Canons and Decrees
Session
Hanover Historical Texts Project
Scanned by, October 1996.
PAUL, bishop, servant of the servants of God, for the future memory hereof.
At the beginning of this our pontificate,--which, not for any merits
of our own, but of its own great goodness, the providence of Almighty God
hath committed unto us,--already perceiving unto what troubled times, and
unto how many embarrassments in almost all our affairs, our pastoral
solicitude and watchfulness were called; we would fain indeed have remedied
the evils wherewith the Christian commonweal had been long afflicted, and
well-nigh overwhelmed; but we too, as men compassed with infirmity, felt
our strength unequal to take upon us so heavy a burthen. For, whereas we
saw that peace was needful to free and preserve the commonweal from the
many impending dangers, we found all replete with enmities and dissensions;
and, above all, the (two) princes, to whom God has entrusted well-nigh the
whole direction of events, at enmity with each other. Whereas we deemed it
necessary that there should be one fold and one shepherd, for the Lord's
flock in order to maintain the Christian religion in its integrity, and to
confirm within us the hope of heavenly things; the unity of the Christian
name was rent and well-nigh torn asunder by schisms, dissensions, heresies.
Whereas we could have wished to see the commonwealth safe and guarded
against the arms and insidious designs of the Infidels, yet, through our
transgressions and the guilt of us all,--the wrath of God assuredly hanging
over our sins,--Rhodes had been lost; Hungary ravaged; war both by land and
sea had been contemplated and planned against Italy, Austria, and Illyria;
whilst our impious and ruthless enemy the Turk was never at rest, and
looked upon our mutual enmities and dissensions as his fitting opportunity
for carrying out his designs with success. Wherefore, having been, as we
have said, called upon to guide and govern the bark of Peter, in so great a
tempest, and in the midst of so violent an agitation of the waves of
heresies, dissensions, and wars; and, not relying sufficiently on our own
strength, we, first of all, cast our cares upon the Lord, that He might
sustain us, and furnish our soul with firmness and strength, our
understanding with prudence and wisdom. Then, recalling to mind that our
predecessors, men endowed with admirable wisdom and sanctity, had often, in
the extremest perils of the Christian commonweal, had recourse to
ecumenical councils and general assemblies of bishops, as the best and most
opportune remedy, we also fixed our mind on holding a general council; and
having consulted the opinions of those princes whose consent seemed to us
to be specially useful and opportune for this our project; when we found
them, at that time, not averse from so holy a work, we, as our letters and
records attest, indicted an ecumenical council, and a general assembly of
those bishops and other Fathers whose duty it is to assist thereat, to be
opened at the city of Mantua, on the tenth of the calends of June, in the
year 1537 of our Lord's Incarnation, and the third of our pontificate;
having an almost assured hope that, when assembled there in the name of the
Lord, He, as He promised, would be in the midst of us, and, in His goodness
and mercy, easily dispel, by the breath of His mouth, all the storms and dangers
of the times. But,--as the enemy of mankind ever sets his snares against holy
enterprises, --at the very outset, contrary to all our hopes and expectations, the
city of Mantua was refused us, unless we would submit to certain conditions,--as
described in other letters of ours,--which conditions were utterly alien to the
institutes of our predecessors, to the state of the times, to our own
dignity and liberty, that of this holy see, and of the ecclesiastical
character. We were, therefore, necessitated to find another place, and to
make choice of some other city ; andwhereas one fit and suitable did not
immediately present itself, we were obliged to prorogue the celebration of
the council unto the ensuing calends of November. Meanwhile the Turk, our
cruel and perpetual enemy, attacked Italy with a vast fleet; took, sacked,
ravaged several cities of Apulia, and carried off numbers into captivity;
whilst we, in the midst of the greatest alarm, and the general danger, were
engaged in fortifying our shores, and in furnishing assistance to the
neighbouring states. But not therefore did we meanwhile cease to consult
with the Christian princes, and to exhort them to inform us, what, in their
opinion, would be a suitable place wherein to hold the council: and whereas
their opinions were various and wavering, and there seemed to be needless
delay, we, with the best intentions, and, as we also think, with the most
judicious prudence, fixed on Vicenza, a wealthy city granted to us by the
Venetians, and which, by their valour, authority, and power, offered in a
special manner both unobstructed access, and a safe and free place of
residence for all. But, as too much of the time appointed had already
passed away; and it was necessary to signify to all the fresh city that had
been chosen; and, whereas the approaching calends of November precluded our
having the opportunity of making the announcement of this change public,
and winter was now near; we were again constrained to defer, by another
prorogation, the time for opening the Council, to the next ensuing Spring,
that is, to the next calends of May. This having been firmly resolved upon
and decreed; considering,--whilst preparing ourselves, and arranging all
other matters for conducting and celebrating that assembly in a proper
manner under the divine assistance,--that it was a point of great
importance, both as regards the celebration of the Council, and the general
weal of Christendom, that the Christian princes should be united together
in peace and concord; We ceased not to implore and conjure our most beloved
sons in Christ, Charles, ever August, the emperor of the Romans, and
Francis, the most Christian king, the two main supports and stays of the
Christian name, to meet together for a conference between them and us; and,
with both of them, by letters, Nuncios, and our Legates a latere selected
from amongst our venerable brethren, did we very often strive to move them
to lay aside their jealousies and animosities; to unite in strict alliance
and holy friendship; and to succour the tottering cause of Christendom: for
as it was to preserve this especially, that God had bestowed on them their
power, if they neglected to do this, and directed not all their counsels to
the common weal of Christians, a bitter and severe account would they have
to render unto Him. They, yielding at last to our prayers, repaired to
Nice; whither we also, for the cause of God and to bring about peace,
undertook a long journey, though sorely unsuited to our advanced age.
Meanwhile, as the time fixed for the Council,--the calends to wit of
May,--drew nigh, we did not neglect to send to Vicenza three Legates a
latere,--men of the greatest virtue and authority, chosen from the number
of our own brethren, the cardinals of the holy Roman Church,--to open the
Council; to receive the prelates as they arrived from various parts; and to
transact and attend to such matters as they should deem necessary, until
we, on our return from our journey and message of peace, should be able
ourselves to direct everything with greater precision. We, in the mean
time, applied ourselves to that holy and most necessary work, the
negotiation of peace; and this with all the zeal, the affection, and the
earnestness of our soul. God is our witness, on whose clemency we relied,
when we exposed ourselves to the dangers of that journey at the peril of
our life: our conscience is our witness, which herein, at least, cannot
reproach us with having either neglected, or not sought for, an opportunity
of effecting a reconciliation: the princes themselves are our witnesses,
whom we so often and so earnestly conjured by our Nuncios, letters,
legates, admonitions, exhortations, and by all kinds of entreaties, to lay
aside their jealousies, to unite in alliance, and with combined zeal and
forces to succour the Christian commonweal, which was now reduced to the
greatest and most urgent danger. And witnesses too are those watchings and
cares, those labours of our soul both by day and night, and those grievous
solicitudes, which we have already endured to such an extent in this
business and cause; and yet our councils and acts have not as yet brought
about the wished-for result. For so hath it seemed good to the Lord our
God, who, however, we still hope will cast a more favourable eye on our
wishes. For ourselves, we, as far as in us lay, have not, indeed, herein
omitted anything that was due from our pastoral office. And if there be any
who interpret in any other sense our endeavours after peace, we are indeed
grieved; but, in our grief, we return thanks to that Almighty God, who, as
a pattern and a lesson of patience unto us, willed that His own apostles
should be accounted worthy to suffer reproach for the name of Jesus who is
our peace. However, in that our meeting and conference at Nice, though, by
reason of our sins, a true and lasting peace could not be concluded between
the two princes, yet was a truce for ten years agreed upon; under favour of
which having our hopes, that both the sacred council might be celebrated
more commodiously, and further that peace might be perfectly established by
the authority of the council, we were urgent with those princes to come
themselves to the council, to bring with them those of their prelates who
accompanied them, and to summon the absent. They having excused themselves
upon both these points,--for that it was at that time, necessary for them
to return to their kingdoms, and that the prelates whom they had with them,
being wearied and exhausted by the journey and its expenses, must needs
refresh and recruit themselves,--exhorted us to decree yet another
prorogation of the time for opening the council. And whereas we had some
difficulty to yield herein, in the interim we received letters from our
legates at Vicenza, announcing that, although the day for opening the
council had arrived, nay had long since passed by, barely one or two
prelates had repaired to Vicenza from any of the foreign nations. Upon
receiving this information, seeing that the council could not, under any
circumstances, be held at that time, we accorded to the said princes, that
the time for celebrating the council should be deferred till next holy
Easter, the feast of the Resurrection of the Lord. Of which our ordinance
and prorogation, the decretal letters were given and published at Genoa, in
the year of the Incarnation of our Lord, MDXXXVIII, on the fourth of the
calends of July. And this delay we granted the more readily, because each
of the princes promised us to send an ambassador to us at Rome; in order
that those things which were necessary for the perfect re-establishment of
peace,--all of which could not, on account of the shortness of the time, be
completed at Nice,--might be treated of and negotiated more conveniently at
Rome in our presence. And for this reason also, they both begged of us,
that the negotiation of peace might precede the celebration of the council;
for that, peace once established, the council itself would then be much
more useful and salutary to the Christian commonweal. It was, indeed, this
hope of peace, thus held out to us, that ever moved us to assent to the
wishes of those princes; a hope which was greatly increased by the kindly
and friendly interview between those two princes after our departure from
Nice; the news of which was to us a source of very great joy, and so
confirmed us in our good hope, that we believed that God, at length, had
hearkened to our prayers, and had graciously received our earnest wishes
for peace. The conclusion, then, of this peace was both desired and urged;
and as it was the opinion not only of the two princes aforenamed, but also
of our most dear son in Christ, Ferdinand, King of the Romans, that the
business of the council ought not to be entered upon until after peace had
been established; whilst all the parties urged upon us, by letters and
their ambassadors, again to appoint a further prorogation of the time; and
the most serene emperor was especially urgent, representing that he had
promised those who dissent from Catholic unity, that he would interpose his
mediation with us, to the end that some plan of concord might be devised,
which could not be accomplished satisfactorily before his return to
Germany: impelled throughout by the same desire of peace, and by the wishes
of so mighty princes, and, above all, seeing that not even on the said
feast of the Resurrection had any other prelates assembled at Vicenza, we,
now avoiding the word prorogation, so often repeated in vain, chose rather
to suspend the celebration of the general council during our own good
pleasure, and that of the Apostolic See. We accordingly did so, and
despatched our letters touching such suspension to each of the above-named
princes, on the tenth day of June, MDXXXIX, as from the tenor thereof may
be clearly seen. This necessary suspension, then, having been made by us,
whilst we were looking forward to that more suitable time, and to that
conclusion of peace which was later to bring both dignity and numbers to
the council, and more immediate safety to the Christian commonweal; the
affairs of Christendom meanwhile fell day by day into a worse state. The
Hungarians, upon the death of their king, had invited the Turk; King
Ferdinand had declared war against them; a part of Belgium had been incited
to revolt against the most serene emperor, who, to crush that rebellion,
traversed France on the most friendly and harmonious terms with the most
Christian king, and with great show of mutual good will towards each other;
and, having reached Belgium, thence passed into Germany, where he commenced
holding diets of the princes and cities of Germany, with the view of
treating of that concord of which he had spoken to us. But as there was now
no longer scarcely any hope of peace, and the scheme of procuring and
treating of a re-union in those diets seemed only adapted to excite greater
discord, we were led to revert to our former remedy, a general council;
and, by our legates, cardinals of the holy Roman Church, we proposed this
to the emperor himself; and this we did especially and finally in the diet
of Ratisbon, at which our beloved son, Cardinal Gaspar Contarini, of the
title of St. Praxedes, acted as our legate with very great learning and
integrity. For, whereas what we had previously feared now come to
pass,--that by the advice of that diet we were called upon to declare that
certain of the articles, maintained by the dissenters from the Church, were
to be tolerated until they should be examined and decided upon by an
ecumenical council; and whereas neither Christian and Catholic truth, nor
our own dignity and that of the Apostolic See, would suffer us to yield
this,---we chose rather to command that a proposal should be openly made,
that a council should be held as soon as possible. Nor, indeed, had we ever
any other sentiment or wish, but that an ecumenical and general council
should be convened on the very first opportunity. For we hoped that both
peace might thereby be restored to the Christian people, and to the
Christian religion its integrity; yet were we wishful to hold that council
with the good wishes and favour of the Christian princes. And whilst
looking forward to those good wishes, whilst watching for that hidden time,
for the time of thy good pleasure, 0 God, we were at last forced to the
conclusion, that every time is well pleasing unto God wherein deliberations
are entered upon touching holy things, and such as relate to Christian
piety. Wherefore, upon beholding with the bitterest grief of soul, that the
affairs of Christendom were daily hurrying on to a worse state; Hungary
overwhelmed by the Turk; Germany endangered; all the other states oppressed
with terror and affliction; we resolved to wait no longer for the consent
of any prince, but to look solely to the will of God, and the good of the
Christian commonweal. Accordingly, as we no longer had the city of
Vicenza, and were desirous, in our choice of a fresh place for holding the
council, to have regard both to the common welfare of Christians, and also
to the troubles of the German nation; and seeing, upon several places being
proposed, that they (the Germans) wished for the city of Trent,
we,---though of opinion that every thing might be transacted more
commodiously in Cisalpine Italy,---nevertheless yielded up our will, with
paternal charity, to their demands. Accordingly, we have chosen the city
of Trent as that wherein an ecumenical council is to be held on the ensuing
calends of November : fixing upon that place as a convenient one whereat
the bishops and prelates can assemble very easily indeed from Germany, and
from the other nations bordering on Germany, and without difficulty from
France, Spain, and the other remoter provinces. And in fixing the day for
the council, we have had regard that there should be time both for
publishing this our decree throughout the Christian nations, and for
allowing all prelates an opportunity of repairing to Trent. Our motive for
not prescribing that a whole year should expire before changing the place
of the council,--as by certain constitutions has been aforetime
regulated,---was this, that we were unwilling that our hope should be any
longer delayed of applying some remedy to the Christian commonwealth,
suffering as it is under so many disasters and
calamities. And yet we observe the times; we acknowledge the difficulties.
We know that what may be looked for from our councils is a matter of
uncertainty. But, seeing that it is written, commit thy way to the Lord,
and trust in him, and he will do it, we have resolved rather to trust in
the clemency and mercy of God, than to distrust our own weakness. For, upon
engaging in good works, it often happens, that what human councils fail in,
the divine power accomplishes. Wherefore, relying and resting on the
authority of that Almighty God, Father, and Son, and Holy Ghost, and on the
authority of His blessed apostles, Peter and Paul, (an authority) which we
also exercise on earth; with the advice also and assent of our venerable
brethren, the cardinals of the holy Roman Church; after having removed and
annulled, as by these presents we do remove and annul, the suspension
aforenamed, we indict, announce, convoke, appoint, and decree a sacred,
ecumenical and general council,--to be opened on the ensuing calends of
November of the present year, MDXLII, from the Incarnation of the Lord,--in
the city of Trent, a place commodious, free, and convenient for all
nations; and to be there prosecuted, concluded, and completed, with God's
help, to His glory and praise, and the welfare of the whole Christian
people; requiring, exhorting, admonishing all, of every country, as well
our venerable brethren the patriarchs, archbishops, bishops, and our
beloved sons the abbots, as also all others soever, unto whom, by right or
privilege, the power has been granted of sitting in general councils, and
of delivering their sentiments therein; enjoining moreover, and strictly
commanding them, by virtue of the oath which they have taken to us and to
this holy See, and in virtue of holy obedience, and under the other pains,
which, by law or custom, are usually passed and proposed in the celebration
of councils, against those who do not attend, that they are, undoubtedly to
repair to and to be present themselves in person at this sacred
council--unless they shall happen to be hindered by some just impediment,
of which, however, they shall be obliged to furnish proof--or at all events
by their own lawful deputies and proctors. And we also beseech the
aforenamed emperor, and the most Christian king, as also the other kings,
dukes, and princes, whose presence, now if ever, would be of especial
advantage to the most holy faith of Christ, and of all Christians;
conjuring them by the bowels of the mercy of God and of our Lord Jesus
Christ,--the truth of whose faith, and whose religion are now so sorely
assailed both from within and without,--that, if they would have the
Christian commonweal safe, if they feel themselves bound and obliged, by
the Lord's great benefits towards them, they abandon not His own cause and
interests; and come themselves to the celebration of the sacred council,
where their piety and virtue would be greatly conducive to the common good,
to their own welfare, and that of others, both in time and eternity. But
if, which we hope may not be the case, they shall be unable to come in
person, let them at least send, with an authoritative commission, as their
ambassadors, men of weight, who may each in the council represent the
person of his prince with prudence and dignity. But above all, let
this--which is a thing very easy on their parts--be their care, that, from
their respective kingdoms and provinces, the bishops and prelates set forth
without tergiversation and delay; a request which God Himself, and we, have
a right to obtain from the prelates and princes of Germany in a special
manner; for as it is principally on their account, and at their instance,
that the council has been indicted and convoked, and in the very city which
they desired, let them not think it burthensome to celebrate and adorn it
with the presence of their whole body. That thus,--with God going before
us in our deliberations, and holding before our minds the light of His own
wisdom and truth,--we may, in the said sacred ecumenical council, in a
better and more com-modious manner, treat of, and, with the charity of all
conspiring to one end, deliberate and discuss, execute and bring to the
desired issue, speedily and happily, whatsoever appertains to the integrity
and truth of the Christian religion; the restoration of good and the
correction of evil manners; the peace, unity, and concord both of Christian
princes and peoples; and whatsoever is needful for repelling those assaults
of barbarians and infidels, with which they seek the overthrow of all
Christendom. And that this our letter, and the contents thereof, may come
to the knowledge of all whom it concerns, and that no one may plead as an
excuse ignorance thereof, especially also as there may not perhaps be free
access to all, unto whom our letter ought to be individually communicated;
we will and ordain, that in the Vatican Basilica of the prince of the
apostles, and in the Lateran Church, at the time when the multitude of the
people is wont to assemble there to hear the divine service, it be publicly
read in a loud voice by officers of our court, or by certain public
notaries; and, after having been read, be affixed to the doors of the said
churches, also to the gates of the apostolic Chancery, and to the usual
place in the Campo di Fiore, where it shall for some time hang exposed to
be read and seen by all; and, when removed thence, copies thereof shall
still remain affixed in the same places. For we will that, by being thus
read, published, and affixed, the letter aforesaid shall oblige and bind,
after the interval of two months from the day of being published and
affixed, all and each of those whom it includes, even as if it had been
communicated and read to them in person. And we ordain and decree, that an
unhesitating and undoubting faith be given to copies thereof written, or
subscribed, by the hand of a public notary, and guaranteed by the seal of
some ecclesiastic constituted in authority. Wherefore, let no one infringe
this our letter of indiction, announcement, convocation, statute, decree,
mandate, precept, and prayer, or with rash daring go contrary thereunto.
But if any one shall presume to attempt this, let him know that he will
incur the indignation of Almighty God, and of His blessed apostles Peter
and Paul. Given at Rome, at Saint Peter's, in the year MDXLII of the Lord's
Incarnation, on the eleventh of the calends of June, in the eighth year of
our pontificate.