7
May 1274 A.D. Pope
Gregory X: 2nd Council of Lyons to Lock Cardinals Up
Christianity.com
tells the story at: http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1201-1500/2d-council-of-lyons-agreed-to-lock-cardinals-in-11629844.html
A crusader was recalled from
the Middle east to become Pope Gregory X. His name was Tedaldo Visconti of
Piacenza and he left his fellow crusaders, quoting a psalm to them: "If
ever I forget thee, Jerusalem, let my right hand be forgotten." (psalm
xx:xx) Two years after his election in 1271 he announced that a church council
would meet at Lyons the following year. Under Roman numbering, this is the
fourteenth ecumenical (entire church) council.
Everyone who knew Gregory fully
expected that he would emphasize the ongoing attempt to retake the Middle east
from Islam. But Gregory was also keen on restoring unity between the churches
of the east (Orthodox) and the church of the west (Roman), which had broken two
centuries earlier.
Hundreds of bishops, cardinals,
abbots and lower-ranking clergymen flocked to Lyons. Spain, Germany, Italy,
France and England sent large delegations. Representatives from the Greek
(Orthodox) churches also appeared (a month after the meetings started). In
addition, smaller states and religious orders sent delegates.
Flanked by Cardinals on his left
and right, Gregory opened the council with a sermon on this day, Monday, May 7, 1274. He quoted Christ's
words to his disciples at the Last Supper: "With desire I have desired to
eat this Passover with you." The council had three purposes. Perhaps the
one closest to his heart was relieving Jerusalem which was under Muslim
control. "We must march to the rescue of the Holy Sepulcher," he
said. He also called for reunion with the Greeks, and reform of church morals.
The Greek delegates accepted some
Roman teachings that they had rejected before then: the pope's claims to be
head of the church, the doctrine of purgatory, seven sacraments, and a disputed
wording in the creed. Afterward, the two parties celebrated mass together in
the Roman form. Gregory's cheeks were bathed with tears of joy. In the end,
none of this mattered, because when the Greeks returned east, the overwhelming
majority of Orthodox clergymen and laity indignantly rejected the agreement. It
had been a political maneuver, not a spiritual movement.
Gregory also arranged financing
for another crusade. Unknown to him, Acre, the last crusader stronghold in
Palestine had already fallen to a Muslim attack. Consequently, this arrangement
also came to nothing. In the same way, efforts to take advantage of friendly
overtures by the Mongols failed. The distance was too great for effective
mission work.
However, the council did achieve
one success. The cardinals had been deadlocked for three years before the
election of Pope Gregory X. In fact, they had finally only made a decision
because the common people stripped the roof off their meeting place, exposing
them to the elements. The council agreed from now on to lock cardinals in until
they made a decision and to restrict their income and diet. All of this should
force them to take quicker action in the future. After eleven days of deadlock,
for example, they would be allowed only bread, wine, and water.
Bibliography:
1. Deedy, John G. The Catholic Fact
Book. Chicago, Illinois: T. More Press, 1986.
2. Jedin, Hubert. Ecumenical
Councils of the Catholic Church. New York: Herder and Herder, 1960.
3. Raab, Clement. The Twenty
Ecumenical Councils of the Catholic Church. Westminster, Maryland: Newman Press,
1959.
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