6. The sixth general council is the third council of Constantinople, an. Dom. 680. The cause of its being assembled was the heresy of the Monothelites. 289 bishops attended.

7. The seventh general council, the second council of Nice, was held an. Dom. 787. There were present at it 350 of the Eastern bishops. The Iconomachists, or the destroyers of images, were condemned by it, and that worship and honour of images was vindicated, which, as the fathers say, is referred to their prototype.

8. The eighth general council, the fourth of Constantinople, was called an. Dom. 869. There were present at it 102 bishops. The schismatical Greeks do not acknowledge it.

9. The ninth general council, the first council of Lateran, was held at Rome an. Dom. 1123. There were present at it 300 bishops and many abbots.

10. The tenth general council is the second council of Lateran an. Dom. 1139. About 1000 bishops were present at it.

11. The eleventh general council is the third of Lateran. It was celebrated an. Dom. 1179. There were present at it 300 bishops.

12. The twelfth general council is the fourth of Lateran. It was called an. Dom. 1215 by Innocent 3, who presided over it. 412 bishops were present, all the Eastern patriarchs by themselves or their legates, many abbots,

6. Concilium generale est Con-. stantinop. 3, an. 680. Causa convocationis fuit hæresis Monothelitarum. thelitarum. Aderant 289 episcopi.

7. Concilium generale Nicanum 2, an. 787, celebratum est. Adfuere 350 episcopi orientales, in eo damnati sunt Iconomachi, seu imaginum destructores, et imaginibus assertus est cultus et honor, qui, ut dicunt patres, in illarum prototypum resultat.

8. Concilium generale Constantinop. 4, convocatum fuit an. 869. Aderant 102 episcopi • ** Græci schismatici illam non ag

noscunt.

9. Concilium generale Lateranense 1, an. 1123. Romæ celebratum est. Adfuêre 300 episcopi et multi abbates.

10. Concilium generale Lateranense 2, an. 1139. Aderant mille circiter episcopi.

11. Concilium generale Later. 3, celebratum fuit an. 1179, aderant 300 episcopi..

12. Concilium generale Lateranense 4, an. 1215, convocatum fuit ab Innoc. 3, qui illi præfuit. Adfuere 412 episcopi omnes patriarchæ orientales per se vel per legatos, permulti abbates, et absentium prælatorum procura

and more than 800 representatives of absent prelates. Hence this council is called the great Lateran council.

13. The thirteenth general council, the council of Lyons, was celebrated an. Dom. 1215. Innocent 4 presided at it.. 140 bishops attended.

14. The fourteenth general council, the second council of Lyons, was held an. Dom. 1274. Gregory 10 presided at it. There were present at it 15 cardinals, 2 patriarchs, viz. the patriarchs of Constantinople and Antioch, more than 500 bishops, and a great many abbots and other preJates.

15. The fifteenth general council, called the council of Vienna, was held at Vienna in France an. Dom. 1311. Clement 5 presided at it. There were present at it, besides the cardinals, the two patriarchs of Alexandria and Antioch, 300 bishops, a very great number of the inferior prelates, also Philip the Fair, king of France, with his three sons, Edward 2, king of England, and many of the orators of other princes. In this council of Vienna the military order of the templars was suppressed, which had existed throughout the world for 200 years..

16. This is the place to say something of the council of constance held an. Dom. 1414. There were 3 reasons for calling this council. The first was, the grievous western schism which had lacerated the church for 35 years, by reason of the many

competitors for the popedom, of whom the last were, Gregory 12, whom the chief part of the church followed, Benedict 13, called Peter de Luna, to whom the Spaniards adhered, and John 23, whom the remainder of the churches acknowledged. The second cause was the strengthening of the faith against Wickliffe, John Huss, and Jerome of Prague. The third was, the reformation of the church, as well in her head, as in her members.

With regard to the authority of the council of Constance, all Catholics willingly acknowledge its ecumenicity in certain of its sessions. Bellarmine testifies this, (book 1 on Councils, c. 7.) "This council, he says, with respect to its last sessions, and all those things of which Martin 5 approved, is ad mitted by all Catholics." But whether it is a general council as to all its sessions, this is a point which the Ultramontanists deny, and which the French more particularly affirm. Most of the cardinals were present at it, four of the patriarchs, about three hundred bishops, and about six hundred of the abbots and inferior prelates.

i

Note. Twelve years after this, the council of Basil was held, which was assembled by Martin 5. It lasted from the year 1431 till the year 1442.

17. The seventeenth general council, is the council of Florence. The chief cause of calling it was the reconciliation of the Greek church with the Latin church. It began to be celebrated an. Dom. 1438, at Fer

Gregorius 12, quam maxima pars ecclesiæ sequebatur, Benedictus 13, dictus Petrus de Luna, cui adhærebant Hispani, et Joannes 23, quam cæteræ ecclesiæ agnoscebant. Secunda causa fuit, ad firmandum fidem adversus Wicklefium, Joannem Hus, et Hieronymum de Pragâ. Et tertia, ad ecclesiæ reformationem tam in capite quam in membris. ** * Constantiensis synodi auctoritatem quod spectat; Catholici omnes ultrò fatentur illam œcumenicam esse quoad aliquas sessiones: ita testatur Bellarmipus. L. 1 de Con. c. 7. "Hoc concilium, inquit, quantum ad ultimas sessiones et ea omnia quæ probavit Martinus 5, ab omnibus Catholicis admittitur." An au tem quoad omnes sessiones sit oecumenicum, negant Ultramontani, contendunt speciatim Galli. Adfuêre plerique cardinales, 4 patriarchæ, 300 circiter episcopi, abbates atque inferiores prælati ferè sexcenti.

Nota. Post 12 annos habitum fuit conc. Basileense à Martino 5, indictum: duravit ab anno 1431 usque ad annum 1442.

17. Concilium gener. est Florentinum, illud convocandi præcipua causa fuit ecclesiæ Græcæ cum Latinâ reconciliatio. Capit celebrari an. 1438. Ferrariæ, ubi sexdecim habitæ sunt sessiones; anno sequenti, dirâ gras

Eugenius 4 presided at this council, 140 bishops were present at it, and John Palæologus the Greek emperor, with the patriarch of Constantinople and the legates of the other patriarchs, Various articles having been repeatedly discussed in this council, which appertained to the profession of the faith, a union was effected between the Greek and Roman churches; but it was soon broken by the Greeks when they returned to their own country.

Note.-The fifth council of Lateran which the +Ultramontanists consider a general council, was held an. Dom. 1512. Leo 10 presided. 114 bishops were present at it.

Bellarmine himself thus speaks of this council. (Book 2 on Councils, c. 13.) "Whether this was truly a general council, is even at this day a question even among catholics.

Nota.-Lateranense 5 quod Ultramontani tanquam œcumenicum admittunt, habitum fuit an. 1512. Præside Leone 10, aderant 114 episcopi. De hoc concilio sic ipse loquitur Bellarminus, lib. 2 de Con. c. 13. "An fuerit verè generale, usque ad hanc diem quæstio superest etiam inter Catholicos.

18. Concilium generale et ultimum est Tridentinum a Paulo $ indictum * Incep

tum est concilium mense Decembri an. 1545 sub Paulo 3, post duos annos translatum fuit Bononiam, sed ineunte anno 1551. Julius 3, illud Tridentum reduxit. Anno sequenti, furentibus bellis et aliis de causis suspensum fuit, et sic remansit per decem annos. Anno 1562, illud resumi jussit