| Second Council of the Lateran | |
|---|---|
| Date | 1139 |
| Accepted by | Catholic Church |
Previous council | First Council of the Lateran |
Next council | Third Council of the Lateran |
| Convoked by | Pope Innocent II |
| President | Pope Innocent II |
| Attendance | 1000 |
| Topics | schism ofAntipope Anacletus II |
Documents and statements | Thirty canons, mostly repeating those of the First Lateran Council, clerical marriage declared invalid, clerical dress regulated, attacks on clerics punished byexcommunication |
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TheSecond Council of the Lateran was the tenthecumenical council recognized by theCatholic Church. It was convened byPope 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 ofPope Honorius II in 1130 and thepapal election that year that established Pietro Pierleoni as theantipopeAnacletus II.[1]
After the death of Honorius II, Petrus Leonis, under the name ofAnacletus 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 electedInnocent II. In 1135, Innocent II held acouncil 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.[2]
The council assembled at theLateran Palace 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. KingRoger II of Sicily was excommunicated[3] for maintaining what was thought to be a schismatic attitude.Arnold of Brescia, too, was removed from office and banished from Italy.[4]
The council also condemned the teachings of the Petrobrusians and the Henricians, the followers ofPeter of Bruys andHenry 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 theCouncil of Reims and theCouncil of Clermont.[2]
The most important results of the council included:
Another decision confirmed the right of religious houses of a diocese to participate in the election of the diocese's bishop.[7]
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Mirbt, Carl Theodor (1911). "Lateran Councils § 2". InChisholm, Hugh (ed.).Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 16 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 240.
