Fourth Lateran Council (1215)

From the commencement of his reign Innocent III had purposed to 
assemble an ecumenical council, but only towards the end of his 
pontificate could he realize this project, by the Bull of 19 
April, 1213. The assembly was to take place in November, 1215. The 
council did in fact meet on 11 November, and its sessions were 
prolonged until the end of the month. The long interval between 
the convocation and the opening of the council as well as the 
prestige of the reigning pontiff, were responsible for the very 
large number of bishops who attended it, it is commonly cited in 
canon law as "the General Council of Lateran", without further 
qualification, or again, as "the Great Council". Innocent III 
found himself on this occasion surrounded by seventy-one 
patriarchs and metropolitans, including the Patriarchs of 
Constantinople and of Jerusalem four hundred and twelve bishops, 
and nine hundred abbots and priors. The Patriarchs of Antioch and 
Alexandria were represented by delegates. Envoys appeared from 
Emperor Frederick II, from Henry Latin Emperor of Constantinople, 
from the Kings of France, England, Aragon, Hungary, Cyprus, and 
Jerusalem, and from other princes. The pope himself opened the 
council with an allocution the lofty views of which surpassed the 
orator's power of expression. He had desired, said the pope, to 
celebrate this Pasch before he died. He declared himself ready to 
drink the chalice of the Passion for the defence of the Catholic 
Faith, for the succour of the Holy Land, and to establish the 
liberty of the Church. After this discourse, followed by moral 
exhortation, the pope presented to the council seventy decrees or 
canons, already formulated, on the most important points of 
dogmatic and moral theology. Dogmas were defined points of 
discipline were decided, measures were drawn up against heretics, 
and, finally, the conditions of the next crusade were regulated. 

The fathers of the council did little more than approve the 
seventy decrees presented to them; this approbation, nevertheless, 
sufficed to impart to the acts thus formulated and promulgated the 
value of {ecumenical decrees. Most of them are somewhat lengthy 
and are divided into chapters. The following are the most 
important: