What happened at the reunion council of Florence in 1453?

Answer 1

This council you mention was actually the Council of Basel-Ferrara-Florence of 1452. It first convened in Basel (Switzerland) in October 1438, then it moved to Ferrara and finally ended up in Florence in 1452, just a few short months before the capture of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks in 1453. According to some historians, the terrible events at the so-called "reunion" council were directly linked to the capture of the great city of Constantinople.

The events are too many to detail here, and many books have been written on this topic, such as "The History of the Council of Florence" by Ivan Ostroumoff (Boston, Massachusetts) and "Against False Union" by Alexander Kalomiros (Seattle, Washington) but I will provide a brief outline of the main events.

The whole reason for convening this church council in the first place was because Constantinople was under threat of attack from the advancing Ottoman Turkish army, and the Eastern Roman (or Byzantine) Emperor in Constantinople appealed to the Pope for help. The Pope said he would send help, but only on condition that the Orthodox Church come under his authority - something the Orthodox would never accept.

So this council was called to try to resolve some of the theological differences between the Latin West (ie. the Roman Catholics) and the Orthodox East, so that the two sides could be reunited again, following the Great Schism of 1054 AD. However, the Orthodox did not forget what the Roman Catholics did to them during the Fourth Crusade of 1204, when the Catholic Crusades, led by the Venetians, sacked and pillaged Constantinople; detsroying churches, stealing its treasures and killing the people. This tragic event is referred to by some famous historians as the most tragic event and greatest betrayal in history. One of the best books on this topic is called "The Great Betrayal" by Ernle Bradford (Dorset Press) or "The Fall of Constantinople" by Edwin Pears (Dorset Publishers, London).

The council discussed and debated many theological topics for over four years, with little success. At one stage, the council fathers of Basel excommunicated the Pope for failing to obey the council decisions. However the Emperor had other things on his mind and simply accepted the Pope's decisions in the hope of securing Western help.

None the less, the council continued to meet and discuss various thological matters. The main areas of contention were the addition to the Creed, made by the Roman Catholics, who inserted the "filioque" (meaning and the Son) clause in the Creed. The canons of the church forbid any changes to the Creed, so that's why this was (and still is) such a controversial issue. Other issues related to the authority of the Pope and his relationship with the Orthodox Patriarchs, who regard the Pope as an equal bishop, continue to this day. The Orthodox do not accept the authority of the Pope over the whole church, as Ecumenical Councils have always been the highest authority in the church for over 1,000 years, and this is still the case with the Orthodox Church today.

In short, the Emperor realised that no progress had been made at this council, and the Turks were quickly advancing towards Constantinople, so he had to take drastic measures. He ordered his Orthodox delegates at this council to simply accept whatever the Catholics wanted, for the sake of securing military support from the Papal armies of the West. The only Orthodox bishop who refused to sign the Act of Union in Florence was Mark of Ephesus. His amazing defense of Orthodoxy earned him the title of "Champion of Orthodoxy" and the church later proclaimed him a Saint. When the rest of the delgates returned to their home countries, they were immediately condemned as traitors by their people. Following this revolt, most of the delegates withdrew their support for the union and, as a result, the union was never implemented.

Constantinople was known as the God-guarded city and the Queen of all cities, because it was the wealthiest and most powerful city in the world that stood for 1123 years against many attacks from its enemies. None were successful in defeating the city, because the inhabitants believed the Mother of God protected them against their enemies. However, this situation changed soon after this "reunion" council took place. The Emperor had not placed in his trust in the Mother of God any more, but rather hoped that the Pope would come to his aid.

Unfortunately, this help never came, and the Turks attacked and defeated his army, killing the Emperor as well, and seized Constantinople on 29 May 1453.