19th Council, The Council of Trent (A.D. 1545-1563)

SUMMARY:

SITE: Trent, Italy.

YEARS: 1545 - 1563

POPES: Paul III, 1534 - 1549 & 1551 - 1552; Julius III, 1550 - 1555; Pius IV, 1559 - 1565

EMPERORS: Charles V, 1519 - 1556 & Ferdinand I, 1556 - 1564

Affirmed Catholic doctrines against the errors of the Protestants; Initiated the Counter-Reformation; Reaffirmed and Defined doctrines of the Bible and Tradition, grace, sin, justification, Mass as real sacrifice, the Real Presence, purgatory, indulgences, jurisdiction of the Pope; Defined numerous points concerning the sacraments; Defined the necessity of Baptism for salvation, whether in reality or desire; Defined the necessity of both faith and good works for salvation; Promulgated numerous decrees on the sacraments and the liturgy; Reformed the clergy and morals; Ordered establishment of seminaries for future training of priests (TFW: 5c, 6, 19-20, 28-31, 37-38, 48-67, 69b-74, 76-89, 98-99)

Council of Trent, lasted eighteen years (1545-1563) under five popes: Paul III, Julius III, Marcellus II, Paul IV and Pius IV, and under the Emperors Charles V and Ferdinand. There were present 5 cardinal legates of the Holy See, 3 patriarchs, 200 Bishops, 7 abbots, 7 generals of monastic orders, representatives of kings and princes. It was convoked to examine and condemn the errors promulgated by Luther and other Reformers, and to reform the discipline of the Church. Of all councils it lasted longest, issued the largest number of dogmatic and reformatory decrees, and produced the most beneficial results.

ACTION: Called by Pope Paul III, this council was continued by Pope Julius III, and, after 18 years and 25 sessions in all, Pope Pius IV concluded it and solemnly confirmed its decrees. Trent Condemned the heresies of Luther, Calvin, and others. It issued decrees on the Eucharist, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the Sacraments (notably Baptism and Holy Orders) and teachings on marriage, purgatory, indulgences and the use of images. +See canons II and V, BAPTISM. The remaining tasks begun by Pope Pius IV were continued by his successor, Pope St. Pius V (1566 - 1572): reforming of the Missal and Brieviary, writing of the Catechism based on the decrees of Trent, appointing a commission to issue a more exact edition of the Vulgate, and the reforming of morals.

NOTE: For centuries Popes did not enforce their own rite and did not enforce uniformity. Many Popes were content in allowing the usage of other rites but that were valid and PLEASING to God. Pope St. Gregory the Great (590-604 A.D.) told Saint Augustine to use whatever rites he thought were suitable, but again they must be valid and pleasing to God. Pope St. Gregory the Great finished his Gregorian Sacramentary(book containing the prayers of the Mass used by the priest at the altar). The Gregorian Sacramentary essentially is the Mass that Pope St. Pius V in 1570 standardized or set in stone through his Papal Bull, Quo Primum Tempore. Pope St. Pius V DID NOT invent an entirely new and experimental Rite of Mass but simply codified and set in stone an existing Rite of Mass that had been used for almost 1000 years and that is still used for the past 1400 years. The Council of Trent(1545-1563) wished the Roman Mass to be said uniformly everywhere. The Roman Mass essentially has been said since the time of Pope St. Gregory the Great in Rome for 1400 years but uniformity across the western Church wasn’t enforced until 1570 by Pope Saint Pius V. The pontifical constitution, Quo Primum, of Pope Saint Pius V in the form of a Bull is used for important and permanent decrees and is binding to those for whom they are issued.

NOTE: St. Peter Canisius, Priest, Doctor of the Church (d. 1597), represented the Pope at Trent, and was an opponent of Melancthon.

HERESY: PROTESTANTISM

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Contents

Bull of Indiction

The First Session

The Second Session

The Third Session

The Fourth Session

The Fifth Session

The Sixth Session

The Seventh Session

The Eighth Session

The Ninth Session

The Tenth Session

The Eleventh Session

The Twelfth Session

The Thirteenth Session

The Fourteenth Session

The Fifteenth Session

The Sixteenth Session

The Seventeenth Session

The Eighteenth Session

The Nineteenth Session

The Twentieth Session

The Twenty-First Session

The Twenty-Second Session

The Twenty-Third Session

The Twenty-Fourth Session

The Twenty-Fifth Session