TRENT
32
TRENT
gations were composed of all bishops, general? of
orders, and abbots who were entitled to a vote, the
proxies of absent members entitled to a vote, and the
representatives {oralores) of the secular rulers. The
decrees resulting from such exhaustive debates were
then brought forward in the formal sessions and votes
were taken upon them. On IS December the legates
laid seventeen articles before the general congregation
as regards the order of procedure in the subjects to be
discussed. This led to a number of difficulties. The
main one was whether dogmatic questions or the
reform of church life should be discussed first. It was
finally decided that both subjects should be debated
simultaneously. Thus after the promulgation in the
sessions of the decrees concerning the dogmas of the
Church followed a similar promulgation of those on
discipUne and Church reform. The question was also
raised whether the generals of orders and abbots were
members of the council entitled to a vote. Opinions
varied greatly on this point. Still, after long dis-
cussion the decision was reached that one vote for
the entire order belonged to each general of an order,
and that the three Benedictine abbots sent by the
pope to represent the entire order were entitled to only
one vote.
^'iolent differences of opinion appeared during the preparatory discussion of the decree to be laid before the second session determining the title to be given the council; the cjuestion was whether there should be added to the title "Holy Council of Trent" (Sa- crosancla iridentina synodus) the words "representing the Church universal" {universalem ecclesiam rep- ra-seritans). According to the Bishop of Fiesole, Braccio jNIartello, a number of the members of the council desired the latter form. However, such a title, although justified in itself, appeared dangerous to the legates and other members of the council on account of its bearing on the Councils of Constance and Basle, as it might be taken to express th( supe- riority of the cecumenical council over the pope. Therefore instead of this formula the additional phrase "cecumenica el gcneralis" was proposed and accepted by nearly all the bishops. Only three bishops who raised the question unsuccessfully several times later persisted in wanting the formula " universalem ecclesiam reprtrsentans". A further point was in reference to the proxies of absent bishops, namelj', whether these were entitled to a vote or not. Originally the proxies were not allowed a vote; Paul III granted to those German bishops who could not leave their dioceses on account of the religious troubles, and to them alone, representation by proxies. In 1562, when the council met again, Pius IV withdrew this permission. Other regulations were also passed, in regard to the right of the members to draw the revenues of their dioceses during the session of the council, and concerning the mode of life of the mem- bers. At a later date, during the third period of the council, various modifications were made in these decisions. Thus the theologians of the council, who had grown in the meantime into a large body, were divided into six classes, each of which received a number of drafts of decrees for discussion. Special deputations also were often appointed for special questions. The entire regulation of the debates was a very prudent one, and offered every guarantee for an absolutely objective and exhaustive discussion in all their bearings of the questions brought up for debate. A regular courier service was maintained between Rome and Trent, so that the pope was kept fuUv informed in regard to the debates at the council. lil. The Wokk and Session.s. — A. First I'mnd (it Treiit. — Among tlic fathers of the council and the theologians who had liciMi siuiunoned to Trent were a number of important men. The legates who pre- sided at the council were equal to their difficult task ; Paceco of Jaen, Campeggio of Fcltrc, and the Bishop
of Fiesole already mentioned were especially con-
spicuous among the bishops who were present at
the early sessions. Girolamo Se,ipando, General of
the Augustinian Hermits, was the most prominent ■
of the heads of the orders; of the theologians, the two
learned Dominicans, Ambrogio Catarino and Dome-
nico Soto, should be mentioned. After the formal
opening session (13 December, 1545), the various
questions pertaining to the order of business were
debated; neither in the second session (7 January,
1546) nor in the third (4 February, 1546) were any
matters touching faith or discipline brought forward.
It was only after the third session, when the prelim-
inary questions and the order of business had been
essentially settled, that the real work of the council
began. The emperor's representative, Francisco de
Toledo, did not reach Trent unto 15 March, and a
further personal representative, Mendoza, arrived
on 25 May. The first subject of discussion which was
laid before the general congi-egation by the legates on
8 February was the Scriptures as the source of Divine
revelation. After exhaustive prehminary discussions
in the various congregations, two decrees were ready
for debate at the fourth session (8 April, 1546), and
were adopted by the fathers. In treating the canon
of Scripture they declare at the same time that in
matters of faith and morals the tradition of the
Church is, together with the Bible, the standard of
supernatural revelation; then taking up the text
and the use of the sacred Books they declare the Vul-
gate to be the authentic text for sermons and dispu-
tations, although this did not exclude textual emenda-
tions. It was also determined that the Bible should
be interpreted according to the unanimous testimony
of the Fathers and never misused for superstitious
purposes. Nothing was decided in regard to the
translation of the Bible into the vernaculars.
In the meantime earnest discussions concerning the question of church reform had been carried on between the pope and the legates, and a number of items had been suggested by the latter. These had .special reference to the Roman Curia and its administration, to the bishops, the ecclesiastical benefices and tithes, the orders, and the training of the clergy. Charles V wished the discussion of the dogmatic questions to be postponed, but the council and the pope could not agree to that, and the council debated dogmas simul- taneouslj' with decrees concerning discipline. On 24 May the general congregation took up the discussion of original sin, its nature, consequences, and cancel- lation by baptism. At the same time the question of the Immaculate Conception of the ^"irgin was brought forward, but the majorit.v of the members finally decided not to give any definite dogmatic decision on this point. The reforms debated concerned the establishment of theological professorships, preaching, and episcopal obligation of residence. In reference to the latter the Spanish bishop, Paceco, raised the point whether this obligation was of Divine origin, or whether it was merely an ecclesiastical ordinance of human origin, a question which led later t_o long and violent discussions. In the fifth session (17 June, 1546) the decree on the dogma of original sin was promulgated with five canons (anathemas) against the corresponding erroneous doctrines; and the first decree on reform (dc reformatione) was also promul- gated. This treats (in two chapters) of professorships of the Scriptures, and of secular learning {artcs iiber- ales), of those who preach the Divine word, and of the collectors of alms.
For the following session, which was originally set for 29 July, the matters proposed for general debate were the dogma of justification as the dogmatic ques- t ion and t h(- obligation of residence as regards bishops as the (liscii)Iinary decree; the treatment of these ques- tions was proposed to the general congregation by the legates on 21 June. The dogma of justification
