View source for Council of Florence

{{Short description|Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church (1431–1449)}}
{{more footnotes needed|date=January 2018}}
{{POV|date=May 2022}}<!-- some text is identical to that of Encyclopedia Britannica EB1911.
  An Aug 2021 note said "originally copied from Catholic Encyclopedia," but there is almost no such text now (May 2022).
  However, this article may retain some of the POV from either article. -->
{{Infobox ecumenical council
| council_name = Council of Basel-Ferrara-Florence
| council_date = 1431–1445
| image = Nuremberg chronicles f 244v 2 Concilium florentinum.jpg
| caption = Council of Florence, from the ''[[Nuremberg Chronicle]]'' by [[Hartmann Schedel]]
| accepted_by = [[Catholic Church]]
| previous = [[Council of Constance]]
| next = [[Fifth Council of the Lateran]]
| convoked_by = [[Pope Martin V]]
| presided_by = [[Julian Cesarini]]
| attendance = Very light in first sessions, eventually 117 Latin and 31 Greek delegations
| topics = [[Hussites]], [[East–West Schism]], [[conciliarism]]
| documents = Several [[papal bull]]s, brief reunion with the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], reunion with delegation from the [[Armenian Apostolic Church]]
}}
{{Ecumenical councils of the Catholic Church}}

[[File:Martin V, Scipione Pulzone (1574).jpg|thumb|Pope Martin V convoked the Council of Basel in 1431: it became the Council of Ferrara in 1438 and the Council of Florence in 1439]]
The '''Council of Florence''' is the seventeenth [[ecumenical council]] recognized by the [[Catholic Church]], held between 1431 and 1445. It was convened in territories under the [[Holy Roman Empire]]. Italy became a venue of a Catholic ecumenical council after a gap of about 2 centuries (the last ecumenical council to be held in Italy was the [[Fourth Council of the Lateran|4th Council of the Lateran]] in [[Rome]]'s [[Lateran Palace]]). It was convoked in [[Basel]] as the '''Council of Basel''' by [[Pope Martin V]] shortly before his death in February 1431 and took place in the context of the [[Hussite Wars]] in [[Kingdom of Bohemia|Bohemia]] and the [[rise of the Ottoman Empire]]. At stake was the greater conflict between the [[conciliar movement]] and the principle of [[papal supremacy]].

The Council entered a second phase after [[Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor Sigismund]]'s death in 1437. [[Pope Eugene IV|Pope Eugene&nbsp;IV]] translated the Council to [[Ferrara]] on 8 January 1438, where it became the '''Council of Ferrara''' and succeeded in drawing some of the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] ambassadors who were in attendance at Basel to Italy. Some Council members rejected the papal decree and remained at Basel: this rump Council suspended Eugene, declared him a [[heretic]], and then in November 1439 elected an [[antipope]], [[Amadeus VIII, Duke of Savoy|Felix&nbsp;V]].

After becoming the Council of [[Florence]] (having moved to avoid [[bubonic plague|the plague]] in Ferrara), the Council concluded in 1445 after negotiating union with the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]]. This bridging of the [[East–West Schism|Great Schism]] proved fleeting, but was a political coup for the papacy. In 1447, Sigismund's successor [[Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick&nbsp;III]] commanded the city of Basel to expel the Council of Basel; the [[rump organization|rump]] Council reconvened in [[Lausanne]] before dissolving itself in 1449.

==Background==
The initial location in the [[Prince-Bishopric of Basel]] reflected the desire among parties seeking reform to meet outside territories directly controlled by the [[Papal States|Pope]], the [[Holy Roman Empire|Emperor]]{{disputed inline|Basel outside the Holy Roman Empire?|date=February 2015}} or the [[monarch|kings]] of [[Crown of Aragon|Aragon]] and [[Kingdom of France|France]], whose influences the council hoped to avoid.{{citation needed|date=March 2017}} [[Ambrogio Traversari]] attended the Council of Basel as [[papal legate|legate]] of [[Pope Eugene IV]].

Under pressure for ecclesiastical reform, [[Pope Martin V]] sanctioned a decree of the [[Council of Constance]] (9 October 1417) obliging the [[papacy]] to summon general councils periodically. At the expiration of the first term fixed by this decree, [[Pope Martin V]] complied by calling a council at [[Pavia]]. Due to an epidemic the location transferred almost at once to [[Siena]] (see [[Council of Siena]]) and disbanded, in circumstances still imperfectly known, just as it had begun to discuss the subject of reform (1424). The next council fell due at the expiration of seven years in 1431; Martin V duly convoked it for this date to the town of [[Basel]] and selected to preside over it the cardinal [[Julian Cesarini]], a well-respected [[prelate]]. Martin himself, however, died before the opening of the synod.{{sfn|Valois|1911|p=463}}

==Council of Basel==
The Council was seated on 14 December 1431, at a period when the [[conciliar movement]] was strong and the authority of the papacy weak.{{citation needed|date=March 2017}} The Council at Basel opened with only a few bishops and abbots attending, but it grew rapidly and to make its numbers greater gave the lower orders a majority over the bishops. It adopted an anti-papal attitude, proclaimed the superiority of the Council over the Pope, and [[Profession of the supreme pontiff (Council of Basel)|prescribed an oath]] to be taken by each new Pope. On 18 December Martin's successor, [[Pope Eugene IV]], tried to dissolve it and open a new council on Italian soil at Bologna, but he was overruled.{{clarify|date=March 2017}}

The council was held in the Cathedral of Basel, where benches were placed for the 400 and more members, and general congregations were held either in the cathedral or in its chapter house.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Minnich|first=Nelson H.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jn10DwAAQBAJ|title=The Decrees of the Fifth Lateran Council (1512–17): Their Legitimacy, Origins, Contents, and Implementation|date=2018-10-24|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-351-89173-8|language=en}}</ref> The clerks of ceremonies were [[Pope Pius II|Enea Silvio Piccolomini]] and Michel Brunout.<ref name=":0" />

[[Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor|Sigismund]], King of Hungary and titular King of Bohemia, had been defeated at the [[Battle of Domažlice]] in the fifth crusade against the [[Hussites]] in August 1431. Under his sponsorship, the Council negotiated a peace with the [[Calixtines|Calixtine faction]] of the Hussites in January 1433. Pope Eugene acknowledged the council in May and crowned Sigismund [[Holy Roman Emperor]] on 31 May 1433. The [[Taborites|divided Hussites]] were [[Battle of Lipany|defeated in May]] 1434. In June 1434, the pope had to flee a revolt in Rome and began a ten-year exile in [[Florence]].{{cn|date=May 2025}}

==Replacement by the Council of Florence==
In 1438, Pope Eugene convened a new council at [[Ferrara]], which however was transferred to [[Florence]] in 1439 because of the danger of [[Bubonic plague|plague]] at Ferrara and because Florence had agreed, against future payment, to finance the Council.<ref name="Oxford 2005">{{citation | title = Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church | publisher = Oxford University Press | year = 2005 |isbn=978-0-19-280290-3 | chapter = Florence, Council of}}.</ref>

==Rump Council of Basel==
Most of the original Council moved from Basel to [[Ferrara]] in 1438. Some<!-- how many, who? --> remained at Basel, still claiming to be the Council. They elected [[Amadeus VIII, Duke of Savoy]], as Pope Felix V. He is considered an [[antipope]], and was the only claimant to the papal throne who ever took the Basel oath. Driven out of Basel in 1448, they moved to [[Lausanne]]. In 1449, Felix V resigned and the rump Council formally closed.<ref name = "Oxford 2005" />

==Meeting in Florence==
The Council had meanwhile successfully negotiated [[Church union|reunification with several Eastern Churches]], reaching agreements on such matters as the Western insertion of the phrase "[[Filioque]]" to the [[Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed]], the definition and number of the sacraments, and the doctrine of [[Purgatory]]. Another key issue was [[papal supremacy]], which involved the universal and supreme jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome over the whole Church, including the national [[Eastern Christianity|churches of the East]] ([[Serbian Orthodox Church|Serbian]], [[Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople|Byzantine]], [[Romanian Orthodox Church|Moldo-Wallachian]], [[Bulgarian Orthodox Church|Bulgarian]], [[Russian Orthodox Church|Russian]], [[Georgian Orthodox Church|Georgian]], [[Armenian Apostolic Church|Armenian]], [[Coptic Orthodox Church|Coptic]], [[Syriac Orthodox Church|Syriac]] etc.), and nonreligious matters such as the promise of military assistance against the [[Ottoman Empire]].

On 6 July 1439 the union was proclaimed (in both Latin and Greek) in the document ''[[Bull of Union with the Greeks|Laetentur Caeli]]'' ("Let the Heavens Rejoice") which was signed by Pope Eugene and by the [[Byzantine Emperor]] [[John VIII Palaiologos]]. All but one of the bishops were present. Some Greek bishops, perhaps feeling political pressure from the Byzantine Emperor, reluctantly accepted the decrees of the Council. Other Eastern bishops did so by sincere conviction, such as [[Isidore of Kiev]], who subsequently suffered greatly for it. Only one Eastern Bishop refused to accept the union, [[Mark of Ephesus]], who became the leader of opposition back in Byzantium; the [[Serbian Patriarch]] [[Teofan I]] did not even attend the council. The [[Russian Orthodox Church]], upon learning of the union, angrily rejected it and ousted any prelate who was even remotely sympathetic to it, declaring itself [[autocephalous]] (i.e., autonomous), with subsequent Russian sources portraying the actions of [[Grand Prince of Moscow|Grand Prince]] [[Vasily II of Moscow]] as protecting the purity of the faith.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Casiday |first1=Augustine |title=The Orthodox Christian World |date=2012 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-45516-9 |pages=18–19 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bkZITAQ4XbgC |language=en |quote=The years 1448–1589 mark the establishment of autocephaly of the Russian Church... According to Russian sources, in attempts to protect the purity of the faith, Grand Prince Vasily II, along with a council of bishops, condemned the Union}}</ref>

Despite the religious union, Western military assistance to Byzantium was ultimately insufficient, and the [[fall of Constantinople]] occurred in May 1453. The Council declared the Basel group heretics and excommunicated them, and affirmed the superiority of the Pope over the Councils in the bull ''Etsi non dubitemus'' of 20 April 1441.<ref name = "Oxford 2005" />

The council also decided to terminate the [[Christian dietary laws|dietary prohibition]] on [[Gentile]] converts to Christianity from [[Blood as food|consuming blood]] issued by the [[James, brother of Jesus|apostle James]] at the [[Council of Jerusalem|apostolic council of Jerusalem]]. This law although observed by the Eastern Orthodox Church, had been practically obsolete in the West since the popes' rejection of the [[Quinisext Council]].<ref>[[Karl Josef von Hefele]]'s [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf214.viii.v.iv.ii.html commentary on canon II of Gangra] notes: "We further see that, at the time of the Synod of [[Gangra]], the rule of the Apostolic Synod with regard to blood and things strangled was still in force. With the Greeks, indeed, it continued always in force as their Euchologies still show. [[Balsamon]] also, the well-known commentator on the canons of the Middle Ages, in his commentary on the sixty-third [[Canons of the Apostles|Apostolic Canon]], expressly blames the Latins because they had ceased to observe this command. What the Latin Church, however, thought on this subject about the year 400, is shown by [[Augustine of Hippo|St. Augustine]] in his work [[Contra Faustum]], where he states that the Apostles had given this command in order to unite the heathens and Jews in the one ark of Noah; but that then, when the barrier between Jewish and heathen converts had fallen, this command concerning things strangled and blood had lost its meaning, and was only observed by few. But still, as late as the eighth century, [[Pope Gregory III|Pope Gregory the Third]] (731) forbade the eating of blood or things strangled under threat of a penance of forty days. No one will pretend that the disciplinary enactments of any council, even though it be one of the undisputed [[Ecumenical council|Ecumenical Synods]], can be of greater and more unchanging force than the decree of that first council, held by the Holy Apostles at Jerusalem, and the fact that its decree has been obsolete for centuries in the West is proof that even Ecumenical canons may be of only temporary utility and may be repealed by disuse, like other laws."</ref> 
 
{{blockquote|[The council] also declares that the apostolic prohibition, to abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled, was suited to that time when a single church was rising from Jews and gentiles, who previously lived with different ceremonies and customs. This was so that the gentiles should have some observances in common with Jews, and occasion would be offered of coming together in one worship and faith of God and a cause of dissension might be removed, since by ancient custom blood and strangled things seemed abominable to Jews, and gentiles could be thought to be returning to idolatry if they ate sacrificial food. In places, however, where the Christian religion has been promulgated to such an extent that no Jew is to be met with and all have joined the church, uniformly practicing the same rites and ceremonies of the gospel and believing that to the clean all things are clean, since the cause of that apostolic prohibition has ceased, so its effect has ceased.|''Bull of Union with the Copts, 1442''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.papalencyclicals.net//councils/ecum17.htm|title=Council of Florence, Bull of Union with the Copts|date=14 December 1431 }}</ref>}}

==Composition==
The [[democracy|democratic]] character of the assembly at Basel was a result of both its composition and its organization. Doctors of [[theology]], masters and representatives of chapters, [[monk]]s and clerks of inferior orders constantly outnumbered the prelates in it, and the influence of the superior clergy had less weight because instead of being separated into "[[nation]]s", as at Constance, the fathers divided themselves according to their tastes or aptitudes into four large committees or "deputations" (''deputationes''). One was concerned with questions of [[faith]] (''fidei''), another with negotiations for [[peace]] (''pacis''), the third with [[reform movement|reform]] (''reformatorii''), and the fourth with what they called "common concerns" (''pro communibus''). Every decision made by three "deputations" (the lower clergy formed the majority in each) received ratification for the sake of form in general congregation and, if necessary led to [[decree]]s promulgated in session. Papal critics thus termed the council "an assembly of copyists" or even "a set of grooms and scullions".{{sfn|Valois|1911|p=464}} However, some prelates, although absent, were represented by their proxies.

[[Nicholas of Cusa]] was a member of the delegation sent to Constantinople with the pope's approval to bring back the Byzantine emperor and his representatives to the Council of Florence of 1439. At the time of the council's conclusion in 1439, Cusa was thirty-eight years old and thus, compared to the other clergy at the council, a fairly young man though one of the more accomplished in terms of the body of his complete works.

==Attempted dissolution==
From Italy, France and Germany, the fathers came late to Basel. Cesarini devoted all his energies to the war against the [[Hussite]]s until the [[Battle of Domažlice|disaster of Taus]] forced him to evacuate [[Kingdom of Bohemia|Bohemia]] in haste. [[Pope Eugene IV]], Martin V's successor, lost hope that the council could be useful owing to the progress of [[heresy]], the reported troubles in [[Kingdom of Germany|Germany]], the war that had lately broken out between the [[duke]]s of [[Duke of Austria|Austria]] and [[Duchy of Burgundy|Burgundy]], and finally, the small number of fathers who had responded to the summons of Martin V. That opinion and his desire to preside over the council in person, induced him to recall the fathers from Germany, as his poor health made it difficult for him to go. He commanded the council to disperse, and appointed [[Bologna]] as their meeting place in eighteen months' time, with the intention of making the session of the council coincide with some conferences with representatives of the [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox Church]] of the Byzantine East, scheduled to be held there with a view to [[ecumenism|ecumenical]] union (18 December 1431).{{sfn|Valois|1911|p=463}}

That order led to an outcry among the fathers and incurred the deep disapproval of the legate Cesarini. They argued that the Hussites would think the Church afraid to face them and that the [[laity]] would accuse the clergy of shirking reform, both with disastrous effects. The pope explained his reasons and yielded certain points, but the fathers were intransigent. Considerable powers had been decreed to Church councils by the [[Council of Constance]], which amid the troubles of the [[Western Schism]] had proclaimed the superiority, in certain cases, of the council over the pope, and the fathers at Basel insisted upon their right of remaining assembled. They held sessions, promulgated decrees, interfered in the government of the [[Comtat Venaissin|papal countship of Venaissin]], treated with the Hussites, and, as representatives of the universal Church, presumed to impose laws upon the sovereign pontiff himself.{{sfn|Valois|1911|p=463}}

Eugene IV resolved to resist the Council's claim of supremacy, but he did not dare openly to repudiate the conciliar [[doctrine]] considered by many to be the actual foundation of the authority of the popes before the [[schism (religion)|schism]]. He soon realized the impossibility of treating the fathers of Basel as ordinary [[rebellion|rebels]], and tried a compromise; but as time went on, the fathers became more and more intractable, and between him and them gradually arose an impassable barrier.{{sfn|Valois|1911|p=463}}

Abandoned by a number of his [[cardinal (Catholicism)|cardinals]], condemned by most of the powers, deprived of his [[dominion]]s by ''[[condottieri]]'' who shamelessly invoked the authority of the council, the pope made concession after concession and ended on 15 December 1433 with a pitiable surrender of all the points at issue in a [[papal bull]], the terms of which were dictated by the fathers of Basel, that is, by declaring his bull of dissolution null and void and recognising that the synod as legitimately assembled throughout. However, Eugene IV did not ratify all the decrees coming from Basel, nor make a definite submission to the supremacy of the council. He declined to express any forced pronouncement on this subject, and his enforced silence concealed the secret design of safeguarding the principle of [[sovereignty]].{{sfn|Valois|1911|p=463}}
[[File:Pisanello, john viii palaeiologus drawings.jpg|thumb|Sketches by [[Pisanello]] of the Byzantine delegation at the Council]]

The fathers, filled with suspicion, would allow only the legates of the pope to preside over them on condition of their recognizing the superiority of the council. The legates submitted the humiliating formality but in their own names, it was asserted only after the fact, thus reserving the final judgment of the [[Holy See]]. Furthermore, the difficulties of all kinds against which Eugene had to contend, such as the insurrection at [[Rome]], which forced him to escape by means of the [[Tiber]], lying in the bottom of a boat, left him at first little chance of resisting the enterprises of the council.{{sfn|Valois|1911|p=463}}

==Issues of reform==
Emboldened by their success, the fathers approached the subject of reform, their principal object being to further curtail the power and resources of the papacy. They took decisions on the disciplinary measures that regulated the [[election]]s, on the celebration of [[divinity|divine]] service and on the periodical holding of diocesan [[synod]]s and provincial councils, which were usual topics in Catholic councils. They also made decrees aimed at some of the assumed rights by which the popes had extended their power and improved their finances at the expense of the local churches. Thus the council abolished [[annate]]s, greatly limited the abuse of "reservation" of the patronage of benefices by the Pope and completely abolished the right claimed by the pope of "next presentation" to benefices not yet vacant (known as ''gratiae expectativae''). Other conciliar decrees severely limited the jurisdiction of the court of Rome and even made rules for the election of popes and the constitution of the Sacred College. The fathers continued to devote themselves to the subjugation of the Hussites, and they also intervened, in rivalry with the pope, in the negotiations between France and [[England]], which led to the [[Treaty of Arras (1435)|treaty of Arras]], concluded by [[Charles VII of France]] with the duke of [[Duchy of Burgundy|Burgundy]].{{sfn|Valois|1911|pp=463–464}} Also, [[circumcision]] was deemed to be a mortal sin.<ref name="CoF">{{cite book| last = Eugenius IV| first = Pope| author-link = Pope Eugene IV| editor = Norman P. Tanner| title = Decrees of the ecumenical councils| orig-year = 1442 | series = 2 volumes| year = 1990| publisher = [[Georgetown University Press]]| location = [[Washington, D.C.]]| isbn = 0-87840-490-2| language =  el, la | chapter = Ecumenical Council of Florence (1438–1445): Session 11 – 4 February 1442; Bull of union with the Copts| chapter-url = http://www.ewtn.com/library/COUNCILS/FLORENCE.HTM#5| quote = [The Holy Roman Church] firmly... asserts that after the promulgation of the gospel they cannot be observed without loss of eternal salvation. Therefore it denounces all who after that time observe circumcision, the [Jewish] sabbath and other legal prescriptions as strangers to the faith of Christ and unable to share in eternal salvation, unless they recoil at some time from these errors. Therefore it strictly orders all who glory in the name of Christian, not to practise circumcision either before or after baptism, since whether or not they place their hope in it, it cannot possibly be observed without loss of eternal salvation.| lccn = 90003209}}</ref> Finally, they investigated and judged numbers of private cases, lawsuits between prelates, members of religious orders and holders of benefices, thus themselves committing one of the serious abuses for which they had criticized the court of Rome.{{sfn|Valois|1911|p=464}}

==Papal primacy==
The Council clarified the Latin dogma of [[papal primacy]]:
{{blockquote|"We likewise define that the holy Apostolic See, and the Roman Pontiff, hold the primacy throughout the entire world; and that the Roman Pontiff himself is the successor of blessed Peter, the chief of the Apostles, and the true vicar of Christ, and that he is the head of the entire Church, and the father and teacher of all Christians; and that full power was given to him in blessed Peter by our Lord Jesus Christ, to feed, rule, and govern the universal Church."<ref>{{cite book
 | last = Shaw
 | first = Russell
 | title = Papal Primacy in the Third Millennium
 | publisher = Our Sunday Visitor
 | year = 2000
 | page = [https://archive.org/details/papalprimacyinth00shaw/page/51 51]
 | url = https://archive.org/details/papalprimacyinth00shaw
 | url-access = registration
 | quote = 
 | isbn = 0879735554
}}
</ref>
}}

==Eugene IV's eastern strategy==
[[File:Benozzo Gozzoli - Procession of the Middle King (detail) - WGA10260.jpg|thumb|A figure in [[Benozzo Gozzoli]]'s 1459 ''Journey of the Magi'' is assumed to portray John VIII Palaiologos.]]
Eugene IV, however much he may have wished to keep on good terms with the fathers of Basel, found himself neither able nor willing to accept or observe all their decrees. The question of the union with the Byzantine church, especially, gave rise to a misunderstanding between them which soon led to a rupture. The [[Byzantine emperor]] [[John VIII Palaiologos]], pressed hard by the [[Ottoman Turks]], was keen to ally himself with the Catholics. He consented to come with the principal representatives of the Byzantine Church to some place in the West where the union could be concluded in the presence of the pope and of the Latin council. There arose a double negotiation between him and Eugene IV on the one hand and the fathers of Basel on the other. The council wished to fix the meeting-place at a place remote from the influence of the pope, and they persisted in suggesting Basel, [[Avignon]] or [[Duchy of Savoy|Savoy]].{{sfn|Valois|1911|p=464}} On the other hand, the Byzantines wanted a coastal location in Italy for their ease of access by ship.

==Council transferred to Ferrara and attempted reunion with Eastern Orthodox Churches==
[[File:Argyropoulos (detail) Calling of the Apostles.JPG|upright|thumb|[[John Argyropoulos]] was a Greek Byzantine diplomat who attended the Council of Florence in 1439.<ref>
{{cite web
|url= https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/34066/John-Argyropoulos
|title= John Argyropoulos.|publisher= Encyclopedia Britannica 
|access-date= 2009-10-02
|quote= Argyropoulos divided his time between Italy and Constantinople; he was in Italy (1439) for the Council of Florence and spent some time teaching and studying in Padua, earning a degree in 1443.
}}
</ref> ]]
As a result of negotiations with the East, Emperor [[John VIII Palaiologos]] accepted [[Pope Eugene IV]]'s offer. By a bull dated 18 September 1437, Pope Eugene again pronounced the dissolution of the Council of Basel and summoned the fathers to [[Ferrara]] in the [[Po Valley]].

The first public session at Ferrara began on 10 January 1438. Its first act declared the Council of Basel transferred to Ferrara and nullified all further proceedings at Basel. In the second public session (15 February 1438), Pope Eugene IV excommunicated all who continued to assemble at Basel.

In early April 1438, the Byzantine contingent, over 700 strong, arrived at Ferrara. On 9 April 1438, the first solemn session at Ferrara began, with the Eastern Roman Emperor, the Patriarch of Constantinople and representatives of the [[Patriarchate of Antioch|Patriarchal Sees of Antioch]], [[Patriarchate of Alexandria|Alexandria]] and [[Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem|Jerusalem]] in attendance and Pope Eugene IV presiding. The early sessions lasted until 17 July 1438 with each [[Theological differences between the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church|theological issue of the East–West Schism]] (1054) hotly debated, including the Processions of the Holy Spirit, the ''[[Filioque]]'' clause in the [[Nicene Creed]], [[purgatory]], and [[papal primacy]]. Resuming proceedings on 8 October 1438, the Council focused exclusively on the Filioque matter. Even as it became clear that the Byzantine Church would not consent to the Filioque clause, the Byzantine Emperor continued to press for a reconciliation.

Initially, the seating arrangements were meant to feature the pope in the middle with the Latins on one side and Greeks on the other, but the Greeks protested. It was decided to have the altar with the open Bible in the center of the one end of the chamber, and the two high ranking delegations facing each other on the sides of the altar, while the rest of the delegations were below further in chamber. The Byzantine Emperor's throne was opposite that of the Holy Roman Emperor (who never attended), while the Patriarch of Constantinople faced opposite a cardinal, and the other high-ranking cardinals and bishops faced the Greek metropolitans. The throne of the pope was set slightly apart and higher.<ref name=":0" />

==Council transferred to Florence and the near East–West union==
With finances running thin and on the pretext that the plague was spreading in the area, both the Latins and the Byzantines agreed to transfer the council to Florence.<ref>Stuart M. McManus, 'Byzantines in the Florentine polis: Ideology, Statecraft and ritual during the Council of Florence', ''The Journal of the Oxford University History Society'', 6 (Michaelmas 2008/Hilary 2009), pp. 4–6</ref> Continuing at Florence in January 1439, the Council made steady progress on a compromise formula, [[Filioque|"ex filio"]].

In the following months, agreement was reached on the Western doctrine of Purgatory and a return to the pre-schism prerogatives of the papacy. On 6 July 1439 an agreement (''[[Bull of Union with the Greeks|Laetentur Caeli]]'') was signed by all the Eastern bishops but one, [[Mark of Ephesus]], delegate for the [[Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria|Patriarch of Alexandria]], who, contrary to the views of all others, held that Rome continued in both [[heresy]] and schism.

To complicate matters, [[Patriarch Joseph II of Constantinople]] had died the previous month. The Byzantine Patriarchs were unable to assert that ratification by the Eastern Church could be achieved without a clear agreement of the whole Church.

Upon their return, the Eastern bishops found their attempts toward agreement with the West broadly rejected by the monks, the populace, and by civil authorities (with the notable exception of the Emperors of the East who remained committed to union until the [[Fall of Constantinople|fall of the Byzantine Empire]] to the Turkish [[Ottoman Empire]] in 1453). Facing the imminent threat, the Union was officially proclaimed by [[Isidore of Kiev]] in Hagia Sophia on 12 December 1452.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.academia.edu/12517867|title=COUNCIL OF FLORENCE: THE UNREALIZED UNION|first=Sergey|last=Dezhnyuk|accessdate=Dec 27, 2022|via=www.academia.edu}}</ref>

The Emperor, bishops, and people of Constantinople accepted this act as a temporary provision until the removal of the Ottoman threat. Yet, it was too late: on 29 May 1453 [[Fall of Constantinople|Constantinople fell]]. To prevent the Eastern Orthodox Christians from seeking military assistance from the Catholic states of Europe, the Ottoman Sultans appointed anti-unionists into high church-positions, who justified the Ottoman conquest as divine punishment for the Byzantine emperors decision to pursue unity with heretics (i.e the Catholic Church). The union signed at Florence remained, and remains, unimplemented by the Orthodox Churches. 

===Copts and Ethiopians===
[[File:Gozzoli magi.jpg|thumb|The multinational character of the Council inspired [[Benozzo Gozzoli]]'s 1459 ''Journey of the Magi'', featuring a black figure in the attendance.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YLmhCHtydKMC&dq=Coucil+Florence+Ethiopians&pg=PA128|title=The Journey of the Magi: Meanings in History of a Christian Story|first=Richard C.|last=Trexler|date=Dec 27, 1997|publisher=[[Princeton University Press]]|isbn=0691011265 |accessdate=Dec 27, 2022|via=Google Books}}</ref>]]

The Council soon became even more international. The signature of this agreement for the union of the Latins and the Byzantines encouraged Pope Eugenius to announce the good news to the [[Coptic Orthodox Church|Coptic Christians]], and invite them to send a delegation to Florence. He wrote a letter on 7 July 1439, and to deliver it, sent [[Alberto da Sarteano]] as an apostolic delegate. On 26 August 1441, Sarteano returned with four [[Ethiopians]] from [[Ethiopian Empire|Emperor]] [[Zara Yaqob]] and Copts.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dg-8ZOeBqcYC&dq=Coucil+Florence+Ethiopians&pg=PA81|title=The European Outthrust and Encounter: The First Phase C.1400-c.1700 : Essays in Tribute to David Beers Quinn on His 85th Birthday|first1=David B.|last1=Quinn|first2=Cecil H.|last2=Clough|first3=P. E. H.|last3=Hair|first4=Paul Edward Hedley|last4=Hair|date=Jan 1, 1994|publisher=[[Liverpool University Press]]|isbn=9780853232292 |accessdate=Dec 27, 2022|via=Google Books}}</ref> A contemporary observer described the Ethiopians saying "They were black men and dry and very awkward in their bearing.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YLmhCHtydKMC&dq=Coucil+Florence+Ethiopians&pg=PA128|title=The Journey of the Magi: Meanings in History of a Christian Story|first=Richard C.|last=Trexler|date=Dec 27, 1997|publisher=[[Princeton University Press]]|isbn=0691011265 |accessdate=Dec 27, 2022|via=Google Books}}</ref> At that time, Rome had delegates from a multitude of nations, from [[Medieval Armenia|Armenia]] to [[Grand Duchy of Moscow|Russia]], [[Frankokratia|Greece]] and various parts of north and east [[Africa]].<ref>Trexler ''The journey of the Magi'' p. 129</ref>

==Deposition of Eugene IV and schism at Basel==
During this time the council of Basel, though nullified at Ferrara and abandoned by Cesarini and most of its members, persisted nonetheless, under the presidency of [[Louis Aleman|Cardinal Aleman]]. Affirming its [[ecumenical council|ecumenical]] character on 24 January 1438, it suspended Eugene IV. The council went on (in spite of the intervention of most of the powers) to pronounce Eugene IV deposed (25 June 1439), giving rise to a new schism by electing (4 November 1439) duke [[Amadeus VIII of Savoy]], as (anti)pope, who took the name of Felix V.{{sfn|Valois|1911|p=464}}

===Effects of the schism===
This schism lasted fully ten years, although the antipope found few adherents outside of his own hereditary states, those of [[Alfonso V of Aragon]], of the [[Old Swiss Confederacy|Swiss confederation]] and of certain universities. Germany remained neutral; Charles VII of France confined himself to securing to his kingdom (by the [[Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges]], which became law on 13 July 1438) the benefit of a great number of the reforms decreed at Basel; England and Italy remained faithful to Eugene IV. Finally, in 1447, [[Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick III]], [[Holy Roman Emperor]], after negotiations with Eugene, commanded the burgomaster of Basel not to allow the presence of the council any longer in the imperial city.{{sfn|Valois|1911|p=464}}

===Schism reconciled at Lausanne===
In June 1448 the rump of the council migrated to [[Lausanne]]. The antipope, at the insistence of France, ended by abdicating (7 April 1449). Eugene IV died on 23 February 1447, and the council at Lausanne, to save appearances, gave their support to his successor, [[Pope Nicholas V]], who had already been governing the Church for two years. Trustworthy evidence, they said, proved to them that this pontiff accepted the dogma of the superiority of the council as defined at Constance and at Basel.{{sfn|Valois|1911|p=464}}

==Aftermath==
The struggle for East–West union at Ferrara and Florence, while promising, never bore fruit, largely due to the activities of [[Mark of Ephesus]]. While progress toward union in the East continued to be made in the following decades, all hopes for a proximate reconciliation were dashed with the [[Fall of Constantinople|fall of Constantinople in 1453]], when [[List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire|Ottoman Sultan]] [[Mehmed II]] appointed the strongly anti-unionist [[Gennadius Scholarius]] as the [[Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople|Patriarch of Constantinople]].  

Perhaps the council's most important historical legacy was the lectures on Greek classical literature given in Florence by many of the delegates from Constantinople, including the [[Platonism in the Renaissance|Neoplatonist]] [[Gemistus Pletho]]. These greatly helped the progress of [[Renaissance humanism]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_6PYWPWWhrUC&dq=%22council+of+florence%22+humanism&pg=PA13|title=Constantinople and the West: Essays on the Late Byzantine (Palaeologan) and Italian Renaissances and the Byzantine and Roman Churches|first=Deno John|last=Geanakoplos|date=Dec 27, 1989|publisher=Univ of Wisconsin Press|isbn=9780299118846 |accessdate=Dec 27, 2022|via=Google Books}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Compacts of Basel]]
* [[Ecclesiastical differences between the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church]]
* [[Theological differences between the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church]]
* [[Valori (family)]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
===Primary sources===
* [[Gian Domenico Mansi]] (ed.), ''Sacrorum Conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio'' editio nova vol. xxix–xxxi.
* [[Aeneas Sylvius]] Piccolomini, [[Pope Pius II]], ''De rebus Basileae gestis'' (Fermo, 1803)
* ''Monumenta Conciliorum generalium seculi xv., Scriptorum,'' vol. i., ii. and iii. (Vienna, 1857–1895)
* [[Sylvester Syropoulos]], ''Mémoires'', ed. and trans. V. Laurent, Concilium Florentinum: Documenta et Scriptores 9 (Rome, 1971)

===Secondary literature===
* Geanakoplos, Deno J. (1980). "The Council of Florence (1438–9) and the Problem of Union between the Byzantine and Latin Churches," in ''Church History'' 24 (1955), 324–346; reprinted in D.J. Geanakoplos, ''Constantinople and the West'' (Madison, Wisconsin, 1989), pp.&nbsp;224–254.
* Decaluwe, Michiel; Thomas M. Izbicki; Gerald Christianson (editors) (2016). [https://books.google.com/books?id=CyZoDQAAQBAJ ''A Companion to the Council of Basel''.] Leiden-Boston: Brill, 2016. 
* [[Sergey F. Dezhnyuk]], "Council of Florence: The Unrealized Union", CreateSpace, 2017.
* [[J. C. L. Gieseler|Gieseler, J. C. L.]], ''Ecclesiastical History'', vol. iv. pp.&nbsp;312ff (Eng. trans., Edinburgh, 1853).
* Gill, Joseph (1959). ''The Council of Florence'' Cambridge, 1959.
* Gill, Joseph (1964). ''Personalities of the Council, of Florence and other Essays'', Oxford, 1964.
* [[Johannes Haller|Haller, Johannes]] ed., ''Concilium Basiliense'', vol. i–v, Basel, 1896–1904.
* [[Karl Josef von Hefele|Hefele, K.J.]], Conciliengeschichte, vol. vii., Freiburg-im-Breisgau, 1874.
* Harris, Jonathan (2010). ''The End of Byzantium'', New Haven and London, 2010. {{ISBN|978-0-300-11786-8}}
* Harris, Jonathan (1995). ''Greek Emigres in the West c. 1400–1520'', Camberley, 1995, pp.&nbsp;72–84.
* {{Ill|Johannes Helmrath|de}}, ''Das Basler Konzil; 1431–1449; Forschungsstand und Probleme'', (Cologne, 1987).
* Kolditz, Sebastian. ''Johannes VIII. Palaiologos und das Konzil von Ferrara-Florenz (1438/39).'' 2 Vol., Stuttgart: Anton Hiersemann Verlag 2013–2014, {{ISBN|978-3-7772-1319-4}}.
* Stuart M. McManus, 'Byzantines in the Florentine polis: Ideology, Statecraft and Ritual during the Council of Florence', [[Journal of the Oxford University History Society]], 6 (Michaelmas 2008/Hilary 2009) {{cite web |url=http://jouhsinfo.googlepages.com/issue6(michaelmashilary2009) |title=issue6(michaelmashilary2009) (jouhsinfo) |publisher=Jouhsinfo.googlepages.com |date=2009-03-14 |access-date=2010-01-18 |archive-date=2009-04-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090420140440/http://jouhsinfo.googlepages.com/issue6(michaelmashilary2009) |url-status=dead }}
* Stavros Lazaris, "L'empereur Jean VIII Paléologue vu par Pisanello lors du concile de Ferrare – Florence", ''Byzantinische Forschungen'', 29, 2007, pp.&nbsp;293–324 [https://www.academia.edu/795283/_Lempereur_Jean_VIII_Paléologue_vu_par_Pisanello_lors_du_concile_de_Ferrare-Florence_ "L'empereur Jean VIII Paléologue vu par Pisanello lors du concile de Ferrare-Florence"]
* Donald M. Nicol, ''The Last Centuries of Byzantium, 1261–1453'', 2nd ed., Cambridge, 1993, 2nd ed., pp.&nbsp;306–317, 339–368.
* {{Ill|Gabriel Pérouse|fr}}, ''Le Cardinal Louis Aleman, président du concile de Bâle'', Paris, 1904.
* {{Ill|O. Richter|de|Otto Richter (Archivar)}}, ''Die Organisation and Geschäftsordnung des Basler Konziis'', Leipzig, 1877.
* Stefan Sudmann,'' Das Basler Konzil: Synodale Praxis zwischen Routine und Revolution'', Frankfurt-am-Main 2005. {{ISBN|3-631-54266-6}} {{cite web |url=http://www.peterlang.com/Index.cfm?vID=54266&vHR=1&vUR=3&vUUR=4&vLang=D |title=Peter Lang Verlagsgruppe |publisher=Peterlang.com |date=2010-01-14 |access-date=2010-01-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090108100631/http://www.peterlang.com/Index.cfm?vID=54266&vHR=1&vUR=3&vUUR=4&vLang=D |archive-date=2009-01-08 |url-status=dead }}
* Georgiou Frantzi, " Constantinople has Fallen.Chronicle of the Fall of Constantinoples ", transl.: Ioannis A. Melisseidis & Poulcheria Zavolea Melisseidou (1998/2004) – Ioannis A. Melisseidis ( Ioannes A. Melisseides ), " Brief History of Events in Constantinople during the period 1440–1453 ", pp.&nbsp;105–119, edit.5th, Athens 2004, Vergina Asimakopouli Bros, Greek National Bibliography 1999/2004, {{ISBN|9607171918}}
* {{Cite journal|last=Andrić|first=Stanko|title=Saint John Capistran and Despot George Branković: An Impossible Compromise|journal=Byzantinoslavica|year=2016|volume=74|issue=1–2|pages=202–227|url=https://www.academia.edu/34480630}}

'''Attribution'''
*{{EB1911|wstitle=Basel, Council of|volume=3|pages=463–464|first=Joseph Marie Noel|last=Valois|author-link=Noël Valois}}

== Further reading ==
*[https://archive.today/20130105051918/http://conciliodifirenze.wikispaces.com/ Fatto dei Greci: Pictorial Allusions to the Nearly-Forgotten Council of Florence]
*[https://www.academia.edu/12517867/COUNCIL_OF_FLORENCE_THE_UNREALIZED_UNION Council of Florence: The Unrealized Union]
*{{Cite journal|url=https://www.academia.edu/34765273|title=From The Council of Ferrara-Florence to The Preparations for Siege; Christendom never Unities|last=Armstrong|first=Jesse L.|date=2013|website=Academia.edu}}

==External links==
{{Wikisource portal|Council of Basel-Ferrara-Florence}}
{{Commonscat}}
* [http://jouhsinfo.googlepages.com/McManus3.pdf Byzantines in the Florentine polis: Ideology, Statecraft and ritual during the Council of Florence] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090424051804/http://jouhsinfo.googlepages.com/McManus3.pdf |date=2009-04-24 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080922032538/http://www.piar.hu/councils/ecum17.htm Detailed chronology of the Consilium]
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02334b.htm Catholic Encyclopedia: Council of Basle]
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06046a.htm Catholic Encyclopedia: Ferrara]
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06111a.htm Catholic Encyclopedia: Council of Florence]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110813061649/http://catholictube.ru/media/document/925.pdf Documents of Council of Florence]

{{Ecumenical councils}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Council Of Florence}}
[[Category:15th-century elections]]
[[Category:Catholic Church ecumenical councils|Florence]]
[[Category:East–West Schism]]
[[Category:Catholic Church councils held in Italy|Florence]]
[[Category:15th-century Catholic Church councils|Florence]]
[[Category:1430s in Europe]]
[[Category:1440s in Europe]]
[[Category:15th-century Eastern Orthodoxy]]
[[Category:History of Eastern Catholicism]]
[[Category:Catholicisation]]
[[Category:Filioque]]
[[Category:15th century in the Republic of Florence]]
[[Category:Byzantine Empire–Holy See relations]]
[[Category:Amadeus VIII, Duke of Savoy]]