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{{short description|14th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church (1272–74)}}
{{For|13th ecumenical council that took place in 1245|First Council of Lyon}}
{{Infobox ecumenical council
| council_name = Second Council of Lyon
| council_date = 1272–1274
| accepted_by = [[Catholic Church]]
| previous = [[First Council of Lyon]]
| next = [[Council of Vienne]]
| convoked_by = [[Pope Gregory X]]
| presided_by = Pope Gregory X
| attendance = 560 (bishops and abbots)
| topics = Conquest of the [[Holy Land]], [[East–West Schism]], ''[[filioque]]'', [[papal conclave]]s
| documents = Approval of [[Dominican Order|Dominicans]] and [[Franciscans]], apparent resolution of the [[East–West Schism]], [[tithe]] for the [[crusade]], internal reforms
}}
{{Ecumenical councils of the Catholic Church}}

The '''Second Council of Lyon''' was the fourteenth [[ecumenical council]] of the [[Roman Catholic Church]], [[convoked]] on 31 March 1272 and convened in [[Lyon]], [[Kingdom of Burgundy-Arles|Kingdom of Arles]] (in modern France), in 1274.<ref>"Gregory X convoked the general council on 31 March 1272...outlined three themes: union with the Greeks, the crusade, and the reform of the church. Regarding the third theme, which was not only traditional in medieval councils but was also required by the actual state of ecclesiastical morals, the pope in March 1273 sought the opinion of all christian people and asked for their help. After long preparatory arrangements the council assembled at Lyons and opened on 7 May 1274...The Greeks arrived late, on 24 June 1274, since they had been shipwrecked...The council had 6 general sessions: on 7 May 1274, 18 May 1274, 4 or 7 June 1274, 6 July 1274, 16 July 1274, and 17 July 1274. (from [http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Councils/ecum14.htm Papal Encyclicals.net, accessed 23 January 2012])</ref> [[Pope Gregory X]] presided over the council, called to act on a pledge by [[Byzantine emperor]] [[Michael VIII Palaiologos|Michael VIII]] to reunite the [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern church]] with the West.<ref name="World History">Wetterau, Bruce. World history. New York: Henry Holt and company. 1994 {{page needed|date=March 2016}}</ref> The council was attended by about 300 [[bishop]]s, 60 [[abbot]]s<ref>Papal Encyclicals.net</ref>{{Better source needed|date=November 2019}} and more than a thousand [[prelate]]s or their [[Procurator (Catholic canon law)|procurator]]s, among whom were the representatives of the universities. Due to the great number of attendees, those who had come to Lyon without being specifically summoned were given "leave to depart with the blessing of God" and of the [[Pope]]. Among others who attended the council were [[James I of Aragon]], the ambassador of the Emperor [[Michael VIII Palaiologos]] with members of the Greek clergy and the ambassadors of [[Abaqa Khan]] of the [[Ilkhanate]]. [[Thomas Aquinas]] had been summoned to the council, but died en route at [[Fossanova Abbey]]. [[Bonaventure]] was present at the first four sessions but died at Lyon on 15 July 1274. As at the [[First Council of Lyon]], [[Thomas Cantilupe]] was an English attendee and a [[Papal household|papal chaplain]].<ref>''[[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]]''</ref>

In addition to [[Kingdom of Aragon|Aragon]], which James represented in person, representatives of the kings of [[Kingdom of Germany|Germany]], [[Kingdom of England|England]], [[Kingdom of Scotland|Scotland]], [[Kingdom of France|France]], the Spains and [[Kingdom of Sicily|Sicily]]<ref>The Sicilian representation was that sent by [[Charles of Anjou]], whom the Papacy had placed on the throne of Sicily in 1266, to the detriment of Aragonese claims. The uprising in Aragon's favour called the [[Sicilian Vespers]] would take place 30 March 1282.</ref> were present, with procurators also representing the kingdoms of [[Kingdom of Norway (872–1397)|Norway]], [[History of Sweden (800–1521)|Sweden]], [[Kingdom of Hungary|Hungary]], [[Kingdom of Bohemia|Bohemia]], [[Kingdom of Poland (1025–1385)|Poland]], and the "realm of Dacia". In the procedures to be observed in the council, for the first time the [[nation]]s appeared as represented elements in an ecclesiastical council, as they had already become represented in the governing of [[medieval university|medieval universities]]. This innovation marks a stepping-stone towards the acknowledgment of coherent ideas of nationhood, which were in the process of creating the European [[nation-state]]s.

The main topics discussed at the council were the conquest of the [[Holy Land]] and the union of the Eastern and Western Churches. The first session took place on 7 May 1274 and was followed by five additional sessions on 18 May 1274, 4 or 7 June 1274, 6 July 1274, 16 July 1274, and 17 July 1274. By the end of the council, 31 constitutions were promulgated. In the second session, the fathers approved the decree '''''Zelus fidei''''', which contained no juridical statutes but rather summed up constitutions about the perils of the [[Holy Land]], the means for paying for a proposed [[crusade]], the [[excommunication]] of pirates and corsairs and those who protected them or traded with them, a declaration of peace among Christians, a grant of an [[indulgence]] for those willing to go on crusade, restoration of [[communion (Christian)|communion]] with the Greeks, and the definition of the order and procedure to be observed in the council. The Greeks conceded on the issue of the [[Filioque]] (two words added to the [[Nicene Creed]]), and union was proclaimed, but the union was later repudiated by [[Andronicus II]],<ref name="World History"/> heir to Michael VIII. The council also recognized [[Rudolf I of Germany|Rudolf I]] as [[Holy Roman Emperor]], ending the [[interregnum]].<ref name="World History" />

==Union of the Churches==
{{more citations needed section|date=March 2016}}
[[File:Cath. St Jean (3).JPG|thumb|left|Cathedral of St John, Lyon, illuminated for a festival]]
Wishing to end the [[East-West Schism|Great Schism]] that divided the [[Catholic Church]] from [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodoxy]], Pope Gregory X sent an embassy to [[Michael VIII]], who had reconquered Constantinople, putting an end to the remnants of the [[Latin Empire]] in the East, and he asked Latin despots in the East to curb their ambitions. Eastern dignitaries arrived at Lyon on 24 June 1274 presenting a letter from the Emperor.{{sfn|Levillain|2002|pp=657–658}} On 29 June 1274 (the Feast of Peter and Paul, patronal feast of the popes), Gregory celebrated [[Mass (liturgy)|Mass]] in [[Lyon Cathedral|St John's Church]] where both sides took part.{{sfn|Levillain|2002|p=658}} The Greeks read the [[Nicene Creed]], with the Western addition of the [[Filioque clause]] sung three times. The council was seemingly a success, but did not provide a lasting solution to the schism; the Emperor was anxious to heal the schism, but the Eastern clergy opposed the decisions of the council. [[Joseph I of Constantinople|Patriarch Joseph]] of Constantinople abdicated, and was replaced by [[Patriarch John XI of Constantinople|John Bekkos]], a convert to the cause of union. In spite of a sustained campaign by Bekkos to defend the union intellectually, and vigorous and brutal repression of opponents by Michael, the vast majority of Byzantine Christians remained implacably opposed to union with the Latin "heretics". Michael's death in December 1282 put an end to the union of Lyons. His son and successor [[Andronikos II Palaiologos|Andronicus II]] repudiated the union in the [[Council of Blachernae (1285)]], and Bekkos was forced to abdicate, being eventually exiled and imprisoned under house arrest until his death in 1297.

==Plans for a Crusade==
The council drew up plans for a crusade (''[[passagium generale]]'') to recover the Holy Land, which was to be financed by a [[tithe]] imposed for six years on all the [[benefice]]s of Christendom. The plans were approved but nothing concrete was done.<ref>[http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Councils/ecum14.htm Second Council of Lyons – 1274]</ref> James I of Aragon wished to organize the expedition at once, but this was opposed by the [[Knights Templar]].<ref name=CE>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09476c.htm Georges Goyau, "Second Council of Lyons (1274)" in ''Catholic Encyclopedia'']</ref> The Franciscan friar [[Fidentius of Padua]], who had experience in the Holy Land, was commissioned by the pope to write a report on the [[recovery of the Holy Land]].<ref>{{citation |author=Cornel Bontea |chapter=The Theory of the ''Passagium Particulare'': A Commercial Blockade of the Mediterranean in the Early Fourteenth Century? |page=203 |title=A Military History of the Mediterranean Sea: Aspects of War, Diplomacy, and Military Elites |editor1=Georgios Theotokis |editor2=Aysel Yıldız |year=2018 |publisher=Brill |doi=10.1163/9789004362048_011}}.</ref>

Ambassadors of the Khan of the Tatars negotiated with the Pope, who asked them to leave Christians in peace during their war against [[Islam]].<ref name=CE/> The [[Mongol]] leader [[Abaqa Khan]] sent a delegation of 13<ref>Richard, p. 439/English</ref>-16 Mongols to the council, which created a great stir, particularly when their leader underwent a public [[baptism]]. Among the embassy were [[David of Ashby]], and the clerk [[Rychaldus]].<ref>Richard, "Histoire des Croisades", p. 452</ref> According to one chronicler, "The Mongols came, not because of the Faith, but to conclude an alliance with the Christians".<ref>Quoted in Jean Richard, p. 452</ref>

Abaqa's Latin secretary Rychaldus delivered a report to the council, which outlined previous European-Ilkhanid relations under Abaqa's father, [[Hulagu Khan|Hulagu]], where after welcoming the Christian ambassadors to his court, Hulagu had agreed to exempt Latin Christians from taxes and charges, in exchange for their prayers for the [[Khagan|Qaghan]]. According to Richardus, Hulagu had also prohibited the molestation of Frank establishments, and had committed to return [[Jerusalem]] to the Franks.<ref>Jean Richard, p. 435/French</ref> Richardus told the assembly that even after Hulagu's death, Abaqa was still determined to drive the Mamluks from Syria.<ref>Jackson, pp. 167–168</ref>

At the council, Pope Gregory promulgated a new Crusade to start in 1278 in liaison with the Mongols.<ref>"1274: Promulgation of a Crusade, in liaison with the Mongols", Jean Richard, "Histoire des Croisades", p. 502/French, p. 487/English</ref> The Pope put in place a vast program to launch the Crusade, which was written down in his "Constitutions for the zeal of the faith". This text puts forward four main decisions to accomplish the Crusade: the imposition of a new tax during three years, the interdiction of any kind of trade with the [[Saracens]], the supply of ships by the Italian maritime Republics, and the alliance of the West with Byzantium and the Il-Khan Abagha.<ref>"Le Pape Grégoire X s’efforce alors de mettre sur pied un vaste programme d’aide à la Terre Sainte, les "Constitutions pour le zèle de la foi", qui sont acceptées au Concile de Lyon de 1274. Ce texte prévoit la levée d’une dime pendant trois ans pour la croisade, l’interdiction de tout commerce avec les Sarasins, la fourniture de bateaux par les républiques maritimes italiennes, et une alliance de l’Occident avec Byzance et l’Il-Khan Abagha" (Michel Balard, ''Les Latins en Orient (XIe–XVe siècle)'', p. 210.</ref> However,  despite papal plans, there was little support from European monarchs, who at this point were more likely to give lip service to the idea of a Crusade than to commit actual troops. The Pope's death in 1276 put an end to any such plans, and the money that had been gathered was instead distributed in Italy.

==Other topics debated==
{{more citations needed section|date=March 2016}}
The council dealt with the reform of the Church, regarding which Gregory had sent out inquiries. Several bishops and abbots were deposed for unworthiness, and some [[mendicant order]]s were suppressed. On the other hand, the two new orders of [[Dominican Order|Dominicans]] and [[Franciscans]] were approved.

There had been several lengthy vacancies of the [[Holy See]], most recently the ''[[sede vacante]]'' that had lasted from the death of [[Pope Clement IV|Clement IV]], 29 November 1268, until Gregory's election, 1 September 1271. The council decided that in future the [[cardinal (Catholicism)|cardinals]] should not leave the [[Papal conclave|conclave]] until they had elected a pope. This decision was suspended in 1276 by [[Pope Adrian V]], and then revoked by [[Pope John XXI]]. It has since been re-established, and is the basis of present legislation on papal elections.

Finally, the council dealt with the Imperial throne, which Alfonso X of Castile claimed. His claim was disallowed by the Pope, and [[Rudolph I of Germany|Rudolph I]] was proclaimed King of the Romans and future emperor on 6 June 1274.

==See also==
* ''[[Contra Errores Graecorum]]''
*[[History of Lyon]]
*[[Bagimonds Roll]]
*[[Theological differences between the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church]]
*[[Ecclesiastical differences between the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church]]
*[[Niccolò and Maffeo Polo]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==References==
* {{cite book|last1= Mansi|first1=Giovan Domenico |author2=Philippe Labbe|author3=Jean Baptiste Martin|title=Sacrorum conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zhZPAAAAYAAJ|volume=Tomus 24|year=1780|publisher=Antonius Zatta|location=Venice|pages=37–134}}  [in Latin]
* {{cite book|first=Karl Joseph|last=von Hefele|title=''Conciliengeschichte, nach den Quellen'', bearb. von C.J. Hefele (fortgesetzt von J. Cardinal Hergenröther).|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=itUCAAAAQAAJ|volume=6|year=1867|publisher=Herder|location=Freiburg im Breisgau}}
* {{cite book|last=Gatto|first=Ludovico|title=Il pontificato di Gregorio X: 1271–1276|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CC3ZAAAAMAAJ|series=Studi Storici, 28–30|year=1959|publisher=Istituto storico Italiano per il Medioevo|location=Rome|isbn=978-88-495-1499-5}}
* {{cite book|last=Nicol|first=Donald MacGillivray|title=The Byzantine Reaction to the Second Council of Lyons, 1274|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WSmGYgEACAAJ|year=1971|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge}}
* {{cite book|last=Hughes|first=Philip |title=History of the Church: Volume 3: The Revolt Against The Church: Aquinas To Luther|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L2nvpmOLdLwC&pg=PA1|year=1979|publisher=Sheed & Ward|location=London|isbn=978-0-7220-7983-6|pages=1–22}}
* {{cite book|last1=Tanner|first1=Norman|last2=Alberigo|first2=Giuseppe|title=Decrees of the Ecumenical Councils: Nicaea I to Lateran V|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Uv3YAAAAMAAJ|year=1990|publisher=Sheed & Ward|location=London|isbn=978-0-87840-490-2}}
*{{cite book|author=Richard, Jean|author-link=Jean Richard (historian)|isbn= 978-0-521-62566-1|year=1999|title=The Crusades: c. 1071–c. 1291|publisher=Cambridge University Press}}
*{{cite book|last=Jackson|first=Peter|author-link=Peter Jackson (historian)|title=The Mongols and the West, 1221–1410|year=2005|publisher=Longman|isbn=0-582-36896-0}}
* {{cite book|last=Baldwin|first=Philip B. |title= Pope Gregory X and the Crusades|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wdTCAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA203|year=2014|publisher=Boydell & Brewer Ltd|location=Woodbridge, Suffolk UK|isbn=978-1-84383-916-3}}
* {{cite book |title=The Papacy: An Encyclopedia |volume=2: Gaius-Proxies |editor-first=Philippe |editor-last=Levillain |publisher=Routledge  |year=2002  |pages=657–658}}

==External links==
*[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09476c.htm ''Catholic Encyclopedia'':] "Lyon, Second Council of"
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Lyons, Councils of|volume=17|page=177|first=Carl Theodor|last=Mirbt|author-link=Carl Mirbt}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20021003050310/http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Valley/8920/churchcouncils/Ecum14.htm Norman P. Tanner, editor ''Decrees of the Ecumenical Councils'', Second Council of Lyon]: ''Zelus fidei'' and the conciliar constitutions, including the three post-conciliar constitutions
*[http://www.legionofmarytidewater.com/faith/ECUM14.HTM Second Council of Lyon]

{{History of the Catholic Church}}
{{Ecumenical councils}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Second Council Of Lyon}}
[[Category:1274 in Europe]]
[[Category:1270s in France]]
[[Category:13th-century Catholic Church councils|Lyon 2]]
[[Category:Catholic Church councils held in France|Lyon 2]]
[[Category:Filioque]]
[[Category:Medieval Lyon]]
[[Category:Catholic Church ecumenical councils|Lyon 2]]
[[Category:Christianity in Lyon]]
[[Category:Michael VIII Palaiologos]]
[[Category:Byzantine Empire–Holy See relations]]