Bull of Union with the Greeks
Laetentur Caeli Latin for 'Let the Heavens Rejoice'Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches | |
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Laetentur Caeli: Bulla Unionis Graecorum
Political background
In 1439 the
Theological background
The Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches had developed several theological differences in the course of the East–West Schism of 1054 and the centuries following. The chief difference revolved around the insertion of the word Filioque (English: and the Son) into the Latin version of the Nicene Creed by the Roman Catholic Church, which Orthodox bishops had refused to accept.[8] Thus, Eastern Orthodox dogma held that the Holy Spirit proceeded from God the Father, whereas Roman Catholic dogma held that it proceeded from both the Father and the Son.[8] The Eastern bishops at the Council of Florence emphatically denied that even an ecumenical council had the power to add anything to the creed.[9] A second central issue was that of Papal supremacy, which the Orthodox bishops had also rejected.[2] Also important was the issue of the doctrine of Purgatory, which the Eastern churches similarly rejected, and the issue of leavening, wherein the Orthodox Churches used leavened bread for the Eucharist while the Roman Catholics used unleavened bread.
Council of Florence and Laetentur Caeli
Laetentur caeli et exultet terra. Sublatus est enim de medio paries qui occidentalem orientalemque dividebat ecclesiam et pax atque concordia rediit, illo angulari lapide Christo qui fecit utraque unum, vinculo fortissimo caritatis et pacis utrumque iungente parietem et perpetue unitatis federe copulante ac continente; postque longam meroris nebulam et dissidii diuturni atram ingratamque caliginem, serenum omnibus unionis optate iubar illuxit.
The 700 Eastern Orthodox delegates at the Council of Ferrara-Florence were maintained at the Pope's expense.[10] Initially, Eastern Orthodox Patriarch Joseph II of Constantinople was in attendance, but when he died before the council ended, Emperor John VIII largely took Church matters into his own hands.[11] To this end, he appointed the pro-union Metrophanes II of Constantinople as Joseph II's successor. In the summer of 1439 the council was moved from Ferrara to Florence because, at the instigation of Cosimo de' Medici, Florence offered to pay to maintain the Greek delegates, whom the Papacy was struggling to support.[10]
Since the Roman Catholic West held all of the bargaining power given John VIII's desperate situation, the union of the churches was a simple matter for John: the Emperor ordered the Eastern representatives to accept the Western doctrines of the Filioque, Papal supremacy, and Purgatory, as Eugene IV asked.
Laetentur Caeli contained the first formal conciliar definition of Papal primacy.
The lone dissenting voice against the bull was that of Mark of Ephesus, delegate for the Patriarch of Alexandria, who refused to compromise on either the Filioque or Purgatory and held that Rome continued in heresy and schism.[11] Reportedly, upon seeing that Mark's signature was missing, Eugene IV responded, “And so we have accomplished nothing.”[11] Nonetheless the union was to proceed, and representatives from the Vatican would be sent to Constantinople to see how it was being carried out.[11]
English Text
Council of Florence (XVII Ecumenical), Session 6 — 6 July 1439
[Definition of the holy ecumenical synod of Florence, presided by Pope Eugenius IV]
Eugenius, bishop, servant of the servants of God, for an everlasting record. With the agreement of our most dear son John Palaeologus, illustrious emperor of the Romaioi [note: the Latin text renders the term Basileus Romaion as "Imperator Romeorum" rather than "Imperator Romanorum", which was the correct Latin form for "Emperor of the Romans" used however by westerners to describe the
Let the heavens be glad and let the earth rejoice. For, the wall that divided the
Let Mother Church also rejoice. For she now beholds her sons hitherto in disagreement returned to unity and peace, and she who hitherto wept at their separation now gives thanks to God with inexpressible joy at their truly marvellous harmony. Let all the faithful throughout the world, and those who go by the name of Christian, be glad with mother catholic church. For behold, western and eastern fathers after a very long period of disagreement and discord, submitting themselves to the perils of sea and land and having endured labours of all kinds, came together in this holy ecumenical council, joyful and eager in their desire for this most holy union and to restore intact the ancient love. In no way have they been frustrated in their intent. After a long and very toilsome investigation, at last by the clemency of the holy Spirit they have achieved this greatly desired and most holy union. Who, then, can adequately thank God for his gracious gifts?' Who would not stand amazed at the riches of such great divine mercy? Would not even an iron breast be softened by this immensity of heavenly condescension?
These truly are works of God, not devices of human frailty. Hence they are to be accepted with extraordinary veneration and to be furthered with praises to God. To you praise, to you glory, to you thanks, O Christ, source of mercies, who have bestowed so much good on your spouse the catholic church and have manifested your miracles of mercy in our generation, so that all should proclaim your wonders. Great indeed and divine is the gift that God has bestowed on us. We have seen with our eyes what many before greatly desired yet could not behold.
For when
In the name of the holy Trinity, Father, Son and holy Spirit, we define, with the approval of this holy universal
And since the Father gave to his only-begotten Son in begetting him everything the Father has, except to be the Father, so the Son has eternally from the Father, by whom he was eternally begotten, this also, namely that the holy Spirit proceeds from the Son.
We define also that the explanation of those words "and from the Son" was licitly and reasonably added to the creed for the sake of declaring the truth and from imminent need.
Also, the body of Christ is truly confected in both
Also, the souls of those who have incurred no stain of sin whatsoever after baptism, as well as souls who after incurring the stain of sin have been cleansed whether in their bodies or outside their bodies, as was stated above, are straightaway received into heaven and clearly behold the triune God as he is, yet one person more perfectly than another according to the difference of their merits. But the souls of those who depart this life in actual mortal sin, or in original sin alone, go down straightaway to hell to be punished, but with unequal pains. We also define that the holy apostolic see and the Roman pontiff holds the primacy over the whole world and the Roman pontiff is the successor of blessed Peter prince of the apostles, and that he is the true vicar of Christ, the head of the whole church and the father and teacher of all Christians, and to him was committed in blessed Peter the full power of tending, ruling and governing the whole church, as is contained also in the acts of ecumenical councils and in the sacred canons.
Also, renewing the order of the other
Aftermath
In the West, Pope Eugenius IV conducted further negotiations in an attempt to extend the union. He signed an agreement with the Armenians on 22 November 1439,[15] and with a part of the Jacobites of Syria in 1443, and in 1445 he received some of the Nestorians and the Cypriot portion of the Maronites.[16] These unions proved unstable and mostly failed to last. In the spring of 1442 the pope began planning a crusade by both land and sea against the Ottomans from Hungary and the Mediterranean to fulfil the Pope's pledges.[12] These plans were initially slowed by a civil war in Hungary.[12] On 1 January 1443, Eugene IV finally proclaimed an official crusade.[12] Władysław III of Poland, now King of Hungary as well, agreed, but could not find support among his Polish nobles because they supported the Conciliar Movement against the Pope.[12] Władysław nonetheless undertook the crusade with Hungarian troops and was killed in the Battle of Varna within a year, ending the attempt.[12] Constantinople could no longer expect the West's military support.[12]
In the East, John VIII, Mark of Ephesus, and the rest of the Eastern hierarchs returned to Constantinople on 1 February 1440.[11] They soon found that the Byzantine people and the monks of Mount Athos, rallying around Mark, largely rejected the union.[7][8][11] The newly Eastern Catholic bishops, in opposition to Mark, attested his resistance:
“Having returned to Constantinople, Ephesus disturbed and confused the Eastern Church by his writings and addresses directed against the decrees of the Council of Florence.”[11]
Opinion among the bishops in Russia, contrary to those in Constantinople, remained with Mark, and by 1443 most Russian patriarchs repudiated the Council of Florence and the union of the churches.[11] Thus Isidore of Kiev was arrested at the command of Vasily II upon his return to Moscow and convicted of apostasy, after which he was imprisoned; he then escaped and fled to Rome to become a cardinal.[7][8] He returned to Constantinople in 1452 to celebrate the union but was forced to flee to Rome again as the city fell to the Ottomans.[7] Meanwhile, in 1448, seeking to escape any unionist influence, the Russian Orthodox Church declared itself autocephalous.[8]
The Venetian and Genoan governments ensured that no significant support from the West was forthcoming to Constantinople, supporting the Ottomans against the Byzantines.
Notes
- ^ Sometimes also spelled as Laetentur Coeli, Laetantur Caeli, Lætentur Cæli, Lætentur Cœli, or Lætantur Cæli, and occasionally referred to as the Act of Union or "Decree of Union".
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Bulla Laetentur caeli (6 Iul. 1439), de unione Graecorum". www.vatican.va. Retrieved Dec 27, 2022.
- ^ a b c Lyttle, Charles H. "Odd Moments and Papal Bulls" in The Christian Register, Vol. 91. p. 854. 5 September 1912.
- ISBN 0-19-820171-0
- ^ a b c Mango, Cyril. The Oxford History of Byzantium. 1st ed. New York: Oxford UP, 2002
- ^ Küküllei János: Lajos király krónikája, Névtelen szerző: Geszta Lajos királyról; Osisris Kiadó, Budapest, 2000. (Millenniumi Magyar Történelem)
- ^ Merry, Bruce (2002) "George Gemistos Plethon (c. 1355/60–1452)" in Amoia, Alba & Knapp, Bettina L., Multicultural Writers from Antiquity to 1945: A Bio-Bibliographical Sourcebook. Greenwood Publishing Group.
- ^ a b c d Isidore of Kiev, Encyclopædia Britannica, 2008, O.Ed.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Hamerman, Nora. The Council of Florence: The Religious Event that Shaped the Era of Discovery in Fidelio, Volume 1, Number 2, Spring 1992 pp. 23-36.
- ^ "Excursus on the words πίστιν ἑτέραν". Ccel.org. 1 June 2005. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
- ^ a b c d Brown, Patricia Fortini. Laetentur Caeli: The Council of Florence and the Astronomical Fresco in the Old Sacristry. 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Погодин, Амвросий. Святой Марк Эфесский и Флорентийская уния. Jordanville: Holy Trinity Monastery, 1963.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Stieber, Joachim W. Pope Eugenius IV, the Council of Basel and the Secular and Ecclesiastical Authorities in the Empire: The Conflict Over Supreme Authority and Power in the Church. 1978.
- ^ Roman Catholicism, Encyclopædia Britannica, 2015, O.Ed.
- ^ a b Brigham, Erin. Sustaining the Hope for Unity: Ecumenical Dialogue in a Postmodern World. 2012.
- ISBN 9798869171504.
- ^ "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Council of Florence". www.newadvent.org. Retrieved Dec 27, 2022.
External links
Media related to Laetentur Caeli at Wikimedia Commons