Council of Trent

The Council of Trent, the 19th ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic church, was held at Trent in northern Italy between 1545 and 1563. It marked a major turning point in the efforts of the Catholic church to respond to the challenge of the Protestant Reformation and formed a key part of the Counter-Reformation. The need for such a council had long been perceived by certain church leaders, but initial attempts to organize it were opposed by Francis I of France, who feared it would strengthen Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, and by the popes themselves, who feared a revival of Conciliarism. The council eventually met during three separate periods (1545-47, 1551-52, 1562-63) under the leadership of three different popes (Paul III, Julius III, Pius IV). All of its decrees were formally confirmed by Pope Pius IV in 1564.

In the area of religious doctrine, the council refused any concessions to the Protestants and, in the process, crystallized and codified Catholic dogma far more than ever before. It directly opposed Protestantism by reaffirming the existence of seven sacraments, transubstantiation, purgatory, the necessity of the priesthood, and justification by works as well as by faith. Clerical celibacy and monasticism were maintained, and decrees were issued in favor of the efficacy of relics, indulgences, and the veneration of the Virgin Mary and the saints. Tradition was declared coequal to Scripture as a source of spiritual knowledge, and the sole right of the Church to interpret the Bible was asserted.

At the same time, the council took steps to reform many of the major abuses within the church that had partly incited the Reformation: decrees were issued requiring episcopal residence and a limitation on the plurality of benefices, and movements were instigated to reform certain monastic orders and to provide for the education of the clergy through the creation of a seminary in every diocese.

Attendance at the council was often relatively meager, and it was dominated by Italian and Spanish prelates. Several European monarchs kept their distance from the council's decrees, only partially enforcing them or, in the case of the French kings, never officially accepting them at all. The Council of Trent helped, however, to catalyze a movement within the Catholic clergy and laity for widespread religious renewal and reform, a movement that yielded substantial results in the 17th century.

T. Tackett

Bibliography
Jedin, Hubert, A History of the Council of Trent, trans. by Ernest Graf, 2 vols. (1957-61); McNally, Robert E., Council of Trent, The Spiritual Exercises and the Catholic Reform (1970); O'Donohoe, J. A., Tridentine Seminary Legislation (1957); Schroeder, H. J., Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent (1950).

Council of Trent (1545-1563)

The Council of Trent was the official Roman Catholic response to the Lutheran Reformation. The Council of Trent did not begin until twentyfive years after Martin Luther's symbolic rejection of papal authority when he publicly burned Exsurge Domine (1520), the papal bull condemning his teachings. This fateful delay in the history of Christianity permitted the consolidation of Protestantism and ensured that, when the council did eventually meet to define doctrines, it would do so in conscious reaction to Protestant doctrines. Though some Protestants attended the council, the majority of those attending were motivated by a desire to counter, rather than conciliate, the Protestants. Hence, even Catholic historians who emphasize the continuity of Trent's doctrinal definitions with traditional Catholic theology concede that Trent did not restore the medieval equilibrium so much as evolve a new system synthesizing Catholic tradition and the altered historical situation. The new system was rigid and exclusive, but also rich and energetic, drawing on the spiritual and theological revival that characterized the Counter-Reformation.

Reasons for the repeated delays in convening the council were chiefly, but not solely, political. Even Pope Paul III (1534-49), who was elected on the understanding that he would call a council and who acknowledge that it was desperately needed, was forced into repeated postponments by a growing appreciation of the complexity of the issues at stake. So complex and voluminous was its agenda that the council took eighteen years, spanning the reigns of five popes, to complete. Its sittings alone took over four years, and it produced a greater volume of legislation than the combined output of all the previous eighteen general councils recognized by the Roman Catholic Church.

The Council's history has three periods:

• 1. Sessions 1-10 (Dec. 13, 1545, to June 2, 1547), during the pontificate of Paul III.
• 2. Sessions 11-16 (May 1, 1551, to April 28, 1552), under Julius III.
• 3. Sessions 17-25 (Jan. 17, 1562, to Dec. 4, 1563), under Pius IV.

It was decided at the outset to deal with both disciplinary reforms (which Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, saw as the first priority) and the definition of dogma (the primary concern of Paul III). A repentant episcopate acknowledged that the Lutheran revolt was occasioned by the "ambition, avarice and cupidity" of bishops. The council accordingly condemned pluralism and absenteeism by bishops and priests. Clergy were to "avoid even the smallest faults, which in them would be considerable." Bishops were to establish seminaries for the training of clergy in every diocese. In nothing was the Roman Catholic Church more indelibly scarred by its fear of Protestantism than in the council's decision to make the curriclum in the new seminaries scholastic rather than biblical. On indulgences, the issue which ignited the Lutheran explosion, the council abolished indulgence sellers and decreed that the giving of alms was never to be the necessary condition for gaining an indulgence.

The article on justification was perceived as the most difficult of the doctrinal issues, partly because it had not been dealt with in previous councils. Thirty-three canons condemned Protestant errors concerning justification. Most were errors held by Protestant extremists, but the bishops certainly understood that they had condemned Luther's doctrine that Christ's righteousness is extrinsic to the justified person and only imputed to him. The Tridentine doctrine on justification was expressed in sixteen chapters. Chapters 1-9 stress man's incapacity to save himself but confirm the necessity for the cooperation of his free will, including his resolve to receive baptism and begin a new life. Justification results not only in the remission of sin but also in "sanctification and renewal of the whole man." Chapters 10-13 affirm the increase of justifying grace through obedience to the commandments and deny that predestination to salvation can be known with certainty. Chapters 14-16 declare that grace is forfeited by any grevious sin (not just faithlessness) and must be recovered through the sacrament of penance. Salvation is given to the justified as a reward as well as a gift, since, on the basis of his union with Christ, he has meritoriously fulfilled God's law by good works performed in a state of grace.

In the belief that Lutheran heresy was based on a misunderstanding of the sacraments, the council devoted more time to them than any other doctrinal issue. The council confirmed that there are seven sacraments instituted by Christ (baptism, confirmation, communion, penance, unction, orders, marriage) and condemned those who said that sacraments are not necessary for salvation or that through faith alone, and without any sacrament, man can be justified. Sacraments contain the grace they signify and confer it ex opere operato, irrespective of the qualities or merits of the persons administering or receiving them. The council confirmed transubstantiation, that the substance of bread and wine is changed into the body and blood of Christ while the appearance of bread and wine remains. Luther's real presence doctrine; the symbolist doctrine of Zwingli, Karlstardt, and Oecolampadius; and Calvin's medial position (presence is real but spiritual) were all condemned; as were those who denied that the whole of Christ is received when the bread alone is taken at communion. The council also affirmed that in the Mass, which must be said in Latin, the Son is offered anew to the Father, a sacrifice by which God is appeased and which is efficacious for the living and the dead.

In its article on Scripture the council again rejected Lutheran teaching. Tradition was said to be equally authoritative with Scripture; the correct interpretation of the Bible was the preserve of the Catholic Church; the Vulgate was to be used exclusively in public readings and doctrinal commentaries.

The Tridentine decrees enjoyed great prestige and determined Catholic belief and practice for four centuries.

F S Piggin
(Elwell Evangelical Dictionary)

Bibliography
G. Alberigo, "The Council of Trent: New Views on the Ocassion of Its Fourth Centenary," Con 7.1:28-48; J. Delumeau, Catholicism between Luther and Voltaire: A New View of the Counter Reformation; P. Hughes, The Church in Crisis: A History of the General Councils; H. Jedin, A History of the Council of Trent; H. J. Schroeder, Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent.