Pros Of The Fourth Lateran Council

The Fourth Lateran Council was the height of the papacy’s attempts to govern the lives of European Christians. This council occurred in 1215 under Pope Innocent III and sought to explicitly state many doctrines of the Church as well as to continue to reform some practices of the Church, and European Christians in general. The council provided rules for what beliefs a good Christian should follow, what beliefs were considered heresy, and what should be done about those who did not practice what was outlined at the Fourth Lateran Council. The Fourth Lateran Council was unique in that it not only dictated religious practices within the church, as well as how Christians should interact with those outside of the church, but it also sought to govern

canon 21 also states that should a person not go along with this doctrine, they would be barred from entering a church within their lifetime, as well as being denied a Christian burial upon their death (RMA, 366). This canon also gives regulations for how confession should be executed. Christians should confess their sins to their own priest, however they can confess to another priest with consent from their own priest. canon 21 also says that priests are not to reveal the sins of any of their congregation. While the practice of confession and the sacrament of the Eucharist were not new practices within Christianity, this was the first time that they were written into Christian doctrine, and both of these practices now had rules governing how often they should be performed by a good Christian, as well as consequences of not partaking in these

The council laid out new guidelines about how confession and the sacrament of the Eucharist should be performed, dictating religious life for Christians. At the same time, the council also set strict procedures for how marriages should be performed, and where they should be performed. This gave the church control of the personal lives of Christians as well. The church was given power to dictate how Christians should interact with non-Christians, as well as how non-Christians should be in public, by dictating that non-Christians dress differently, and that they not be in public during certain Christian holidays. By laying down guidelines for everything from what religious practices are proper, to marriage, the way that others should dress, and who should hold public office, the Fourth Lateran Council gave the church wide-ranging regulations and reforms allowing them power over the personal and religious lives of Christians and non-Christians