Second Council of the Lateran
Encyclopedia
The Second Council of the Lateran is believed to have been the Tenth Ecumenical Council
Ecumenical council
An ecumenical council is a conference of ecclesiastical dignitaries and theological experts convened to discuss and settle matters of Church doctrine and practice....

by Roman Catholics. It was held by Pope Innocent II
Pope Innocent II
Pope Innocent II , born Gregorio Papareschi, was pope from 1130 to 1143, and was probably one of the clergy in personal attendance on the antipope Clement III .-Early years:...

 in April 1139, and was attended by close to a thousand clerics. Its immediate task was to neutralise the after-effects of the schism
Schism (religion)
A schism , from Greek σχίσμα, skhísma , is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization or movement religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a break of communion between two sections of Christianity that were previously a single body, or to a division within...

, which had arisen after the death of Pope Honorius II
Pope Honorius II
Pope Honorius II , born Lamberto Scannabecchi, was pope from December 21, 1124, to February 13, 1130. Although from a humble background, his obvious intellect and outstanding abilities saw him promoted through the ecclesiastical hierarchy...

 in February 1130 and the setting up of Petris Leonis as the antipope Anacletus II
Antipope Anacletus II
Anacletus II , born Pietro Pierleoni, was an Antipope who ruled from 1130 to his death, in a schism against the contested, hasty election of Pope Innocent II....

.

Tenth ecumenical council

After the death of Honorius II, Petrus Leonis, under the name of Anacletus II, was elected as a rival to Innocent II
Pope Innocent II
Pope Innocent II , born Gregorio Papareschi, was pope from 1130 to 1143, and was probably one of the clergy in personal attendance on the antipope Clement III .-Early years:...

. In 1135, Innocent II held a council 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.

The Council assembled at the Lateran Palace
Lateran Palace
The Lateran Palace , formally the Apostolic Palace of the Lateran , is an ancient palace of the Roman Empire and later the main Papal residence....

 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. King Roger II of Sicily
Roger II of Sicily
Roger II was King of Sicily, son of Roger I of Sicily and successor to his brother Simon. He began his rule as Count of Sicily in 1105, later became Duke of Apulia and Calabria , then King of Sicily...

 was excommunicated for maintaining what was thought to be a schismatic attitude. The council also condemned the teachings of the Petrobrusians and the Henricians, the followers of Peter of Bruys
Peter of Bruys
Peter of Bruys was a French heresiarch who taught doctrines that were in opposition to the Roman Catholic Church's beliefs. An angry mob killed him in or around the year 1131...

 and Henry of Lausanne
Henry of Lausanne
Henry of Lausanne , French heresiarch of the first half of the 12th century. His preaching began around 1116 and he died imprisoned around 1148.-Life and teachings:Practically nothing is known of his origin or early life...

. 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 the Council of Reims and the Council of Clermont.

Important canons

The most important results of the council included:
  • Canon 4: Injunction to bishops and ecclesiastics not to cause scandal by wearing ostentatious clothes but to dress modestly.

  • Canons 6, 7, 11: Repeated the First Lateran Council's condemnation of marriage and concubinage among priests, deacons, subdeacons, monks, and nuns.

  • Canon 10: Excommunicated laity who failed to pay the tithes due the bishops,

  • Canon 12: Fixed the periods and the duration of the Truce of God.

  • Canon 14: Prohibition, under pain of deprivation of Christian burial, of jousts and tournaments which endangered life.

  • Canon 20: Kings and princes were ordered to dispense justice in consultation with the bishops.

  • Canon 25: Forbade any cleric to accept a benefice from a layman.

  • Canon 27: Nuns were prohibited from singing the Divine Office in the same choir with monks.

  • Canon 28: No church was to be left vacant more than three years from the death of the bishop; secular canons who excluded from episcopal election regular canons or monks were condemned.


The council also may have banned the use of crossbow
Crossbow
A crossbow is a weapon consisting of a bow mounted on a stock that shoots projectiles, often called bolts or quarrels. The medieval crossbow was called by many names, most of which derived from the word ballista, a torsion engine resembling a crossbow in appearance.Historically, crossbows played a...

s against Christians, although the authenticity, interpretation and translation of this source is contested.

Another decision confirmed the right of religious houses of a diocese to participate in the election of the diocese's bishop.

External links

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