After the Fourth General Council of the Lateran, which was so thorough in its definition of the laws and canons of the church, one wouldn’t expect the need for another council within just 30 years of the previous. However, General Councils have always seemed to come out of some unexpected necessity and the First General Council of Lyons is no exception.
The Dying Wish of Henry VI to Pope Innocent III
It all began on the death bed of the Emperor Henry VI, King of Sicily, who asked Pope Innocent III to be the ward to his three-year-old son Frederick II. Within only five years, Frederick would begin one of the greatest bloodbaths in history and become an antagonist to the papal throne until his death.
Frederick II Wished World Domination
Sent off to help with the crusades in the Holy Land, Frederick II rather went there and negotiated with the sultan and made himself King of Jerusalem. During his travels, he pursued his larger goal of eventually overtaking Rome itself and redesignating the Roman Empire as of old. The Cathars were the final and largest victim of the crusades as they were totally wiped out in France by the thousands.
Frederick II was a very crazy man, known to skin alive his enemies. He was the cause of brutal wars that lasted his entire lifetime against many nations and of course against the Pope and the Papacy which his father had entrusted him to.
Innocent III Dies, Gregory IX Takes Over
During this disgusting mess, Innocent III passed away, but the pope who would take his place was even stronger and more intent on overthrowing Frederick II’s attempts to destroy not only many kingdoms of the world, but the papacy itself which he hoped to take under control, as well.
Gregory IX was a fierce competitor and refused to back down. He attempted to call another council, but no one would back him. The bishops remained imprisoned, and all were afraid of what Frederick II would do.
Frederick II Kidnaps Bishops
The Pope attempted to call a General Council, but it would be required that all the bishops would have to travel by sea. Frederick II, of course, attacked several of those ships, capturing at least one. He took as prisoners over 100 bishops and two of the three papal legates. Due to his fear for his own life, the third of the papal legates turned to Frederick II’s side. Gregory IX died shortly after these attacks.
For two years, the papacy remained vacant with no one to elect a new pope since most of the bishops were imprisoned. Finally, Frederick II ordered Senator Matteo Orsini to lock the bishops up in an ancient Septizonium announcing that none would leave until they had elected a new pope. For two months, they survived this imprisonment in an old ruin and elected Celestine IV before fleeing from Rome as if from the plague. Unfortunately, Celestine IV died within one night of his election due to the illnesses he had contracted during his harsh treatment in prison.
An Even More Vigorous Pope, Innocent IV
At a time when strong heroes were really needed, God called another. Innocent IV took the Papal Throne in 1243. He was quoted as being “the greatest lawyer that ever sat upon the chair of St. Peter.” He wasn’t about to let up on Frederick II. Calling another General Council at Lyons, the pope had actually escaped Rome in disguise to hold the Council in another location to prevent his kidnapping before the event could take place.
Frederick II was excommunicated and it was the beginning of his end. He would die within five years and his cause had been lost and the papacy restored.
Other canons were enacted during this General Council but pale in consideration of the treachery of one man’s betrayal to the wishes of his own dying father.
The Fourth General Council of the Lateran, 1215 A.D.
The Second General Council of Lyons, 1274 A.D.
Sources: The Church in Crisis: A History of the General Councils, 325 – 1870 – By Philip Hughes, The General Councils: A History of the Twenty-One Church Councils from Nicaea to Vatican II – By Christopher M. Bellito, The Documents of Vatican II – By Walter M. Abbott, S.J. and the Very Reverend Monsignor Joseph Gallagher, A Short History of Christian Doctrine: From the First Century to the Present – By Bernard Lohse, The Reform of the Liturgy – Annibale Bugnini, www.catholicdigitalstudio.com/councils.htm
