Council of Avignon may refer to one of a number of councils 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 ...

which were held in Avignon in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. The first reported council met in the 11th century and the final council on record was in the mid-19th century.

Eleventh century

The first reported council, , was held in 1060, though nothing is known about what took place; it may be prudent to note that the

Great Schism of 1054 Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

took place six years prior. In 1080 a council, , was held under the presidency of Hugues de Dié, papal legate, in which Aicard, usurper of the

See of Arles The former French Catholic Archbishopric of Arles had its episcopal see in the city of Arles, in southern France.Gibelin Ghibbelin of Sabran (also spelled Gibelin) ( 1045 – 1112) was Archbishop of Arles (1080–1112), papal legate (1107–1108), and Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem (1108–1112). Biography Ghibbelin was named Archbishop of Arles at the Council of ...

put in his place. Three bishops-elect ( Lautelin of Embrun, Hugues of Grenoble, Didier of Cavaillon) accompanied the legate to Rome and were consecrated there by Pope Gregory VII.

Thirteenth century

During the 13th century four councils were held, including the in which the inhabitants of Toulouse were excommunicated from the church by the council for failing to expel the

Albigensian Catharism (; from the grc, καθαροί, katharoi, "the pure ones") was a Christian dualist or Gnostic movement between the 12th and 14th centuries which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly in northern Italy and southern France. Follo ...

heretics from Toulouse. Included in the population that was excommunicated were two papal legates, four archbishops and twenty bishops. The next council was held in 1270, and Bertrand de Malferrat,

Archbishop of Arles The former French Catholic Archbishopric of Arles had its episcopal see in the city of Arles, in southern France.Christmas carol A Christmas carol is a carol (a song or hymn) on the theme of Christmas, traditionally sung at Christmas itself or during the surrounding Christmas holiday season. The term noel has sometimes been used, especially for carols of French ori ...

s. During the they were concerned with the clergy's protection of rights, privileges, and immunities. Provisions were also made for those who promised to join the crusade

Gregory X Pope Gregory X ( la, Gregorius X; – 10 January 1276), born Teobaldo Visconti, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1 September 1271 to his death and was a member of the Secular Franciscan Order. He was ...

had ordered, but had failed to actually go on the crusade. In addition the council decreed that to hear confessions monks must have permission of their ordinary, or bishop, as well as their superior. The last council during the 13th century was the , during which they published 10 canons. Among the canons published was one urging people to more regularly attend the parochial churches, and to go to their

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

for at least

feast days The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does ...

and on Sundays.

Fourteenth century

The

temporalities Temporalities or temporal goods are the secular properties and possessions of the church. The term is most often used to describe those properties (a ''Stift'' in German or ''sticht'' in Dutch) that were used to support a bishop or other religious ...

of the Church and ecclesiastical jurisdiction occupied the attention of the . The seventy-nine canons of the are renewed from earlier councils, and emphasize the duty of Easter Communion in one's own parish church, and of abstinence on Saturday for beneficed persons and ecclesiastics, in honour of the Blessed Virgin, a practice begun three centuries earlier on the occasion of the Truce of God, but no longer universal.

Fifteenth century

The 15th century saw two councils convened, one in 1457 and one in 1497. The 1457 council was held by Cardinal de Foix, Archbishop of Arles and legate of Avignon, who was also a Franciscan. His primary reason was to promote the doctrine of

Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth w ...

, in sense of the declaration of the council of Basle. They forbade the preaching of the contrary doctrine, as well as 64 disciplinary canons that were published, in keeping with the legislation of previous councils. In 1497 Archbishop Francesco Tarpugi (after the council he was cardinal) presided over the council. They published a similar number of decrees to the 1457 council. It was decreed that the sponsors of the newly confirmed were not obligated to make presents to their parents or to them. They also decreed that before the relics of the saints two candles were to be kept lit at all times.

Later Councils

During the next five centuries only six further councils were held. The 1509 council focused on disciplinary measures. The next council, in 1596, was called to discuss the furthering of the observance of the decrees of the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum), 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, it has been described a ...

, and the 1609 council was held for very similar circumstances. The councils of 1664 and 1725 were held to formulate disciplinary decrees. The 1725 council also decreed the duty of adhering to the Papal Bull ''

Unigenitus ''Unigenitus'' (named for its Latin opening words ''Unigenitus dei filius'', or "Only-begotten son of God") is an apostolic constitution in the form of a papal bull promulgated by Pope Clement XI in 1713. It opened the final phase of the Jansen ...

'' (1713) of Clement XI that condemned the Oratorian,

Pasquier Quesnel Pasquier Quesnel, CO (14 July 1634 – 2 December 1719) was a French Jansenist theologian. Life Quesnel was born in Paris, and, after graduating from the Sorbonne with distinction in 1653, he joined the French Oratory in 1657. There he soon ...

. The final council on record was in 1849 and it published ten chapters of canons concerning discipline and faith.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Avignon, Council of Council of Avignon Catholic Church councils held in France 11th-century Catholic Church councils 13th-century Catholic Church councils 14th-century Catholic Church councils 15th-century Catholic Church councils 16th-century Catholic Church councils 17th-century Catholic Church councils 18th-century Catholic Church councils 19th-century Catholic Church councils 1849 in Christianity 1849 conferences 1725 conferences 1725 in Christianity