Fourth Lateran Council
1215 AD
📂 CHURCH
📖 About This Event
The Fourth Lateran Council (1215), convened by Pope Innocent III, was the largest and most important ecumenical council of the Middle Ages, with over 400 bishops, 800 abbots, and representatives from throughout Christendom in attendance. The council produced 70 constitutions covering a wide range of doctrinal, disciplinary, and pastoral matters. Its most significant doctrinal definition was the doctrine of transubstantiation—the teaching that in the Eucharist, the substance of the bread and wine is changed into the substance of the Body and Blood of Christ, while the accidents (appearances) of bread and wine remain.
The council also mandated annual confession and communion for all the faithful (at least at Easter), affirmed the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, condemned Albigensian and Waldensian heresies, and authorized the Fifth Crusade. It defined the creation of all things ex nihilo (out of nothing) by God and affirmed the uniqueness of Christ's sacrifice. The council's decree on the Eucharist (Fourth Lateran Council, Canon 1) remains a key reference for Catholic Eucharistic theology.
The Catholic Church considers the Fourth Lateran Council one of the most important councils in her history, establishing doctrines and disciplines that shaped medieval and modern Catholic life. Key Scripture: John 6:51-58; 1 Corinthians 11:23-29; CCC 1374-1377, 1380, 1420
📜 Key Facts
Date
1215 AD
Category
Church
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