# The summarized history of the Christian church 7: The Protestant Prototype

The Roman Catholic Church was starting to develop an unfavorable reputation among certain [fringe groups](people-trends.md). Their attempts to suppress them only worked temporarily.

Roman Catholic Ecumenical Council #11 in 1179 - The Third Lateran Council, feat. Pope Alexander III and Emperor Frederick Barbarossa w/ 302 bishops

- Required 2/3 of the cardinals vote to elect the pope
- Condemned Waldensianism as heresy (a proto-Protestantism that had doctrinal differences with the Catholic Church)
- Condemned Albigensianism as heresy (probably a proto-Protestantism value system, though we don't know because they were mostly destroyed and the surviving documentation was from their opponents)
- There were numerous directives for moral reformation

Roman Catholic Ecumenical Council #12 in 1215 - The Fourth Lateran Council, feat. Pope Innocent III and Emperor Otto IV w/ 72 archbishops, 412 bishops, and 800 abbots (*very* significant council in Middle Ages history)

- Ruled 70 decrees including use of church property, tithes, judicial procedures, and requirements to appoint church leadership
- Ordered Jews and Saracens to wear distinctive clothing
- Required all Catholics to make an annual confession and receive Communion during the Lenten season
- Officially defined the Eucharist as transubstantiation (that the wine and bread *become* Jesus' blood and body)
- Condemned Albigensianism as heresy (again)
- Prepared for another crusade to claim Israel

Roman Catholic Ecumenical Council #13 in 1245 - The First Council of Lyons feat. Pope Innocent IV and Emperors Frederick II, Baldwin II, and St. Louis w/ 140 bishops

- Excommunicated and deposed Emperor Frederick II
- Prepared for another crusade to claim Israel

Roman Catholic Ecumenical Council #14 in 1274 - The Second Council of Lyons feat. Pope Gregory X and Emperor Rudolf I w/ 15 cardinals, 500 bishops, and >1000 dignitaries

- Made new rules for electing the pope
- Temporarily reunified the Greek Church with Rome
- Prepared for another crusade to claim Israel

Roman Catholic Ecumenical Council #15 in 1311 - The Council of Vienne feat. Pope Clement V and Emperors Henry VII, Philip IV, Edward II, and James II w/ 114 or 300 bishops

- Suppressed the Knights Templars, Fraticelli, Beghards, and Beguines (for various political reasons)
- Made decrees to create moral reform
- Instituted teaching Oriental languages in universities
- Prepared for another crusade to claim Israel

In the 1370s and 1380s, university theologians and intellectuals in Prague started adopting conciliarism (that an ecumenical council should have more authority than the pope) and called for the priesthood to live less extravagant lifestyles, educate poorly educated priests, and practice the Eucharist more often.

In 1412 in Prague, Jan Hus criticized selling indulgences (paying money to atone for [sins](theology-sins.md) instead of paying later in the afterlife). Before he left, he appealed to Jesus Christ as the supreme judge (which, in effect, bypassed the [laws and structures](people-rules.md) of the Church). Once he traveled the countryside, he saw the lack of education for the poorer Czech priesthood, and started writing many texts in Czech instead of Latin (the dead language that most Catholic texts were written in).

Roman Catholic Ecumenical Council #16 in 1414 - The Council of Constance feat. Popes Gregory XII and Emperor Sigismund w/ ~600 people

- There were leadership scuffles, and so there were 2 popes, then 3 popes at a certain point when the cardinals tried to resolve the problem, and the council somewhat resolved the dispute
- Condemned John Wycliffe as a heretic, who taught [sola scriptura](theology-solae.md)
- Condemned the Moravian movement as heresy (originally from Jan Hus' ideas)

Jan Hus' execution in 1415 served to radicalize his followers, and it developed into the Hussite Wars in Bohemia from 1420 to 1438, built on the Four Articles of Prague:

1. People can be free to preach the Word of God.
2. Anyone can take the communion of the chalice.
3. The clergy can't have expensive things or run the government.
4. Anyone, no matter who, will be strictly punished for "mortal public sins" (i.e., really obviously bad things).

Roman Catholic Ecumenical Council #17 in 1431-1445 - The Council of Basel/Ferrara/Florence feat. Pope Eugene IV and Emperors Albert II and Frederick III w/ ~117 people

- The whole thing was a mess
- Bohemia was having issues, so the council was established to pacify it
- Reaffirmed the pope's authority over an ecumenical council
- Temporarily reunified part of the Greek Church with Rome

Roman Catholic Ecumenical Council #18 in 1512-1517 - The Fifth Lateran Council feat. Popes Julius II and Leo X and Emperor Maximilian I w/ 15 cardinals and ~80 bishops/archbishops (The last straw for what later became the Protestants)

- A *lot* of miscellaneous political moves, partly because the reforms of Councils #16 and #17 didn't take
- Prepared for another crusade to claim Israel (which didn't happen)
- Reaffirmed the doctrine of indulgences
- Attempted to reform the Church, but it didn't work