Second Council of Lyon and the new crusade plan

Background

Gregory X had been in Acre with Lord Edward when he was elected pope and knew the situation of the Latin East at first hand. He made the recovery of the Holy Land the central aim of his pontificate and for this purpose convened an ecumenical council at Lyon in 1274. The Byzantine emperor Michael VIII wanted to reach an understanding with the papacy against the threat of attack by Charles of Anjou.

The council and its decrees

The council's decree Zelus fidei provided for a tax of a tenth on all church revenues for six years, banned trade in strategic goods with Muslims, and called for preparations for sea transport. The rulers of Europe were urged to join the crusade.

On 6 July 1274 the Byzantine representatives approved church union, accepting the Latin creed formula and papal primacy. Envoys sent by the Mongol Ilkhan Abaqa also attended the council, and some members of the delegation were baptised.

Outcome and significance

Gregory X's death in January 1276 halted the organisation of the planned general crusade. Part of the taxes collected was used for other purposes. The church union proclaimed with Byzantium was not accepted by the Byzantine people and clergy and was abandoned after Michael VIII's death in 1282.

As one of the last great papal initiatives to recover the Holy Land, the council represents the last serious plan before the fall of the Latin East.

Sources and debates

The council's decrees are published in Tanner's collection. Reports prepared for the council by Humbert of Romans and other writers discuss in detail the problems and criticisms of the crusading movement at the time. George Pachymeres reports the reactions to church union in Byzantium.