Tuesday, May 7, 2024

It is the 7th of May 2024. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

Today, once again, we are getting Medieval- and if there is any century that perhaps encapsulates the messiness of the Medieval era it is that mind bending 13th century- the 1200’s.

Let me give you some background. The Church had split between East and West: Constantinople and Rome in 1054. It was largely on account of political and cultural differences but the East did have a legitimate complaint, in the West the churches added that the Holy Spirit proceeded not just from the Father but also, “from the son”- this made good cover for division as changing an ancient creed by yourself was not good for unity.

Things may have looked better a few decades later, in 1096, when the Western Church declared the first crusade, in part to help their Eastern brothers and Sisters who were being besieged by the Turks. But, as we found out on a Weekend Edition, the Crusades became a tragic parody of themselves as by the 4th Crusade, the Western Church was waging war on the Eastern church and even took Constantinople and declared it a “Latin Empire” from 1204 to 1261.

Furthermore, in 1231, 13 Greek monks were burned at the stake for rejecting the Western use of unleavened bread for the Eucharist.

The Papacy at this time was having its own troubles- after the death of Pope Clement IV in 1271, it had taken almost three years to elect a pope as there was a political battle being held between the French and Italian Cardinals, all of whom wanted a pope from their country to influence European politics.

In 1271, Gregory X was elected Pope, and one of his first orders was to call a general council of the church to address these urgent problems.

Furthermore, the Emperor of Constantinople, now back on his throne in Constantinople, Michael Palaeologos VIII, saw unity between the East and West as not only necessary for him to consolidate power but saw a united church (as did Pope Gregory) as the only way to stop an invasion from the East by the growing Muslim powers.

And so, it was on this, the 7th of May in 1274, that the Second Council of Lyon was called with great pomp and circumstance. The Patriarch of Constantinople and Antioch were invited, as were European royalty, many of whom sent official delegates. Some 500 Bishops and 1000 laymen attended, including the future saints Bonaventure (who preached at the Council) and Albert the Great. Thomas Aquinas, the theologian of his age, was also going to be present but died on his way to the council when he was hit in the head by a branch while riding on a donkey.  

The purpose of the council was three fold- to address a reconquest of the Holy Land, to unite the Eastern and Western Churches and to address the reform of morals amongst clergy.

The concessions of the Greeks were unprecedented. Under orders from the Emperor Palelologus in Constantinople, the orthodox were to admit the use of “and the son” in the Nicene Creed, to adopt the doctrine of Purgatory, and the Roman understanding of 7 sacraments (the Eastern church never designated an exact number of sacraments) and most importantly for the assent of the Roman Primacy over the Patriarch of Constantinople. How on earth could the Patriarch of the East allow this? Well, he had been confined to a monastery by Paleologus, and a representative was sent to his stead.

The high point of the council took place a month later on the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul when the first Mass of Union was held. The Epistle and Gospel reading as well as the Nicene Creed were all recited in both Greek and Latin and the Greeks repeated “Who Proceeds from the Father and the Son” 3 times, marking their capitulation to the West.

Could this be the greatest reunion of split church bodies in the history of the Church? Well, as you might know from the current division, it was not to be. The Eastern Emperor was seen by many back home as too conciliatory; the Patriarch, once let out of confinement, rejected the agreement to be subservient to Rome, and when Emperor Paleologus died, his predecessor officially condemned the Council. But nonetheless, amidst a whirlwind of a century, there was the briefest of hopes for union when the Second Council of Lyon was called and convened on this, the 7th of May in 1274.

The last word for today is from the daily lectionary, the benediction from 1 Timothy.

13 In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you 14 to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 7th of May 2024, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man who knows Lyon as perhaps the one-time home of the Holy Grail, perhaps a medieval alien sighting, and more likely the home of the first veterinary school- Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who knows Lyon was the site of this past weekend’s WWE Backlash- ooh, that dastardly bloodline… I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.