Vienne, Councils of (Concilium Apud Viennam Alobrogum, or Viennense)
Vienne, Councils of (Concilium Apud Viennam Alobrogum, Or Viennense)
Vienne is a city of Dauphine, France, where numerous Church councils were held.
I. The first of which mention is made was held A.D. 474. Of its transactions nothing is known beyond the fact that it sanctioned the solemn observance of the three days preceding Ascension-day, which bishop Mamercus of Vienne had ordered.
II. Held A.D. 870, simply confirmed the privileges bestowed upon a monastery.
III. Held A.D. 892, by order of pope Formosus, whose two legates, Pascal and John, presided. Several bishops were present, and four canons were published.
1, 2. Excommunicate those who seize the property of the Church, or maltreat clerks.
4. Forbids laymen to present to churches without the consent of the bishop of the diocese; also forbids them to take any present from those whom they present. See Mansi, Concil. 9:433.
IV. Held A.D. 907; was convoked by archbishop Alexander of Vienne, and settled a dispute between abbots Aribert and Barnard respecting the income receipts of monasteries.
V. Held A.D. 1112 by archbishop Guido; excommunicated emperor Henry V because he claimed the right of episcopal investiture, and revoked the treaty of 1111 which conferred such right upon the crown.
VI. Held A.D. 1119 was called by pope Gelasius II, who had again excommunicated Henry V, on the occasion of his setting up an antipope in the person of Gregory VIII; but nothing whatever concerning the transactions of this synod is known.
VII. Held A.D. 1124; was incited by pope Calixtus II, and called by archbishop Peter of Vienne; legislated with reference to the securing of ecclesiastical privileges and possessions.
VIII. Held A.D. 1142; was chiefly concerned with the election of a new bishop.
IX. Held A.D. 1164, at which archbishop Reginald of Cologne vainly endeavored to secure a recognition of Paschal III, whom the emperor Frederick had endorsed.
X. Held A.D. 1199, by the cardinal-legate Peter of Capua, for the purpose of promulgating the decree of pope Innocent III, which punished the king, Philip Augustus, with excommunication on account of his renunciation of Inneburgis, his lawful consort, and his subsequent marriage with Agnes of Meran. See Mansi, Concil. 11:11.
XI. Held A.D. 1289; is barely mentioned in the records, and some authorities deny that it was held.
XII. Held A.D. 1311; known as the fifteenth ecumenical council, and the only one of the series to which attaches any considerable importance. It was originally ordered, by a papal bull of 1308, to meet Oct. 1. 1310, but was subsequently postponed for one year. The council finally convened, under the presidency of pope Clement V, on Oct. 16, 1311. The number of prelates present is fixed by some at 114, and by others at 300, including the patriarchs of the Latin Rite of Alexandria and Antioch. It discussed methods for preserving the purity of the faith, which was impaired by the heretical influence of John of Oliva, and of the Fratricelli, Dolcinists, Beghards, and Beguins; also the aid to be afforded the Holy Land; the reform of ecclesiastical discipline; and especially the disposition to be made of the Order of Knights Templars. The decisions abrogated the Order of Templars; declared the legitimacy of the late pope Boniface VIII, and his freedom from the crimes charged against him conceded tithes for six years to the kings of France, England, and Navarre, in order that they might organize a crusade; and regulated the government of the begging friars and similar matters. Most of the decrees which have to do with matters of doctrine and discipline are contained in the so-called Clementines (q.v.), and were first promulgated by pope John XXII.
XIII. Held A.D. 1557; determined several questions of Church discipline; discussed the use of sermons as a means of instructing the people; forbade the admission of strangers to the pulpits; demanded the rendition of heretics, and prohibited merry-makings on feast-days and association with suspected persons; gave directions respecting the tonsure and garb of priests; denied to monks and nuns the privilege of leaving their convents,. etc. See Martene, Thesaur. Novus Anecdot. (Lutet. Par. 1717), 4:446 sq.
Sources. — Harduin, Acta Concil. et Epistol. Decretales ac Constitut. Summorum Pontificum (Paris, 1714); Mansi, Sacrorum Conciliorum Nova et Amlissima Collectio (Venet., 1776); Tract. Illustr. Jurisconsultorum (ibid. 1584), XIII, 1, 159'sq., where is given Durandus, Tractatus de Modo Celebrandi Genesis Concilii. — Herzog, Real Encyklop. s.v.
