Summa de Ecclesia

AFTER we have shown by what authority universal councils are regularly to be congregated, now it must be seen for what causes they are to be congregated, since prelates are not to be called away and wearied from their churches for a slight cause, but for the gravest and most arduous ones. But having run through many histories we find that the fathers of the Church have convened in council for many causes. First indeed, that over matters to be treated and disposed in the universal Church more mature and sounder counsel be had. For if, as the wise man says, Ecclesiasticus 37, stable counsel ought to go before every act, much more is this to be observed where action is to be taken concerning the greatest matters and those touching the whole Christian republic. But for having mature and sound counsel over such matters the multitude of the wise avails greatly, according to Prov. 11: "Where there are many counsels, there is safety"; and Ecclesiasticus 6: "A multitude of the wise is the health of the world"; and we read that this was observed above all by the fathers in matters of faith, in which error is more perilous, as blessed Aug. says. This cause of celebrating a council is touched by blessed Cyprian in the epistle which he and a certain synod write to Stephen, saying: "Cyprian and the rest to Stephen our brother, greeting. To dispose certain things and to settle them by the examination of a common council, we must of necessity, with very many priests convening in one place, gather and celebrate a council." Likewise the emperor Theodosius, with a mandate given that the bishops convene to celebrate the second synod of Ephesus, assigning the reason, says that since Pope Leo thought it was not safe without a holy synod and the prelates of the holy churches everywhere to unravel such a question of faith, "we have judged it necessary for your fraternity." Hence also the Gloss in ch. Anastasius, nineteenth distinction, says that where faith is at stake the Pope ought to seek the council of the bishops, which is above all to be understood when the question of faith itself was not previously determined and defined through the Church by itself or in like manner, being of such difficulty that the Pope with his college did not fully see what was to be held in that respect. And so in these matters that rule is always to be held, from on what causes, twentieth distinction, where Innocent consulted: "Concerning what causes no authority of loosing and binding appears in the books of the New and Old Testament, or in the four Gospels, or in the writings of the apostles, have recourse to divine Scripture; if not even in those, put your hand to the histories of the Catholic Church written by Catholic doctors; if not even in those, perspicaciously recall the examples of the saints; but if in all these interpreted things the quality of this question is not lucidly found, congregate the elders of the province and interrogate them. For what is sought by many elders is more easily found"; but also the promise says: "If two or three of you convene upon earth in my name, concerning everything which you shall ask, I will grant it"; so he. For this cause blessed Peter and the other apostles are read to have celebrated a council at Jerusalem when the question of the observance of the Mosaic law was raised, which was there defined with the grace of the Holy Spirit breathing upon it, as is held in Acts 15. Second, universal councils are read to have been congregated for a more solemn and ampler authority of the reprobation of heresies and the condemnation of heretics, plainly since, when justice is to be executed upon public robbers and enemies of the republic, it is customary to convoke the people, with a crowd of others and the bell, as much for its fuller knowledge as for the greater confusion of the evildoers; so a universal council is fittingly convoked when the judgment of reprobation and condemnation is to be exercised against heretics, whose errors have both powerful authors and many fautors through diverse parts of the world; for this cause many councils, and above all the seven illustrious and principal ones, are read to have been celebrated. The first of these is Nicaea, of 318 fathers, in which the error of Arius, bishop of Alexandria, who posited three degrees in the Trinity, namely the Father greater, the Son lesser, and the Holy Spirit a creature or servant, was condemned. The second was Constantinople, of 150 fathers, in which the error of Macedonius, bishop of Constantinople, who denied that the Holy Spirit is God, is convicted. The third is the first Ephesus, of 200 fathers, in which the impiety of Nestorius is judged, who said that the blessed virgin Mary was the bearer not of God but of man only, so as to make one person of the flesh and another person of the Godhead. The fourth council was Chalcedon, of 630 fathers, in which the error of Eutyches was reprobated, who asserted that Christ after the human assumption does not exist from two natures but that only the divine nature remains. The fifth was Constantinople, in which the perfidy of many heretics is condemned, above all of Theodore of Mopsuestia, who asserted that the Word is one thing and Christ another, and denied that the holy Virgin Mary was the bearer of God. The sixth was also Constantinople, of 150 fathers, in which the folly of Macarius, bishop of Antioch, and of his fellows, who by false suspicion affirmed only one will and operation in Christ, is confuted. The seventh council is the second Nicaea, of 367 fathers, in which the heresy of those execrating the images of the saints in the church, saying that they are neither to be honoured nor venerated, was wiped away. Third, councils are read to have been congregated for the extirpation of schism, as the eighth universal council, of 300 fathers, celebrated at Constantinople, in which the congregated fathers extirpated the schism arisen over the deposition of Ignatius and the ordination of Photius, anathematizing Photius and restoring Ignatius. For this reason also we read that a council was congregated at Rome when a certain Ursinus contended with Pope Damasus over the papacy, in which, with Damasus confirmed in the apostolic see and Ursinus driven out, the schism was settled, as Eusebius relates in his ecclesiastical history. Likewise for the same reason a synod is read to have been congregated in the time of King Theodoric, in which the schism arisen over Symmachus and Lawrence contending for the papacy was extirpated, as in ch. Symachus, second, q. 7. Moreover in our age, with three contending for the papacy, Benedict 13, John 23, and Gregory the twelfth, a synod was congregated at Constance in the German nation, in which, with one, namely Gregory, resigning whatever right he had, and the other two, namely John and Benedict, deposed, peace was given to the Church. Fourth, councils are read to have been congregated for the reduction or confounding of heretics by way of disputation; for this cause in the time and with the consent of blessed Pope Sylvester, at the command of the emperor Constantine, a great meeting of bishops is said to have convened at Rome to dispute with the Jews concerning the law, namely whether the faith of the Christians was to be preferred to the law of the Jews, where, with a long contest completed, since the conclusion was for the faith of Christ, the empress Helena with three thousand Jews, converted to the faith of Christ, received baptism. For this cause also in our days the synod of Basel was congregated for the reduction of the Bohemians, where, with licence given to the Bohemians to dispute and to say freely whatever they wished in defence of their errors, and with four Catholic doctors assigned by the synod to answer them in public congregation, a very long contest took place, with us always present there; but although they were most manifestly convicted, and concession had been made to them in many things for the sake of gaining them, nevertheless they withdrew, their sins deserving it, as sordid as they had come. For this cause also a most ample synod was congregated at Florence in our days under Eugene of holy memory for the reduction of the Greeks, where the emperor of the Greeks was present, and the patriarch of Constantinople with many other prelates of the Eastern Church, where, with our Saviour working, who is true peace, the wall dividing the Western and Eastern Church being taken from the midst, union and concord were concluded among them, though alas it was not accepted by all in the Eastern parts. Fifth, councils are read to have been congregated when the Church has great and powerful enemies and disturbers. For then the supreme pontiff, prince of the Church and vicar of God the king of the kings of the earth, is wont to congregate a meeting of the fathers and princes of the Church, of whom in the psalm: "You shall constitute them princes over all the earth," to punish them. For this cause Gregory the third, when he could not compel the emperor Leo, third of this name, an incorrigible heretic, concerning the deposition of the images of Christ and of the blessed virgin and of the saints, which he had caused to be all destroyed and burned in the city of Constantinople, with a council congregated at Rome of as it were a thousand bishops, made Rome and all Italy withdraw from his obedience and power, forbade tribute, and, anathematizing him, confirmed the veneration of images. Likewise for this cause Gregory the seventh, against the emperor Henry, third of this name, because he strove to rend the unity of the Roman Church, congregated a council of 110 bishops at Rome and excommunicated him there. Likewise for this cause Innocent the fourth, pressing the emperor Frederick, second of this name, a rebel, contumacious, and incorrigible enemy of the Church, congregated a council at Lyons and there deposed him from the empire. Sixth, a universal council is read to have been congregated for the sake of obtaining supernal revelation from God concerning arduous things to be constituted in the Church. For this cause the first synod is read to have been congregated by the apostles, namely that they might know through prayers from God who was to be assumed to the integrity of the apostolic college in place of Judas the traitor; hence it is said, Acts 1: "And they appointed two, Joseph the saint who was surnamed the just, and Matthias, and praying they said: You, Lord, who know the hearts of men, show whom you have chosen," etc. Seventh, councils are read to have been congregated when great necessity or persecution threatens the Christian republic, which could be succoured by none but the aid of the whole Church. For this cause indeed, among others above all, Urban the second, hearing that the holy city of Jerusalem had been captured by infidels to the disgrace and confusion of the Christian people, convoked a general council at Clermont in Auvergne, and in aid thereof the passage overseas was ordained. Eighth, councils are read to have been congregated for the greater firmness of the faith and the plenary acceptance as much of the constitutions as of the definitions made in the preceding councils; hence after the Nicene synod a synod of 277 fathers was congregated at Rome by blessed Sylvester, in which the faith of the Nicene synod was strengthened and Arius condemned; in which blessed Sylvester speaks thus: "Whatever was constituted in the Nicene synod for the strength of the holy mother, the Catholic and apostolic Church, we 318 holy priests confirm with our mouth; and all who dare to dissolve the definition of the holy great council which was congregated at Nicaea in the presence of the most pious and venerable prince Constantine Augustus, we anathematize"; and all the bishops said: "It pleases us." Likewise the sixth synod celebrated at Constantinople, as is held in dist. 16, ch. Quoniam, speaks thus: "We confirm both the rest," namely "the canons of the holy fathers, and the synods," namely "Nicaea, Ancyra, Antioch," etc. Ninth, councils are read to have been congregated for the sake of inquiring into the truth concerning a suspicion of heresy arisen about the Roman pontiff. For this cause a council is read to have been congregated both in the time of Pope Symmachus, of which in the fifth, hence also dist. 16, and in the time of Pope Marcellinus, who had sacrificed to idols, of which in ch. Nunc autem, dist. 21. Tenth, a council is read to have been congregated for the sake of the purgation which the Pope wished to make, so that, since the infamy had been public, the purgation also be known to all. For this reason Pope Damasus, Leo the fourth, and Sixtus, Roman pontiffs, caring for the good repute of their fame, are read to have congregated councils to allay scandal, as is held of blessed Damasus in 2, q. 7, nos, near the end; of Leo 4 in 2, q. 5, omnibus, near the end; of Pope Sixtus in ch. Mandatis, 2, q. 7. Eleventh, a universal council is to be congregated when a vehement doubt runs concerning the right of election of someone to the supreme pontificate, according to the Gloss in ch. Si forte, dist. 79; for this cause many councils were congregated by the holy fathers, which we described above for the sake of extirpating schism. Twelfth, councils are sometimes read to have been celebrated, and reasonably come to be celebrated, for a more efficacious, more solemn, and more universal reformation of the Church to be made. For although the supreme pontiff, by the singularity of his principate, could make and give every law to the whole Church, according to ch. Sunt quidam, 25, first question, nevertheless he often, and this reasonably, convokes the fathers of the Church synodally, so that laws to be made pertaining to reformation, formed by their counsel and approbation, have more authority and become more acceptable among the faithful. For this cause many councils have been congregated, in which canons containing many useful things for the correction of vices, for composing morals, for honesty of life, and for the peace of the Christian people have been instituted. From these the body of the Decree has for the great part been composed; among them is that singular synod which Gregory the seventh celebrated at Rome for the reformation of the Church, in which he anathematized simoniacs, forbade divine things to clerics having wives, prohibited laymen from hearing their masses, and applied the sentence of excommunication lest they receive investitures from laymen.