Catholic Councils and Decrees
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De Haeretico Comburendo
The English statute of 1401, De heretico comburendo, authorizing the burning of heretics.
Roman Catholic Councils
The general councils of the Western church from Lateran I in 1123 to Trent in 1563: the medieval councils Rome reckons ecumenical, what each decreed, and how they set the stage for the Reformation.
Roman Catholic Decrees
A timeline of the official decrees of Roman Catholic councils and popes that bear on the Reformation: Scripture, salvation, the sacraments, worship, Mary, papal authority, and persecution.
The Constitutions of Oxford
The Constitutions of Oxford, 1409, which restricted preaching and Bible translation in response to Wycliffe and the Lollards.
The Council of Basel–Ferrara–Florence
The Council of Basel, Ferrara, and Florence, 1431 to 1449: a council against a pope, a settlement with the Hussites, a brief union with the Greeks, and the definitions of purgatory and the seven sacraments.
The Council of Constance
The Council of Constance, 1414 to 1418: the Great Schism ended, the supremacy of councils declared, Wycliffe condemned, and Jan Hus burned in defiance of an imperial safe-conduct.
The Council of Pisa
The Council of Pisa of 1409: cardinals of both obediences depose the rival popes of Rome and Avignon, elect Alexander V, and leave the church with three popes.
The Council of Vienne
The Council of Vienne, 1311 to 1312, under Clement V: the suppression of the Knights Templar, the condemnation of the Beguines and Beghards, and chairs of Hebrew, Greek, and Arabic in the universities.
The Fifth Lateran Council
The Fifth Lateran Council, 1512 to 1517, under Julius II and Leo X: papal supremacy over councils, the immortality of the soul, the censorship of printed books, and a call to reform that closed seven months before the Ninety-Five Theses.
The First Council of Lyons
The First Council of Lyons of 1245 under Innocent IV: the deposition of the Emperor Frederick II and a new crusade after the loss of Jerusalem.
The First Lateran Council
The First Lateran Council of 1123 under Callistus II: the Concordat of Worms confirmed, clerical marriage forbidden, and the crusading indulgence renewed.
The Fourth Lateran Council
The Fourth Lateran Council of 1215 under Innocent III: transubstantiation defined, annual confession imposed on every Christian, procedures against heretics, and the Fifth Crusade.
The Second Council of Lyons
The Second Council of Lyons of 1274 under Gregory X: a short-lived union with the Greek church, the filioque reaffirmed, purgatory and seven sacraments professed, and the papal conclave established.
The Second Lateran Council
The Second Lateran Council of 1139 under Innocent II: the schism of Anacletus II closed, clerical marriages declared invalid, and the Petrobrusians and Henricians condemned.
The Third Lateran Council
The Third Lateran Council of 1179 under Alexander III: the two-thirds rule for papal elections, the condemnation of the Cathars, and the first hearing of Valdes of Lyons.
