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From the commencement of his reignInnocent III had purposed to assemble anecumenical council, but only towards the end of his pontificate could he realize this project, by theBull of 19 April, 1213. The assembly was to take place in November, 1215. The council did in fact meet on 11 November, and its sessions were prolonged until the end of the month. The long interval between the convocation and the opening of the council as well as the prestige of the reigning pontiff, were responsible for the very large number ofbishops who attended it, it is commonly cited in canon law as "the General Council of Lateran", without further qualification, or again, as "the Great Council".Innocent III found himself on this occasion surrounded by seventy-onepatriarchs andmetropolitans, including the Patriarchs of Constantinople and ofJerusalem, four hundred and twelvebishops, and nine hundredabbots andpriors. The Patriarchs of Antioch and Alexandria were represented by delegates. Envoys appeared fromEmperor Frederick II, from Henry Latin Emperor of Constantinople, from the Kings ofFrance,England,Aragon,Hungary,Cyprus, andJerusalem, and from other princes. Thepope himself opened the council with an allocution the lofty views of which surpassed the orator's power of expression. He had desired, said thepope, to celebrate thisPasch before he died. He declared himself ready to drink thechalice of the Passion for the defence of theCatholicFaith, for the succour of the Holy Land, and to establish the liberty of theChurch. After this discourse, followed by moral exhortation, thepope presented to the council seventy decrees or canons, already formulated, on the most important points of dogmatic andmoral theology. Dogmas were defined points of discipline were decided, measures were drawn up againstheretics, and, finally, the conditions of the nextcrusade were regulated.
The fathers of the council did little more than approve the seventy decrees presented to them; thisapprobation, nevertheless, sufficed to impart to the acts thus formulated andpromulgated the value of ecumenical decrees. Most of them are somewhat lengthy and are divided into chapters. The following are the most important:
The council, moreover, made rules for the projectedcrusade, imposed a four years' peace on allChristian peoples and princes publishedindulgences, and enjoined thebishops to reconcile all enemies, The council confirmed the elevation ofFrederick II to the German throne and took other important measures Its decrees were widely published in many provincial councils.
APA citation.Leclercq, H.(1910).Fourth Lateran Council (1215). InThe Catholic Encyclopedia.New York: Robert Appleton Company.http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09018a.htm
MLA citation.Leclercq, Henri."Fourth Lateran Council (1215)."The Catholic Encyclopedia.Vol. 9.New York: Robert Appleton Company,1910.<http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09018a.htm>.
Transcription.This article was transcribed for New Advent by Tomas Hancil.
Ecclesiastical approbation.Nihil Obstat. October 1, 1910. Remy Lafort, Censor.Imprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York.
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