Everything about Second Council Of Lyon totally explained
» The First Council of Lyon, the Thirteenth Ecumenical Council, took place in 1245.
The
Second Council of Lyon was the fourteenth
ecumenical council of the
Roman Catholic Church, convoked on 31 March 1272 and convened in
Lyon,
France, in
1274.
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 some five hundred
bishops, sixty
abbots and more than a thousand
prelates or their
procurators, among whom were the representatives of the universities. Due to the great number of attendees, those who had come to Lyon without being specifically summoned were given "leave to depart with the blessing of God" and of the Pope. Among others who attended the council were
James I of Aragon, the ambassador of the Emperor
Michael VIII Palaiologos with members of the Greek clergy and the ambassadors of the
Khan of the
Tatars.
St Thomas Aquinas had been summoned to the council, but died en route at
Frosinone.
St Bonaventure was present at the first four sessions, but died at Lyon on 15 July.
In addition to Aragon, which James represented in person, representatives of the kings of Germany, England, Scotland, France, the Spains and Sicily were present, with procurators also representing the kingdoms of Norway, Sweden, Hungary, Bohemia, the "realm of Dacia" and the duchy of Poland. In the procedures to be observed in the council, for the first time the
nations appeared as represented elements in an ecclesiastical council, as they'd already become represented in the governing of
medieval universities. 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, 4 or 7 June, 6 July, 16 July and 17 July. By the end of the council, thirty-one constitutions were promulgated. In the second session, the fathers approved the decree
Zelus fidei, which contained no juridical statutes but rather summed up constitutions about the perils of the Holy Land, the means for paying for a proposed crusade, the excommunication of pirates and corsairs and those who protected them or traded with them, a declaration of peace among Christians, a grant of
remission of sins for those willing to go on crusade, the intention to deal with the schismatic Greeks and the definition of the order and procedure to be observed in the council. The Greeks conceded on the issue of the
Filioque (two words added to the
Nicene creed), and union was proclaimed, but the union was later repudiated by
Andronicus II, heir to Michael VIII. The council also recognized
Rudolf I as
Holy Roman Emperor, ending the
Interregnum.
Conquest of the Holy Land
The council debated financial aspects of the
crusade. It was decided that for six years a
tithe of all the
benefices of Christendom should benefit the crusade. James of Aragon wished to organize the expedition at once, but this was opposed by the
Knights Templar, and no decision was made. Ambassadors of the Khan of the Tatars negotiated with the Pope, who wished them to leave Christians in peace during the war against
Islam.
Union of the Churches
Wishing to end the
Great Schism that divided
Rome and
Constantinople, Gregory X had sent an embassy to Michael VIII Palaeologus, who had reconquered Constantinople, putting an end to the remnants of the
Latin Empire in the East, and he asked Latin despots in the East to curb their ambitions. Eastern dignitaries arrived at Lyon on 24 June presenting a letter from the Emperor. On 29 June, Gregory X celebrated a
Mass in St John's 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 didn't provide a lasting solution to the schism; the Emperor was anxious to heal the schism, but the Eastern clergy proved to be obstinate. Patriarch Joseph of Constantinople abdicated, and was replaced by John Beccos, a convert to the cause of union. In spite of a sustained campaign by Beccos to defend the union intellectually, and vigorous and brutal repression of opponents by Michael, the vast majority of Byzantine christians remained implacably opposed to union with the Latin "heretics". Michael's death in December 1282 put an end to the union of Lyons. His son and successor Andronicus II repudiated the union, and Beccos was forced to abdicate, being eventually exiled and imprisoned until his death in 1297. He is to this day reviled by many in the Eastern Church as a traitor to Orthodoxy.
Mongol delegation
The Mongol leader
Abaqa sent a delegation of 13-16 Mongols to the Council, which created a great stir, particularly when their leader underwent a public
baptism. Among the embassy were
David of Ashby, and the clerk
Rychaldus. According to one chronicler, "The Mongols came, not because of the Faith, but to conclude an alliance with the Christians".
Abaqa's Latin secretary Rychaldus delivered a report to the Council, which outlined previous European-Ilkhanid relations under Abaqa's father,
Hulagu, where after welcoming the Christian ambassadors to his court, Hulagu had agreed to exempt Latin Christians from taxes and charges, in exchange for their prayers for the
Qaghan. According to Richardus, Hulagu had also prohibited the molestation of Frank establishments, and had committed to return
Jerusalem to the Franks. Richardus told the assembly that even after Hulagu's death, Abaqa was still determined to drive the Mamluks from Syria.
At the Council, Pope Gregory promulgated a new Crusade to start in 1278 in liaison with the Mongols. The Pope put in place a vast program to launch the Crusade, which was written down in his “Constitutions for the zeal of the faith”. This text puts forward four main decisions to accomplish the Crusade: the imposition of a new tax during three years, the interdiction of any kind of trade with the
Saracens, the supply of ships by the Italian maritime Republics, and the alliance of the West with Byzantium and the Il-Khan Abagha. However, despite papal plans, there was little support from European monarchs, who at this point were more likely to give lip service to the idea of a Crusade than to commit actual troops. The Pope's death in 1276 put an end to any such plans, and the money that had been gathered was instead distributed in Italy.
Other topics debated
The council dealt with the reform of the Church, regarding which Gregory had sent out inquiries. Several bishops and abbots were deposed for unworthiness, and some
mendicant orders were suppressed. On the other hand, the two new orders of
Dominicans and
Franciscans were approved.
There had been several lengthy vacancies of the
Holy See, most recently the
sede vacante that had lasted from the death of
Clement IV, 29 November 1268, until Gregory's election, 1 September 1271. The council decided that in future the
cardinals shouldn't leave the
conclave until they'd successfully elected a pope. This decision was suspended in
1276 by
Pope Adrian V, and then revoked by
Pope John XXI. It has since been re-established, and is the basis of present legislation on papal elections.
Finally the council dealt with the Imperial throne, which James I of Aragon claimed. His claim was disallowed by the Pope, and
Rudolph I was proclaimed King of the Romans and future emperor on 6 June.
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