Florence, Council of

General Council of the Church held in Florence, Italy, 1437–39 that negotiated union between the Catholic and Orthodox churches. It was the result of Pope Eugenius IV's decree transferring the Council from Basel to Ferrara and subsequently (for fear of the plague) to Florence. The discussions at Florence revolved around the theological issue of the Holy Trinity and around the more practical issue of papal authority. The Council culminated in the Acts of Union of 6 July 1439, uniting the Orthodox churches to the Catholic communion, but the agreement proved short-lived.

The Greek delegation, led by the Byzantine emperor John VIII Palaeologus and the patriarch of Constantinople Joseph II, included Gemistus Plethon and Bessarion. The representatives on the papal side included Florentine scholar Ambrogio Traversari, Nicholas of Cusa and George of Trebizond.

The debate often centred around the reading of texts of the Greek Church Fathers, in particular St Basil and St Athanasius. For a long time, the Catholics found their Orthodox guests intransigent. However, when the patriarch Joseph II died in his bed one night he left a note declaring his final acceptance of the Catholic stance. Political realities may have been the basis for this change of heart: the Byzantine emperor needed Western support against the Ottomans and he knew he would only receive it if an agreement was reached. As it turned out, the expected military support did not materialize and the union floundered.

Culturally, the Council furthered Greek studies in three ways: the Byzantine delegation brought with them manuscripts which could then be circulated in the West; it also introduced intellectuals, in particular Bessarion, who were subsequently to become influential; and, least tangibly but no less importantly, it made Greek learning seem both fashionable and relevant.