leo III. His son, Constantine V, had held the Council of Hieria to make the suppression official, the veneration of icons had been banned by Byzantine Emperor Constantine V and supported by his Council of Hieria, which had described itself as the seventh ecumenical council. The emperors vigorous enforcement of the ban included persecution of those who venerated icons, Constantines iconoclastic tendencies were shared by Constantines son, Leo IV. After the latters death, his widow, Irene of Athens, as regent for her son, began its restoration, moved thereto by personal inclination. However, a council, claiming to be ecumenical, had abolished the veneration of icons, Pope Adrian I was invited to participate, and gladly accepted. However, the intended for the oriental patriarchs could not even be delivered to them. The Roman legates were an archbishop and an abbot, both named Peter, in 786, the council met in the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople. However, soldiers in collusion with the opposition entered the church, as a result, the government resorted to a stratagem. Under the pretext of a campaign, the bodyguard was sent away from the capital — disarmed and disbanded. The council was summoned to meet, this time in Nicaea. The council assembled on September 24,787 at the church of Hagia Sophia and it numbered about 350 members,308 bishops or their representatives signed. Tarasius presided, and seven sessions were held in Nicaea, first Session — Three bishops, Basilius of Ancyra, Theodore of Myra and Theodosius of Amorium begged for pardon for the heresy of iconoclasm. Second Session — Papal legates read the letters of Pope Hadrian I asking for agreement with veneration of images, third Session — Other bishops having made their abjuration, were received into the council. Fourth Session — Proof of the lawfulness of the veneration of icons was drawn from Exodus 25,19 sqq, ezekiel 41,18, and Genesis 31,34, but especially from a series of passages of the Church Fathers, the authority of the latter was decisive. Fifth Session — It was claimed that the iconoclast heresy came originally from Jews, Saracens, sixth Session — The definition of the pseudo-Seventh council was read and condemned. Seventh Session — The council issued a declaration of faith concerning the veneration of holy images, and exhibited on the walls of churches, in the homes, and in all conspicuous places, by the roadside and everywhere, to be revered by all who might see them. For the more they are contemplated, the more they move to fervent memory of their prototypes, eighth Session — The last session was held in Constantinople at the Magnaura Palace
Second Council of Nicaea
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An
icon of the Seventh Ecumenical Council (17th century,
Novodevichy Convent,
Moscow).
Second Council of Nicaea
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Hagia Sophia of Nicaea, where the Council took place;
Iznik, Turkey.
Second Council of Nicaea
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Hagia Sophia, İznik
21.
First Council of the Lateran
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The Council of 1123 is reckoned in the series of Ecumenical councils by the Catholic Church. It was convoked by Pope Calixtus II in December,1122, the council convoked by Callistus II was significant in size, three hundred bishops and more than six hundred abbots assembled at Rome in March,1123, Callistus presided in person. During the Council the decisions of the Concordat of Worms were read, the First Lateran Council was called by Pope Callistus II whose reign began February 1,1119. It demarcated the end of the Investiture controversy which had begun before the time of Pope Gregory VII, the issues had been contentious and had continued with unabated bitterness for almost a century. Guido, as he was called before his elevation to the papacy, was the son of William I and he was closely connected with nearly all the royal houses of Europe on both sides of his family. He had been named the legate to France by Pope Paschal II. During Guidos tenure in office, Paschal II yielded to the military threats of Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor. By this document the Church gave up much of what had been claimed and subsequently attained by Pope Gregory VII and these concessions did not bring the expected peace but were received with violent reactionary opposition everywhere. Europe had come to expect an end to the Investiture controversy, the greatest resistance was seen in France and was led by Guido, who still held the office of the papal legate. He had been present in the Lateran Synod of 1112 which had proclaimed the Privilegium of 1111, on his return to France, Guido convoked an assembly of the French and Burgundian bishops at Vienne. There the lay investiture of the clergy was denounced as heretical, a sentence of excommunication was pronounced against Henry V, who had extorted through violence from the pope the concessions documented in the Privilegium. The agreement was deemed to be opposed to the interests of the Church, the decrees from the assembly of Vienne which denounced the Privilegium were sent to Paschal II with a request for confirmation. Pope Paschal II confirmed these which were received in general terms, Guido was later created cardinal by Pope Paschal II. The latter did not seem to have been pleased with Guido’s bold and forward attacks upon Henry V, on the death of Paschal II, January 21,1118, Gelasius II was elected pope. He was immediately seized by the Italian allies of Henry V, and on his liberation by the populace fled to Gaeta, Henry V demanded the confirmation of the Privilegium and received no satisfactory reply. He then set about naming Burdinus, the archbishop of Braga and this pope assumed the name Gregory VIII, but came to be known as antipope Gregory VIII. Burdinus had already been deposed and excommunicated because he had crowned Henry V, the excommunication of Bardinus was reiterated in Canon 6 of the document produced by Lateran I. On the fourth day after the death of Gelasius II, February I,1119, owing mainly to the exertions of Cardinal Cuno, Guido was elected pope and he was crowned Pope at Vienne on February 9,1119
First Council of the Lateran
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Henry IV ceding his rule of the
Holy Roman Empire to his son, Henry V.
First Council of the Lateran
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Canons 2, 4 and 10 ended the practice of the
Holy Roman Emperor naming bishops and the pope.
First Council of the Lateran
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Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor died leaving his kingdom in a much weakened condition.
22.
Second Council of Lyon
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The First Council of Lyon, the Thirteenth Ecumenical Council, took place in 1245. The Second Council of Lyon was the ecumenical council of the Catholic Church, convoked on 31 March 1272 and convened in Lyon, France. Pope Gregory X presided over the council, called to act on a pledge by Byzantine emperor Michael VIII to reunite the Eastern church with the West. The council was attended by about 300 bishops,60 abbots and more than a thousand prelates or their procurators, among whom were the representatives of the universities. Due to the number of attendees, those who had come to Lyon without being specifically summoned were given leave to depart with the blessing of God. Thomas Aquinas had been summoned to the council, but died en route at Fossanova Abbey, bonaventure was present at the first four sessions, but died at Lyon on 15 July 1274. As at the First Council of Lyons Thomas Cantilupe was an English attender and this innovation marks a stepping-stone towards the acknowledgment of coherent ideas of nationhood, which were in the process of creating the European nation-states. The main topics discussed at the council were the conquest of the Holy Land and the union of the Eastern and Western Churches. The first session took place on 7 May 1274 and was followed by five additional sessions on 18 May 1274,4 or 7 June 1274,6 July 1274,16 July 1274, by the end of the council,31 constitutions were promulgated. The Greeks conceded on the issue of the Filioque, and union was proclaimed, the council also recognized Rudolf I as Holy Roman Emperor, ending the Interregnum. Eastern dignitaries arrived at Lyon on 24 June 1274 presenting a letter from the Emperor, on 29 June 1274, Gregory celebrated Mass in St Johns Church where both sides took part. The Greeks read the Nicene Creed, with the Western addition of the Filioque clause sung three times. The council was seemingly a success, but did not provide a solution to the schism, the Emperor was anxious to heal the schism. Patriarch Joseph of Constantinople abdicated, and was replaced by John Bekkos, michaels death in December 1282 put an end to the union of Lyons. His son and successor Andronicus II repudiated the union in the Council of Blachernae and he is to this day reviled by many in the Eastern Church as a traitor to Orthodoxy. The council drew up plans for a crusade to recover the Holy Land, the plans were approved but nothing concrete was done. James I of Aragon wished to organize the expedition at once, ambassadors of the Khan of the Tatars negotiated with the Pope, who asked them to leave Christians in peace during their war against Islam. The Mongol leader Abaqa Khan sent a delegation of 13-16 Mongols to the Council, among the embassy were David of Ashby, and the clerk Rychaldus
Second Council of Lyon
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Cathedral of St John, Lyon, illuminated for a festival
23.
Council of Vienne
–
The Council of Vienne was the fifteenth Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church that met between 1311 and 1312 in Vienne. Its principal act was to withdraw support for the Knights Templar on the instigation of Philip IV of France. The Knights Templar were founded after the First Crusade of 1096 to ensure the safety of European pilgrims to Jerusalem, in the following centuries the order grew in power and wealth. In the early 14th century, Philip IV of France needed money urgently to continue his war with England and so he accused the Grand Master of the Templars, Jacques De Molay, of corruption and heresy. In 1307 Philip had many French Templars arrested, charged with heresies and this action released Philip from his obligation to repay loans from the Templars and allowed him to confiscate the Templars assets in France. Pope Clement V was under the control of Philip, one of the Popes predecessors, Boniface VIII, had claimed supremacy over Philip and had attempted to excommunicate him when Philip disagreed. However Boniface was seized at Anagni by a party of horsemen under the command of Philips men, though he was later released, the elderly Boniface died shortly after. Bonifaces successor, Pope Benedict XI, lasted less than a year before he too died, the Frenchman Pope Clement thereafter was strongly pressured to follow Philips directions. Pope Clement V caused the Council to meet by issuing the bulls Faciens misericordiam, the city chosen was Vienne, which is on the Rhône River in the south of modern France and at the time was outside the direct control of Philip IV. The neutral setting was intended to give the impression of independent action, the main item on the agenda of the Council not only cited the Order of Knights Templar itself, but also its lands, which indicated that further seizures of property were proposed. However the agenda also invited archbishops and prelates to bring proposals for improvements in the life of the Church, special notice were sent to the Templars directing them to send suitable defensores to the Council. The Grand Master Jacques de Molay and others had also commanded to appear in person. However, Molay was already imprisoned in Paris and trials of other Templars were already in progress and this delayed the opening of the Council, which finally convened on 16 October 1311. The attendees consisted of twenty cardinals, four patriarchs, about one hundred archbishops and bishops, plus several abbots and priors. The acts of the Council have disappeared, with the exceptions of a fragment in a manuscript in the National Library in Paris, the pope and the cardinals negotiated with the members of this commission respecting the matter. A commission of cardinals was also appointed in order to investigate grievances, the discussion of Knights Templar was then put in abeyance. The topic changed to the need for an expedition to the Holy Land, the delegates of the King of Aragon wanted the city of Granada to be attacked, to attack the Muslims on the flank, others wanted a crusade to the east only. In February 1312 envoys from the Philip IV negotiated with the Pope without consulting the Council, and Philip held an assembly in Lyon to put pressure on the Pope
Council of Vienne
–
Cathedral of Vienne
24.
Council of Constance
–
The Council of Constance is the 15th century ecumenical council recognized by the Roman Catholic Church, held from 1414 to 1418. The council ended the Western Schism, by deposing or accepting the resignation of the remaining papal claimants, the Council also condemned Jan Hus as a heretic and facilitated his execution by the civil authority. It also ruled on issues of sovereignty, the rights of pagans. The Council is important for its relationship to ecclesial Conciliarism and Papal supremacy, the councils main purpose was to end the Papal schism which had resulted from the confusion following the Avignon Papacy. After thirty years of schism, the Council of Pisa had sought to resolve the situation by deposing the two claimant popes and elected a new pope, Alexander V. The council claimed that in such a situation, a council of bishops had greater authority than just one bishop, therefore, many voices, including Sigismund, King of the Romans and of Hungary, pressed for another council to resolve the issue. That council was called by John XXIII and was held from 16 November 1414 to 22 April 1418 in Constance, according to Joseph McCabe, the council was attended by roughly 29 cardinals,100 learned doctors of law and divinity,134 abbots, and 183 bishops and archbishops. Sigismund arrived on Christmas Eve 1414 and exercised a profound and continuous influence on the course of the council in his capacity of imperial protector of the Church, an innovation at the Council was that instead of voting as individuals, the bishops voted in national blocs. The vote by nations was in great measure the work of the English, German, the four nations consisted of England, France, Italy, and Germany, with Poles, Hungarians, Danes, and Scandinavians counted with the Germans. While the Italian representatives made up half of those in attendance, they were equal in influence to the English, many members of the new assembly strongly favored the voluntary abdication of all three popes, as did King Sigismund. Although the Italian bishops who had accompanied John XXIII in large numbers supported his legitimacy, partly in response to a fierce anonymous attack on his character from an Italian source, on 2 March 1415 he promised to resign. However, on 20 March he secretly fled the city and took refuge at Schaffhausen in territory of his friend Frederick, haec Sancta Synodus marks the high-water mark of the Conciliar movement of reform. The Church declared the first sessions of the Council of Constance an invalid and illicit assembly of bishops, the acts of the Council were not made public until 1442, at the behest of the Council of Basel, they were printed in 1500. The creation of a book on how to die was ordered by the council, in part because of the constant presence of the King, other rulers demanded that they have a say in who would be pope. This would pave the way for the end of the Western Schism, on 4 July 1415 the Bull of Gregory XII which appointed Malatesta and Cardinal Dominici of Ragusa as his proxies at the council was formally read before the assembled Bishops. The cardinal then read a decree of Gregory XII which convoked the council, thereupon, the Bishops voted to accept the summons. Prince Malatesta immediately informed the Council that he was empowered by a commission from Pope Gregory XII to resign the Papal Throne on the Pontiffs behalf and he asked the Council whether they would prefer to receive the abdication at that point or at a later date. The Bishops voted to receive the Papal abdication immediately, former Pope Gregory XII was then created titular Cardinal Bishop of Porto and Santa Ruffina by the Council, with rank immediately below the Pope
Council of Constance
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Emperor Sigismund, his second wife,
Barbara of Celje, and their daughter,
Elizabeth of Luxembourg, at the Council of Constance
Council of Constance
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Bishops debating with the pope at the Council of Constance
Council of Constance
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Imperia, a 1993-erected statue commemorating the Council
25.
Council of Florence
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At stake was the greater conflict between the Conciliar movement and the principle of papal supremacy. The Council entered a second phase after Emperor Sigismunds death in 1437, Pope Eugene IV convoked a rival Council of Ferrara on 8 January 1438 and succeeded in drawing the Byzantine ambassadors to Italy. The Council of Basel first suspended him, declared him a heretic, the rival Council of Florence concluded in 1445 after negotiating unions with the various eastern churches. This bridging of the Great Schism proved fleeting, but was a coup for the papacy. In 1447, Sigismunds successor Frederick III commanded the city of Basel to expel the Council of Basel, ambrogio Traversari attended the Council of Basel as legate of Pope Eugene IV. Under pressure for reform, Pope Martin V sanctioned a decree of the Council of Constance obliging the papacy to summon general councils periodically. At the expiration of the first term fixed by this decree, due to an epidemic the location transferred almost at once to Siena and disbande, in circumstances still imperfectly known, just as it had begun to discuss the subject of reform. Martin himself, however, died before the opening of the synod, the Council was seated on December 14,1431, at a period when the conciliar movement was strong and the authority of the papacy weak. The Council at Basel opened with only a few bishops and abbots attending and it adopted an anti-papal attitude, proclaimed the superiority of the Council over the Pope and prescribed an oath to be taken by every Pope on his election. On December 18 Martins successor, Pope Eugene IV, tried to dissolve it and open a new council on Italian soil at Bologna, but he was overruled. Sigismund, King of Hungary and titular King of Bohemia, had defeated at the Battle of Domažlice in the fifth crusade against the Hussites in August 1431. Under his sponsorship, the Council negotiated a peace with Calixtine faction of the Hussites in January 1433, Pope Eugene acknowledged the council in May and crowned Sigismund Holy Roman Emperor on May 31,1433. The divided Hussites were defeated in May 1434, in June 1434, the pope had to flee a revolt in Rome and began a ten-year exile in Florence. When the Council was moved from Basel to Ferrara in 1438, some remained at Basel and they elected Amadeus VIII, Duke of Savoy, as Antipope. Driven out of Basel in 1448, they moved to Lausanne, where Felix V, the pope they had elected, the next year, they decreed the closure of what for them was still the Council of Basel. The new council was transferred to Florence in 1439 because of the danger of plague at Ferrara and because Florence had agreed, against future payment, some, perhaps feeling political pressure from the Byzantine Emperor, accepted the decrees of the Council. Others did so by sincere conviction, such as Isidore of Kiev, only Bishop Mark of Ephesus, however, refused to accept the union and became the leader of opposition back home. The Russians, upon learning of the union, angrily rejected it, despite the religious union, Western military assistance to Byzantium was meager, and the fall of Constantinople occurred in May 1453
Council of Florence
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Pope Martin V convoked the Council of Basel in 1431. It became the Council of Ferrara in 1438 and the Council of Florence in 1439.
Council of Florence
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Sketches by
Pisanello of the Byzantine delegation at the Council
Council of Florence
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A figure in
Benozzo Gozzoli 's 1459 Journey of the Magi is assumed to portrait John VIII Palaiologos.
26.
Fifth Council of the Lateran
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The Fifth Council of the Lateran is the Eighteenth Ecumenical Council to be recognized by the Roman Catholic Church and the last one before the Protestant Reformation. When elected pope in 1503, Pope Julius II promised under oath to convoke a general council, however, as time passed, in 1509, Julius II joined the League of Cambrai, a coalition to restore recent continental conquests by Venice to their original owners. Then, also in 1509, Julius II censured Venice with an interdict, Venice suffered a complete defeat at the Battle of Agnadello on 14 May 1509, against the combined forces of the League of Cambrai. The first stages of conflict between the Papal States and France began in 1510, king Louis XII of France demanded that the Republic of Florence should definitely declare its allegiance. Declaring allegiance to France would expose Florence to an immediate attack, Julius II was a soldier and his goal was to free the entire Italian Peninsula from subjection by foreign powers. But, only Venice and the Old Swiss Confederacy were ready to field armies against the French, Julius II began hostilities by deposing and excommunicating his vassal, Alfonso I dEste, Duke of Ferrara, who supported France. The synod also threatened Julius II with a general council, Julius II ignored the French synod, and again assumed personal command of the army in Northern Italy. At Bologna he became ill in August 1510, but recovered. In October he negotiated an anti-French alliance, in the beginning the alliance included only the Papal States, Venice, and Spain, but England joined in November and was soon followed by the emperor and by Switzerland. Papal States marched against Mirandola which was captured on 20 January 1511, on 23 May 1511 contingents of the French army captured Bologna from the papal troops and reinstated Annibale II Bentivoglio. Bologna again submitted to Julius II and the cities of Parma, Reggio, the reforms attempted by the Council of Constance, 1414–1418, and Council of Basel-Ferrara-Florence, 1431–1449, failed. At the synods of Orleans and Tours, in 1510, the French decided to convoke a general council, Florence permitted the conciliabulum to use Pisa as the location, this estranged Julius II, and both Florence and Pisa were placed under an interdict. They were encouraged by Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, according to Shahan, dissatisfaction with treatment by Julius II, and subserviency to the excommunicate Louis XII, led Carvajal to this rebellious attitude. Maximilian I, who had planned since 1507 to procure his own election to the papacy after Julius II died, afterwards he withdrew it, and the German Bishops also refused to have anything to do with the schismatic tendencies of the French. On 18 July 1511 Julius II summoned a council, the Fifth Lateran Council, at Rome, it assembled there on 19 April 1512. Julius II deprived the four leading schismatic cardinals of their dignities and deposed them from their offices, after the conciliabulum transferred from Pisa to Milan on account of popular opposition, possibly elected Carvajal as Antipope Martin VI. The schismatic conciliabulum was a political step aimed at Julius II, the whole matter was a futile attempt to revive 15th century conciliarism and to employ it for political purposes. Julius II was quick to oppose the conciliabulum and convoked a council by a papal bull of 18 July 1511
Fifth Council of the Lateran
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Bulla monitorii et declarationis
Fifth Council of the Lateran
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Litterae super abrogatione pragmatice sanctionis, 1512
27.
Council of Trent
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The Council of Trent, held between 1545 and 1563 in Trento and Bologna, northern Italy, was one of the Roman Catholic Churchs most important ecumenical councils. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation, it has described as the embodiment of the Counter-Reformation. Four hundred years later, when Pope John XXIII initiated preparations for the Second Vatican Council, he affirmed the decrees it had issued, What was, still is. These addressed a range of subjects, including scripture, the Biblical canon, sacred tradition, original sin, justification, salvation, the sacraments, the Mass. The Council met for twenty-five sessions between 13 December 1545 and 4 December 1563, all in Trento, apart from the ninth to eleventh sessions held in Bologna during 1547, the consequences of the Council were also significant as regards the Churchs liturgy and practices. During its deliberations, the Council made the Vulgate the official example of the Biblical canon and commissioned the creation of a standard version, although this was not achieved until the 1590s. These, in turn, led to the codification of the Tridentine Mass, more than three hundred years passed until the next ecumenical council, the First Vatican Council, was convened in 1869. A few months later, on 31 October 1517, Martin Luther issued his 95 Theses in Wittenberg, after the Pope condemned in Exsurge Domine fifty-two of Luthers theses as heresy, German opinion considered a council the best method to reconcile existing differences. German Catholics, diminished in number, hoped for a council to clarify matters. Under Pope Clement VII, troops of the Catholic Holy Roman Emperor Charles V sacked Papal Rome in 1527, raping, killing, burning, stealing, saint Peters Basilica and the Sistine Chapel were used for horses. This, together with the Pontiffs ambivalence between France and Germany, led to his hesitation, Charles V strongly favoured a council, but needed the support of King Francis I of France, who attacked him militarily. This proposal met the opposition of the Pope for it gave recognition to Protestants, faced with a Turkish attack, Charles held the support of the Protestant German rulers, all of whom delayed the opening of the Council of Trent. In reply to the Papal bull Exsurge Domine of Pope Leo X, Martin Luther burned the document, in 1522 German diets joined in the appeal, with Charles V seconding and pressing for a council as a means of reunifying the Church and settling the Reformation controversies. Pope Clement VII was vehemently against the idea of a council, after Pope Pius II, in his bull Execrabilis and his reply to the University of Cologne, set aside the theory of the supremacy of general councils laid down by the Council of Constance. Pope Paul III, seeing that the Protestant Reformation was no longer confined to a few preachers, yet when he proposed the idea to his cardinals, it was almost unanimously opposed. Nonetheless, he sent nuncios throughout Europe to propose the idea, Paul III issued a decree for a general council to be held in Mantua, Italy, to begin on 23 May 1537. Martin Luther wrote the Smalcald Articles in preparation for the general council, the Smalcald Articles were designed to sharply define where the Lutherans could and could not compromise. The council was ordered by the Emperor and Pope Paul III to convene in Mantua on 23 May 1537 and it failed to convene after another war broke out between France and Charles V, resulting in a non-attendance of French prelates
Council of Trent
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The Council of Trent meeting in
Santa Maria Maggiore church,
Trento (Trent). (Artist unknown; painted late 17th century.)
Council of Trent
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Pope Paul III, convener of the Council of Trent.
Council of Trent
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The Council, depicted by
Pasquale Cati (Cati da Iesi)
28.
First Vatican Council
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The Vatican Council was convoked by Pope Pius IX on 29 June 1868, after a period of planning and preparation that began on 6 December 1864. This, the ecumenical council of the Catholic Church, held three centuries after the Council of Trent, opened on 8 December 1869 and adjourned on 20 October 1870. Unlike the five earlier General Councils held in Rome, which met in the Lateran Basilica and are known as Lateran Councils, it met in the Vatican Basilica and its best-known decision is its definition of papal infallibility, strongly promoted by the Archbishop Luigi Natoli. The council was convoked to deal with the problems of the rising influence of rationalism, liberalism. Its purpose was, besides this, to define the Catholic doctrine concerning the Church of Christ, the first matter brought up for debate was the dogmatic draft of Catholic doctrine against the manifold errors due to rationalism. This council was summoned by Pope Pius IX by the bull Aeterni Patris of 29 June 1868, the first session was held in St. Peters Basilica on 8 December 1869. Preliminary sessions dealt with administrative matters and committee assignments. Bishop Bernard John McQuaid complained of rainy weather, inadequate heating facilities, Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley of Newark, New Jersey noted the high prices in Rome. The doctrine of infallibility was not new and had been used by Pope Pius in defining as dogma, in 1854, the Immaculate Conception of Mary. Richard McBrien divides the bishops attending Vatican I into three groups, the first group, which McBrien calls the active infallibilists, was led by Henry Edward Manning and Ignatius von Senestréy. Those who held this view included most of the German and Austro-Hungarian bishops, nearly half of the Americans, one third of the French, most of the Chaldaeans and Melkites, only a few bishops appear to have had doubts about the dogma itself. On 24 April 1870, the constitution on the Catholic faith Dei Filius was adopted unanimously. The constitution thus set forth the teaching of the Holy Catholic Apostolic Roman Church on God, revelation and it was decided to postpone discussion of everything in the draft except infallibility. The Pope rejected Guidis view of the bishops as witnesses to the tradition, on 13 July 1870, the section on infallibility was voted on,451 voted simply in favour,88 against, and 62 in favour but on condition of some amendment. This made evident what the outcome would be, and some 60 members of the opposition left Rome so as not to be associated with approval of the document. The two votes against were cast by Bishop Aloisio Riccio, and Bishop Edward Fitzgerald, none of the bishops who had argued that proclaiming the definition was inopportune refused to accept it. Discussion of the rest of the document on the nature of the Church was to continue when the bishops returned after a summer break, however, in the meanwhile the Franco-Prussian War broke out. With the swift German advance and the capture of Emperor Napoleon III, consequently, on 20 September 1870, the Kingdom of Italy captured Rome and annexed it
First Vatican Council
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First Vatican Council
First Vatican Council
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The Archbishop Luigi Natoli was the main defender of the papal infallibility during the First Vatican Council
First Vatican Council
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Ecclesiastics of several countries gathered in Rome for the Council
29.
Second Vatican Council
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The Second Vatican Council, fully the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council and informally known as Vatican II, addressed relations between the Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church, many of these changes remain divisive among the Catholic faithful. At the same time, the worlds bishops faced challenges driven by political, social, economic, some of these bishops sought new ways of addressing those challenges. The First Vatican Council had been nearly a century before but had been cut short when the Italian Army entered the city of Rome at the end of Italian unification. Pope John XXIII, however, gave notice of his intention to convene the Council on 25 January 1959 and this sudden announcement, which caught the Curia by surprise, caused little initial official comment from Church insiders. In various discussions before the Council actually convened, John XXIII often said that it was time to open the windows and he invited other Christians outside the Catholic Church to send observers to the Council. Acceptances came from both the Eastern Orthodox Church and Protestant denominations as internal observers, but these observers did not cast votes in the approbation of the conciliar documents. Pope John XXIIIs announcement on 25 January 1959 of his intention to call a general council came as an even to the cardinals present. The Pontiff pre-announced the council under a full moon when the faithful with their candlelights gathered in St. Peters square, after which, he instructed the people to go back home and give their children a kiss of goodnight, from the Pope himself. He had tested the idea only ten days before one of them, his Cardinal Secretary of State Domenico Tardini. Although the Pope later said the idea came to him in a flash in his conversation with Tardini, two cardinals had earlier attempted to interest him in the idea. They were two of the most conservative, Ernesto Ruffini and Alfredo Ottaviani, who had already in 1948 proposed the idea to Pope Pius XII and who put it before John XXIII on 27 October 1958. These groups, composed mostly of members of the Roman Curia, produced 987 proposed constituting sessions, attendance varied in later sessions from 2,100 to over 2,300. In addition, a number of periti were available for theological consultation—a group that turned out to have a major influence as the council went forward. Seventeen Orthodox Churches and Protestant denominations sent observers, more than three dozen representatives of other Christian communities were present at the opening session, and the number grew to nearly 100 by the end of the 4th Council Sessions. Pope John XXIII opened the Council on 11 October 1962 in a public session, what is needed is that this certain and immutable doctrine, to which the faithful owe obedience, be studied afresh and reformulated in contemporary terms. For this deposit of faith, or truths which are contained in our time-honored teaching is one thing, roncalli, Angelo Giuseppe, Opening address, Council, Rome, IT.13 October 1962 marked the initial working session of the Council. That days agenda included the election for members of the ten conciliar commissions, each would have sixteen elected and eight appointed members, and were expected to do most of the work of the Council
Second Vatican Council
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Saint Peter's Basilica Venue of the Second Vatican Council
Second Vatican Council
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The interior of Saint Peter's Basilica. Prior to these years, the basilica was illuminated using
beeswax candles, suspended on high
chandeliers.
Second Vatican Council
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A
Catholic priest celebrating
Tridentine Mass, the form of the Mass prevalent before the Council, during the elevation of the chalice after the consecration.
30.
Convoked
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A convocation is a group of people formally assembled for a special purpose, mostly ecclesiastical or academic. Their origins date back to the end of the century when Theodore of Tarsus reorganized the structures of the English Church. With the recognition of York as a province in 733. By the fifteenth century, each convocation was divided into an upper house, in 1921, the number of proctors of the diocesan clergy was increased to make them a majority in the lower houses. The Convocation of York was a small part of the Church in England. The legislative powers of the convocations varied considerably over the centuries, under Henry VIII and his successor Edward VI between 1534 and 1553 the Convocations were used as a source of clerical opinion but ecclesiastical legislation was secured by statute from Parliament. Business was resumed in 1701 and by the time Queen Anne died in 1714 draft canons, the resumption of proper business was brought about by the political changes which had taken place some twenty years earlier. The formal address to the Queen was debated for six hours, the driving force behind the campaign to achieve this was the London banker, Henry Hoare, who dedicated himself to the task. The legal basis of the resistance was the claim that convocation could only discuss such business as was specified by the Crown. In 1851, Canterbury received a petition, in 1853 it appointed committees, sumner was convinced of the value of Convocation and those bishops who had opposed the revival were taking part positively in its debates. Musgrave maintained his opposition until his death in 1860—he even locked the room where it was due to meet—and the Northern Convocation remained inactive until his successor took office, the Convocations have always been exclusively clerical assemblies. However, in 1885 the Convocations agreed to the establishment of parallel Houses of Laity elected by the lay members of the diocesan conferences and these were not part of Convocation, they had no constitutional status and were merely advisory. At the beginning of the century, both Convocations together with their respective houses of laity began to meet as a Representative Council which however had no legal authority or position. This was superseded in 1920 by the Church Assembly which was given the right to propose measures to Parliament by the Enabling Act of 1919. In some universities, the term refers specifically to the entirety of the alumni of a college which functions as one of the universitys representative bodies. Due to its size, the Convocation will elect a standing committee. The convocation also, however, can hold meetings, at which any alumnus can attend. The equivalent of the Convocation in the Scottish university system is the General Council, women were admitted to Convocation from 1913
Convoked
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Student receiving academic degree from
Azim Premji during convocation.
Adi Godrej in background.
Convoked
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Convocation dress of
University of Dhaka, Bangladesh
Convoked
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Student receives diploma from the
Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education, Mexico City
Convoked
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Line of young people at a commencement ceremony
Catholicism portal
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Fourth Lateran Council (1215)". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton.
