Council of Trent

The Catholic Church’s ecumenical council held in Trent from 1545 to 1563. It defined Catholic doctrine and enacted reforms amid the Protestant Reformation.

Counter-Reformation: The Catholic renewal and response to Protestantism that unfolded from the sixteenth century onward. Trent became a central institutional expression of Catholic reform and resistance to Protestant expansion.
Protestant Reformation: A sixteenth-century movement that challenged papal authority and produced new Christian churches and doctrines. The council convened amid this movement and answered many of its challenges.
Ecumenical council: A general assembly of bishops and other church leaders convened to address matters affecting the whole church. Trent claimed this form of authority for its doctrinal definitions and disciplinary legislation.
Augsburg Confession: The 1530 Lutheran statement of faith presented to Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Augsburg. Its positions on justification and the sacraments diverged from Trent’s later definitions.
Tridentine Mass: The form of the Roman Rite codified after the Council of Trent and used widely for centuries. The council’s liturgical reforms led to a standardized Roman missal issued in 1570.
Martin Luther: A German theologian whose challenges to church practices and authority helped initiate the Protestant Reformation. Luther’s criticisms of indulgences and justification helped frame disputes addressed at Trent.
Pope Paul III: The pope from 1534 to 1549 who convened the Council of Trent. His efforts to summon the council initiated the process after years of delay.
Thirty-Nine Articles: The doctrinal statement of the Church of England, finalized in 1571. Its Reformed positions provide a comparison with the Catholic doctrine consolidated at Trent.
Roman Catechism: A catechism published in 1566 to explain Catholic doctrine following the Council of Trent. It translated the council’s doctrinal decrees into instruction for parish priests and the faithful.
Justification (theology): In Christian theology, the process by which sinners are made right with God. Trent’s teaching on justification directly answered Protestant accounts of faith and grace.

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