TheCouncil of Trent (Latin:Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 inTrent (or Trento), now in northernItaly, was the 19thecumenical council of the RomanCatholic Church.[1][2] Prompted by theProtestant Reformation at the time, it has been described as the "most impressive embodiment of the ideals of theCounter-Reformation."[3] It was the last time a Catholic ecumenical council was organized outside the city ofRome, and the second time a council was convened in the territory of theHoly Roman Empire (the first being theCouncil of Constance).
The Council met for twenty-five sessions between 13 December 1545 and 4 December 1563.[5]Pope Paul III, whoconvoked the council, oversaw the first eight sessions (1545–1547), while the twelfth to sixteenth sessions (1551–52) were overseen byPope Julius III and the seventeenth to twenty-fifth sessions (1562–63) byPope Pius IV. More than three hundred years passed until the next ecumenical council, theFirst Vatican Council, was convened in 1869.
Pope Paul III, convener of the Council of Trent, portrait byTitian (1543)
On 15 March 1517, theFifth Council of the Lateran closed its activities with a number of reform proposals (on the selection of bishops, taxation, censorship and preaching) but not on the new major problems that confronted the Church in Germany and other parts of Europe. A few months later, on 31 October 1517,Martin Luther issued his95 Theses inWittenberg.
Luther's position on ecumenical councils shifted over time,[6] but in 1520 he appealed to the German princes to oppose the papal Church at the time, if necessary with a council in Germany,[7] open and free of the Papacy. After the Pope condemned inExsurge Domine fifty-two of Luther's theses asheresy, German opinion considered a council the best method to reconcile existing differences. German Catholics, diminished in number, hoped for a council to clarify matters.[8]
It took a generation for the council to materialise, partly due to papal fears over potentially renewing a schism overconciliarism; partly because Lutherans demanded the exclusion of the papacy from the council; partly because of ongoing political rivalries between France and theHoly Roman Empire; and partly due to the Turkish dangers in the Mediterranean.[8][9] UnderPope Clement VII (1523–34), mutinous troops, many of whom wereLutheran belonging to the CatholicHoly Roman EmperorCharles V,sacked Papal Rome in 1527, "raping, killing, burning, stealing, the like had not been seen since theVandals".Saint Peter's Basilica and theSistine Chapel were used for stabling horses.[10] Pope Clement, fearful of the potential for more violence, delayed calling the council.[9]
Charles V strongly favoured a council but needed the support ofKing Francis I of France, who attacked him militarily. Francis I generally opposed a general council due to partial support of the Protestant cause within France. Charles' younger brotherFerdinand of Austria, who ruled a huge swath of territory in central Europe, agreed in 1532 to theNuremberg Religious Peace granting religious liberty to the Protestants, and in 1533 he further complicated matters when suggesting a general council to include both Catholic and Protestant rulers of Europe that would devise a compromise between the two theological systems. This proposal met the opposition of the Pope, for it gave recognition to Protestants and also elevated the secular Princes of Europe above the clergy on church matters. Faced with a Turkish attack, Charles held the support of the Protestant German rulers, all of whom delayed the opening of the Council of Trent.[11]
The history of the council is divided into three distinct periods: 1545–1549, 1551–1552 and 1562–1563.
The number of attending members in the three periods varied considerably.[12] The council was small to begin with, opening with only about 30 bishops.[14] It increased toward the close, but never reached the number of theFirst Council of Nicaea (which had 318 members, in 325)[12] nor of theFirst Vatican Council (which numbered 744, in 1868). The decrees were signed in 1563 by 255 members, the highest attendance of the whole council,[14] including four papal legates, two cardinals, three patriarchs, twenty-five archbishops, and 168 bishops, two-thirds of whom were Italians. The Italian and Spanish prelates were vastly preponderant in power and numbers. At the passage of the most important decrees, not more than sixty prelates were present.[12] Although most Protestants did not attend, ambassadors and theologians of Brandenburg, Württemberg, and Strasbourg attended having been granted an improvedsafe conduct.[15]
Pope Paul III (1534–1549), seeing that theProtestant Reformation was no longer confined to a few preachers, but had won over various princes, especially in Germany, to its ideas, desired a council. Yet when he proposed the idea to hiscardinals, it was almost unanimously opposed. Nonetheless, he sentnuncios throughout Europe to propose the idea. Paul III issued a decree for a general council to be held inMantua, Italy, to begin on 23 May 1537.[16] Martin Luther wrote theSmalcald Articles in preparation for the general council. The Smalcald Articles were designed to sharply define where the Lutherans could and could not compromise. The council was ordered by the Emperor and Pope Paul III to convene in Mantua on 23 May 1537.
It failed to convene after another war broke out between France and Charles V, resulting in a non-attendance of Frenchprelates. Protestants refused to attend as well. Financial difficulties in Mantua led the Pope in the autumn of 1537 to move the council toVicenza, where participation was poor. The council was postponed indefinitely on 21 May 1539.
Pope Paul III then initiated several internal Church reforms while Emperor Charles V convened with Protestants and CardinalGasparo Contarini at theDiet of Regensburg, to reconcile differences. Mediating and conciliatory formulations were developed on certain topics. In particular, a two-part doctrine ofjustification was formulated that would later be rejected at Trent.[17] Unity failed between Catholic and Protestant representatives "because of different concepts ofChurch andJustification".[18]
However, the council was delayed until 1545 and, as it happened, convened right before Luther's death. Unable, however, to resist the urging of Charles V, the pope, after proposing Mantua as the place of meeting, convened the council at Trent (at that time ruled by a prince-bishop under theHoly Roman Empire),[12] on 13 December 1545; the Pope's decision to transfer it toBologna in March 1547 on the pretext of avoiding a plague[3] failed to take effect and the council was indefinitely prorogued on 17 September 1549. None of the three popes reigning over the duration of the council ever attended, which had been a condition of Charles V.Papal legates were appointed to represent the Papacy.[19]
Reopened at Trent on 1 May 1551 by the convocation ofPope Julius III (1550–1555), it was broken up by the sudden victory ofMaurice, Elector of Saxony over Emperor Charles V and his march into surrounding state ofTirol on 28 April 1552.[20] There was no hope of reassembling the council while the veryanti-ProtestantPaul IV was Pope.[3]
During the second period, the Protestants present asked for a renewed discussion on points already defined and for bishops to be released from their oaths of allegiance to the Pope. When the last period began, all intentions of conciliating the Protestants was gone and theJesuits had become a strong force.[3] This last period was begun especially as an attempt to prevent the formation of ageneral council including Protestants, as had been demanded by some in France.
The council was reconvened byPope Pius IV (1559–1565) for the last time, meeting from 18 January 1562 atSanta Maria Maggiore, and continued until its final adjournment on 4 December 1563. It closed with a series of ritual acclamations honouring the reigning Pope, the Popes who had convoked the council, the emperor and the kings who had supported it, the papal legates, the cardinals, the ambassadors present, and the bishops, followed by acclamations of acceptance of the faith of the council and its decrees, and of anathema for all heretics.[21]
The French monarchy boycotted the entire council until the last minute when a delegation led byCharles de Guise, Cardinal of Lorraine finally arrived in November 1562. The first outbreak of theFrench Wars of Religion had occurred earlier in the year and the French Church, facing a significant and powerful Protestant minority in France, experiencediconoclasm violence regarding the use of sacred images. Such concerns were not primary in the Italian and Spanish Churches.[22] The last-minute inclusion of a decree on sacred images was a French initiative, and the text, never discussed on the floor of the council or referred to council theologians, was based on a French draft.[23]
To condemn the principles and doctrines ofProtestantism and to clarify the doctrines of the Catholic Church on all disputed points. This had not been done formally since the 1530Confutatio Augustana. It is true that the emperor intended it to be a strictly general or truly ecumenical council, at which the Protestants should have a fair hearing. He secured, during the council's second period, 1551–1553, an invitation, twice given, to the Protestants to be present and the council issued a letter of safe conduct (thirteenth session) and offered them the right of discussion, but denied them a vote.Melanchthon andJohannes Brenz, with some other German Lutherans, actually started in 1552 on the journey to Trent. Brenz offered a confession and Melanchthon, who got no farther thanNuremberg, took with him theConfessio Saxonica. But the refusal to give the Protestants the vote and the consternation produced by the success ofMaurice in his campaign against Charles V in 1552 effectually put an end to Protestant cooperation.[12]
To effect a reformation indiscipline or administration. This object had been one of the causes calling forth the reformatory councils and had been lightly touched upon by theFifth Council of the Lateran underPope Julius II. The obvious corruption in the administration of the Church was one of the numerous causes of the Reformation. Twenty-five public sessions were held, but nearly half of them were spent in solemn formalities. The chief work was done in committees or congregations. The entire management was in the hands of the papal legate. The liberal elements lost out in the debates and voting. The council abolished some of the most notorious abuses and introduced or recommended disciplinary reforms affecting the sale ofindulgences, the morals of convents, the education of the clergy, the non-residence of bishops (also bishops having plurality ofbenefices, which was fairly common), and the carelessfulmination ofcensures, and forbade duelling. Although evangelical sentiments were uttered by some of the members in favour of the supreme authority of the Scriptures and justification by faith, no concession whatsoever was made to Protestantism, according to a Protestant source.[12]
Specific issues that were discussed included:
The Church as the ultimate interpreter of Scripture.[24] Also, the Bible andchurch tradition (the tradition that composed part of the Catholic faith) were equally and independently authoritative.
Other Catholic practices that had drawn the ire of reformers within the Church, such asindulgences, pilgrimages, the veneration ofsaints andrelics, and the veneration of theVirgin Mary were strongly reaffirmed, though abuses of them were forbidden.
The doctrinal decisions of the council were set forth in decrees (decreta), which are divided into chapters (capita), which contain the positive statement of the conciliardogmas, and into short canons (canones), which condemn incorrect views (often a Protestant-associated notion stated in an extreme form) with the concludinganathema sit ("let him beanathema" i.e., excluded from the society of the faithful).[12]
The consequences of the council were also significant with regard to theChurch's liturgy and practices. In its decrees, the council made the LatinVulgate the official biblical text of the Roman Church (without prejudice to the original texts in Hebrew and Greek, nor to other traditional translations of the Church, but favoring the Latin language over vernacular translations, such as the controversial English-languageTyndale Bible).[25] In doing so, they commissioned the creation of a revised and standardized Vulgate in light of textual criticism, although this was not achieved until the 1590s. The council also officially affirmed the traditional Catholic Canon of biblical books, which was identical to the canon of Scripture issued by theCouncil of Rome under Pope Damasus in 382.[26] This was in response to the increasing Protestant exclusion of thedeuterocanonical books.[3] The formerdogmatic affirmation of the Canonical books was at theCouncil of Florence in the 1441 bullCantate Domino, as affirmed by Pope Leo XIII in his 1893 encyclicalProvidentissimus Deus (#20). In 1565, a year after the Council finished its work, Pius IV issued the Tridentine Creed (afterTridentum, Trent's Latin name) and his successorPius V then issued theRoman Catechism and revisions of theBreviary andMissal in, respectively, 1566, 1568 and 1570. These, in turn, led to the codification of theTridentine Mass, which remained the Church's primary form of the Mass for the next four hundred years.
After reaffirming theNiceno-Constantinopolitan Creed (third session), thedecree was passed (fourth session) confirming that thedeuterocanonical books were on a par with the other books of thecanon (against Luther's placement of these books in theApocrypha ofhis edition) and coordinating church tradition with the Scriptures as a rule of faith. TheVulgate translation was affirmed to be authoritative for the text of Scripture.[12]
Justification (sixth session) was declared to be offered upon the basis of human cooperation with divine grace[12] (synergism) as opposed to the typical Protestant doctrine ofpassive reception of grace (monergism). Understanding the Protestant "faith alone" doctrine to be one of simple human confidence inDivine Mercy, the Council rejected the "vain confidence" of the Protestants, stating that no one can know infallibly who has received the grace of final perseverance apart from receiving a special revelation. Furthermore, the Council affirmed—against some Protestants—that the grace of God can be forfeited throughmortal sin.
The greatest weight in the council's decrees is given to thesacraments. The seven sacraments were reaffirmed and theEucharist pronounced to be a true propitiatory sacrifice as well as a sacrament, in which the bread and wine wereconsecrated into the Eucharist (thirteenth and twenty-second sessions). The termtransubstantiation was used by the council, but the specificAristotelian explanation given byScholasticism was not cited as dogmatic. Instead, the decree states thatChrist is "really, truly, substantially present" in the consecrated forms. The sacrifice of theMass was to be offered for dead and living alike and in giving to the apostles the command "do this in remembrance of me," Christ conferred upon them asacerdotal power. The practice of withholding the cup from the laity was confirmed (twenty-first session) as one which theChurch Fathers had commanded for good and sufficient reasons; yet in certain cases the Pope was made the supreme arbiter as to whether the rule should be strictly maintained.[12]
Ordination (twenty-third session) was defined to imprint anindelible character on the soul. The priesthood of the New Testament takes the place of the Levitical priesthood. To the performance of its functions, the consent of the people is not necessary.[12]
In the decrees on marriage (twenty-fourth session) the excellence of thecelibate state was reaffirmed, concubinage condemned and the validity of marriage made dependent upon the wedding taking place before a priest and two witnesses, although the lack of a requirement for parental consent ended a debate that had proceeded from the 12th century. In the case of adivorce, the right of the innocent party to marry again was denied so long as the other party was alive,[12] even if the other party had committed adultery. However the council "refused … to assert the necessity or usefulness ofclerical celibacy".[27][dubious –discuss]
In the twenty-fifth and last session,[28] the doctrines ofpurgatory, the invocation ofsaints and the veneration ofrelics were reaffirmed, as was also the efficacy of indulgences as dispensed by the Church according to the power given her, but with some cautionary recommendations,[12] and a ban on the sale of indulgences. Short and rather inexplicit passages concerning religious images, were to havegreat impact on the development ofCatholic Church art. Much more than theSecond Council of Nicaea (787), the Council fathers of Trent stressed the pedagogical purpose of Christian images.[29]
Baroque Art is in part a consequence of the Council of Trent more specifically its twenty-fifth session where it emphasized that sacred art should educate the faithful, inspire devotion, and accurately represent biblical narratives. All this led to a renewed focus on emotional engagement and clarity in religious paintings. Due to these new directives, the Catholic Church began to promote baroque art characterized by dramatic compositions, chiaroscuro, and theatrical gestures. The churches adoption of the art style would help to increase its spread of influence.[30][31]
On the language of the Mass, "contrary to what is often said", the council condemned the insistence that only vernacular languages must be used, while affirming on the use of Latin for theRoman rite.[27] However, elements of thePrône, the vernacularcatechetical preaching service common in the medieval High Mass (and some extra-liturgical situations)[32] became mandatory for Sundays and feast days (fifth session, chapter 2).[33]: 728
The council appointed, in 1562 (eighteenth session), a commission to prepare a list of forbidden books (Index Librorum Prohibitorum), but it later left the matter to the Pope. The preparation of acatechism and the revision of theBreviary andMissal were also left to the pope.[12] The catechism embodied the council's far-reaching results, including reforms and definitions of the sacraments, the Scriptures, church dogma, and duties of the clergy.[4]
On adjourning, the Council asked the supreme pontiff to ratify all its decrees and definitions. This petition was complied with byPope Pius IV, on 26 January 1564, in thepapal bull,Benedictus Deus, which enjoins strict obedience upon all Catholics and forbids, under pain ofex-communication, all unauthorised interpretation, reserving this to the Pope alone and threatens the disobedient with "the indignation of Almighty God and of his blessed apostles, Peter and Paul." Pope Pius appointed a commission of cardinals to assist him in interpreting and enforcing the decrees.[12]
The decrees of the council were acknowledged in Italy, Portugal, Poland and by the Catholic princes of Germany at theDiet of Augsburg in 1566.Philip II of Spain accepted them for Spain, the Netherlands and Sicily inasmuch as they did not infringe the royal prerogative. In France, they were officially recognised by the king only in their doctrinal parts. Although the disciplinary or moral reformatory decrees were never published by the throne, they received official recognition at provincial synods and were enforced by the bishops. Holy Roman EmperorsFerdinand I andMaximilian II never recognized the existence of any of the decrees.[34] No attempt was made to introduce it into England. Pius IV sent the decrees toMary, Queen of Scots, with a letter dated 13 June 1564, requesting that she publish them in Scotland, but she dared not do it in the face ofJohn Knox and the Reformation.[12]
A comprehensive history is found inHubert Jedin'sThe History of the Council of Trent (Geschichte des Konzils von Trient) with about 2,500 pages in four volumes:The History of the Council of Trent: The fight for a Council (Vol I, 1951);The History of the Council of Trent: The first Sessions in Trent (1545–1547) (Vol II, 1957);The History of the Council of Trent: Sessions in Bologna 1547–1548 and Trento 1551–1552 (Vol III, 1970, 1998);The History of the Council of Trent: Third Period and Conclusion (Vol IV, 1976).
The canons and decrees of the council have been published very often and in many languages. The first issue was byPaulus Manutius (Rome, 1564). Commonly used Latin editions are by Judocus Le Plat (Antwerp, 1779) and byJohann Friedrich von Schulte andAemilius Ludwig Richter (Leipzig, 1853). Other editions are in vol. vii. of theActa et decreta conciliorum recentiorum. Collectio Lacensis (7 vols., Freiburg, 1870–90), reissued as independent volume (1892);Concilium Tridentinum: Diariorum, actorum, epistularum, … collectio, ed. Sebastianus Merkle (4 vols., Freiburg, 1901 sqq.); as well asMansi,Concilia, xxxv. 345 sqq. Note alsoCarl Mirbt,Quellen, 2d ed, pp. 202–255. An English edition is byJames Waterworth (London, 1848;With Essays on the External and Internal History of the Council).[12]
The original acts and debates of the council, as prepared by its general secretary, BishopAngelo Massarelli, in six large folio volumes, are deposited in theVatican Library and remained there unpublished for more than 300 years and were brought to light, though only in part, byAugustin Theiner, priest of the oratory (d. 1874), inActa genuina sancti et oecumenici Concilii Tridentini nunc primum integre edita (2 vols., Leipzig, 1874).[12]
Most of the official documents and private reports, however, which bear upon the council, were made known in the 16th century and since. The most complete collection of them is that of J. Le Plat,Monumentorum ad historicam Concilii Tridentini collectio (7 vols., Leuven, 1781–87). New materials (Vienna, 1872); byJJI von Döllinger (Ungedruckte Berichte und Tagebücher zur Geschichte des Concilii von Trient, 2 parts, Nördlingen, 1876); andAugust von Druffel,Monumenta Tridentina (Munich, 1884–97).[12]
Out of 87 books written between 1546 and 1564 attacking the Council of Trent, 41 were written byPier Paolo Vergerio, a former papal nuncio turned Protestant Reformer.[35] The 1565–73Examen decretorum Concilii Tridentini[36] (Examination of the Council of Trent) byMartin Chemnitz was the main Lutheran response to the Council of Trent.[37] Making extensive use of scripture and patristic sources, it was presented in response to a polemical writing whichDiogo de Payva de Andrada had directed against Chemnitz.[38] TheExamen had four parts: Volume I examined sacred scripture,[39] free will, original sin, justification, and good works. Volume II examined the sacraments,[40] including baptism, confirmation, the sacrament of the Eucharist,[41] communion under both kinds, the Mass, penance, extreme unction, holy orders, and matrimony. Volume III examined virginity, celibacy, purgatory, and the invocation of saints.[42] Volume IV examined the relics of the saints, images, indulgences, fasting, the distinction of foods, and festivals.[43]
In response, Andrada wrote the five-partDefensio Tridentinæ fidei,[44] which was published posthumously in 1578. However, theDefensio did not circulate as extensively as theExamen, nor were full translations initially published. A French translation of theExamen by Eduard Preuss was published in 1861. German translations were published in 1861, 1884, and 1972. In English, a complete translation by Fred Kramer drawing from the original Latin and the 1861 German was published beginning in 1971.
^ab"Clemente VII".Treccani.it (in Italian). Retrieved12 July 2021.Ma l'ostilità del papa alla convocazione di un concilio era grandissima e già allora ben conosciuta, tanto che l'ambasciatore di Carlo V, il duca di Sessa, non ebbe il coraggio di affrontare direttamente l'argomento. Concorrevano ad alimentare tale ostilità da un lato le ombre ancora vicine del conciliarismo e l'esperienza del contrasto coi "gallicani", dall'altro il timore che il concilio potesse trovare nella sua nascita illegittima un buon pretesto per deporlo (ancora durante il conclave di Adriano VI, Soderini lo aveva trattato pubblicamente da bastardo).
^Examen, Volumes I–II: Volume I begins on p. 46 of the pdf and Volume II begins on p. 311.Examen Volumes III–IV: Volume III begins on p. 13 of the pdf and Volume IV begins on p. 298. All volumes free on Google Books
Bühren, Ralf van:Kunst und Kirche im 20. Jahrhundert. Die Rezeption des Zweiten Vatikanischen Konzils (Konziliengeschichte, Reihe B: Untersuchungen), Paderborn 2008,ISBN978-3-506-76388-4
Paolo Sarpi,Historia del Concilio Tridentino, London: John Bill,1619 (History of the Council of Trent, English translation byNathaniel Brent, London 1620, 1629 and 1676)
Francesco Sforza Pallavicino,Istoria del concilio di Trento. In Roma, nella stamperia d'Angelo Bernabò dal Verme erede del Manelfi: per Giovanni Casoni libraro, 1656–57
John W. O'Malley:Trent: What Happened at the Council, Cambridge (Massachusetts), The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2013,ISBN978-0-674-06697-7
Hubert Jedin:Entstehung und Tragweite des Trienter Dekrets über die Bilderverehrung, in: Tübinger Theologische Quartalschrift 116, 1935, pp. 143–88, 404–429
Hubert Jedin:Geschichte des Konzils von Trient, 4 vol., Freiburg im Breisgau 1949–1975 (A History of the Council of Trent, 2 vol., London 1957 and 1961)
Hubert Jedin:Konziliengeschichte, Freiburg im Breisgau 1959
Mullett, Michael A. "The Council of Trent and the Catholic Reformation", in hisThe Catholic Reformation (London: Routledge, 1999,ISBN0-415-18915-2, pbk.), pp. 29–68.N.B.: The author also mentions the Council elsewhere in his book.
Schroeder, H. J., ed. and trans.The Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent: English Translation, trans. [and introduced] by H. J. Schroeder. Rockford, Ill.: TAN Books and Publishers, 1978.N.B.: "The original 1941 edition contained [both] the Latin text and the English translation. This edition contains only the English translation..."; comprises only the council's dogmatic decrees, excluding the purely disciplinary ones.
Mathias Mütel:Mit den Kirchenvätern gegen Martin Luther? Die Debatten um Tradition und auctoritas patrum auf dem Konzil von Trient, Paderborn 2017 (=Konziliengeschichte. Reihe B., Untersuchungen)
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