The
Fourth Council of the Lateran was convoked by
Pope Innocent III with the
papal bull of
April 19,
1213, and the Council gathered in November of
1215. Due to the great length of time between the Council's convocation and meeting, a great many bishops had the opportunity to attend. It was the 12th
ecumenical council and is sometimes called "the General Council of Lateran" due to the presence of seventy-one
patriarchs and
metropolitan bishops, four hundred and twelve
bishops, and nine hundred
abbots and
priors together with representatives of several
monarchs.
Purposes of the Council
Pope Innocent III had always planned to gather an ecumenical council because of the limited results of the
Third Crusade and the bitter results of the
Fourth Crusade, which had led to the capture of Constantinople and large parts of the Byzantine Empire. Innocent III wanted to reformulate papal involvement in the Crusades as outlined in his decree
“To Free the Holy Land”, but only towards the end of his pontificate did he realise this project.
The pope presented to the Council seventy one decrees; these were considered along with the organisation of the
Fifth Crusade and with measures against
heretics. Those gathered in Council engaged in very little discussion and did little more than give approval to the decrees presented to them by Innocent III.
In secular matters,
Raymond VI of Toulouse, his son (afterwards
Raymond VII), and
Raymond-Roger of Foix attended the Council to dispute the threatened confiscation of their territories;
Bishop Foulques and
Guy of Montfort (brother of
Simon) argued in favour of the confiscation.
The Council confirmed the elevation of
Frederick II as Holy Roman Emperor. Pierre-Bermond of Sauve's claim to Toulouse was rejected, and
Toulouse was awarded to
Simon de Montfort; the
lordship of Melgueil was separated from Toulouse and entrusted to the bishops of
Maguelonne. The county of
Provence, a possession of Raymond VI, was confiscated and kept in trust to be restored to his son if he proved worthy of it.
Canons
Canons presented to the Council included:
- Canons 3-4. Laid down procedures and penalties against heretics and their protectors
- Canon 13. The founding of new religious orders was forbidden
- Canons 14-18. Rules on the conduct of the clergy including against such things as: non-celibate living, drunkenness, frequenting taverns, hunting, conducting trials by ordeal or combat
- Canon 21 Reaffirmed the requirement that every Christian who had reached the age of reason (7–8 years) to confess their sins and receive Holy Communion at least once a year.
- Canons 67-70 Regulated the Jewish-Christian relationship, and placed restrictions on the Jewish communities.
See also
