Council of Florence

The Council of Florence was a series of fifteenth-century church assemblies that sought reunion between the Catholic Church and several Eastern churches, producing agreements that were largely rejected in the East.

Pope Eugenius IV: The pope from 1431 to 1447, whose pontificate included the Council of Florence. He convened the council at Ferrara and directed its transfer to Florence.
Decree of Union with the Greeks: The council's 1439 decree affirming agreement between Latin and Greek churches on disputed doctrines and papal authority. It records the principal terms negotiated with the Byzantine delegation.
Bessarion: A Greek scholar and churchman who supported union with Rome and later became a cardinal. He was a leading Greek advocate for the union negotiated at Florence.
Union of Brest: A 1596 agreement by which parts of the Ruthenian Orthodox hierarchy entered communion with Rome while retaining Byzantine rites. It represents a later, regional attempt at church union under different political conditions.
Council of Constance: An ecumenical council held from 1414 to 1418 that ended the Western Schism and addressed church reform. Its legacy of conciliar authority framed later disputes between councils and the papacy.
John VIII Palaiologos: The Byzantine emperor from 1425 to 1448, who sought Western support against the Ottomans. He traveled to Italy with a delegation to negotiate church union and seek military aid.
Filioque: A Latin phrase meaning “and the Son,” added in the Western creed to describe the procession of the Holy Spirit. The Greeks and Latins disputed both the doctrine and the Western addition to the creed.
Mark of Ephesus: A Greek Orthodox bishop who rejected the council's union with Rome and became its most prominent opponent. His refusal to sign made visible the Greek delegation's deep divisions.
Coptic Catholic Church: An Eastern Catholic church in communion with Rome that follows the Alexandrian liturgical tradition. The council's brief union with the Coptic representatives did not secure lasting communion.
Council of Trent: A Catholic council held between 1545 and 1563 that defined doctrine and initiated reforms amid the Reformation. Unlike Florence's reunion project, Trent chiefly addressed Catholic doctrine and reform in response to Protestantism.

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