Lyons, Council of (1274)
A. EDWARD SIECIENSKI
The Council of Lyons, like the later Council of Florence (1438–9), was an unsuccessful “reunion council” that attempted to end the schism between Rome and Constantinople. Shortly after recapturing Constantinople in 1261, Emperor Michael VIII Palaeologus (1259–82) proposed the idea of a reunion council to Pope Urban IV (1261–4), although preparations did not begin in earnest until after the election of Pope Gregory X (1271–6). Michael’s reasons were chiefly political, since union with the Latin Church had little support among the Byzantines. Among those who refused to participate in the council was Patriarch Joseph I (1267–75, 1282–3), who led the growing anti-unionist movement.
The council opened on May 1,, 1274 despite the absence of the Byzantine delegation (consisting of George Akropolites, former Patriarch Germanos III, and Bishop Theophanes of Nicea), who did not arrive until June 24. The council’s teachings (e.g., on the filioque) restated the historic Latin position, which the Greeks were simply expected to accept. On July 6 the emperor’s own confession of faith was read out and the schism formally proclaimed at an end. The Byzantines left shortly after, although the union was not formally proclaimed in Constantinople until January 16, 1275. The emperor and Patriarch John XI Bekkos (1275–82), who had been influenced by the theology of Nikephorus Blemmydes (1197–1272), tried unsuccessfully to enforce the union, but Michael died in 1282 and his son, Andronicus II (1282–1328), immediately repudiated his father’s policies. Under Patriarch Gregory II of Cyprus (1283–9), the Synod of Blachernae (1285) met and officially denounced the teachings ofLyons on behalf of the Eastern Church.
SEE ALSO: Ecumenism, Orthodoxy and; Filioque, Florence, Council of (1438–1439)
REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READINGS
Franchi, A. (ed.) (1965) Il Concilio II di Lione (1274). Studi e Testi Francescani 33. Rome: Edizioni Francescane.
Papadakis, A. (1996) Crisis in Byzantium: The Filioque Controversy in the Patriarchate of Gregory II of Cyprus 1283–1289. Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press.
Roberg, B. (1990) Das Zweite Konkil von Lyon (1274). Paderborn: Ferdinand Schoningh.