The Council of Vienne was the fifteenth

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 ar ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and met between 1311 and 1312 in

Vienne Vienne (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Viéne'') is a landlocked department in the French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It takes its name from the river Vienne. It had a population of 438,435 in 2019.papal support for the Knights Templar at the instigation of Philip IV of France. The Council, unable to decide on a course of action, tabled the discussion. In March 1312 Philip arrived and pressured the Council and Clement to act. Clement passed papal bulls dissolving the Templar Order, confiscating their lands, and labeling them

heretics Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...

. Church reform was represented by the decision concerning the

Franciscans , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

, allowing abbots to decide how to interpret their Rule. The

Beguines and Beghards The Beguines () and the Beghards () were Christian lay religious orders that were active in Western Europe, particularly in the Low Countries, in the 13th–16th centuries. Their members lived in semi-monastic communities but did not take forma ...

of Germany were condemned as heretics, while the council forbade marriage for clerics, concubinage, rape, fornication, adultery, and incest. The council addressed the possibility of a crusade, hearing from

James II of Aragon James II (Catalan: ''Jaume II''; Spanish: ''Jaime II;'' 10 April 1267 – 2 or 5 November 1327), called the Just,, an, Chaime lo Chusto, es, Jaime el Justo. was the King of Aragon and Valencia and Count of Barcelona from 1291 to 1327. He ...

and

Henry II of Cyprus Henry II (June 1270 – 31 August 1324) was the last crowned King of Jerusalem (after the fall of Acre on 28 May 1291, this title became empty) and also ruled as King of Cyprus. He was of the Lusignan dynasty. He was the second surviving so ...

, before deciding to assign Philip of France as its leader. It was through Philip's influence that Clement finally canonized Pietro Angelerio, taking care not to use his papal title

Celestine V Celestine is a given name and a surname. People Given name * Pope Celestine I (died 432) * Pope Celestine II (died 1144) * Pope Celestine III (c. 1106–1198) * Pope Celestine IV (died 1241) * Pope Celestine V (1215–1296) * Antipope Ce ...

. The final act of the council was to establish university chairs for Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic and Arabic languages. Cathedrale

Background

The Knights Templar were a military order founded in the twelfth century to ensure the safety of

pilgrim A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the adherent of ...

s traveling to Jerusalem. In the following centuries the order grew in power and wealth. In the early 14th century, Philip IV of France urgently needed money to continue his war with England, and he accused the Grand Master of the Templars,

Jacques De Molay Jacques de Molay (; c. 1240–1250 – 11 or 18 March 1314), also spelled "Molai",Demurger, pp. 1-4. "So no conclusive decision can be reached, and we must stay in the realm of approximations, confining ourselves to placing Molay's date of birth ...

, of corruption and heresy. On 13 October 1307 Philip had all French Templars arrested, charged with heresy, and tortured until they allegedly confessed to their charges. These forced admissions released Philip from his obligation to repay loans obtained from the Templars and allowed him to confiscate the Templars' assets in France. The arrests of the Knights Templar, coupled with the defiance of the Colonna cardinals and Philip IV against Pope Boniface VIII, convinced Clement V to call a general council. Though the site of Vienne was criticised for its lack of neutrality (being under the control of Philip), Clement nevertheless chose it as the site for the council.

Council

Sou d'or de Clément V frappé à Sorgues 1310

Pope Clement V Pope Clement V ( la, Clemens Quintus; c. 1264 – 20 April 1314), born Raymond Bertrand de Got (also occasionally spelled ''de Guoth'' and ''de Goth''), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 5 June 1305 to his de ...

convened the Council by issuing the bulls '' Faciens misericordiam'' and '' Regnans in coelis'' on 12 August 1308. The opening of the Council was delayed, giving time to the Templars to arrive so they could answer the charges put against them, and was not convened until 16 October 1311. The ''Regnans in coelis'' was sent to nearly 500 clerics, prelates, masters of militant Orders, and priors. The attendees consisted of twenty cardinals, four patriarchs, about one hundred archbishops and bishops, plus several abbots and priors. The great princes, including the rulers of Sicily, Hungary, Bohemia, Cyprus, and Scandinavia, as well as the kings of France, England, and the Iberian peninsula, had been invited. No king appeared, except Philip IV who arrived the following spring to pressure the council against the Templars.

Knights Templar

The main item on the agenda of the Council not only cited the Order of Knights Templar itself, but also "its lands", which suggested that further seizures of property were proposed. Besides this, the agenda also invited archbishops and prelates to bring proposals for improvement in the life of the Church. Special notices were sent to the Templars directing them to send suitable ''defensores'' (defenders) to the Council. The Grand Master

Jacques de Molay Jacques de Molay (; c. 1240–1250 – 11 or 18 March 1314), also spelled "Molai",Demurger, pp. 1-4. "So no conclusive decision can be reached, and we must stay in the realm of approximations, confining ourselves to placing Molay's date of birth ...

and others were also commanded to appear in person. Molay, however, was already imprisoned in Paris and trials of other Templars were already in progress. The Council began with a majority of the cardinals and nearly all the members of the Council being of the opinion that the Order of Knights Templar should be granted the right to defend itself. Furthermore, they believed that no proof collected up to then was sufficient to convict the order of the

heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...

of which Philip accused it. The discussion of Knights Templar was then put on hold. In February 1312 envoys from the Philip IV negotiated with the Pope, without consulting the Council, and Philip held an assembly in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...

to put further pressure on the Pope and the Council on the topic of the Templars. Philip IV then went to Vienne on 20 March. Clement was forced to adopt the expedient of suppressing the Order of Knights Templar, not by legal methods (''de jure''), but on the grounds of the general welfare of the Church and by Apostolic ordinance (''per modum provisionis seu ordinationis apostolicae''). The Pope then presented to the commission of cardinals (for their approval) the bull to suppress the Templars in ''

Vox in excelso ''Vox in excelso'' is the name of a bull issued by Pope Clement V in 1312. The directives given within the bull were to formally dissolve the Order of the Knights Templar, effectively removing papal support for them and revoking the mandates give ...

'' (''A voice from on high''), dated 22 March 1312. The Council, to placate Philip IV of France, condemned the Templars, delivering their wealth in France to him. Delegates for King James II of Aragon insisted the Templar property in Aragon be given to the Order of Calatrava. The bulls ''

Ad providam ''Ad providam'' was the name of a Papal Bull issued by Pope Clement V in 1312. It built on a previous bull, '' Vox in excelso'', which had disbanded the order of the Knights Templar. ''Ad providam'' essentially handed over all Templar assets t ...

'' of 2 May and ' of 16 May confiscated Templar property. The fate of the Templars themselves was decided by the bull '' Considerantes'' of 6 May. In the bulls ' (18 Dec. 1312), ' (31 Dec. 1312) and '' Licet pridem'' (13 Jan. 1313), Clement V dealt with further aspects of the Templars' property.

Church reform

The Council instituted into canon law the ecclesiastical tradition of forbidding clerical marriages. Included in this were punishments for concubinage, rape, fornication, adultery, and incest. Any cleric who broke canon law was deposed, and their marriages ruled invalid.

Franciscan rule

Prior to the Council, Ubertino da Casale, formerly a friar at

Santa Croce, Florence The (Italian for 'Basilica of the Holy Cross') is the principal Franciscan church in Florence, Italy, and a minor basilica of the Roman Catholic Church. It is situated on the Piazza di Santa Croce, about 800 meters south-east of the Duomo. The ...

, protested that only a few brethren were following the

Rule of Saint Francis Francis of Assisi founded three orders and gave each of them a special rule. Here, only the rule of the first order is discussed, i.e., that of the Order of Friars Minor. Origin and contents of the rule Origin Whether St. Francis wrote several r ...

. These brethren were called spirituals. Upon arrival at the Council, the spirituals, defended by

Ubertino of Casale Ubertino of Casale (1259 – c. 1329) was an Italian Franciscan and one of the leaders (together with Michael of Cesena) of the Spirituals, the stricter branch of the Franciscan order. Life Ubertino was born in Casale Monferrato. He assumed the F ...

, faced opposition from those that ran the Franciscan order. At the final session of the council, Clement issued the papal bull ''Exivi de paradiso'' reinforcing the previous bull, ''Exiit qui seminat'', which left decisions regarding behaviour and accumulation of wine and grain to the abbot in charge of that monastery.

Disbanding the Beguines

In 1312, the Council and Clement's papal bull, ''Ad nostrum qui'', condemned the

movement, a group of laymen and laywomen that lived in semi-monastic communities, as heretical. According to the Council, members of this movement were deemed heretics because of their

antinomian Antinomianism (Ancient Greek: ἀντί 'anti''"against" and νόμος 'nomos''"law") is any view which rejects laws or legalism and argues against moral, religious or social norms (Latin: mores), or is at least considered to do so. The term ha ...

heresy of the "Free Spirit". Following the Council's decision, there were instances where Beghards and Beguines were burned as heretics. Philip iv and family

Crusade and Philip IV's vow

A crusade was also discussed as part of the Council. The delegates of the

King of Aragon This is a list of the kings and queens of Aragon. The Kingdom of Aragon was created sometime between 950 and 1035 when the County of Aragon, which had been acquired by the Kingdom of Navarre in the tenth century, was separated from Navarre ...

wanted to attack the Muslim city of Granada. In response, the papal vice-chancellor suggested to the Aragonese delegates that the Catalans, now located in Thebes and Athens, should march through the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia to attack the Muslims in the Holy Land.

' envoys suggested a naval

blockade A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force. A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are leg ...

to coincide with an invasion of Egypt. On 3 April 1312, Philip IV vowed to the council to go on crusade within the next six years. Clement, however, insisted the crusade begin within one year and assigned Philip as its leader. Philip died 29 November 1314, but the crusading

tithe A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash or cheques or more ...

instituted by the church had been spent by the reign of

Charles IV of France Charles IV (18/19 June 1294 – 1 February 1328), called the Fair (''le Bel'') in France and the Bald (''el Calvo'') in Navarre, was last king of the direct line of the House of Capet, King of France and King of Navarre (as Charles I) from 132 ...

University chairs

The Council decreed the establishment of

chairs A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. They may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vari ...

(professorships) of

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...

and

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

at the Universities of Avignon,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...

and

Salamanca Salamanca () is a city in western Spain and is the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the autonomous community of Castile and León. The city lies on several rolling hills by the Tormes River. Its Old City was declared a UNESCO World Herit ...

, although the chairs of Arabic were not actually set up. The delegates from Aragon pushed for the creation of an adequate place to teach different languages so as to preach the Gospel to every man. Celestine V Castel Nuovo Napoli n02

Canonization of Peter di Murrone

The issue of Pope Celestine V's (Pietro Angelerio) sainthood was brought to the Council. There was division on his canonisation amongst the cardinals; the Colonna contingent voted for his canonization while the Caetera group voted against. Clement assigned a commission of prelates from outside the papal curia to investigate the issue. Clement was still hesitant to canonize Angelerio after the report was completed, until Philip IV's influence forced the issue. Clement waited two years to canonize Pietro Angelerio. Clement used his given name as saint, rather than his papal name of Celestine V refusing to fully surrender to Capetian influence.

Aftermath

The Council ended on 6 May 1312. A Parisian chronicler, John of Saint-Victor, stated, "It was said by many that the council was created for the purpose of extorting money." The French ascendancy into the highest echelons of the Church hierarchy became very obvious at the Council. According to the Friedberg edition of the ''Corpus Iuris Canonici'' all of Clement's decrees were made at the Council of Vienne.

John XXII Pope John XXII ( la, Ioannes PP. XXII; 1244 – 4 December 1334), born Jacques Duèze (or d'Euse), was head of the Catholic Church from 7 August 1316 to his death in December 1334. He was the second and longest-reigning Avignon Pope, elected by ...

's prefatory letter, however, states Clement combined decrees drafted before and after the meeting at Vienne. In 1312, in anticipation of a revised version of the Council being drafted at the time, Clement ordered that copies of the Vienne decrees that were then in circulation be recalled or burned. The final draft was approved in March 1314, but Clement's death interrupted the distribution of the new copies.

Notes

References

Sources

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External links

''Catholic Encyclopedia''Council of Vienne
{{DEFAULTSORT:Council Of Vienne 1310s in France 1311 in Europe 1312 in Europe

Vienne Vienne (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Viéne'') is a landlocked department in the French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It takes its name from the river Vienne. It had a population of 438,435 in 2019.Vienne Vienne (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Viéne'') is a landlocked department in the French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It takes its name from the river Vienne. It had a population of 438,435 in 2019.Vienne Vienne (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Viéne'') is a landlocked department in the French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It takes its name from the river Vienne. It had a population of 438,435 in 2019.