Third Lateran Council

Third Lateran Council
Third Lateran Council
    Third Lateran Council (1179)
     Catholic_Encyclopedia Third Lateran Council (1179)
    The reign of Alexander III was one of the most laborious pontificates of the Middle Ages. Then, as in 1139, the object was to repair the evils caused by the schism of an antipope. Shortly after returning to Rome (12 March, 1178) and receiving from its inhabitants their oath of fidelity and certain indispensable guarantees, Alexander had the satisfaction of receiving the submission of the antipope Callistus III (John de Struma). The latter, besieged at Viterbo by Christian of Mainz, eventually yielded and, at Tusculum, made his submission to Pope Alexander (29 August, 1178), who received him with kindness and appointed him Governor of Beneventum. Some of his obstinate partisans sought to substitute a new antipope, and chose one Lando Sitino, under the name of Innocent III. For lack of support he soon gave up the struggle and was relegated to the monastery of La Cava. In September, 1178, the pope in agreement with an article of the Peace of Venice, convoked an ecumenical council at the Lateran for Lent of the following year and, with that object, sent legates to different countries. This was the eleventh of the ecumenical councils. It met in March, 1179. The pope presided, seated upon an elevated throne, surrounded by the Cardinals, and by the prefects, senators, and consuls of Rome. The gathering numbered three hundred and two bishops, among them several Latin prelates of Eastern sees. There were in all nearly one thousand members. Nectarius, abbot of the Cabules, represented the Greeks. The East was represented by Archbishops William of Tyre and Heraclius of Caesarea, Prior Peter of the Holy Sepulchre, and the Bishop of Bethlehem. Spain sent nineteen bishops; Ireland, six; Scotland, only one- England, seven; France, fifty nine; Germany, seventeen- Denmark and Hungary, one each. The bishops of Ireland had at their head St. Laurence, Archbishop of Dublin. The pope consecrated, in the presence of the council, two English bishops, and two Scottish, one of whom had come to Rome with only one horse the other on foot. There was also present an Icelandic bishop who had no other revenue than the milk of three cows, and when one of these went dry his diocese furnished him with another.
    Besides exterminating the remains of the schism the council undertook the condemnation of the Waldensian heresy and the restoration of ecclesiastical discipline, which had been much relaxed. Three sessions were held, on 5, 14, and 19 March, in which twenty-seven canons were promulgated, the most important of which may be summarized as follows:
    ♦ Canon 1: To prevent schisms in future, only the Cardinals should have the right to elect the pope, and two-thirds of their votes should be required for the validity of such election. If any candidate, after securing only one-third of the votes, should arrogate to himself the papal dignity, both he and his partisans should be excluded from the ecclesiastical order and excommunicated.
    ♦ Canon 2: Annulment of the ordinations performed by the heresiarchs Octavian and Guy of Crema, as well as those by John de Struma. Those who have received ecclesiastical dignities or benefices from these persons are deprived of the same; those who have freely sworn to adhere to the schism are declared suspended.
    ♦ Canon 3: It is forbidden to promote anyone to the episcopate before the age of thirty. Deaneries, archdeaconries, parochial charges, and other benefices involving the care of souls shall not be conferred upon anyone less than twenty-five years of age.
    ♦ Canon 4 regulates the retinue of members of the higher clergy, whose canonical visits were frequently ruinous to the rural priests. Thenceforward the train of an archbishop is not to include more than forty or fifty horses; that of a bishop, not more than twenty or thirty; that of an archdeacon, five or seven at the most — the dean is to have two.
    ♦ Canon 5 forbids the ordination of clerics not provided with an ecclesiastical title, i. e. means of proper support. If a bishop ordains a priest or a deacon ( see Deacons ) without assigning him a certain title on which he can subsist, the bishop shall provide such cleric with means of liveli hood until he can assure him an ecclesiastical revenue that is, if the cleric cannot subsist on his patrimony alone.
    ♦ Canon 6 regulates the formalities of ecclesiastical sentences.
    ♦ Canon 7 forbids the exaction of a sum of money for the burial of the dead, the marriage benediction, and, in general, for the administration of the sacraments.
    ♦ Canon 8: The patrons of benefices shall nominate to such benefices within six months after the occurrence of a vacancy.
    ♦ Canon 9 recalls the military orders of the Templars and the Hospitallers to the observation of canonical regulations, from which the churches dependent on them are in no wise exempt.
    ♦ Canon 11 forbids clerics to receive women in their houses, or to frequent, without necessity, the monasteries of nuns.
    ♦ Canon 14 forbids laymen to transfer to other laymen the tithes which they possess, under pain of being debarred from the communion of the faithful and deprived of Christian burial.
    ♦ Canon 18 provides for the establishment in every cathedral church of a school for poor clerics.
    ♦ Canon 19: Excommunication aimed at those who levy contributions on churches and churchmen without the consent of the bishop and clergy.
    ♦ Canon 20 forbids tournaments.
    ♦ Canon 21 relates to the "Truce of God".
    ♦ Canon 23 relates to the organization of asylums for lepers.
    ♦ Canon 24 consists of a prohibition against furnishing the Saracens with material for the construction of their galleys.
    ♦ Canon 27 enjoins on princes the repression of heresy.
    H. LECLERCQ
    Transcribed by Tomas Hancil

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VIII. — New York: Robert Appleton Company. . 1910.


Catholic encyclopedia.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Third Lateran Council — noun the Lateran Council in 1179 that condemned the heresies of the Albigenses and the Waldenses • Hypernyms: ↑Lateran Council …   Useful english dictionary

  • Lateran Council — Rom. Cath. Ch. any of the five ecumenical councils (1123, 1139, 1179, 1215, 1512 17) held in the Lateran Palace. * * * Any of five ecumenical councils of the Roman Catholic church held in the Lateran Palace in Rome. The First Lateran Council… …   Universalium

  • Lateran Council — noun any of five general councils of the Western Catholic Church that were held in the Lateran Palace • Hypernyms: ↑council • Hyponyms: ↑First Lateran Council, ↑Second Lateran Council, ↑Third Lateran Council, ↑Fourth Lateran Council, ↑Fifth Later …   Useful english dictionary

  • Lateran Council, Third — • In September, 1178, the pope in agreement with an article of the Peace of Venice, convoked an ecumenical council at the Lateran for Lent of the following year and, with that object, sent legates to different countries Catholic Encyclopedia.… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Lateran council — The Lateran councils were ecclesiastical councils or synods of the Catholic Church held at Rome in the Lateran Palace next to the Lateran Basilica. Ranking as a papal cathedral, this became a much favored place of assembly for ecclesiastical… …   Wikipedia

  • Fifth Lateran Council —     Fifth Lateran Council (1512 17)     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► Fifth Lateran Council (1512 17)     When elected pope, Julius II promised under oath that he would soon convoke a general council. Time passed, however, and this promise was not… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Second Lateran Council —     Second Lateran Council (1139)     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► Second Lateran Council (1139)     The death of Pope Honorius II (February, 1130) was followed by a schism. Petrus Leonis (Pierleoni), under the name of Anacletus II, for a long time… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Third Council of the Lateran — Ecumenical council council name=Third Council of the Lateran council date=1179 accepted by=Catholicism previous=Second Council of the Lateran next=Fourth Council of the Lateran convoked by=Pope Alexander III presided by=Pope Alexander III… …   Wikipedia

  • council — /kown seuhl/, n. 1. an assembly of persons summoned or convened for consultation, deliberation, or advice. 2. a body of persons specially designated or selected to act in an advisory, administrative, or legislative capacity: the governor s… …   Universalium

  • LATERAN COUNCILS III, IV — LATERAN COUNCILS III, IV. The third Lateran (11th Ecumenical) Council was summoned in 1179 by Pope Alexander III. Canon 26 adopted by the Council was concerned with relations between Jews and Christians. It prohibits Jews and Saracens from having …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”