Conciliabulum Of Pisa
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The Fifth Council of the Lateran, held between 1512 and 1517, was the eighteenth
ecumenical council An ecumenical council, also called general council, is a meeting of bishops and other church authorities to consider and rule on questions of Christian doctrine, administration, discipline, and other matters in which those entitled to vote are ...
of the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
and was the last council before the
Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...
and the
Council of Trent The Council of Trent (), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation at the time, it has been described as the "most ...
. This was the first time since 1213 that the
Papal States The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...
would host an ecumenical council. It is so far the last time that
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
’s
Lateran Palace The Apostolic Palace of the Lateran (; ), informally the Lateran Palace (), is an ancient palace of the Roman Empire and later the main pope, papal residence in Rome. Located on Saint John's Square in Lateran on the Caelian Hill, the palace is ...
(which had hosted 4 ecumenical councils in the past) has been the venue for such a event. It was convoked by
Pope Julius II Pope Julius II (; ; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death, in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope, the Battle Pope or the Fearsome ...
with a political motive of restoring peace between warring Catholic rulers and to re-assert the authority of the
Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...
. After
Pope Leo X Pope Leo X (; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521. Born into the prominent political and banking Med ...
took over in 1513, the Council attempted various institutional, dogmatic and social welfare reforms. Institutional reforms were intended to improve unity, reduce nepotism, absenteeism, disinterest, luxury and simony for high church officials, improve the training and regulation of priests, to strengthen the position of bishops over friars, and to assert the independence of the church and clergy from lay control. The social welfare reform allowed no-interest
microfinance Microfinance consists of financial services targeting individuals and small businesses (SMEs) who lack access to conventional banking and related services. Microfinance includes microcredit, the provision of small loans to poor clients; saving ...
lending by monti di pietà. These addressed some issues that had been raised by contemporary reformers, but were not the particular issues that the subsequent Protestant Reformation alighted on. As with the immediately previous Councils, its institutional reforms were ineffectively implemented at that time.


Background

When elected pope in 1503,
Pope Julius II Pope Julius II (; ; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death, in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope, the Battle Pope or the Fearsome ...
promised under oath to convoke a general council, but his promise was not initially fulfilled.


Political background

The
Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...
had encroached on papal rights in Venetian territories by independently filling vacant episcopal sees, subjecting clergy to secular tribunals and generally disregarding the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of Julius II in other ways. In 1509, Julius II joined the
League of Cambrai The League of Cambrai was a military coalition against the Republic of Venice formed on 10 December 1508, by the main European powers (Holy Roman Empire, France, Aragon and their allies), to maintain their hegemony over the Italian Peninsula. Th ...
, a coalition formed to restore lands that had been recently conquered by Venice to their original owners. Julius II censured Venice with an
interdict In Catholic canon law, an interdict () is an ecclesiastical censure, or ban that prohibits certain persons or groups from participating in particular rites, or that the rites and services of the church are prohibited in certain territories for ...
and deployed the armies of the
Papal States The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...
, along with the combined forces of the League of Cambrai, to Venetian-occupied
Romagna Romagna () is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna, in northern Italy. Etymology The name ''Romagna'' originates from the Latin name ''Romania'', which originally ...
. There, Venice suffered a complete defeat at the
Battle of Agnadello The Battle of Agnadello, also known as Vailà, was one of the most significant battles of the War of the League of Cambrai and one of the major battles of the Italian Wars. Background On 15 April 1509, a French army under the command of Louis ...
, on 14 May 1509. In 1510, Venice negotiated with Julius II, who withdrew from the League of Cambrai and removed the censure in exchange for terms that included Venice agreeing to return disputed towns in Romagna, to renounce claims to fill vacant benefices, to acknowledge jurisdiction of ecclesiastical tribunals over clergy and their immunity to secular tribunals including exemption from taxes, to revoke all unauthorised treaties made with towns in the Papal States, to abandon appeal to a future general council against the papal bans and to concede free navigation of the
Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...
to Papal States subjects. The first stages of conflict between the Papal States and France began in 1510. King
Louis XII of France Louis XII (27 June 14621 January 1515), also known as Louis of Orléans was King of France from 1498 to 1515 and King of Naples (as Louis III) from 1501 to 1504. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Marie of Cleves, he succeeded his second ...
demanded that the
Republic of Florence The Republic of Florence (; Old Italian: ), known officially as the Florentine Republic, was a medieval and early modern state that was centered on the Italian city of Florence in Tuscany, Italy. The republic originated in 1115, when the Flor ...
declare definitively its allegiance. However, declaring allegiance to France would expose Florence to an immediate attack, and alienate its citizens, who dreaded a conflict with the head of the Church. Additionally, Florence was full of antagonistic parties and irreconcilable interests. To gain time, Florence sent
Niccolò Machiavelli Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli (3 May 1469 – 21 June 1527) was a Florentine diplomat, author, philosopher, and historian who lived during the Italian Renaissance. He is best known for his political treatise '' The Prince'' (), writte ...
on a diplomatic mission to France in July 1510, where he found Louis XII eager for war and inclined towards the idea of a general council to depose Julius II. Julius II was a soldier, and his goal was to free the entire Italian Peninsula from subjection to foreign powers. However, only Venice and the
Old Swiss Confederacy The Old Swiss Confederacy, also known as Switzerland or the Swiss Confederacy, was a loose confederation of independent small states (, German or ), initially within the Holy Roman Empire. It is the precursor of the modern state of Switzerlan ...
were ready to field armies against the French. Julius II began hostilities by deposing and excommunicating his vassal,
Alfonso I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara Alfonso d'Este (21 July 1476 – 31 October 1534) was Duke of Ferrara from 1504 to 1534, during the time of the War of the League of Cambrai. Biography He was the son of Ercole I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara and Eleanor of Naples and became du ...
, who supported France. Louis XII retaliated in September 1510 by convoking a synod of French bishops at
Tours Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...
, which judged that the pope had no right to make war upon a foreign prince and if the pope undertook such a war, the foreign prince had the right to invade the Papal States and to withdraw his subjects' obedience to the pope. 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 Northern Italy (, , ) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. The Italian National Institute of Statistics defines the region as encompassing the four Northwest Italy, northwestern Regions of Italy, regions of Piedmo ...
. In August 1510, at
Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...
, he became dangerously ill but then recovered. In October, he negotiated an anti-French alliance. In the beginning, the alliance included only the Papal States, Venice and Spain, but in November, England joined and was soon followed by the emperor and by Switzerland. The Papal States marched against
Mirandola Mirandola (Emilian language#Dialects, Mirandolese: ) is a city and ''comune'' of Emilia-Romagna, Italy, in the Province of Modena, northeast of the Modena, provincial capital by railway. History Mirandola originated as a Renaissance Defensiv ...
, 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 Annibale II Bentivoglio (1467
; Rendina, op. cit., gives 1469. ...
. Under the leadership of
Gaston of Foix, Duke of Nemours Gaston de Foix, duc de Nemours (10 December 1489 – 11 April 1512), nicknamed The Thunderbolt of Italy, was a famed French military commander of the Renaissance. Nephew of King Louis XII of France and general of his armies in Kingdom of Italy ...
, the French were at first successful, but after his death, they yielded to the superior forces of the League. After being defeated in the Battle of Ravenna in 1512, they retreated beyond the Alps. Bologna again submitted to Julius II, and the cities of
Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...
, Reggio and
Piacenza Piacenza (; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Piacenza, eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with more ...
became part of the Papal States.


' of Pisa

The reforms of the
Council of Constance The Council of Constance (; ) was an ecumenical council of the Catholic Church that was held from 1414 to 1418 in the Bishopric of Constance (Konstanz) in present-day Germany. This was the first time that an ecumenical council was convened in ...
(1414–1418) and the 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. In view of the Council of Constance decree ' and the delay of Julius II to convoke a general council as he had sworn in the
papal conclave A conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to appoint the pope of the Catholic Church. Catholics consider the pope to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and the earthly head of the Catholic Church. Concerns around ...
, the schismatic ' convened at
Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...
in 1511. Florence permitted the ' to use Pisa as the location; this estranged Julius II, and both Florence and Pisa were placed under an interdict. According to Marco Pellegrini, the Gallican ' "shows how some members of the
Sacred College The College of Cardinals (), also called the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. there are cardinals, of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Appointed by the pope, ...
were ever open to schismatic solutions". According to Kraus, it was intended by French politicians to restrain Julius II, and to recognize by general council of the principles of the 1438
Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges The Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges, issued by King Charles VII of France, on 7 July 1438, required a General Church Council, with authority superior to that of the papacy, to be held every ten years, required election rather than appointment to ec ...
, drawn from the articles of the Council of Constance and the Council of Basel-Ferrara-Florence. The schismatic ' at Pisa was attended by only a few prelates including Cardinals
Bernardino López de Carvajal Bernardino López de Carvajal (8 September 1456, in Plasencia, Extremadura – 16 December 1523, in Rome) was a Spanish Cardinal. Life He was a nephew of Cardinal Juan Carvajal. He studied in Salamanca from 1466; obtained a bachelor's degree i ...
, Guillaume Briçonnet, Francesco Borgia,
Federico Sanseverino Federico di Sanseverino (died 1516) was an Italian Roman Catholic cardinal of the 16th century. Grandson of the Duke of Urbino, he spent most of his ecclesiastical career as a political operative, first for the Sforza in Milan, and then repres ...
, and
René de Prie René de Prie (1451–1519) was a French Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal. Biography René de Prie was born in Touraine in 1451, the son of Antoine de Prie, baron of Buzançais, and Madeleine d'Amboise. He was a cousin of Cardinal Georges d' ...
. They were encouraged by
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I (22 March 1459 – 12 January 1519) was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 until his death in 1519. He was never crowned by the Pope, as the journey to Rome was blocked by the Venetians. He proclaimed hi ...
, and Louis XII. According to Shahan, dissatisfaction with treatment by Julius II, as well as subserviency to the excommunicate Louis XII, led Carvajal to that rebellious attitude. The council was held first in the choir of the
San Michele in Borgo San Michele in Borgo is a Roman Catholic church in Pisa, region of Tuscany, Italy. History The church, together with the monastery (which first belonged to the Benedictines and, from the 12th century, the Camaldolese) was built in the late 10th ...
and then in that of the
Cathedral of Pisa Pisa Cathedral (), officially the Primatial Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary (), is a medieval Catholic cathedral dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, in the Piazza dei Miracoli in Pisa, Italy, the oldest of the three st ...
. Maximilian I, who had planned since 1507 to procure his own election to the papacy after Julius died, at first gave his protection to the schismatic ' at Pisa. Then, 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 general council, the Fifth Lateran Council, at Rome; it assembled there on 19 April 1512, with a very small attendance that had only Italian prelates. Julius deprived the four leading schismatic cardinals of their dignities, deposed them from their offices and excommunicated the ' participants. After the ' transferred from Pisa to Milan because of popular opposition, possibly elected Carvajal as
Antipope An antipope () is a person who claims to be Bishop of Rome and leader of the Roman Catholic Church in opposition to the officially elected pope. Between the 3rd and mid-15th centuries, antipopes were supported by factions within the Church its ...
Martin VI. Soon afterward, in 1512, fearing the
Swiss mercenaries The Swiss mercenaries were a powerful infantry force constituting professional soldiers originating from the cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy. They were notable for their service in foreign armies, especially among the military forces of th ...
invasion of the French occupied
Duchy of Milan The Duchy of Milan (; ) was a state in Northern Italy, created in 1395 by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, then the lord of Milan, and a member of the important Visconti of Milan, Visconti family, which had been ruling the city since 1277. At that time, ...
, the ' participants departed to
Asti Asti ( , ; ; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) of 74,348 inhabitants (1–1–2021) located in the Italy, Italian region of Piedmont, about east of Turin, in the plain of the Tanaro, Tanaro River. It is the capital of the province of Asti and ...
and then
Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
, France, where they abandoned the ' later that year. The schismatic ' was a political step aimed at Julius II, who was involved in conflict with the
Duchy of Ferrara The Duchy of Ferrara (; ; ) was a state in what is now northern Italy. It consisted of about 1,100 km2 south of the lower Po River, stretching to the valley of the lower Reno River, including the city of Ferrara. The territory that was part ...
and France. The whole matter was a futile attempt to revive 15th century
conciliarism Conciliarism was a movement in the 14th-, 15th- and 16th-century Catholic Church which held that supreme authority in the Church resided with an ecumenical council, apart from, or even against, the pope. The movement emerged in response to the We ...
and to use it for political purposes.


Convocation of Lateran Council

Julius II was quick to oppose the ' and convoked a general council by a
papal bull A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal ...
of 18 July 1511, which was to meet on 19 April 1512 in the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, in Rome. The bull not only was a canonical document but also was polemical in content. Julius refuted the allegation by the cardinals for their Pisa '. He declared that his promise before his election as pope was sincere; that since he became pope, he had always sought to call a general council; that to prepare the general council, he had endeavored to bring an end to quarrels between rulers; that subsequent wars had made calling the council inopportune. Julius then reproached the participants at Pisa for their lack of respect by calling a council without the pope, who was supposed to lead. He also said that the three months of preparation for Pisa was not enough. Finally, he declared that no one should attach any significance to the statements made at Pisa. A war of polemics was waged about the councils, pitting
Thomas Cajetan Thomas Cajetan ( ; 20 February 14699 August 1534), also known as Gaetanus, commonly Tommaso de Vio or Thomas de Vio, was an Italian philosopher, theologian, the Master of the Order of Preachers 1508 to 1518, and cardinal from 1517 until his de ...
, the Dominican Master General, on the papal side against the conciliarist arguments of
Jacques Almain Jacques Almain (died 1515) was a French professor of arts and theology at the University of Paris who died at an early age. Born in the diocese of Sens, he studied Arts at the Collège de Montaigu of the University of Paris. He served as Rector ...
, the spokesman of the
University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...
. France's victory over the
Papal States The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...
and the
Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...
at the
Battle of Ravenna (1512) The Battle of Ravenna, fought on 11 April 1512, was a major battle of the War of the League of Cambrai. It pitted forces of the Holy League against France and their Ferrarese allies. Although the French and Ferrarese eliminated the Papal–Sp ...
hindered the opening of the council called by Julius II. During the council, the ambassador of the Holy Roman Emperor announced that Maximilian had rejected the decisions made by the ' at Pisa, and a similar announcement was made by Louis XII's ambassador. At the seventh session, in 1513, Carvajal and Sanseverino separated from their French colleagues and formally renounced the schism, and they were restored by Leo X to their offices.
Alessandro Geraldini Alessandro Geraldini (''also Gerardini or Gueraldini''; 1455 – March 8, 1524) was a Renaissance humanist scholar at the Spanish court of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. He is known for his support of Christopher Columbus. He served as tu ...
, the first
Archbishop of Santo Domingo The Archdiocese of Santo Domingo (; ) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the Dominican Republic. The see was erected 8 August 1511 as the Diocese of Santo Domingo and elevated to archdiocese on 1 ...
, attended the eleventh session, likely making him to first prelate from the
Western Hemisphere The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the Prime Meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the 180th meridian.- The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Geopolitically, ...
to attend an
Ecumenical Council An ecumenical council, also called general council, is a meeting of bishops and other church authorities to consider and rule on questions of Christian doctrine, administration, discipline, and other matters in which those entitled to vote are ...
.


Location

The arrangements for the council were done by the papal master of ceremonies Paride de Grassi, who prepared by reaching out to several individuals who had knowledge of the proceeding and structures for previous councils, such as Constance and Florence. De Grassi constructed a main council chamber inside the
nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
of the
Lateran Basilica The Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran (officially the ''Major Papal, Patriarchal and Roman Archbasilica, Metropolitan and Primatial Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and Saints John the Baptist and the Evangelist in Lateran, Mother and Head of A ...
. This chamber was surrounded by a wall to protect the privacy of the proceedings. Rooms for eating and
latrine A latrine is a toilet or an even simpler facility that is used as a toilet within a sanitation system. For example, it can be a communal trench in the earth in a camp to be used as emergency sanitation, a hole in the ground ( pit latrine), or ...
s were constructed within it, as the participants could not leave the premises during the council. A second smaller room was constructed in the ''aula concilii'' in the
Lateran Palace The Apostolic Palace of the Lateran (; ), informally the Lateran Palace (), is an ancient palace of the Roman Empire and later the main pope, papal residence in Rome. Located on Saint John's Square in Lateran on the Caelian Hill, the palace is ...
, and was designed for the purpose of having a smaller locations were the pope, cardinals, emperors, and other high-ranking members could enjoy more privacy. However, the ''aula concilii'' housed only one meeting and no formal sessions were conducted in it. The details of the room, measurements, structures, and facilities were reconstructed by scholar
Nelson Minnich Nelson Hubert Minnich (born January 15, 1942, in Cincinnati, Ohio) is an American historian and author who specializes in Catholic history. Life Minnich completed his BA in philosophy (in 1965) and MA in history (in 1969) at Boston College and ...
, who heavily relied on the diaries of Paride De Grassi himself.


Meetings and decision

The Council finally met on 3 May 1512 at the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran. The scholar and preacher Cardinal
Egidio da Viterbo Giles Antonini commonly referred to as Giles of Viterbo (, ), was a 16th-century Italian Augustinian friar, bishop of Viterbo and cardinal, a reforming theologian, orator, humanist and poet. He was born in Viterbo and died in Rome. Life He was ...
(Giles of Viterbo) gave an inspiring opening address on the need for urgent reform, which was widely printed and puts many of the concerns of Catholic reformists and humanists, such as Ximenez, von Staupitz,
John Colet John Colet (January 1467 – 16 September 1519) was an English Catholic priest and educational pioneer. Colet was an English scholar, Renaissance humanist, theologian, member of the Worshipful Company of Mercers, and Dean of St Paul's Cathedr ...
and
Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus ( ; ; 28 October c. 1466 – 12 July 1536), commonly known in English as Erasmus of Rotterdam or simply Erasmus, was a Dutch Christian humanist, Catholic priest and Catholic theology, theologian, educationalist ...
. Participants included fifteen cardinals, the Latin patriarchs of Alexandria and Antioch, ten archbishops, fifty-six bishops, some abbots and generals of religious orders, the ambassadors of
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I (22 March 1459 – 12 January 1519) was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 until his death in 1519. He was never crowned by the Pope, as the journey to Rome was blocked by the Venetians. He proclaimed hi ...
and those of Venice and of Florence. After Julius II died, his successor,
Pope Leo X Pope Leo X (; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521. Born into the prominent political and banking Med ...
, continued the council, and the last session was held on 16 March 1517. Several decrees were published, most for institutional reform and political peace rather than doctrinal clarification, including: *A rejection and condemnation of the ' of Pisa, quashing everything done by it. * The nullification of a Papal election where
simony Simony () is the act of selling church offices and roles or sacred things. It is named after Simon Magus, who is described in the Acts of the Apostles as having offered two disciples of Jesus payment in exchange for their empowering him to imp ...
is exposed. * An invitation to Hussites to attend and negotiate re-integration, with better security guarantees. * Establishing age limits (over 30) for bishops: this was aimed reducing nepotism and absentee bishops. The Council encouraged
cardinal-nephews A cardinal-nephew (; ; ; ; )Signorotto and Visceglia, 2002, p. 114. Modern French scholarly literature uses the term "cardinal-neveu'". was a cardinal elevated by a pope who was that cardinal's relative. The practice of creating cardinal-nephews ...
. * Establishing better criteria for abbots. * Establishing peer review by cardinals of each others' visitation reports. * Stricter regulation of the Roman curia. * Sumptuory regulations for cardinals and bishops. * A confirmation of the excommunications of cardinals by Julius II (1512). * ''Inter multiplices'', a Bull promulgated by Leo X on 4 May 1515, sanctioning the ': financial institutions under strict ecclesiastical supervision, which provided loans to the needy in the manner of
pawn shop A pawnbroker is an individual that offers secured loans to people, with items of personal property used as collateral. A pawnbrokering business is called a pawnshop, and while many items can be pawned, pawnshops typically accept jewelry, ...
s and had attracted both support and opposition from within the church since their establishment in the previous century; * '' Apostolici Regiminis'', on the
immortality of the soul Immortality is the concept of eternal life. Some species possess " biological immortality" due to an apparent lack of the Hayflick limit. From at least the time of the ancient Mesopotamians, there has been a conviction that gods may be phy ...
, usually believed to have been directed against
Pietro Pomponazzi Pietro Pomponazzi (16 September 1462 – 18 May 1525) was an Italian philosopher. He is sometimes known by his Latin name, ''Petrus Pomponatius''. Biography Pietro Pomponazzi was born in Mantua and began his education there. He completed h ...
* One concerning the freedom of the Church and the dignity of bishops, that lay people have no power over clerics. Also that bishops have authority over friars in their churches. * A requirement that a local bishop give permission before the printing of a new book. * Confirmation of the contemporaneous 1516
Concordat of Bologna The Concordat of Bologna (1516) was an agreement between King Francis I of France and Pope Leo X that Francis negotiated in the wake of his victory at Marignano in September 1515. The groundwork was laid in a series of personal meetings of king a ...
between the
Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...
and the Kingdom of France and abrogation of the 1438
Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges The Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges, issued by King Charles VII of France, on 7 July 1438, required a General Church Council, with authority superior to that of the papacy, to be held every ten years, required election rather than appointment to ec ...
. * A lengthy section calling for peace between princes, and that everyone with any influence must do so. * Advocation of war against the Turks to reclaim the Holy Land, to be funded by three years of tax levies. * Condemnation of all propositions contradicting "the truth of the enlightened Christian faith", restrictions on clergy teachings about the "nature of the rational soul" and regulation of university course sequences for clerics' studies in philosophy and poetry. A call to all philosophy teachers to complement any lesson that contradicts the Christian faith with "convincing arguments" from the Christian point of view. *Requirement for documented competence in preaching. *Apocalyptic preaching was forbidden.


Effect

Little was done to put the work of the council into practice. In the view of a Franciscan teacher: The Vatican website introduction to the session reports of the Council notes that while reform of the curia failed, suppression of the Pisa pseudo-council succeeded, though the small number of attending bishops had raised questions about its status as a true "ecumenical" council. The Pope's need for more money to finance military operations against the Turks in the Holy Lands and to re-establish Rome's prestige and centrality, which underpins several of the Council's discussions, was behind the so-called "sale of
indulgences In the teaching of the Catholic Church, an indulgence (, from , 'permit') is "a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for (forgiven) sins". The ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' describes an indulgence as "a remission bef ...
" scandal that precipitated
Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...
's Ninety-five Theses, which were published just seven months after the close of the council. According to historian Nelson Minnich, Luther was shocked that the Lateran Council had in his view abrogated decisions of previous councils and he adopted ''
sola scriptura (Latin for 'by scripture alone') is a Christian theological doctrine held by most Protestant Christian denominations, in particular the Lutheran and Reformed traditions, that posits the Bible as the sole infallible source of authority for ...
'' in consequence. Whether or not the
Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...
could have been avoided if the reforms had been implemented is a matter of debate.


Notes


References


Sources

* * * * * * Introduction and translation taken from * * * * Minnich, Nelson H. (1974), "The Participants at the Fifth Lateran Council", ''Archivum Historiae Pontificiae'' 12 (1974), pp. 157–206. * * * * *


External links


Fifth Lateran Council
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lateran Council V Lateran V 5 Lateran 5 1512 establishments in Europe 1517 disestablishments in Europe 1510s in Italy History of Pisa Pope Julius II 1512 in Christianity 16th century in the Papal States