17th Ecumenical Council (Catholic reckoning) · Basel · Ferrara · Florence · A.D. 1431–1445
The seventeenth ecumenical council: after the conciliarist sessions at Basel, its legitimate continuation at Ferrara and Florence proclaimed the decree of union with the Greek Church, Laetentur caeli, and further unions with the Armenians, Copts, and others.
Translated by Norman P. Tanner, Decrees of the Ecumenical Councils (Georgetown University Press, 1990). Source: papalencyclicals.net. This modern critical translation is under copyright and is reproduced here from papalencyclicals.net, which has hosted it freely for many years. Tanner’s critical-apparatus footnotes are omitted; his introductions and the full conciliar text are retained.
Documents
- Council of Basel, Sessions 1 to 21 — Tanner’s introduction and the decrees of the council of Basel, sessions 1–21.
- Council of Basel, Sessions 22 to 25 — The decrees of the council of Basel, sessions 22–25.
- Union with the Greeks (Laetentur Caeli) — The Ferrara–Florence sessions and the decree of union with the Greek Church, Laetentur caeli (“Let the heavens rejoice”), session 6, 6 July 1439.
- Union with the Armenians (Exsultate Deo) — The bull of union with the Armenians, Exsultate Deo, session 8, 22 November 1439.
- Monition Against the Antipope Felix V — The council’s monition against the antipope Felix V (session 9) and its exhortation to the members of the rival synod of Basel to desist (session 10).
- Union with the Copts (Cantate Domino) — The bull of union with the Copts and Ethiopians, Cantate Domino, session 11, 4 February 1442.
- Convocation of the Lateran Council — Eugenius IV convokes the continuation of the council at the Lateran, session 12, 14 October 1443.
- Union with the Syrians — The bull of union with the Syrians, session 13, 30 November 1444.
- Union with the Chaldeans and Maronites of Cyprus — The bull of union with the Chaldeans and the Maronites of Cyprus, session 14, 7 August 1445.