The Council of Trent

9 Key excerpts on "The Council of Trent"

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  Learning from the Past

  Essays on Reception, Catholicity, and Dialogue in Honour of Anthony N. S. Lane

  • Jon Balserak, Richard Snoddy(Authors)
  • 2015(Publication Date)
  • T&T Clark

    (Publisher)

  The Protestant Image of The Council of Trent 87 The Council of Trent – which he suggests is a mini-history of the Church of Rome 48 – because this council has become so decisive for Catholic doctrine and its relation to the Reformation. Cunningham can only see the council as an act of Rome against the newly resurrected truth of God. The council was completely dominated by the Roman Curia, which succeeded in implementing its decrees with cunning and deceit. Most participants were ‘just the creatures and hired agents of the Pope’. 49 The large majority of the council’s participants were Italians and so it never was a universal council. Some of them were even made bishops overnight so that they could participate at all. Cunningham confirmed that the views of Luther were portrayed very inaccurately and had been compiled only from select individual publications and statements of the Reformer, and yet Trent was still responsible for the condemnation of the gospel of grace as this message had been rediscovered by Luther. Cunningham is positive that there is not as much Pelagianism in the decrees of Trent as in the writings of Luther’s first Roman opponents, but still enough ‘to charge the Church of Rome with perverting the gospel of the grace of God, and subverting the scriptural method of salvation’. 50 This picture of Trent as a council that purposefully opposed the revealed will of God, 51 coming to a head in the idea that the pope is the Antichrist, has been part of the tradition of Puritanism and much of Orthodox Calvinism to the present day. For example – and an important one at that – is the eighty-page presentation of the council by Reinhold Seeberg, a German Protestant, in the last part of his well-known and widely used textbook The History of Dogma . 52 Seeberg called the clear rejection of Protestantism the main goal of the council and this is the same judgement Seeberg makes on the efforts to reform the church.

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  Names and Naming in Early Modern Germany

  • Marjorie Elizabeth Plummer, Joel F. Harrington, Marjorie Elizabeth Plummer, Joel F. Harrington(Authors)
  • 2019(Publication Date)
  • Berghahn Books

    (Publisher)

  7

  This engraving influenced the tradition of images of the council, and not only because this piece of art, published by a French publisher by the name of Claudio Duchetti (or Claude Duchet) in nearby Venice in 1563, was cheap to buy, easy to transport, and thus the perfect souvenir for departing council members. Rather, what was crucial for the attractiveness of the motif was its clear message. According to the iconographic staging of this engraving, the collegial meeting of the bishops led the church out of its crisis. This image emphasized a collective group achieving unity by using a seating arrangement resembling an amphitheatre, where a free and strong counterpoint existed between the papal legates on their own bench and the council fathers sitting at eye level.

  Such images, and most of all the measures decided by the council, may be supposed to explain why the church of those days is still called the Church of Trent in handbooks and encyclopaedias of today. In 2010 Paolo Prodi, one of the greatest historians of papacy and the papal states, even identified a paradigm tridentino .8 By way of delimitation and reform, the proud council established the foundations for the renewal of Catholicism, and this resolute and dignified meeting finally gave an answer to the crisis of Reformation.

  The idea of a Trent era as decisively influenced by the council has come under fire in recent scholarship.9 Two main arguments can be identified in this debate. The first line of criticism is that the effect of the decisions has been grossly overestimated. Critics have pointed out that for a long time none of the Trent reform program was implemented in vast parts of Europe, with only some parts put into practice later.10 Scholars such as Simon Ditchfield further argue that even if something like Trent Catholicism existed, then it should be considered only one variant among others of the culture of the Catholic denomination.11 After all, as Volker Leppin has stated, the universal church was much too varied to be terminologically lumped together, and the role of the lay people was too strong to believe in an exclusively top-down reform. In the second line of criticism, even Protestant Church historians such as Leppin state that the dogmatic rejection of the Reformation had not been nearly as harsh as scholars have long claimed.12 Moreover, neither did a uniform Catholic liturgy remain unchanged or float unaffected by historical events through the subsequent three centuries only to be changed as late as in the 1960s at the Second Vatican Council.13

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  Galileo, Bellarmine, and the Bible

  • Richard J. Blackwell(Author)
  • 1991(Publication Date)
  • University of Notre Dame Press

    (Publisher)

  The primary goal was to restore the unity of Christendom. However, an extraordinarily complex series of religious, political, diplomatic, and military disputes among various European states, with each other and with the popes of the time, postponed the opening of a council for a quarter of a century. 1 As these years passed, the potential for reunification became less and less viable. As a result when The Council of Trent finally did take place (1545–63), the focus had shifted to the goals of clarifying Catholic dogma and reforming the discipline, training, and life-style of the clergy. The eighteen years of the council were interrupted by two lengthy adjournments, first of four years (1547–51), and then of ten years (1552–62). These delays not only further decreased the likelihood of reunification but saw increasing distrust and open hostility between the Catholic and Protestant camps. For the present purposes it is important to emphasize that matters of natural philosophy, or of what we would now call the natural sciences, in no way were of concern in the debates at the council. At best they were mentioned only casually, if at all. The primary thrust of the council can be seen in a brief list of the central topics of decision: the books of Scripture and the role of tradition in the Church, original sin, justification and divine grace, each of the seven sacraments, indulgences, the mass, the education, morals, and preaching duties of the clergy, the jurisdiction and obligation of residence for bishops. These matters clearly centered on doctrinal and disciplinary issues in the life of the Church. However, the decisions arrived at on Scripture and tradition, originally made in response to the challenges of Luther and the other reformers, would later become related to the new ideas introduced by Copernicus

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  Trust in an Age of Arrogance

  • Allison(Author)
  • 2010(Publication Date)
  • Wipf and Stock

    (Publisher)

  7

  Roman Catholicism and The Council of Trent

  “I confess to almighty God . . . that I have sinned exceedingly in thought, word and deed by my fault, my fault, my very grievous fault.” —Roman Catholic Mass

  R eform of the church in the sixteenth century was by no means an exclusive concern of Protestants. The need for moral, educational, and administrative reform was everywhere acknowledged. The calling and intermittent meeting of The Council of Trent from 1545 to 1563 is a complex story but considerable needed reform was accomplished in training clergy, discipline, renewal of spiritual life, and administration. However, our focus will be on the 5th Session, which dealt with original sin (1546) and the 6th Session, which dealt with justification (1547).

  No tradition (or generation of believers) is without the need to hear our Lord’s warning concerning the self-righteous yeast of the Pharisees. The decrees of The Council of Trent about sin and justification are to Pharisaism as cigarettes are to cancer. Some issues at these two sessions evoked special criticism from Anglicans and Protestants and dismay among many Catholics as well. Among the latter were Cardinal Seripando, head of the Augustinian order, and Reginald Pole, later the Catholic Archbishop of Canterbury under Queen Mary. Pole was so distressed by the decisions at the 6th Session concerning justification that he left the Council in a state of depression from which it took him many months to recover.1

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  Iustitia Dei

  A History of the Christian Doctrine of Justification

  • Alister E. McGrath(Author)
  • 2020(Publication Date)
  • Cambridge University Press

    (Publisher)

  PART IV Catholicism The Council of Trent on Justification The Catholic church was not well prepared to meet the challenge posed by the rise of the evangelical factions within Germany and elsewhere during the 1520s. It was confronted with a new and only partly under- stood threat, which was perhaps too easily understood in terms of the revival of older and more familiar challenges – such as the Hussite movement in Bohemia. Early anti-Lutheran polemic tended to fasten upon points of dispute which were not central to Luther’s reforming programme – such as Luther’s views on the papacy, indulgences or the sacraments 1 – while failing to deal with questions such as the concept of servum arbitrium or the nature of justifying righteousness, which Luther considered to be central. Indeed, at one point Luther singled out Erasmus alone as having identified the real theological issues involved in his protest. 2 Although there are some notable exceptions, such as Tommaso de Vio Cajetan’s De fide et operibus (1532), relatively few works dealing with the doctrine of justification were published by Catholic writers in the period 1520–45. 3 A survey of such works suggests that neither the doctrinal specifics of the Lutheran doctrine of justification nor its wider appeal were fully grasped by the early opponents of the Reformation, although the rise of polemical theology in the 1530s served to clarify points of importance. The convening of The Council of Trent was a landmark event. 4 It represented both a response to what was increasingly becoming seen as a significant threat to the church from evangelical groups which now lay outside its domain, and to an internal need for reform of structures and morals, as well as a more effective and coherent presentation of Catholic 1 A good example is Henry VIII’s critique of Luther’s sacramental theology, Assertio Septem Sacramentorum (1521). See Ryrie, The Gospel and Henry VIII, 173. 2 See WA 18.786.26–8.

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  Justification by Faith in Catholic-Protestant Dialogue

  • Anthony N. S. Lane(Author)
  • 2006(Publication Date)
  • T&T Clark

    (Publisher)

  Where the canons relate to the teaching of the chapters this will be indicated in footnotes. The canons will also be considered in the chapter on key issues, under the issue to which they relate. The council fathers were especially interested in opposing Luther, Melanchthon and the Augsburg Confession and paid very little attention to the Reformed theologians at this stage. 90 But how well did they know the views of their opponents? This is an important question as the council condemned not the persons of the Reformers but only their teaching -contrary to the practice of some earlier councils. 91 There is good evidence that the council fathers relied mainly on second-or third-hand compilations of quotations from the Reformers. These were mostly drawn from the years to 1526 and reflected some views that were later rejected or modified. 92 If the views rejected at Trent do not in fact accurately represent the mature teaching of the Reformation this at least poses the question of whether the Tridentine condemnations actually touch the Protestant doctrine. The purpose of the council in general, and of this decree in particular, was to define Catholic theology in opposition to Protestantism, not to decide between legitimate schools of Catholic theology. 93 Thus in places there will be a vagueness in the language with this specific intent, as with the statements on the certitude of grace. 90 Jedin, History of The Council of Trent, 2.307. 91 Jedin, The Council of Trent and Reunion', yf. 92 T. Freudenberger, 'Zur Beniitzung des reformatorischen Schrifttums im Konzil von Trient' in Batimer (ed.), Von Konstanz nach Trient, 577-601; V. Pfniir, 'Zur Verurteilung der reformatorischen Rechtfertigungslehre auf dem Konzil von Trient', Annuarium Historiae Conciliorum 8 (1976) 407-28; Iserloh, 'Luther and The Council of Trent', 164-7. Cf. H. Jedin, 'Das Konzil von Trient und der Protestantismus', Catholica 3 (1934) 137-56. 93 Jedin, 'The Council of Trent and Reunion', 8-10.

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  The Catholic Reformation

  • Michael Mullett(Author)
  • 2002(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  The papacy was also to provide leadership of the Council once it was assembled through its legates who were, in the first sessions, Cardinals Giovanni Maria Ciocchi del Monte (1487–1555), Marcello Cervini (1501–55) and Reginald Pole. No sooner had the Council gathered, however, than, Christmas intervening, it resolved on its adjournment to 7 January 1546. Upon its resumption, the Council was immediately confronted with the issue of the order of its business, whether doctrinal definition would precede reform of abuses or vice-versa. Pressure for a restatement of traditional doctrine, to be derived principally from the medieval councils and theologians, would run counter to the Habsburgs’ desire to avoid stirring up further doctrinal discord with the Lutherans in Germany and to Charles V’s wish that the Council deal with non-controversial practical reforms, especially in areas of abuse that had boosted Lutheranism’s popularity. In the event, a proposal from Bishop Tommaso Campeggio (c. 1482–1564) that reform and doctrine be taken in alternation, was adopted. The programme of reform was along a familiar track of desiderata for restoring the Church to what was seen as an earlier, purer condition. The agenda of doctrine would be largely a matter of focus on issues that Luther had raised – Scripture, justification and grace, and the Sacraments. 17 Before proceeding further, the Council fathers committed themselves in the Decree Concerning the Manner of Living during the Council, of January 1547, to a frugal, pious and sober way of life at Trent, recalling to us similar resolutions at Pisa in 1511, and anticipating Trent’s delineation of the ideal and scriptural manner of life of a bishop. At the same time, a resolution denounced ‘all false vain and obstinate disputations’, though in point of fact debates in the Council were sometimes to be heated and even violent, because of the vehemence of opposing schools of doctrine present

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  Reforming Music

  Music and the Religious Reformations of the Sixteenth Century

  • Chiara Bertoglio(Author)
  • 2017(Publication Date)
  • De Gruyter

    (Publisher)

  Chapter 8 – Music and The Council of Trent

  The whole plan of singing in musical modes should be constituted not to give empty pleasure to the ear, but in such a way that the words may be clearly understood by all, and so that the listeners’ hearts may be enraptured to the desire of the heavenly harmonies and to contemplation of the joys of the blessed1512 .

  [Draft for a Decree at The Council of Trent]

  8.1.Introduction

  The collocation of this Chapter within the discussion of the European Reformations aims at considering the effects of The Council of Trent on music from the viewpoint of reform and renewal rather than of opposition and reaction. Even though many of the Tridentine deliberations (both theologically and liturgically) were conditioned by what had happened and was happening throughout Europe, it would be profoundly incorrect to evaluate Trent (and especially the itinerary of sixteenth-century Catholic Church) in relation only to Evangelical reforms or as a response to them.

  Moreover, as we will see, the true priorities of The Council of Trent were much more focused on issues which were crucial and central to the Church’s life, rather than on the relatively minor issues of musical style and practice. On the other hand, this downplaying of music’s role might have (at least partially and locally) affected the overall success of the attempted re-catholicization of Europe. In other words, Catholic churchmen sometimes lacked the insight into the power of musicianship for devotion, identity and worship that characterised so many of the Evangelical reformers.

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  Authentic Liturgical Renewal in Contemporary Perspective

  • Uwe Michael Lang(Author)
  • 2017(Publication Date)
  • T&T Clark

    (Publisher)

  academia.edu/StephenBeall (accessed 12 December 2016). See Jedin, ‘Das Konzil von Trient und die Reform der liturgischen Bücher’, 8–9. 36 See Bryan D. Spinks, Do This in Remembrance of Me: The Eucharist from the Early Church to the Present Day (London: SCM Press, 2013), 246–71. The Tridentine Liturgical Reform in Historical Perspective 117 4 The Council of Trent The rivalry between the Kingdom of France and the House of Habsburg, which ruled Spain and held the throne of the Holy Roman Empire, delayed the convocation of a general council for several years. When the council finally assembled in the city of Trent, which was part of the Empire but on Italian soil, its twofold agenda was shaped by the doctrinal challenges of the Protestant Reformers and the need for reform of the Church’s discipline. This included a reaffirmation of Catholic doctrine on the sacraments and the Mass, as well as the demand to address liturgical abuses. As it had been decided early on to deal with questions of doctrine and of Church reform in parallel, the need for renewed liturgical discipline was articulated already during the council’s first period from December 1545 to March 1547. However, the question was resumed in earnest only in its last period, from January 1562 to December 1563, alongside the deliberations about the decree on the sacrifice of the Mass. As Hubert Jedin has observed, there were strong calls for a unified missal coming from the nations that were represented at the council. 37 The item was included in the substantial list of petitions submitted in 1561 by Bl. Bartholomew a Martyribus (1514– 90), archbishop of Braga in Portugal. 38 In March 1562, a memorandum from a group of Italian prelates close to the Augustinian Cardinal Girolamo Seripando (1493–1563) recommended the reform and standardization of liturgical books. 39 A clear statement came from the Spanish bishops in early April 1562.

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