The Second Council of Lyon was a Roman Catholic council convoked 31 March 1272, which convened in Lyon in 1274. Pope Gregory X presided over the council, which he hoped to make genuinely ecumenical: it was attended by some five hundred bishops, sixty abbots and more than a thousand prelates or their procurators, among whom were the representatives of the universities. Among others who attended the council were James I of Aragon, the ambassador of the Emperor Michael Palaeologus with members of the Greek clergy and the ambassadors of the Khan of the Tatars. The main topics discussed at the council were the conquest of the Holy Land and the union of the Churches. St Thomas Aquinas had been summoned to the council, but died en route at Frosinone. St Bonaventure was present at the first four sessions, but died at Lyon on 15 July. Those who attended without having been specifically invited, were invited, with blessings, to retire.

In addition to Aragon, which James represented in person, representatives of the kings of Germany, England, Scotland, France, the Spains and Sicily The Sicilian representation was that sent by Charles of Anjou, whom the Papacy had placed on the throne of Sicily in 1266, to the detriment of Aragonese claims. The uprising in Aragon's favour called the Sicilian Vespers would take place 30 March 1282. were present, with procurators also representing the kingdoms of Norway, Sweden, Hungary, Bohemia, the "realm of Dacia" and the duchy of Poland. In the procedures to be observed in the council, for the first time the nations appeared as represented elements in an ecclesiastical council, as they had already become represented in the governing of medieval universities. This innovation marks a stepping-stone towards the acknowledgment of coherent ideas of nationhood, which were in the process of creating the European nation-states.

The first session opened on 7 May 1274, with five additional sessions opening on 18 May, 4 or 7 June, 6 July, 16 July and 17 July, eventually promulgating thirty-one constitutions. In the second session the fathers approved the decree Zelus fidei, which contained no juridical statutes but rather summed up constitutions about the perils of the Holy Land, the means for paying for a proposed crusade, invoked the excommunication of pirates and corsairs and those who protect them or trade with them, declared a peace among Christians, offered remission of sins for those willing to go on crusade, and the schismatic Greeks and the order and procedure to be observed in the council.

Conquest of the Holy Land

The council debated financial aspects of the crusade. It was decided that for six years a tithe of all the benefices of Christendom should benefit the crusade. James of Aragon wished to organize the expedition at once, but this was opposed by the Knights Templar, and no decision was made. Ambassadors of the Khan of the Tatars negotiated with the Pope, who wished them to leave Christians in peace during the war against Islam.

Union of the Churches

Wishing to end the Great Schism that divided Rome and Constantinople, Gregory X had sent an embassy to Michael VIII Palaeologus, who had reconquered Constantinople, putting an end to the remnants of the Latin Empire in the East, and he asked Latin despots in the East to curb their ambitions. Patriarch Germanus of Constantinople and other Eastern dignitaries arrived at Lyon on 24 JuneThey missed the earlier sessions because they had been shipwrecked. That meant that they had not approved Zelus fidei, with its proposal "to lead back the Greek peoples to the unity of the church; proudly striving to divide in some way the Lord's seamless tunic, they withdrew from devotion and obedience to the apostolic see," a view of the schism that could not go down well in the East., presenting a letter from the Emperor. On 29 June, Gregory X celebrated a Mass in St John's church, where both sides took place. The Greeks read the Nicene Creed, with the controversial Western addition of the Filioque clause sung three times. The council was seemingly a success, but did not provide a lasting solution to the schism; the Emperor was anxious to heal the schism, but the Eastern clergy proved to be solidly opposed.

Other topics debated

The council dealt with the reform of the Church, regarding which Gregory had sent out inquiries. Several bishops and abbots were deposed for unworthiness, and some mendicant orders were suppressed. On the other hand, the two new orders of Dominicans and Franciscans were approved.

There had been several lengthy vacancies of the Holy See, most recently the sede vacante that had lasted from the death of Clement IV, 29 November 1268, until Gregory's election, 1 September 1271. The council decided that in future the cardinals should not leave the conclave until they had successfully elected a pope. This decision was suspended in 1276 by Pope Adrian V, and then revoked by Pope John XXI. It has since been re-established, and is the basis of present legislation on papal elections.

Finally the council dealt with the Imperial throne, which James I of Aragon claimed. His claim was disallowed by the Pope, and Rudolph I was proclaimed King of the Romans and future emperor on 6 June.

See also

• Bagimonds Roll

Notes