Fourth Lateran Council

A major Roman Catholic council held in Rome in 1215 under Pope Innocent III. Its canons addressed doctrine, church reform, heresy, and relations with non-Christians.

Transubstantiation: The doctrine that bread and wine become Christ’s body and blood in the Eucharist while retaining their appearances. Canon 1 used this term to define the Eucharist’s change of substance.
Ecumenical council: A formal assembly of bishops and other church leaders convened to decide matters of doctrine, discipline, or governance. Lateran IV was recognized as an ecumenical council of the Catholic Church.
Pope Innocent III: Pope from 1198 to 1216 whose pontificate expanded papal influence across Latin Christendom. He summoned the council, presided over it, and shaped its program.
Robert of Courçon: An English cardinal and theologian who served as a papal legate and helped promote church reform. He was among the senior churchmen involved in the council’s work.
First Council of Nicaea: A Christian council held in 325 that addressed the Arian controversy and produced an early form of the Nicene Creed. Nicaea focused chiefly on foundational Christological disputes, unlike Lateran IV’s broad reform program.
Fourth Lateran Council canon 21: A canon requiring Catholics who have reached the age of discretion to confess sins at least annually and receive Easter communion. Its annual confession requirement became a lasting rule of Catholic practice.
Papal bull: A formal public decree or charter issued by a pope and authenticated with a seal. The council’s decisions were promulgated through a papal document.
Medieval papacy: The institution and political authority of the popes during the Middle Ages. The council expressed the medieval papacy’s reach over doctrine and governance.
Peter of Capua: A cardinal and theologian who served as a papal legate in the early thirteenth century. His presence reflects the role of the College of Cardinals in the assembly.
Second Council of Lyon: A Catholic ecumenical council held in 1274 that addressed church union, papal elections, and crusading. It shows how later councils pursued issues that Lateran IV had also addressed.

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