The Council of Florence
The Seventeenth Ecumenical Council was, correctly speaking, the
continuation of the Council of Ferrara, transferred to the Tuscan
capital because of the pest; or, indeed, a continuation of the
Council of Basle, which was convoked in 1431 by Martin V. In the
end the last-named assembly became a revolutionary conciliabulum,
and is to be judged variously, according as we consider the manner
of its convocation, its membership, or its results. Generally,
however, it is ranked as an ecumenical council until the decree of
dissolution in 1437. After its transfer to Ferrara, the first
session of the council was held 10 Jan., 1438. Eugene IV
proclaimed it the regular continuation of the Council of Basle,
and hence its ecumenical character is admitted by all.
The Council of Constance (1414-18) had seen the growth of a fatal
theory, based on the writings of William Durandus (Guillaume
Durant), John of Paris, Marsiglio of Padua, and William of Occam,
i.e. the conciliar theory that proclaimed the superiority of the
council over the pope. It was the outcome of much previous
conflict and embitterment; was hastily voted in a time of angry
confusion by an incompetent body; and, besides leading eventually
to the deplorable articles of the "Declaratio Cleri Gallicani"
(see GALLICANISM), almost provoked at the time new schisms.
Influenced by this theory, the members of the Council of Constance
promulgated in the thirty-fifth general session (9 October, 1417)
five decrees, the first being the famous decree known as
"Frequens", according to which an ecumenical council should be
held every ten years. In other words, the council was henceforth
to be a permanent, indispensable institution, that is, a kind of
religious parliament meeting at regular intervals, and including
amongst its members the ambassadors of Catholic sovereigns; hence
the ancient papal monarchy, elective but absolute, was to give way
to a constitutional oligarchy.
While Martin V, naturally enough, refused to recognize these
decrees, he was unable to make headway openly against a movement
which he considered fatal. In accordance, therefore, with the
decree "Frequens" he convoked an ecumenical council at Pavia for
1423, and later, yielding to popular opinion, which even many
cardinals countenanced, summoned a new council at Basle to settle
the difficulties raised by the anti-Hussite wars. A Bull of 1
Feb., 1431, named as president of the council Giuliano Cesarini,
Cardinal of Sant' Angelo, whom the pope had sent to Germany to
preach a crusade against the Hussites. Martin V died suddenly (20
February, 1431), before the Bull of convocation and the legatine
faculties reached Cesarini. However, the new pope, Eugene IV
(Gabriele Condolmieri), confirmed the acts of his predecessor with
the reservation that further events might cause him to revoke his
decision. He referred probably to the reunion of the Greek Church
with Rome, discussed between Martin V and the Byzantine emperor
(John Palaeologus), but put off by reason of the pope's death.
Eugene IV laboured most earnestly for reunion, which he was
destined to see accomplished in the Council of Ferrara-Florence.
The Council of Basle had begun in a rather burlesque way. Canon
Beaup�re of Besan�on, who had been sent from Basle to Rome, gave
the pope an unfavourable and exaggerated account of the temper of
the people of Basle and its environs. Eugene IV thereupon
dissolved the council before the close of 1431, and convoked it
anew at Bologna for the summer of 1433, providing at the same time
for the participation of the Greeks. Cesarini, however, had
already opened the council of Basle, and now insisted vigorously
that the aforesaid papal act should be withdrawn. Yielding to the
aggressive attitude of the Basle assembly, whose members
proclaimed anew the conciliar theory, Eugene IV gradually modified
his attitude towards them, and exhibited in general, throughout
these painful dissensions, a very conciliatory temper.
Many reform-decrees were promulgated by the council, and, though
never executed, contributed towards the final rupture. Ultimately,
the unskilful negotiations of the council with the Greeks on the
question of reunion moved Eugene IV to transfer it to Ferrara. The
embassy sent from Basle to Constantinople (1435), Giovanni di
Ragusa, Heinrich Henger, and Simon Freron, insisted obstinately on
holding at Basle the council which was to promote the union of the
two Churches, but in this matter the Byzantine Emperor refused to
give way. With all the Greeks he wished the council to take place
in some Italian city near the sea, preferably in Southern Italy.
At Basle the majority insisted, despite the Greeks, that the
council of reunion should be convoked at Avignon, but a minority
sided with the Greeks and was by them recognized as the true
council. Hereupon Eugene IV approved the action of the minority
(29 May, 1437), and for this was summoned to appear before the
council. He replied by dissolving it on 18 September. Wearied of
the obstinacy of the majority at Basle, Cardinal Cesarini and his
adherents then quitted the city and went to Ferrara, whither
Eugene IV, as stated above, had transferred the council by decree
of 30 December, 1437, or 1 January, 1438.
The Ferrara Council opened on 8 January, 1438, under the
presidency of Cardinal Niccol� Albergati, whom the pope had
commissioned to represent him until he could appear in person. It
had, of course, no other objects than those of Basle, i.e. reunion
of the Churches, reforms, and the restoration of peace between
Christian peoples. The first session of the council took place 10
January, 1438. It declared the Council of Basle transferred to
Ferrara, and annulled in advance any and all future decrees of the
Basle assembly. When Eugene IV heard that the Greeks were nearing
the coast of Italy, he set off (24 January) for Ferrara and three
days later made his solemn entry into the city. The manner of
voting was first discussed by the members of the council. Should
it be, as at Constance, by nations (nationes), or by committees
(commissiones)? It was finally decided to divide the members into
three estates:
� the cardinals, archbishops, and bishops;
� the abbots and prelates;
� the doctors and other members.
In order that the vote of any estate might count, it was resolved
that a majority of two-thirds should be required, and it was hoped
that this provision would remove all possibility of the recurrence
of the regrettable dissensions at Constance. At the second public
session (15 February) these decrees were promulgated, and the pope
excommunicated the members of the Basle assembly, which still
continued to sit. The Greeks soon appeared at Ferrara, headed by
Emperor John Palaeologus and Joasaph, the Patriarch of
Constantinople, and numbered about seven hundred. The solemn
sessions of the council began on 9 April, 1438, and were held in
the cathedral of Ferrara under the presidency of the pope. On the
Gospel side of the altar rose the (unoccupied) throne of the
Western Emperor (Sigismund of Luxemburg), who had died only a
month previously; on the Epistle side was placed the throne of the
Greek Emperor. Besides the emperor and his brother Demetrius,
there were present, on the part of the Greeks, Joasaph, the
Patriarch of Constantinople; Antonius, the Metropolitan of
Heraclea; Gregory Hamma, the Protosyncellus of Constantinople (the
last two representing the Patriarch of Alexandria); Marcus
Eugenicus of Ephesus; Isidore of Kiev (representing the Patriarch
of Antioch); Dionysius, Bishop of Sardes (representing the
Patriarch of Jerusalem); Bessarion, Archbishop of Nicaea;
Balsamon, the chief chartophylax; Syropulos, the chief
ecclesiarch, and the Bishops of Monembasia, Lacedaemon, and
Anchielo. In the discussions the Latins were represented
principally by Cardinal Giuliano Cesarini and Cardinal Niccol�
Albergati; Andrew, Archbishop of Rhodes; the Bishop of Forl�; the
Dominican John of Turrecremata; and Giovanni di Ragusa, provincial
of Lombardy.
Preliminary discussions brought out the main points of difference
between the Greeks and the Latins, viz. the Procession of the Holy
Spirit, the azymes, purgatory, and the primacy. During these
preliminaries the zeal and good intentions of the Greek Emperor
were evident. Serious discussion began apropos of the doctrine of
purgatory. Cesarini and Turrecremata were the chief Latin
speakers, the latter in particular engaging in a violent
discussion with Marcus Eugenicus. Bessarion, speaking for the
Greeks, made clear the divergency of opinion existing among the
Greeks themselves on the question of purgatory. This stage of the
discussion closed on 17 July, whereupon the council rested for a
time, and the Greek Emperor took advantage of the respite to join
eagerly in the pleasures of the chase with the Duke of Ferrara.
When the council met again (8 Oct., 1438), the chief (indeed,
thenceforth the only) subject of discussion was the Filioque. The
Greeks were represented by Bessarion, Marcus Eugenicus, Isidore of
Kiev, Gemistus Plethon, Balsamon, and Xantopulos; on the Latin
side were Cardinals Cesarini and Niccol� Albergati, the Archbishop
of Rhodes, the Bishop of Forl�, and Giovanni di Ragusa. In this
and the following fourteen sessions, the Filioque was the sole
subject of discussion. In the fifteenth session it became clear
that the Greeks were unwilling to consent to the insertion of this
expression in the Creed, although it was imperative for the good
of the church and as a safeguard against future heresies. Many
Greeks began to despair of realizing the projected union and spoke
of returning to Constantinople. To this the emperor would not
listen; he still hoped for a reconciliation, and in the end
succeeded in appeasing the heated spirits of his partisans. Eugene
IV now announced his intention of transferring the council to
Florence, in consequence of pecuniary straits and the outbreak of
the pest at Ferrara. Many Latins had already died, and of the
Greeks the Metropolitan of Sardis and the entire household of
Isidore of Kiev were attacked by the disease. The Greeks finally
consented to the transfer, and in the sixteenth and last session
at Ferrara the papal Bull was read, in both Latin and Greek, by
which the council was transferred to Florence (January, 1439).
The seventeenth session of the council (the first at Florence)
took place in the papal palace on 26 February. In nine consecutive
sessions, the Filioque was the chief matter of discussion. In the
last session but one (twenty-fourth of Ferrara, eighth of
Florence) Giovanni di Ragusa set forth clearly the Latin doctrine
in the following terms: "the Latin Church recognizes but one
principle, one cause of the Holy Spirit, namely, the Father. It is
from the Father that the Son holds his place in the 'Procession'
of the Holy Ghost. It is in this sense that the Holy Ghost
proceeds from the Father, but He proceeds also from the Son." In
the last session, the same theologian again expounded the
doctrine, after which the public sessions were closed at the
request of the Greeks, as it seemed useless to prolong further the
theological discussions. At this juncture began the active efforts
of Isidore of Kiev, and, as the result of further parleys, Eugene
IV submitted four propositions summing up the result of the
previous discussion and exposing the weakness of the attitude of
the Greeks. As the latter were loath to admit defeat, Cardinal
Bessarion, in a special meeting of the Greeks, on 13 and 14 April,
1439, delivered his famous discourse in favour of reunion, and was
supported by Georgius Scholarius. Both parties now met again,
after which, to put an end to all equivocation, the Latins drew up
and read a declaration of their faith in which they stated that
they did not admit two "principia" in the Trinity, but only one,
the productive power of the Father and the Son, and that the Holy
Ghost proceeds also from the Son. They admitted, therefore, two
hypostases, one action, one productive power, and one product due
to the substance and the hypostases of the Father and the Son. The
Greeks met this statement with an equivocal counter-formula,
whereupon Bessarion, Isidore of Kiev, and Dortheus of Mitylene,
encouraged by the emperor, came out strongly in favour of the ex
filio.
The reunion of the Churches was at last really in sight. When,
therefore, at the request of the emperor, Eugene IV promised the
Greeks the military and financial help of the Holy See as a
consequence of the projected reconciliation, the Greeks declared
(3 June, 1439) that they recognized the procession of the Holy
Ghost from the Father and the Son as from one "principium" (arche)
and from one cause (aitia). On 8 June, a final agreement was
reached concerning this doctrine. The Latin teaching respecting
the azymes and purgatory was also accepted by the Greeks. As to
the primacy, they declared that they would grant the pope all the
privileges he had before the schism. An amicable agreement was
also reached regarding the form of consecration in the Mass (see
EPIKLESIS). Almost simultaneously with these measures the
Patriarch of Constantinople died, 10 June; not, however, before he
had drawn up and signed a declaration in which he admitted the
Filioque, purgatory, and the papal primacy. Nevertheless the
reunion of the Churches was not yet an accomplished fact. The
Greek representatives insisted that their aforesaid declarations
were only their personal opinions; and as they stated that it was
still necessary to obtain the assent of the Greek Church in synod
assembled, seemingly insuperable difficulties threatened to
annihilate all that had so far been achieved. On 6 July, however,
the famous decree of union (Laetentur Coeli), the original which
is still preserved in the Laurentian Library at Florence, was
formally announced in the cathedral of that city. The council was
over, as far as the Greeks were concerned, and they departed at
once. The Latin members remained to promote the reunion with the
other Eastern Churches--the Armenians (1439), the Jacobites of
Syria (1442), the Mesopotamians, between the Tigris and the
Euphrates (1444), the Chaldeans or Nestorians, and the Maronites
of Cyprus (1445). This last was the concluding public act of the
Council of Florence, the proceedings of which from 1443 onwards
took place in the Lateran palace at Rome.
The erudition of Bessarion and the energy of Isidore of Kiev were
chiefly responsible for the reunion of the Churches as
accomplished at Florence. The question now was to secure its
adoption in the East. For this purpose Isidore of Kiev was sent to
Russia as papal legate and cardinal, but the Muscovite princes,
jealous of their religious interdependence, refused to abide by
the decrees of the Council of Florence. Isidore was thrown into
prison, but afterwards escaped and took refuge in Italy. Nor was
any better headway made in the Greek Empire. The emperor remained
faithful, but some of the Greek deputies, intimidated by the
discontent prevailing amongst their own people, deserted their
position and soon fell back into the surrounding mass of schism.
The new emperor, Constantine, brother of John Palaeologus, vainly
endeavoured to overcome the opposition of the Byzantine clergy and
people. Isidore of Kiev was sent to Constantinople to bring about
the desired acceptance of the Florentine "Decretum Unionis"
(Laetentur Coeli), but, before he could succeed in his mission,
the city fell (1453) before the advancing hordes of Mohammed II.
One advantage, at least, resulted from the Council of Florence: it
proclaimed before both Latins and Greeks that the Roman pontiff
was the foremost ecclesiastical authority in Christendom; and
Eugene IV was able to arrest the schism which had been threatening
the Western Church anew (see BASLE, COUNCIL OF). This council was,
therefore, witness to the prompt rehabilitation of papal
supremacy, and facilitated, the return of men like Aeneas Sylvius
Piccolomini, who in his youth had taken part in the Council of
Basle, but ended by recognizing its erroneous attitude, and
finally became pope under the name Pius II.
L. VAN DER ESSEN
Transcribed by Tim Drake
From the Catholic Encyclopedia, copyright � 1913 by the
Encyclopedia Press, Inc. Electronic version copyright � 1996 by
New Advent, Inc.
Taken from the New Advent Web Page (www.knight.org/advent).
This article is part of the Catholic Encyclopedia Project, an
effort aimed at placing the entire Catholic Encyclopedia 1913
edition on the World Wide Web. The coordinator is Kevin Knight,
editor of the New Advent Catholic Website. If you would like to
contribute to this worthwhile project, you can contact him by e-
mail at (knight.org/advent). For more information please download
the file cathen.txt/.zip.
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