The Second Council of the Lateran was the tenth
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 ...
recognized by 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 ...
. It was convened by
Pope Innocent II in April 1139 and attended by close to a thousand clerics. Its immediate task was to neutralise the after-effects of the schism which had arisen after the death of
Pope Honorius II in 1130 and the
papal election
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 po ...
that year that established Pietro Pierleoni as the
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 ...
Anacletus II.
Tenth Ecumenical Council
After the death of Honorius II, Petrus Leonis, under the name of
Anacletus II, was elected as Pope by a majority of the cardinals and with the support of the people of Rome on the same day as a minority elected
Innocent II. In 1135, Innocent II held a
council at Pisa, which confirmed his authority and condemned Anacletus. Anacletus's death in 1138 helped largely to solve the tension between rival factions. Nevertheless, Innocent decided to call the Tenth Ecumenical Council.
The council assembled at 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 nearly a thousand prelates attended. In his opening statement Innocent deposed those who had been ordained and instituted by Anacletus or any of his adherents. King
Roger II of Sicily
Roger II or Roger the Great (, , Greek language, Greek: Ρογέριος; 22 December 1095 – 26 February 1154) was King of Kingdom of Sicily, Sicily and Kingdom of Africa, Africa, son of Roger I of Sicily and successor to his brother Simon, C ...
was excommunicated for maintaining what was thought to be a schismatic attitude.
Arnold of Brescia, too, was removed from office and banished from Italy.
The council also condemned the teachings of the Petrobrusians and the Henricians, the followers of
Peter of Bruys and
Henry of Lausanne. Finally, the council drew up measures for the amendment of ecclesiastical morals and discipline which the council fathers considered had grown lax. Many of the canons relating to these matters were mostly a restating of the decrees of the
Council of Reims and the
Council of Clermont.
Select canons
The most important results of the council included:
* Canon 4: Injunction to bishops and ecclesiastics not to cause scandal by wearing ostentatious clothes but to dress modestly.
* Canons 6, 7: Repeated the
First Lateran Council's condemnation of marriage and concubinage among priests, deacons, subdeacons, monks, and nuns.
* Canon 10:
Excommunicated laity who failed to pay the
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. Modern tithes are normally voluntary and paid in money, cash, cheques or v ...
s due the bishops,
* Canon 12: Fixed the periods and the duration of the
Truce of God.
* Canon 14: Prohibition, under pain of deprivation of Christian burial, of
jousts and
tournaments
A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:
# One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...
which endangered life.
* Canon 20: Kings and princes were ordered to dispense justice in consultation with the bishops.
* Canon 23: Forbade the condemnation of legitimate marriages.
* Canon 25: Forbade any cleric to accept a benefice from a layman.
* Canon 27: Nuns were prohibited from singing the
Divine Office in the same choir with monks.
* Canon 28: No church was to be left vacant more than three years from the death of the bishop; secular canons who excluded regular canons or monks from episcopal elections were condemned.
* Canon 29: The use of
bows and
slings (or perhaps
crossbow
A crossbow is a ranged weapon using an Elasticity (physics), elastic launching device consisting of a Bow and arrow, bow-like assembly called a ''prod'', mounted horizontally on a main frame called a ''tiller'', which is hand-held in a similar f ...
s) against Christians was prohibited.
[
]
Another decision confirmed the right of religious houses of a diocese to participate in the election of the diocese's bishop.
References
Sources
*
External links
Second Lateran Council; English text
{{DEFAULTSORT:Second Council Of The Lateran
Lateran 2
1139 in Europe
12th century in the Papal States
2
Lateran 2