First Council of Lyon
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1st Council of Lyons June 28 - July 17, 1245 |
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| Accepted by | |
| Convened by | Pope Innocent IV |
| Bureau | |
| Attendees | approx. 150 bishops |
| subjects | |
| Documents | |
|---|---|
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Decrees against Emperor Frederick II , against the Saracens and for the recovery of the Holy Land ; no dogmatic decisions |
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The First Council of Lyon was convened by Pope Innocent IV on June 24, 1245 and opened on June 28, 1245 in Lyon . The number of participants was probably a little less than Innocent expected (around 150 bishops ).
At the center of this council was the deposition of Frederick II as emperor and king . It was the dramatic climax in the struggle between Frederick and the papacy. After the second excommunication by Gregory IX. In 1239 and his death in 1241 , the emperor had placed his hopes in the new pope. In terms of the matter, however, the convictions of the new Pope Innocent IV did not differ from that of the old. Innocent had probably planned the deposition of Frederick at least since his surprising escape from Rome on June 29, 1244 , since he no longer wanted to reach an agreement with the emperor.
Thaddaeus von Sessa , a long-time confidante of the emperor and his representative at the council, already used the first opportunity to present a last peace offer from Frederick. Innocent reacted with distrust and rejection: Friedrich has already promised too much and not kept, he is said to have exclaimed. He would no longer be able to avert the judgment of the council. Walter von Ocre was sent to Frederick in Verona and Innocent gave him 20 days to return with imperial company or at least with imperial instructions.
The Pope tried to make it clear that Frederick was fighting not him, but the whole Church. As evidence of Frederick's oaths he had documents read out, which were mainly intended to recall Frederick's position as a lieutenant in the Roman Church for the Kingdom of Sicily and his donation and guarantee declarations for the Patrimony of Petri . Thaddaeus countered the papal attacks with documents that documented church promises that were not kept. His reasoning particularly impressed the English side, which was most likely to advocate the imperial cause, while Spain was in favor of the papal.
Further charges were presented at the second plenary meeting: the persecution of the Sicilian Church, Frederick's heretical beliefs, in particular his contacts with Saracen rulers and his alleged intercourse with Saracen girls, i.e. his immoral conduct. In addition, the capture of prelates who became one of Gregory IX. wanted to travel to Rome convened council, lamented. Thaddaeus tried to defend the emperor as well as possible and managed to get Innocent Friedrich to give him the opportunity to appear before the council himself until July 17th.
In the meantime, the Pope secured the full consent of the cardinals for the deposition of Frederick and probably took care of the formulation of the deposition bull. In addition, he had 91 documents issued by emperors and kings in favor of the Roman Church, 35 privileges of Frederick II alone , compiled ( Lyoner Transsumpte ) and authenticated by 40 high-ranking council members. This served on the one hand as evidence against Friedrich, on the other hand it was supposed to prove the power position of the Roman Church and its supremacy based on feudal law over a considerable number of European kings.
Without waiting for Frederick or his envoy, the council met on July 17th for its final assembly. Innocent proclaimed the adopted constitutions and had the Lyon Transsumpte read out. Thaddaeus took the floor again and doubted numerous privileges, but saw that the emperor's deposition was inevitable and summarized the reasons for the invalidity of such a decision in advance. The lack of proper summons for the emperor, the vagueness of the content of the charges, the partiality of the Pope as Frederick's enemy, his dual role as plaintiff and judge.
Innocent immediately rejected Thaddaeus' objections with the remark that he had a general council ahead of him, announced the deposition of the emperor and, after the deposition bull had been read, closed the council. He did not allow the council to have any say in its procedure or the formulation of the deed of deposition. His decision was made expressly not with approval, but in the presence of the council, and he later emphasized that the council was only present for the sake of solemnity, but that he alone executes the condemnation of the emperor by virtue of his full apostolic authority.
Innocent strictly adhered to canon law when justifying the dismissal . Only the aspects relevant within the legal framework were discussed. If Gregory VII once formally deposed the emperor, Innocent withdrew his offices and dignities from a crowned man for the first time . However, Friedrich did not recognize this dismissal in the following, he retained the emperor's dignity until his death, which the Pope could not dispute, mainly due to the lack of equality of arms.
literature
- Jürgen Miethke , Arnold Bühler (Ed.): Emperor and Pope in conflict. On the relationship between state and church in the late Middle Ages (= historical seminar. Vol. 8). Schwann, Düsseldorf 1988, ISBN 3-590-18167-2 (contains among other sources the deposition bull and the reaction of the imperial chancellery).
- Josef Wohlmuth (ed.): Councils of the Middle Ages. From the first Lateran Council (1123) to the fifth Lateran Council (1512–1517) (= decrees of the ecumenical councils. = Conciliorum Oecumenicorum Decreta. Vol. 2). Schöningh, Paderborn et al. 2000, ISBN 3-506-79804-9 .