Site of the Council of Trent in the 16th century. Council of Trent

The Catholic Church currently has 21 councils, from Nicaea in 325 to Vatican II in 1962-1965. Between these councils, the Council of Trent (which was the nineteenth) lasted from 1545 to 1563 and was naturally one of the most important, although it was neither the most numerous nor the most magnificent, and not so protracted, given the years of interruption ( from 1548 to 1551 and then from 1552 to 1561).

The importance of the Council lies in the fact that it a) took a clear doctrinal position regarding the theses of the Protestants, b) updated the charter of the Church and gave precise instructions regarding the formation and behavior of the clergy.

To give an idea of ​​the reformatory spirit of the Council, we present a fragment of the canon: (“Decree of Reform”, session XXII, September 17, 1562): “There is nothing that would more urgently encourage others to piety and worship of God than the life and example of those who have entrusted obligations to serve God. Seeing them truly rising above the worldly and striving towards a higher world, others look at them as in a mirror and draw an example that should be imitated. And it is absolutely necessary, therefore, that clergy, called to connect their destinies with God , in their habits, manners of holding themselves, walking, speaking, they did not touch upon what was not serious, not moderate, and not full of religiosity.” These instructions are directed against the immorality of the clergy of the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance, and are specified in other canons of the decree.

Moreover, at the Council of Trent, the Church regains the full consciousness that to be the Church means to be a “guardian of the soul” and a missionary: "Salus animarum suprema lex esto","Let the salvation of souls be the supreme law." Yeden evaluates this historical turn as follows: “In the history of the Church, this turning point has the same significance that the discoveries of Copernicus and Galileo have for the picture of the world developed by the natural sciences.”

In the documents of the Council, Thomist and scholastic terminology and concepts were used very sparingly and carefully and, as has been noted by attentive interpreters, the measure here is fidelity to the Church, and not fidelity to scholastic theologians.

Solutions were found on the issues of justification by faith, of works, of predestination, of the sacraments, which Protestants intended to reduce only to baptism and communion (in particular, the doctrine of the transsubstance of the Eucharist was approved, according to which the substances of bread and wine are transformed into the body and blood of Christ) . Luther, on the contrary, spoke of consubstantiality, which implied the immutability of bread and wine, in which the incarnation of Christ was nevertheless carried out, while Zwingli and Calvin agreed on the symbolic interpretation of the sacrament), and thus tradition triumphed again.

Here are a few document excerpts to illustrate some of these points. Concerning justification by faith it is said: "The final cause is the greatness of God and Christ and eternal life; the efficient cause is the mercy of God, which is unselfish and holy; the essential cause is our only Lord Jesus Christ, who, being taken by his enemies, loved them with an infinite love , and we deserve his justification by the most holy passion on the cross and his forgiveness. The instrumental reason consists in the holiness of baptism, which is the sacrament of faith, without which no one will ever be justified. In the end, the only formal reason is the justice of God; the wrong one believes , for whom he is just, but the one to whom justice is transmitted, that is, through this gift, we are renewed in the depths of the spirit, not only were considered just, but were called so and really were them, each receiving his own justification, to the extent in which the Holy Spirit lavishes it on each individual, according to predestination and his own cooperation. Indeed, who is justified, if not he to whom the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ was committed; in this justification of sinners, through the same holy passions, the love of God is spread through the Holy Spirit in the hearts of the justified. Together with justification and remission of sins, a person receives through Jesus Christ all these gifts, in which faith, hope and charity are united. Indeed, faith, if hope and charity are not added to it, does not perfectly unite us with Christ, and does not make him a living part of our body. Therefore, it is absolutely true that faith without good works is dead and useless, and that what is important in Christ is not circumcision, but faith working through charity.”

Regarding the “unselfishness” of faith, it is clarified: “When the apostle says that a person is justified through faith and unselfishly, this should be understood in the spirit of the Catholic Church, i.e., in such a way that faith is the source of human salvation, the foundation and root of any justification, without which is not the will of God and the communion that your children also find with you. We are justified unselfishly, since everything that precedes justification - both faith and good deeds - deserves the grace of justification, because it is not a matter of merit, otherwise (as he says But the apostle) His mercy would no longer be mercy."

About keeping the commandments and good deeds it is said: “No one, then, having already been justified, should be considered free from keeping the commandments, using insolent expressions and what is prohibited by the fathers under threat of punishment to be excommunicated from the Church, it is impossible for a justified person not to keep the commandments of God. God , indeed, does not demand the impossible; but when He controls you, He warns you to do what you are able to do, and when He demands what is beyond your power, He helps so that you can; His commandments are not hard, the yoke is sweet and easily. Those who are truly sons of God love Christ, and those who love (as He Himself says) keep His words, do things that with the help of God they can undoubtedly do. Although, indeed, in life mortals, no matter how holy and fair they may be, how many times they fall into minor and everyday mistakes, forgivable, but at the same time they do not cease to be fair. And in fact, for the forgiven there is already an expression, humble and truthful: “And forgive us our debts.”

Finally, regarding the Eucharist it is said: “Since Christ, our Savior, said that he truly abided with his body in what he gave under the guise of bread, the church is convinced and is now declared again at this holy Council - that with the consecration of bread and wine they are transformed ": bread into the essence of the body of Christ our Lord, and wine into the essence of His blood. This transformation, properly effected, is, in fact, what the holy Catholic Church calls transubstantiation."

Five years after the founding of the Jesuit order, the convening of the council took place. This had long been demanded in the Catholic world, and Charles V himself considered the council the best means for resolving religious disputes; but the popes were against this, remembering the desire of the councils of the first half of the 15th century. to limit their power. Paul III was forced to convene a council (1545) in Triente(in Latin Trident), but did everything to prevent serious reform of the church. The votes at the council were cast not by nation, as was the case in Constance and Basel, but by head to head, which gave an advantage to the Italians; meetings were interrupted or moved to another place under various pretexts. Twice the cathedral stopped its studies for several years and ended them only in 1563 year. In the last, most important period at the council Papal policy was completely triumphant, and the Jesuit general played a huge role Lainez, one of the founders of the order and immediate successor of Loyola. The Council now developed the “Tridentine Confession of Faith” without the slightest concession to the Protestants and even with a particularly sharp definition of opposing teachings. Papal power was recognized in its medieval extent both over the church and over secular sovereigns - much to the displeasure of the latter. Only the trade in indulgences was abolished, and measures were taken to improve the education and morals of the clergy. Catholic sovereigns recognized the Tridentine decrees only with various reservations. The higher clergy also did not favor them everywhere, and, for example, the Polish bishops agreed to them only thirteen years after their acceptance by the king. The Jesuits contributed a lot to the implementation of resolutions of the Council of Trent.

95. General consequence of the reaction

The reaction of the forties produced a great change in the papacy itself. Popes of the second half of the 16th century. abandoned both the cheerful life and the humanistic interests and purely secular policies of their predecessors. Now they were stern fanatics who cared primarily about the victory of Catholicism. Of these dads, the ones that stood out were Gregory XIII(1571– 1585) and SixtusV(1585–1590). The first, known as a reformer of the calendar (“Gregorian style”), discovered the wildest joy when he learned of the massacre of French Protestants on St. Bartholomew. Sixtus V achieved the throne by cunning. Before his election, he pretended to be decrepit and sick, which ensured his election by the cardinals, who did not want to have a strict pope; but it was he who was one of the most energetic, harsh and cruel people on the papal throne. The Catholic reaction had influence on the masses, putting an end to the hesitation of Catholics with the precise definitions of the Council of Trent and spreading fanatical attitudes towards Protestantism everywhere. The era of Catholic reaction was a time of religious wars, both internecine and international, in which this fanaticism manifested itself in all its strength.

Council of Trent, which Catholics usually call ecumenical, despite the fact that representatives of other Christian denominations did not take part in its meetings, played a very prominent role in the revival of the Catholic Church or the so-called. Catholic reaction.

The clergy gathered at the cathedral extremely slowly, so that its grand opening could take place only on December 13, and then in the presence of a small number of people. Protestants refused to come to the council.

The Roman party took care not to let go of the conduct of affairs and to prevent the principle that the authority of the council was superior to that of the popes from being proclaimed, as happened at Basel. To ensure her superiority, she achieved a resolution that voting should take place not by nation, but by head to head (the number of Italian bishops who arrived in Trent significantly exceeded the number from other countries) and that the decisive vote should be given only to bishops.

The presidency of the council belonged to three cardinals (Del Monte, Cervino and Reginald Paul), who constantly received detailed instructions from Rome. The right to raise and raise questions belonged exclusively to them.

Consideration of each question posed took place first in private commissions or congregations, where they were discussed by learned theologians. Thus prepared for decision, the questions were submitted to the general congregations or commissions consisting of bishops. When the latter came to a final agreement on a given subject, their decision was made and approved at a solemn public meeting of the entire council.

The Pope wanted dogmatic issues to be addressed first. This did not correspond to the views of the emperor and the party, who were aware of the need to urgently eradicate abuses in the church. The majority of the council decided on January 22 that some congregations would deal with dogmatic issues, and others with the matter of internal reform of the church.

Meanwhile, the political influence of the emperor, which increased after the defeat of the German Protestants (), began to cause strong concerns among the pope. He was afraid that Charles V would put strong pressure on the council in order to carry out all his demands and belittle the authority of the pope. Therefore, Paul III considered it safer for himself that the meetings of the council take place closer to Rome, in some Italian city, and under the pretext that a plague had broken out in Trent, he initially transferred it to Bologna. Only 18 bishops refused to leave Trent. In Bologna the cathedral existed only in name, and on September 17 the pope dissolved it.

Emperor Ferdinand I, the French and the Spanish demanded that the council make fundamental reforms in the church and make concessions on some dogmatic issues in the Protestant spirit. Pope Pius IV avoided fulfilling these demands by sending Cardinal Morone to the emperor, who persuaded him not to insist on implementing the reform program he presented.

Pius IV won over the French ambassador, as well as Philip II of Spain; Moreover, the French quarreled with the Spaniards in Trent, so they acted in disharmony. The council continued its activities in the same direction as before. His work moved forward quickly, and on December 4 the cathedral was already closed. With the bull Benedictus Deus (January 26), Pius IV approved his regulations.

The decrees of the Council of Trent are divided into Decreta and Canones. The Decreta sets forth the tenets of the Catholic faith and regulations concerning ecclesiastical discipline; The Canones briefly listed the provisions of the Protestant doctrine, with the caveat that they were anathematized.

Raising papal authority, the Council of Trent significantly increased the power of bishops in their dioceses, giving them greater powers of supervision over the clergy, both white and black.

It was strictly confirmed that bishops should remain permanently in their dioceses. Attention was also paid to better delivery of sermons in churches and to the training of good priests. For this purpose, it was recommended that bishops establish special educational institutions - seminaries.

The radical reforms in capite et in membris [in the head and members], which were so eagerly awaited in the Catholic Church, were not carried out. The whole significance of the Council of Trent boiled down to the fact that it unshakably established the dogmas of the Catholic Church. Before him, even high-ranking clerics in the Catholic hierarchy tended to view certain issues, such as justification by faith, from a Protestant point of view. Now there could no longer be any talk of any concessions to Protestant views; to all doubts and hesitations, which was considered heresy, he allowed the publication of the decisions of the Council of Trent in his dominions, but with reservations that did not allow restrictions on the king’s rights to appoint clergy and limit his influence on spiritual jurisdiction.

In Poland, the decrees of the Council of Trent were adopted at the Synod of Petrokov. In France they were not officially adopted; only the clergy, at their general meeting, declared that they obeyed them.

Sources

• Christianity: Encyclopedic Dictionary: in 3 volumes: Great Russian Encyclopedia, 1995.

The XIX Ecumenical Council of Trent of 1545-1563 became one of the most important milestones in Catholicism. Most of the accepted dogmas remain relevant after half a millennium. The High Assembly of the spiritual leaders of the Catholic Church met at the height of the Reformation, when the inhabitants of northern Europe, dissatisfied with the abuses and luxurious life of the clergy, refused to recognize the authority of the Pope. The Council of Trent and the most important results of its work became a decisive “offensive” against the reformers, marking a milestone in the Counter-Reformation of the 16th century.

Spiritual background to the conflict

By the end of the 15th century, the Catholic Church concentrated many lands in its hands and accumulated great wealth. In Europe, church tithes were common - the collection of a tenth of the profit from the harvest or cash income. The church lived magnificently at a time when a significant part of the believers was poor. This circumstance undermined the foundations of faith and the authority of the church. In addition, the trade in indulgences - special letters “for the remission of sins” - was widely launched. For a certain amount of indulgence, a person, regardless of the severity of the offenses, was freed from any sin. This sale caused discontent among believers. The center of the Reformation was Germany, which was then fragmented and resembled a “patchwork quilt.” Against such an unfavorable background, it was decided to convene the Council of Trent.

Humanism caused significant damage to its authority. Its leader was In the pamphlet “In Praise of Stupidity,” the humanist sharply condemned the shortcomings and ignorance of the clergy. Another figure of German humanism was Ulrich von Hutten, who considered papal Rome an enemy. It should be added that the believers were also irritated by the fact that the language of worship was Latin, which ordinary parishioners did not understand.

Reformation

The Reformation became a global challenge to the foundations of the Catholic Church. For the most part, the decisions of the Council of Trent were directed against the Reformation. The original idea was to hold a joint meeting of the Council under the chairmanship of the Pope and the leaders of the Reformation. However, a dialogue, rather a scholastic dispute, did not work out.

On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed the “95 Theses” to the door of his church in Wittenberg, sharply condemning the trade in indulgences. In a short time, tens of thousands of people became supporters of Luther's ideas. In 1520 the Pope issued a bull excommunicating the monk from the church. Luther burned it publicly, which meant a final break with Rome. Martin Luther didn't object to the church, he wanted it to be simpler. The postulates of the reformers were clear to everyone:

• Priests could marry, wear ordinary clothes, and must obey laws common to all.
• abandoned icons and sculptural images of Christ and the Mother of God.
• The Bible is the only source of faith for Christians.

The Birth of Protestantism

The emperor decided to intervene in the matter. In 1521 Luther arrived at the Reichstag in the city of Worms. There he was asked to renounce his views, but Luther refused. Indignant, the emperor left the meeting. On his way home, Luther was attacked, but the Elector of Saxony, Frederick the Wise, saved him by hiding him in his castle. The absence of Martin Luther did not stop the Reformation.

In 1529, Emperor Charles V demanded that the apostates observe exclusively the Catholic religion in the territory (essentially Germany). But 5 principalities, with the support of 14 cities, expressed their protest. From that moment on, Catholics began to call supporters of the Reformation Protestants.

Attack on the Reformation

Throughout its long history, the Catholic Church has never known such a deep shock as the Reformation. With the support of the rulers of Catholic countries, Papal Rome began an active fight against the “Protestant heresy.” The system of measures aimed at stopping and eradicating reform ideas and movements was called Counter-Reformation. The trigger for these events was the Council of Trent in 1545.

The beginning of the offensive against the Reformation was marked by the revival of the medieval Inquisition, in the centers of which hundreds of “Protestant heretics” died. The inquisitors took control of book publishing. Without their permission, not a single work could be published, and “harmful” literature was included in a special “index of prohibited books” and was subject to burning.

Catholic reform

The Reformation split the Catholic world in half, but in the mid-16th century, Europeans hoped that the situation could still be corrected. It is only necessary that in search of reconciliation both sides take a step towards each other. Not only ordinary believers, but also some cardinals and bishops thought so. From their midst, the voices of those calling on the Holy See to carry out church reform sounded more and more insistently.

The popes hesitated for a long time before agreeing to the transformation. Finally, in 1545, Pope Paul III convened an Ecumenical Council. The location of the Council of Trent corresponds to the city of Trento (Italy). It took place intermittently until 1563, that is, for 18 years.

Victory of the Catholic Church Reformers

From the very beginning, the participants of the council split into two groups - supporters of Catholic reform and its opponents. In the heated discussions, the latter won. Under their pressure, the main decisions of the Council of Trent were adopted, cementing the position of the Catholic faith for centuries.

The papacy had to cancel the sale of indulgences, and to ensure the future of the Catholic Church, create a network of theological seminaries. Within their walls they must train a new type, whose education was not inferior to Protestant preachers.

Council of Trent: its meanings and consequences

The Council was the response of Catholicism to Protestantism. It was convened by Pope Paul III in 1542, but due to the Franco-German War, the first meeting took place only in 1945. The council was held by three popes. There were 25 meetings in total, but only at 13 sessions were fateful decisions made that related to faith, customs or disciplinary rules.

The Council of Trent is one of the most significant in the history of the Catholic Church. The dogmas adopted at the meetings concern many fundamental issues. For example, the sources of faith were identified and the canon of books of Holy Scripture was approved. The Council discussed certain dogmas that the Protestants rejected. Based on the discussions, the attitude towards indulgences was revised.

The issues of the sacrament of baptism and confirmation, the Eurahist and repentance, communion, the sacrifice of St. Liturgy, marriage. This dogmatic series was completed by the decision on purgatory, the veneration of saints, etc.

Pope Pius IX approved the conciliar decrees of 1564. After his death, Pope St. Pius V published a catechism confirmed by the Council, an updated breviary and an updated missal.

Council of Trent: main decisions

• The inviolability of Mass and Confession.
• Preservation of the seven sacraments, veneration of holy icons.
• Confirmation of the mediating role of the Church and the supreme authority of the Pope within it.

The Council of Trent laid the foundation for the renewal of Catholicism and the strengthening of church discipline. He showed that the break with Protestantism was final.

Teaching of the Council of Trent on the Eucharist

The Council of Trent (1545-1563) dealt with the issue of the Eucharist throughout its entire existence. He adopted three important decrees

• "Decree on the Holy Eucharist" (1551).
• “Decree on the communion of two types and the communion of small children” (16.VII.1562).
• “Decree on the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Holy Mass” (17. X. 1562).

The Council of Trent defends, first of all, the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist and the way in which this presence appears under the images of wine and bread during the consecration - “transubstantiatio”. Of course, this was a general clarification of the method, because there was controversy among theologians about a detailed explanation of how exactly this “transubstantiatio” occurs.

Previously, it was assumed that Christ was present in the Eucharist after the Liturgy if the consecrated Body and Blood remained. Trentsky confirmed. The essential identity between the sacrifice of the Holy Office and the sacrifice of Christ on the cross was also confirmed.

After the Council of Trent, theologians again concentrated on a narrow vision of the Eucharist: on the presence of Christ and on the sacrificial character of the Mass. This approach convinced Protestants that they were right. Particularly much was said about the sacrifice of mass, and although it was never denied that this was the only sacrifice of Jesus Christ, excessive emphasis on the sacrifice of the Service itself could give the impression that this sacrifice was divorced from that historical one. Moreover, the overemphasis on the priest being a “second Christ” during the celebration of the Eucharist has greatly diminished the role of the loyal people during the liturgy.

Conclusion

The dogmas approved by the Council of Trent, for the most part, have survived unchanged to this day. The Catholic Church lives according to laws adopted 500 years ago. That is why the Council of Trent is considered by many to be the most important since the division of the united church into Catholic and Protestant.

The reader will remember that Luther and a number of other reformers repeatedly called for an ecumenical council. But at the early stage of the Reformation, the popes resisted this in every possible way, as they were afraid of the revival of the conciliar movement, whose representatives demanded recognition of the superiority of the authority of the councils over the papal one. Therefore, only under Paul III, when disagreements between Protestants and Catholics became irreversible, did Rome take seriously the possibility of convening an ecumenical council. After long and difficult negotiations, it was decided that the cathedral would begin work in Trento (Latin Tridentum - Trident) in December 1545. Charles V insisted on holding the council on his territory, and it was for this reason that the choice fell on Trento, an imperial city in Northern Italy. But still not many prelates took part in the work of the council - 31 people at the first session and 213 at the last.

Previously, councils usually dealt with a small number of controversial issues or a specific doctrine considered heretical. But this time the topics put forward for discussion by Protestants were so important, and the church was in such need of reform, that the council did not limit itself to simply condemning Protestantism and considered it its duty not only to discuss all those points of the theological system that the Protestant Reformation called into question , but also to adopt a number of resolutions aimed at reforming the church. In addition, to achieve orthodox uniformity of doctrine, the council adopted measures regulating the life and ministry of the church.

The Council of Trent, considered the nineteenth ecumenical council by the Catholic Church, has had a complex history. Charles V insisted on holding it on his territory. When relations later became strained between Pope Paul III and the emperor, the pope moved the council to the papal states. But the emperor ordered his bishops to remain in Trento, and as a result, the work of the cathedral was suspended in 1547. It met again in 1551, but the next year there was a break again. In 1555 Paul IV became pope. He sought to continue the reform work begun by the cathedral, but, fearing excessive influence of the Spaniards, he did not reopen it. Finally, in 1562, under the pontificate of the next Pope Pius IV, the council was convened for the last time and completed its work in 1563. Thus, although the council theoretically lasted from 1545 to 1563, it was inactive for most of that time.

The Council of Trent passed too many decrees to list here. As for reform measures, he ordered bishops to remain in their dioceses, condemned pluralism (holding several church positions at the same time), defined and formulated the duties of clergy, regulated such issues as the use of relics and indulgences, and ordered the creation of seminaries for preparation for ministry (before At this time there were no generally accepted rules or requirements for ordination). He also recommended the study of the works of Thomas Aquinas, making them the basis of the theological system of the Catholic Church. On the other hand, he adopted a number of decrees directed against Protestantism. In this regard, he declared that in doctrinal matters one must rely on the Vulgate, the Latin translation of the Bible, that tradition is as authoritative as Scripture, that there are seven sacraments, that the Mass is a genuine sacrifice that can be offered for the dead, that communion is under both species, that is, with the offering of bread and wine to the parishioners, it is not necessary that justification is based on good works due to the believer's union with grace, and so on.

Despite its complex history, the small number of prelates who participated in its work and the resistance of many monarchs who prevented the spread of the decisions it made in their lands, the Council of Trent laid the foundation of modern Catholicism. Now it was no longer the medieval church that Luther opposed, for it bore the stamp of the struggle against Protestantism. Over the next four centuries, this opposition reached such a degree that the Catholic Church even refused to acknowledge that many of the provisions of the Protestant Reformation, rejected by the Council of Trent, were rooted in Christian tradition. And only much later, in the 20th century, was the Catholic Church able to develop its own program of reform, which was not fundamentally a reaction to Protestantism.